Philips 2000 Series Air Fryer review: I’m only using this type of air fryer from now on

Spoiler alert: the Philips 2000 Series air fryer is one of the best air fryers I’ve ever used. When I use my conventional oven — which is a rare event by this point — I’m obsessed with watching my food cook through the door. I reach for my air fryer much more than my oven, but the one thing missing is that visual entertainment.

Thankfully, though, Philips has answered my prayers with the 2000 Series air fryer. This affordable gadget has an 8 x 4 inch window (complete with light!) so you can always keep an eye on what’s going on inside. I found this not only entertaining but useful when roasting a whole chicken and heating up party snacks.

I used the 2000 to cook whole meals, veggie snacks, and finger food. It never let me down, and is one of the most reliable and affordable air fryers I’ve ever used. For under $100, too? I know, it sounds too good to be true. Find out the whole story in this Phillips 2000 Series air fryer review.

Philips 2000 Series Air Fryer: Cheat sheet

• Who is it for? Air fryer fanatics and newbies alike will be supremely impressed
• What does it do well? It performs like a much pricier air fryer
• What are its weaknesses? It’s a little loud — 67dB
• What should you use it for? I had great success with frozen party snacks, toast, roast chicken, and veggies — basically everything

Philips 2000 Series Air Fryer: Specs

Phllips 2000 Series Air Fryer review: Price & availability

The Philips 2000 Series air fryer is $96 from Amazon U.S. and £99 from Amazon U.K.. For air fryers of this size (6.6 quarts), this is a very reasonable price. Instant Pot Vortex (6 quart) is $119, and the 5 quart Ninja Pro 4-in-1 is $119 too. One of the only Ninja air fryers cheaper than the Philips 2000 is the compact $89 4-QT Air Fryer, which is a huge 2.6 quarts smaller. The air fryer I’ve been using for the past 6 months, the Ultenic K10, is a budget option at $79 for 5.3 quart capacity, which could be good for those trying to really save pennies.

Philips 2000 Series Air Fryer review: Design & setup

I think the Philips 2000 Series air fryer is gorgeous. Side-by-side with my Ultenic K10, it is the clear winner in the looks department. It’d certainly scoop that gold medal should I ever enter both air fryers into a kitchen accessory beauty pageant.

I have only one complaint regarding the 2000 Series’ design, which isn’t really a complaint, more a personal preference. The top surface is sloped, so you can’t use the air fryer for storage when it’s not being used, which I’m guilty of.

The front panel is separated into two horizontal sections: the above piece is the touch control and LED screen to control cooking settings, and then under is the 8 x 4 inch window. I’m literally obsessed with this cooking window. As I mentioned in the intro, I look forward to watching my food cook through the oven window every time I cook. As an air fryer convert, this has been the one thing missing from my life thus far. This window helped me massively while roasting a chicken and cooking freezer delights. The oven light goes off after about thirty seconds, but you can easily turn it back on by tapping the touch controls. Now I’ve used an air fryer with a window, I don’t think I can ever go back.

Controlling the air fryer is pretty easy: I’ll discuss this more in the ‘Cooking’ section below, but it’s basically touch controls arranged in a circle around the LED screen. Each graphic corresponds to a cooking mode: frozen fries, fresh fries, chicken, meat, fish, breakfast, vegetables, cake, and keep warm. I tested all of these settings during testing, which I’ll go through below.

The 2000 Series air fryer is compatible with the HomeID app, available on iOS and Android. I use the word ‘compatible’ very loosely: it doesn’t connect via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. You simply download the app, select your appliance, and browse through a library of recipes and guides suitable for the appliance. This is by no means a necessary accessory, but it could be beneficial for a first-time air fryer user.

The best air fryer app we’ve ever seen is the Dreo app, compatible with the Dreo ChefMaker Combi Air Fryer ($359). Although this is a premium product with a premium price to boot, in testing we were incredibly impressed with the remote control capabilities. If you seriously wanted a smart home tech air fryer, the Dreo might be the air fryer for you.

Philips 2000 Series Air Fryer review: Cooking performance

Philips recommends the max weight is 800g/1.8 pounds for cooking fries, veggies, and up to 1 kilogram/2.2 pounds for cake and chicken. Obviously this is only a guide, but you can consult the user manual for more specific information.

I followed a recipe from the HomeID app for frozen salmon filets. As recommended on the app, I cooked the frozen salmon for 15 minutes at 350°F. Be warned, the ‘fish’ setting on the air fryer automatically starts at 400°F for 20, so you’ll need to adjust. I like that you can adjust temperature and time during cooking, so if you look through the window and notice your food is browning too quickly or not enough, you can easily adjust that.

As part of standard Tom’s Guide’s air fryer testing, I roasted a whole chicken. I bought a 2.9 pound bird and rubbed it with olive oil, salt, and pepper. I put it in the air fryer upside-down for 20 minutes at 350°F, then 18 minutes upright. After just 38 minutes, the bird reached an internal temperature of 176°F, so I removed it and let it rest for 20 minutes. I’m vegetarian, so my boyfriend had to do the taste testing for me. He reported that the meat was delicious, juicy, and perfectly cooked. This is a big 10/10 score for the Philips 2000 Series.

After a whole roast chicken, I cooked up some jalapeno poppers. The box said to cook them in the oven at 350°F for 20 minutes, but I only cooked them for about 6 minutes in the air fryer and they were perfect. I also cooked up some frozen fries, which, again, were recommended for 25 minutes but they roasted in just 20. Both beige delights were scrumptious, although I didn’t actually eat any of the jalapeno poppers myself — boyfriend strikes again. He did give me permission to quote him, though.

I also made my own fries from scratch. I cut two whole potatoes into about ½-inch thick strips. I tossed them in olive oil, salt, pepper, and a little smoked paprika. I put them on the ‘fresh fries’ setting, which automatically runs for 41 minutes at 350°. I increased the temperature to 375°F as I like a crispy fry, and checked on the fries every ten minutes using the window. After just 18 minutes, I had a bowl full of delicious crispy fries with absolutely no floppiness.

Now onto the more avant-garde settings: ‘breakfast’ and ‘cake’. Breakfast is effectively just for toast, which is simple enough to master. I recommend upping the temperature to max and sticking bread on for about 3 minutes (I like a dark toast, so I’d go slightly less if you prefer yours lighter) instead of the recommended 12 minutes at a lower temperature.

I’ve made cupcakes in an air fryer before (you can find out what happened in my cupcakes in an air fryer TikTok), but I wanted to test out cookies this time. I whipped up a half-batch of oatmeal raisin cookies and portioned out about four tablespoons of dough for two cookies. The ‘cake’ setting recommends 60 minutes of 280°F, but that’s wildly different from recommended cookie settings. I switched to 350°F for 15 minutes and got cookies with a browned, almost crunchy top and squishy inside.

There’s no reminder to flip your food halfway with cooking presets but this is a common occurrence: Ninja and Cosori air fryers tend not to have this reminder either. However, when I set it with no preset mode, I was reminded to shake. The $79 Ultenic K10 air fryer reminds you to shake halfway, but only during preset cooking. Bizarre!

I measured the volume of the Philips 2000 Series air fryer using the DecibelX app, and it produced around 67dB of sound during cooking, which is the same volume as a quiet conversation. This isn’t awful, but I could still hear the air fryer roasting away on the other side of the room while I was sitting at my desk. It’s 2dB louder than my Ultenic K10, which topped out at 65dB during testing. Still, it does feel like it's louder than just 67dB.

Philips 2000 Series Air Fryer review: Storage & maintenance

Maintenance is easy as pie with the Philips 2000: the grill is dishwasher safe, so you can pop that in the dishwasher and forget about it. The bottom of the air fryer basket is a concave star shape, which collects all the grease and crumbs for easy cleaning. I found that chicken grease, burnt-on chips, and crumbs washed away easily.

In testing, the Cosori TurboBlaze air fryer ($119) was just as easy to clean as the 2000 Series thanks to its non-stick basket and grill. Overall, the 2000 Series was one of the best air fryers I’ve ever used in terms of cleaning ease.

While the 2000 Series is a little bulkier than my Ultenic K10, it still sits comfortably on my kitchen counter. I would recommend an air fryer of this size for small kitchens over a dual-basket option, like the Ninja Foodi DualZone Air Fryer ($179).

Philips 2000 Series Air Fryer review: Verdict

The Philips 2000 Series air fryer is, hands-down, my favorite air fryer to use. Everything I cooked turned out perfectly, from a whole roast chicken, to frozen beige delights, to fresh veggies, to frozen fish. Changing cooking settings is super easy thanks to the responsive touch controls and bright LED screen. Maintenance is also a breeze, and so much faster to clean than a baking tray or — heaven forbid — an oven.

But what makes the 2000 Series so good is the window. I’ve waxed lyrical about this blasted window since the very first line of this review, and I don’t intend on stopping any time soon. I’m one of those weird people who watches their cakes and fries roast in the oven, so now that I can do that in my air fryer? I don’t think my electric oven is ever getting turned on again. I am a true Philips 2000 Series air fryer convert. No notes.