Since I have seen and used other air fryers, my first impression is something like "what a beautiful device this is... and how huge...". But let's see my (+) and (-) in relation to the price I bought it for (139€).
(+) Positives
* I will not mention the positives of air fryers in general, which cook economically, quickly, and healthily. However, I will mention the 1800 watts it has, which makes it one of the most powerful on the market (not the most powerful, of course). Considering its price, it's top-notch.
* Very beautiful device, all black with premium finish and nice oval corners, it is truly a nice addition to my countertop. Of course, on the top part of mine, it looks like it has embedded scratches in the plastic (see photo), but I overlook it because they are only visible at an angle in the light. However, not all scratches can be justified as factory defects. Overall, it's not the most beautiful and premium on the market, but considering its price, it's super!
* Large, huge basket that comfortably fit a whole 1.5kg chicken, which cooked in about 65-70 minutes and came out crispy on the outside and nicely cooked on the inside. Chicken patties that on the packaging say 20 minutes, and I used to put them in the traditional oven for 10 minutes preheating + 20 minutes baking + another 5-10 minutes for better cooking = 35-40 minutes. In the air fryer, I only needed 20 minutes for everything, and that's it. And they turned out delicious. Quick and economical.
* The base at the bottom of the basket is removable (like in many models) so that it can be properly and easily cleaned. If it needs to be filled with oil, it can be put in the dishwasher like washing a plate, without having to put the entire huge basket in the dishwasher.
* The handle does not come off from the factory with a button or clip. Unofficially, however, I learned that if we remove the little hole that the silicone part has and insert something thin, like the edge of a small spoon, and press it, the handle comes off completely, and it might be easier to wash it in the dishwasher. Although it is not officially mentioned anywhere, the fact that it can be removed without screws and effort is considered a positive for me.
* It has a connection with a mobile application that, in addition to basic functions, allows you to open, start cooking, see how much time is left, and notify you with a push notification that you need to stir the food, etc. It also has many recipes for various dishes for quick ideas. I am generally a fan of smart devices, and I like it when I can have control over the situation and, of course, know if I need to step out for a moment, how much time it will take to finish or how much I need to turn the food (since in air fryers, we turn the food every X minutes for even cooking).
* Substantial and proper support from the company behind Rohnson, VASILIAS AE, which responded very quickly after my initial negative review to help me with the issues I had and "guided" me to my initial, bad review. It makes me feel more confident about future problems/damages I may have with the device.
(-) Negatives
* I consider the phrase "removable basket" a bit misleading for me. When I read it being advertised so strongly, I thought that the basket inside the drawer can be detached and removed for easy and convenient washing. I have included a photo of a red drawer where the basket is detachable. However, I was informed by the importer that the removable basket they refer to is the drawer, as I call it, and that everyone writes this in their air fryers, and we are playing with words. In other words, the bin is all there with the handle and inside is the basket. However, I still can't understand why we have to write something that is obvious, like isn't it possible for the bin to be detachable? How will you clean the oil if the bin doesn't come out? And we promote it so much here in the product description at Scroutz, it says "Rohnson R-2834 Air Fryer with Detachable Basket," like it's such a heavy and wow feature that we even mention it in the title? Since ALL modern air fryers have a detachable basket/drawer? For me, it's wrong and it's not an excuse just because everyone else is writing it, we write it too. We don't follow a mistake just because someone else started it. Maybe it was a wow feature 10 years ago, now it's a given. Yes, okay, it could be mentioned in the features, but not accompany the title and create false impressions.
Given that the basket is not detachable and you have to put this whole huge bin with the handle in the dishwasher, it will take up half of it and you'll need to put it in a separate dishwasher for cleaning. So if you have another pile for washing, you'll have to wait to put it alone or in the next dishwasher. Since they decided to make an XL air fryer, they should have made it more ergonomic, for example, a detachable basket and/or a factory-detachable handle. I put a photo of the bin next to the bin from the Xiaomi Air Fryer for you to get an idea.
The user manual is childish. It doesn't remind me at all of the nice and detailed user manuals like the ones you get with a Philips product, etc. Few and basic things, and you have to guess or experiment with everything else.
And I continue with the previous negative point, with the WiFi connection, there are no instructions on how to do it and its usage is not obvious. You have to press the button a little to turn on the light slowly, then press it again to turn it on quickly, then open the app and don't press anything other than the +, and it will find it on its own, etc. The importer recognized this and that's why they immediately made a video explaining it. However, for me, it remains a negative point. You shouldn't have to make a phone call or watch videos. If you have to do this, it's not easy or obvious, you should write it in detail in the instructions in Greek. The video on how to connect to WiFi can be found here: [insert YouTube link]
Maybe it makes a little more noise (air buzzing) than I would expect. I don't know if it has to do with its size and wattage, but when you cook, you can hear it. It's not terribly annoying, but it doesn't go unnoticed either. Also, the beeps it makes when you press buttons or when you need to stir the food are quite annoying. In the morning when I wake up and everyone is sleeping (in the room with the door closed) and I'm cooking, they tell me that they could hear the beeps almost in their sleep. Generally, it is not discreet in terms of noise.
But let's not lie, for what it offers, €139 is a small amount. It could easily be more expensive, even €180-190 would be okay. It is a great value for money and worth buying since similar ones are €80-100 more expensive. However, it is quite bulky and will take up a lot of space in your kitchen. Make sure you really want such a large bin (8.5 liters) and that you have the necessary space in the kitchen to accommodate it. Nice feeling and convenient to be able to put the whole chicken inside, but you have to pay the price for the volume of the device.
