Smeg just launched the most stylish air fryer I’ve ever seen – but it’s the price that will shock you

Watch out, Ninja – Smeg has just launched its first-ever air fryer, and it’s easily the most stylish air fryer I’ve ever seen. The new Smeg AFC01 Dual Flavour Air Fryer has a generous capacity, and multiple pre-sets and modes, but it’s the price that you’ll be most surprised by.

Smeg is known for many different small and large appliances, but air fryers is something it has rarely ventured into. Instead, Smeg has favoured adding air fryer functions into its oven line-up.

The brand even launched an oven-sized 10-in-1 air fryer last year – see our Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven review for more details – but this is the furthest Smeg has gone into making an actual standalone air fryer… until now.

I originally spotted the Smeg AFC01 Dual Flavour Air Fryer at Milan Design Week earlier this year but other than what it looked like, I didn’t know anything about it – and I was even sure if it was real. Now that Smeg has officially announced the new model, I’m so glad it is real as I absolutely love the look of it.

Let’s face it – while air fryers may be practical, they’re not the nicest things to look at. That is until the Smeg AFC01 Dual Flavour Air Fryer. Smeg has given its single basket air fryer its iconic retro-inspired style, with a main matte coloured body, and silver Smeg lettering at the front.

As mentioned, the Smeg AFC01 Dual Flavour Air Fryer doesn’t look much like a ‘normal’ air fryer, and it also has a different way of opening. While most air fryers have handles so you can pull the baskets out from the front, the Smeg AFC01 Dual Flavour Air Fryer ‘opens’ at the top – in fact, almost everything happens at the top of this air fryer.

At the top of the Smeg AFC01 Dual Flavour Air Fryer is its touchscreen display and a large viewing window with integrated light so you can check on your food’s progress. To open it, the Smeg AFC01 Dual Flavour Air Fryer has a flip-open system that’s operated by a central button at the front.

When you press the button, the Smeg AFC01 Dual Flavour Air Fryer pops open and you can quickly and easily add or remove the basket. The basket itself is made from non-stick ceramic coating which is dishwasher safe, and has silicone handles for safety and practicality. It also has a generous 7.3-litre capacity.

Enough about the looks – how does it work? The Smeg AFC01 Dual Flavour Air Fryer has two cooking modes – Crispy and Juicy+Crispy. Crispy cooks food evenly and gives a golden brown colour and crunch, which Smeg recommends for cooking vegetables and breaded meals.

The Juicy+Crispy mode builds off this setting and combines hot air circulation with internal steaming, so your food gets crispy on the outside, and moist and flavourful on the inside. Both modes use little to no oil, and can be used alongside manual temperature and time controls, or seven pre-set programmes.

Available in black, white, storm blue or emerald green, the Smeg AFC01 Dual Flavour Air Fryer is priced at £199.95. The reason this price surprised me is that while this is a standard cost for most air fryers, this is actually one of the cheapest appliances you’ll find from Smeg – I can’t wait to try it!