The Tower AIRX has put me on to the air fryer lifestyle, and I fear there’s no going back
Does an air fryer need an AI? I tested the Tower AIRX AI air fryer to find out
Do you need AI in an air fryer? The jury is still out, but the Tower AIRX AI air fryer performs excellently, so much so that it’s hard to fault it. Despite being a smaller, single basket air fryer, the Tower AIRX AI air fryer has a generous capacity and easy manual and automatic controls. While its beeps are deafening and pre-sets could be better thought out, the Tower AIRX AI air fryer makes delicious food quickly and efficiently.
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Quick cooking with six pre-sets
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Easy manual controls
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Space-saving design with attractive touchscreen
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Single basket has a huge capacity
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Affordable price tag
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Very loud beeps
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Pre-sets could have been thought out more
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As T3’s Home Editor, I’ve tested many different kitchen appliances over the years, but one that I try to avoid testing if I can is the (not so) humble air fryer. Before you all collectively gasp at your screens, I’m not the problem here – it’s my husband. He loathes air fryers, so as soon as I’ve tested an air fryer, I tend to give them away to a friend or family member who will use and appreciate them more.
But sadly for him, the day has come that I won’t be parting with an appliance, and we’re officially an air fryer household now. The air fryer that won me over? It’s the Tower AIRX AI air fryer.
A new launch from Tower, the Tower AIRX AI air fryer came out in late 2025, and as you can see by its product name, it uses AI technology and sensors to cook your food. Now, for me, the jury is still out over whether an air fryer needs AI but I loved using the Tower AIRX AI air fryer, and it’s now my go-to appliance for quick and easy cooking – here’s why.
Tower AIRX AI air fryer review: price and availability
The Tower AIRX AI air fryer is available to buy for £99.99 at Tower and select retailers, like Amazon, Boots and Dunelm. It comes in one colour, and with a removable grill plate. If you buy it at Tower, you can get a three year warranty on the Tower AIRX AI air fryer.
Tower AIRX AI air fryer review: design and features
The Tower AIRX AI air fryer is a single basket air fryer and has a streamlined design so it takes up minimal space in your kitchen. Despite being a single air fryer, the Tower AIRX AI air fryer has a generous capacity of eight litres, and the accompanying grill plate can divide up the drawer so you can cook in extra layers.
Tower uses Vortx technology for its air fryers, and the Tower AIRX AI air fryer is no exception. Powered by an 1500W motor, the Tower AIRX AI air fryer rapidly circulates hot air around food to cook up to 30% faster than an oven and reaches up to 200°C. It also cooks using little to no oil to make healthier meals.
Speaking of technology, the Tower AIRX AI air fryer is the first model from the brand to use AI technology. Inside the air fryer is a sensor that analyses the volume and heat of food within the basket, and calculates the right cooking time and temperature for your meal.
The Tower AIRX AI air fryer can be used both manually and automatically. It has six pre-sets to choose from – fries, steak, wings, prawns, fish and cupcake. All of this can be selected and customised via the HD TFT touchscreen display that sits at the top of the air fryer.
Tower AIRX AI air fryer review: performance
Visually, the Tower AIRX AI air fryer is great to look at. I don’t have a huge amount of countertop space in my kitchen, but the Tower AIRX AI air fryer took up hardly any room. The touchscreen is definitely a winner, as it’s organised neatly for each pre-set, and its manual controls are easy to use. It’s extremely clear and responsive, although at times, I had to press down hard to adjust the temperature.
I was slightly confused by the pre-sets on offer. I know that people tend to cook everything in their air fryer nowadays, but having cupcake and wings pre-sets over chicken and vegetables was surprising to me, as these are the most common foods to be cooked in an air fryer. I’d never normally cook steak in an air fryer either, but the steak pre-set worked nicely. It cooked well on the outside and gave it that nice char texture, and the inside was less cooked to retain that moisture and rawness, which I found impressive.
Other foods I used the Tower AIRX AI air fryer to cook were chicken, meatballs, bacon and vegetables. I really liked how the Tower AIRX AI air fryer cooked meat. For chicken, it didn’t dry it out and gave it a nice crust on the outside. I felt that it could make food a bit crispier but the results were still tasty and texturally pleasing.
I found the Tower AIRX AI air fryer to work exceptionally well without any oil. I’ve found with other air fryers a little oil is needed to avoid sticking but the Tower AIRX AI air fryer didn’t have an issue with this at all. It also handled marinated or saucy foods well, and while some sauces did stick to the bottom, the Tower AIRX AI air fryer was quick and easy to clean without any scrubbing or soaking involved.
My main issue with the Tower AIRX AI air fryer was its noise. While it cooked, it made hardly any noise but the beeping when it finished was incredibly loud and annoying. I also found that a shake reminder wasn’t available unless you’d selected a pre-set and I would have liked to have had that for the manual controls.
Tower AIRX AI air fryer review: verdict
For ease, speed and delicious results, I couldn’t recommend the Tower AIRX AI air fryer more. As dual baskets have taken over the air fryer space, the Tower AIRX AI air fryer shows that a single air fryer can be just as good, if not better, plus its eight litre capacity and additional grill plate makes more than enough food for everyone.
The design of the Tower AIRX AI air fryer is attractive and versatile, and is compact enough to sit in any sized kitchen. I can’t fault the cooking results either, and the clean-up was simple. At £99.99, I can ignore the beeping and the strange pre-sets, as the Tower AIRX AI air fryer is excellent value for money.
My verdict on whether you need AI in an air fryer is that I honestly don’t know. I didn’t really notice a difference between an AI air fryer and a non-AI air fryer, so I couldn’t tell you if it was needed.
Tower AIRX AI air fryer review: alternatives to consider
If it’s a single air fryer you’re after, the Instant Vortex Air Fryer is similar to the Tower AIRX AI air fryer in terms of looks and features. It’s easy to use, cooks food fast and has one-touch controls and a dial for easy customisation. It’s also got the same price as the Tower AIRX AI air fryer at £99.99.
Another great Philips single basket model is the Philips Air Fryer XXL. It might be a single basket but it’s a big’un with 1.4kg capacity which can feed up to six people. If it’s a larger capacity you want though, I’d actually recommend the Philips 4000 Series which is the brand’s stacked dual basket air fryer option. It might have two big baskets on top of each other, but it’s slim enough to fit comfortably in your kitchen.
