Philips Airfryer XXL HD9650/99 review

One-minute review

Philips is well known in the kitchen appliance space, and having spent the past decade manufacturing air fryers, it’s a go-to brand for finding an appliance to create healthier versions of indulgent treats such as fries and chicken wings. 

The Philips Airfryer XXL HD9650/96 is one of the more premium models the company offers, and a contender for our best air fryers list. Sporting the same glossy black design as the Philips Essential Airfryer HD9252/91, it turns out evenly browned fries and chicken wings every time.

Air fryers use hot air to crisp foods placed in the frying basket, using considerably less oil than deep frying, but without compromising on the taste. In this case, Philips says the air fryer uses around 90% less oil than deep frying. The HD9650/96 also features what Philips dubs fat-removal technology. An additional insert sporting a starfish design, which sits between the frying basket and air fryer drawer, separates and traps fat secreted by the food during cooking, so you don’t ingest it. 

The Philips Airfryer XXL HD9650/99 has a 7.3-quart / 7-liter capacity, which Philips says is sufficient for six servings. And, as well as air-frying, the appliance can also roast, griil, bake and reheat.

There are five presets for everything from frozen food and chicken to fish and cake, which offer default temperatures – although you’ll need to set the cooking duration yourself. A manual mode lets you set the temperature and time, using the dial and buttons that sit either side of the LED panel. 

Best suited to those cooking for several people, or batch-cookers, the Philips Airfryer XXL HD9650/99 is an expensive air fryer, but worth the money if you’re looking for a healthy way to cook fries and chicken wings

Philips Airfryer XXL price and availability

•  List price: $449.95 / £299.99  / AU$499

The Philips Airfryer HD9650/99 is priced at $449.95 / £299.99 / AU$499, and is available through Philips’ website in both the UK and the US, and from online retailers including Amazon.  

It’s Philips’ largest-capacity air fryer, holding 7.3 quarts / 7 liters. The company also offers the Philips Essential Airfryer HD9252/91, which has a reduced 5-quart / 4.8-liter capacity, which is ideal for couples or individuals. It will set you back $179.95 / £149.99.

Design

• 7.3-quart / 7-liter capacity
• Frying basket and drawer are dishwasher-safe
• Five presets covering fries, chicken and frozen food

The Philips Airfryer XXL HD9650/99 is a fairly bulky air fryer, measuring 17 x 12.6 x 12.4 inches / 43.3 x 32.1 x 31.5cm (d x w x h), which means it will take up a fair bit of space on your kitchen countertop. That said, it can hold 7.3-quart / 7-liters of food, which Philips claims is enough for six portions. This makes it one of the largest-capacity air fryers we’ve tested. 

Unlike some air fryers on the market, it sports a more rounded-design – which, when coupled with the glossy black exterior, makes for one classy-looking appliance. It’s a basket air fryer, but it’s the first we’ve seen where the air fryer drawer is on runners, which glides smoothly when removed from the air fryer itself. The mesh frying basket, fat-removal insert ,and drawer are all dishwasher-safe.  

As well as air-frying, the HD9650/96 can also bake, grill, roast, and reheat. The LED panel features a dial for adjusting the temperature and cooking duration, as well as five, presets with predefined temperatures to cook frozen foods, meat, fish, whole chicken, and cake. A keep-warm function maintains the temperature of food for up to 30 minutes, with the air fryer able to cook for up to one hour at a time. It reaches a maximum temperature of 392ºF / 200ºC.

Alongside the recipe booklet that accompanies the Philips Airfryer XXL HD9650/99, which has more than 30 ideas for savory and sweet dishes, the NutriU app available for iOS and Android offers hundreds more. The booklet also includes suggested temperatures and timings for a range of different foods. 

Performance

• Excellent crisp results
• Keep-warm function
• Lacks a reminder to shake

When it comes to crisping foods, we were impressed with the Philips Airfryer XXL HD9650/99 – everything we cooked including fries, frozen steak-cut chips, and chicken wings had a satisfying crunch.

To cook homemade fries, the recipe booklet recommended using the air fryer at  212ºF / 100ºC for 10 minutes to dry the fries after we’d soaked them, then tossing them in oil and cooking them for a further 25 minutes. Unfortunately, we found this method resulted in the potato inside the fries being crisp rather than soft and fluffy. 

We repeated the test, this time drying the fries with a dishcloth after soaking, then cooking as per the instructions. This yielded much better results, with a crisp exterior and soft fluffy potato inside. 

Unlike rival air fryers, such as the Instant Vortex Plus 6-in-1, you’ll need to use oil when cooking chicken wings – as well as many other foods – in the Philips Airfryer XXL. In this instance, the recipe booklet recommended using 1Tbsp oil when for 1.1lb / 500g of potato when making homemade fries and the same quantity for six chicken wings. 

There’s no denying that the addition of oil resulted in crisp skin on the wings and a satisfying crunch to fries – but, while the design of the frying basket and the fat-removal technology means some fat will drain away, it does slightly reduce the healthiness of the meal you’re cooking. 

We were super-impressed with the air fryer’s cooking of frozen steak-cut fries. We used the frozen food preset, although while it provided a temperature setting, it didn’t offer any cooking duration. We plumped for 15 minutes, which resulted in fries that were crisp, evenly browned with soft fluffy potato inside.

During cooking, the Philips Airfryer XXL HD9650/99 registered 60.9db for noise on our decibel meter, which is equivalent to a dishwasher mid-cycle. So, while it isn’t the quietest air fryer we’ve tested, it certainly isn’t the loudest either. 

Note that this air fryer also includes a handy keep-warm feature that can maintain the temperature of food for up to 30 minutes. However, it’s missing a reminder to shake function, which is disappointing. Shaking or turning food half way through the cooking process is essential when using an air fryer, especially for larger quantities, since it ensures that hot air can reach every inch of the item. 

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First reviewed: August 2021

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