I tested the Philips 5000 Series Dual Basket Steam Air Fryer, and it's a great choice for health-conscious cooks

Philips 5000 Series Dual Basket Steam Air Fryer: two-minute review

Dutch manufacturer Philips isn't a name that often comes up when discussing the best air fryers – but the Philips 5000 Series Dual Basket Steam Air Fryer proves it should be.

Combining an air fryer and steamer in one appliance, this dual-basket XXL air fryer lets you air fry, steam, or air fry steam your food (the latter two modes only available in the second basket), with high-quality, consistent results across a range of food types.

These premium results come with a premium price tag, but one that's worth it if you're a health-conscious cook who plans to utilize its steaming abilities or regularly air fry your main meals.

Just make sure you have the countertop space, as this air fryer is pretty sizeable, with a 9-liter capacity spread across two baskets. The first basket has a smaller capacity and is more suited to side dishes or a main meal for maybe one or two people tops (depending on what you're cooking). This smaller section can only air-fry foods and, therefore, isn't compatible with the appliance's steam cleaning feature.

The second basket is much larger, making it better suited for main meals or large quantities of smaller food (like veggies). This section can steam, air fry, and steam air fry – so you'll likely get the most use out of it – and it even has a steam cleaning feature to help loosen stubborn grime.

Now, that's if you can find the user manual. Our biggest issue with this appliance is its useless user manual. The manual, which consists of images rather than written instructions, clearly aims to target an international audience, but in doing so, fails to give clear instructions on what the various buttons on its digital interface do. More importantly, it doesn't tell you what its main modes (steam, air fry, steam air fry) actually are, just (sort of) how to use them.

Things became much easier when we eventually uncovered a digital user manual (no thanks to the companion Home ID app). Having to use a digital PDF manual, however, is a huge pain, and while it was largely helpful, we did find the food amounts cited in it are a bit optimistic, as the second basket, in particular, couldn't always accommodate Philips' recommended weight for certain food types.

It's worth trying to get over this user-manual hurdle, though. Because this is a top-notch air fryer that is well worth your time and hard-earned cash.

Philips 5000 Series Dual Basket Steam Air Fryer: price and availability

• List price: £249.99 / AU$499 (roughly $323.99)
• Available in the UK and Australia, but not in the US
• Typically discounted to around the £169.99 mark

The Philips 5000 Series Dual Basket Steam Air Fryer is premium, priced at £249.99, which is similar to the Ninja Double Stack, but not quite as pricey as the Ninja Double Oven and Dreo ChefMaker. However, if your budget is under £200, don't be put off! Multiple retailers, including Philips itself, are selling it at an £80 discount, making it just £169.99 – a great price for an air fryer of this quality. If that's still a bit out of your price range, keep an eye out for deals during sales periods like Black Friday, as we could get a bigger price drop.

Unfortunately for our American friends, this appliance isn't currently available in the US.

• Value score: 4.5/5

Philips 5000 Series Dual Basket Steam Air Fryer: specifications

Philips 5000 Series Dual Basket Steam Air Fryer: design

• Modern black with brushed steel finish
• Steam clean and descaling function
• Clear digital touchscreen
• Easily refillable water tank
• Useless user manual

The Philips 5000 Series Dual Basket Steam Air Fryer isn't the most stylish appliance, but its modern black and steel-brushed finish design means it shouldn't look hugely out of place in your kitchen (no matter what style). What may not suit your kitchen, however, is its size. Measuring 444mm (L) x 383mm (W) x 355mm (H) and weighing in at 8.75kg, this is a sizable XXL appliance that can easily take up an entire counter space. So, if you've got less counter space in your kitchen, it could easily dominate the area – and probably isn't for you.

This air fryer has two baskets, one 3L and a larger 6L one, to make up its 9L total capacity, with the 3L basket only capable of air frying, and the second able to steam, steam air fry, and air fry. These baskets are controlled via a large, easy-to-use black digital interface that can be a bit intimidating at first glance due to the sheer number of options available when you select your required basket (see more below). At the very top of the air fryer is a water tank, used for the appliance's steaming function, which can hold roughly 800ml of water and has a clearly marked maximum fill line. The water tank is easy to refill: simply take the lid off and add water up to the line.

While the user manual says to remove the tank and fill it, I found it easier to use a jug to pour the water into the tank rather than negotiating the balancing act of trying to take it to the sink and back without spilling water over myself and the floor.

The water tank is also critical to one of the 5000's most unique features: steam cleaning, which is only available for the second, larger basket. While the baskets are non-stick and pretty easy to hand wash as is, the steam cleaning feature aims to help unstick stubborn grime to make a particularly dirty basket less work to clean. It's an easy feature to start: top up the water tank and press the steam-with-arrows-around-it button. This starts the cleaning function, pumping 100C steam into the basket for 15 minutes before chirping to tell you to tip out the gross remnants and give your basket a final hand wash.

Largely, I found the steam unstuck a lot of the dirt in my basket and all I needed to do was give it another wipe before popping it back into the air fryer for its final five minutes of drying. However, the function wasn't quite as impressive when it came to loosening residue from meat substances like chicken, and I had to rely on some good old-fashioned elbow grease. You can also just pop the baskets in the dishwasher, though I never advise this because of the non-stick coating.

In addition to this steam-cleaning function, the 5000 has a descaling function that prompts you every 10 hours of steaming to descale your machine via a blinking icon. To do this, you follow the same steps as for cleaning, but hold down the cleaning button for three seconds. Your machine then descales for 50 minutes, before chirping for you to pour out the remaining water. It's an absolute dream if you live in a hard water area like me – but you may need to run this function more regularly.

Here's where Philips has seriously dropped the ball: the user manual, one of the most important aspects of any appliance. While the 5000 comes with a printed user manual, there are several issues with it.

The first is that the printed user manual is simply too confusing and focuses more on how to use the machine than what any of its functions do. It consists of lots of graphical instructions, clearly aimed at an international market, but doesn't clearly tell you any of the basics you need to work the machine efficiently. No information on which buttons do what, what the presets are, or the food weights it recommends using. If that's not enough, the QR code on the front that's meant to link you to the companion Home ID app and digital manual just straight up doesn't work.

My appliance had a QR code sticker on the machine itself, which did work, but the user manual and FAQ options under the 'Need Support?' section came up with an error message. Thinking this was just a me issue and unsure how to start reviewing this appliance, I turned to Google (after all, this air fryer has been out since 2024). Fortunately, I found a video by Candid Clara on YouTube, where she shared the same issue and (luckily) a link to the digital user manual. While this did allow me to actually use the air fryer, scouring through a 1000+ page PDF document on my phone just to find out what weight of aubergines is best for the big tray is far from ideal.

• Design score: 3/5

Philips 5000 Series Dual Basket Steam Air Fryer: performance

• Consistently good results
• Time function to finish cooking simultaneously
• 12 varied, and pretty accurate, presets
• Quality-of-life features, like shake reminder
• Baking actually works

Now, for the positive bit, because there are so many positives to the Philips 5000 Series Dual Basket Steam Air Fryer. The main is its consistency in delivering excellent results across various food types and its different modes. However, I will say that the food weights recommended in the digital user manual are often a bit optimistic, and I regularly had to use less than the recommended amount because more food simply wouldn't fit in, or the results from overloading were less than optimal.

Let's start with steaming. I steamed carrots with the Vegetables preset, and they were soft but with just enough bite. I used the same preset with broccoli, which had the same results but probably could have come out a minute or two earlier as they were perhaps a bit on the soggy side. While the Dumplings preset seems an odd offering, and the manual doesn't tell you what type to use, I found it delivered perfectly succulent, delicious results when I steamed frozen, branded gyozas.

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Steam air frying delivered similarly impressive results. The steam air frying option cooks your food using steam, then finishes it off with some air frying to give your food a bit of crisp on the outside. While cooking carrots via this method produced good results, they weren't much different than the steamed ones. This function primarily shines when cooking foods that need to be succulent inside but browned or crisped up on the outside

My chicken drumsticks, for example, came out juicy with a slight crisp to the skin after using the Chicken preset. What sold me on this function, however, is its ability to produce brilliant bread (something I never thought I'd say about an air fryer). Using the Bread preset for two small white loaves produced soft-on-the-inside but browned-on-the-outside lumps of heaven. Perfectly cooked.

The air fry function also provides solid results, but working out the optimal weight can require trial and error when the user manual lets you know. Frozen straight-cut chips, cooked using the Frozen Potato Snacks preset, came out a bit overdone in places but otherwise spot on – which is somewhat understandable given the manual recommends fries.

Fresh potato cubes, as recommended by the manual, came out perfectly crispy on the outside and soft inside using the Fresh Potato preset.

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My go-to dry-rubbed chicken wing recipe (my control for all reviews), cooked with the Chicken preset, resulted in slightly overdone wings, but, according to my partner, the "best" out of all the air fryers I've tested so far. The muffins I made from one of the app's recipes came out perfect when using the Muffin preset (another air fryer first for me).

Mixed vegetables, consisting of aubergine, courgette, peppers, and onions, as recommended by the manual, were cooked well, with just a little bit of char on the aubergine. My snack falafels, too, cooked with the Vegan preset, were a bit on the overdone side for me. The way to rectify this, I found, is simply to keep a closer eye on your food in its final minutes and take it out earlier if needed.

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Cooking in this air fryer is a joy, and it's made even better by its handy quality-of-life features. The Shake Reminder, which is automatically applied to certain presets or can be set manually, makes the machine chirp when you need to turn or shake your food, while the Time function allows you to set both baskets to finish cooking at the same time.

Like all air fryers, you may need to adjust cooking times to your taste, but overall, the Philips 5000 Series Dual Basket Steam Air Fryer is a consistent appliance that does what it does well.

• Performance score: 4.5/5

Should you buy the Philips 5000 Series Dual Basket Steam Air Fryer?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

Philips 5000 Series Dual Basket Steam Air Fryer: also consider

Russell Hobbs Satisfry Dual Basket Air Fryer

This budget-friendly air fryer delivers great results, and proves that you don't have to spend a fortune to feed a family. We appreciate its small but well-curated set of presets, which deliver consistently good results. At the time of writing, it's only available in the UK.

Read our full Russell Hobbs Satisfry Dual Basket Air Fryer review

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Smeg Combi Steam Oven

If you're looking for a more stylish air fryer with optional steam, the 1960s-inspired Smeg Combi is well worth a look. It's pricey, but you're not just paying for the design here. It also produces excellent results, including golden fries and tender vegetables.

Read our full Smeg Combi Steam Oven review

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How I tested the Philips 5000 Series Dual Basket Steam Air Fryer

I used the Philips 5000 Series Dual Basket Steam Air Fryer to cook a wide variety of foods including fries, chicken drumsticks, fresh vegetables, bread, and muffins. I tested all the air fryer's various modes and cleaned the air fryer in line with the instructions provided in the manual. For more details, see how we test.

First reviewed March 2025.