The first time I saw it, the thing looked like a chunky Bluetooth speaker had a baby with a mini oven. No basket, no rattling drawer, just a glossy cube humming softly on a kitchen counter in a small London flat. On TikTok, a creator was waving her air fryer goodbye and stroking this new machine like a pet. In the comments, people were furious. “This is just a fancy oven.” “No, it’s a lifesaver, you don’t get it.” The algorithm pushed the clip, the brand name trended overnight, and suddenly food writers and chefs were being asked the same question: is this the end of the air fryer era? The promise is bold: one device to replace nine gadgets. The reality is less clean-cut.
Something is shifting in our kitchens, and not everyone is ready for it.
From air fryer darling to multi-cooker monster
The classic air fryer had a simple story: crispy food with less oil, faster than the oven, without heating up the whole house. Easy to sell, easy to understand. This new wave of “9‑in‑1” countertop ovens and smart cookers walks into the room with a longer CV. Air fry, steam, slow cook, grill, toast, bake, dehydrate, sous‑vide, even pressure cook in some models. It’s a mouthful before you’ve even turned it on. Yet scroll through any home cooking group and you’ll spot the same thing: air fryers being pushed aside, donated, or demoted to the cupboard, while one multipurpose gadget quietly takes over the middle of the counter.
Take Emma, 34, who lives in a cramped Manchester flat with a galley kitchen barely wider than her fridge. Last winter, she owned an air fryer, a bread maker, a rice cooker, a smoothie blender, and a slow cooker stacked like Tetris on a single shelf. “Every time I wanted to cook, I had to move something to the sofa,” she laughs in one viral Instagram Reel. When a friend showed her a new 9‑in‑1 countertop oven, she was skeptical. Two months later, she posted a photo of a half‑empty shelf with the caption: “Goodbye air fryer, hello one box to rule them all.” Her old gadgets? Sold on Vinted in a weekend.
Behind the scenes, brands are reading the room. Energy prices are up, living spaces are smaller, and people want fewer things that do more. A freestanding oven can feel like overkill for a solo dinner; a single‑use egg cooker feels wasteful. A multipurpose machine promises to thread the needle: targeted heat like an air fryer, but with the versatility of a full oven and the time‑saving of a pressure cooker. Chefs are split because the engineering is undeniably clever, yet the marketing can sound like a magic trick. One device really can’t do nine things perfectly, but for a lot of weeknight cooking, “good enough and fast” beats “perfect and fussy.”
How this “9‑in‑1” gadget actually changes your kitchen
Using one of these new all‑in‑one machines feels different from using an air fryer. Instead of shaking a basket and hoping for the best, you pick a mode the way you’d pick a playlist: steam‑crisp, grill, roast, bake, slow, or pressure. Many models guide you with little on‑screen prompts: add water, flip food, open vent. You throw in chicken and potatoes, tap an auto program, and the cooker cycles from pressure cook to air‑crisp without you touching it. The practical shift is this: your big oven stays cold on a Tuesday night, while this box becomes your default.
The learning curve is real, and this is where some people crash. They unbox, feel overwhelmed by buttons and modes, and fall back to air‑fry only, then complain the machine is “just a big air fryer.” If you’ve ever felt guilty about an appliance collecting dust, you’re not alone. The users who actually replace nine gadgets tend to do one small thing differently: they commit to one new function per week. Week one: pressure cook a stew. Week two: steam vegetables. Week three: use the grill mode for halloumi instead of the pan. Slowly, the rice cooker and slow cooker become redundant out of pure habit.
“As a chef, I don’t believe one tool can be perfect for every technique,” says London‑based chef consultant Marco Bellini. “But in a tiny flat with a single plug and no ventilation, I’ll take a 7 out of 10 for nine jobs over a 10 out of 10 for just one.”
- Start with the modes that replace your most‑used gadgets (rice cooker, toaster, air fryer) before trying advanced programs.
- Keep a simple cheat‑sheet on the fridge: time and temperature for three go‑to meals you actually cook.
- Use real‑world swaps: if it fits in your old air fryer basket, it can go on the crisping tray; if it lived in your slow cooker, try the pressure or slow mode.
- Accept that some specialist gadgets still win (a serious espresso machine, a high‑end blender) and that’s okay.
- *Let’s be honest: nobody really reads the entire manual cover to cover every single day.*
The kitchen identity crisis no one talks about
There’s a hidden reason this new gadget divides people so sharply. It’s not only about cooking, it’s about identity. The air fryer gave us a simple story: you’re the clever home cook who hacks dinner in 15 minutes. The 9‑in‑1 device tells a different story: you’re the minimalist who owns one smart box and can roast, steam, and bake like a pro. Some chefs bristle because it blurs the line between craft and convenience. Some parents adore it because dinner gets on the table with fewer dishes and less chaos. Both reactions reveal how emotionally loaded our countertops have become.
This is also a generational shift. Young renters with no control over their old, unreliable ovens lean on countertop power. Empty‑nesters downsizing to smaller homes don’t want a cupboard full of clunky gadgets to clean and maintain. Energy‑conscious households like that these machines often use less electricity than preheating a full‑size oven for a single tray of food. On the flip side, serious bakers complain about uneven browning on delicate pastries, and barbecue purists laugh at the idea of a “grill mode” replacing actual flames. Both sides are right, depending on what you cook.
So the real question isn’t “Is this the end of the air fryer?” It’s closer to: “What kind of cook do you want your kitchen to support?” If you love ritual and the feel of cast iron, this machine might always stay a backup singer. If you live in a studio flat and your oven doubles as shoe storage, it might become the main stage. The plain truth is that no brand can design a box that solves taste, time, space, and money for everyone at once. What it can do is nudge us to ask, quite practically, which tools we actually use, and which we simply own out of habit.
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| Key point | Detail | Value for the reader |
|---|---|---|
| Space and clutter | One 9‑in‑1 unit can realistically replace 3–5 everyday gadgets for many households | Helps decide what to keep, sell, or donate before your kitchen overflows |
| Learning curve | Using one new mode per week turns the machine from “big air fryer” into a true multi‑tool | Makes the investment pay off instead of gathering dust on the counter |
| Cooking style | Great for fast, family‑style meals; less ideal for high‑precision baking and specialist tasks | Lets you judge if this gadget fits your real, everyday cooking rather than the marketing promise |
FAQ:
- Question 1Can one 9‑in‑1 gadget really replace nine separate appliances?
- Answer 1In pure marketing terms, yes; in real life, most people use it to replace three to six gadgets they actually used, like the air fryer, toaster, rice cooker, and slow cooker. Specialist tools such as high‑end blenders or espresso machines usually stay.
- Question 2Is food from a 9‑in‑1 as crispy as from a normal air fryer?
- Answer 2For fries, nuggets, and vegetables, most users report very similar crispiness, especially on models with strong top heating and a fan. The main difference is capacity: many multi‑cookers fit more in one go, so you might need a quick shake or tray rotation.
- Question 3Does this kind of gadget really save energy?
- Answer 3For small to medium meals, yes, because you’re heating a compact space and often cooking faster. For big batch baking or large roasts, a full oven can still be more efficient per portion. The biggest savings tend to come from avoiding long oven preheats.
- Question 4Is it safe to pressure cook and air fry in the same machine?
- Answer 4Certified models are built for that exact combo, with safety valves, locking lids, and automatic pressure release systems. The key risk is human, not mechanical: following the max‑fill lines and using enough liquid when pressure cooking keeps things within design limits.
- Question 5Should I get one if I already love my air fryer?
- Answer 5If your air fryer is always on and your oven feels redundant, upgrading only makes sense if you also want to drop other gadgets like the slow cooker or rice cooker. If you mostly air fry and toast, your current setup may already be the sweet spot.