Xiaomi is strengthening its kitchen offer with the Xiaomi Smart Air Fryer Pro 4L. It offers frying without oil, cooking a wide variety of foods, roasting them and all this helped by connectivity. An attractive product, but which nevertheless has some weaknesses. Here is our full test.
Xiaomi is heavily involved in the connected home, which includes the kitchen. After a first version of its connected fryer in 2022, we are entitled to its improved version, the Xiaomi Smart Air Fryer Pro 4 L. On the menu, a larger capacity from 3.5 L to 4L, a window in the front to keep an eye on cooking and an improved hot air frying system. Something to enjoy while saving space in your kitchen? We spent hours cooking to verify it.
This test was carried out using a product lent by the manufacturer.
Design and functionality: compact, elegant and connected
The Xiaomi Smart Air Fryer Pro 4L takes the design of the Xiaomi Smart Air Fryer 3.5 L released last year. We therefore find its minimalist design, a beautiful white lacquered dress and the control panel in the form of a rotary knob with OLED screen in its center. If the handle is still the same, we now have a new window on the front that allows you to monitor the progress of cooking.
Xiaomi announces a heating power of 1,600 W against 1,500 for the previous version. The product is actually a mini-oven whose air flows are optimized to allow hot air frying almost without oil, on the model of the Seb ActiFry and especially the Philips Airfryer. Unlike the French manufacturer, which incorporates a paddle that mixes food into its cooking tank, the Smart Air Fryer Pro 4L only offers a simple tank. This means that it will be necessary to regularly stir the food by shaking it.
In theory, you can therefore fry fries, donuts, frozen or fresh nuggets. In addition, it allows cooking with in theory little fat for dishes based on meat, fish and even offers to roast vegetables. Marketed at 149 euros, it is in the low average of this type of product, while offering connectivity in addition. The latter allows remote control, to be alerted of the cooking stages and to access a small library of recipes.
Installation and configuration: simplicity from start to hunger
One of the advantages of this product is its small size with dimensions of 25.1 x 33.5 x 30.4 mm for 3.9 kg. It won’t take up much space on a work surface and remains light enough to fit on a shelf, for example. Be careful, when you position it, be aware that a flow of hot air comes out the back. A priorino risk of burns, but why tempt the devil?
Source: Chloe Pertuis
Source: Chloe Pertuis
The knob with OLED screen (monochrome) allows you to start cooking directly. It allows you to select one of the 10 pre-programmed cooking modes, and the cooking times. The screen isn’t big enough to show more than a few characters and cooking times, but it’s more than enough. For more precision, you have to switch to the Mi Home application.
Installation is a very simple process. In our case, the automatic detection did not work, so we selected the product from the list offered by the application.
You are then asked to reset the device and you just have to add your Wi-Fi code, the network must be 2.4 GHz.
After defining the room in which the fryer will be placed, you can start cooking. When entering the page dedicated to the fryer, you will first find a section “Device mode» which brings together the 10 pre-programmed cooking modes, such as cooking fries, chicken wings, shrimp, fish and both white and red meat. It even offers functions for defrosting, dehydrating and fermenting yoghurts. A Manual mode allows you to select your own settings.
The second section gives access to a library of a good fifty recipes, which remains a bit light. In addition, their presentation is not very rich in photos and there is no video. Everything remains clear on reading and apart from certain recipe names, we have not noticed any major translation problems.
Once you have selected a recipe, follow the preparation instructions. Then you can start cooking via the app. In theory, a notification warns you that you have to stir the food and another at the end of cooking.
Connectivity is therefore used intelligently and allows you to cook with a fairly free mind. Finally on paper…
In use: efficient and practical
We are facing a compact product is well thought out. The cooking bowl is easy to handle and the surface of the appliance is not too hot. With a power of 1,600 Watts, it announces a range of use of 40° to 200°. On the other hand, the desire to feed a family of five remains illusory: it is more cut out for singles, couples and, if need be, an additional child. At most, we can cook 600 g of fries or even twelve chicken wings, for example.
The Xiaomi Smart Air Fryer Pro 4L is pleasant to use. Admittedly the screen is a little small, but it remains usable. The wheel is precise and you have access to all the controls via the application. The latter allows you to start cooking remotely, so that your fries are ready when you get home. But this implies having prepared the food beforehand and leaving it in the tank during your entire absence. This leaves us perplexed on a daily basis and will not reassure cooks, even on Sundays. During our tests, the notifications to warn us to stir the food were not always effective.
So we used the app’s recipes to make frozen and fresh fries, fresh squid fritters, fresh chicken nuggets, roasted chickpeas with turmeric, and roasted broccoli. Let’s start with frozen fries. Following the app, we have a cooking time of 15 minutes. This gives us fries that are barely cooked inside, as well as on the outside. Adding 5 more minutes of cooking keeps it just right, and with 10 more minutes we get browner fries, but not crispy. In addition, the cooking is not very homogeneous if the food is stirred only once. Better to do it two to three times minimum. Note that frozen products do not require adding oil.
Cooking after 15 minutes
Cooking after 25 minutes
Inside of a fry
With fresh fries we added 50ml of oil and no more than 500g of hand cut potato. The cooking recommended by Xiaomi is 20 minutes and we tell you right away that it is better to add 10 to 15 minutes as a minimum. The result is quite golden, but very uneven, and the interior cooking is just right. Admittedly, this type of product never succeeds in replicating real frying, but many competitors do better for the same price (without the connectivity).
Raw fresh fries
Fresh fries after cooking for 20 minutes
Fresh fries after cooking for 30 minutes
We then cooked calamari fritters and chicken nuggets and added 50 cl of oil as the app advises. Unlike the fries, we have a nice cooking, very golden, almost too much. So remember to watch the cooking carefully when you stir the food. We have here a result identical to what a convection oven can provide.
Moving on to roasted veggies, and while chickpeas do quite well, broccoli does less so. We have a good cooking, a slightly roasted aspect, but not enough for our taste. It is possible to increase the cooking time or the quantity of oil (50 ml recommended), but then you risk obtaining a little too much cooking and losing crunch.
We also cooked chicken and red meat for a result close to that of a conventional oven. However, you have to be very careful when cooking. Add on average 5 minutes minimum and monitor regularly. You will obtain a small sometimes caramelized aspect if you allow time to seize each surface well. A rack is provided for cooking food on two levels.
The window in front is practical, but does not allow you to really monitor the cooking. Thus, the fryer must be regularly opened to check directly, which pauses the appliance and lets the heat escape during this check. This manipulation results in a slightly longer cooking time. The amount of oil required in recipes or for fresh fries is on average 50 ml, where an Actifry requires only 14 ml and shorter cooking times. The dietary aspect is therefore more limited, but it is still better than food bathed in oil.
Xiaomi Smart Air Fryer Pro 4L price and availability
The Xiaomi Smart Air Fryer Pro 4L is available at a price of 149.99 euros on the Xiaomi website and partner resellers.