Just thought I'd chime in with my two cents for what it's worth.
I have the Cuisinart air fryer/toaster oven, similar to the Breville but less $$$$. No regrets.
But let's face it, as many have already stated in other posts any air fryer is nothing more than a miniature convection oven. the small size makes it a convection oven on steroids. We've cooked items in our Cuisinart in less time than it would take our oven to preheat.
When I think of my favorite fried foods I think of chicken wings or fish fillets dipped in flour and/or batter and dropped in a deep fryer full of 375* oil. Try dipping chicken or fish in batter and dropping in any air fryer and you'll have a mess.
Many posts of tater tots, fries, onion rings are nothing more than frozen flash fried foods in a bag that are heated at a high temp to crisp up in a short time. Results are similar to what you'd get in your oven.
While air fryers will do chicken justice and result in a good crispy skin without the added fat of frying, the end result can be achieved in a typical oven with a combination of baking and broiling. But I wouldn't want the mess to clean up afterwards, another advantage of an air fryer. Fries also come out good, but are best with a spritz of oil on them. If you're idea of fried foods are those that are dipped and battered then get a deep fryer. We used to do hush puppies in our deep fryer, don't think they'll work in an air fryer. We can buy frozen flash fried hush puppies and heat in the air fryer, they'll be crispy and look good, but let's not kid ourselves. Nothing like home made, house recipe, real fried foods.
We use our Cuisinart air fryer quite often, for the small amount of counter space it takes up it serves quite the purpose, has essentially replaced many functions of the microwave. Ever had left over pizza, heated it in the microwave and had the rubber crust.? Do it in the toaster oven and it comes out better than when fresh. Great for broiling fish fillets, use it for sausage links, hot dogs, even had a leftover deli sandwich I wanted to heat up. Came out warm with a slight toast crunch to the bread. Try that in a microwave.
I guess my point is if you really want fried food get a deep fryer, if you want to bake frozen fried food quickly get an air fryer.
If you want a versatile easy to clean addition to your arsenal get one of the Toasters/ ovens/convection ovens/broilers/convection broilers/air fryers. Either the Cuisinart or the Breville. Since none truly fry, at least go for the multi-tasking capabilities.
