This futuristic air fryer is inspired by professional pizza ovens, but how does it fare for everyday cooking? I tested it to find out

Futuristic-looking and with 15 different modes, the Typhur Dome 2 is an air fryer supposedly inspired by professional pizza ovens. With the brand behind it claiming it can achieve 360 degree all-over cooking, I just had to try it out for myself to see if it could join our list of the best air fryers. Here's how I got on with it.

In a nutshell

The Typhur Dome 2 claims to be ‘bigger, faster and quieter’ than the version that came before it, and definitely ticks all those boxes, offering 15 cooking modes that cover pretty much everything and doing them well, along with extra functions like wifi capability and self-cleaning.

Its large capacity and multiple modes means you can do everything from fries to wings, as well as a whole pizza, steak and more, so it lives up to the dream of replacing your oven and does so quietly and easily.

Product specs

• Type: Air fryer
• Dimensions: 50 x 39.6 x 26.2 cm
• Weight: 9.07 kg
• Maximum temperature: 232.2C
• Cooking modes: 15-in-1 appliance including Pizza, Bacon, Steak, Wings, Fries, Frozen, Air Fry, Toast, Grill, Bake, Griddle, Roast, Broil, Dehydrate, and Reheat
• Power: 1750W

Who tested this air fryer?

Ellen Manning

Ellen Manning is a freelance journalist specialising in food and drink, writing about everything from restaurants to home cooking, and the all-important kitchen gadget. She is a regular gadget tester for Ideal Home, having put everything from blenders to coffee grinders, microwaves and air fryers through their paces. She tests each gadget extensively to make sure it’s worth spending your hard-earned cash on, and gives her honest opinion on what the results are from the point of view of an average, amateur home cook.

Getting started

The term ‘space-age’ was basically created for the Typhur Dome 2. While its box isn’t particularly larger than some other air fryers out there, once you find your way in, the contents definitely look different from other similar gadgets. The dome shape that’s akin to a spaceship, the silver colour. It certainly stands out from the crowd.

With just one pull out drawer and a grill plate that sits inside it, it’s fairly easy to set up and even if you just want to ignore some of the tech wizardry that it involves, you can literally ‘plug and play’ if you want to cook something straight away. There’s a digital display with a selection of specific presets - pizza, bacon, steak and wings, as well as the option to select cooking modes of air fry, toast, grill, reheat.

You can also manually adjust the temperature and time like most air fryers, so it’s pretty flexible. Typhur claim the Dome 2 is a 15-in-1 appliance that will help you save space because it combines the functions of an air fryer, convection oven, toaster, griddle and more, allowing you to declutter your kitchen, and it’s fair to say this is pretty versatile and can do quite a lot of the jobs you might be using other gadgets or kitchen appliances for.

The digital display is easy to navigate, though not the most responsive I’ve ever used, so you’ll need a firm press to get the functions to work. At first glance, I’m a bit confused to see that the temperature is measured in fahrenheit rather than celsius, but a gander at the instructions shows that it’s fairly easy to switch to celsius, and it’s not a bad call having the option of both.

One of the big selling points of the Typhur Dome 2 is its wifi capability which allows you to connect it to your phone and control it remotely. Again, it’s fairly easy to set up and pair, and while you need to be standing by the machine to actually hit start - which I think is pretty wise in terms of safety - you can adjust it, and stop it all using the app.

So if you’re midway through that brilliant drama and realise you want to change things up, there’s no need to even get up. Absolutely vital in your life? Maybe not. But a fun extra bit of functionality you can have.

The app also has plenty of recipes and ideas, so might be handy for a bit of inspiration. And if you love your gadgets, Typhur also do a wireless meat thermometer that you can use in conjunction with this air fryer - something for someone who wants to be super accurate with their cooking, or maybe someone who just loves as many toys as possible for their kitchen gadgets.

The drawer itself is pretty big - fitting a 12-inch pizza, or multiple wings for example. So if you’re cooking for a family, you won’t struggle to fit relatively large volumes of food in.

Cooking

Chicken

The first test for me is always a simple chicken breast. A staple in my diet, I want to be able to pop it in the air fryer and for it to cook quickly and efficiently, be browned nicely as if I’ve roasted it, but also still moist.

I set the Typhur Dome 2 to ‘air fry’, and 180C for 20 minutes which is my go-to time. There’s no window like some air fryers, so if you want to check on things you have to slide the drawer open which stops the cooking, but it then starts automatically once you pop it back in, so it’s a fairly easy process.

According to the advertising spiel, Typhur have created a signature airflow system that uses two heating elements - one on the top and one on the bottom - to ensure even, efficient cooking without you having to shake or flip. My chicken definitely cooks evenly and efficiently. It’s done long before the 20 minutes and is nicely browned but still moist.

Chips

The second test is homemade chips. I cut peeled potatoes into fairly thick chips, toss them in oil and salt and then pop in the drawer. Its size means they’re spread out well, without sitting on top of one another, which always helps them cook quicker and get crispier.

Again, I use air fry, and go with 200C for 15 minutes. There are very few air fryers I’ve tested that manage to cook chips in this time, but the Typhur nearly gets there. They’re brown and pretty crispy on the outside but need a few more minutes. Not many more though, and I’m thrilled to find them cooked evenly, all with the similar brown, crisp skin but still flurry inside. Almost as easy as oven chips (apart from the peeling and chopping bit, obviously).

Frozen food

Another advantage of the large drawer is that I can actually cook a frozen breaded cod fillet at the same time as my chips. The flip side is one drawer means everything’s got to go in at the same temperature.

Technically the fish needs longer than the 15 minutes I’ve planned for the chips, but assuming the latter will take a bit longer anyway, I pop them all in at the same time.

The fish is actually done in 15 minutes, confirmed by a quick temperature probe check, and it’s quicker again than most other air fryers. I also haven’t had to turn it over. I leave it in for the extra minutes that the chips need, and while the outside stays nice and crispy the inside hasn’t dried out, though I guess it could if I left it in for much longer. Still, again, it seems the Typhur Dome 2 is living up to the claims that it cooks more efficiently than some other air fryers out there.

It’s also pretty quiet. For a big beast that cooks things so quickly, one of its big claims to fame is that it features ’s a brushless motor that contributes to it being quiet. They claim 55dB, though my decibel meter captures about 61dB - which is still pretty quiet for something this big and powerful. And anecdotally, it definitely sounds less full-on than some of the gadgets I’ve tried in the past.

Bacon

Bacon is always a go to for an air fryer test. I hit the bacon setting and press start, and even before the 8 minutes it allows, a quick peep shows the bacon is done.

Crispy, cooked evenly, fat nicely rendered, and I haven’t had to faff about turning it or anything.

Pizza

The Typhur Dome 2 claims to be inspired by professional pizza ovens, hence working on the airflow and circulation, using dual heating elements rather than just one.

This means the bottom heating element apparently ensures evenly baked crusts and perfectly melted cheese on both frozen and fresh pizzas. It’s also big enough to fit a 12” pizza, so it seems a no brainer.

I test it using a supermarket frozen pizza, using the pizza preset, which automatically puts it at 170c for 14 minutes. I feel like it’s a bit low so I manually adjust the temperature to the instructions on the pack, and am pleased to see it perfectly cooked after the allotted time.

The crust is crispy, the cheese melted, and while I could have achieved the same result in the grill in my kitchen, I’d have had to wait longer for it to preheat, so the fact I can add another option to my air fryer’s capabilities is a bonus.

Steak

Among its many promises, the Typhur Dome 2 claims to be great for ‘fresh griddled goodies’ like pancakes. This claim, combined with the fact it has a dedicated steak preset, makes me want to try it for a steak.

I use a supermarket fillet and pop it in on the steak setting which whacks the temperature up to 230C and suggests 10 minutes. In it goes and I check it after about 7 minutes, to find the bottom heating element has produced the same Maillard reaction and browning on the bottom that I’d achieve from a pan - just with less mess. I turn the steak over and pop it back in for the remaining time, adding a few minutes that I think it will need.

This is quite easy to do as the Typhur allows you to adjust cooking time while it’s actually cooking, without you having to stop it and start from scratch. When the ten minutes are up the second side is nicely browned too. I cut into it, and while I love my steak rare, my slightly thick fillet is more like blue, so in it goes again for about 3 minutes more, and ends up perfectly rare. Another use - and way less messy than searing a steak in a pan.

What's it like to clean?

The drawer and grill of the Typhur Dome are made from PFA-free ceramic and are non-stick, so any mess is fairly easy to wipe off or wash out, as I find after my bacon jaunt. They’re also dishwasher safe, so if you can’t be bothered to do it by hand you can chuck them in .

Even better, the Typhur Dome also has a self-cleaning mode. A bit like some ovens, it heats the air fryer super hot to basically get rid of the grease and grime that sits in the top cavity.

Another function that can be controlled from your phone, you just select the self clean mode and it sets it to clean mode for two hours. You can definitely smell the grease burning off, but there’s no big puffs of smoke or anything like that, and afterwards, the element in the top looks shiny and new without that sticky grease you get after several uses.

How does it compare to similar models and its predecessors?

If you like the sound of Wifi capability and an app but don't want to spend nearly £500, then our Dreo Chef Maker review details a capable alternative (even if it is still pretty pricey).

This is large capacity air fryer, so if it's catering to a crowd you need then something like the Ninja FlexDrawer (which you can read more about in our review of it)

and it’s got plenty of capacity to cater for families and bigger groups of people.

They seem to have thought of pretty much everything, making it a versatile gadget that can mimic plenty of different cooking styles and help you out with everything from bacon and wings, to pizza or cooking a steak. It’s pretty hard to fault in terms of usage, though perhaps the display could be slightly more responsive. But the big sticking point is the price point - at £499 it’s not a cheap air fryer, and the question is whether the extra couple of hundred pounds are worth it.

Should you buy the Typhur Dome air fryer?

The Typhur Dome 2 is a good-looking gadget that not only offers plenty of flexibility in an air fryer, but does it well, cooking all sorts of different foods efficiently and easily. One for the tech lovers, it’s pretty advanced and has a few extra features that arguably aren’t necessary but are fun, along with the option of purchasing extras like a temperature probe.

Its large capacity makes it useful for families, but it could also be used by couples or people who just want to check everything in one drawer and cook it.

Its single dishwasher drawer along with the self-clean mode makes it easy to keep clean too, which is a winner for everyone from busy singletons to mums who don’t want to spend their lives washing up.

However, the £499 price tag puts it right up there as one of the most expensive air fryers I’ve seen, and however good it is, this is an issue as it makes it inaccessible to some people.

Ultimately, it's one for people with money to spare and who love to play around with tech gadgets, but for people without that kind of cash to spend, there are other air fryers that might be more suitable.