Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro review: a countertop oven that acts like a real oven

Breville describes Element iQ as a system that continuously adjusts which of the oven's quartz elements are active and how hard each one runs, rather than cycling a single heating element on and off the way a basic toaster oven does. In practice, that is the difference between a broil setting that actually concentrates heat at the top of the cavity and an air fry setting that shifts more heat toward convection instead. A cheaper single-element oven cannot make that distinction; it just runs hotter or cooler.

• 13 functions total, spanning air fry, convection bake, roast, broil, proof, dehydrate, slow cook, and reheat
• Interior large enough for a 14 inch pizza or a roast for four, which most basket-style air fryers cannot fit
• A brushed stainless body that runs noticeably hotter to the touch on the exterior than a plastic-bodied basket fryer during long roasts

The core numbers are straightforward: 13 functions, Element iQ convection, and an interior rated to fit a 14 inch pizza, which is the practical way Breville communicates capacity since most buyers understand pizza size better than cubic inches.

Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro at $499.95 is the app-connected version of essentially the same oven, built on the same Element iQ hardware. The hardware, not the app, is the reason to buy either one; treat the connectivity as a convenience rather than the deciding feature, since the cooking performance between the two is driven by the same elements. Smart Oven Air Fryer at $349.95 is the smaller sibling: 11 functions instead of 13, a shorter interior height, and no dehydrate cycle. It is the better buy for a household that is not routinely roasting whole chickens or baking tall loaves, and the $50 saved is real money for functions most owners rarely touch.

For anything larger than a single portion, yes, mainly because of the shape. A basket concentrates food in a small circulating chamber, which crisps fast but limits volume to whatever the basket holds without stacking. An oven-shaped fryer like Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro uses sheet pans and racks, so a full tray of vegetables or a spatchcocked chicken cooks in one load instead of two or three basket batches. The air fryer basics guide covers this shape difference in more depth, and the air fryer versus convection oven comparison is worth reading if the choice is between this oven and a dedicated basket model rather than between two ovens.

By internal temperature, every time, regardless of which function is running. The published USDA safe minimum internal temperatures do not change because the heat source is convection instead of a conventional oven: poultry to 165 F, ground meat to 160 F, whole muscle beef, pork, lamb, and veal to 145 F with a 3 minute rest, and fish to 145 F. The air fryer conversion calculator translates a standard oven recipe's time and temperature into a starting point for this oven, but the finish should always be a probe reading, not the clock, since exact cook times shift with how full the interior is and how cold the food was going in.

Buy Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro if the goal is one countertop appliance that genuinely replaces a second oven: it roasts, bakes, broils, air fries, and dehydrates in a body large enough for real meals rather than single portions. Step up to Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro only if app control from another room is worth an extra $100 to you, since the cooking hardware is otherwise the same. Step down to Smart Oven Air Fryer if the dehydrate function and the extra two inches of interior height are not things you will use. If the budget caps out well under $300 and the household mainly wants crispy basket food rather than a real oven's versatility, Ninja Max XL at $129.98 covers that job for a fraction of the price.