Labs Product Review – Cosori Smart Air Fryer

Cosori air-fryer in black next to smartphone

by Joe Lonergan

In the latest of our technology reviews, Joe Lonergan in the Labs team gives us an insight into the accessibility of the Cosori 5.5L smart Air Fryer. Is this air fryer easy to use? Easy to clean? Most importantly, how accessible is this device for someone with sight loss in the kitchen? We also find out about the VeSync app that can be used to control the air fryer right from your smartphone.

Product description

The Cosori smart Air fryer, 5.5 L is a single drawer air fryer with a difference. It can be controlled by the VeSync app from your smartphone. This gives a vision impaired user access to all the options available on the touch screen control panel through the accessible app. Because of the popularity of air fryers in the last few months we went on a search for an air fryer that is fully accessible or is at least that is accessible with a smart phone app, and we found the Cosori smart air fryer.

For people not familiar with air fryers, they are similar to a mini convection oven that sits on your countertop and are usually square or rectangular in size with a drawer that pulls out with a protruding handle.

This particular air fryer is squarer in shape with a drawer that pulls out from the front of the device and the touch screen control panel is above the drawer. On the touch screen is options such as Wi-Fi , and your cooking options which are identified by symbols such as fish, chicken, steak, fries, and more, 12 options in total. There is a big start stop button which is purple in colour.

Unboxing / What are my first impressions?

When I took this product out of the box the first thing I checked was the plug, and I was relieved to see it was a 3 pin plug, because I was a little worried because the Cosori appliances are not available on the high street over here in Ireland.

I needed assistance to set this device up for the first time, because I wanted to connect it to the smart phone app. From research I had already done I knew to download the VeSync app and register before I started. Because I could not see the touchscreen, I needed someone to press the Wi-Fi button for me, this had to be held down for 5 seconds until it went into pairing mode, I finished set up on the app and connected the device to my Wi-Fi. It came with a quick start guide.

I gave it a name and then tried to connect it to my Alexa smart speaker, so I linked the VeSync skill inside the Alexa app. But I was soon disappointed to discover it did not work with Alexa in my region. While inside the VeSync skill in the Alexa app I also read some reviews of other people that were equally disappointed, but hopefully this feature will come to us in the near future.

For Google Home users the story is the same, during set up in the VeSync smart phone app I was actually given an option to connect to the Google Assistant, so I linked it to the app and called the room kitchen. But when I went to use the commands that were suggested, I was met with the response, “sorry I cannot reach the Cosori smart Air fryer right now, please try again”. So be warned if you are buying this to connect it to your smart speaker it will not work with voice commands right now.

But I went back into the VeSync app and I double tapped on Cosori Smart Air Fryer and I was pleased to discover I could read all options available on the touchscreen control panel through the smart phone app. VoiceOver was successfully able to read all the pre available recipes. I did browse this area but to be honest I did not use these recipes. I was more interested in finding the start cooking button which I could find successfully by putting my finger down near the bottom right of the screen in the app.

Once I went into start cooking, I had access to the 12 different cooking modes such as steak, fish, frozen food and more. I could also tap on manual and select the temperature and time from two different picker items. When I was happy with my selection all I had to do was tap on cook now and my air fryer started cooking. As the food is cooking, I can monitor it via the app. It even gave me a reminder with a notification to shake my food halfway through. When the timer was up, I got another notification to let me know it is finished, food is ready, enjoy, don’t forget to clean the basket.

When you pull out the drawer, the air fryer automatically stops for safety reasons. To open the basket, you have to push forward a plastic button, this button feels a little bit cheap, but it does the job. If the drawer is not pushed in properly, you will also get a notification saying baskets not pushed in.

What did I like?

I liked having full control of the air fryer from a smartphone app, this felt very liberating. There was no guess work involved, I didn’t have to ask a family member or call a volunteer on the Be My Eyes app or FaceTime anyone for help. I had full control over all the features available on the touch screen of the air fryer.

I liked that it was safe to use, considerably safer than an oven in my opinion due to its compact size. The fact that I have control of the drawer via a safe handle meant I can leave it on a counter top to cool for a few minutes when finished cooking or I can just empty the basket on to a large plate.

Most importantly I found it cooked most foods very well, Examples of food that turned out really well included: sausages, rashers, pudding, fish cakes, fish fingers, salmon fillets, toasted sandwiches, frozen oven fries, and numerous types of chicken. It also did a good job of roasting root vegetables.

That is just an example of a few foods I tried, but inside the VeSync app you get a list of suggested recipes all with easy to read instructions. In fact, I really liked the VeSync app and found it worked well with VoiceOver and it was intuitive. The non-stick basket is dishwasher friendly.

What didn’t I like?

It does not work with voice commands from Alexa in our region at the moment. The main control panel is all touch screen but the option is there to place locator dots on the different options if you prefer. If you are not a smartphone user, you will not have access to all the features of this Air fryer. I needed assistance with set up as the touch screen panel is not accessible.

Accessibility from a low vision perspective

If you have low vision, you might be able to see some of the options on the touchscreen control panel but you cannot change the sizes, some of the shapes of the touch buttons are different colours so this may help some users but will not suit everyone.

The start/stop is a big purple coloured button above the drawer handle so this might help to distinguish it from other buttons. If you are a low vision smartphone user you will probably be ok as you can use the VeSync app with large print.

Accessibility from a no vision perspective

After setting up this product is fully accessible for a blind user if they use the Smart Air fryer through the VeSync app. The VeSync app works well with VoiceOver and TalkBack. Bumpons or locator dots can be placed on the touchscreen if you want. As cooking devices go, it is safe to use for a blind person.

Is there much of a learning curve?

I found after setup there was not a big learning curve. In general the product is easy to use, especially if you are a proficient smartphone user.

Did it meet my expectations?

Yes, it met my expectations in most departments. I was really impressed with the quality of the food after cooking and I was impressed with the VeSync app but, as mentioned earlier I was very disappointed that it did not work with a smart speaker in our region as this would have been good for non-smartphone users or for hands free use in the kitchen.

To whom would I recommend this product?

Blind and vision impaired people that are looking for an air fryer that works with their smartphone to give them access to all the cooking options available.

Current price

At the moment it is for sale at €115 and the RRP is approx. €159. It can be purchased from Amazon – https://www.amazon.co.uk/COSORI-WiFi-Fryer-Black-CS158-AF/dp/B083FB8TSC.