The technology used in an air fryer oven is nearly identical to a convection oven. In both settings, a fan is used to quickly envelop food in super-hot air to make it crispy, browned or crunchy without the added oil.

The main difference is that air fryers have a heating element and frying basket in the top part of the appliance, whereas convection ovens are larger and don’t feature these. In addition, the hot air circulates much faster in an air fryer than it does in a convection oven.