I've just got back from Milan Design Week, which this year hosts Eurocucina, dedicated to the latest and greatest from the world's biggest kitchen brands. One of the biggest, most crowded stands this year belonged to Italian kitchen appliance brand SMEG.
It was a showcase of incredible range cookers, the brand's iconic fridges in new colors, and some of the cleverest induction hobs I'd seen with retractable downdraft extractors, but what stole my attention was the section devoted to small appliances and the unveiling of SMEG's first air fryer.
The brand's long been known for its stylish coffee makers, and even launched a microwave earlier this year that had more of a design point of view than almost any I've seen before, but I'm pretty sure its air fryer is going to be one of the biggest launches in a while. And for one good reason.
Most of the time, air fryers are pretty ugly. They're generally hulking big appliances that sit on your countertop and don't even bring the cafe-style chic an espresso machine does. I've not succumbed to the air fryer manifesto yet for this very reason. However, SMEG's design might be the one that convinces me when it finally launches.
But before I get into its design, let me be clear: it does more than air fry. It's a dual cooker, as it also has a steam function, so you can cook more delicate ingredients like fish, dumplings, and tender vegetables better. While I haven't actually seen this gadget in action yet, I did get hands-on with it, and it has a little reservoir on top to add water to for the steam cooking.
The SMEG air fryer comes in a range of some of Smeg's iconic colors, which makes it a fun design feature for your kitchen if you're into colorful appliances. If not, its white version is going to be the best bet, and I'd assume the best seller when it releases.
Size is important, too. But in two ways. One: you don't want an air fryer so big that it takes over your entire kitchen countertop; two: you need one big enough to handle the food you actually want to cook. SMEG's has a 7.3-liter capacity, which puts it in the average range for family cooking (not too small, but not for big families); however, size-wise, it feels quite compact when it's in your kitchen. It's a sleek, streamlined design that seems to pack a fair amount of basket space for how much room it takes up.
I was convinced by it, and think I might finally splurge on one when it launches; however, it's not quite ready to buy yet. I can tell you two things about it now though.
According to my sources on the SMEG stand at Eurocucina, the SMEG air fryer will be ready to buy this September, and price-wise, it'll compare somewhere in the range of Ninja's Max 6-in-1 air fryer. The latter does have a few more features and more capacity to it, but it doesn't look nearly half as aesthetic. And for some of us, that's what it comes down to in the end.
Best of SMEG's Small Appliances
It microwaves, yes, but it also includes a grill if you want to get things crispy.
SMEG's cold brew coffee maker is tried, tested, and loved by our in house coffee expert.
Of course, the stylish air fryer is just one of the kitchen appliance trends you can expect to take over in 2026, and I'll expect some other big name brands to get in on the action, soon.
To keep up to date when they do, why not sign up to the Livingetc newsletter?
