IMHO, I don't think an air fryer is a fryer, and a convection oven cannot be an air fryer.

While an air fryer can be a very good convection oven ( small capacity oven). It cannot give the same result as a fryer.

A convection oven is a better oven than a regular oven in that is bakes more evenly, but it cannot match an air fryer in it's ability in move supper hot air.

A "convection oven" has to deal with many compromises. It needs to have large internal volume for marketing purposes. Many people select oven based on how big the oven volume is. Yet oven's outside dimension is limited by standards for home kitchens. That leaves not much space for a fan(s). Additionally to limit noise, the fan mostly has to be an induction type, which is generally a low speed fan. Given the limitations of the oven geometry and technical motor characteristics, The oven can only be a very poor air fryer.

dcarch

I think the difference is supposed to be speed, as in air frier is supposed to be a high speed convection oven, which, as Dcarch referred to, is also fast to heat up because of the small space. I have a cheap one which has a bunch of configurations which are what really sets it apart, like a cage that tumbles, but being what it is, it also cooks very unevenly, especially compared to my big, very expensive and technologically superior wall oven. I like the air fryer for fast little things, like sunchoke chips, that aren't worth turning on and waiting to heat the big oven for if I'm not cooking anything else.

I haven't used the air-fryer to its full abilities, but haven't yet made anything that couldn’t be made in the oven. It's also supposed to dehydrate, which the oven doesn't do well, because it was designed to retain moisture, but I haven't tried that yet. Anything that can be coated in oil and baked to sizzling can be done in a good convection oven. To get more of a fry style, use a wire grid rather than putting the items directly on the pan, though I make kale chips right on parchment paper, on the pan, crowded, in the oven, and they come out all airy and crisp. French fries, being so dense, are pickier.

And that's the nub. IIRC, the air frier was invented, more or less, as a way of making fries in tiny European apartments that only had one or two burner dominoes for stoves, and if any oven at all, a small microvave, possibly with convection. The air frier, possibly set on another surface than the actual kitchen, took the space and mess of making ”chips” out of the way of the rest of the meal prep.

So, you'll have to experiment with your oven and the things you want to make, and see how it works for you. and go to a demo, or a friend's house, and see if you like the air fryer results. :)

I have a convection wall oven, a convection Breville toaster oven, and an air fryer. Please believe me the convection ovens do not work the same as any convection oven. I have tested with several food items, chicken, biscuits, roasting vegetables, etc. The air fryer won each time. It gets the chicken (cook with skin on, but do not have to eat the skin) so nice and crispy, neither of the convection ovens get the chicken crispy. Roasted vegetables are much nicer in the air fryer, IMO. Biscuits cook much better and evenly in the air fryer, but not the convection toaster oven, etc. I use the air fryer nearly every day.

As Plllog suggested, use a wire rack when using a convection oven. It will not be exactly the same as an air fryer, but you should still try it to see if it works sufficiently for you.

I already have a dehydrator and use that for dehydrating bananas, chilies, and apples.

If I want chicken with a crispy skin, I roast it in the oven at high temperature on a rack inside a baking pan, or we cook it in the Big Green Egg. I like the BGE best for chicken.

Part of it for me is, I've cut out fried foods so much from my diet that I can't see the point of going back to it just to use a new appliance. I don't really crave fried foods much anymore. Only occasionally, I might do up a breaded chick breast or cod in the oven.

AD, You do not need an air fryer. The "fried" experience is properly had with oil.. With an air fryer, you're using a smaller amount of oil. My very fancy oven really does do what I've done in my air fryer (whose quality I can't vouch for). I followed the directions once for battered, and it was not a good experience. I did the rest, after the tester, in a cast iron pan with oil. I can actually cook battered in the oven and it comes out better. My oven really is different from average, and unlike what Jasdip was referring to, it can produce similar results to the air fryer--except for the time. But most people don't have that kind of oven. I'm not saying this well. What I want to say is that if you're not craving fried food, you don't need an air fryer. If your oven can't handle it, do a real fry on the once in a blue moon desire. Scratch the itch and move on.

I microwave baked potatoes for a few minutes and cook them in the a/f. They cook up much quicker than a regular oven.

Roasted vegetables, chicken breasts, just take a spritz of oil

I don't buy chicken nuggets or anything like that. I just cook what I normally would, just in the a/f vs the full oven.

I also make chicken parm in it, it's a good way to cook the sliced chicken, peppers and onions for fajitas. Many things.

The air fryer won each time. It gets the chicken (cook with skin on, but do not have to eat the skin) so nice and crispy, neither of the convection ovens get the chicken crispy

I roast bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs in my Breville toaster oven at 400 degrees regular setting. Meat comes out juicy and the skin is crispy.