I have an oven, a large microwave with a convection oven, and an air fryer. They all serve different purposes.

I use the oven for baking and things like making a full roast (i.e. multiple trays). The convection oven is my "normal" oven as it's smaller but still large enough to do stuff like a massive lasagne (I have a 4 litre Pyrex dish that fits!).

The air fryer on the other hand is amazing for crispy stuff, reheating junk food leftovers, scorching vegetables, and so forth.

The combi oven is not the gold standard. The smallest vessel for the task at hand is.

an air fryer being smaller is actually part of the appeal for me! I live alone in a tiny apartment, so all I need is something that can cook single portions and fit on my limited counter space jaja

Sure, but by the time my convection oven get to temperature I'm already serving at the table with my air fryer.

...and a kitchen oven is larger still giving even more flexibility.

Or maybe the reason people find air fryers so useful is because they are small, fast and energy efficient.

If you live in a region that’s hot, like I do, air fryers are better than conventional ovens for cooking one item to chuck on top of your salad. Air fryers put out way less hot air when you open them, decreasing the likelihood of heating up the kitchen

I mean you are not wrong. It's just that my ovens oven is dead. So I figure I really need something half the size/cost of a oven.