Most smart air fryers sell you more presets. Presets are not what changes the food. Two pieces of hardware do, and on this machine one of them is also the part most likely to strand you.

The verdict up front: the Dreo ChefMaker is still the pick if you cook thick proteins on weeknights and want them landing right without standing over them. Wipe the probe connector after every cook. What has changed is the field: one newer rival removes the connector entirely.

1. The probe and the mister are the entire product

A dual-sensing probe reads the food while the unit’s own thermometer reads the air. When the air climbs faster than the interior can follow, a 200 ml tank spritzes a fine mist to pull the temperature back. Dreo calls this CombiCook. On a steak, Chef Mode sets the temperature, mists, pre-sears, then finishes with a rapid burst.

The Kitchn reported reliable results across cuts after months of use, and Homes and Gardens called the ChefMaker’s half of a split flank steak more tender than the pan’s.

2. The 1 inch rule is the actual buying decision

Dreo’s manual says the probe is not for frozen protein or cuts under 1 inch. If your weeknights are thin cutlets, vegetables and fries, the probe never engages and you have bought a 6 quart air fryer with a mister attached.

3. The failure point, and what owners do about it

Dreo’s support page covers Error Codes 02 and 04: grease on the probe, then on the magnetic pins where it connects. Owners on Reddit describe one fix ladder: wipe the contacts with alcohol, reseat the probe, update the firmware. When that fails, Dreo has shipped replacement probes, parts and, in one owner’s account, a whole unit.

That record is reassuring. The paperwork is less so. The warranty runs 12 months and excludes clearing any blockages, and owners report the spare probe sold out for months; the Amazon listing was unavailable when we checked in September 2026. Keep a cloth by the unit. The probe is the one part that cannot go in the dishwasher.

4. The ChefMaker 2 is still a promise

Dreo announced a ChefMaker 2 at CES in January 2025, promising AI that turns recipes into cooking programs. Twenty months later, Dreo’s kitchen collection lists only the original and Amazon carries no successor. Waiting has already cost someone a lot of dinners.

5. What to buy instead, depending on what you cook

For the probe without the pins: the Typhur Sync Air Fryer builds in a wireless probe that docks on the unit, and Typhur says it shuts off at the doneness you pick. RTINGS prefers its crisping and browning and notes more room for little extra counter. The ChefMaker preheats faster and holds a steadier temperature, and the Sync has no mister and a probe battery to charge.

For a family meal at once: the Ninja Foodi DualZone Smart XL pairs a Smart Cook thermometer with 2 baskets, so the steak and the fries finish together. Ninja’s probe grill applies the same idea with sear marks.

For real steam and scan-to-cook: the Tovala Smart Oven Pro makes real steam from a water reservoir and, per Forbes, scans more than 1,000 grocery items. No probe. Tovala also sells meals, so read any bundled offer’s terms.

For wide, single-layer cooking: the Typhur Dome 2 heats from top and bottom, fits a 12 inch pizza and has a self-clean mode. Typhur’s probe is sold separately.

For fries and reheats: a basket fryer like the Cosori TurboBlaze does the job with no probe to baby. Our small-kitchen air fryer guide has more.

Who should skip most of this

This might not be for you if you cook mostly vegetables, fries and reheats. A plain basket fryer does that in less counter.

It is a harder sell if you already use a good instant-read thermometer. The probe automates attention, not skill.

And if a wired connector with a documented grease fault worries you under 12 months of cover, the Typhur Sync is the cleaner bet.

Judge this one on the 1 inch rule. If your dinners clear it most nights, the ChefMaker still earns its counter.

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