Last Update: November 25
Philips 4300 and DeLonghi Magnifica Evo are both fully automatic espresso machines. Although the Philips 4300 is slightly higher in features and price, it is still quite comparable to the DeLonghi Magnifica Evo in terms of experience and coffee quality.
This guide will help you understand the difference between these two super-automatic espresso machines
- What coffee presets does each machine have
- The differences in machine varieties: steam wand vs automatic frother
- Customization and ease of use
- and also, what similarities do the two coffee machines share.
Key Differences
– Both machines share many similar features, such as easy-to-clean milk systems and filters included.
– However, the Philips 4300 has profiles and more pre-programmed drink options, while the DeLonghi Magnifica Evo has a better warranty and built-in milk cleaning system.
My Best Pick: The Philips 4300
I prefer the Philips 4300 over the Magnifica Evo for several reasons:
- It is easier to use due to the intuitive screen display. You can easily access the settings, and customize your drinks with clear text and instructions, no need for guesswork.
- It has user profiles to save personal recipes. This is very useful if you are sharing the coffee machine.
- The LatteGo milk frother is the least complicated automatic frother without internal parts or tubes. It is simple to clean and maintain.
How The Philips 4300 Differs From the Magnifica Evo
I’ll first list shared differences between the Philips 4300 and DeLonghi Magnifica Evo, then I’ll get specific with the differences between the classic frother version vs the built-in frother version when it comes to preset drinks, froth quality, and more.
Control Panel and Display
The first thing you’ll notice about the Philips 4300 is that it has a digital screen that allows you to easily dig into the coffee machine’s system, customize your drink and save your settings. That, combined with a touch panel makes using the machine very easy.
DeLonghi Magnifica Evo has touch buttons, too. But it does not have a display. It uses colored touch buttons that almost look like a screen, but in reality, they’re just buttons with colored pictures of each coffee drink. I find this design to be quite attractive really, it looks cool for a non-display menu.
Adjustable Coffee Settings
On both coffee machines, you get to customize coffee strength and temperature. Volume can be reprogrammed, too, but it’s done differently on each machine.
- Philips 4300 has 5 coffee strengths and 3 temperature settings.
- DeLonghi Magnifica Evo has 3 coffee strengths and 3 temperature settings.
Coffee Volume Settings
In Philips 4300, for espresso and coffee, this machine has 1x or 2x which increases the amount of coffee grounds used to brew the coffee. Then, you also have the volume selector which gives you the option of adding more water but in volumes pre-set by Philips.
For Cappuccino or Latte, you can’t adjust whether you want a single or double shot of espresso. But you can adjust the volume (adds water to your current shot) or froth (uses more milk).
What if you want an extra shot of espresso? You’ll simply press the espresso button after your latte or cappuccino is ready so it adds an extra shot. If you want a larger cup of latte, for example, you can prepare the same single recipe twice.
These settings are accessible on the screen as soon as you select a drink from the menu.
the DeLonghi Magnifica Evo does not have a volume selector, instead, you can reprogram the volume of each drink by pressing the recipe button and holding it until you reach your desired volume. This will reprogram the recipes and save the new coffee volume.
This can lead to a weaker-tasting coffee. If you want to make double the coffee using the Magnifica Evo, I highly recommend that you select the Espresso button TWICE, which uses double the coffee dose, instead of just adding water to the same dose.
Philips had the lead in this feature. It makes stronger coffee by doubling the coffee ground dose when you click on x2. DeLonghi, unfortunately, only doubles the water volume while using the same dose of coffee grounds.
Coffee Temperature Settings
Both machines offer three-step temperature settings. None of them has a dedicated button for temperature control, instead, you need to change the temperature via the machine’s settings.
Philips 4300 User Profiles
The Phillips 4300 has profiles, which allow you to save your coffee drink preferences for multiple users.
The DeLonghi Magnifica Evo does not have profiles. On the LatteCrema (with automatic frother) version, there’s a Memory function, but it’s not as detailed as a profile.
This feature is especially useful if the machine going to be used by several people. Each person can save their preferences and customization in a profile and recall it with a press of a button.
Built-in Grinders
The DeLonghi Magnifica Evo has 13 grinder settings, while the Phillips 4300 has 12.
That really won’t make a lot of difference, a single adjustment step won’t transfer your coffee’s taste so I wouldn’t worry about this one.
Warranty
The DeLonghi Magnifica Evo has a 2+1 year warranty when registered with DeLonghi, while the Phillips 4300 has a 2-year warranty.
Coffee Drink Options on Classic Frother Version
These are the presets on the Classic frother version of the Philips 4300 and DeLonghi Magnifica Evo.
As I mentioned earlier, opting for the classic wand version means the presets will not include milk-based coffee drinks.
| Coffee Machine | Coffee Options |
|---|---|
| Philips 4300 | Espresso, Ristretto, Coffee, Americano, Caffe Crema, Hot Water |
| DeLonghi Magnifica Evo | Espresso, Coffee, Long, Americano, Over Ice |
Espresso, Americano (double espresso + hot water) and coffee are the common beverages in these two machines.
Long and Caffe Crema are simply two different names for the same coffee drink, a Lungo.
The Magnifica Evo does not have a Ristretto option (0.75 oz espresso), while the Philips 4300 does not have the Over Ice option.
I know that Over Ice is a lot more popular than Ristretto so let me tell you more about it.
DeLonghi Over Ice Coffee
What this option does is two things:
- It brews the coffee longer so it tastes stronger, even when mixed with slightly diluted ice.
- It brews at a lower temperature than hot coffee, that way, the coffee does not melt the ice right away.
Does that mean you can’t make iced coffee using a Philips 4300? no, that’s not the case here.
But you’ll have to do some manual adjustments like making the brew bolder and lowering the temperature manually.
What I would do is create these settings and save them under a profile called Iced Coffee so you can recall these settings with a press later on.
Related:
Coffee Drinks on the Automatic Frother Version
Now with the added benefit of Philips LatteGo and DeLonghi’s LatteCrema, you’ll get some additional sets of milk-based coffee drinks in your preset menu.
Philips 4300 LatteGo Coffee Menu
| Coffee Drink | Capacity |
| Espresso | 1 oz / 30 ml |
| Coffee | 3.7 oz / 110 ml |
| Americano | 2 oz espresso + 3 oz hot water 60 ml espresso + 90 ml hot water |
| Cappuccino | 2 oz espresso + 2 oz milk + 2 oz Foam 60 ml espresso + 60 ml milk + 60 ml foam |
| Latte Macchiato | 2 oz espresso + 5 oz milk + 5 oz foamed milk |
| Cafe Au Lait | 3.7 oz coffee + milk |
Philips 4300 has presets for Espresso’s most popular drinks:
Ristretto: which is a short pull for an espresso.
Espresso: your classic shot of espresso.
Caffe Crema: traditionally, this coffee drink is topped up with heavy cream. The machine won’t dispense milk to finish this recipe, so instead, it will serve you a Lungo, which you can then manually top up with either frothed milk or heavy cream.
Americano: a classic espresso drink that is made of a double shot of espresso diluted with hot water.
The ‘More Drinks’ button on the Philips 4300 will give you more options like Ristretto, Caffe Crema, Milk Froth and Hot Water.
Caffe Crema vs Espresso vs Americano
The difference between these three coffee drinks is the ratio:
- Espresso is, by default, a single shot of espresso which is a 1 oz capacity.
- Caffe Crema, can be considered a Lungo in this case, will serve you a 2 oz of espresso.
- Americano, on the other hand, is a double shot of espresso mixed with hot water. The full capacity of this coffee is 5 oz. This is an alternative way to make a longer cup of coffee using espresso.
Magnifica Evo LatteCrema Coffee Menu
Espresso, Coffee, Cappuccino, Latte Macchiato, Over Ice, Hot Water
The Magnifica Evo has a similar menu to the Philips 4300 when it comes to milk coffee drinks. It’s missing the Cafe Au Lait and the Milk Froth option, which many people like to use to make froth for hot chocolate or any other non-coffee beverage.
And there’s no direct way to dispense or froth hot milk only. You can try a workaround of using the ‘pre-ground setting’ without filling in the bypass doser, or, selecting any milk-based drink and canceling right after the machine has dispensed the hot milk into the cup.
LatteGo Frother vs LatteCrema Frother
While both milk frothers are designed to heat and froth milk effortlessly, there’s a difference in design.
LatteGo by Philips is a two-part frother. It does not have any internal parts or tubes, making it extremely easy to clean and less prone to clogging.
LatteCrema has several parts that you need to take out and put together for cleaning. While this isn’t a hard task, it gets tiring when you have to do it repeatedly.
Luckily, both milk systems are dishwasher-safe.
The Philips 4300 gets the lead because it can make milk froth without the need for any workaround. And because LatteGo is easier to clean.
Related:
Espresso and Coffee Quality
When it comes to making espresso, both the Magnifica Evo and the Philips 4300 perform well.
To make an espresso on the DeLonghi, simply select the strength and volume of your shot on the control panel and press the button. The machine will grind and brew the coffee for you. My issue with the Magnifica Evo, though, is that it does not grind twice when selecting double the dose. And this is true for all DeLonghi machines. While on the Philips, the coffee machine doubles the coffee dose and volume.
This is a small issue that you override on the DeLonghi by simply ignoring the x2 button, and selecting the Espresso button twice instead.
The quality and taste of the espresso and coffee are quite comparable in both machines. The differences are only mechanical.
Cappuccino and Latte Quality
Cappuccino and Latte are the most popular milk-based coffee drinks. Both the Magnifica Evo and the Philips 4300 do a fantastic job creating a delicious and creamy drink with a press of a button.
If milk-based drinks are your go-to coffee drinks, I highly advise that you choose a machine with an automatic milk frother so you get your favorite beverages as a preset as opposed to making espresso shots and then manually frothing your milk.
To make a cappuccino or a latte using the Philips LatteGo or DeLonghi LatteCrema, all you have to do is press the designated button for either coffee drink. Make sure you fill the milk frother jug to the line marked for cappuccino or latte and let your machine do the rest.
On the classic steam wand versions though, you’ll have to ‘build up’ your drink. First, brew a single or double shot of espresso then manually steam and froth your milk to add to the espresso. This can turn into a hassle if you have to do it daily and can get you inconsistent results. Which is why automatic frothers are better for milk-based coffee drinks.
Which Coffee Machine Should You Buy?
I will give you several points to prioritize to help you with your decision in choosing the correct machine for your daily use:
Do you need an automatic frother or should you go for the classic frother version?
If you drink a lot of milk-based coffee drinks, getting an automatic milk frother is a no-brainer. With a LatteGo or LatteCrema, you’re getting your latte or cappuccino with a single press of a button. You’ll also get consistent milk froth and temperature at each use.
If ease of cleaning is a priority, the LatteGo frother is much easier to clean than the LatteCrema.
Using the classic frother leaves the milk froth quality to your hand, literally. Although both Philips and DeLonghi use Panarello steam wands, which don’t require special skills to froth the milk, you can still froth it less or more than you should, leading to inconsistent results.
If you are mostly an espresso or coffee drinker, but do a latte or cappuccino every now and then, you’ll be okay with the classic frother versions.
Do you drink a lot of iced coffee drinks?
If iced coffee is a daily beverage for you, you’ll want the DeLonghi Magnifica Evo for its one-button Over Ice setting.
As I mentioned earlier, Iced coffee can still be achieved using the Philips 4300, but it will take some ‘tinkering’ and adjustment to get a brew that can work nicely with ice without tasting diluted.
Will the coffee machine be used by several users?
If the machine is going to be used in a multi-person household, or maybe even in an office, having Philips 4300 user profiles will be fantastic for your daily use. You won’t have to redo customizations on a daily basis.
The Magnifica Evo does not have profiles. On the LatteCrema version, you get ‘My Latte’ button which will save customization for a single drink only.
Do you need a screen display?
If you like to get into your machine’s settings and play around with them, the Philips 4300 will make a lot of difference to you in terms of how easy it is to see the options and settings on a display and in written words.
I find these to be the most important factors to consider when it comes to choosing between Magnifica Evo vs Philips 4300.
Similarities Between Philips 4300 and DeLonghi Magnifica Evo
I want to point out the similar features that you will be getting whether you go for the Philips or DeLonghi:
Machine Variations
the Philips 4300 and DeLonghi Magnifica Evo are both available in two variations:
- Classic milk frother
- Built-in automatic milk frother
This will affect two things:
- How you froth your milk
- The preset drinks on each machine
If you pick a model with an automatic milk frother, you’ll get milk-based drinks (latte, cappuccino…) as presets. Machine models with the classic steam wand have espresso and coffee as presets only.
Specs Similarities
When it comes to bean hopper capacity, bypass doser, water reservoir, water filters, and built-in grinder, both machines share the same specs.
