PACKAGING

I’ve found the packaging for previous Smartmi products always nicely designed, and protect the contents very well. The packaging for the E1 is no exception. The product is front and centre, so you know exactly what you’re getting, and all the relevant info you’re likely to need is printed on the box too.

It supports Apple Home, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa, but there’s no mention of SmartThings. It also doesn’t support Matter, which for HomeKit users isn’t going to make a lot of difference, but does change things slightly for users of the other two platforms.

The included HEP13 filter is designed to tackle the usual pollutants, like dust, pollen, odours, smoke, pet dander, and PM2.5, which some of these come under anyway. It also has a layer of active carbon in the filter, so this should deal with VOCs to a large extent. As you can see, this is really only meant for small to medium size rooms, with the ideal size being 205 sq. ft./19 sq. m.

This being the case, as you can see from the image on the box, it does have a space saving design, so for small rooms like a kids bedroom for example, this would probably be ideal for taking up minimal space, whilst also being powerful enough for that typical type of room.

The E1 is unique (for an air purifier) in that the replacement filters available come with artwork printed on them. Of the three pictured above, I’ve only really seen the cat design, so I guess they’ll expand on these depending on how well the E1 sells, ultimately.

The E1, like all of Smartmi’s devices, uses standard 2.4GHz WiFi to connect to your network, and your smart home. That being the case, there’s no requirement for a hub.

THE PURIFIER

There’s not a lot in the box; the E1, a metal stand, the manual, and some mounting parts. The filter comes preinstalled, and the grey cover is actually part of the filter itself in that the cover, frame, and HEP13 filter are all one unit. Once you replace the filter, the cover – whether its the plain grey pattern or one of the art style covers – is also gone.

With the filter removed, you can see the fan that draws in air through the filter, which is then pushed out after pollutants are caught in the filter.

The inside is also home to the Apple Home QR code. There’s only one instance, so do make a backup in case. There’s a handy (if not necessary) diagram to show you how to replace the filter. In the third image, you can see the depth of the filter (), with the cover being glued onto the filter frame.

The filter is proprietary, which means you’re unlikely to find or be able to fit generic filters from other manufacturers. This being the case, you’ll need to purchase replacements from Smartmi, who have said that if you don’t want the artwork filters, the plain grey ones will also be made available.

The back of the stand has three keyhole slots that allows the E1 to be hung on a wall or other vertical surface. This, as you might now gather, is the reason for the art covers! If you don’t plan on hanging it off a wall, the unit has two holes for affixing the provided metal stand to the E1.

I think most people will opt for the stand option, although as already mentioned, mounting it to a wall does sort of create even more space, when its at a premium.

The back also features a vent area at the top where the clean air is expelled once it has passed through the filter and the fan. At the top of the unit is a small but brightly coloured panel featuring the controls for both the fan speed (three in total), and a power button.

There are small LEDs representing the power and WiFi connection, as well as the three aforementioned fan speeds. If these are likely to bother you at night, the good news is they can be turned off, although only via the Smartmi app.

First impressions are pretty good, and despite looking similar in concept to the much cheaper Ikea Förnuftig air purifier, the design is a lot more stylish in my opinion, looks way more sturdy, and the latter isn’t smart in any way, so it’s easy to see the Smartmi as a better product ultimately.

SMARTMI LINK APP

the Smartmi Link app is pretty bare-bones when it comes to features, which is a shame as it’s nicely designed and laid out. Any devices you have will appear as large tiles showing the devices themselves with a quick on/off control. Tapping on the tile brings up the main screen which has the standard on/off control as well as a sort of carrousel section to choose from three different speeds, listed as ‘gears’ for some reason. Aside from that, there’s the option to turn off the LEDs, as well as a basic schedule/timer section. The app also stores the HomeKit code, and allows you to bind the E1 directly to HomeKit via the app.

APPLE HOME

The Apple Home app fares little better, although as you can have the E1 interact with HomeKit devices from other brands, this is where it takes over from Smartmi’s own app, and for good reason, as I’ll explain later.

You get all the standard stuff, so a single tile for the E1 that allows for on/off control. Tapping anywhere other than the icon will open up the control screen; this is a slider control and power button. Even though the E1 has three distinct speeds, the slider doesn’t snap to those presets, so setting the slider to the relevant speed can be a bit of guesswork. I did mention this to Smartmi, who promised to remedy this via an update. Beyond that, in the settings panel, you get a different slider, that still controls the fan speed, as well as details for filter life and filter condition. That’s pretty much it.

With many devices, there are hidden controls you can access via third-party apps, but this generally isn’t the case for Smartmi devices, so if you want to turn the LEDs off via an automation, or simply via HomeKit, you’re out of luck, as it can only be accessed via the Smartmi app.

REPLACEMENT FILTERS

As it stands, replacement filters are only available as a triple pack, and they also only come with the ‘art’ selections. I’m told by Smartmi that the plain grey filter, like the one the comes with the E1 as standard, will also be available for purchase soon, so hopefully that will happen sooner rather than later.

Above is one of the artwork filters sent for this review, and although I’m not a cat person, per se, it does look cool. I dare say it would look great on the wall too, but that does require a commitment to drilling some holes into the wall, so it’s over to you!

PERFORMANCE AND POTENTIAL MINUS POINT

The main issue that some will have is that unlike many purifiers, the E1 doesn’t come equipped with a built in PM2.5 sensor – or any sensors at all for that matter. The company’s other purifiers – P1, P2, AP2, Jya – all come with PM2.5 sensors built in, so this is the reason for the lower price point of the E1. I personally don’t think it’s a problem, as I’ve found time and again through tests that the sensors in purifiers tend to measure the air immediately around themselves, and as such don’t tend to give realistic measurements for the room. This I’ve found is in part due to the air surrounding the device being cleaner due to the job it’s tasked with, whilst it seems logical to know the levels of PM2.5 the room in general, not in the immediate vicinity of the purifier.

My take on this is to get the E1 to turn on and off (via automations) based on measurements from an external sensor. There are plenty of PM2.5 sensors available for all budgets these days, and because they’re dedicated to a specific task, chances are they’re going to be at least as good, if not better than any built in sensor. You can also place these external sensors wherever you think the concentrations of pollutants is represented best, possible near a window facing a main road, for example.

Aside from this point, I don’t have any complaints, and in month I’ve had it running, I’m happy to say that it hasn’t gone offline once so far, which to me is always a worry. The usual price point is a little high at US$161 (it’s currently on offer for just US$129.00), considering the superior Smartmi P1 is available for just a little more. Still, it takes up little space, can be wall mounted, and comes with artwork printed on the covers, so it certainly has it’s own niche.

The post Smartmi Air Purifier E1 (review) appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

PACKAGING

The packaging is the first thing to grab you, with badges for both Thread and Matter, which whilst not a ‘first’ for Aqara (their Contact Sensor P2 has that  honour), it’s certainly their first hub to boast such credentials. The back is all about the specs, which are admittedly pretty impressive;

• Wired or wireless connection
• 2.4 & 5.0GHz WiFi a/b/g/n/ac
• Zigbee 3.0
• Bluetooth 5.1
• built-in IR transceiver
• 95dB loudspeaker
• Power over Ethernet
• USB-C power port

As for the features, it’s a Matter controller for the Aqara ecosystem, which means their platform is moving towards being a viable competitor to others. It has a lot of catching up to do if we’re talking more than just with Matter accessories. By that, I mean third-party device is supported, but only for Matter devices.

It’s also a Thread Border Router, which means Matter over Thread devices can work natively in the Aqara app. Note that HomeKit over Thread devices are excluded, so they have to be Matter over Thread.

It also mentions something called ‘Edge’ computing, which offers local encrypted control, with no requirement for cloud connectivity, amongst other things. The M3 can also make automations that were cloud-based on other hubs in your Aqara setup, local.

So, this all sounds great, and it is for existing Aqara users at a minimum; You’re getting a Zigbee 3.0 hub, a Thread Border Router to finally use your Aqara Matter over Thread devices (all two of them…), and an IR blaster that can control your AC, as well as expose it to Apple Home, and a much louder speaker than you get on either the M2 or the M1/M1S.

Even though it’s Matter compatible as a Matter bridge for their Zigbee devices, it can also work with Apple Home, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa using what I describe as the legacy methods. For Apple Home there’s not much difference between adding the M3 using Matter or HomeKit, but for Google and Alexa users, local control instead of a cloud-based approach is the enticement here.

CONTENTS

The contents are minimal, but not unexpected. Aside from the M3, there’s a manual that comes with QR codes for Matter, Apple Home, and Aqara. You’ll initially need the Aqara QR code, but assuming you add it to HomeKit via Matter afterwards via the Aqara app, you won’t need the Matter code. You’ll still need the HomeKit QR code if you go down the HomeKit route, which may be for good reason, for which I’ll go into later.

You get a USB-C to USB-A power cable, but no power brick, which is the standard these days. There’s also no ethernet cable. You do get a mounting bracket, with included screws and rawl plugs though. This allows the M3 to be ceiling or wall mounted if required.

THE HUB M3

Like the M2 before it, the M3 uses the same textured plastic on top that isn’t entirely resistant to fingerprints, but it’s not something you’ll really need to handle often I guess. the edge of the M3 has translucent plastic for the ‘360º’ IR blaster to do its thing. The back of the M3 has a pairing/reset button flanked by Aqara and HomeKit QR codes. There’s no Matter code on the box, but in addition to finding it on the manual, it’s stored in the Aqara app. The underside of the M3 has a rubber base to stop it from sliding around, as well as holes for the aforementioned mounting bracket to click into place.

The underside also features a large cut-out ‘trench’ for allowing the ethernet and USB-C cables to connect. If you have a router or network switch capable of offering Power over Ethernet (PoE), you can dispense with the USB-C cable and simply power the M3 and connect it to your router with the one ethernet cable.

THE M3 IN AQARA HOME

The process of adding the M3 to Aqara Home – which I’d recommend doing first – is pretty straightforward; once it’s powered up, you go into the Aqara app and select ‘Add Accessory’ although it may also pop up on the screen before you even get there. This is in part due to Aqara’s own ‘EasyPair’ setup feature first seen in the Aqara Camera E1. Bluetooth in the hub transmits a signal that the Aqara ecosystem picks up via your phone, allowing you to begin pairing it. Even though it comes with a Matter QR code, you don’t need it, but instead you use the Aqara QR code. The former is used for adding it to other ecosystems, although when adding it to Apple Home (via the Aqara app), for example, you still won’t need to scan that code.

Once added, you can begin the process of adding it to other ecosystems. For Apple Home users, you get two options – add using Apple HomeKit, or add using Matter. Making this choice depends on what you want from the M3, as each option gives something but takes another thing away.

• MatterAdd using Matter allows you to expose the AC control option to Apple Home as a fully fledged AC controller.
  • If you have any Aqara lighting products that use Apple’s Adaptive Lighting, you’ll lose this functionality if the lighting is connected to the M3.
  • You lose the option to have the M3 act as a security system in Apple Home.
• Apple HomeAdd using HomeKit allows you to expose the security system to Apple Home.
  • Lighting products capable of using Adaptive lighting, retain this feature when connected to Apple Home.
  • You lose the option to have the M3 act as an AC controller in Apple Home.

So the choice is yours. You could actually add the M3 using both Matter and HomeKit, giving you AC control, the security system, and Adaptive Lighting, but you’ll have two instances of each Zigbee device connected to the M3, which could cause problems, or confusion at the very least.

The M3 offers a lot of features and options you would previously have not seen with their other hubs. For example, there’s a section to describe the function of the M3 as the lead hub in a ‘cluster’. This is in part the way that the M3, which has more onboard memory, can make scenes and automations local, even if they originate on another hub. This also includes devices that are not technically hubs themselves, like the Camera E1, the Presence Sensor FP2, and the Video Doorbell G4.

One thing to note is that whilst the integrated speaker is a lot louder than that of the M2, it still won’t replace a professional alarm siren, but at least for notifications etc, you can actually hear without straining now.

There’s a separate section that allows you to add the M3 to other platforms, check what platforms its connected to, and manage those connections. It lists Apple Home, as I added the M3 to HomeKit using Matter. Apple Keychain stores the basic data for that hub in relation to its Matter connection.

AC control in the Aqara app offers pretty much all the control you need, although it could depend on the capabilities of your AC too as to what options you get. Via Matter the AC control is exposed to HomeKit, although you only get the basic controls – off/heat/cool, and temperature control. In order for you to get more fuller features over the AC, you do need to add an Aqara temperature sensor to the M3, which in turn can be linked to as a climate sensor for the AC control. This then shows you the temperature as part of the AC control in both Apple and Aqara Home. Without it, the temperature will show the default zero degrees. You can’t use a temperature sensor connected to another Aqara hub, even if on the same account and WiFi network.

As the M3 has an IR blaster, it can control other devices besides the AC, although unlike products like the Switchbot Hub 2 (review, video), or the Nature Remo Nano (review, video), which can expose other IR controlled devices to HomeKit, the M3 cannot. This may not be such a big deal for a couple of reasons; The first is that although the two aforementioned products can expose more IR devices, they only appear in HomeKit with basic on/off functionality, much like a smart plug, so for a TV remote, you can only turn it on or off. The other thing is that with Aqara having all the controls for other IR devices in its ecosystem, you can still create scenes to trigger certain aspects of that device, and export those scenes to HomeKit, which may actually be better in a round about way.

The M3 has a plethora of other settings, like custom ringtones, so you can upload your own sounds to the M3, for use in automations, as well as the hub offering four different language options (Chinese, French, Spanish, English).

Possibly the biggest change is that you can now migrate devices and automations on one hub, to an M3. This feature effectively factory resets the M3, moves the data from the old hub to the M3, then factory resets the original hub. This migration assistant only works in the Aqara app, so when it comes to the old hub in Apple home, it’ll still be listed, along with any child devices, it’ll show as offline, so you’ll have to remove this instance of the old hub from HomeKit. This option also means that you’re better off doing the migration from one hub to the M3 before you add any child devices to the M3, or for that matter (no pun intended) add the M3 to Apple Home.

THREAD, MATTER, ZIGBEE, BLUETOOTH – CONFUSED?

It’s already a thing that many are confused about the hub’s capabilities, what the different protocols are for, and what can be added. This wasn’t helped by the fact that Aqara released the M3 with very limited Matter support, which added up to just a handful of brands and devices being compatible at launch. This is not how Matter is supposed to be of course, and to their credit, they did fully unlock this feature, allowing all supported Matter device categories to be used with the M3. They still should have done this before releasing the M3 instead of retroactively responding to customer complaints, but it’s done now.

However, initially, this issue was further impacted by the fact that neither of the company’s own Matter over Thread devices could be added to the M3, which is a pretty bad self-own. Again, this was quickly rectified – partially – but still didn’t allow these devices (contact, and motion sensors) to be used as part of Aqara’s own security system, need I say how bad this looked? So for the third time, there was an update that remedied this final issue. It really shouldn’t have been this way, and somewhat tainted the launch in many peoples’ eyes.

So, aside from the missteps mentioned, what are all these protocols supposed to be for? Well, The M3 is many things, and in some way’s these roles are equals. First off, this is a Zigbee hub, just like the M2, so you can add Aqara Zigbee devices to it. It can then be exposed as a standard Zigbee hub to Apple Home using either the Matter or HomeKit QR codes. However, it’s also a Matter bridge, which is much the same thing; the difference is that it exposes those child devices to the four main platforms using Matter. This is different to HomeKit for the previously mentioned reasons, and when it comes to the other platforms, adding the hub via Matter circumvents the need for a cloud connection, which Google and Amazon have relied on – they basically connect to your account on the Aqara server, allowing that server to communicate your instructions to Amazon or Google’s own servers. Matter does away with this, and allows communication between the Aqara M3 (or other Matter enabled Aqara bridges) and your smart home platform, without the need to connect to your account in the cloud.

So, it’s a Zigbee hub/bridge/gateway, and it’s a Matter hub/bridge/gateway for Zigbee devices…

It’s also a Matter Controller. This means it acts as a central organising piece of kit that allows your Aqara smart home devices to run locally and effectively within the Aqara ecosystem. For example, the Apple TV, HomePod, and HomePod Mini are all Matter Controllers too, doing the same thing in Apple Home. Basically speaking, each platform requires its own Matter Controller, and the M3 is such a device for Aqara’s smart platform. Google’s Nest hubs, and Amazon’s own range of displays and speakers are all Matter Controllers for their respective ecosystems too.

Thread – yes, it’s a Thread device, but not like a Thread motion sensor, no. This is a Thread Border Router (TBR). This allows Aqara and third-party Matter over Thread devices to connect to the Aqara ecosystem. If it didn’t have the TBR inside, it could still act as a Matter Controller, but only for devices that connect through a Matter Bridge (like the Philips Hue Bridge, for example) or with Matter over WiFi devices. The older Apple TVs, and the original HomePod are such devices – Matter Controllers but without a TBR inside.

Bluetooth – This is included in part due to the way Matter works when a device is ready for adding to a Matter ecosystem. Bluetooth is the initial connection between the device, your phone, and the Matter ecosystem in question. Although it’s unlikely it’s used for much else, it could be used for some Aqara locks that use Bluetooth, but it’s not clear if that’s an option.

THIRD PARTY DEVICES

I already had an M3 from China back in January, and once the international version of the M3 arrived from Aqara for review, things had moved on. By that, I mean that I was now able to add the Hue Bridge to the Aqara ecosystem. How, you might ask. The Hue Bridge can now be added to Matter ecosystems by simply going into the Hue app, and generating a Matter code. You then add the bridge to Aqara’s own newly Matter-enabled ecosystem using that code and the Bridge and all its child devices are exposed to the Aqara ecosystem.

As you can see from the screenshots above, I’ve added a Hue Bridge to Aqara Home using this method. the Matter icon appears in the corner of the icon to show that it’s added using Matter. Due to the Hue Matter update, some other third-party Zigbee devices that could be added to the Hue Bridge, but not show up in Apple Home, can now be exposed to Apple Home because of this. The same is true for the Aqara ecosystem, which in my case shows a standard colour Hue bulb (LCT016) alongside a Tradfri bulb added to the Hue Bridge. This is an instance of Matter over Bridge, which is less talked about than Matter over WiFi or Matter over Thread, but is equally useful.

As it stands now, pretty much all Matter devices should be able to be added to the Aqara app if you have the M3. There’s a caveat here in that Aqara themselves have said many devices from third parties haven’t been tested, so there’s the possibility some won’t work as intended or even fail to add, so you’ll just have to try and see what happens.

The one question some people might ask is why would one want to expose devices to Aqara via Matter, if they already work with HomeKit. For me, the simple answer lies in Aqara’s automation options. In many ways, they’re so much better than what other platforms offer, but if you want specifics, it’s the way in which Aqara allows a lights to be turned on or off, with one automation. If that doesn’t make sense, in Apple Home for example, if you have a smart button controlling a smart bulb, you can set the button to turn the light on with a single press, but you don’t have an option for the bulb to be set at the opposite state to its present one. In essence, I want to be able to single press a button, and turn the bulb on or off with that single press, depending on the on/off state of the bulb. Yes, it’s possible by converting an automation to a Shortcut in the Apple Home app, but you shouldn’t have to make a convoluted IF/THEN automation when Aqara do it quite easily. Their app has an option that allows you to set a light to “on/off”, so you can rely on a single press on a smart button to to act just like a normal switch. This something I’ve longed for in Apple Home, but I just can see it ever happening. Now, as I have a collection of Hue bulbs and wireless buttons from Aqara, with the Hue Bridge in Aqara Home, I can achieve this. But I can also have those bulbs remain in Apple Home for other purposes, so it’s a win-win.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH IT?

When I originally set up my Chinese M3 back in late January, soon after, I noticed that some of my Thread devices became very sluggish to respond, and at different times went offline for a while, before coming back. This at first seemed to be limited to HomeKit over Thread devices, but then it started to manifest itself with Matter over Thread devices  too. The products that showed these kinds of odd behaviour were some of my Nanoleaf bulbs, Eve Energy smart plug, Wemo smart plug, and Wemo Stage Scene Controller. These are all HomeKit over Thread. Additionally, the Matter over Thread devices that acted up, were the Tuo Smart Button, and SmartWings Roller Blinds. After this began to get tedious, I assumed there was an issue with the Chinese model I had, and removed it, boxing it up for another day. Soon after I did so, everything behaved like it had before, with snappy response times, and no offline devices.

When the international model arrived, I set it up, and yet again the same issues came to the fore, with the same set of devices, so I now could see this wasn’t a fluke. I once again removed the newer M3, and as before, things became stable again. I have spoken to Aqara about this, and the majority of their beta testers hadn’t experienced any of these problems. That said, I’ve been contacted by maybe 5 or 6 people that have had the same issues, so it’s clearly not totally isolated.

just until a day ago, I was considering removing the M3 again and just making do with what I have for the sake of my sanity, however I seemed to have stumbled upon a fix of sorts. at first, my M3 was wired to an network switch that was connected to the router, which is when all the issues surfaced. I didn’t have any free ports on the router itself, but I did have an ethernet access point in another room, so connecting the M3 to this AP was essentially the same as connecting it directly to the router (as far as I can see). After testing this method out for a day, none of the sluggish response times and offline issues plaguing my Thread devices have returned, so I believe the M3 being connected to a network switch was the problem here, even if that shouldn’t be the case. Either way, I’m sticking with the M3 set up this way now, and will monitor the situation further.  With this frustration seemingly solved now, I can say the M3 is actually a very good product in many ways, and possibly their most forward thinking product to date. I hope at some point they find a solution so I can connect the M3 in a manner of my choosing, but for now I’ll just make do with what I have.

Wrapping things up, there’s a lot to like, and considering the issues I mention with the lack of Matter support are largely taken care of, and assuming most people won’t be experiencing the issues I had with a problematic Thread network, then I do think this is a worthy purchase. At the very least, you’re buying into a device that expands the Aqara app to include more third-party devices, adds AC control, has a louder speaker, and unlike the M2, offers 5.0GHz WiFi and PoE. If that’s enough to sway you, then go for it.

The post Aqara Hub M3 (review) appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

PACKAGING | CONTENTS

If you’re in possession of the company’s other Thread-enabled device, the Airversa Purelle (video HERE, review HERE), you’ll be familiar with the Apple-like packaging, which pretty much everyone seems to do these days. Still, the box gives you pretty much all the info you need;

• 5.5l water tank
• Dual mist streams
• Essential oil tray
• suitable for large rooms up to 500 sq ft
• BPA free
• Apple Home compatible
• Auto-humidity
• Smart ring light
• Touch control
• Sleep mode
• Scheduling
• Humidity and temperature tracking

As with the Vocolinc Flowerbud and almost all the products that followed it, the Humelle utilises colour LEDs that can be used in a variety of ways, which I’ll go into in more detail later. It’s probably worth pointing out that the Humelle is offered in three finishes for the water tank, with Pebble Grey, Crystal Clear, and Arctic Blue being the current three options, although the latter of these won’t be available until later in the year.

The Humelle, or AH1 as I’ll forthwith refer to it, is pretty futuristic looking, with a large glass-like water tank taking up around three-fifths of the unit, surrounding a central funnel. The bottom two-fifths are made up of the mechanics, which are largely hidden from view until you remove the water tank.

Aside from the Humidifier, you get a power supply designed for your region (if supported), a manual in English with QR codes inside that link to the manual in other languages, a brush for cleaning some parts of the unit, and a couple of ‘aroma pads’. These, as you’ll see later, are designed for use with essential oils. Whilst many smaller aroma diffusers allow you to add essential oils directly to the water, this is not the case with the Humelle, with the oils only designed to be used with these pads.

THE HUMELLE

The front of the AH1 features two touch-sensitive buttons for the mist and the LED ring, in addition to three LEDs to indicate different working states. The rear is home to the HomeKit QR code, some slats hiding the temperature and humidity sensors, and the coaxial port for the power supply. The Upper and lower sections can only fit one way, with two small arrows to show how the two parts line up.

The top section of the AH1 has a removable mist nozzle, which has two sausage-shaped holes for the mist to be directed outward. This nozzle, which is actually more plate-shaped, is adjustable to allow the mist to go in other directions, and can also be removed, giving access to a carry handle, which is useful when the tank is fully loaded with water.

The large top section which is the water tank, is filled from underneath, so you have to remove the water tank, flip it upside down, remove the water tank cap, and fill it with distilled, demineralised, or purified water.

The bottom section stores a percentage of the water fed from the water tank, where the nebuliser breaks it up into a fine mist.

One of only two moving or moveable parts in the bottom section aside from the nebuliser, is the water level sensor. I assume this works with the use of a magnet within the foam ring, so once the water level is low, the ring (and magnet) make contact with another magnet hidden inside the base, which in turn triggers a notification that the water level is low. The stem and the ring are both removable for cleaning, as indicated by the lock/unlock icons.

The other part that can be removed and cleaned is the essential oil tray. As already mentioned, you can’t add oils to the water tank, so instead you add a few drops to the aroma pad that sits inside the tray, which itself sits in a holder below a vent for the built-in fan. The fan blows air just above the aroma pad, which then sends the essential oil smells and the fine water mist up through the central ‘funnel’ in the top section, and out to the room. The underside of the bottom section is home to an LED ring light, which we’ll look at in a bit.

Summing up my initial impression, the whole package – so to speak – looks and feels great, from the glass-like plastic water tank, which I really like the design of, to the understated design of the touch-sensitive buttons and internals. All feel well-made and sturdily put together.

IN APPLE HOME | HOMEKIT

If you’re an Apple Home user, you’ll probably know the score as regards what’s generally exposed to HomeKit, so in the case of the AH1, you get two devices – the humidifier and the LED ring. You can display them as separate tiles like I have pictured above, or combined. As the AH1 has temperature and humidity sensors built-in, you can see them listed at the top. Pressing on the humidity icon brings up the current humidity, but also brings up the AH1 again, which I guess is due to it being a humidifier.

As standard, there’s a slider for the humidifier, which doesn’t control the strength of the mist as such, but instead sets the target humidity level. If it’s set to 100% humidity, the AH1 will simply keep pumping out mist until the tank empties, as it’s virtually impossible to reach 100% humidity for this device. Below that is a simple on/off button.

The settings page also gives you access to the fan speed, which essentially controls the strength of the mist output. When it comes to the LED ring, even though it’s capable of multiple colours, in Apple Home it’s not possible to access multiple colour controls, so solid colours and brightness levels via the slider are the only options here. All standard stuff, basically.

In the ‘Eve for HomeKit’ app, you can see the AH1 shows up via your Thread network as not only a Thread device but also as a Thread Router, which allows it to be a sort of Thread ‘access point’ for Thread endpoint devices (mostly battery operated) in the absence of a full Thread Border Router.

IN THE SLEEKPOINT APP

As you can see from the first screenshot above, I’ve already got the Airversa Purelle (review, video), and the Holomarq HK1 (review, video) in addition to the AH1, in the Sleekpoint app. The bottom section gives you access to a few different areas – schedules, charts, power, light, and settings. The rest of the main screen for the AH1 offers a large amount of control and information, including the current temperature and humidity, with the latter primarily taking up the top section of the screen. You then have three mist streaming modes (manual, auto, sleep) along with a nicely designed rotating knob to adjust the mist stream strength.

Speaking of the streaming modes, when you select ‘Sleep’ you get a further three sub-options; Whisper, Quiet, and Default, with Whisper being the quietest of the three sleep levels. Even though you can set on/off times directly in the Home app, or most other third-party HomeKit apps, the Sleekpoint app goes the extra mile when it comes to recurring options that also include the use of the LED ring, as well as what mode and mist strength should be applied, so in this regard it’s pretty powerful.

If you’re a bit of a devil when it comes to monitoring temperature and humidity levels, you can check out records for each of these metrics via the Charts section, where both are broken down into 24 hours, 7 days, or one month. It doesn’t seem as though you can export this data, however. The general settings tab covers the basics, like the product name, timers, Fahrenheit or Celcius, feedback sounds, and plenty more. There’s also a device cleaning reminder, that prompts you to clean the device every three days by default.

Onto the settings for the LED ring, which are also quite extensive; The AH1 comes with a series of preset ‘themes’ that are collected into groups – Ambience, Fantasy, and Energy – with more to come hopefully. All of the themes can be saved to a favourites section which can then be quickly accessed via the button on the front of the AH1. Each of these themes can also be customised and saved as new themes by the user if desired.

There are slightly different lighting options depending on the theme selected, so the top section will change and offer different options according to the theme. Either way, you’ll almost always get access to changing colour via the colour wheel, RGB sliders, or even by typing in a specific hexadecimal number. You can also save your colours here for recall later. The only option that doesn’t offer up the colour wheel is ‘RT Humidity’ which automatically changes the colour of the LED depending on the humidity levels, with blue when humidity is high, green when humidity is acceptable, and orange when humidity is low.

As already mentioned, the options change depending on the theme, so in the case of the ‘Jellyfish’ preset, you can choose the brightness, the speed of the animation, and the colour, as well as sync the colour to the humidity levels. ‘Gradiant’ (sic) Offers the same first two options (brightness and animation speed), plus tying the colours to the humidity levels, but also has a ‘DIY’ button that allows you to select your own collection of colours with a maximum of eleven in total.

In the case of the ‘Wheel’ preset you initially get only the animation speed option, along with syncing the colour to the humidity levels as before, but you also get an option to change the direction of the animation, along with colour options (DIY). This preset offers two colours divided into two segments – Base and Top – so along with the animation, the segments give the appearance of a moving wheel I guess. When you select the ‘top’ option, you can also adjust how many sections the wheel preset is divided into, with a minimum of two segments and a maximum of twelve segments.

Even though these animations can’t be directly accessed in the Apple Home app, some third-party HomeKit apps, like Controller for HomeKit, can access your favourites created in the Sleekpoint app, and then be included in Scenes, which will then show up and be accessible within Apple Home. To see this in action, you can check it out via the video below starting at 7’13”;

HUMELLE IN USE | WRAPPING UP

As I pointed out at the start of the review, there’s very little call for humidifiers here for much of the year, but from the tests I have performed, the results are more than adequate in the more controlled ways I was able to test it for humidifying purposes. Even then, due to the climate where I live, the results can be slightly skewed. I did find it would struggle with anything more than 70% humidity, but anything over 60% is not advisable in normal home use, so that isn’t actually an issue for the vast majority of people who will only need it during the winter when humidity levels can get pretty low.

The mist stream appears more powerful than previous humidifiers I’ve tested, and with the adjustable mist nozzle, you can direct the stream away from potentially problematic areas without having to move the whole device.

It does work much better as a humidifier than a diffuser, given that essential oils are not designed to be added to the water tank, so if you wanted this for making the room smell nice more than for humidity, you might be better of with one of their non-smart waterless aroma diffusers.

In terms of connectivity, it has been exemplary so far, which doesn’t come as a surprise to me, as the Aiversa Purelle and the Holomarq HK1 are just as reliable in this regard. I generally don’t have issues with my Thread devices, but if I do, the issue usually centres on the HomePods, not the Thread devices themselves.

It has been argued in the past that Thread isn’t necessary with a permanently powered device, but as it is powered, it gives your home another means for an endpoint Thread device to connect to, so to me it’s a definite bonus, whilst also being one less device bogging down my WiFi network.

The design itself, whilst not perfect in some ways, is to me the best-looking humidifier out there right now, especially when you look at offerings from other HomeKit manufacturers like Meross, Vocolinc and Switchbot, all of which look a bit dated and just not very stylish really. It also has the largest tank compared to other HomeKit-enabled humidifiers, with the Vocolinc MistFlow coming at 3.0 litres less than the Humelle with a paltry 2.5-litre capacity. The Smartmi Rainforest Humidifier, which I recently reviewed, is a real thing of beauty in my opinion, but only has a slightly larger water tank at 3.0 litres. Nevertheless, the Rainforest is more than twice the price, and as it uses evaporative humidification, it does take longer to reach the set level. It doesn’t trigger PM2.5 sensors though, which is an unfortunate side effect of diffusion-based humidifiers like the Humelle.

the one thing to take into account is that it does require regular cleaning maintenance – every 3 days is recommended in fact – so this could be a chore for some. You should also use some form of filtered water, which isn’t something everyone has easy access to, even if they should.

All things considered, whilst the AH1 is more expensive than most of the HomeKit humidifiers available, it uses Thread not WiFi (a big plus), it does have the largest water tank, and it comes with the potentially very useful multicolour LED ring. The design may or may not be to everyone’s taste, but with the very clear view of your water tank on display, I think it looks very cool. I just wish I could make use of it for more of the year!

The post Airversa Humelle Smart Humidifier W/ Thread (review) appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

You can purchase the the Airversa Humelle from Amazon stores in your region using the (affiliate) links below, which cost you nothing extra but help us buy more products for review, to keep you informed on how products perform.

• Amazon US – 5% off for a limited period using the code HKNW5OFF
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The post Airversa Humelle Humidifier W/ Thread (video) appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

PACKAGING | CONTENTS

Upon receiving the package, I was surprised at how big it was, but then this is a big device – almost twice the height of the aforementioned MistFlow. They really have gone to town when it comes to the ‘theme’ of the product, with the imagery reflecting the ‘Rainforest’ name to a tee, and for good reason. One side shows the compatible smart home badges – Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, and Google Home. There’s no SmartThings integration, and this is not a Matter device, so it uses legacy connectivity via the cloud for the latter two options.

One side of the box lays out the features, of which there aren’t many, to be fair. Due to the method by which it generates humidity, which I’ll go into later, it actually creates sounds quite similar to that of rain hitting a window. It comes with a very nice, but very simple LED display, and there’s an option to have it ‘self-clean’ with the aid of citric acid.

There’s not a lot in the box, just the device itself, a power supply, and a manual in three languages – English, French, and Spanish. The humidifier is really something to behold, giving off the air (no pun intended) of the kind of device you might see on the set of a Star Wars film, given its white plastic, gold accents, and see-through middle section.

Here are some specs for those that find it of interest;

• Net weight: 3.3kg/7.275lb
• Wireless connection: WiFi 2.4GHz b/g/n
• Rated input: 100-240V 50/60Hz, 0.3A
• Rated voltage: 12V
• Rated power: 7W
• Operating humidity/temperature: ≯80% (RH) / 10~40°С
• Noise: less than 50dB
• Humidifying capacity: 200ml/h
• Water tank capacity: 3L / 6.34pt (US)
• Operating principle: evaporative

THE HUMIDIFIER AND ITS PARTS

The front is home to a single capacitive touch button that allows you to cycle through the three different modes it’s capable of – Favourite/Manual, Auto, and Sleep. The rear features a single power button at the top, with a humidity sensor below that. A single HomeKit QR code is stuck to the back, but the manual doesn’t come with a backup instance of the code, so make sure you make a note of it somewhere, or better still, use the HomePass app by Aaron Pearce. Directly below the code, is the coaxial port for powering the unit.

The device comes in four main sections, with the top half containing the LED display, which is also one route for refilling the water tank – I kid you not. This section also contains the fan to draw humid air up and out to the room it’s placed in. Below the fan is the water droplet chamber, which I’ll go into in a bit more detail in a bit.

With this main section removed, you then get to a polymer mesh filter that sits inside a sort of plastic cage. This isn’t the kind of tightly woven filter you might see in an air purifier, as water needs to pass through relatively easily, but it will catch small particles that could get into the tank and be sucked up again, possibly causing damage to the fan or other parts.

This filter should last as much as twelve months, and it can also be washed, so replacements aren’t going to be something you need to purchase too often, although regularly cleaning it is quite essential, to avoid the build-up of mould, especially as it may not be as easy to see.

The filter surrounds a pipe, and once removed you can see the pipe connected to the bottom section. This pipe is connected to a water pump, that sends water through the pipe, into the upper chamber where it hits a spinning wheel. This wheel is connected to the fan in the top section, so when water collides with the wheel – which is going at a high speed – it breaks the water into droplets that are then smashed into the inside of the clear plastic chamber. The fan does double duty by then drawing the moist air upward and out through the vents surrounding the LED display.

With the water pump section removed, you’re left with the water tank itself, which is reported to hold 3 litres of water, although I managed to get another 500ml right up to the ‘max’ level line for some reason. The underside of the tank has four rubber wheels to keep it from sliding around, although at 3.3kg, plus the weight of a full tank, this is unlikely. If it was knocked over, there’s a power cut-off feature to avoid any potential hazards involving electricity and water. Speaking of power, the section containing the water pump is also home to five pin connectors. These match up with five contacts found as part of the top section.

THE DISPLAY

The top of the device is mostly made up of a display, although there’s more to it than that. At its basic, the LED screen, which could be described as a large ‘contact lens’, has a convex shape, the reason for which is that you can actually pour water over the top of it in order to (re)fill that water tank below. The water drops from the display to an opening encircling it, which then filters through the transparent chamber and eventually down into the water tank. Pretty clever stuff.

The display itself is quite simple and uncluttered, especially compared to their purifiers. In the centre is the current humidity level where it’s located, with a WiFi icon to let you know it’s connected. If this icon flashes, there’s a connectivity issue. Above the humidity reading will be one of three icons that represent the different modes – a Heart for Favourite mode, a capital A for Auto mode, and a crescent moon for Sleep mode.

Surrounding all of these graphical icons is a colour ring split into four segments. Each segment represents roughly 25% of the water tank’s capacity, and as the tank begins to empty, one by one, each section will change from green to white, indicating the estimated amount of water left in the tank.

When the tank is devoid of water, these four segments will turn red and begin to pulsate to let you know the tank needs refilling.

The display is surrounded by a gold-coloured ring, that is separated from the outer edge by another set of vents that let out the humidified air. As you can see from the sticker on the display, you should use purified water to avoid limescale building up or to prevent other impurities being pushed out into your room.

THE SMARTMI LINK APP

It’s probably easier to set this up in the Smartmi Link app first, and even if you plan on using this solely in HomeKit, you’ll still need the app for a couple of settings not available elsewhere. You will need to set up an account and choose an appropriate server, but luckily, devices don’t seem to be region restricted in the way that Xiaomi or Aqara devices are, so you can choose any region you want.

Smartmi devices, whilst using WiFi, also have a Bluetooth chip inside for initial connection (or commissioning, as it’s now referred to for Matter devices). It discovered the unit as soon as I plugged it into power, which was impressive. As this uses 2.4GHz WiFi only, you need to provide suitable credentials for the unit to connect to. Once connected, you’re set – all rather painless.

If you have multiple Smartmi devices as I have, they’re all shown on the main screen, with a simple on/off button for quick access. Tapping on the relevant tile opens up a full control panel. The unit in question is much like the other products, although as we’re talking about humidity, not air quality, there are differences. The display has a carousel bar to switch between the three modes previously mentioned, along with the power button. In Manual mode, you get a sliding bar to adjust the ‘intensity’ although it’s basically the fan speed you’re adjusting. The top of the screen shows the current humidity, which is reflected in the half-hidden panel at the bottom, which also tells you how much water is left in the tank.

This bottom panel expands when you slide it up, to reveal a slider for target humidity along with extra options. These extras include the display, which can be set to full brightness (light), dimmed (shimmer), or off. There’s a simple option for setting on/off timers, and a section that explains how the unit can be set to self-clean. As with all Smartmi devices, you can also turn off the standard beep sounds emitted whenever you change anything.

In the app, you can also add it directly to HomeKit. As it’s already connected to your network, there’s no need for your phone to be on a 2.4GHz network, so the process of adding it to HomeKit is generally much quicker at this point.

IN THE HOME APP | HOMEKIT

In HomeKit you get one tile for on/off. Tapping elsewhere on the tile reveals the standard slider control, although this is not for the fan speed. The slider controls the target humidity (i.e. the level of humidity you require). Below that is the power button. In the settings section, you get details on the water level, an off/humidity control, and fan speed, along with the current humidity levels.

Strangely, the Home app doesn’t offer an option to use the humidity level readings from the device in an automation! Luckily this is not the case with third-party apps, like Eve for HomeKit which does allow for such an automation. Indeed, as is usually the case, once you’ve set such an automation up in a third-party app, it’ll then appear in the Home app anyway. The Eve app shows separate controls for the fan and the humidifier along with all the other settings.

What neither Eve for HomeKit nor Apple Home can do is create an automation based on the tank’s water level. For this, you’d need something like the Controller for HomeKit app, which offers this amongst other trigger aspects. If you really delve into this app, you can even turn off the fan whilst still keeping the water running, and have the display on, although why you’d want to do so is anyone’s guess! What you can’t seem to do in any app is control the display brightness, which is a shame, as is having to resort to outside apps to achieve something relatively simple, but it is what it is.

EVAPORATIVE VS. ULTRASONIC HUMIDIFIERS

Possibly the only alternative to the Rainforest Humidifier right now – at least for HomeKit integration – is the MistFlow from Vocolinc. This is an ultrasonic humidifier that “uses a ceramic diaphragm vibrating at an ultrasonic frequency to create water droplets that silently exit the humidifier in the form of cool fog”*.

These kinds of humidifiers tend to be able to get the humidity to the level required much quicker than evaporative models, although the trade-off is that the fine mist generated immediately triggers PM2.5 sensors, whether they’re inside an air purifier, or as part of standalone models. I found this to be the case, with the evaporate approach having virtually no effect on these sensors. Whether this fine mist is in any way hazardous to health, I’m not sure, but if you use air purifiers to keep PM2.5 in check, then these ultrasonic humidifiers are going to falsely (perhaps) trigger automations you might use with them. Generally speaking, humidity levels of no greater than 60% are recommended, with levels between 40~50% seemingly being the ideal range.

*Source – Wikipedia

THE RAINFOREST HUMIDIFIER IN USE

This has been a tricky device to test in a significant way. Where I reside (Taiwan), we get high humidity for much of the year, with only relatively low levels of humidity from December to February, although the summers have been unseasonably dry too, so there may be times when it’s required. So, as I received this unit in mid March, it’s tricky to fully test its humidifying capabilities, although I tested it in the studio, which generally doesn’t suffer as much from humidity as other rooms, as it’s away from outside contact to a large degree. That all said, it seemed to do as was expected of it, although it rarely managed to get above 64% humidity, no matter how powerfully and long it was running for. To me, this isn’t a problem, as already outlined in terms of how much humidity is good for your health, but it’s still worth pointing out.

The design, for me, is absolutely gorgeous, and would easily be allowed to stand proud in any room, on full display. As stated earlier, it has this ‘Habitat’ style about it that for me is pretty timeless, but also futuristic looking, à la The Jetsons!

What is less appealing for many of our readers is probably the price, which at one cent under US$300 is fairly pricy. A while back it wasn’t uncommon to pay even more for an air purifier, but times change, and you can now buy air purifiers for just a shade over US$100, although the quality isn’t always going to be great (Meross and Sensibo, take note…). The alternative is the previously mentioned ultrasonic humidifiers, so if you’re not going to want to confuse your PM2.5 sensors, and require smart home integration (specifically HomeKit), this is the only device on a very empty playing field.

I have no complaints at all and in the time I’ve used it, which has only been around a month, there have been no issues at all, be it connectivity, false readings, or missed automations. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that the humidity sensor seems a lot more accurate than you tend to find with many devices with built-in sensors of this type. Add to this the ‘white noise’ effect of the water hitting the inside of the chamber, and you could have something that’s worth investing in, even with the high initial cost.

The post Smartmi Rainforest Humidifier (review) appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

PACKAGING

I can’t fault Smartmi’s packaging, it’s always very straightforward but stylish, and also ensures pretty much all the info you need is there, without it looking too cluttered. Obviously, that’s easier to do with a large box, but they do it very well. It protects the insides well too. As standard, you get the HomeKit, Alexa, and Google badges, although it’s a bit lax that they’re still using the ‘works with Apple HomeKit’ badge, not the ‘Works with Apple Home’ one. That said, there’s also no mention of Matter, but that’s not really a surprise, and really makes little difference at this point in time.

So what is different about the P2 in a nutshell? first and foremost, the unit comes with built-in rechargeable batteries. This allows the P2 to be unplugged and moved to any location without the need to also bring the power cable – unless you’re planning to have it running at another location for over two hours at maximum speed. It’ll also stay connected to HomeKit and your WiFi network even on batteries, as long as it’s within range of your network, so even though it can be put to work in places where there’s no outlet, if you want to control it via HomeKit or the Smartmi link app, it still needs to be connected to WiFi, which in this case uses 2.4GHz as standard.

The other major change is the display on the top, which now comes with an animated RGB screen. It’s pretty small, but it looks great in my opinion. The P2 also has a dual sensor able to detect both PM2.5 and PM10. Finally, the P2 comes with a built-in night light located inside the top part of the unit.

There are other smaller changes from the P1 to the P2, but we’ll go into all of these differences later. For now, we’ll look at the hardware.

THE SMARTMI P2

After having had the Smartmi P1 for a while, which I do like, putting it up against the P2 makes you realise the design has been stepped up in a possibly obvious way, but still well done. The chassis of the P1 had a grille that covered around 50%, whereas the P2 goes pretty much from top to bottom, with just a small section at the top that accommodates the company’s logo.

The chassis currently only comes in one finish, compared to the P1 which offered silver and dark grey finishes. I’m sure the P2 in dark grey would look slick too, but the one here is really pleasing to the eye as it is.

The rear of the device only really features a coaxial socket for the power supply, and the laser particle sensor, which, unlike the P1, is hidden under the grille, whilst the P1 had its own small set of slats to sample the surrounding air for particulate matter. Above the power socket is one of two instances of the HomeKit code.

The air outlet surrounding the control panel/display has also been redesigned with the blades set at a slight angle instead of fanning out from the centre in straight lines. We’ll go into the display itself in a bit.

the inside of the P2, where the filter resides is also home to a second instance of the HomeKit code, as well as access to the laser particle sensor, which appears to be removable for cleaning.

The carry strap has also seen a design change, and one that I personally welcome; The handle no longer uses leather but a synthetic durable type of rubber material that’s soft to the touch, but seemingly malleable and durable. The strap features the smartmi logo, but states that it’s designed by Jya, which is the Smartmi brand for their more expensive air purifiers.

The Strap holds onto the P2 with similar rivets to the ones found on the P1, although they’re in gold on the P2. The strap also tapers at the rivet.

The power supply that came with my unit was for Europe (Type C/E), although they’ll definitely also provide a US power supply once the device is officially released. This power brick supplies slightly more ‘juice’ than the power supply for the P1, but as I needed a US power supply, I tested the P2 with the P1 power supply and noticed no issues at all.

the manual is only available in English at the time of writing but covers almost all aspects of the P2, although there’s very little information on the night light that the P2 comes with, which is a bit of an omission.

FILTERS

For those with the Smartmi P1, if you’re looking to update or add to your setup with a P2, the good news is that they both use the same filters. These filters come in both a ‘Pollen’ filter and a ‘Pet’ filter, with each filter having strengths in particular areas of filtration.

These filters and the lid are all one piece, so when you replace the filter, you’re effectively replacing the lid that locks the filter into place too. In this case, I’ve got a Pet filter installed, which is just as well given how much our dog sheds his fur…

CONTROL PANEL/DISPLAY

The top of the P2 has a glass control panel with four lit buttons surrounding a RGB display. These four buttons are on all the time when the unit is on, with only the power button lit when the unit is off. The four buttons are the power button, a delay-off button, a button to control the brightness of the central display, and a mode button.

The central display is quite small, as already stated, but it still looks good, although unfortunately my attempts to photograph it don’t do it much justice. When active, the display is centred around the PM2.5 numbers, with PM2.5 stated at the top. This should change to P10 if PM10 is more prevalent than PM2.5. Next to this is a WiFi symbol, which should stay solidly lit in normal operation.

Below that is a battery icon, which gives you a rough idea of the battery levels. Alongside the battery icon is the mode icon, which will display one of three icons – Auto mode, Custom/Favourite mode, and Sleep mode. The image above shows it’s in Sleep mode.

The top button controls the brightness of the central display, with three levels plus off.

You can set the P2 to turn off after a delay of 1, 2, 4, or 8 hours.

The mode button allows you to cycle through all three modes – Sleep, Auto, and Custom/Favourite, with icons to represent each mode. Sleep mode sets the fan at a very low and quiet level, whilst Auto mode changes the power of the fan depending on the level of pollution in the air. Custom/favourite mode is determined by the speed/room size you set in the Smartmi app or the Home app.

As the P2 has built-in batteries, when you unplug the mains cable, you’ll briefly see a ‘battery’ icon before it returns to the main screen. If you plug the cable back in, you’ll briefly see a ‘power’ icon.

after a few seconds, the main display reverts to a screen saver that simply displays the particulate matter levels along with whether it’s PM2.5 or PM10.

I mentioned the night light at the start of this review, and when it’s activated when the unit is on (only via the app, unfortunately), the display will show icons for the state of the night light – on or off – as seen above.

The central display will also change colour depending on the levels of PM2.5 or PM10 detected. Above you can see the first image has a display with an orange background; this is just at the start of mild pollution, whereas the second image shows heavy pollution with a red background. For healthy air quality of between 0 ~ 20, you’ll see a green display.

THE NIGHT LIGHT

The night light isn’t an afterthought, although if you’re expecting rich colours, you’ll be disappointed. You may also be surprised to find the night light isn’t exposed to HomeKit, and can’t be controlled from the unit directly, which is quite strange.

Still, if you want something that is purely designed as a night light to aid someone when they take a midnight trip to the bathroom in what could otherwise be a pitch-black room, then it’s good enough. It’s probably also useful for a child’s bedroom if they have a problem sleeping in a totally darkened room at night.

IN THE HOME APP

In the Home app, and HomeKit you get the one tile. Tapping on the icon turns the unit on or off, but tapping on the tile opens up the main two controls – a toggle switch, and a slider for the fan speed. Unlike devices like the Vocolinc PureFlow and the Airversa Purelle, which are set to five specific speeds, the fan speed can be set to any percentage from 0~100%.

Going deeper into the P2 settings page, you can see two ‘accessories’ listed. These are the sensors within the P2, and further controls for the P2 itself. These additional controls allow for Manual or Auto settings, although Sleep mode is missing here. Manual mode is essentially the equivalent of Custom/Favourite mode on the P2.

You also Get information on the filter life and filter condition, as well as a ‘mode’ toggle control although I’m not sure how it works.

Going into the AQI sensor (as I’ve labelled it), you get information on the overall air quality (AQI is an acronym for Air Quality Index), in addition to the density for both PM2.5 and PM10. You can set up automations based on the Air Quality, but if you want to set automations based on the density levels of either of the particulate matter sensors, you either need to use a third-party HomeKit app or use Shortcuts within a HomeKit automation in the Home app.

IN THE SMARTMI LINK APP

If you’re not familiar with Smartmi’s own Link app, it’s nicely laid out, but it can only work with its own products, and when it comes to automations, things could be a lot better if I’m honest. You can control the power status of the device from the main screen, but if you go in deeper, you get information and further control. You can select one of the three modes previously mentioned, with a slider for Custom mode that allows you to set the fan speed based on the floor size. You also get a basic visual of the battery life.

Air quality and PM2.5 levels are shown at the top, and if you want you can also access a graph to show air levels over periods of a day, week or month. The data can’t be exported, however.

Sliding up from the bottom of the screen gives you access to several other options and settings, including filter life, screen brightness, timers in the form of schedules, control of the night light, and the same delayed power-off options as are available on the device itself.

On the subject of the display brightness, I don’t know why, but they use odd descriptions for the four levels – Highlight (bright), Secondary (medium), Shimmer (low), and Rest Screen (off). At least they’re in the correct order I guess.

I’ve already stated that I’m not overly impressed with the night/mood light, and a lot of that has to do with lack of control; You can’t turn it on or off from the device, and it’s not exposed to HomeKit at all. The only way to turn it off manually is to turn the device off, and the only way to control it via your iPhone is via the Smartmi app. That wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for the fact that you still have to drill down into the menus to get to it.

What makes things slightly worse is that when you get to the night light settings, you’re provided with the option to store up to 4 different colours, which you would assume are for recall later on. Not so! Once you go back into this section, they’ve all gone. Granted, the P2 isn’t available yet, and this and other potentially missing features could be in place once the P2 is officially launched in the new year, so we’ll have to wait and see.

CLEANING ABILITY AND THE SENSORS

Without the luxury of a perspex box in which to place the P2, it’s hard to easily quantify how efficiently the P2 can clean, but solely relying on the display that reveals air quality levels, it seems to do a more than adequate job for its size. Given this is only suitable for small to medium rooms, if this is used in a large open space like a living room, it’s unlikely you’ll get the best out of it.

In terms of detecting changes in air quality, when it’s on, it detects such changes reasonably quickly and better than the Airversa Purelle in my tests. When compared to the P1, it doesn’t quite match the speed at which the P1 is able to detect such changes, but it’s not a race as such, so I can forgive it for that. One of my tests involved setting up an automation whereby both the P1 and P2 are powered but in off/standby mode, with the automation set to turn the purifiers on, and at full speed if the air quality drops below Excellent. In these tests, the P2 was a bit slower on the uptake, with the P1 reacting almost instantly, with the P2 waking up a few seconds after. It does wake though, so this is something some other air purifiers can’t seem to manage.

If you want to see some of the tests, you can check them out in the video below;

THE P2 IN USE

I’ve not been using the P2 for an extensive amount of time, but I do have the advantage of having a couple of P1 units that allow for some comparisons, as well as expectations on how the P2 should function at a minimum. So first off, it stays connected to my network really well, and hasn’t had a ‘no response’ issue at all – even when on batteries and reasonably far from the router it’s connected to. I’ve also found this with the P1, although to be fair, some people reported a lot of dropped connections.

I don’t tend to have to move my air purifiers around, and as such whilst the battery-powered option is useful, it’s not honestly going to be something I’ll use too often. We’ll see though.

The display is small, but as it’s dynamic to some extent, with really nice visuals, I actually like it a lot. Whilst the P1 has arguably a clearer more visible display, it really does look a bit basic and dated to me, so I’m actually quite happy with the P2’s display.

Aesthetically, I really like it a lot, and of all the purifiers I’ve owned and/or tested, this is the one I like most from a design perspective. Likewise, I’m also quite happy they’ve stuck with the same filters as the P1, which really helps keep things simple.

Aside from the issue with the night light and the lack of ways to control it, sleep mode doesn’t automatically turn off the display, which seems like a given really, and because neither sleep mode nor the display can be automated or scheduled in HomeKit or the Smartmi Link app, it’s a case of having to do it manually. This wouldn’t necessarily matter in rooms used in the daytime, but for a bedroom, I’d say it’s pretty important. If they’d installed a basic light sensor, this could have taken care of things without too much fuss.

On balance, it’s an excellent-looking device, with some nice updates to the P1, although with the few issues around bugs and lack of control for certain aspects, it does feel a bit like a minor fail in some ways. I do hope they can fix both the bugs and add some extra functionality to at least their own app, and if so, it could easily be the standard by which other air purifiers are measured. When the P2 is released to the public, if any changes are implemented, I’ll adjust the relevant points as necessary.

Smartmi currently has the P2 on preorder via Kickstarter, with a discount on the price if you pay before it’s officially released. The deal price is US$179.99, with the retail price listed as US$259.99.

The post Smartmi P2 Air Purifier (review) appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

Where we live, high humidity is a fact of life for much of the year, so having dehumidifiers of all shapes and sizes dotted around one’s home is a standard in Taiwan. When it comes to smart humidifiers, the choices start to thin out a bit, and when it comes to smart humidifiers with HomeKit, well, let’s just say they’re pretty much non-existent right now. DeLonghi manufactured one (since discontinued I’m told), with the remaining devices you’re likely to find only working with Google or Amazon.

Still, when it comes to smart home tech, there are ways around this, with Siri Shortcuts probably being the easiest way to control a non-HomeKit device – assuming the accompanying app supports that feature. Other than that, there’s HomeBridge or Home Assistant, but with today’s product from Xiaomi, the latter two aren’t as easy to sort, largely due to the difficult task of getting a ‘token’ to add to the code of the plugin. As the (Xiao)Mi Home app is compatible with Siri Shortcuts, this – to me – is the easiest way for day-to-day voice control. If you’re in need of a dehumidifier, even for part of the year, this could easily be the best you can get. Read on to learn more.

THE DEVICE

The dehumidifier is a ‘beast’ in terms of size – 668mm/26.3in tall and a diameter of 300mm/11.8in. It’s the largest smart device in our home, with only the Smartmi Air Purifier 2 (review HERE, video HERE) coming close at 563mm tall. Even though it’s rather tall, the minimalistic design is less distracting than you’d imagine, with a plain white front only punctuated by a very discrete Xiaomi logo on the front. The unit uses standard 2.4GHz WiFi for smart home connectivity.

The back is much more utilitarian, with a grille to draw in humid air and a handle with which to extract the tank that collects water drawn from the air. At the bottom is a fixed power cord, so it’s not possible to remove it from the device.

The top of the device is where it all ‘happens’ so to speak; The outlet grille that sends out dehumidified air surrounds a control panel with a simple but easy-to-understand display.

So, for manual control, this is the one area you’ll be dealing with. There are no mechanical buttons as such, so all controls are of the capacitive type. Starting at the bottom, you have four controls;

• Power
• Mode
• Target humidity
• Timer

the first of these is the Power button, which is pretty self-explanatory, although it does slightly more than turn the unit on/off; tapping it when the unit is off, will simply turn it on. If you tap it when the unit has been on for a while, it will turn off partially, with the display turning off, but the fan inside still functioning for up to 40 minutes. The reason for this is that it has a function designed to ensure the inside workings of the unit are dry too, so they don’t attract mold. This can be disabled in the app, but I think it’s better to keep it on. If you press this button a second time, the unit will turn off completely.

The Mode button allows you to choose from three different operating modes – Auto, Sleep, and Dry Clothes mode. I’ll go into these modes a bit later.

The Target Humidity button allows the user to set the target humidity level. Once humidity reaches the desired level, the unit will turn itself off. The display will stay on, but the fan is effectively off. When humidity rises above the set target, the fan will start up again and resume dehumidifying the room. This feature is disabled in Clothes Drying mode for reasons I’ll explain shortly.

The Timer button allows the user to set an amount of time before the unit turns off. You can only set it in units of one hour, with a maximum of four hours via the controls, or eight hours via the app. If the Timer function is activated, a small clock icon will appear to the left of the main central display.

MODES

The three different modes start with Auto (using an ‘A’ symbol), which as you can probably guess, adjusts the fan speed depending on the amount of humidity in the surrounding air according to the built-in humidity sensor. You should use this mode in conjunction with the Target Humidity feature as well. Sleep mode  (using a ‘half moon’ symbol), once again, is pretty clearly designed for low volume and power when it’s used during the night. the Target Humidity feature also works with this mode. Finally, Clothes Drying mode (using a ‘shirt’ symbol) should really be referred to as something like Power or Turbo mode, as it essentially sets the motor and fan to the top speed it’s capable of. As mentioned, the Target Humidity option isn’t available in this last mode, as it’s designed to get to work as powerfully as possible, regardless of what the humidity levels are like.

Below the icons that show you what mode the device is set to, you have a large numerical display depicting the current humidity levels. Tapping on the Target Humidity button shows you the set level, before quickly returning to the current level. Besides the large digits is a WiFi symbol that is solid during normal operation, but will flash if for any reason it gets disconnected.

Below the Wifi symbol, is a ‘padlock’ symbol (not pictured) that will show up if you turn on the Child Lock feature. This feature can be activated by pressing the Timer and Target Humidity buttons for seven seconds. Below that is a ‘water full’ symbol (not pictured) that will also only show up in certain circumstances – when the water tank is full.

Finally, below all of the display items, but above the buttons, is a long thin LED strip that changes to one of three colours, depending on the humidity levels. If humidity is over 70%, the strip will display in Blue. If the humidity level is between 40~70%, the strip will be Cyan. If humidity is below 40%, the strip will be Orange.

Whilst the controls on the unit are something I’ve found I rarely use, they work really well, with great responsiveness at all times, so for those that prefer the ‘hands-on’ (literally) approach, they’ll encounter no problems at all. This is partially due to the very simple-to-understand features and overall layout. It’s simple to pick up and quickly understand for most people.

ADDITIONAL PARTS

The only parts to come with the dehumidifier are a manual in English and Chinese* and a drainage pipe, which I’ll mention a little later.

* (simplified or Traditional, depending on where purchased)

REAR OF THE UNIT

The rear of the unit really consists of the water tank and the compressor, hidden behind a combined grille and filter. The fixed power cable is also present at the bottom.

Once you remove the water tank, you see a small carry handle and a spout, amongst other smaller details. The carry handle is useful as a full tank of water is heavier than you think. The tank can hold 4.5 lt / 9.51 pt of water. When you want to empty the tank, you simply tilt it at around 45º with the spout at the bottom end so the water can be expelled. However, due to the fact that the whole top cover of the water tank can be removed (in order to periodically clean it of any potential mold build-up), water does seep out of the adjoining parts, which isn’t ideal. Directly behind the carry handle is a small ‘gate’ that can be removed to allow the drainage pipe to pass through.

The recess where the water tank resides features a small outlet that allows the water to trickle into the tank. If you use the drainage pipe to bypass the water tank, it will be connected to this outlet.

The compressor is the part that does the most work, removing humidity from the air drawn in through the grille. As it’s sucking in air via the fan, in order to keep it clean and dust free, the removable grille also includes a rudimentary filter. This filter will only stop things like dander or hairs and larger clumps of dust, so don’t expect HEPA 13 levels of control. The filter can simply be washed under the tap, and although the manual states the filter can be removed from the grille, I simply couldn’t remove it, not that it matters.

As mentioned at the start, this is a large device, and even if it were light and had a carry handle – which it isn’t and doesn’t – at 13.2kg/29.1lb the size alone would make it cumbersome to carry around. Luckily it comes with a set of casters so that you can wheel it from room to room, without any issues.

SMART CONTROL

As stated at the beginning, this is not HomeKit compatible, so it only really works in the Mi Home app, although as also mentioned, there’s a HomeBridge plugin for unofficial HomeKit compatibility, and Siri Shortcuts, which I am using.

As with pretty much all smart home apps these days, Mi Home has tiles for each device connected to it. The dehumidifier tile has a quick-access on/off button, but pressing elsewhere on the tile reveals the main control screen for the device. The top of the screen features the temperature and humidity reading from the device – yes it actually includes these sensors! Then you have all the controls you would also see on the device itself; on/off, modes, target humidity and timer (delay turn-off). You also get a dedicated child lock control, screen brightness options, notification sounds control, and the drying feature I previously mentioned when you turn the device off.

Going back to the display controls, you basically have the option to have it turned on at full brightness, low brightness, or off. You can include these and other features within scenes or automations in the Mi home app, which is cool. When it comes to automations the dehumidifier has limited options to trigger them – on, off, and indoor humidity, but in the case of temperature, there’s no option, which makes sense; even though it has a temperature sensor, it is irrelevant to humidity on a basic level. When it comes to devices triggering the humidifier, however, you do get a lot more options; you can turn it on or off, set any of the three modes, control the display and the child lock, and also cycle through the modes.

When it comes to functionality via Siri Shortcuts, the process is quite simple; you create an automation with the IF section set to ‘Complete manually’, and the THEN section selecting whatever function you want to control for the device itself. In the example above it’s enabling the child lock. In the list of automations, you can see an ‘Add to Siri’ option. This takes you to your automations that are capable of being converted to Siri Shortcuts. Once you click on the ‘Add to Siri’ button next to the relevant automation, you’re then switched over to the Shortcuts app to complete the Shortcut, which simply involves adding a meaningful phrase you can bark at Siri to enact the automation.

Of course, you can nest these Shortcuts within other more complex Shortcuts, so as an example, I can create a ‘Good Night’ scene that not only includes turning off a set of HomeKit lights, but also set the dehumidifier to sleep mode, and turn the display off.

WORKING WITH HOMEKIT COMPATIBLE DEVICES

Although I have a lot of devices that connect to the Mi Home app, many of them also work with Apple HomeKit too, so I don’t tend to use the app a lot, but if you do use it, and have an Aqara hub added to it – the original M1, M1S or E1 – you can get many of Aqara’s child devices to work with the dehumidifier too, which takes control of this device one step closer to a HomeKit experience, at least for people who want to use sensors or buttons as a means of control. That said, the sensors inside the unit seem pretty decent (for once) so that sort out discounts the uses of temperature/humidity sensors. Motion or contact sensors could be a good use case, as would wireless buttons.

WRAPPING UP

I’ve had the Xiaomi Smart Dehumidifier for a couple of months so far, and it really came into its own recently when we had almost a week’s worth of heavy rain due to a nearby typhoon. Humidity can get high in Taiwan but with this particular spell of weather, humidity in our wash room got ridiculously high, at just under 92%. The clothes hanging up couldn’t get dry, but with this set to the most powerful mode, and the pipe directing the water straight to a drain, we were able to counteract the extreme conditions until the storm finally passed. This solidified its usefulness immediately, and although we have two other smart dehumidifiers in the home by LG, this has beaten them in terms of its excellent ability to reduce humidity really thoroughly.

The fact that I can control the display may seem like a minor thing, but the LG models didn’t have this, so if we wanted the humidifiers on all night we had to place some card over the display to stop it from keeping us awake. Both models have wheels, but the Xiaomi model takes up less space even though it’s taller, so that’s also a plus, given the limited space in our main bedroom.

Finally, the controls are really straightforward when compared to the LG models. This is partially due to the latter coming with Chinese text for each function, but the Xiaomi one has no text, and so relies on well thought out and simple to understand icons that don’t require text, so this is a pleasure to use compared to the LG models.

What it does lack is good accessories; The LG comes with a pipe that allows not only the warm air to be fed elsewhere instead of the outlet at the top, but this same pipe also has a special adaptor to place it into a pair of shoes. If you get caught in the rain and your shoes are thoroughly soaked, this handy little adaptor did help a lot to dry them out.

Still, it’s cheaper than the LG, and as I said, and simply does a better job all round. If you have a need to keep humidity under control, even for just part of the year, and the Xiaomi Smart Dehumidifier is available in your region, this is a definite purchase, as it not only does a good job of dehumidifying, it has also been ultra-reliable so far, which I can’t always say for Xiaomi devices, unfortunately.

The post Xiaomi Smart Dehumidifier (review) appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

PACKAGING

The packaging has that now quite ubiquitous ‘Apple’ look at the front (not so much with the other sides), with just the Purelle facing towards you, so much so, that if it weren’t for the fact it states ‘Smart Air Purifier’ on the front, you might be left guessing what exactly it was. Be that as it may, the top of the box features the badges you want to see i.e. ‘Works with Apple HomeKit’, but also includes both a Bluetooth logo as well as the ‘Built on Thread’ badge. Don’t worry about the Bluetooth part! Thread relies on Bluetooth only as a fallback if for any reason your Thread Border Router goes down, which wouldn’t be an issue if you had more than one border router anyway.

If you’re in the position to buy this off the shelf in a physical store (unlikely these days, but still), you’ll have all the information to hand with a lot of details on pretty much all aspects of the Purelle; the device uses a pair of True HEPA filters that comes in three parts to capture hair, pet dander, and other larger fibres, particulate matter (AKA PM2.5), and finally, odours, that are tackled by a layer of carbon.

In terms of specs and features, the main one here is that it works with Thread. Whilst it’s exclusively HomeKit compatible, there is an app that gives you access to some of the features that aren’t available in the Home app (but are via third-party apps). It comes with a built-in PM2.5 sensor, which you’d think was a given, although it would appear Meross didn’t get the memo on that one…

There’s a multicolour LED ring, and all manner of details via the digital display, which we’ll get into in more detail later, five fan speeds, plus a Sleep mode, and a child lock.

THE PURELLE

The Purelle is as minimalist in the ‘flesh’ as it appears on the box, at least from the front, with just the Airversa logo to punctuate the off-white plastic. The rear is almost as minimal, with a small coaxial port for power, and a small vent for the PM2.5 sensor. Both sides of the Purelle feature three rows of slots designed to take in the surrounding air, which is then cleaned by the two filters, before being expelled out the top of the purifier, via the fan, which surrounds the aforementioned digital display, that also acts as a control panel.

First impressions count, as they say, and all in all, the Purelle feels well made, considering it’s of typical moulded plastic. I didn’t feel any loose joints where the different parts meet, which isn’t the case with the Sensibo Air Purifier, which by contrast I found has ill-fitting sections and an overall loose feel to it. The top section contrasts with the off-white plastic body by using a mid-grey colour (absence of colour…?).

To access the filters, you do have to turn the unit upside down, so it’s just as well the Purelle only weighs around 3kg / 6.6lb. The digital display is slightly recessed, so turning it on its head shouldn’t scratch the display, although I’d still recommend laying a piece of cloth down first. A quick turn of the large lever in the centre of the base removes the whole bottom section, to then reveal two filters, as seen in the second image.

To replace them, you simply pull these filters out by the little attached material tabs found on both ends of the filters – making sure you also remove them from the plastic bags before using the machine.

Some people might prefer the tubular filters that you find in most of the other air purifiers on the market, and whilst they (in theory) give 360º coverage, the sheer size of them does present a bit more of a challenge when shipping compared to a pair of filters for the Purelle. Sure, we have free shipping these days for most things, but the extra size means more packaging and more costs for shipping, even if you’re not paying for it directly, so I’d suggest these are a tad more eco-friendly. They’re also reportedly cheaper at around US$25~30 for a pair of filters, compared to anything between US$40~60 depending on the purifier you have that uses the tubular-designed ones.

THE DIGITAL DISPLAY

Whether you like automations to trigger your devices, or occasionally just prefer to control the devices from your phone, there’s going to be a point where it’s just easier to control it ‘on-device’. This is where the digital display comes in handy, with controls for almost every feature the Purelle has to offer.

• The bottom has a power button that’s on at all times except for in Sleep mode. To the left of that is a symbol to show that the device is connected to your (Thread) network. This is also on at all times except for in Sleep mode.
• The centre of the display is mostly taken up with the PM2.5 reading, with buttons for the different functions surrounding it.
• Starting with the first icon to the right of the display is an icon that will flash when your filters need changing. Aside from that, the icon is just lit up, doing nothing else.
• Above that is a padlock icon, representing the child lock. You have to press this button for approximately 5 seconds to activate/deactivate the feature. When it’s active, no buttons will react to presses, simply resulting in a ‘double beep’ warning sound.
• Above that is a fan icon. Tapping this cycles through the five standard fan speeds, with the central display temporarily changing to the relevant fan speed number, before switching back to the PM2.5 levels.
• Right at the top is an Auto mode button. When this is active, the Purelle will simply adjust its fan speed depending on the PM2.5 levels.
• Further to the left, we have a clock icon that represents a delay-off timer. Each press of this button adds an hour to the time the purifier will turn off. The maximum is 24 hours, after which the timer will revert to zero hours – off, basically. Even though the timer increases in increments of one hour, the company’s Sleekpoint app allows you to set the timer in minutes as well.
• Below that is a moon icon. This is Sleep mode. Pressing this turns off all display elements, including the LED ring. The Sleep mode icon will also eventually turn off as well. Tapping on the display will turn this icon back on, with any subsequent button press turning the display fully back on.
• In between the power button and the PM2.5 display are five dashes. These represent the remaining life of the filters. As there are five of them, it stands to reason each slot represents 20% of the filters’ lives. Above the PM2.5 display are three wavey lines to indicate the fan is on. They flash in turn, and the faster the fan speed, the more frequently the lines flash.
• The LED Ring that surrounds the display is full colour and will change depending on the level of pollution, thereby giving you a quick visual representation of air quality from a distance, without having to check the display.

Both the LED ring and the display have options to be adjusted for brightness. In the Sleekpoint app, you can set the LED ring and display to one of five levels, each independently, or set them to ‘Adaptive’, where they react to the ambient light levels in the room the Purelle is located in, and adjust their brightness accordingly.

IN HOME | HOMEKIT

As you might expect with HomeKit and the Home app, things are very ‘vanilla’, with much the same options as any other purifier; You get a single tile to turn it on or off quickly, with a long press revealing a screen with an on/off button, and a slider to control the fan speed. The slider snaps to 20% increments to match the five fan speeds (plus off), so 100% on the slider is equivalent to speed 5 on the Purelle, for example.

The settings panel is as you’d expect, with all the standard settings for automations, naming the device and selecting the room it needs to be in. In addition to this, however, is an ‘Accessories’ section, with two accessories listed.

These two accessories are the air purifier again, which I know is confusing, but the fault lies partially with Apple and HomeKit in some ways, and the Air Quality sensor. Starting with the latter, you can see that once you dive into this section you get access to the Air Quality levels and the PM2.5 density. Both of these parameters can be used in automations directly within the Home app. The PM2.5 density gives accurate readings, whereas the Air Quality is based on general levels – Excellent, Good, Fair, Inferior, Poor.

If we go into the Air Purifier ‘accessory’ you get the same controls we’ve seen before, although instead of a power button we get a toggle switch. Going deeper into this section you then get access to manual and auto modes, with buttons for each mode. You also get access to the child lock. Both of these parameters can be used in automations within the Home app.

Some other third-party HomeKit apps get access to additional settings not available in the Apple Home app. Eve for HomeKit gives you options for turning the Purelle’s system sounds on or off, and also gives you filter maintenance details. You also have access to the child lock, although it’s on a separate screen.

AIRVERSA PURELLE AND THREAD

Staying with the Eve app, if you have at least one Thread-enabled Eve device and a HomeKit compatible Thread Border Router of course (HomePod mini, 2021 Apple TV4K), then you can access detailed information on your Thread network. On the first screen, you can see my Thread network, which currently comprises three Nanoleaf Essentials bulbs, a Wemo Stage Scene Controller Smart button, A Wemo Smart plug (Studio Lights), A couple of Eve Motion Smart Blinds, an Eve Energy Smart Plug, and at the bottom, four HomePods Mini. You can also see that the Airversa is listed as a ‘Router’, meaning it can act as a router for nearby Thread end devices, whilst also helping expand the Thread mesh network.

• One thing to note, is that I’ve found that some Thread devices will show as being connected to Bluetooth, not Thread, when initially set up. To fix this, I find that simply rebooting your phone then shows the device connected over Thread after that.

THE SLEEKPOINT APP

The Sleekpoint app isn’t a third-party HomeKit app like Eve for HomeKit, Controller, or Home+, for example, so you can only control devices that are part of Sleekpoint’s smart product lineup, which is just the Purelle right now. There are two other Airversa products, but neither is ‘smart’ and therefore can’t even be added to the app. So, at present, the main screen shows only my Purelle. If I had more, they’d all show up here of course.

Previously, you were required to set up an account in order to use the app, but a new update now provides Express mode, which allows you to access all the same features without having to set up an account. It should be noted, however, that if you go for Express mode, then, later on, decide you do want to create an account, the only way to do so is to delete the app, and reinstall it, to get to these options on the screen (screenshot #1).

Clicking on the device opens up a panel dedicated to the Purelle, which reveals a series of buttons at the top – power, Auto mode, Sleep mode, Child lock, and settings. Below are the PM2.5 levels. I’m currently using a beta version of the app, and as such there are a couple of issues, but I’m told Airversa are fixing them, one of which is the PM2.5 numbers being slightly out compared to what’s seen on the device’s display.

Below this section is a chart to show air quality levels over time, with daily, weekly, and monthly data.

One thing that’s missing from this main screen is quick access to the fan speeds, which I feel is a bit of an oversight. It is available, but you have to go into the settings page to access it, which seems odd. Alongside this option, you get access to separate controls for the brightness of the display and the LED ring. Both can be set to one of five levels of brightness, as well as have them set to ‘Adaptive Brightness’ that adjusts these levels depending on the surrounding light. The difference between levels 1 and 5 is not that large, however.

Where the Sleekpoint app is at its most useful is via Timers and Schedules; Whilst you can set timers directly from the digital display, you can only set timers in one-hour increments, whilst via the app, you can fine-tune these countdown timers to the minute. With Schedules, you not only get the option to set the device to turn on and off at certain times of the day and days of the week, but you can also set start and end dates in which these schedules will work. So, if for example, you’re away from home for a few days whilst you’re having a new bathroom fitted, perhaps, you can limit a specific schedule to work on the specific days that you’re out of the house, whilst also having regular schedules for other normal situations.

The other nice thing with Schedules is that you can have custom settings for pretty much all the other parameters, so you can set a specific fan mode and speed, as well as set the display and LED ring brightness to your liking. Whilst this may not seem of massive use, it does give you a level of customization you won’t get as easily in other apps.

PERFORMANCE / WRAPPING UP

Having had this on test for approximately 9 weeks now, and in terms of connection, the device has been almost totally rock-solid. There was an incident early on where the device lost connection and was only able to reconnect to the Thread network and HomeKit by power cycling it. This only happened once, however,  and happened within the first three weeks of use. Since then I’ve been using the device with updated firmware, and have so far not encountered this issue again. We’d all prefer a 100% success rate in this area of course, but even with the most reliable of devices, you’re likely to encounter an issue like this at one time or another, so I think this is a good sign for the Purelle.

In terms of its cleaning ability, as I don’t really have the kind of lab equipment to test in great detail, it’s hard for me to check the accuracy of the claims on cleaning efficiency. Still, when it comes to what tests I was able to do, it worked as expected, if not in any particularly dazzling manner.

I performed a few smoke tests to check that the PM2.5 sensor was capable of effectively picking up on the smoke, and it worked as expected. In these same tests, I did also measure the PM2.5 levels with a separate device (the QingPing Air Monitor Lite – review HERE, Video HERE). The levels were at a high level during the air pollution test, as expected, and would go down once the Purelle got to work, although as this is designed for small to medium rooms, how fast this change takes place will vary. What I also did was check the difference between the surrounding ‘polluted’ air, and the relative cleanliness of the air being filtered and pushed out through the top of the Purelle. This test clearly shows the air to be a lot cleaner, which is expected of course, but also confirms that it’s working.

In terms of schedules and automations, I had the Purelle working via schedules in both HomeKit and via the Sleekpoint app and had no issues with failed or delayed running times. All in all, I would say that the Purelle performed its required tasks perfectly well, so in that respect, there’s really nothing to complain about. It would be nice to have more of the extras exposed directly exposed to the Home app, but I suspect much of this lies in the hands of Apple.

I’d love to see a larger version too if that is a possibility, but given Airversa is a new brand, we’ll have to give them a bit of time to find their feet perhaps. As Thread is still being adopted at a slower pace than many might like, it’s refreshing to see a company not only embrace this new technology out of the gate but be the first to deliver a brand new product category in the Thread arena, so all kudos to them for that.

The final point, which I try to not focus on too much at present, is Matter, as it’s still not here, so it feels odd talking about something that’s yet to show itself. Still, Matter is on the minds of many who are wary of buying a product that’s only compatible with HomeKit at this time, when Matter is just over the next hill. After having spoken to the company, they’ve informed me that whilst they don’t have immediate plans to look at Matter just yet (sort of understandable for a company with only one product) their plans for future products all involve Thread, with the aim to go ‘all in’ on the protocol. They also informed me that, unlike the relatively recent news that Nanoleaf’s Thread-enabled Essentials lineup (bulb and light strip) aren’t powerful enough to become Matter compatible, the chip used for Airversa’s products is capable of being updated to work with Matter, once they’re in a position to tackle it. Bear in mind that in many ways, it makes little difference for HomeKit users as to whether this is Matter compatible or not, at least that’s how I’m currently viewing the landscape as it stands, as I feel that Matter is going to be a longer and slower process than many care to believe. That’s another conversation of course, and as far as the Airversa Purelle is concerned, for now, this is the only Thread-enabled air purifier in a small sea of purifiers that are sticking to 2.4GHz WiFi, so the company are taking a leap of faith, that many other more established companies still aren’t ready to commit to. I’ll get off my soapbox now…

The post Airversa Purelle Air Purifier with Thread (review) appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

It doesn’t end there, however, as you get a premium device for a budget, with a smart home product that is literally brimming with features – all at your fingertips, via the Purelle’s clear digital display. the touchscreen is designed for simple control as well as keep you informed on the quality of the air in your home, to keep your family’s health in check, all with the smart capabilities offered by Apple Home and Thread.

The Purelle’s large digital display gives you everything you need to keep air quality in check, so you can protect your family’s health with just a quick glance.

• Fan Speed – 5 speeds, including Auto and Sleep modes
• Timers – Set the Purelle to automatically turn off after between 1-24hrs in 1hr increments
• Child Lock – Prevents your toddler from inadvertently activating the Purelle
• Air Quality – Large numbers display the PM2.5 levels
• On/Off Control – Turn the Purelle on or off directly from the screen
• Filter Life – View the remaining life of the filters and get alerts when they need replacing
• Connection – Check to make sure your Purelle is connected to your Thread network
• LED Ring – A large colour ring surrounds the display, changing colour depending on the quality of the surrounding air

If you’re building up your smart home, many of the devices offered today will use 2.4GHz Wi-Fi for connectivity. However, It only takes a small collection of Wi-Fi smart bulbs and smart plugs before your home network begins to creak under the strain of all these connected devices, vying for your router’s resources.

Purelle deals with this by utilising Thread, a brand new wireless protocol that takes the strain away from your Wi-Fi network, and creating what can be described as a special Mesh Network, separate from Wi-Fi. As you add more Thread devices to this network, it actually becomes more robust, and more reliable, as well as seeing fast response times.

To utilize Thread with Apple HomeKit, all you need is a Thread Border Router – currently a HomPod mini, or an Apple TV 4K (2021+ model). The Purelle will connect to one of these routers and other Thread devices to spread and enhance your Thread network. If you don’t have one of these, you can still use the Purelle via Bluetooth.

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UNBOXING | CONTENTS

As with the P1, the Air Purifier 2 (herein referred to as the AP2) comes in a decent box to protect it from being damaged, and in my case, this seems to have been shipped halfway across the United States, before being sent over to Hong Kong, and finally Taiwan, with no damage at all, thankfully. The box did look a bit grubby, but that’s ok. The box tells you pretty much all you need to know, including compatibility (Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit), along with features and specifications.

The AP2 is a bit of a sight to behold, with a metallic blue/grey colour and gold base, with the air vent at the top matching in a slightly darker blue/grey. Whereas the P1 came in two colour options, the AP2 only comes in the one finish, but it looks great, so no complaints there. Aside from the AP2 and an included filter, there’s really just a power cable and the manual in English and Spanish.

In terms of size, it’s 200mm (7.87in) taller than the P1, at 563mm (22.17in) tall, compared to 362.5mm (14.27in) for the P1, with the AP2 being slightly wider/deeper than the P1. With the extra size comes a new filter, and of course more capacity to clean;

AP2 vs. P1

• Pollen CADR – 208CFM (353m³/H) | 150CFM (250m³/H)
• Dust CADR – 196CFM (333m³/H) | 130CFM (220m³/H)
• Smoke CADR – 196CFM (333m³/H) | 130CFM (220m³/H)
• Room Size – 279~484 sq ft (26~45m²) | 180~320 sq ft (17.5~30m²)
• Rated power – 40w | 30w

Another difference is in the materials used for the main body of the device. The P1 uses a metal shell, whilst the AP2 is in plastic. This does make sense, as using the same materials as the P1 would make the AP2 considerably heavier.

THE AIR PURIFIER

Speaking of weight, to replace the filter in the P1, you would have to lift and turn it on its head in order to access the filter for replacement. Not so with the AP2, which has a door on the rear, which is opened via an easy-to-operate latch. This removes the door entirely, enabling you to pull the filter out with relative ease. This is also where the one and only instance of the HomeKit QR code can be found.

For power, the AP2 can be used anywhere, with it accepting 100-240VAC @ 50/60Hz. The provided cable, which in my case uses the North American type A plug, comes with what I typically describe as a ‘cassette player’ power lead – one that you would also find used with an Apple TV. However, the one provided here comes with one half of the plug squared off, so you can only plug it in one way, which I assume is the whole reason for the design.

The back section is rounded off with a laser particle sensor designed to measure particulate matter (PM2.5/10). Next to that is a small hole that houses temperature and humidity sensors. These are not exposed to HomeKit unfortunately, so you only really see them in the Smartmi Link app. Above that is a button that can set the display to one of three levels – Light (full brightness), Shimmer (low brightness), and Off (only the two buttons remain lit). Above the button are four small holes that house the TVOC Sensor.

The top of the AP2 is where all the action is, with the combined control panel & display sitting bang in the centre of the outlet fan, just like their original air purifier, and the P1. With the control panel/display you can both see data for the surrounding air, as well as control the AP2 itself;

• Around the edge of the display is a colour LED ring designed to give you an overall view of general air quality (combined VOC and PM2.5 levels). This changes colour depending on these levels, with;
  • green – excellent air quality
  • yellow – good air quality
  • orange – moderate
  • red – unhealthy
• A ‘pollen’ icon, designed to do much the same as the LED ring, but more focused on PM2.5 and PM10, which includes pollen.
• Below is a readout of the actual PM2.5 levels;
  • 1~20µg/m³ – excellent
  • 21~35µg/m³ – good
  • 36~55µg/m³ – moderate
  • >55µg/m³ – unhealthy
• Directly below that is a strip to specifically show TVOC levels. Under normal circumstances, a little square will show, but as the VOC levels get higher, one, two or three bars will reveal themselves in one long strip.
• Either side of the previously mentioned two sections is buttons.
  • The left button cycles through three different modes;
    • Sleep mode – the lowest fan setting
    • Manual mode – the fan spins at the speed you set it at in HomeKit or the Smartmi Link app
    • Auto mode – the fan spins and changes speed based on the air quality readings
  • The right button is merely for power, however, pressing and holding both buttons will reset the device.
• Below that is an icon to show which mode the AP2 is set to;
  • A ‘Moon’ icon for Sleep mode
  • An ‘A’ icon for Auto mode
  • A ‘Heart’ Icon for Manual mode
• A WiFi icon to indicate that the AP2 is connected to your home WiFi network. The AP2 only connects to the 2.4GHz WiFi band.
• A temperature reading – The temperature is shown in ºF or ºC depending on your settings in the Smartmi app.
• Finally, a UV icon to let you know if the built-in UV light is active or not.

When you first plug the AP2 in, or re/place the filter, upon powering up, the screen will briefly display the filter life in terms of a percentage.

It’s hard to fault the control panel (aside from the ºF vs. ºC issue), as it gives you almost total physical control of the AP2, as well as giving you pretty much all the info you need, to the extent that it would barely be noticeable if it wasn’t a smart device as such, in many ways. The one aspect you can’t control is the speed of the fan in Manual mode. To control the fan in this mode, you need to use a HomeKit app or the Smartmi Link app.

One possibly interesting find is that when you adjust the fan speed in either Smartmi Link or Apple Home/HomeKit, you can adjust in 1% increments. This might seem normal, but in actual fact, some air purifiers can only change speed relating to the specific preset speeds they’re designed with. So in the case of the Vocolinc PureFlow, it has 5 speeds, which means when you adjust the slider it will snap to 0% (off), 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, or 100%. The 20% – 100% steps directly correlate with the 5 speeds available on the device. If you try to get Siri to set the PureFlow to 55%, for example, it’ll round up to 60%. The AP2, on the other hand, can be set to 55% – or any other speed – without any problems.

Unfortunately, Smartmi decided to remove two useful features from the display that are found on the P1, namely an option to cycle through three different preset fan speeds (plus Auto), as well as a feature to set the AP2 to run for 1, 2, 4, or 8 hours before automatically shutting off. These can still be achieved from within the Smartmi app, but not the control panel/display. Whilst that might seem a shame, we are talking about a device designed to be used as part of a smart home ecosystem, so in reality, setting automations to do much the same things is sort of the point, with physical control almost a secondary option, so it’s not as big a deal as it might seem.

In HomeKit and the Home app, you get the one tile to represent the AP2. A long press reveals the standard on/off toggle switch and a slider for the fan speed. Scrolling further down reveals the settings page, revealing two ‘accessories’, which I guess could be described as services.

The two aforementioned ‘accessories’ are for the AP2, and air quality details, so for the AP2, you get a repeat of the basic controls we see initially, namely the toggle switch and slider for fan speed. If you scroll down, this reveals a little more, with separate buttons for manual and auto modes, as well as a horizontal slider for the fan speed, and details on filter condition and filter life.

The Air Quality tile, once pressed, reveals overall air quality, which is a combination of VOC and PM2.5 levels, and a specific reading for PM2.5 density. What you don’t get are specific numbers for VOCs, temperature levels, or humidity levels. Ultimately this isn’t a big deal for me, as I prefer to keep an eye on TVOC levels with an independent device, which is also the case for temperature and humidity levels, especially given that I have devices for these readings dotted about the house anyway.

As is usually the case, the native app for Smartmi offers more, although personally, it’s of little use without better automation options, which I’ll mention later. The main screen for the AP2 shows you an animated device (if it’s on) with a ‘sliding carousel’ control bar that allows you to select Auto, Sleep and Custom modes (Why is it described as Manual on the device, but Custom here?). Custom mode allows you to increase the fan speed, although in this case it’s reflected in terms of the size of the room it needs to cover – the larger the living space, the faster the fan, basically.

You also get to see the temperature and humidity readings from the on-device sensors I mentioned earlier that aren’t exposed to HomeKit.

Pushing up on the temperature/humidity section reveals a lot more; from there you can check the filter life, adjust the screen’s brightness, set timers for the device to turn on or off, and select delayed off presets (1, 2, 4, and 8 hrs). You can also turn the UV lamp on or off, deactivate system sounds (I recommend doing so, as the ‘beep’ is quite loud), and deploy the child lock function. On the home page screen, you can also check which devices within the Smartmi app are linked to HomeKit.

At the top of the home page, there are three icons, the latter two of which, once pressed, reveal rudimentary graphs for TVOCs and PM2.5, respectively. Whilst it’s nice to have these, aside from the colour of the lines, you don’t really get an idea of the numbers for these readings, so you have to just treat them as rough historical data.

There’s a lot to like with the AP2, one of which is the ability to remove the top grille in order to give the inside a bit of a clean. The grille itself is held by a small screw on the rear, and once removed still sits tightly in place until you rotate it anti-clockwise. They probably don’t need the screw, to be honest, and as I was removing the small screw for the first time, I thought to myself, I bet this drops to the floor and will be a bugger to find. No soon had I thought of it, than it happened! So, you’ve been warned.

In a time when certain viruses are at the forefront of many people’s minds, the included UV light is a welcome, timely arrival. As I stated at the start, there’s no way for me to test whether bacteria and viruses possibly trapped in the filter are being chemically dismantled by the UV interaction, but it’s unlikely the company would make such claims without the proof to back them up, and as this technology is already proven to work, I feel I can rest assured that it’s certainly not hurting to have it turned on.

WRAPPING UP

Despite a couple of shortcomings, I have to give some credit to Smartmi for pushing HomeKit to this latest device. It looks really nice – nicer in fact than the model it’s an upgrade from, with a larger display, better intake design (albeit very subtle), and the increased display screen. I like the choice of colour too, and this has already replaced my Vocolinc PureFlow in the bedroom (the PureFlow resides in our living room now). Speaking of the PureFlow, I recently replaced the pair of filters, which came to US$80 plus shipping, so I’m looking forward to having just one filter at around half the price for a while. It’s also a lot more budget-friendly than the now slightly ageing PureFlow, which looks a tad old-fashioned.

What’s lacking is at least some of the features that are accessible within the Smartmi Link app. I appreciate that not everything can be exposed to HomeKit, but I think the display should be able to be turned off via an automation, which isn’t even possible within the company’s own app as an automation, and only by turning the display off via the button on the rear.

There is one major bug that I’m sure is fixable via an update, where the device detects VOCs and shows less than clean air via the Smartmi app and the AP2’s display, however, in my tests, the VOC levels in HomeKit never reflected this, always showing ‘Excellent’ regardless of how bad the VOC levels were. This definitely needs to be fixed, as there’s currently no way to create an automation using this sensor to trigger the fan. You’re probably wondering, why I don’t just have the AP2 on Auto mode. Well, that would make sense, but in my tests, unlike high PM2.5 detection, which would send the fan to a fast speed, when the AP2 detected high VOCs, the fan would increase its speed by only a little amount. This is ultimately why I think it’s best to use external sensors to detect things like this and via automations take the appropriate action.

If Smartmi can fix these issues, this would make Air Purifier 2 the device of choice for larger rooms.

Full disclosure: Smartmi provided HomeKit News with Smartmi Air Purifier 2 for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was made, requested or has not in any way influenced our opinion of this product.

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