Wyze Air Purifier review: Clean your air, save some cash

There's no need to break the bank for clean air

Air purifiers have been around for a long time, but it’s only recently that popularity spiked in response to a global pandemic and the rising frequency of wildfires. While you might be more inclined to associate Wyze with things like security cameras and scales, the company is jumping into the air purifier market with its familiar strategy of turning common appliances into smart home devices and setting very competitive prices. And just as you might expect, the results are pretty good.

Design, hardware, what's in the box

Wyze chose a very simple design for its air purifier, housing it inside a square-ish black plastic tower that’s about twice as tall as it is wide. Intake vents are situated on the lower half of the front and rear sides covering the fan. Air is fed through the filter and back out through a vent in the top of the unit. There’s also a large locking cap on the bottom that holds the replaceable filters in place.

Air purifiers are rarely decorative in their own right, but Wyze didn’t go the extra mile with this model either. It’s not ugly by any measure, and I would even argue it looks nicer than a lot of non-smart models on the market, but it does sport a utilitarian vibe that seems more suited to an office than a living room.

A digital display is located on the front with several status indicators and a readout of the particulates in the air as detected by a laser sensor. The display is a bit too bright for my taste, at least if there’s not a lot of light in the room; and the constantly changing particulate measurements, which update about once per second, get a little distracting if the display is in view. Both of these issues can be solved by putting the air purifier in sleep mode, which turns off the display and leaves the fan running at its lowest speed. However, I would have liked options to dim the display and change the particulate readout so it only updates with an average from the last minute or so.

While you can control a few more features through the app, there’s a row of backlit capacitive buttons lined up across the top on the front edge. These offer just four controls: Power, Auto mode, manual fan speed selection, and sleep mode.

On the rear, directly opposite the digital display, there’s a single handle for carrying around this slightly large tower. And let me answer the one obvious question: Yes, if you pick it up, your brain will absolutely insist on trying to grab the other side with your other hand, at which point you’ll be blocked by the display. Carrying it by one handle is a little more lopsided than it needs to be, but it’s lightweight enough that this shouldn’t be a problem for most people.

In addition to the unit and whichever filter is included, the box only contains some basic documentation. Notably, the power cord is attached and non-removable, so you’ll want to be a little extra careful to make sure it’s not damaged because there probably isn’t a good way to replace it.

Software, integrations, and performance

Living up to its promise for near-silent operation, the fan is pretty hard to hear unless you’re standing right next to it, yet it produces enough airflow that you’ll feel a very faint breeze several feet away. Unless you set the fan speed manually, this is the level auto mode should maintain most of the time unless your air is pretty contaminated.

However, there are three other fan speeds, and they ramp up quickly. The second level is audible from across a room, but remains tame enough that it can be ignored. Upon raising the speed to level three, the sound and airflow aren’t subtle, rivaling most desk fans on a medium or high setting. The final step to level four is basically a full blast wind storm that can be felt from anywhere in the room and makes plenty of sound. Again, the fan should generally idle on the lowest setting anyway, so you’ll probably only visit these speeds when you really need them.

Three filter options are available: Allergen for $34.99, Formaldehyde for $59.99, and Wildfire for $39.99. Wyze also offers a subscription with a reasonable discount if you want replacements delivered to you on a regular schedule. Each is rated for slightly different lifespans that generally cap at 12 months, but it comes down to air quality and how frequently they’re used.

The allergen filter is meant to be the standard option for most people to keep things like dust, pollen, and pet dander under control. The formaldehyde filter is the premium option designed to take on chemicals and heavy odors in addition to everything the regular allergen filter covers. The “wildfire” filter aims more specifically at tackling high quantities of contaminants from burning trees and buildings.

I was sent the wildfire filter for this review, but unfortunately my part of Oregon is in the midst of heavy rains and zero fires, so it’s hard to judge filter effectiveness. However, there’s a noticeable and fairly quick reduction in dust if I run the air purifier in the same room where I’m cleaning.

Setup is a little tedious, entirely because of the app, but far from the worst smart home device I have encountered. The air purifier works perfectly fine out the box without any extra steps — don’t forget to remove the plastic around the filter — but you won’t be able to set up any integrations with Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa until the unit has been added to your Wyze account through the company’s app.

Outside of some arguably nosey permissions and entirely too many screens to tap through, the app is fairly well-made, especially when compared to most of the smart home companion apps I’ve had the displeasure of using. It even adds some relatively useful features, including home screen widgets that can be configured to give you direct shortcuts to the settings for an individual device. You can also add automatic rules, like a schedule to start and stop the air purifier, or geofences so it can begin running shortly before you return home. Oh, and of course, the app tracks air quality and breaks down different pollutants so you know what you’re breathing.

Once everything is set up, including any integrations with voice assistants, the air purifier is extremely responsive. Changes coming from the app kick in instantly, and turnaround time on voice commands through Google Assistant take barely a second. Voice commands allow you to turn the unit on and off, change fan speed, and set it to sleep mode.

Should you buy it?

Probably, but only if you plan to put a connected air purifier to good use. There are plenty of good air purifiers on the market without the extra tech that goes into controlling them with apps and voice commands; and most of them are available at lower prices, with more power, or even more attractive designs. You may even be able to avoid proprietary filters.

But setting aside the direct value argument leaves us with an otherwise well-made product that has plenty of its own advantages. Through the use of schedules and geofencing, you can stretch the life of air filters, the tracking features can be helpful for evaluating the air you breathe, and voice commands are always handy if you don’t want to fiddle with remote controls or walking over to mess with physical controls. For $175 ($135 on sale at the time of posting), Wyze made a legitimately good air purifier with useful features and all the smart home integration you’d expect.

Buy it if...

• You suffer from allergies to dust, pollen, or other airborne contaminants.
• You want to add more connected appliances to your smart home setup.
• You’re preparing for another season of rough wildfires.

Don't buy it if...

• You need an air purifier that covers a larger space.
• You care about finding the prettiest model available.

Q: How does the Wyze Air Purifier compare to the Smartmi Air Purifier P1?

The Smartmi Air Purifiier P1 launched in 2021 with a fairly similar set of features and a retail price only $5 higher than the Wyze Air Purifier (after the discounted launch price is over). Smartmi's model is generally more attractive and available in two colors, silver and black versus Wyze that's only available in black, and the P1 has a more comfortable handle if you expect to move it around regularly. It is also compatible with Apple HomeKit. However, Wyze wins on power with a fan strong enough to cover a roughly 500 sq.ft compared to 350 sq.ft for the P1, and there are more targeted filter options available from Wyze, making it ideal if you're contending with smoke from wildfires or unpleasant chemicals like formaldehyde.

Q: How does the Wyze Air Purifier compare to the Bissell Smart Purifier air220?

Amazon's editorial team gave the Bissell air220 the top spot in a roundup of smart air purifiers, but for a price of about $60 more, it has lower airflow with a CADR rating only as high as 178 m³/h compared to Wyze's 350 m³/h. Bissell technically has fewer filter options, offering only a regular filter and one targeted at pets, but the filters are broken up into three stages to capture larger particles first, then through a HEPA filter for smaller particles, and finally through a carbon filter for odors and chemicals. Wyze filters are all-in-one, which is more convenient for replacement, but means the filters are prone to losing effectiveness a little faster. Bissell's filter replacements are also cheaper, starting at $23. Reviews also point out that the "whisper" mode is audible, and the front cover of the chassis is prone to rattling.

Q: How does the Wyze Air Purifier compare to the LEVOIT Core 300S?

The LEVOIT Core 300S is one of the more popular budget-friendly smart air purifiers on the market and has very similar features to the Wyze model. At about $70 less, the Core 300S is available in either white or black, and it's rated to move about half as much air. LEVOIT offers four filter types: Original HEPA, Pet, Toxins, and Smoke. Much like the Wyze air purifier, these are proprietary all-in-one filters with similar prices.

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