The next release from SwitchBot is interesting for a couple of reasons. SwitchBot Air Purifier pursues a new trend in the world of home automation, as the otherwise familiar form and function air purifier resembles furniture. What else does the SwitchBot Air Purifier bring to the table? Even if it’s not the first brand to start this trend, it brings more than you think. Let’s talk smart tech and furniture.
Setting new trends
When you think about it, this is a direction that all smart home brands may take eventually. Instead of making countless gadgets to smart up our houses which we try to hide whenever possible, creating functional IoT-enabled gadgets could be a great solution. SwitchBot wasn’t the first brand to turn the humble and difficult-to-hide, air purifier into something that resembles a table. IKEA STARKVIND popped into my newsfeed before as a cute attempt to dress up an otherwise boring device and turn it into a showpiece. I took a shoot at hiding sensors inside the door, creating a DIY smart door (can we count this as furnishing?) to turn the otherwise analogue part of the house into the action-packed, sensor-enabled gate to my dwelling.
SwitchBot is taking a risk by doing so, as SwitchBot Air Purifier must compete in tech aspects of the device as well as the style. Many won’t care what a purifier would look like, but as soon as one is marketed as a bedside table – personal tastes come into play! While IKEA’s offering might be a little bit more pleasing to the eye, SwitchBot Air Purifier brings a lot to the table…
Let’s talk tech.
Not just a table
Before you let the style call all the shots, let’s take a look at the specifications of the SwitchBot Air Purifier. The fake wood (this is plastic), finish houses 2 features. There is a wireless charger (15W) embedded into the surface and hidden under the table’s surface diffused LED light capable of a couple of settings.
On the unit itself, there is a simple control panel with the most common button controls (power/timers/on&off) which come in handy if you can’t be bothered looking through your phone to adjust basic functions.
The “meat” of the unit is below with one of the biggest air filters I have seen in a while. This thing is made from 2 filters that fit one into another and the unit is equipped with an air quality sensor (IR dust sensor PM2.5) and a powerful fan. The smart elements link with the SwitchBot ecosystem via 2.4GHz WiFi and Bluetooth 4.2 and offer ambient light detection. Matter support works via SwitchBot Hub 2, while the individual Matter over WiFi will be enabled soon after the release date.
How much?
At release in the UK, SwitchBot Air Purifier will set you back £299.99, but if you are shop savvy, the SwitchBot website always has a nice code to claim a little off and shopping for bundles is another way to save a little money.
Details
Wireless charger won’t impress you with its 15W rating, but this could be an advantage if you use SwitchBot Air Purifier as your overnight bedside table. Charging at lower speeds for longer is more battery-friendly.
The LED light is nicely diffused, and several different colours can be set in the SwitchBot app. Apart from the typical on/off/auto options, the LED array can be used to display the air quality – informing you about the number of nasty particles in the air using different colours. I found the light to be a little dim, and the colour range is limited to 10 colours. It’s perfect to set the mood in the room, but you’ll need another light if you want to read a book.
Tasker to the rescue?
The inclusion of the charger and the interactive mode that displays the air quality using built-in light provides an extra opportunity for anyone who uses Android phones. Thanks to Tasker and SwitchBot API v1.2 it should be possible to display the battery status of the phone placed on the wireless charger.
I will have a go at creating this, but if you want to see how I approached a similar feat before, take a look at this write-up when I control the charger using my phone.
Let’s get purifying
Let’s set table looks aside and focus on the actual performance. I mentioned the large filter that sleeps inside the unit. This filter is made from 2 layers that snugly fit inside each other. On the outside 40-50 mesh gauze captures large particles like dust, pet hair and similar, while the inside HEPA-certified filter captures particles with a diameter of 0.1-0.3 micrometers. SwitchBot boasts a deodorising performance that mitigates foul smells thanks to activated carbon, but I don’t have any pets to verify this.
SwitchBot Air Purifier comes in three speeds. At max, the device can push CFM=400m³/h worth of air-purifying areas up to 35m³. If I turn the purifier to the max, it is very audible. Thankfully, in the lowest setting/night mode, the device is whisper quiet and I had no problems falling asleep next to it. Whatever your needs, you can find the settings for yourself.
Testing
I’m in the process of fixing up my bedroom. The walls are being fixed, and while the 1st coat of the plaster reveals that I should not take up plastering as my main job just yet, it created a unique opportunity to test the SwitchBot Air Purifier.
I had to sand down a couple of imperfections after my 1st coat, before the final skim. If you were ever tasked with sanding down plaster, you know how dusty it gets. I deployed the IKEA VINDSTYRKA – air quality sensor alongside the SwitchBot unit to verify the effectiveness and I got to work.
Within a minute, the particle count got up to 200 PPM and I was covered in dust. I could taste the plaster in my throat so I paused the sanding and turned on the SwitchBot Air Purifier to the max. It only took 5 min to change the count from 200 (high) to values below 12 PPM on both devices. That’s impressive. The air felt fresh and while I could smell the fresh plaster, I no longer felt I’m inhaling dust particles.
This isn’t a recommendation to use SwitchBot Air Purifier as your DIY helper – venting rooms and hiring professional plasterers may be a much better way of dealing with that situation without clogging the filter in the first week of use, but this test shows how powerful SwitchBot Air Purifier really is.
SwitchBot app and smarts
SwitchBot ecosystem matured over time very well. New devices offer nice polished menus and interfaces and SwitchBot Air Purifier is no different. You can control the device in Bluetooth or WiFi mode (with and without a hub).
The options in the app aren’t mind-blowing, after all this is a purifier, but schedules, power levels and environmental charts are present for quick access in the app. While you can’t use a specific PPM value to trigger the air purge, triggers in the automation panel use very good/good/moderate/bad settings to kick off purifying automatically. These will in turn control the device and light settings.
Typical integrations are also available and SwitchBot Air Purifier can be used via Alexa, Google Home and Smart Things among others. The app has pretty much everything you need to take charge of your unit.
Shop for Switchbot
Get Switchbot devices in the following stores:
Final thoughts
SwitchBot Air Purifier may not win any design prizes (for this it needs to look more like furniture than a purifier) but there is no denying that the unit offers excellent air cleaning performance and a couple of convenience options that may win your heart. The price of £299.99 may be a bit much to swallow, but SwitchBot offers great discounts and bundles all the time! Plus, can you put a price tag on dust-free bedroom especially if you are allergic to certain particles? I will follow this up with the charging mod for Android devices, so be on the lookout! Let me know what you think in this Reddit thread.
🆓📈💵 – See the transparency note for details.
