The more things change, the more they remain the same. As the saying goes. It seems Xiaomi has taken this rather seriously, particularly for the company’s air purifier range. There is another side to the coin, the one that eschews complication for the sake of familiarity and consistency. The Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier 4 is, simply put, a minor upgrade over the Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier 3 which the company has now stopped selling (or is out of stock; one never really knows with Xiaomi).
The Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier 4 is more expensive than before, at ₹14,999 while having largely the same exterior as before and continues to use the same HEPA (or high-efficiency particulate arrestance) filter. That’ll cost ₹2,299 or so every time you replace it, which will be anytime between 6 months and a year of use. There are some additions, including the option to enable negative ions and a new design for the clean air vent.
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For the similarity of design as carried forward, the ability to open the clean air vent at the top means you can do a more thorough cleaning of the fan blades and the chamber, where dust tends to stick after a point. This is a neat addition, something Xiaomi has thought of, but other air purifier makers haven’t. I do not remember testing a single air purifier in more than 5 years, which allows this convenience.
Negatively charged ions have an almost standard option in many air purifiers for almost a decade now. Xiaomi’s finally added them here. The utility, again unseen as it is with most things in an air purifier, is these ions bind to tiny airborne pollutants which may be stagnant in some part of the room, such as behind furniture. Examples of these pollutants include dust particles and smoke. The idea is to make these particles heavier, thereby forcing them to drop to the floor (or at least much lower than regular breathing height).
There are many arguments against using ionizers in indoor spaces, as they can increase formaldehyde content in the air. Science continues to debate this, but if you wish, there is the option to turn off the ioniser in the Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier 4. The good thing is, as we illustrate in this article, the actual air cleaning performance doesn’t change with the ioniser turned off.
In our tests, we did not notice much difference in the speed at which the room’s air quality was equalised and then maintained, whether the ions were on or off. In tests we did at similar times of the day after allowing outside air to steam into the room for the same amount of time, the Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier 4 did return the expected impressive numbers. The air quality, from around 95 microns per cubic meter, was reduced to 15 microns per cubic meter in less than 10 minutes, after the room was closed for outside ventilation.
It further dropped to single digits and stayed there for the rest of the day and night. The performance for air cleaning was similar (not quicker, or worse) when the negative ion feature was turned off.
There is a slight boost to the Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier 4’s cleaning power. The clean air delivery rate (or CADR; a metric to compare but you shouldn’t get swayed by this) is now 400 cubic meter per hour, up from 380 cubic meter per hour in the Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier 3. That effectively widens the effective coverage area in an indoor space, albeit only slightly, with the placement of the purifier playing a big role in how quickly and efficiently the air can be purified.
The HEPA filter in use is the same across all Xiaomi air purifiers, past and latest. The laser particulate sensor has been carried forward too – this can detect particles as small as 0.3 microns, which is par for course.
It is admirable how silently this purifier runs even in auto mode once the air quality is stabilised after a burst of quick cleaning. It is barely audible during the night, except the OLED display on the front is a tad too bright even at the lowest illumination setting (this option is in the Mi Home app).
If you are interested in the smart connectivity, the Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier 4 will pair with your smartphone using the Mi Home app. This will give you detailed controls on your phone itself, if the purifier is connected to the home Wi-Fi – monitor air quality, on/off, modes and check filter life. For some reason, the purifier refused to connect with the home Wi-Fi network when we tried using the Mi Home app on the iPhone but worked seamlessly on an Android phone – a simple device share from there enabled access on the iPhone too.
In effect, as things stand, the Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier 4 replaces the Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier 3. We do not know if the predecessor is discontinued or simply out of stock. Perhaps to return later. That ambiguity specifically, you’d notice across Xiaomi’s smart home ecosystem, is a theme. Water purifier filter unavailability, being the cause of a social media debate recently, being an example. It is difficult to predict when filters and consumables disappear from the online store, and therein begins the wait.
There was a time when Xiaomi’s air purifiers had a pricing advantage. But traditional brands have caught on. Philips, for instance, now has the very capable 1000i series while Honeywell has the entry spec AirTouch options which do a fantastic job as air purifiers, albeit missing out on the smart app convenience.
Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier 4 perhaps didn’t need significant redesigning from the ground up, and that’s exactly what Xiaomi hasn’t done. The subtle design tweaks, such as access to clean the fan, are very useful. This has always been a purifier family that simply works, and this iteration is no different. Now, one can hope that the filters will remain in stock for the time you have this at home. Xiaomi, I’d like to point out, has whittled down the filter portfolio from three to one now – the two more affordable options no longer available.
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