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Review: Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier 4 Lite – Affordable Air Purifier

Review: In this review we will get started with the Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier 4 Lite, a smart air purifier that also looks good.
3.7/5 - (13 votes)

Today, ventilation and clean air is more important than ever. You have very expensive solutions for smart air purifiers, but Xiaomi shows that it can also be done differently with the Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier 4 Lite. In addition to the regular model and the 4 Pro, this is the cheapest model in the series. This air purifier is suitable for surfaces from 25 m2 to 43 m2 and costs 139.95 euros.

This is the Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier 4 Lite

The Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier 4 Lite looks identical in design to the other air purifiers of the brand. It is a white and rectangular device that stands upright, but has rounded corners. It certainly does not look cheap and has a nice design for an air purifier. It draws in air through the grille on the sides, after which it is purified in the device thanks to Xiaomi’s ‘High Efficiency Filter’. According to the manufacturer, this filter combines two technologies, namely electrostatic charge with mechanical filtration. This removes 99.97 percent of harmful particles, PM2.5, smoke, animal dander, pollen and other harmful substances down to 0.3 micrometers. The clean and filtered air is then expelled again at the top.

The air purifier is equipped with a small round display on the front. Control is of course possible with an app and voice control is also available via Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. You can use the Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier 4 Lite for a year without having to replace the filter. A new filter costs about 40 euros. It all sounds fine on paper, but how do you like the air purifier in practice?

Installation

The installation really couldn’t be simpler. In the box you will find the air purifier, a plug and the manual. The filter is already installed. Take the air purifier out of the box, plug it into a power outlet and you’re done. The front display shows PM2.5, the temperature, humidity and the status of the clean air in the house. On top you will find two touch buttons. For example, there is an on/off button in the front left and a button in the front right to change the mode from automatic to a quieter night mode to manual. In the latter case, you need the app to change settings. On the back of the air purifier you will find a button to adjust the brightness of the round display and you will find the sensors that actually measure the air quality. Just like with my own Dyson, I know from experience that you sometimes have to clean this. If there is too much dust in front of the laser, the air purifier can go crazy. The manual of this Xiaomi air purifier also states that you should clean it occasionally.

According to Xiaomi, you can use the filter for about a year, after which you have to replace it. A filter costs about 40 euros. On the sides of the air purifier you will find two wide parts that you can press. You can then easily lift the top off, after which you can remove the filter (a hollow tube) from the bottom part.

Xiaomi Home

For smart control, we download the Xiaomi Home app from the Google Play Store or Apple’s App Store. This app is not specific to the air purifier, but is an umbrella app from Xiaomi for the company’s smarthome products. You can also operate the company’s security cameras, smart lamps or smart plugs with Xiaomi Home. The smoother it all went so far, the more difficult it was with the app. It started with logging in, where it was impossible to create a new account and an error message appeared continuously.

After some thought and searching through old emails, it turned out that I still have a Xiaomi account, so I used it to log in. That turned out to be successful. Once in the app, an hourglass appeared on the home screen with the text ‘Processing data’ for minutes. What was done? No idea. In the end the app turned out to be ready and we could add the device. Fortunately, that turned out to go smoothly. On the back you will find the sync button that you have to hold down for seven seconds to activate WiFi. In the app, you can easily find the Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier 4 Lite, after which the device was quickly added.

Xiaomi Home App

The app gives you just a little more control options than the touch buttons on the device itself. Of course you can switch the air purifier on or off or switch between modes, but you can also operate it manually. The app visualizes the whole with the number of square meters that will be cleaned in that stand. You can also set the estimated filter duration, screen brightness, a child lock and the notification sound. If you want to, you can use ‘Smart scenes’. For example, you can set a time schedule using an if/then scenario. If you also have other smart products from Xiaomi, you can of course also use them via these scenes.

You will see more information about air quality in the Xiaomi Home app than with the IKEA STARKVIND, but it’s all pretty cheap too. You only see the PM2.5 (µg/m3) on the screen, just like on the display. Complete charts about all kinds of harmful substances such as in the Dyson app, you do not have that here. PM2.5 (µg/m3) stands for particulate matter in the air. A value from 0 to 100 can be seen in the app, just like a green, yellow, orange or red color whether the air is clean or not. Furthermore, just like on the display, you see the temperature and humidity, but that was it. There are no more options and information via the app, except for voice control. Do you use Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant? You can also control this smart air purifier by voice with your favorite voice assistant. In fact, we can exactly compare the app with the air purifier itself. Clear and well-arranged, without frills, but just very solid. The app is also completely optional. You can use it if you want and have just a few more manual options, but it works fine even without an app.

Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier 4 Lite in use

To what extent this air purifier actually provides clean air in the house is always difficult to measure without professional equipment. These devices also indicate how clean the air is in the house, with the Dyson in particular offering all kinds of options via the app. It will be interesting to see how similar these measurements are, especially since you can buy a Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier 4 Lite four times compared to one Dyson air purifier.

It seems as if the air purifier itself has mastered cleaning well. After all, that’s what you buy the device for. Just spray a can of deodorant and both the Dyson and the Xiaomi quickly run wild. Faster than IKEA’s air purifier, which does everything a little slower. So, in terms of speed, we have nothing to complain about with this Xiaomi air purifier. The values ​​are also quite similar to the Dyson, so the sensors all seem fine.

One issue that may be personal is the location where the clean air comes out of the unit. That is at the top. Now you can use the air purifiers from Dyson and even the IKEA STARKVIND as a fan, because all these air purifiers have a powerful fan to move the air. That is of course always nice in this summer with very hot days. The Dyson simply blows the air out to the side, just like the STARKVIND, which you can sit in to cool off. The Xiaomi? It blows it out at the top. Unless you sit on top of it, the powerful fan in the device is of no use to you. In terms of design, a different solution could have been chosen. There is a strong fan in it, but that is of no use to you now. So you can really only use the device purely as an air purifier. Unless you lay it on its side, but that’s not the point. I understand that it is the intention that the cleaned air can come out at the top in 360 degrees, but this limits the possibilities of the device.

Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier

Conclusion – Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier

Xiaomi launches an affordable smart air purifier with the Smart Air Purifier 4 Lite. The device looks good, has a handy display and, if you get over the registration problems, also a handy app. In terms of statistics and graphs, it is all somewhat limited, but the sensors work similar to a much more expensive Dyson. Cleaning the air is a piece of cake with this device.

Just know that it is purely an air purifier. The strong fan blows the air out at the top, so you can’t sit down to cool down. In terms of further possibilities, it does not know how to rise above the competition, but to what extent do you really need those extras? The Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier 4 Lite is just a very decent air purifier.

Pros

  • Fresh design
  • Handy display
  • Easy operation with touch controls and app
  • Affordable
  • Sensors work similar to a much more expensive device
Negatives

  • Not suitable as a fan
  • Sign-in issues in the app
  • Insight into air quality is limited