Philips Smart Air Purifier AC4221 review

The AC4221 is a bit of a looker, I must say.  It's all smooth curves and minimalist vibes, with a rather fetching AQI ring that glows different colours depending on the air quality. Think of it as a mood ring for your living room, only instead of teenage angst, it's reflecting the presence of pollen, dust, and other microscopic villains. It’s not designed to look untraditional like the Dyson but the cylindrical design with vertical slats might attract a gaze or two. In my opinion, the  Electrolux Pure A9 Himalaya , with its fabric cover, looks way better in the living room.

ALSO READ: Dyson Big+Quiet review

It's packing a HEPA filter that can capture particles as small as 0.003 microns (that's smaller than a virus, folks!), along with a pre-filter and activated carbon filter to tackle larger particles and odours. It also has two filters instead of one big filter like most air purifiers. The filters sit on the top and bottom of the purifier and the center has the fans to blow out clean air.

There’s a sensor as well for PM2.5, Gas, Temperature and Humidity readings which makes the whole experience a lot informative. The Philips air purifier is also smart and has an app and real-time AQI monitoring using location. So you know exactly what the air quality is outside your window. If you're out and about and suddenly feel the urge to check on the air quality in your living room, you can do so with a few taps on your phone. You can even schedule cleaning sessions and adjust the fan speed remotely. Now that's what I call living in the future! There’s also smart voice control with Siri shortcuts, but we could not get it to work. However, the air purifier works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, both on iPhone and Android smartphones. The app also sends you notifications on air quality periodically. It can get a bit persistent with pinging you but you can turn it off in the app.

That said, the app itself is one of the best in the business and everything you need to know is right at your fingertips. Even instructions on how to clean the filter and schedule timings. I usually keep it on Auto mode and let it decide when to speed up the cleaning process depending on the surrounding pollutants like cooking odour from the kitchen and bed dusting process.

Now for the important bit: does it actually work? In a word, yes. I've been testing this purifier in my own home and I've been genuinely impressed with the results. The air feels noticeably cleaner, and my allergies haven't been playing up as much. The air in Mumbai is heavier and quite toxic with all the digging and dust. The air inside my room with the purifier feels lighter and sterile. Plus, the AC4221 is surprisingly quiet. Given, that I used it in my bedroom and not in the living room where it’s supposed to be working. In a room as big as 20 square meters, this should clean the air in about 5 minutes. However, the Philips can work in spaces as big as 156 square meters. If you want something smaller then Philips has two more in the same design starting from around ₹9,000.

After a month and a half of use, the filter has only been used 92%. We reckon you can use the filter for 8 months or a year. And replacement filters will set you back around ₹4,500 to ₹5,000.

ALSO READ: Modicare Cuckoo Air Purifier review

The Philips AC4221 Smart Air Purifier is a top-notch piece of kit that delivers on its promises. It's stylish, effective, and packed with features. Sure, it's a bit of an investment but cheaper than whatever Dyson is selling. If you're serious about improving the air quality in your home, it's definitely worth considering.