The one object most homes in South Africa, during summer, have running is a fan. This is a prime example of a smarter one, combining a portable nature (thanks, battery), great build, and ease of setup and use into one great, if very Appliance White, device.
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Value
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Cooling
Christmas in Joburg isn’t what it is in the movies – especially in the northern hemisphere where it really does snow.
I was thinking of this mismatch between the top half of the planet’s way of celebrating (what’s for them) a winter wonderland while watching that excellent film Arthur Christmas by the geniuses from Aardman Animation, the makers of Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep.
Some like it hot
There we were, in 30-degree heat on a late Saturday afternoon, watching snow-capped (animated) splendour whizzing below Santa’s sleigh. Just in front of the TV – ironically – was a gently turning fan. Fans have become an essential item for Joburg summers in the last three or four years as heatwaves have persisted from November to February.
Opening windows for a cross-draft is a handy solution. I’m always amazed at how few people know this simple trick. Admittedly, I learned this from my architect mother, who always explained why things were done as if to get ahead of our curiosity. More than anything she imbued us kids with common sense and pragmatism, which is why I am such a fan of simple solutions using simple, reliable technology.
Not that the fan I’m testing is anything but high-end, mind you, although its setup and interface are simple.
Simple pleasure
The Xiaomi Smart Standing Fan 2 Pro I am testing clipped and screwed together in about five minutes (with help from a seven-year-old). I reinstalled the Xiaomi home app (which I’ve used while testing the company’s air fryer) in moments. In terms of design, it’s your average pedestal fan but lighter in weight and sturdier in build than most. That’s part of the reason for its price tag. That, and the smart features.
Nearly R2,000 is a lot to pay for a fan, you might say. It’s currently on sale for R1,900 on Takealot, and the Lite version is only R1,500. The Pro reviewed here has a built-in battery (2,800 mAh or 33.6Wh) while a charging block connects magnetically underneath the base.
When you pick it up, you’ll note just how versatile it is. I did this for a temporary move to my son’s bedroom, where it continued working for a few hours before I moved it back to the TV room. That night, I changed its primary location to his bedroom and used the fan (on battery) elsewhere during the day. Joburg summer nights can be rough without a fan in the background.
Being able to control the fan through the app is more handy than my sarcasm suggests. Usefully, it also remembers the last setting it was on when it was switched off and restarts in that mode, which always includes rotating during the summer heat waves. It has a 140-degree arc, if you have to know. That’ll encompass all but the very largest of beds if you locate the Fan 2 Pro in the right spot.
Most importantly though, it’s quiet. Really quiet. On the fourth and fastest speed, you’ll hear the whirr of the Fan 2 Pro but that will just make you more grateful that you have it running in the background.
Xiaomi Smart Standing Fan 2 Pro verdict
The Xiaomi Smart Standing Fan 2 Pro is an effectively simple smart fan. It’s easy to assemble and set up, interacts with Xiaomi’s existing ecosystem with ease, and, since this is the Pro unit, can operate for ages on nothing but a battery. During a scorching South African summer when there’s always a possibility that the power will go out without notice, that last point is especially attractive. Attractive enough to overcome the price tag? I’d like to think so.
