Xiaomi’s smart technology is embedded in homes in South Africa and across the world because… well, it works. Whether that’s keeping your home clean or upskilling your fitness, the brand is a trusted name among end users everywhere. There are at least two other areas where a liberal application of smart home tech can benefit the average South African.
One involves moving air around in surprisingly effective ways, the other is firmly focused on entertainment in all its many forms. We’ll dive into entertainment soon, but for now, let’s focus on the airflow solutions that make an immediate impact.
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Whether you’re cleaning your air, adding or removing moisture, or just wafting it around your living space, Xiaomi offers an up-to-date solution to handle every scenario. Best of all, these are all affordable enough to make an impact on South Africans’ lives around the country.
Target one scenario or combine multiple devices as part of a larger upskilled home and introduce an enhanced level of comfort and reliability to the air that you breathe that matches the way Xiaomi has changed your life in other areas.
Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier 4 Compact
R1,799 (R2,199)
One of the toughest things to deal with is allergies. Without going into subjects like histamine overload, the easiest way to cope with the hazards of pet hair, dust, and the general air quality in Johannesburg is to simply change it. In your immediate vicinity, of course.
Xiaomi’s little bin-sized air purifier promises cleaner air in most reasonably-sized rooms, with a footprint that means it can live next to the printer or wherever else you need it most. The Smart Air Purifier 4 Compact handles rooms up to 48m² in size, using a three-part filter to haul particles as small as 0.03 microns out of the air. Once they’re trapped, those particles never make it anywhere near your sinuses.
The compact wonder operates at a low noise level (20dB), features an air quality readout on the device, and can be operated via Xiaomi’s smart home app or remote control.
Xiaomi Smart Humidifier 2
R999 (R1,299)
When dryness – not dust – is behind your sinus discomfort, Xiaomi’s Smart Humidifier 2 delivers the moisture your air is missing. Technologically stylish enough to be mistaken for a 5G router, this compact unit emits puffs of clean vapour into your immediate environment at regular intervals, keeping your environment comfortably humid instead of drying you out.
UV-C sterilisation keeps the vapour introduced into your air as clean as possible, while the humidifier’s 4.5-litre tank keeps it in operation all day. If you don’t need round-the-clock action, it can be remotely controlled via the Xiaomi Mi Home app. Scheduling and mist output are the major features here.
Xiaomi Humidifier 2 Lite
R599 (R849)
For more of the same but in a smaller space, the Humidifier 2 Lite is an even more compact version that’ll suit compact spaces like office desks. Four litres of water occupy space inside a silver-ion antimicrobial material-lined container that allows continuous misting for up to 30 hours between refills.
The Xiaomi Humidifier 2 Lite operates at a low audio level, capping out at 38dB under maximum load, while the automatic shutoff feature makes sure the unit switches off safely if you forget to top it up. An easy-to-clean design and clear water level indicator let users keep their personal spaces perfectly hydrated, no matter what time of year it is.
Xiaomi Smart Dehumidifier Lite
R3,499 (R4,499)
It takes a touch more finesse to remove excess moisture from the air than it does to add it, but for those who need it, the payoff is undeniable. The Smart Dehumidifier Lite does exactly what it says on the box, extracting excess humidity from the spaces you need it to.
Three modes – smart, sleep, and drying – suit most situations, allowing this barrel-shaped gadget to haul up to thirteen litres of moisture from the air in a 24-hour period. The internal reservoir holds up to three litres of reclaimed liquid at a time, but an included metre-long drain hose lets it hit its daily targets with minimal intervention. If drainage is a more complicated problem, a smart cutout will halt operations until you can manually empty the tank. The result? No soggy floors when you least expect it.
Extensive app support, including checking the humidity level from anywhere, scheduling operations, and swapping modes, makes it a breeze to use. A child lock means that the kiddies can’t muck up your settings when they’re left to roam on their own.
Xiaomi Smart Standing Fan 2 Lite
R999 (R1,299)
This 3.5kg smart fan’s telescopic pedestal allows for usage on desks as well as floor-based operation, letting users make the most of its sixteen-metre reach and extensive airflow-promoting capabilities. A powerful low-noise motor lets it shift up to 27 m³/h of air around at a time without waking anyone up. A standard horizontal swing lets it reach most corners of wherever it’s placed, but the smart features could just be the major winner here.
Along with the Mi Home app, users can give commands to Xiaomi’s smart fan using Google Assistant. Whether it’ll understand your sleepy mumbles in the middle of the night is probably on you. Nobody designs a voice assistant to interpret instructions that well.
Xiaomi Smart Standing Fan 2
R2,099 (R2,799)
What’s the difference between the Smart Standing Fan 2 and the Lite version? More blades, which automatically makes it cooler – figuratively and literally. The same voice control features are present, but the Smart Standing Fan 2’s double-bladed design provides for airflow of up to 20m³/min.
A wider swing angle (140° compared to 90°), slightly reduced penetration, and finer control of speeds (with 100 increments to exploit) mean that users can have their airspeed set exactly the way they want it. That Xiaomi does this with a lighter, 3kg chassis and a highly efficient 15W motor means it’s faster, quieter, and kinder to your Eskom bill at the end of the month.
Find all of these products, and more, at Yuppiechef and Takealot’s Black Friday Festive sales. If you haven’t found something that will improve your life by then, you might just already have a perfect life.
