Since being asked to try the new Philips 4200i Series PureProtect Air Purifier, life hasn’t been the same. No more irritated lungs, no more sneezing fits, and no more watery eyes.
As a sufferer of asthma, eczema and a few other allergies, polluted air is one thing I just can’t tolerate. So, when Harvey Norman were kind enough to supply me one of these stylish new purifiers to try, I couldn’t wait to get it home and find out what sort of difference it would make to my home’s air, and my life.
Is it as effective as promised? Read on for my Philips PureProtect review to find out!
Setup’s a Breeze
This smart air purifier is pretty simple to get up and running. I noticed that it packs not one but two 4-layer HEPA NanoProtect filters, which I thought was a great omen for good performance.
Switching the Philips PureProtect on, I waited for the great whoosh of my air being cleaned in real time – but it didn’t come.
Then I felt the air gently moving around. Turns out the 4200i Series is so quiet that even in a silent room, I couldn’t tell that it was working. Philips says that this purifier has SilentWings technology, which was inspired by the way owls fly so quietly. Take it from me, this air purifier won’t be ruining those quiet movie scenes or keeping you awake.
Once it was up and running, the sweet styling caught my eye. The Philips air purifier has a sleek aesthetic that I thought would complement almost any interior style. It also features a cool diffused light on top, which offers a choice between a soft warm white (ideal as a night light) or an air quality indicator. Blue means your air is healthy, while purple or red means it’s not quite as fresh.
Air+ App: Informative and Easy
Once everything was up and running, the next step was getting the Philips Air+ app onto my phone. Being able to control this smart air purifier from anywhere was something I just had to try.
This app turned out to be much more than just a good remote control. It offered real-time insight into my home’s air quality including particle levels, harmful gases, and (importantly for me) an allergen index. It’ll even keep you updated if the air quality drops.
I was also able to set up smart routines. Mine was to set the purifier to Sleep mode at 11pm and return to normal Auto mode at 8am each day.
The app also offers two new modes, Auto+ and Allergy Sleep. Auto+*¹ is brand new, using AI to calculate the precise optimal fan speed based on everything from typical pollution levels at a given time of day to your own usage patterns.
Allergy Sleep on the other hand lets the fan ramp up a little more than normal Sleep, capturing even more dust and debris while remaining more than quiet enough for me to enjoy a relaxing, allergy-free sleep.
Cooking Up a Test for the Philips PureProtect
So the Philips smart purifier has the looks, and it knows how to keep quiet. Now, it’s time to find out how the Philips air purifier works.
The tech that makes the PureProtect 4200i Series a little smarter than your average air purifier is the AeraSense system. One thousand times every second, the AeraSense examines the air in your home to check for pollutants, gases and other nasties. It’ll show you, both on the LED display and within the Air+ app, what the air quality is like. Plus, while you’ve got the unit in Auto mode, the purifier will react to this level and power up or down as needed. Clever!
As I touched on earlier, this Philips 4200i air purifier has those two 4-layer HEPA filters with active charcoal layer, as well as dual fans. These help it deliver about 1.5 times more clean air than other purifiers that are about the same size.*² It’s a great purifier for large homes, rated to handle up to 156 square metres,*³ which is awesome for those modern open-plan designs. Even if you’re in a smaller space like me, the power isn’t wasted with Philips claiming it can clean a 20m² area in under 5 minutes.
Time to put that to the test!
The perfect scenario turned out to be cooking. It’s one of the biggest sources of pollution inside the house.
As someone who doesn’t mind a pancake or pan-seared salmon, this really doesn’t come as too much of a surprise. My place isn’t the biggest, and when I cook, there’s often a haze visible for a fair while afterwards, which is probably not great for the lungs.
One evening, it was again time to fire up the frying pan.
The AeraSense system detected a peak particle level of about 400 in the air while I was cooking – for reference, anything over about 100 is considered unhealthy. It lit up red to let me know of the air quality emergency.
The system also quickly kicked into Turbo, although you’d hardly know it. It was easy to hear the podcast I usually listen to while cooking and cleaning.
What’s also impressive is that even at maximum speed, the Philips PureProtect only uses around 55W of power – less than what a traditional incandescent light bulb needs.
Within minutes, everything was back to a reassuring blue, and the air was purer than it had ever been in my little kitchen. I noticed the cooking smell disappeared faster than ever as well, probably because of the activated carbon layer in each filter. That layer also works to capture 96%*⁴ of gas pollutants that can be in your air such as the volatile organic compounds that can leach out of paint, building materials or furniture.
Great for Pets
As someone who isn’t a dog or cat dad just yet, one thing I didn’t realise at first was how this mighty Philips machine is also one of the best air purifiers for pets you can buy. Visits from friends and family are often accompanied by various cats and dogs, which brings two things: a lot of joy, and a little sniffle. Unfortunately, our four-legged friends leave behind not only hair but also dander – microscopic particles of their skin that will unfortunately aggravate conditions like eczema, asthma and more.
Fortunately, the Philips PureProtect is great at capturing this kind of air pollution too. Those HEPA filters are rated to pull a pretty impressive 99.99% of it out of the air, as well as other triggers like mould spores and the dreaded dust mite.*⁵
Without a doubt, I’d say this is one of the best air purifiers for allergies you could find.
Where to buy the Philips 4200i Series PureProtect Air Purifier
I was really excited to try this model. I’ve owned many others, but none have done the trick like this Philips smart air purifier. It’s definitely got the performance to back the sleek looks, and the clever Air+ app is just the icing on the cake.
If you’re ready to embrace clean, healthy air in your family’s home, check out the Philips 4200i Series PureProtect here or head on down to your local Harvey Norman store, where you’ll be able to chat with friendly, expert staff about the air purification range.
Terms for this Philips 4200i Series PureProtect Review
*1. Auto+ feature was in Beta at time of writing. Features subject to change.
*2. CADR vs. Philips AC1715
*3. CADR tested according GB/T18801-2022. Suitable purification area calculated to NRCC-54013 standard.
*4. External lab test to GB/T 18801-2022 with TVOC, Toluene and NO2: 30 m3 room, Turbo mode for 1h.
*5. From the air that passes through the filter, tested with house dust mite, birch pollen and cat allergens according to SOP 350.003 of the Austrian OFI institute.