Alen BreatheSmart 75i review: Powerful purifier gets app update

At a glance

Expert's Rating

Pros

Coverage for large rooms
Provides data on multiple pollutants
Updated app now offers downloadable sensor data

Cons

Large size dominates the room
Loud at higher speeds
No scheduling system

Our Verdict

Now with an updated app, the BreatheSmart 75i provides plenty of power and air quality info, but its size and price tag are more suited to commercial settings than home environments.

Price When Reviewed

$749

Best Prices Today: Alen BreatheSmart 75i

$769

We reviewed the powerful and uncommonly large BreatheSmart 75i air purifier less than a year ago. Since then, it has received key enhancements, including improved components and an updated UI, that warrant another look.

To recap our previous review, the 75i is a True HEPA Air Purifier designed for residential or commercial use. The latter seems a more likely scenario given the appliance's 27 x 19 x 12-inch (HxWxD) measurements and its ability to service rooms up to 1,300 square feet. A pair of wheels on the rear make moving the 27-pound unit slightly less cumbersome.

Design and functionality

Between its imposing size and a broad front panel that demands your attention, the 75i isn't a purifier you can simply hide in a corner or under a desk. Fortunately, there are six different color options—white, oak, weathered gray, brushed stainless, graphite, and espresso—that may help the unit blend more readily with your décor. Be aware, though, that any color other than white will tack an additional $39 onto the $749 price tag.

The same things that make the BreatheSmart 75i a tough sell for home users—its size, its app, its hefty asking price—make it a good fit for commercial environments.

Michael Ansaldo/Foundry

Size aside, the 75i functions like a typical air purifier. A large HEPA filter comes preinstalled in a compartment behind the front panel. Air drawn in through slots on either side passes through the filter and is dispersed through a vent on top. The unit comes with a vent guard to keep curious children's fingers safe.

This review is part of TechHive's in-depth coverage of the best air purifiers.

The 75i boasts five speeds, the highest of which offers a CADR (Clean Air Delivery Rate) of 350 cfm (cubic feet per minute). CADR is a certified rating that indicates an air purifier's efficacy by measuring the volume of air in cfm with separate scores for smoke, pollen, and dust. Alen doesn't provide a breakdown for these different pollutants, but as the rating scale only goes up to 400-450 depending on the pollutant being measured, the 75i's aggregated rating seems robust.

The "Pure" filter included as standard with the 75i is a typical H13 HEPA Air Filter that can trap common pollutants such as allergens, dust, and mold. Other options include "Fresh," which adds a carbon filter for odors and VOCs, and "Pet," which neutralizes pet odors and captures their hair and dander.

Michael Ansaldo/Foundry

The filters have a maximum lifespan of 15 months. Filter replacements cost $99 (Pure), $129 (Fresh), and $139 (Pet) each, but a filter subscription takes 10 percent off the price.

The unit can be operated via a touch panel on its top. Controls are basic and include a color-coded ring around the power button that indicates the current air quality based on the level of particulates in the air, manual and automatic speed modes, an ionizer, a child lock, and a button that adjusts the brightness of the ring-indicator light.

App features

All of these controls are mirrored in the Alen Air mobile app, which can be used to remotely control the 75i and to monitor your air quality in greater detail. The setup process seems more streamlined than the last time we tested this product and took just a couple of minutes to complete.

The app basics are still the same. As it was designed to manage multiple purifiers, the app dashboard displays the number of devices in each of three given states: running, idle, and disconnected. Tapping on any of these three statuses takes you to a screen listing those specific devices, where you can filter them by variables like air quality, filter life, and device type.

Once you select an individual device, you can access its controls and data. This appears to be where many of the app improvements were made. In addition to an air-quality color rating, you can now drill into specific pollutants including particulate matter, volatile organic compounds, and carbon dioxide as well as indoor temperature and humidity. The app provides at-a-glance readings for each of these as well as an easy way to display past levels on a new 60-minute graph that updates every minute.

Michael Ansaldo/Foundry

Also new is the ability to download sensor data. This feature, accessible from a three-dot menu at the top of the device dashboard, allows you to email yourself a .csv file containing historical data points for each of the pollutants the purifier monitors. It's hard to imagine a home user needing records of minute-by-minute air quality readings unless they're particularly nerdy or dealing with something specific like a humidity problem, but I can see them being useful in a commercial setting.

The app controls are now accessed by tapping a remote-control icon on an individual device's dashboard. This activates an overlay with a graphic of the unit's onboard control panel with fan speeds and other controls displayed underneath it.

While I still wouldn't call the app intuitive, it does provide pretty seamless operation of the 75i once you get your bearings. And Alen says more improvements are coming, including the ability for users to create custom schedules for their purifiers.

Should you buy the Alen BreatheSmart 75i?

The 75i is a powerful air purifier—maybe too powerful for home use. It certainly kept my home's air fresh, but testing it in my living room, I found it too big, too breezy, and too loud at higher speeds for my liking. I certainly can't imagine installing it in a more confined space like a bedroom or home office.

But the same things that make it a tough sell for home users—its size, its app, its hefty asking price—suggest it's more suited for commercial environments. With the push for cleaner indoor air in workplaces, it's easy to see it being used in a small office or a medical practice where air quality needs to be monitored more closely and managed more aggressively. If you have a use case like that, the 75i may be a good fit.

Best Prices Today: Alen BreatheSmart 75i

$769

Author: Michael Ansaldo, Freelance contributor

Michael Ansaldo is veteran consumer and small-business technology journalist. He contributes regularly to TechHive and PCWorld.

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