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This $80 smart air purifier has a clever design that makes it super effective
ZDNET's key takeaways
- The Morento smart air purifier is available for a limited time at $80.
- Though compact, the Morento smart air purifier is very efficient, with an air filter on either side to double its filtration power. It also offers seamless smart home integration with Alexa.
- Unfortunately, the Morento smart air purifier doesn't have a washable pre-filter, a feature that can extend filter life by stopping large dust particles and hair before they reach the replaceable filter.
One thing I love about air purifiers is the fresh feeling you get when you first turn it on. An air purifier starts cleaning the air as soon as it's switched on, and the Morento smart air purifier makes that feeling almost twice as great.
Also: This smart air purifier has one special trick that helps me sleep near instantly
I've been testing the Morento in different areas of my home for a few weeks, and it's become a great tool for this allergy season. Since I'm allergic to dust and pollen, I've got an air purifier in several rooms of my home, even more so since the smoke from the Canadian fires last year blanketed the East Coast.
View at AmazonWith so many air purifiers on the market, I most appreciate the ones with smart features, especially when they integrate with smart home systems to create routines and automations.
Also: How to choose an air purifier: 5 things to look for and 1 to avoid
The Morento smart air purifier is lightweight and compact, especially considering it has two HEPA filters inside. With a rectangular shape measuring 7.64 x 13.19 x 17.52 inches, there is no wasted space on the Morento. The two wide sides pack the HEPA filters so the air purifier takes in air from both the front and back, which is great for narrow areas or hallways.
Here's one thing I don't like: The best position for this purifier is with its side facing the wall, which makes the unit stick out awkwardly anywhere you put it. This takes up a lot of space, and it's not like the Morento has a particularly attractive look to make it seamlessly fit into your home decor.
I first set up the Morento in my living room, where we spend most of our time as a family. This room sees a lot of traffic, dust, dog hair, dirt, and pollen this time of year. This air purifier is easy to set up with the Havaworks app but also works smoothly with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant for voice control.
Also: This smart air purifier effectively replaced allergy medicine for me, and it's $120 off right now
As soon as I set it up, I could feel the fresh air coming from the cleaner. I left it in our living room for a few days to see how it performed and was happy to feel a huge difference in the air there. After some time, I moved it to a different spot to test it in a smaller environment.
One of my kids inherited my pollen allergies and was prescribed medication, so putting the Morento air purifier in their room seemed like a great idea. With four fan speeds, the lowest level is whisper-quiet at under 24 decibels, so it was a great fit for a kid's bedroom.
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I can't quantify exactly how much the Morento air purifier is helping my kid's allergies, but I do notice that it helps her sleep better since the pollen started spreading all around us. She's less congested throughout the night than in the weeks before we placed the Morento in her room. I'm not planning on having the air purifier replace her allergy medicine, but I'll add any help I can get this spring.
ZDNET's buying advice
Since using the Morento, I can feel a big difference in the air in my living room, as it now feels lighter and crisper wherever I've used it. I'll continue to rely on it to help clean our home's air and may buy another one for other rooms, although -- at less than 8 lbs. -- it's easy to move around.
Without using the smart controls on a smartphone, the Morento has a screen to display real-time air quality readings and filter life information. The touch controls along the top of the device are intuitive and easy to navigate, enabling you to configure two-, five-, or eight-hour timers, lock the control, turn the device on or off, control fan speeds, and enable an automatic mode.
Beyond the smart features, dual air inlet, and filtering up to 99.97% of airborne particles, the Morento air purifier's current best feature is its low price. Buyers can use a $50 Amazon on-page coupon to drop the Morento's regular price of $130 down to $80. Replacement filters, which are recommended to be changed every three months or so, retail for $30 for a two-pack.