Dyson Pure Cool air purifier gets better filter and a higher price tag

It's fair to say Dyson products move a lot of air. But only one of them has the explicit job making that air better, and that's the Dyson Pure Cool air purifier.

Dyson debuted the Pure Cool back in 2016 with the same mission as the Dyson vacuums that preceded it: re-invent a sleepy appliance category with improved features and a high-end design. And it wouldn't be a Dyson product without a stratospheric price tag to match.

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The Pure Cool was different from other Dyson products in a key way, though: at the time, it was the company's only smart, internet-connected device (the Dyson Eye robot vacuum soon followed). Since then, Dyson has made clear its desire to integrate connectivity and AI into more of its products and become a major smart-home player, opening up a huge research facility in Singapore last year to invest in a future where "everything is automatic."

The smaller-size Dyson Pure Cool. Credit: Dyson

That's probably why the company is making a big deal about a relatively routine upgrade to its air purifier. The second-generation Pure Cool improves on the first with better filtering, an improved LCD that shows your air quality in real time, and a new mode that keeps it from blowing cool air in your face when it's cold. Oh, and it also costs more than the first one.

But mostly the new model is a message from Dyson that the company is committed to improving its smart devices, especially in the face of increased competition from the likes of Xiaomi and others.

A few Dyson reps dropped by the Mashable offices in New York City to walk me through what's new with the Pure Cool. Like the previous model, it's equipped with multiple sensors (including frickin' laser beams) that can detect small particles (like pollen or dust) as well as harmful chemicals, filters for capturing those pollutants, and what the company calls Air Multiplier technology for pushing the cleaned-up air out to the room.

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A spike in chemicals within the air (caused by a spray of deodorant near the sensor) revs up the Pure Cool when it's in auto mode. Credit: Raymond Wong/Mashable

There are two models: the larger, oval-shaped TP04 "tower" priced at $549 and the smaller, circular DP04 at $449 (each is $50 more than its first-gen predecessor). Both come in white silver or blue silver. For the first-gen Pure Cool, Dyson eventually launched a Pure Cool+Hot, which also had the ability to act as a space heater, but there is no such variant for gen two, at least not yet.

As mentioned, the Pure Cool is a "smart" device, meaning it connects to your Wi-Fi network and has an accompanying app, Dyson Link. You can monitor the air quality of the room in real time from the front panel or the app, and it even shows you how good a job it's doing by comparing the indoor air quality to what things are like outside (the app gets regional air quality data from third parties).

The air intake for the Pure Cool. Credit: Raymond Wong/Mashable

Dyson claims the new Pure Cool filters captures 99.97 percent of particles as small as 0.3 microns (a human hair is about 50 microns thick). Carbon filters remove chemicals from the air, including benzene, nitrogen dioxide, and formaldehyde. The filters are bigger and thicker than in the first-gen model, with 60 percent more HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) absorber material, the company says.

The filters for the Pure Cool should last a year or more. Credit: Raymond Wong/Mashable

Those filters don't last forever, though. Dyson says if you run the purifier for 12 hours a day, the filters should last about a year (a little over 4,000 hours total), though many households -- especially those that are empty during the day -- likely won't need to run it that much. Filter replacements cost $79.99 ($10 more than the previous model).

The Dyson Link app. Credit: Dyson

The new Pure also has better convenience features. Not only can it rotate in an almost complete circle (you can set it to oscillate at any angle up to 350 degrees via the app), but it can also blow air out the sides in a "backward airflow mode." Normally the Pure Cool blows air forward in the same way Dyson's fans do, but in case you'd rather not have cool air blowing all winter long, reversing the flow is a welcome new feature.

The remote control for the Pure Cool. Credit: Raymond Wong/Mashable

For many, the reverse mode will be the only setting they'll need to adjust from time to time -- the new Dyson Pure Cool is definitely designed to be a "set it and forget it" device. The auto mode can adjust the filtering and fan depending on your air quality, and at night, it'll dim its LCD panel and keep noise at a low level.

Of course, you can check on the device and control it anytime via the app, but I doubt most will find it necessary. If you equate "smart" with "pretty much hassle-free," the new Dyson Pure Cool is the kind of smart device you'll like.

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