The Mijia Smart Air Purifier 6 from Xiaomi is a great new upgrade that works well to improve air quality. Priced at ₹17,999, the device covers up to 940sqft. It got a modern look and connects to the Xiaomi Home app. The company also promised better filter availability for users.

Summary

The Mijia Smart Air Purifier 6 from Xiaomi is a great new upgrade and works really well to improve air quality. But can it solve the filter problem?

With Diwali having just come and gone, I was wondering if my eyes were deceiving me. With AQI readings reaching well over 1500, I was stunned to see my air purifier with a reading well below 50. Yes, I had amped up all the settings to the maximum, but still.

The Xiaomi Mijia Smart Air Purifier 6 delivered on the most important pollution explosion day in Delhi, and how. I've tested a number of air purifiers over the years, from companies like Xiaomi, Phillips, Conway, and more, and all of them failed to get the air quality to below even 100 on the day of Diwali.

Xiaomi recently unveiled its smart home and lifestyle-focused brand Mijia in India, and a slew of products are slowly being launched. The first among them is the Mijia Smart Air Purifier 6 and Mijia Air Purifier 4 Compact. The company has vowed to do a better job in terms of after-sales (read: availability of filters).

I've been testing the Mijia Smart Air Purifier 6, the company's flagship offering that is priced at ₹17,999, for about a month or so now.

A Modern Design

The Mijia Smart Air Purifier 6 gets a modern look, though not very different from some of the company's previous air purifiers. It's got a square-ish form factor with rounded corners, and a generally sleek look. It's one of those purifiers that can sit in the corner of a room and be unassuming, yet striking.

The bottom half of the device is where the dirty air is drawn in with small air-intake pores. The top of the air purifier is where the clean air is expelled. There's a small circular display at the front of the device for seeing the readings and performing some basic tasks.

Unboxing and setting up of the air purifier is very simple and it seamlessly connects to the Xiaomi Home app, which is compatible with both Android and iPhone smartphones.

Large Coverage Area

One thing I really liked area that the Mijia Smart Air Purifier 6 can cover -- up to 940sqft. I had it in the living room (which also houses the dining room), the biggest room in my house and it worked without a hitch.

The one thing you've got to understand is that while the 'auto mode' may function as intended, it is quite slow. It takes almost half an hour to go from poor to excellent AQI. If you want to speed this up, then you've got to change it to the highest level in manual mode.

According to Xiaomi, this air purifier can remove harmful elements from the air within three and a half minutes. This is when the device is at the maximum fan speed. Even on the day of Diwali, I noticed that it didn't take longer than five minutes to bring down the AQI.

Filters and noise

There is a primary filter and a Xiaomi High-Efficiency Filter, and between them the air purifier removes address pollutants as well as odours, harmful gases and volatile organic compounds. There's also a UV light to help prevent bacterial growth on the display, and negative ions to neutralise dust and smoke. Xiaomi says that the filters can last between 6-12 months, depending on the use.

Replacement filters are priced at ₹5,499 on the company's website. Xiaomi has some bad history when it comes to replacement filters. Previously, there was just a very short window where these filters were available, and once out of stock, they just never came back. This time around they want to make sure that doesn't happen again. The purifiers come with an integrated RFID tag in the filter assembly, which means means that aftermarket filters are not an option.

At the maximum settings, this air purifier can get very loud, and it will definitely disturb your sleep, especially if you're a light sleeper. The other thing I didn't like is that it takes a little bit too long to purify the air in Auto Mode. At ₹17,999, the Xiaomi Mijia Smart Air Purifier 6 isn't the most affordable air purifier out there.

Verdict

The Xiaomi Mijia Smart Air Purifier 6 is easy to recommend. It's got a good amount of filtration capabilities, an easy-to-use app, affordable replacement filters, and a clean and premium design. Most importantly, it can transform your air from poor to excellent in a jiffy.

The only question is for Xiaomi and if they can maintain a steady supply of filters one to two years down the road. If they can, then this becomes one of the best options in the market.

Sahil Bhalla is a Delhi-based writer. He posts @IMSahilBhalla.