The air in cities like Delhi is so bad that air purifiers have become almost a necessity. But as the importance of air purifiers has increased in Indian cities, such machines have come in the market. New brands have come up with new and unique purifiers. Meanwhile, some like Philips have doubled down on their efforts and introduced models that push the capabilities and price upward. Philips AC 4221 is one such purifier. It’s still not as high up in the hierarchy of air purifiers as the top-end Dyson, but with a price tag of Rs 27,449 it clearly aims to provide a premium and top-grade experience. In this review of the AC 4221, I found it to be largely successful.

Recently, I spent about a month using the Philips Smart Air Purifier AC4221 to see if it could really improve my indoor air and help me deal with the nasty winter we’ve seen in Delhi-NCR this year. And I have to say, I came away impressed. Like other such machines, the AC 4221 does a good job of cleaning the air. But its best aspect is its set of smart features, which improve the overall experience.

First, let’s take a quick look at the specifications. Philips Smart Air Purifier AC 4221 uses a three-stage filtration system with a pre-filter, HEPA filter, and activated carbon layer to capture dust, smoke, odor, and fine particles. Its clean air delivery rate (CADR) is up to 600 cubic meters per hour making it suitable for rooms up to approximately 156 square metres. The purifier is also quite easy to carry around, weighing in at around 6.5 kg, which helps if, like me, you are moving it between rooms depending on where you are spending time.

Great design, light body

Out of the box, the first thing I noticed about the AC 4221 was its design. I love it. When it comes to an appliance like an air purifier, you can’t hide it in a corner. It sits right there in your living room or bedroom, so how it looks becomes important. The Philips AC4221 gets it right.

This purifier from Philips sports a clean, modern look with a round body that makes it feel more like a smart home device than a bulky machine. In fact, almost everyone who came to my place asked about it and was impressed by its appearance. The unit I reviewed is in the black version, its entire body wrapped in the grille that sits around the filter.

At the top, you get a small display that lights up as soon as the purifier is turned on. The lights are well integrated into the design, making the whole thing look premium and smart. The finish of the body is matte, plastic of course, but with a little texture, and as soon as you turn it on, you see this soft light come to life. You can also change the color of the lights depending on your mood.

One funny thought that kept coming to my mind while looking at the design of the Philips Air Purifier AC 4221 is that if Alexa were taller, it might have looked like this. The black color and lighting effects really give it a smart assistant vibe. Sadly, it doesn’t come with voice controls, which would have been a nice touch.

Another thing I appreciated was how easy it was to move the machine from one place to another. While using it in my bedroom, shifting it from one corner to another never felt like a task. Similarly, due to its light weight it was also easy to carry from bedroom to drawing room.

Setting it up and app support

Setting up the AC 4221 is pretty straightforward. Once you unbox it, the filter and all the internal parts are already in place. All you really have to do is remove the plastic protection, plug it in and you’re ready to go. You can start using it right away, but for a better experience, I connected it to the Philips Air+ app on my iPhone. This app is available on both App Store and Play Store.

The app connects the purifier to your home Wi-Fi network, which means you can control it even when you’re not home. Once setup is done, the purifier automatically turns on and starts cleaning the air. If the room air is particularly dirty, the fan speed automatically increases, and once the air improves, it gradually slows down.

Inside the app, you get a good set of features. You can check outdoor air quality and weather updates, control the purifier remotely, and switch between different cleaning modes. There are controls on the lighting too, you can keep it dim, turn it off completely, or let it change depending on the air quality. Additionally, you can track humidity levels through the app and set a schedule, so the purifier can start working before you get home from the office.

The app provides information about the health of the purifier. This tells you when it’s time to clean or replace the filter, which makes it hard to guess. You can view allergy-related indicators as well as detailed readings like AQI, PM2.5 levels, and even gas levels in the room.

Use of Philips AC 4221 in Delhi-NCR pollution

I’ve been using this air purifier for about four weeks, and according to the device health indicator, the filter is already down about 30 percent. This means it will need to be cleaned or replaced soon – which also indicates that the air is very bad indeed.

Talking about the performance of this air purifier, I left it on almost around the clock most of the night and on weekends, mainly in the bedroom. Outside, you can still smell that familiar smoke smell in the air, but indoors, with the purifier running, I didn’t notice it at all. As someone who suffers from asthma, heavy smog days usually leave my nose and throat clogged, but the purifier made a noticeable difference in how comfortably I could breathe indoors.

During my usage, the purifier reduced the AQI from around 500 to around 30 to 15 in about 20 minutes, which was impressive. The only drawback was that the display reading was at 500 – and in Delhi-NCR, where levels often go higher, a wider range would have given a clearer picture of how bad the air really is.

What I liked, however, were the smart features. The automatic cleaning mode adjusts fan speed based on AQI, and there’s also an eco-friendly setting if you want to keep power consumption under control. When the air is clean, the noise of the fan is very less. The ambient light is soft, and the color-coded AQI ring makes it easy to gauge air quality at a glance without constantly checking the numbers.

The purifier expels cool air. This can be a problem in winter. But one saving grace is that unlike some other air purifiers the AC 4221 directs clean air closer to the floor and this helps.

In my experience, as I used the purifier in my bedroom and drawing room, I found it more effective in smaller spaces, like a space of about 10 x 12 feet. So if you have larger rooms, you should either choose a faster and more powerful, but ultimately more expensive air purifier, or you may need more than one unit of the AC 4221.

Philips Smart Air Purifier AC4221 verdict: Should you buy it?

If you’re looking for a premium air purifier with reliable HEPA filtration, the Philips Smart Air Purifier AC4221 is an option worth considering. It does what it’s meant to do: clean the air thoroughly and provide smart features that are useful in daily life.

In the mid-premium segment, this is easily one of the better air purifiers we have used at India Today Tech. That said, if the price seems a little out of your budget, you can always consider more affordable options. But as far as the Philips Smart Air Purifier AC4221 is concerned, it does its job, and does it well.