Coway's new Airmega Halo runs quietly and clears visible smoke quickly, but its air-quality readings weren't always reassuring.
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I cannot overstate the importance of having an air purifier that not only has enough power to actually purify a room's air but also caters to your home's particular needs. Pollutants like wildfire smoke, pollen , unventilated gas stoves, pet allergens , and even litter box odors can be potentially harmful additions to the air you breathe in your home.
Air purifiers from Coway have been a consistent top pick in our guide to the Best Air Purifiers for years, including the Coway Airmega Mighty2 , which was released in March this year. Its predecessor, the Coway Airmega Mighty , had been our reigning "Best Affordable Air Purifier" for many years as well. I was excited to test the newest mid-size option built for medium to large rooms in Coway's Airmega line, where it sits between the compact Airmega 50 or 100 and the higher-capacity 350 or 450 models.
Released at the end of August, Coway's Airmega Halo is an affordable, lightweight air purifier that aims to deliver whole-room air purification at an accessible price point. Plus, its focus is on promoting a healthier night's sleep with smart sleep features and quiet noise levels when in sleep mode.
Overall, it delivers on most of its promises, but I ran into some problems during field-testing that made me question its sensor, and I wish it had more transparency with pollutant levels.
Photograph: Molly Higgins Simple Design That's Maybe Too Simple The Halo is only 9.7 pounds, making it lightweight and portable as far as air purifiers go, but it doesn't have accessibility features like a top handle or wheels for easier moving. It has a small cutout in the back to grip, but because I have an upper-limb disability, moving it was awkward - I essentially had to hug the purifier to maneuver it, since I don't have large hands that can easily grip the inlet.
The purifier's cylindrical design with a 360-degree air-intake structure draws in polluted air from all sides, making for fewer spatial constraints and more options for placement around the home. The inside of the machine uses Coway's HyperVortex filtration system, which is an aerodynamic fan and duct design that Coway states is "inspired by eagle wings and golf ball dimples." It uses wing blades to stabilize airflow, along with aerodynamic blades for powerful airflow for the generator fan and dimples to reduce air resistance for smoother air intake.
Setup was extremely easy - I just needed to unscrew the bottom, remove the filter from the plastic protective covering, screw the bottom back on, and plug it in. There's no need for a Wi-Fi connection, no app, and no remote. I started testing air purifiers earlier this year, and I've found I actually like having a connected remote, or better yet, an app that allows me to monitor air quality and adjust settings from afar. This model had neither. I also appreciate getting transparent numbers of pollutant levels directly from the machine rather than relying on colored lights, but this machine had the latter.
Inside, the Halo has a cylindrical IEST-certified HEPA three-stage filter that claims to capture 99.97 percent of nano-sized particles down to 0.3 microns, but in my opinion the coolest feature is the MegaScan Particle Sensor, which continuously monitors the air in real time to detect smoke, fine dust, and allergens down to PM2.5. PM2.5 , typically used as the standard measurement for air purifiers' ability to measure and lower levels of microscopic allergens or pollutants, are tiny airborne particles that measure 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter. They are particularly dangerous because their size means they can penetrate deep into the lungs and cause serious illness like asthma, heart disease, and lung cancer.
From the purifier's top touchscreen panel, you can control fan speed, timer, and settings. On the quietest sleep setting, my decibel monitor app wasn't even able to pick up the noise, as the fan wasn't perceptible above the ambient noise of my house, even when I switched off all nearby appliances. Coway claims it's 17 decibels in sleep mode, which I believe after not even being able to hear the machine in this mode. On the highest turbo setting, my decibel reader had it hovering around 75 decibels, which is akin to running a dishwasher or a vacuum.
As part of the Airmega Halo's sleep features (in addition to whisper-quiet functioning), it has a low yellowish night light when in sleep mode, but this can also be turned off so the top panel is completely dark. It has a light sensor and automatically enters sleep mode, dimming lights and noise level when low light is detected.
When in smart mode and it's dark for more than three minutes, the machine will automatically enter sleep mode. If the pollutant levels are "good" for more than three minutes, the fan stops automatically to save energy. But if it detects pollutants, it will restart the fan.
It has four lights indicating air quality levels: blue for good, green for moderate, yellow for unhealthy, and red for very unhealthy. The colored lights show in a halo around the top of the machine. I found it sort of tough to distinguish between levels at a glance because this color-coding system differs from the US AQI standards of green for good, yellow for moderate, red for unhealthy, purple for very unhealthy, and maroon for hazardous.
Hopefully, you come to WIRED Reviews because we actually vigorously test the gear we recommend. I didn't just read the specs online and flip through the instruction manual - this machine was put through some intensely bad air to see if it could hold its own.
As with all air purifiers I test, the Halo was put through testing in various unhealthy air quality situations. I used this model for nearly a month, moving around my house to test in different locations: when cooking on my unventilated gas stove, under my living room window that draws in a lot of building and exhaust fumes, and outside my cat's litter box . Additionally, I use an indoor air quality monitor to test pollutant levels against what the machine claims.
Reporting synthesized and verified under Nexvoro.tech editorial guidelines. Full primary records referenced via Wired.
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