Smart Home Week
This article is part of TechRadar's Smart Home Week 2024, bringing you all the latest news, tips and tricks to help you create the smart home of your dreams.
Mother Nature may be powerful, but even she has a hard time tackling the problem of our declining air quality alone. That's where clever products like the Natede Smart Botanical Air Purifier from Vitesy come to the rescue. Combining the natural power of household plants with new air-purifying photocatalytic technology, the Natede Smart may be the most sustainable air purifier I've ever used.
Since I bought my first smart air quality monitor, I've been paying a lot more attention to the air quality in my home, which, to be honest, has been a bit rough at times. Sure, I was living in an apartment full of black mold until recently, but now I know how badly certain products like hairspray and cleaning products can affect the air quality in my home, so I've started using my air purifier more often.
The problem is, they're a bit unsightly, the filters need to be changed regularly, and they use a fair bit of energy when used regularly. So I was on the lookout for a more attractive and sustainable alternative. Enter the Natede Smart, the only app-connected plant pot you'll ever want or need.
(Image courtesy of Future)
Green thumbs up
We may all think we're safe inside our homes, but according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), VOC (volatile organic compound) levels are two to five times higher indoors than outdoors. There's also mold spores, dust, bacteria, and pollen in the air, all of which can cause a variety of health problems if they thrive in the right environments.
Thankfully, there are a number of plants that are particularly good at cleaning the air, but unfortunately, they don't hold a candle to the best air purifiers. And if you're anything like me, half the fun is seeing how well those plants are making a difference in real time, and the Natede Smart gives you the best of both worlds.
(Image courtesy of Future)
So how does it work? Besides a built-in fan that helps circulate air towards the naturally purifying plants, the Natede Smart uses Vitesy's reusable tungsten trioxide (WO3)-based filter, just like the Vitesy Shelfy that we recently tried.
This washable (and therefore much more sustainable) filter generates an elementary charge when hit by the LED light inside the base of the Natede Smart, which reacts with oxygen and water in the air to create highly reactive free radicals. These then bounce back and break down harmful molecules in the air into less harmful ones. The Natede Smart ventilates the air to be purified through a reaction chamber, providing an infinite and sustainable means of purifying the air.
However, this does explain to some extent one of the only major criticisms I have of the Natede Smart: its enormous base pot. As well as the plant and the included expanded clay pellets which help the plant with aeration and drainage, the pot is packed with a lot of technology. However, that means it's quite large at 252 x 271 x 264mm (H x W x D) and heavy at 2.8kg.
There are other design flaws, too. For example, the Natede's cable is very short at one meter, severely limiting the number of outlets that are a reasonable distance from windows and other natural light sources. The LED light in the base is very bright and never goes off, making it unsuitable for bedrooms for people with light sensitivities. And the button on the underside of the base that you use during pairing is in a terrible location, especially since if you followed the printed instructions, you've likely already got your plants in place.
Weeding out the bad stuff
(Image courtesy of Future)
You can choose from a range of plants recommended by Vitesy to fill your Natede Smart Pot. I chose the Peace Lily, which is said to be great for purifying bedrooms and living rooms. When connected to the Vitesy Hub app, you can remotely control your purifying plants to ensure your home is properly purified.
If you're using the best smart home devices in combination with the best smart speakers, rejoice: Natede Smart is compatible with both Alexa and Google Home, so you can control your devices from near or far using home automation, voice, or smart home ecosystem apps. You never thought you'd need an app for your plants, but if you're constantly wrestling with a myriad of different apps, it's nice to have Natede Smart integrated into your smart home controller.
The app lets you control Natede Smart's settings by choosing from four preset modes (Auto, Silent, Standard, Performance) as well as Custom, Timer, and Off modes. It also lets you view daily, weekly, and monthly graphs of various pollutants, as well as a live view of the air quality.
Is it an industrial plant?
(Image courtesy of Future)
Which brings me to my next big criticism: the accuracy of the air quality reports from Natede Smart. I observed the app clearly reacting to small-particle irritants like hairspray, cornstarch, and smoke, but it seemed at least a little over the top, sometimes spiking to ridiculously high levels only to quickly fade away. This isn't a huge deal in itself, but it does make it a little hard to pinpoint concisely whether Natede Smart is really making an impact.
What I can say is that I've definitely felt the benefits of the Shelfy, which uses similar filtration technology, and the Vitesy app says that my air quality has improved overall, but I'm not entirely convinced that the product's botanical ingredients really make a difference. At $349 / £279, the Natede Smart is a mid-priced air purifier, but you'll pay as much for its plant-friendly design as for the tech itself.
It's understandable why Vitesy chose this approach — its photocatalytic filters have enthusiast appeal — but in the crowded air purifier market, the plant gimmick is far more likely to grab attention.
As much as I like to believe in the power of plants, I'm still a little unconvinced about that aspect of Natede Smart. That said, I'm excited to see where Vitesy takes their new purification technology next, and I'm thrilled to have such a high-tech pot for my new Peace Lily.