Gaming has changed a lot over the years. There are specific headphones, microphones, to even lifestyle products like a chair, or desk to enhance the experience. With so many speciality items, it’s often easy to forget items that are just nice to have, such as the dreaded fan, heater, or in the case of Macro Max S, an air purifier. With an impressive size, features, and look, is Dreo’s Macro Max S a must for any room, or are you better off without it?
Unlike a lot of products we look at, Macro Max S comes in a pretty generic package. The product is large enough where Amazon will ship it directly, with it only mentioning the core features, along with some pictures of the product. It’s in an interesting position, as it’s nice enough where I could see it in a retail setting, though it doesn’t quite have enough information to sell the product to a customer casually browsing.
After opening the top, there will be a fairly large insert that acts as a quick start guide. As a former Best Buy employee, I love this approach. It’s so overt that it takes any concerns out of setting up the device. On the other side are massive pictures explaining every button, and detail you could possibly want to know. There is also a QR code that you can scan to download the app.
Under that is a small envelope that contains important information about Macro Max S. There is a sheet that offers a 5 year warranty with “free return & exchange for any quality issues;” another insert welcoming you to the join their social media channels, and a more expansive manual. It’s good if you’re looking for instructions on how to clean it, detailed information on each feature, or proper placement. Good to read, though not a must. There is also a copy of it included in the official application, so you’ll always have it in the event you need it.
Removing the styrofoam padding will reveal Macro Max S. It can be slightly difficult to remove the 11.89 lbs air purifier from the packaging, though once you get some progress it should come straight out. It also helps to use the plastic bags handle for additional leverage.
At 11.22″x11.22″x20.86″, Macro Max S is a decent sized device. The mostly space grey colored plastic look nice, something I would say holds true for each side. It looks nicer than some similarly priced products, an important touch given this is an item people will likely see somewhere in your house.
On the front facing side there is a panel that explains what the air purifier is doing. This can be immediately understood by looking at the color, which ranges from blue for great quality, followed by green, orange, and finally red. If you want more detailed information, at the top there is a number that indicates air quality, or PM2.5 While most of the functionality is through the application, there are buttons for power, display, timer, sleep, auto mode, and fan speed on the top.
Before you can use the application, you need to set it up. All you need to do is pull off the back, take out the filter, remove the plastic seal, place it so the tabs are facing towards you, and then close the back. All of these things are given clear instructions through the aforementioned quick start guide, and shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes to complete. After turning on, there is a chance you’ll detect a plastic smell. It’s helpful to first make sure the plastic was removed from the filter, and it’s correctly placed. If that isn’t the issue, running Macro Max S at the highest speed should remove the smell in a hour or so.
Setting up the application was just as easy. Dreo recently updated their mobile application to make it a lot easier, though neither version took more than a minute or two. After logging into your account, start by hitting the plus icon. You can then either locate your specific device, or wait a moment and the correct one will appear if you have Bluetooth enabled. On the next page you’ll see a brief video telling you to hold the timer button for 5 seconds. Macro Max S will give a countdown once you start holding, meaning there is no guess work. Select your wifi network, which might require you to enter information, and then it should connect. Best of all, simply logging into your account on another device will show previously connected products. This saves time, along with making it a lot simpler for less tech savvy people.
Since this is an air purifier it’s unlikely you’ll frequently use the application, but if you do, it contains a fair amount of information. Like previously mentioned, it includes the manual, with immediate access to all the controls on Macro Max S itself. Some of these options give greater control, such as the sleep timer offering minutes, or the ability to go from four stages of fan speed to 18. Some of the deeper controls are offered as immediate toggles as well. You can disable the light sensor and have the front always display, or outright disable it. However, the real advantage is going to be the air quality report history, but let’s talk about performance first.
When I first used Macro Max S I was surprised, and delighted, to see it reported 100 percent for air quality. This was the room where I keep the previously shown Dyson HP01, suggesting it was doing a good job. After using it in multiple other rooms for an extended period of time, the quality remained at 100 percent, implying my house’s air quality was good.
After doing some tests, such as burning a candle near it, you could see Macro Max S would report a lower air quality rating. This suggested it does, in fact, monitor air quality, and actively removed harmful elements. Things remained perfect until a couple days later when I cooked a more demanding meal on my range.
About 20 minutes after cooking, I noticed air quality was decreasing. I was surprised to see this, as my kitchen is on a higher level than my office where the air purifier was located. This continued most times when something was cooked on the range, which was interesting to see. Not only was it nice to see a common example of air pollutants being created, it really showcased Macro Max S’ ability to sense these potential threats. Things got really interesting about two weeks later.
A day or two prior I boiled some ribs on the range. It isn’t uncommon for some fat/other things to boil out of the pot, something I thought I completely cleaned. Apparently, that was not the case, as it created enough smoke to fill my house, but not enough to trigger the fire alarm. Despite this, Macro Max S quickly decreased to 0 percent air quality, a detail that was both interesting and horrifying to see.
Not only was this shift great to see in real time, the application keeps track of what happened. It’s nice to see just how much of an improvement it’s making, even if you don’t always see it happen. This is one feature my older Dyson lacks, and allows users to gauge how much of an impact Macro Max S has on their life. Not only is the performance beyond what I expected, the noise, and filter tracking are two more highlights.
When set to auto mode, Macro Max S decides when it needs to increase, or decrease fan speed. Most of the time it’s pretty quiet, to the point where I’ve questioned if it was even on. That being said, when you hit an extreme like the aforementioned smoke, it will get pretty loud. This will slowly decrease if you let it clear out pollutants, or if it becomes a problem, setting a lower speed on the device, or via the application itself. Naturally, this will increase the time needed to clean the area, though helpful if you’re running a raid, and don’t want others to know someone doesn’t know how to cook.
As for the filter itself, some devices like my Dyson doesn’t tell you when it needs to be changed. Some sites suggest as often as 3 months, others claim 6 months, Dyson advises 12 months, with some suggesting beyond even that. Since Macro Max S has an internal calculator that gives an approximate precent based off usage, it’s much easier to understand. I used this air purifier for approximately a month straight without turning it off, which brought my filter to 88 percent. This means the filter should last about 250 days, or 8.3 months. With filters costing $49.99, instead of Dyson’s $69.99, it’s great to see, and not particularly expensive to replace.
The only downside is the calculation is an assumption based off various factors. While this means you might be able to squeeze a little more life out of a filter, the bigger concern is accidental resetting. Since the filter reset input is a long press on the display button, I can see someone absentmindedly activating it thinking it’s a display off toggle. This was an event that happened to me, and not entirely unreasonable in less controlled settings. Since the filter was reset, it now proudly displays 100 percent, even though I know it’s actually 88 or less. It really isn’t a terrible thing, just a quirk that you might need to consider. You can also mitigate this by enabling the child lock, which disables access to all on-device buttons. While the device allows you to reset the filter as well, the settings are a lot more overt, making it unlikely anyone could accidentally do.
Dreo’s Macro Max S air purifier is an extremely nice device. With a sleek look, impressive performance, and high quality app, it’s an easy product to suggest. While there are some downsides, mostly that it’s a singular device instead of a combo like my Dyson, or Shark’s 3-in-1 Max Air Purifier, this only applies to those looking for a singular solution. For these reasons, if you’re looking for an air purifier, or just want to try to improve your space, it’s a fantastic choice, especially for the money.
[Editor’s Note: Dreo Macro Max S was provided to us for review purposes. During the course of our review process, the application was upgraded to version 2.0. All images featured should reflect this change. This review is also based off model DR-HAP003S/Item No. 1008003-101, which released around the time of this review. This review is also based off approximately one month of usage (Nov. 19 through Dec. 19).]
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