Ikea is going full send in the air purifier category these days. Earlier this year, it released the Fornuftig air purifier at a very reasonable $60. Today, Ikea announced the Fornuftig’s sequel, and it’s a worthy follow-up to the first model. The Starkvind is the brand’s first smart air purifier — and it’s disguised as a side table.
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Actually, the Ikea Starkvind — in stores later this year — will be available as both a standalone air purifier and a side table, costing $129 and $189 respectively. The air purifier itself comes in black or white, and the side table comes in a light or dark finish.
A big downside to air purifiers is just how ugly they can be. Ikea’s, on the other hand, puts design in the forefront. The standalone Starkvind looks like a Sonos speaker, and the side table looks like…well, a typical Ikea side table.
Both Starkvind options use a three-filter system — in line with most other air purifiers — that comprises a pre-filter for large debris like dust; a second filter for capturing up to 99.5 percent of smaller airborne particles down to PM2.5 (which is about 30 times smaller than the diameter of human hair, per the Environmental Protection Agency); and a final filter that absorbs odors and harmful gaseous pollutants. Ikea recommends that the Starkvind be used in rooms up to 215 square feet, but it doesn’t advertise a clean-air delivery rate, or CADR, which is how most air purifiers measure air-cleaning effectiveness.
