Jya Fjord air purifier review: Pint-sized purifying power

At a glance

Expert's Rating

Pros

• Whisper quiet
• Outstanding collection of features in a small form factor
• Casters included for easy mobility

Cons

• Touchscreen can be finicky
• Temperature displayed in Celsius only
• Filters must be purchased directly from the manufacturer

Our Verdict

Portable, powerful, and reasonably attractive; this is air purifier has almost everything.

Top-shelf air purifiers are usually so large they require their own parking space. The Jya Fjord is proof that you can get a purifier with all the bells and whistles without needing to devote a wing of your home to it.

Designed for areas 334 to 581 square feet in size, the Fjord has a rated maximum throughput of 265 cubic feet/minute (though detailed CADR breakdowns are not provided). Those are solid specs, made more impressive by the fact that the device measures just 21 inches tall, with a cross-section of 10 x 11 inches. The 14-pound weight is perfectly manageable, but a set of four casters helps the device roll with complete freedom if you find it too heavy to easily lift.

This review is part of TechHive’s coverage of the best air purifiers, where you’ll find reviews of the competition’s offerings, plus a buyer’s guide to the features you should consider when shopping for this type of product.

Fya (Smartmi Technology)

Fya (Smartmi Technology)

Fya (Smartmi Technology)

The gray and silver unit is a bit industrial in appearance but reasonably stylish. It looks a lot like a pint-sized version of NuWave OxyPure, albeit with a few more elegant design flourishes. Like most purifiers in this class, the unit uses a cylindrical filter, this one combining a carbon filter with a HEPA H13 system. While most of these types of filters are inserted from the underside of the purifier, the Fjord’s is dropped in from the top. The entire top portion of the unit, which contains the motor, detaches by pressing two buttons on either side of the device, allowing access to the filter unit beneath. It’s simple and intuitive—though you won’t have to open it up more than once every 6 to 12 months, when the filter ($59) needs replacing.

A small touchscreen mounted on the front side of the device offers a bevy of controls that can be accessed by swiping left and right on the display. Here you’ll find four power modes (auto, sleep, a max-speed “power” mode, and a “favorite” option that can be configured in the app), plus screens that offer brightness controls for the screen, a filter life meter, a minimalist Wi-Fi settings screen, and a display of temperature and humidity. (Note that temperature is displayed only in Celsius.) The system also includes a UV light sterilization system that can enabled on the touchscreen display as desired. The power switch is completely separate, a physical button located on the rear of the device.

Jya (Smartmi Technology)

Jya (Smartmi Technology)

Jya (Smartmi Technology)

In normal use, the main screen will display air quality, cycling through measures of PM2.5, PM10, and TVOC levels. Only PM2.5 is indicated numerically. The other two measures are only displayed with grayscale-coded pollution levels.

On its lowest levels, the Fjord is dead silent, probably the quietest purifier I’ve tested to date. The higher output levels are obviously more aggressively loud, but they’re no worse than those on other high-end purifiers.

Jya is affiliated with Smartmi and Xiaomi, and as such the Jya Fjord works with the SmartMi Link app, a system that gave me endless amounts of trouble when I tested the SmartMi Air Purifier 2 earlier this year. I’m pleased to report that the app gave me no trouble when working with the Jya Fjord, even upgrading firmware successfully on the first try. Otherwise, operationally it’s almost exactly the same.

Christopher Null/Foundry

Christopher Null/Foundry

Christopher Null/Foundry

You can perform nearly all the same functions through the app as you can on the touchscreen—and in fact, it’s easier to do so, because the touchscreen can be a little tricky to deal with from time to time. The only other major addition to the app is a logging system that tracks PM2.5 and TVOC (but not PM10) levels by day, week, or month. The system also supports a bevy of third-party environments, including Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit.

With all that goodness, what’s the catch? The bottom-line value depends on where you purchase the device. You can buy the Jya Fjord at Amazon in the U.S. for $319, with a $20 coupon reducing the final price to $299. Or you can buy the Jya Fjord on Jya’s U.S. website and also pay $319, but if you put a second air filter for the device in your Jya shopping cart–which costs $59–you’ll get that second filter for free. That’s the better deal by $39, except you’ll need to pay for shipping, which will eat into that savings. If you buy it from Amazon and are an Amazon Prime member, shipping is, of course, free.

The Jya Fjord is now one of our favorite air purifiers. But the manufacturer somewhat shoots itself in the foot with its confusing purchase and pricing options.

This article was updated shortly after publication when we received clarification on what’s included with the product and the terms of the company’s free filter offer if you purchase the product from Jya directly.