Technology

Short test report Duux Whisper Flex Smart Fan: two fans in one

Published

2 days ago

June 29, 2024

Duux Whisper Flex smart fan standing in front of a balcony door

At a glance

Expert review

Positives

Transforms from pedestal to table fan
Almost completely silent
App and remote control

Cons

Assembly required
Control panel on the device is difficult to read
No thermostat on the unit

Our verdict

You can buy fans for much less, but if you have the budget, this stylish, quiet model will be a quiet source of comfort in your home.

Price upon review

$186

Best prices today: Duux Whisper Flex smart fan

The Whisper Flex is an ultra-quiet, oscillating fan, complete with smart features and a remote control. And thanks to its transformation function, you can use it almost anywhere. But all these features don’t come cheap, so read on to find out if it’s worth the investment.

Design and construction

Four color options
Digital image
Magnetic remote control

The Whisper Flex is a fan that transforms from a pedestal to a table top by simply removing the center column. Once you get the hang of it, this is a quick job. It is 81 cm high as a pedestal and 51 cm as a table fan and the base has a diameter of 34 cm.

Emma Rowley / Foundry

This does mean that it is too large to place on the side of your desk while you are working, but it does give you plenty of options for use in and around your home.

It is available in four color options: black, white, authentic gray (a warmer gray), and cool gray. We really like that Duux gives people a choice of shades and even more like that the entire fan is a single, matte color, which gives it a less functional look than most fans and helps it blend in better with the decor.

The build quality is quite good. It’s made mostly of plastic, with a metal extension tube, but overall it doesn’t feel as robust as, say, the Meaco Sefte fan. The Sefte also has the advantage of a built-in thermostat, allowing it to automatically adjust the fan speed to the room temperature. (The Whisper Flex, however, is a nicer fan and has the advantage of smart features.)

I also found that the Whisper Flex was a magnet for cat fur, so pet owners may want to opt for one of the lighter colors, which hide the hair better.

We really like that Duux gives people a choice of shades and even more fun that the entire range has one single, matte color

It comes packaged and in parts, so your first task will be to put it together. I wouldn’t recommend this if you’re already hot and tired, because although the instructions are comprehensive, it’s a bit of a tricky job.

Duux provides everything you need and only takes one screw to get the job done – but it’s only a small one, and after pinging it across the room a few times I was in dire need of another meeting on a fan.

Emma Rowley / Foundry

The fan control panel is one of the best aesthetic elements. It’s a round, digital display in a dial that you turn to choose the fan settings.

But I found it attractive rather than easy to use. For starters, it’s in the base of the fan, so in pedestal mode you’ll need to be at floor level to use it. Even in tabletop mode it’s not incredibly accessible, as it’s right under the fan head, and the reflective screen and small symbols mean you have to be close to read it.

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Still, that’s not a big problem, because you can also control the Whisper Flex on your phone via the Duux app or by using the included remote control, which matches the color of the fan and attaches magnetically to the handle on the back to control it. to keep safe.

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Performance and features

26 fan speed settings, oscillation, choice of modes
13 dB operating volume
Planning via app

The Whisper Flex has 26 fan speed settings, ranging from barely a breeze to quite a powerful airflow, although it’s no match for the insanely powerful Dreo air circulation fan.

It’s the silence of the fan that most people will love – Duux claims a noise level of just 13 dB

But the range of speeds allows you to fine-tune it to your comfort. It can also oscillate, vertically (through 100°), horizontally (through 90°), or both at the same time, although you cannot limit the amount of oscillation. The fan will remain in the position it reached when you turned off the oscillation.

There are three operating modes to choose from: normal, natural (varying the airflow) and night (dimming the screen).

But it’s the silence of the fan that most people will love – Duux claims a noise level of just 13dB and it’s hard to argue with that as it seems almost completely silent.

Then there are the smart features, which you can use if you have downloaded the Duux app (available for both iOS and Android) and connected the fan to your home WiFi network. This was easy to do when we tested it, although we did lose the connection a few times during the test period, but it returned without us having to re-pair the fan.

In the app you can change the fan speed and mode and switch the oscillation on and off. It’s also easier to set a shut-off timer (which you can do in one-hour increments, up to 12 hours) than using the controls on the unit or the remote.

There is also the option to set a schedule for the fan in the app, which is easy to do and useful if you are going to use it in a home office or bedroom. You can vary the schedule each day and it is easy to do.

Overall, I found the smart features to be a definite plus and mostly used my phone instead of the remote – partly because you don’t have to point it close to the base of the fan to use it. The smart functions can also link the fan to your home assistant for voice control.

Finally, the Whisper Flex has a power consumption between 3W and 29W, making it one of the most economical fans we tested. Even at full power it will cost you less than a cent per hour.

Price and availability

The Duux Whisper Flex smart fan is widely available in the UK. It has an RRP of £169.99, but you can get it from most retailers for £144.49. Buy it at this price from Duux and Amazon. It’s even cheaper from Argoswhere it currently costs £113.90.

If you’re in the US, you can buy the Whisper Flex from Harrods, including import duties, for $186.

It’s far from the cheapest fan we tested, but considering its features and quiet operation, we think it’s good value. For more of our top recommendations at different price points, check out our roundup of the best fans we tested.

Should you buy the Duux Whisper Flex smart fan?

The Whisper flex isn’t flawless – I could point to the hard-to-read control panel as a problem. But the other control options make up for that and the overall design, features and ultra-quiet operation make it a very attractive purchase.