GoKawiilAs the pet tech writer here at WIRED, a former Californian who lived through a decade of some of the worst wildfires that state had ever seen, and a current Brooklynite who deals with industrial exhaust on a daily basis, I'm no stranger to bad air. Plus, I'm testing at least two automatic litter boxes at any given time and live with two cats and a roommate with pet allergies. So, every day is a battle in my small apartment to lessen pollutants, fine dust from litter, pollen levels, and smoke from my not-well-ventilated gas stove.
As I begin revamping our guide to the best air purifiers, I wanted to test the highly anticipated Coway Airmega Mighty2, which launched at the end of March. Its predecessor, the Coway Airmega Mighty, has been our reigning Best Affordable Air Purifier for years, but it can only clean a 361-square-foot room while exchanging the air the recommended 4.8 times per hour. The Mighty2 is the new-and-improved version—it can purify more square footage in an hour and features a larger, longer-lasting filtration system. I tested it for three weeks in various rooms in my apartment to see how it stacks up against its predecessor, and whether it's worth the upgrade.
Photograph: Molly Higgins
Nuts ’n’ Bolts
The original Mighty had a HEPA, a deodorizing filter, and the prefilter that lasted six months before needing to be cleaned. The Mighty2 has a similar three-stage filtration system: a prefilter to catch larger particles, a carbon filter to capture odors, and a HEPA filter for microscopic airborne pollutants, but it's larger than the previous model. The latter two filters don't need to be replaced for 12 months—double the time of a typical air purifier filter. The Mighty2, like other Coway models, is CARB-certified, meaning it meets the California Air Resources Board's stringent requirements for portable indoor air-cleaning devices sold to people or businesses in California.
While the original Mighty had rounded corners and came in black or white with a glossy finish, the Mighty2 is square with pointed corners and edges, and comes in matte white or cream. Without the glossy finish, there's less of a propensity for hair and fur to stick to the outside like with the previous model. The Mighty2 is 5 inches shorter and 3 inches less deep than the original model but weighs almost 3 pounds more. It also has more openings for air circulation, at the center circle and on each of the sides.
The OG Mighty has a quality indicator but didn't provide an exact particle count like this model, which has a real-time AQI and MegaScan laser to detect a full spectrum of particles, with readings for PM 1.0, 2.5, and 10, for everything from microscopic virus particles to smoke to pet dander. The Mighty2 also now has smart mode, which intelligently adjusts fan speed based on air quality, and if it detects no light in the room for three minutes, it'll enter into sleep mode. It also has timer settings from one to 12 hours, whereas the previous model only had timer settings for one, four, or eight hours. The carbon and HEPA filters are combined in this model as well, and though they last a year now, most people in a nonsmoking house won't need to replace carbon filters as often.