Standing fans annoy me. I found that I was constantly standing up to adjust them; they were noisy; they got extremely dirty and there was no clear way to clean them. None of these problems seem difficult to solve, but there hasn't been much innovation from long-time fans to address these pain points. Somehow, the DREO PolyFan 704s ($134.99) solves this problem, and for that reason, I definitely recommend it as the perfect standing fan for small to medium-sized rooms.
Dreo PolyFan 704s with smart controls
looks expensive
The PolyFan, whose name refers to the twin motors that power it, stands 43 inches tall when fully extended, with a tapered stem and rounded base. You can adjust the stem four inches to shorten it. The fan head itself swings out and can be positioned at any vertical angle (but you don't need to position it yourself - more on that later). The fan arrives in several large pieces, and the assembly process takes less than 10 minutes to secure the stem to the base. The Dreo includes a small remote control, which is certainly nice, but since you use the phone app for all remote functions and more, you won't need it. PolyFan comes in two colors: rose gold or matte silver. The tapered stem and rounded edges on the fan head, combined with the matte finish, make the fan look more expensive than it actually is.
Versatile and cleanly designed app
The Dreo app paired quickly on my first try. All commands for the fan are executed in two panes. First, there's a general pane that lets you turn the fan on and off, get temperature readings for the room, view upcoming scheduled runs, and use a slider to understand fan strength. If you click Settings, you'll see a second pane with more fan options, including Turbo Mode, Natural Mode, and Sleep Mode. You can use the viewing angle control to aim the fan in any 3D direction you want, and then control the horizontal and vertical vibrations. It wasn't until I experienced not having to get up to adjust the fan that I realized how valuable that was, and then it felt like an absolute luxury.
Features that impress fans
Like the Dreo air purifier tower fan I recently reviewed, the Dreo produces air that's breezelier than a regular fan. At lower speeds, it feels like a gentle natural breeze. At higher intensities I felt cooler, but not like in a wind tunnel. The Dreo uses a brushless motor and dual vortex technology to achieve this, and while it's not the same cool air as the Dyson Hot+Cool , it feels closer to that experience than a traditional stand fan.
Dreo is very quiet. Dreo says the fan never gets louder than 25 decibels, and most of the time, it doesn't even reach that level. In my use, it rarely exceeded 18 dB, but I rarely set it to its maximum setting. You can easily keep it on during a Zoom call.
I'm really impressed with the way the Dreo air fills a room. According to the documentation, you can swing the fan 120 degrees horizontally and 85 degrees vertically, which means you can get a pretty wide angular swing and the fan can reach up to 100 feet. None of my rooms are longer than 30 feet, but if you were standing 30 feet away you could definitely feel the fan.
Fans can collect dust and then become impossible to clean - I have broken many window fans trying to open them for cleaning. Dreo makes a fan that you can take apart to use for these purposes. After only a week of use, I started taking it apart. The fan comes in three parts and they are all easy to clean. It took a minute to take it apart and another minute to put it back together.
Dreo surprises other fans
I know, this is just a fan. But I doubt you've bought many cheap fans under this premise in your life, only to end up with an old, dusty fan that you drag out every spring. The design of most tower fans causes them to be unstable or look cheap. Standing fans also tend to be top-heavy. PolyFan does not have these features and is much better, cleanable and quiet. For these reasons, I think it's a good value. After seeing these two products from Dreo, I'm also excited to see what other products they produce in the future.
