Modern Fans Offer Advanced Features and Versatility Beyond Basic Cooling

If you don’t think you need a new fan, you might want to reconsider. Even if the dusty old pedestal fan you've been carting around for 25 years is still kicking, modern fans can do a lot more than just blow air. They're smarter, quieter, and far more versatile than they've ever been, with new tech features that would have seemed like science fiction even five years ago.

The Dreo TurboPoly 707S, for instance, has radar that can track where someone is in the room and redirect airflow as they move about, while the company's 508S model can provide mood lighting in more than 1,000 hues. There are bladeless fans, fans just for fitness purposes, and ones that can mist or cool your skin with a cryo-inspired metal plate.

I've been covering fans at WIRED for almost two years, and I'm always on the lookout for the latest and most interesting fan technology. If you know of a cool fan you want me to check out, let me know in the comments.

Vornado's bare-bones 660 air circulator was my top pick in this category for the past two years. It could sit on either a table or on the floor, ensuring bulk air movement through Vornado's proprietary Vortex Action (which my colleague Matthew Korfhage described—accurately—as “a fancy name for spinning a fan into a spiral grate oriented opposite to the action of the fan”). There was no remote, no oscillation, and its buttons on the top activated its three speeds. It got the job done with minimal fuss, but darn if it wouldn't have been nice to have a remote.

From my mouth to Vornado's ear, apparently, as earlier this year, the brand released the Vora 8, which is basically an upgraded version of the 660. It's stronger (1,100 ft/m max wind speed to the 660's 1,083 ft/m), with 10 speeds, three airflow modes, an aromatherapy pad for the center button, and—blessedly—a remote. It also oscillates vertically as well as horizontally, and it's got a backlit touch display on the base. Note that there's no smart option on offer for now. I did find myself missing the simplicity of the 660 a little bit while trying to learn all the fiddly new features and settings of the Vora 8, but otherwise, it's around the same price and an improvement in every functional capacity.

Dreo’s flagship PolyFan 704S has been the brand’s most popular pedestal fan for years, but I didn't have the best luck with my test unit (see below). Plus, I found the fan to be heavy, unwieldy, and difficult to move around compared to competing models. Thankfully, last year saw the release of Dreo's improvement on the PolyFan, the TurboPoly. It's not only slightly smaller and lighter than the original PolyFan, but it's also billed as Dreo's quietest fan of all time. The marketing materials specified 20 decibels, but I measured 29 dB on my meter. Regardless of that discrepancy, this is indeed the quietest fan I've tested. Its highest wind speed is average for a pedestal fan, but perfectly sufficient.

It comes in white, gold, or silver; sports nine speeds; can oscillate vertically or horizontally; and has smart capabilities (including compatibility with Google Assistant and Amazon's Alexa). It's controllable through the remote, the button on the fan itself, or via the Dreo app, which also includes a 12-hour timer and the ability to set a schedule. It's also got a cool RGB ring light on the back, and if you use the Dreo app, you can choose from up to 1,000 colors.

If you prefer no-nonsense: My previous pick for Best Pedestal Fan, the Vornado 683 Whole Room Circulator ($85), has no Wi-Fi or smart capability, no remote, no timer, and no pivoting head. It's not as quiet or as strong as the TurboPoly, but it's lightweight and easy to move around. It will do whatever basic job you need it to do for years to come.

Though tower fans aren't always easy to clean and are prone to tipping over if you have active children or pets, they are less top-heavy than pedestal fans, and the slim profile and small footprint make them easy to store when you're short on space. In the tower fan category, Dreo's 36-inch Nomad One (otherwise known as the 307) is the best bang for your buck, offering superior build quality and performance for this price point. It's got four speeds and a remote, as well as an easily removable front grille for cleaning.

The Nomad One's wind speed is slightly stronger than my previous pick in this category, Dreo's slightly larger but pricier 519, but this new pick is also slightly louder. Not so much, though, that the difference is super noticeable. Like the 519, the Nomad One's got a handle on the back and a slot for the remote, as well as a digital display, four modes, eight speeds, a timer, and a button that mutes any beeping while selecting menu options.

The no-frills Lasko box fan is an enduring classic—it's got plenty of surface area, there's a handle so you can move it around, and the shape makes it easy to stick in a window or sliding glass door. It's also reliable and widely available at most big-box stores. (If you live in a wildfire-prone area, you'll also know it's popular for making a DIY air purifier, also known as a Corsi-Rosenthal box.) It's not the strongest or the quietest fan you'll buy, but for around 20 bucks, you wouldn't expect it to be. It's also less than 5 inches in width, so it's easy to store in a closet.

Lasko added a Cool Colors line last year, offering the same longtime utilitarian staple, but in fun colors like red, blue, fuchsia, and purple. These are no different from the old-school white version, but the hue does make the fan look more intentional in your home, rather than a remnant of a water-leak emergency or an AC malfunction. Some online complaints mentioned wobbling at low speeds, and there was some slight shaking at medium and high speeds in my tests, but not so much that it affected function.

Tower fans have a reputation for being less powerful than pedestal fans and air circulators, but Dreo's MC706, launched in late 2024, disproves this theory. The MC706 is not only the fan I keep in my office (when I’m not testing another model), but it's also among the strongest fans I've tested to date.

This is not typical for a fan-heater combo; the MC706 accomplishes this feat through auto-shift positive temperature coefficient (PTC) technology, which moves the heater's ceramic element aside to allow full fan airflow. (This is also a key component in electric vehicle heating systems.) Pair this effective heating-cooling function with a boosted DC motor and 12 fan speeds, and you've got a tower fan that not only rivals but exceeds any cooling-only fan. Other perks include a flame-resistant plastic body, an inset carrying handle (the fan weighs a hefty 13 pounds), 120-degree oscillation, and tip-over protection for the five-setting heater. Note, however, that though there is a remote, there are no smart features, and this fan does not work with the Dreo app. I've had zero issues in over a year of near-daily use.

My family loves this combination air purifier and tower fan. Though it is on the larger side and looks almost like a cylindrical patio heater, it costs less than its competitor Dyson; offers 99.97 percent HEPA filtration and an air quality sensor; and is controllable through a remote, the Dreo app, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa.

I like that the 12-speed fan and purifier can operate independently, and the large, heavy base with its blue or orange motor just looks cool. After a year of nightly use in a bedroom (it's quiet when you want it to be, but is also capable of solid white noise), the MC710S is still going strong, and filter replacements ($40 for one) are reasonably priced.

Levoit

Windi Pro Mini Portable Tower Fan

As a gear reviewer, there are some products I struggle to let go of once the testing window ends, and this little 15-inch-tall tower fan with a handle is among them. It may not be the best-performing fan in terms of wind speed, but it is so insanely convenient that it's been my most-used fan so far this year. It's also got a remote and a little USB-C–powered dock upon which it sits. When you're ready to use it, just carry it wherever you need it (it weighs about 3 pounds) and enjoy the breeze. It's also stylish enough to leave out in plain view, and it has an amber light around the bottom, I assume for vibes purposes. Note that it also oscillates and has a timer for two, four, eight, and 12 hours, though the latter two settings seem unnecessary, given that the charge only lasted a few hours in my testing, especially if the fan was operating on one of its higher speeds (there are five). I've been testing it all summer and have now lost the remote and keep misplacing the charging base—I still love this fan, but I do wish I could charge it directly with USB-C.

I unboxed this fan without reading anything about it first, so I admit I was perplexed as to why it looked like a barrel-shaped basket. It wasn't until I turned it on and started using it that I understood: one click of the side button on the remote and the fan stopped and slowly tilted upright, with a soft white ring glowing on its underside. It was a lamp! An actual, lamp-shaped lamp! I've yet to find someone who's been unimpressed by this party trick when I show it to them. In addition to doubling as a lamp, the EOS also sports an industry first: the ability for a user to pop apart both magnetic sides of the “basket,” sans tools, for cleaning. Once the magnetic bond is broken, the fan blades will automatically stop spinning, making it safe around curious kids or even in case of an accidental fall.

It's otherwise a lot like the Vora 8 above. Both can oscillate vertically and horizontally, have a center pad for aromatherapy, and feature 10 speeds. The EOS is available in short (tabletop/floor) and pedestal versions; I have the short version. The light has five modes of brightness, but even the brightest is a soft glow—maybe bright enough to use for reading if you’re sitting right next to it. Otherwise it’s more of a mood light, akin to Vornado's Ara tower fan, below. It's even more fiddly than the Vora 8, but I'm willing to forgive it for this, given it's one of the strongest fans I've tested. (Note that the fan and lamp modes cannot run concurrently; if it's functioning as a lamp, it can't be a fan, though the light can still glow in fan mode.)

Like Coway's Airmega P50 (see below), this 2-in-1 can work as a tabletop or floor fan. The key difference is that the TuboPoly is a cinch to switch over: Just pop it out of its taller stalk onto the separate fold-out stand. The only downside is that you’ll have to find someplace to store the stand so it won’t get lost in the off-season (if you have an off-season). It’s also got a remote that includes batteries and a remote holder, plus six modes and 12 speeds. It’s compatible with Dreo’s app, Amazon Alexa, and Google Home ecosystems, and it can oscillate horizontally or vertically.

I’ve had it on in the background in my office in its pedestal configuration for the past few weeks, and I have not heard any mechanical noise at all—in fact, the sound has been barely perceptible. My only slight gripe is that it takes a long time to reposition itself when you turn it off, so it's not clear if it actually received the message or not—more than once, I've had to wait, watching it slowly move its head all around, to ensure it was really going to turn off. Otherwise, this is another high-quality entry from Dreo with a useful feature that's worth the price.

A fitness fan, you might be asking yourself? Does one really need a special fan just for riding a Peloton or running on the treadmill? I wouldn't have thought so, but that was before I tried the Fly Max. I live in a hilly neighborhood, so I find myself running indoors on a treadmill whenever the thought of scaling a steep hill is just too unappealing. (Which, I'll be honest, is most days.) The Fly Max has shifted this activity from a hot, sweaty, unpleasant mess into something I don't mind doing, even on a hot day.

I've used other fans next to my treadmill before, but the makers of the Fly Max have thought of everything to make this model as perfect as can be for indoor workouts. It doesn't oscillate, but it does tilt 180 degrees to whatever angle you need it to hit, and the airflow is meant to simulate air resistance while exercising outdoors. My favorite feature is a little round magnetic remote with a cradle on a Velcro strap that you can attach to your machine to turn the fan on and off or up and down—it fits perfectly around the handle of my tre