At a glance
Expert’s Rating
Pros
- Transforms from pedestal to tabletop fan
- Almost completely silent
- App and remote control
Cons
- Assembly required
- On-device control panel hard to read
- No on-device thermostat
Our Verdict
You can buy fans for far less but if you have the budget, this stylish, silent model will be a quiet source of comfort in your home.
The Whisper Flex is an ultra-quiet, oscillating fan that comes complete with smart features and a remote. And its transforming feature means you can use it just about anywhere. But all those features don’t come cheap, so read on to find out if it’s worth the outlay.
Design and Build
- Four colour options
- Digital display
- Magnetic remote
The Whisper Flex is a fan you can transform from pedestal to tabletop, simply by removing the central column, which is a quick job once you get the hang of it. It stands 81cm high as a pedestal and 51cm as a tabletop fan and its base has a 34cm diameter.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
That does mean that it’s too big to pop on the side of your desk while you’re working – but it does give you plenty of options for use around your home.
It comes in four colour options: black, white, authentic grey (a warmer grey) and cool grey. We really like the fact that Duux gives people a choice of shades and even more that the entire fan is a single, matt colour, which gives it a less functional look than most fans and helps it blend into décor.
Its build quality is pretty good. It’s largely made of plastic, with a metal extension tube, but overall, it doesn’t feel quite as robust as the Meaco Sefte fan, for example. The Sefte also has the advantage of an inbuilt thermostat, so it can automatically adjust its fan speed to the room temperature. (The Whisper Flex is a better-looking fan though, and it has the advantage of smart features.)
I also found that the Whisper Flex was a magnet for cat fur, so pet owners might want to opt for one of the lighter colours, which will hide hair better.
We really like the fact that Duux gives people a choice of shades and even more that the entire fan is a single, matt colour
It comes boxed and in pieces, so your first job will be to assemble it. I wouldn’t recommend doing this when you’re already hot and tired as, although the instructions are comprehensive, it’s a bit of a fiddly job.
Duux provides everything you’ll need and there’s only a single screw to complete the job – but it’s a tiny one, and after I’d pinged it across the room a few times, I was very much in need of a sit-down next to a fan.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
The fan’s control panel is one of its best aesthetic elements. It’s a round, digital display set into a dial that you turn to choose fan settings.
But I found it attractive rather than easy to use. For a start, it’s set into 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 tiny symbols mean you’ll need to be close to read it.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Still, that’s not a huge problem because you can also control the Whisper Flex on your phone via the Duux app or by using the provided remote, which colour-matches the fan and magnetically attaches to the carry handle on the back for safe keeping.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Performance and Features
- 26 fan speed settings, oscillation, choice of modes
- 13dB operating volume
- Scheduling via app
The Whisper Flex has 26 fan speed settings, ranging from barely-a-breeze gentle to a pretty powerful airflow, although it’s no match for the insanely powerful Dreo air circulator fan.
It’s the quietness of the fan that most people will love – Duux claims an operating noise level of just 13dB
But the range of speeds means you can tailor it precisely to your comfort. It can also oscillate, either vertically (by 100°), horizontally (by 90°), or both at once, although you can’t limit the degree of oscillation. The fan will remain in the position it reached at the point you switch off the oscillation.
There are three operational modes to choose from: normal, natural (varying the airflow) and night (which dims the display).
But it’s the quietness of the fan that most people will love – Duux claims an operating noise level of just 13dB and it’s hard to argue with that as it seems almost perfectly silent.
Then there are the smart features, which you can use when you’ve downloaded the Duux app (available for both iOS and Android) and connected the fan to your home Wi-Fi network. This was simple to do when we tested it, although we did lost the connection a couple of times during the testing period – but it returned without the need to re-pair the fan.
In the app, you can change the fan speed, 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 by using the on-device controls or remote.
There’s also the option to set up a schedule for the fan in the app, which is straightforward to do and handy if you’re going to use it in a home office or bedroom. You can vary the schedule by day and it’s easy to do.
In general, I found the smart features a definite plus and tended to use my phone instead of the remote – partly because you don’t need to aim it closely at the base of the fan to use it. The smart features 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 of the fans we’ve tested fans to run. Even on full power, it will cost you less than a penny an 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 Argos, where it’s currently £113.90.
If you’re in the US, you can buy the Whisper Flex from Harrods, import duties included, for $186.
It’s far from the cheapest fan we’ve tested, but given its feature set and operational quietness, we think it’s good value. For more of our top recommendations at a range of price points, have a look at our round-up of the best fans we’ve tested.
Should you buy the Duux Whisper Flex smart fan?
The Whisper flex isn’t flawless – I could point to its hard-to-read control panel as an issue. But its other control options make up for that and its overall design, its features and its ultra-quiet operation make it a very attractive buy.
