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The company’s first air purifier, Shark Air Purifier 6 HE600UK, is powerful and can quickly clean our test room and make the air healthy again. Its price is also very reasonable, and replacement of the filter is not too expensive. The lack of PM (dust) sensors and smart controls may mean that some people are more willing to look elsewhere.

If vacuum cleaner manufacturers should know one thing (other than how to vacuum), it is filtration.

After all, you don't want this dirt to be blown back to your house. Therefore, it is not surprising to see the Shark Air Purifier 6 HE600UK.

Following in the footsteps of Dyson, this is the first air purifier I have seen from Shark. It is easy to use, powerful and its filter is easy to replace. However, this purifier does lack the smart functions and full range of sensors of its competitors.

The Shark Air Purifier 6 HE600UK is one of the largest air purifiers I have tested. It is tall and thin, so it won't protrude too much in the room (813 x 432x 226 mm). There is almost no need to make any settings, just insert the purifier and remove the bundled filter from the plastic bag.

The filters are priced at £69.99 each and should be replaced when the filter indicator lights up. Depending on usage, the filter should be replaced every 6 to 12 months. You can also click the filter life button to view the remaining hours of use.

The air is sucked in by the six fans behind the sensor and passed through the filter, thereby expelling clean air from both sides of the purifier. It is a wise idea to blow from the side instead of from the front, because you can use this purifier in winter without feeling the cold wind.

Shark's filter is a HEPA model with activated carbon particles. This allows it to absorb dust (99.7% of particles are 0.3 microns or larger), and it can absorb household odors and volatile organic compounds (VOC), which are harmful gases.

It can be controlled by the touch screen panel on the top and the provided remote control. It would be great if Shark provided a place to put the remote control, such as his Dyson purifier hot + cold formaldehyde magnetic bracket.

Although the fan speed can be adjusted manually, the shark air purifier 6 HE600UK also has an automatic mode. This uses Shark's Clean Sense IQ sensor to detect how dirty your air is. Shark measures particulate matter (PM), which is dust, and reads the concentration of PM1, PM2.5 and PM10 particle sizes in the air, but it lacks other sensors that Dyson products have, such as VOC and NO2 gas sensors. Clicking the "i" button allows you to view the PM reading step by step to check the cleanliness of the air.

Although HE600UK reacts to dust, it does not spin a fan for VOCs in the air, even if its filter can handle them. Fewer sensors cost less money, thereby reducing the price of this type of purifier. If you want to use any sensor, PM sensors make sense because they are a huge source of pollutants. Moreover, for allergy sufferers at home (such as those who react to pet dander, dust or pollen), this purifier will quickly respond to the source and purify the air.

The air quality is displayed as a percentage on the front LCD screen, ranging from poor (0%) to good (100%). Light also changes color, from red to yellow to blue (from bad to good).

After the air is cleaned, the purifier will operate in a fanless power-saving mode. In this mode, you only need to let the Shark Air Purifier 6 HE600UK do its job, and it will spin every time it finds your air is dirty. 

If you want the HE600UK to shut down, you can set a timer that starts at one hour and moves up to a maximum of 12 hours in hourly increments.

To test the air purifier, I lit a smoke capsule in my test room. This burns for 60 seconds and produces a lot of particulate matter. I put Shark Air Purifier 6 HE600UK in automatic mode and calculated the time required for Nest Protect to announce the end of the event. 

Shark Air Purifier 6 HE600UK reached this level in only 6m 30s, which is the fastest I have ever seen. Then the reading on the screen took 9m 46s to return to blue, indicating that the air is healthy.

I measured the maximum 62.3dB of the shark air purifier 6 HE600UK. This is very quiet and not too disturbing: you can watch TV through the fan at maximum speed. At slower speeds, the purifier can't hear it at all.

If you want a very powerful air purifier and you care more about dust than other pollutants, this is a good choice.

If you want a purifier that can measure more pollutants, or you want a smart purifier, then please look elsewhere.

The powerful functions of Shark Air Purifier 6 HE600UK are beyond doubt. Cleaning the room is very fast and efficient. Its display is clear and the controls are easy to use. Although the automatic mode is useful, because there is no PM sensor, this means that the purifier is not as reactive as some purifiers. I also found the lack of smart control a bit disappointing. For additional features, check out my guide to the best air purifier.

Unlike other websites, we will thoroughly test every air purifier over a long period of time. We use industry standard tests to correctly compare features. We will always tell you our findings. We never accept money to review products.

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Used as our main air purifier during the audit

We use their app to test smart purifiers and test the compatibility of Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

We calculate the time required for each purifier to remove smoke from the enclosed room.

The filter should be used for 6 to 12 months, depending on usage.

No, this model has no smart features.

Yes, it can. The purifier uses its PM sensor to detect the dirtiness of the air and dynamically adjust the fan speed.

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We also hope that our journalists follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our employees must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO edited code of practice to support these standards.

Trusted Reviews was established in 2004 to provide our readers with comprehensive, fair and independent buying advice.

Today, we have 9 million monthly users worldwide and evaluate more than 1,000 products every year.

Editorial independence means being able to make fair judgments about products or companies while avoiding conflicts of interest. To ensure that this is possible, each member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.

We also hope that our journalists follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our employees must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO edited code of practice to support these standards.

Products tested and reviewed since 2003