The Dreo Pilot Max Tower Fan ($149.99) earned our Editor’s Choice award for its whisper-quiet operation, sleek aesthetics, voice control support, and portability. The company's more compact Dreo CF714S Air Circulator Fan has many of the same strengths and costs less at $99.99. It's not quite as stylish or powerful as its larger sibling, but is still worthy of our Editors' Choice award thanks to its reliable performance, seamless smart features, and overall value.
Portable Power
Available in silver or gold, the CF714S measures 16.2 by 13.7 by 11.4 inches (HWD) and weighs 7.2 pounds. It's easy to move between rooms and works just as well on a tabletop as on the floor. The fan runs on a quiet 9-speed brushless DC motor and features three, 9-inch curved blades to direct airflow.
(Credit: Dreo)The 11-inch fan head assembly has front and back grilles, and attaches to a motorized mounting mechanism that provides up to 90 degrees of vertical oscillation. This mechanism connects to a round base via a motorized mounting arm that provides up to 120 degrees of horizontal oscillation. Under the hood, Bluetooth and 2.4GHz Wi-Fi radios respectively enable connections to the mobile app and your home network. There’s also an onboard sensor that monitors the current room temperature.
A control panel on the base has six backlit buttons for power, setting the fan speed (1-9), adjusting the horizontal and vertical oscillation angles, setting a timer, and selecting a mode. Operational modes include Normal (runs at a fixed speed), Auto (changes speeds based on the ambient room temperature), Natural (runs at alternating speeds to simulate a breeze), Sleep (gradually slows down every 30 minutes), and Turbo (runs at maximum speed). You can also create a custom mode, in which the fan changes speeds either based on the time of day or when it detects a specific room temperature. A small LED display on the mounting arm indicates the current fan mode and speed, along with what's left on any running timers.
The CF714S works with Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands and routines but it doesn’t support Apple HomeKit, Matter, or IFTTT. It comes with a small, black seven-button remote that lets you turn the fan on and off, change modes, increase and decrease the fan speed, adjust the vertical and horizontal oscillation angles, and set an off timer.
Dreo CF714S App Experience
You can control the fan from your phone via the same Dreo mobile app (available for Android and iOS) that other devices from the company use, including the Macro Max S Air Purifier and the Pilot Max Tower Fan.
On the main screen, you see a picture of the fan, along with power, timer, and settings buttons. Tap the latter to share access to the device with other users, connect your Alexa and Google accounts, and view a user guide. This overview section also shows the current ambient room temperature.
(Credit: Dreo)Press the image of the fan to choose a mode, create a Custom mode, set the fan speed, turn on and configure oscillation angles, and calibrate horizontal and vertical oscillation positions. There’s also a digital joystick that lets you adjust the fan’s horizontal and vertical position manually if the oscillation feature is off, a Child Lock option (which disables the onboard controls), a switch to toggle confirmation beeps, another switch to enable Adaptive Brightness (which turns the LED display on during the day and off at night), and a temperature unit (Fahrenheit or Celsius) setting.
(Credit: Dreo)Seamless to Set Up and Operate
Preparing the CF714S for first use couldn’t be easier. I already had the Dreo app on my phone, but you have to download it and create an account if you are starting from scratch.
To begin, I plugged in the fan and tapped the plus icon on the app's main screen. After the app recognized the fan, I followed the instructions to press and hold the horizontal oscillation button for five seconds to initiate pairing. Once the Wi-Fi LED lit up, I provided my home network details and tapped connect. The fan paired with my network after just a few seconds, so I gave it a name and tapped Done to complete the setup.
The CF714S worked perfectly in my tests. I placed it on a small table in a corner of my 216-square-foot family room, set it to normal mode with a fan speed of 9, and felt a breeze from as far as 20 feet away. In Turbo mode, the airflow feels noticeably stronger and the sound of moving air is more noticeable, but the fan motor remains whisper-quiet. With the full oscillation setting active (120 degrees horizontal and 90 degrees vertical), the fan does a great job of circulating air throughout the entire room.
It also follows my custom mode settings without issue. I configured the fan to turn on and run at a speed of 3 when the ambient temperature reached 72 degrees, and to further increase to a fan speed of 6 if the temperature hit 76 degrees; this worked perfectly. Time-based custom modes also go off without a hitch.
The fan quickly responds to app changes and has no trouble executing my Alexa voice commands to turn on and off, change speeds, enable oscillation, and switch modes. Additionally, an Alexa routine I set up for the fan to turn on when an Amazon Smart Thermostat read 80 degrees worked like a charm.
A Small Fan With Cooling Smarts
Dreo's portable CF714S Air Circulator Fan delivers powerful airflow and its wide oscillation range can sufficiently cover moderately sized living spaces. It intelligently reacts to the current temperature, works with Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands and routines, and supports custom operation modes, too. Best of all, it remains nearly inaudible in operation. It's an excellent value overall and earns our Editors' Choice award for smart fans. If you need something more powerful, the slightly more expensive Dreo Pilot Max Tower Fan is a top-notch alternative with all of the same key features.
