Dyson HP02 Vs HP10: Which One Is Better?

When I first decided to get a Dyson 3-in-1, I was stuck. I saw the HP02 Pure Hot+Cool Link and the newer HP10 Purifier Hot+Cool Gen1. I assumed “newer” meant “better in every way,” but I was wrong. The choice between them isn’t about an upgrade; it’s a completely different philosophy.

This article is my deep analysis of this confusing choice to help you figure out which one you actually want: the older, smart-connected model or the newer, mechanically superior basic one.

A Brief Comparison Table

My Experience With Dyson HP02

My journey with the HP02 started because I’m a tech person. I love data, I love apps, and I love the idea of controlling my entire house from my phone.

The “Link” in its name was the biggest selling point for me.

The idea of firing up the heater in my office before I even got out of bed was just too good to pass up.

Setting it up was a breeze. I connected it to my Wi-Fi, downloaded the Dyson Link app, and suddenly I had this granular control.

I could see the air quality history of my room (even if it was a bit vague), set complex schedules, and turn the machine on from the other side of the house. When I’d misplace the tiny, curved remote (which happens constantly), it didn’t matter. I just used my phone.

As a heater, it was fantastic for my small (150 sq. ft.) bedroom. It brought the temperature up quickly and quietly. As a purifier, it gave me peace of mind. I’d see the “Auto” mode kick into high gear when I used hairspray, and I felt like it was working.

But I started to notice its limits. The 70-degree oscillation felt narrow. It was great if I was sitting right in its “jet focus” path, but it didn’t really circulate the air around the entire room. It felt more like a personal heater/fan. I loved the smarts, but I was starting to crave more power and better room coverage.

Pros Of Dyson HP02

• Full Smart Connectivity: This is the HP02’s main advantage. It connects to your home’s Wi-Fi and syncs with the Dyson Link app. This means you can control every function (except changing from cool to heat, for safety) from your smartphone, whether you’re on the couch or at the office. You can set detailed schedules, check your air quality history, and get reports on filter life. It also integrates with voice assistants like Amazon Alexa, so you can just say, “Alexa, set the fan to 5.” For anyone building a smart home, this feature is a massive plus and makes the machine feel much more integrated into your life.
• Diffused Airflow Mode: The HP02 features two airflow modes. You get the standard “Focused” mode, which projects a powerful stream of air directly at you, perfect for personal cooling or heating. But it also has a “Diffused” mode. This mode pushes air out of a second, wider aperture on the back of the loop. This purifies the air and circulates it more gently around the room without creating a direct, cooling draft. This is a fantastic feature in the winter when you want to purify and heat the room without having a jet of hot air blowing on you constantly.
• Often Cheaper / Refurbished: Because it is an older model, the HP02 is much easier to find at a significant discount. It’s a staple on the refurbished market and often goes on sale at major retailers. This makes it a “Best Value” proposition, as one of the search results called it. You get the full Dyson 3-in-1 experience (purifier, heater, fan) and the premium app-enabled features for a price that is often much lower than any of the newer models, making it a great entry point into the Dyson ecosystem.
• Proven Workhorse For Small Rooms: This machine has been on the market for years and has a long, proven track record. It’s an excellent, reliable solution for smaller spaces like bedrooms, dorm rooms, or home offices (around 150-250 sq. ft.). While its 70-degree oscillation is a con for large spaces, it’s perfectly adequate for a personal area. It provides that quick, focused heating and cooling that is perfect for making your personal space comfortable.

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Cons Of Dyson HP02

• Extremely Limited Oscillation: The 70-degree oscillation range is, by far, the biggest complaint and a major limitation. It just doesn’t move much. In a medium or large room, it feels like it’s just staring at one small part of the wall. It fails to create whole-room air circulation, which is a key function of a good purifier. This means you get uneven heating and purification, with the air directly in front of the machine being clean while the corners of the room are neglected.
• Basic Sensors And Display: The technology inside the HP02 is now dated. It has a single sensor that detects “pollutants” in a general sense (like VOCs and PM10). It can’t differentiate between different types of particles. The display is just a simple numerical LED that shows your target temperature or the fan speed (from 1-10). You get no real-time feedback on the machine itself; you must open the app to see the (equally basic) air quality graph.
• Older Filtration Technology: The HP02 uses an older-style 360-degree Glass HEPA filter. While it’s still a HEPA filter and captures 99.97% of particles down to 0.3 microns, it is not sealed to the HEPA H13 standard. This means there’s a small (very small, but present) risk that some ultrafine particles could escape the filter and be projected back into the room. Newer models have a fully-sealed system to ensure what goes in, stays in.
• App Can Be Finicky: While the app is a “pro,” it can also be a “con.” The Dyson Link app, especially with older hardware like the HP02, can be prone to connection drops. I’ve experienced times where the app just refuses to find the machine, forcing me to hunt for the physical remote anyway. When you’re paying a premium for a “smart” feature, having it fail to connect is incredibly frustrating.

My Experience With Dyson HP10

I got the HP10 for my living room, and the buying process felt… weird.

I was intentionally buying a dumber product that was newer. It has no Wi-Fi.

No app. No connection to Alexa.

If I lose the remote, I have to get up and use the single button on the machine itself.

For a moment, I felt like I was taking a step backward.

Then I turned it on.

The difference was immediate. First, the LCD screen. It wasn’t just a number; it showed me real-time graphs of the air quality, specifically for PM2.5 (the tiny, nasty stuff). I could see the air quality improve when it was on. But the real game-changer was the oscillation. The 350-degree rotation is no joke. I placed it in the middle of the room, and it bathed the entire space in a gentle, purified breeze.

As a heater, this wider oscillation meant it heated the room far more evenly. There were no “hot spots” or “cold corners.” It felt like a proper, whole-room solution, not just a personal heater. The filtration also felt more robust. Knowing it was a fully-sealed HEPA H13 system just gave me more confidence. It’s also noticeably quieter than the HP02 on its lower settings. It’s the machine I leave on “Auto” and just let it do its job, and I don’t miss the app at all.

Pros Of Dyson HP10

• Massive 350-Degree Oscillation: This is the HP10’s killer feature. It can rotate almost in a full circle, projecting purified air to every corner of a room. This is a monumental upgrade from the HP02’s 70 degrees. For whole-room purification and heating, this is a non-negotiable benefit. It ensures even temperature distribution, no cold spots in the winter, and guarantees that the air in the entire space is being continuously drawn in, filtered, and circulated. It makes it a true “room” appliance, not just a “personal” one.
• Advanced LCD Screen And Sensors: The HP10 brings the modern Dyson experience to a “basic” model. It has a crystal-clear LCD screen that gives you real-time data. It uses more advanced sensors to specifically detect and report on PM2.5 (fine, inhalable particles) and PM10 (dust, pollen). You can see a live graph right on the unit, so you know exactly what your air quality is at a glance, without ever needing to touch a phone or an app. It feels more scientific and reassuring.
• Superior HEPA H13 Filtration: This machine uses a newer, fully-sealed filtration system that meets the HEPA H13 standard. This is a higher grade of filtration that not only captures 99.97% of 0.3-micron particles but is also sealed to capture 99.95% of particles as small as 0.1 microns. The entire machine is sealed, not just the filter, meaning you have zero “leaks” of dirty air. For people with serious allergies or health concerns, this is a significant and meaningful upgrade in purification power.
• Quieter Operation: The “Gen1” models were re-engineered to be quieter than the older “Link” models like the HP02. While it can still get loud on its highest fan settings (10), its lower settings (1-5) and its auto mode are noticeably quieter. This makes it a much better companion for a living room where you’re watching TV, or even for a bedroom if you’re a light sleeper. The reduction in “whine” or motor noise is a big quality-of-life improvement.

Cons Of Dyson HP10

• Absolutely No Smart Features: This is the deal-breaker for many. The HP10 has no Wi-Fi, no app, and no voice control. It is a “dumb” appliance in a smart-home world. Your only method of control is the small, magnetic remote. If you lose that remote, you are limited to the single power button on the machine, which can only turn it on and off. For those who love data-logging, scheduling, and remote-control convenience, the HP10 will feel like a major step backward and an incomplete product.
• No Diffused Airflow Mode: The HP10 only has the “Focused” airflow mode. It projects a strong, direct stream of air from the front of the loop. It does not have the “Diffused” mode that the HP02 has, which pushes air out the back. This means that if you want to run the purifier in the winter, it must also be blowing air (either hot or cool) directly into the room. You can’t have that gentle, background purification without a draft, which was a feature I really liked on the HP02.
• Bulky And Awkward Design: While “design” is subjective, the HP10 is a bit of a “chonky” machine, as some reviews have noted. It’s shorter and wider than the tower (TP) models, and its loop is a bit stubby. It’s too big to comfortably sit on a desk or tabletop, but it’s a bit short for a floor fan. It occupies a strange middle ground that can make it awkward to place in a room.
• Basic Remote-Only Control: To reiterate the lack of smart features, you are 100% reliant on the remote. This means no scheduling, no air quality history, and no remote operation. You can set a sleep timer, but you can’t set a schedule for it to turn on at 5 PM before you get home from work. This makes it a much less “automated” experience. You have to be physically present to interact with it in any meaningful way.

Maintenance Tips For Dyson Purifiers

• Change The Filter When Notified: This is the most important part of owning one of these. Both the HP02 and HP10 will tell you when the filter is expired. The HP02 will notify you via the app, and the HP10 will show an alert on its LCD screen. This typically happens after 12 months of use (based on 12 hours of use per day). Do not ignore this. A clogged filter stops purifying the air and puts a strain on the motor. Replacement is simple: you just unclip the outer shell, lift the old filter out, and drop the new one in.
• Always Use Genuine Dyson Filters: This might sound like an upsell, but it’s critical. The advanced filtration performance, especially the HEPA H13-sealed system on the HP10, is a precision-engineered system. Third-party, knock-off filters from Amazon may be cheaper, but they are not guaranteed to have the same filter media quality or, more importantly, the same precise rubber gaskets that create the “sealed” system. Using a cheap filter can compromise the machine’s entire purpose and create leaks.
• Wipe Down The Loop And Exterior: The best part of the bladeless design is how easy it is to clean. There are no grilles or dusty, dangerous blades. Simply take a damp microfiber cloth and wipe down the exterior of the machine and the inside of the “loop” amplifier. This prevents dust from building up and being re-circulated into the room. Do this once a week, and the machine will look and perform like new.
• Check The Sensor Ports: On the back of the machine, there are small, grille-like openings for the air quality sensors. These can sometimes get clogged with dust, which can lead to inaccurate “Auto” mode readings. Every few months, take a soft, dry brush (like an old toothbrush) or the brush attachment on your vacuum cleaner and gently clean these ports to ensure the sensors are getting a clear “sniff” of your room’s air.

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Comparison With Other Brands

• The Main Competitor: Shark 3-In-1 Models: Shark (like the Shark 3-in-1, HP300 series) is Dyson’s most direct competitor in this space. Shark offers a very similar 3-in-1 (purifier, heater, fan) package, often at a much lower price. From a performance standpoint, reviewers find the Shark to be a very capable heater and purifier, sometimes even rated for larger rooms than the Dysons. The main trade-off is almost always design and “polish.” The Dysons are sleeker, quieter, and have a more refined user interface (like the LCD screen or app). The Shark is more “utilitarian” but offers incredible value for the money.
• The Purifier-First Crowd: Blueair And Levoit: If your primary concern is purification and the heating/cooling is just a bonus, brands like Blueair and Levoit are major players. The Blueair ComfortPure 3-in-1, for example, is a direct alternative that also has app control and strong purification. These brands often (but not always) have a lower cost of ownership, as their replacement filters can be more affordable. They are built “purifier-first,” and their performance is often top-of-the-class, even if they don’t look as futuristic as a Dyson.
• Where Dyson Stands Apart: Dyson’s unique selling proposition is the combination of all three functions into a single, beautifully designed, and safe (bladeless) package, backed by high-end engineering. The “Air Multiplier” technology and the extremely wide 350-degree oscillation on the HP10 are features that competitors struggle to match. You are paying a premium for the design, the low-noise engineering, and the advanced feature set (either the app on the HP02 or the sensors/oscillation on the HP10).
• The “Value” Question: Is the Dyson worth it? This is the core question. Compared to a Shark, you are paying a significant premium for design, a quieter motor, and a better user interface. Compared to a dedicated purifier from Blueair, you are paying for the “all-in-one” convenience. If you have to buy a separate heater, fan, and purifier, the cost can easily add up to or exceed the price of a single Dyson, and you’ll have three bulky appliances to store. The Dyson’s value is in its consolidation.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Conclusion

After living with both machines, my conclusion is that “better” is entirely dependent on the user. This isn’t a simple “good vs. best” scenario.

If you are a tech-savvy person, if your home is full of smart devices, and if you know you will be frustrated by the lack of an app, the HP02 is better for you. The convenience of scheduling and remote control is a tangible benefit that you will use every day. You’ll just need to accept its limitations in oscillation and place it in a smaller room.

However, if you are an “set it and forget it” person, if you care more about raw performance than smart features, and if you want to heat and purify a larger, whole room, the HP10 is undeniably the better machine. The 350-degree oscillation and superior sealed filtration are massive mechanical upgrades that you can’t get on the HP02. You are choosing pure function over smart convenience.

For you, it comes down to this: do you want to control your machine from your phone, or do you want it to control your room more effectively? Your answer to that question will tell you exactly which one to buy.