I bought the Arete One from Meaco about a year ago and it has been fantastic. Meaco has since released the Arete Two, to which they sent one over for me to have a look at. I’ve had it running in the house for about 6 weeks now, along with the Arete One and I thought I’d share my thoughts on this newer model and whether it’s worth upgrading to or not. 

Getting the Arete two out for the first time and comparing it to the original, it’s near on identical in appearance which is great, as I like that look, I think it’s modern and somewhat discrete, and they’re both well built too, there is no flimsy, glossy plastic you find with cheaper brands. 

They’re both the exact same shape, size and weight. I said nearly identical, there are two differences in appearance. First, the top vent is now hidden behind a flap or louvre, which you open and it allows you to direct the airflow, which they’re saying will help with drying laundry as you can direct it towards your clothes. Do you need it open all the time, I’d say yes, it’s not a sealed lid, there is a gap for airflow but it seems restrictive. I do prefer it, it looks better in my opinion and it’s cleaner, it limits the chance of dust dropping in through the vent over time. 

The second change is the display to the top, where the Arete Two has a different screen, a better screen but more on that later. 

In terms of features, there are differences and improvements in my opinion. 

There are now three fan speeds, rather than two. Meaco has swapped the fan out from an AC motor to a DC motor, which they use in their normal bedroom or desk fans. This has allowed them to add a third fan speed, so you’ve now got the option of low, medium, and high speeds, 80, 100 or 140 metre cubed an hour with the arete two. 

There is app support now, yes you can control the dehumidifier via your phone. Is it needed, I’m not sure but it’s nice to have. Via the app, you can control pretty much every aspect of the dehumidifier. The app is free to download and upon first use, you need to create an account. You then search for the device, connect to your local network, and pair the two. It’s very straightforward. From there, you can adjust the target humidity, but also see the live humidity, check to see if the water tank is full or not, you can turn on air purification. You can turn the unit on and off, set timers, and turn on the child lock too. You can select which mode you want, smart humidity, laundry, night mode, or air purifying. There is also a ‘device update’ option within the settings, which says no update available but I wonder if Meaco have the ability to push out firmware updates if needed. You can also link it to Google Home and Alexa, so if you wanted to, you could say “Google, turn on my dehumidifier” and away you go. 

You’ll see the Arete Two has a new & improved display, showing a lot more than the original, which was just the humidity level and some indicator lights. The display now shows the current humidity, target humidity, recommended humidity, current mode, and indicator lights. This is really handy and a big improvement in functionality. You’ll also find a heart indicator that shows when the space is at 55% RH, which is the preferred level for the UK, and shows that your space is as it should be. There is another noteworthy indicator light named WET. This light will illuminate when the unit thinks you need to turn it back on to maintain levels. Note I said turn it back on, so when the unit is off (although still plugged into the mains), the unit will discreetly check the levels in the space and will indicate when it thinks you should turn it back on. Imagine you’ve not turned it on for a while and forget about it, this acts somewhat as a reminder. All good and well but when I’ve been done with the Arete One in the past, I’ve unplugged it, wound the cable up and stored it away, so it would never work for me. 

Technically, it uses the same R290 refrigerant. Operating temps are the same, same size water tank and you can plug a hose into both if you want continuous use but one isn’t provided, so you’ll need to buy that. The official data shows the Arete Two being more efficient, with extract rates improving ever so slightly, along with lower wattages. So at a realistic 20c and 60RH, the arete two will extract 5.4 liters per day, using 136 watts VS 5.23 liters per day, using 151 watts. The 12L model refers to the amount of water extracted per day, the Arete two nots 11.99 liters per day, using 182watts, VS 12.18 liters per day and 197watts, at 30 degrees and 80%RH. Air purification mode remains the same and it’s the same filter that you slide in the rear of the unit too. 

Meaco is saying you can wall mount the Arte Two, with wall brackets sold separately but then they’re the same shape and size so one would assume you could mount the Arete one too. Why you’d want to do that though, I’m not sure. 

I do think the new model overall is quieter, apart from when in high fan speed for laundry but in both instances, I wouldn’t be able to go to sleep with this on in the same room, if it’s your bedroom you plan on using this in. 

Water extract over a 10hour period at 80%RH from within my cellar:
Arete One – 1.2L
Arete Two – 1.4L

Wattage usage:
Arete One – 134watts
Arete Two – 122watts

Typical dB levels:
Arete One – upto 49dB
Arete Two – upto 46dB

In terms of the retail price, the Arte one sits at £179, while the Arete Two sits at £199, so just a £20 difference at retail, or perhaps the Arete one may be in a sale and cheaper, you’ll have to shop around. 

I think overall, the Arete Two is a good example of product development. Meaco has listened to customer feedback and has made an already good product, better. More flexibility, slightly more efficiency, more features. The app support is handy if you think you’ll use it, it’s just overall a better product. If i was buying new, I would buy the Arete Two, no questions asked. If i was thinking of upgrading from One to Two, I probably wouldn’t. I generally plug it in and leave it until I need to empty the tank. I’m not too fussed about the app control and can get by without the extra features.