Native M1 by Urban Company

Urban Company worked out something the incumbents have known for forty years and never fixed: in water purification the hardware is commoditised and the actual product is whoever shows up when it breaks. Native inverts the usual model — the company that already owns your technician relationship now makes the appliance, so servicing is booked in an app at a published price instead of negotiated with a franchisee who has every incentive to upsell you.

The engineering is good rather than exceptional, and the high-recovery design is a real plus. What makes this a genuine recommendation is the running-cost and hassle profile over five years, which is the best in this catalogue.

Two caveats, both important. Check that Urban Company services your pin code before you order, because the entire value proposition evaporates otherwise. And accept that you are buying a young product with no long-term reliability record — if you want a purifier that will certainly be serviceable in fifteen years, KENT and Aquaguard have the track record.