Coway, maker of some of our favorite air purifiers (which I will note are also app-free), agrees with this, which is why its first stand-alone fan, the P50 pedestal fan, eschews app-based controls.
The P50 is, however, Coway’s first stand-alone fan, spinning out a sufficient but not exactly impressive 866 feet per minute on its highest setting.
The fan’s proportions are even enough that it isn't top-heavy and it wasn’t easy to knock over, one of the biggest risks with pedestal fans.
Airmega, We Need to TalkVideo: Kat MerckThe voice control was perhaps the least impressive part of this fan, despite it being the flagship feature.
In order to voice-activate a command, one must first say, “Hi, …