Tag Vacuum

They predated the craze that is now known as smart homes, but robot vacuums have only really caught on in the past few years as people started to appreciate the time and effort these intelligent machines save them. As time goes on, the humble giant pucks that were robot vacuums have evolved into more advanced species with more features and more intelligence to make life more convenient for humans and sometimes even pets. That said, all these smart robot vacuums have embraced the motto of “bigger is better,” which is definitely not the case when these rolling circles start bumping into corners or get stuck in between furniture. The SwitchBot K10+ tries to attack that problem from a different angle by offering a robot vacuum that’s smaller yet still just as smart, so we take it for a roll to see if size does matter or not.

Designer: SwitchBot

Aesthetics

When seen in isolation, it’s hard to point out what makes the SwitchBot K10+ robot vacuum cleaner special. Yes, it has a clean and minimalist design, but so do most machines in this market. Available only in white, the K10+ makes no effort to hide the sensors in front and on top, though it does give the otherwise plain appearance some visual flair.

When you put it in the context of other things in your house, however, that’s when you really appreciate the design of the SwitchBot K10+. It’s significantly smaller than other robot vacuum cleaners in all aspects, from the robot itself to its auto-emptying base station. The size difference is even more apparent when you compare it with a regular robot vac and see how much smaller it is. With small black markings on its face and on the top of its head, it almost looks like a cute toy.

That diminutive size isn’t just for show, of course. We’ll get to the performance aspects later, but even just in terms of appearance, the K10+ has an edge over the competition. Its compact size makes it easier to place the vacuum and its base station almost anywhere, whether it’s in plain sight, hidden in corners, or in between shelves. Whether you want to show it off or have it disappear in the background, the SwitchBot K10+ gives you the choice and doesn’t force you like some behemoth robot vacuum cleaners and their overgrown stations.

Ergonomics

Some say big is better, but being small has plenty of benefits as well. It’s a size that’s often associated with agility and manageability, and the SwitchBot K10+ definitely checks those boxes off. At only 2.3kg, you can easily pick up the robot, and you’ll actually do that a lot if you want to mop the floor with it. That’s because the K10+ doesn’t have an independent mopping component and you’ll have to turn it over every time to put on or remove the mop wet wipes we’ll get to in a bit.

You might also want to bring it up or down stairs, in case you want to vacuum other floors. While the SwitchBot app can indeed store maps, the robot can’t climb stairs on its own. Because of its small size and lightweight design, you won’t break a sweat carrying the machine where it can do its job. Of course, you won’t be carrying the charging station with it, so you’ll have to be more attentive to the robot’s battery levels.

Operating and managing the robot vacuum is also easy as pie. Of course, most of the action happens on the SwitchBot mobile app, but there are still some things you have to do manually. The dustbin is automatically emptied, but you should clean it after a few months at least. You’ll have to also maintain the brushes, which is where the vacuum’s lightweight body comes in again. Most importantly, there’s a manual on/off switch under the top lid that you do have to flip to get the ball rolling. Fortunately, getting to all these parts is a walk in the park thanks to the K10+’s simple and smart design.

Performance

It’s easy to dismiss the SwitchBot K10+’s power after hearing that it’s the world’s smallest robot vacuum cleaner, but that would definitely be playing into the size trap. There is a saying that also goes “small is terrible,” but in this case small is a lot better in things that the big guys can’t even handle. This is especially true for the many areas you take for granted in your house, like between the legs of chairs, underneath low furniture, or that narrow space between the wall and the couch.

The SwitchBot K10+ possesses excellent LIDAR vision and silicon smarts to make short work of these cramped spaces. After the initial navigation of the floor’s layout, you are given a visual map where you can merge or separate areas, in the rare cases that the robot got it wrong. That same vision and intelligence is also what allows the K10+ to easily navigate the “in-betweens” with agility and precision, correcting itself if it does bump into a leg or corner wall. In other words, the small robot has plenty of brains to get around without a hitch and insert itself in places that regular vacuum cleaners wouldn’t even dream of fitting.

When it comes to the actual act of vacuuming, the SwitchBot K10+ is a bit of a mixed bag that’s leaning more toward the positive. Despite its size, its 2,500Pa suction power is plenty strong, able to handle most tasks on hardwood floors. Yes, it will fail on very thick and tall carpets, but short ones are no problem at all. It even has automatic carpet detection so that it knows to apply stronger suction when rolling over a mop. It’s not a complete clean on the first pass, but you can program it to do two passes every time. Interestingly, when it is programmed that way, it will alternate between horizontal and vertical routes to make sure that every inch of the floor is covered.

All of the robot’s functions can be reached from the SwitchBot smartphone app, which you need to set up before you can even use it. It has everything you need to control the K10+, from mapping to setting no-go zones to switching between four levels of suction strength. You can also schedule when and where the robot will do the cleaning as well as how many passes it makes in each area. The app, however, has also a few features you rarely find in other robot vacuums. For example, you can download a voice package to change how the robot sounds when it reports to you, personalizing the experience to some degree. There’s also an “accessory usage life” that uses a time-based counter to remind the owner to clean or change out certain parts to keep the robot performing at its best.

With a size this small, there are bound to be some limitations, and, objectively speaking, there are quite a few. As mentioned, 2,500Pa is not enough to handle tough dirt and thick carpets, but the SwitchBot K10+’s biggest weakness is its mopping function. There is no separate water tank or roller for mopping, and you have to use disposable wipes (included in the package) every time you want to wipe the floor. The upside is that you don’t have to deal with washing mop heads and the risk of gathering germs along the way. You simply remove the wet wipe and throw it away. The downside is that the cost of these wipes will accumulate over time, making it a rather expensive function.

The mopping function isn’t that great either, since there are no rollers or mop heads to really do a proper moping. It’s basically doing the equivalent of simply wiping off the floor with a damp cloth and nothing more, so tougher stains won’t go away using this method. Given the way it works, you can’t even vacuum and mop at the same time and have to switch between modes. It’s a very basic feature that you probably wouldn’t miss if it weren’t there in the first place, but SwitchBot seems to have decided to put it there just for the sake of having it on marketing material.

Sustainability

Although it’s quite unique in its size, the SwitchBot K10+ is very typical in its design, including its abundant use of plastic. That makes the product less eco-friendly, but there is another aspect that further pushes its sustainability grade down. The wet wipes for mopping, while convenient and hygienic, are pretty wasteful and environment-unfriendly. More advanced robot vacuum cleaners have automated washing and drying to solve the problem of cleaning mops, but there just isn’t enough room for the small K10+ for this feature. For some households, it’s not going to be a deal-breaker, just something they have to take into account when computing the total cost of ownership.

Value

The SwitchBot K10+ is a rather unique product that is full of surprises but also leaves potential buyers even more undecided about its value. With a standard $499.99 price tag, it’s not exactly the most affordable robot vacuum cleaner, despite its smaller size. It almost sounds like a niche product, but you might be surprised at how common that niche turns out to be.

The world’s smallest robot vacuum really shines in small places like apartments, one to two-bedroom suites, and similar residential spaces. Individuals and small families have long felt left out by the mainstream market because of large robot vacuums that couldn’t properly navigate their cramped floors. The K10+ surprisingly offers pretty much the standard set of features for robot vacuums, including decent suction power for most kinds of dirt and particles, so it gets the job done even when it involves squeezing into tight spaces. Yes, it might have been better off not offering any mopping functionality at all, but it’s at least there if and when you need it.

Verdict

Robot vacuum cleaners are becoming as common as smart home speakers and security cameras, providing the convenience of technology in a very palpable and almost mundane way. There’s a great deal of uniformity in the design of these smart machines, which means there’s very little variety in terms of style and form. The SwitchBot K10+ breaks free from those conventions by offering a smaller robot, but its small size isn’t just for show nor is it a disadvantage.

Thanks to its smaller radius, the K10+ can squeeze into tight spaces and reach floors that its larger rivals couldn’t. Despite its size, it has enough power to really suck the dirt off even from some short and light carpets. Sure, the mopping function is disappointing and wasteful, but you don’t always have to use it if all you need is a dirt-less floor. Even with just the basics, which it delivers with skill and proficiency, the SwitchBot K10+ can shave off hours from your busy day, freeing you to do the more important things in life like spending time with others or even with yourself.

Robot vacuum cleaners are quite the fad these days, offering peace of mind by keeping your floors clean without getting your hands dirty. They come with a wide range of advanced features and a variety of designs, but they all have one thing in common. The majority of robot vacuum cleaners come with very large bodies, often justified by the power they pack inside. Bigger isn’t always better, though, and size can even become a liability rather than an asset when dealing with small, cramped areas or difficult corners. That’s no problem for the world’s smallest robot vacuum cleaner, sneaking into tough corners and narrow paths in order to provide a more efficient cleaning experience in a compact and portable package.

Designer: SwitchBot

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With it’s compact design K10+ can reach smaller spaces to clean better.

The SwitchBot K10+ honestly looks too cute to be true. At only 248mm in diameter and 92mm tall, it’s only half the size of run-of-the-mill robot vacuums and might easily be mistaken for a toy. In fact, you can easily lift it with one hand and carry it upstairs or anywhere, which means you can easily move it to rooms that need cleaning in a snap. Despite that diminutive size, however, the K10+ is no slouch, and it’s exactly thanks to its size that it is able to offer more for less.

K10+ features a design that can blend in with any home, making it even less intrusive.

LiDAR Navigation.
K10+ allows you to achieve AI level precise mapping and quickly plan cleaning range at a speed of 2080 pts/sec.

K10+ returns to its base station for charging when battery is low, and returns to the last place it cleaned to finish up.

With its smaller diameter, the SwitchBot K10+ can easily navigate narrower spaces without breaking a sweat, deftly reaching the floor between the wall and a closet, underneath the couch, or in between the legs of a side table. Because it’s able to clean areas that most robot vacuums steer clear of, it offers 90% more coverage and significantly increases its cleaning efficiency. Of course, it’s not enough to simply be able to roll where no robot vacuum cleaner has gone before, and this little wonder surprisingly packs quite the assortment of cleaning features that puts it on par with its larger rivals.

Use the app to control the K10+

You might be surprised that the smallest robot vac actually boasts a suction power of 2500Pa, which means that even kitty litter and small pieces of food are no match for this wonder of technology. Even with that much action going on, it is able to keep quiet while it does its job, down to 50dB or 50% quieter than the industry average. It can also mop the floors after it has sucked them clean, and the disposable cleaning pads free you from the hassles and risks of dealing with dirty mops after each cleaning session. Best of all, the large 4-liter dustbin can collect dirt for up to 70 days before you need to take out the trash.

The SwitchBot K10+ is also equipped with plenty of smarts, from SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) self-navigation to obstacle and no-clean zone detection to scheduling cleaning sessions. It can also integrated with smart home platforms, including Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Apple Siri, and even IFTTT for hands-free voice control. With the SwitchBot K10+, you never have to worry about missing those hidden corners and spots ever again and dedicate more of your time to the more important things in life.

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It’s expected that with time, all technology gets more powerful, but also gets more compact. If you compare the phone we have today to the clunky Nokia mobiles of the 1990s, there’s a massive difference in their size and capabilities. Laptops, cameras, televisions have all become slimmer/sleeker with time… and now so has the robot vacuum. Compared to the average vacuum still available today, SwitchBot’s K10+ is palpably smaller in size. However, while most technology grows slim purely for visual aesthetics, the K10+’s miniature size is actually a design feature. Measuring merely 9.7 inches in diameter (24.8 centimeters), the K10+ easily fits into tight spaces where most conventional robot vacuums struggle. It weaves through the legs of stools and side tables, gets into tight gaps between the sofa and the wall, and even weaves through your dining table, cleaning between the table legs, chairs, etc. Touted as the smallest robot vacuum cleaner with an external dustbin, the K10+ is 50% smaller than a conventional vacuum, and 90% more efficient too, because of its ability to clean more parts of your home.

Designer: SwitchBot

Click Here to Buy Now: $399.99 $499.99 (20% off). Hurry, deal ends in 48 hours!

With it’s compact design K10+ can reach smaller spaces to clean better.

Feature for feature, the K10+ matches up to every flagship robot vacuum, with high suction, wet and dry cleaning, smart features, auto navigation, no-go zones, quiet motor, and a 4L dustbin that also doubles as the K10+ charging station. However, its less-than-10-inch diameter and 3.6-inch vertical make it perfect for navigating every nook and cranny in your home. The robot comes equipped with a vacuum capable of 2500Pa, but is practically inaudible thanks to SwitchBot’s SilenTech technology that cuts noise by 50% to a manageable 48 decibels, making the K10+’s operating noise much lower than conventional vacuums. That means more cleaning, less disturbance, and a lower chance of the vacuum driving your pet dog crazy.

K10+ features a design that can blend in with any home, making it even less intrusive.

LiDAR Navigation.
K10+ allows you to achieve AI level precise mapping and quickly plan cleaning range at a speed of 2080 pts/sec.

K10+ returns to its base station for charging when battery is low, and returns to the last place it cleaned to finish up.

Deploy your K10+ and it effectively maps out and navigates your house, cleaning parts that would often get neglected by other robot vacuums. The rotating brushes push dirt, dust, and food particles towards the suction head, which promptly vacuums it right into the K10+’s built-in dust tank. The K10+ wet-mops too, thanks to a disposable ‘Cleaning Pad’ that plugs to the base of the vacuum, and can be removed and discarded after use like a wet-wipe for your floor. The dust within the K10+, however, gets automatically disposed in its dedicated garbage collection base. The base, which also charges your K10+, collects all the dust and dirt vacuumed by the robot in its large receptacle. With an overall 4-liter capacity, you have to clean out the base less often, freeing up your time so that the robot does the chores… not you.

Use the app to control the K10+

Setting a cleanup routine on the K10 is as easy as either using SwitchBot’s app or giving a voice command to your smart home AI. The K10+ is compatible with Alexa, Google Home, Siri Shortcuts, Samsung SmartThings, and IFTTT, while the smartphone app gives you access to even more features like being able to set specific cleaning areas, program no-go zones, etc.

The ‘world’s smallest vacuum’ comes with a petite price tag to match, starting at $499 (with a special coupon that brings the price down to $399.99 on Amazon). Its small design might fool you, but it’s equally powerful as your current robot vacuum while being more nimble and efficient, allowing it to reach those inaccessible parts of your home too. Moreover, it weighs 5 lbs (2.3 kilograms), allowing you to carry it up and down the stairs too, for multi-level cleanliness!

Click Here to Buy Now: $399.99 $499.99 (20% off). Hurry, deal ends in 48 hours!