Dreame is no longer an insider tip in the field of cordless vacuums and vacuum robots. This has already been proven by several of our tests of the smart household appliances from the Chinese manufacturer. As recently as October 2022, we were able to take a closer look at the Dreame L10s Ultra (test), one of the best vacuum robots incl. suction station that we have ever tested. Not without reason, the smart household helper collected our coveted Platinum Award. With an MSRP of 1,199 Euros, it might still be too expensive for many, despite its impressive price-performance ratio. That’s why Dreame has decided to launch a slightly slimmed-down version of the high-end vacuum cleaner. In our Dreame L10 Ultra review, we’ll show you what it’s capable of and what sacrifices you have to make compared to the S model.
Technical data
| Suction power | 5,300 pascals |
| Navigation | LiDAR (spatial measurement by laser) |
| Accumulator | 5,200 mAh is said to provide 160 minutes of battery life (vacuuming and wiping) |
| Container | Dust tank: 350 ml. Water tank: 80 ml |
| App support | Dreame Home or Xiaomi Home |
| Dimensions and weight | 35.0 x 35.0 x 9.7 cm and 3.7 kg |
| Wiping function | Yes, with 2x rotating mops |
| Carpet detection | Yes, suction boosting and lifting mops |
| Functions base station | – Vacuuming collected dust. – Cleaning the mops – Filling with fresh water |
| Price | € 523.01 * |
Scope of delivery
When you look at the large-sized packaging, you don’t experience any big surprises. This is not surprising when it comes to robotic vacuum cleaners. After all, the Dreame L10 Ultra is shipped just as fully assembled as the competition’s models. The same applies to the base station.
A look under the lid of the station then reveals a pre-installed dust bag. However, replacements are also provided for. Finally, Dreame includes another replacement bag. In addition to the manual and a Quick Start Guide, you’ll then find cleaning tools, the two wiping pads, and the side brush in the packaging.
Dreame L10 Ultra review: design and workmanship
- Great build quality
- Twin of the L10s Ultra
- Color white dominates
Dreame has of course not only vacuum robots with associated suction station in the offer. The Chinese also offer pure robots in their broad portfolio. Devices such as the Dreame L10s Pro (test) can then be conveniently hidden under furniture with their compact charging station. Of course, this is not possible for models with a large-sized suction station. These can hardly be stowed away unseen due to their size alone. The Dreame L10 Ultra is no different. This makes an appealing design all the more important. And Dreame has succeeded similarly well with the L10 Ultra as with the L10s Ultra.
Twin of the Dreame L10S Ultra
To be more precise, you have to look twice to even notice a difference. The most noticeable thing is certainly the different color scheme on the front. While the entire casing comes in a noble white, Dreame does not use an aluminum bezel for the front cover, but leaves it white as well.
What some may see as a disadvantage, I almost see as an optical advantage on the part of the slimmed-down version. After all, the overall picture is a bit more harmonious from my point of view. Friends of the brushed aluminum look of the S version, however, might dislike this. Similar to the suction station, the robot itself is reminiscent of the L10s Ultra. Thus, the L10 also comes in the circular design that is now typical for vacuum robots.
The dimensions of 35.0 x 35.0 x 9.7 cm, as well as the weight of 3.7 kg, also coincide with the data of the L10s. On the top of the robot vacuum cleaner is the LiDAR tower, which hides the technology for laser navigation. Furthermore, we find a total of three buttons on the top. Pressing the house sends the vacuum back to the base station. The On/Off button in the center starts or pauses a cleaning tour. If one clicks on the square on the left, one starts an area cleaning.
Well-known great build quality
At the front is the usual bumper, which is not only to protect the robot vacuum itself, but more importantly to protect your furniture from damage. Behind a pane at the front sits further navigation technology in the form of sensors. On the underside, you glimpse a highlight of the Dreame L10 with the two mops.
Besides these, there are main brush, suction slot and side brush here. For the main brush, Dreame relies on a solid rubber solution, as it did for the S model. This guarantees low maintenance, as hardly any hair can get tangled here. All in all, Dreame once again scores with a great workmanship. There is no creaking or cracking at any point. This puts the Dreame L10 Ultra on par with the S model in terms of workmanship.
Dreame L10 Ultra review: navigation technology
- LiDAR sensor
- Fall sensors, carpet detection
- Object detection of the L10s is missing
The L10 Ultra is reminiscent of the “S-Class” not only in terms of looks and build quality. The navigation technology also looks familiar. Thus, a LiDAR sensor tower is enthroned on the upper side here as well. Thanks to laser navigation, it enables best orientation even in poor lighting conditions or even in total darkness. The Dreame L10 Ultra uses the LiDAR sensor to create a map of your home. There are also sensors on the underside. These are used in particular for carpet detection and are intended to prevent the robot vacuum from falling, as they detect chasms.
More exciting, however, is the sensor technology that sits on the front of the vacuum. Here, connoisseurs of the L10s will notice a crucial difference. For example, the eye-catching “AI Action” lettering is missing. This is supposed to ensure reliable object detection in the top model, which actually works well in many cases. Since the object detection is missing here, you will have to live with the smart household helper overlooking one or the other cable.
Consequently, you shouldn’t leave too many flat objects lying around on the floor for safety reasons. In direct comparison to the L10s Ultra, this might be noticeable. However, I personally did not dislike the orientation and object avoidance of the small vacuum. Thus, the L10 Ultra still scores with a very good navigation. The robot vacuum quickly and purposefully made its way around my apartment and reliably avoided furniture and larger objects. Accordingly, it can be attested a very good navigation capability with slight drawbacks.
Dreame L10 Ultra test: cleaning performance
- Thanks to 5,300 pascals great suction results
- Great mopping performance thanks to two rotating mopping pads
- Suction station with a wide range of functions
Of course, build quality and navigation also play a major role in robotic vacuum cleaners. But both are useless if the smart household helper can not convince in its core competence. And that is and remains the cleaning performance. We put the Dreame L10 Ultra’s suction and wiping performance under the microscope.
Suction performance
First, I focused on the suction performance of the robot vacuum. On paper, the Dreame L10 Ultra delivers a very good value with 5,300 pascals of suction power. This corresponds to the performance of the S model. The vacuum cleaner can also transfer this power wonderfully to the floor.
And it doesn’t matter whether the floor is tile, wood or carpet. In the test, the robot left behind partly terrific cleaning results. Even stubborn cat litter was no problem for it. It also removed pet hair from parquet and carpet floors. I could not determine any performance differences in direct comparison to the L10s Ultra.
Mopping
For a long time, classic mopping by mop or steam cleaner could unfortunately only be replaced more badly than right by vacuum robots with mopping function. A real gamechanger was the release of the Roborock S7 (test). This lets its mop surface vibrate on the underside and applies pressure to the floor. This revolutionized the wiping results. The Yeedi Mop Station (test) took a different approach. Here, two rotating mops are used. With this concept, the mop results come even closer to the conventional manual swinging of a mop.
Consequently, it’s not surprising that more and more manufacturers are now relying on the two gyrating mops in their flagships. Thus, we have not only seen them on the Dreame L10S Ultra, but may now find them on the L10 as well. And that pays off. After all, the vacuuming and mopping robot offers a strong mopping performance thanks to its rotating mops, which are pressed onto the floor with force. The results beat other mid-range models by a long way. However, since these mostly rely on rigid mop plates, this comes as little surprise.
If the Dreame L10 Ultra then ever encounters a carpeted floor, it can navigate it without wetting it unnecessarily. This is where the practical carpet detection in combination with the lifting function comes into play. If the L10 detects a carpet, it raises its mops a bit without further ado. Even some flagships like the Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNI (test) cannot do that. This one does detect carpeting, but bypasses it completely to avoid wetting it. However, the feature does not apply to long-floor carpets whose fibers are longer than 7 mm. If you want to prevent wetting here, you can’t avoid dismounting the mop pads.
Suction station
The suction station lives up to the name “Ultra”. Whereby the term suction station actually does not go far enough. After all, this offers so much more. For one thing, it namely vacuums the debris collected by the L10 after each cleaning tour and collects it in the integrated dust bag. This may be quite noisy, but since it only lasts a few seconds, it hardly bothers. There is quite a lot of space in the dust bag itself.
Dreame says that thanks to the capacity, you only need to replace the dust bag about every one to two months. Again, I’m sorry to say that vacuum bags seem to be making a comeback. After all, you can hardly find any vacuum stations that manage without one. Of course, this has advantages for hygienic cleaning and also protects the mucous membranes of allergy sufferers. However, the whole thing is definitely not sustainable.
Cleaning the wiping pads
If you open the lid of the station, you get two more containers to face. These are the dirt and fresh water tanks of the L10 Ultra. In practice, the robotic vacuum cleaner returns to the station at certain intervals during the cleaning tour. Here, the suction station cleans and moistens the mop pads with fresh water. The resulting dirty water is extracted and ends up in the dirty water tank.
How often the robot returns to the station while cleaning depends on the intervals you set in the app. The more frequent this is, the more intensive and moist the cleaning is. After cleaning, the L10 returns to its station. Here, the dust is vacuumed and the wiping pads are cleaned vigorously once again.
After cleaning is complete, the station then dries the circular wiping surfaces again with hot air. This takes a while, but is definitely worth it. After all, this is how you prevent bacteria and foul odors from forming. However, if the noise bothers you, you can shorten the drying phase in the app. Thus, the station of the L10 Ultra offers exactly the same features as the S model.
Dreame L10 Ultra review: app control
Of course, the Dreame L10 Ultra also offers app control. You are spoiled for choice here. Either you use the classic Xiaomi Home app or the in-house and still quite fresh Dreamehome app. In practice, both offer pretty much the same range of features and are pleasantly intuitive. To pair your device with the app, you have to connect it to your network in the app. That was wonderfully straightforward. In terms of app scope, the L10 Ultra doesn’t reinvent the wheel either. That means you primarily make detailed settings for cleaning here.
Among other things, this includes setting cleaning times as well as the suction and wiping level. Certain areas can be wiped only, vacuumed only or both, depending on your preference. To be able to select certain areas at all, a map creation is of course also part of the functional scope. You then use the map created during the smart home assistant’s first tour as a basis. The automatic room recognition is particularly practical.
In my apartment, this worked very well. If that’s not the case for you, you can also create rooms manually. In the map, you can then not only select certain areas to clean, but create no-go areas on top of that. For example, you can prevent your pets from being disturbed while eating at their feeding station. In addition to the app itself, the voice control also ensures a high level of operating convenience. Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant are supported here.
Conclusion: More is not possible at the price
After a detailed test of the Dreame L10 Ultra, I am left with not much more to say than: Wow. The vacuum robot including suction station offers everything that a flagship must be able to do. And with an MSRP of less than 900 Euros, it costs significantly less than many models from the flagship competition. The latter, in turn, even have to admit defeat to the stylish white robot vacuum combo in some disciplines. Of course, the most exciting comparison is with the 100 euro more expensive L10s Ultra.
In terms of suction and mopping performance, as well as ease of use, the two are on par. The range of functions of the suction station as well as the build quality is also on the highest level for both. However, you have to do without object recognition in the L10 Ultra. Parents in particular should keep this in mind, since their children like to leave their toys on the floor. However, this is really acceptable in my opinion and only justifies deductions in the B grade. So all that remains for me to say is that the Dreame L10 Ultra is one of the best robotic vacuum cleaners I have ever had the pleasure of testing.
Dreame L10 Ultra
Design & workmanship
Cleaning performance
Usability
Value for money
97/100
The Dreame L10 Ultra is the new top performer in terms of price-performance ratio!
