With the SwitchBot S20, SwitchBot is launching another robot vacuum on the market. The manufacturer advertises it as an automatic all-round device with powerful functions such as 10,000 Pa suction power, automatic mop cleaning, intelligent navigation with AI obstacle detection and Matter integration. How does the S20 perform in everyday use? What are its strengths and weaknesses? We’ll tell you in the SwitchBot S20 test.
Technical data
| Model | SwitchBot S20 |
| Suction power | 10.000 Pascal |
| Robot vacuum cleaner dimensions | 365 × 365 × 115 mm |
| Weight of | Robot vacuum cleaner: 5.5 kg Cleaning station: 5.2 kg |
| Navigation | dToF-LiDAR |
| Obstacle detection | – AI camera – IR sensor – PSD on the side |
| Cleaning station functions | – Mop wash (cold water) – Suction function – Hot air drying (50°C) – Refueling of fresh water tank – Suction of dirty water |
| Water tank volume | Fresh water: 2.5 l Dirty water: 2.5 l |
| Mop lifting height | 7 mm |
| Smart home compatibility | Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple HomeKit, Matter |
| Rechargeable battery | 4,000 mAh (approx. 4h for full charge) |
| Price | € 467.49 * |
Scope of delivery
- SwitchBot S20 robot vacuum cleaner
- Cleaning station (MultiClean Station)
- Floor protection mat
- Cleaning solution
- Cleaning tool
- Operating instructions
SwitchBot S20 test: design and workmanship
The robot vacuum comes in the usual circular design, measures 365 × 365 × 115 mm according to the manufacturer and weighs around 5.5 kg. The station weighs around 5.2 kg. Visually, the S20 makes a relatively solid but robust impression. The workmanship is of high quality. The edges of the housing are cleanly finished and there are no noticeable gaps or burrs.
The station also appears stable and solidly built. The design of the S20 is somewhat bulkier than other robot hoovers. In very confined spaces, this can lead to restrictions – for example when moving in and out of narrow areas. The overall height of over 11 cm ensures that it cannot reach the area under very flat furniture.
The height is no coincidence, but is partly due to the wiper roller called RevoRoll. On the other hand, the LiDAR tower on the top makes for an even higher housing. It would have helped to do without a LiDAR tower here, such as on the Ecovacs Deebot X11 OmniCyclone (Review | € 936.14 *). There are also three buttons on the top for rudimentary control.
You can access the on/off switch and dust container under a maintenance flap. An AI camera is located at the front, which is used for obstacle detection. At the back, there are not only the charging contacts, but also the inlet and outlet for the robot’s dirt and fresh water tank. On the underside, in addition to the main and side brushes, we also see the mopping roller, which is used for the mopping function.
The MultiClean Station matches the robot vacuum perfectly. The rather small water tanks are located on the top. You can access the dust bag via the flap at the front. There is also a practical storage area for the bottle of cleaning agent. The robot is parked in the lower area and is supplied with fresh water or freed from dirty water.
The ventilation slots are also located here, through which the station blows out hot air to dry the mop roller of the robot hoover. The power cable is located at the back. Unfortunately, this is permanently installed, which makes it impossible to connect an alternative cable. Both the robot vacuum and the cleaning station impress with their stylish appearance and high build quality.
SwitchBot S20 test: SwitchBot App
Operation is primarily via the SwitchBot app. This is also where you set up the SwitchBot S20. In practice, this is quick and straightforward. The robot hoover was quickly recognized by the app and could be transferred to my network without any problems.
You should then initiate the initial mapping. Once this is done, you can further customize the map in the app. In general, there are many setting options here.
The app offers functions such as:
- Map overview and room assignment
- Cleaning modes (vacuum only, vacuum + mop etc.)
- Settings for mop cleaning and rinsing
- Schedules and automations
- Control via voice assistants (Matter, Alexa, Google etc.)
- Child lock and safety functions
An important plus point: the S20 supports Matter, which allows direct integration into Apple’s HomeKit and other smart home systems. Support for Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant is of course also available. The app itself not only offers a great overview. It also ran stably at all times during the test.
SwitchBot S20 test: navigation and obstacle detection
The S20 uses a combination of LiDAR / dToF (distance-measuring laser system) for mapping and AI camera & infrared sensors for obstacle detection. Navigation is usually reliable during operation. The robot scans rooms, creates a fairly detailed map and systematically follows parallel paths in cleaning practice. It generally works efficiently and avoids overlapping paths to a large extent. Obstacle detection, on the other hand, is only adequate.
In the test, the SwitchBot S20 overlooked even larger objects such as my coffee cup. Only my sports shoe was recognized and avoided by the AI camera. It is therefore not surprising that small obstacles such as cables or mini toys were generally overlooked. The robot even ate a small rubber dinosaur. This then resulted in a blocked main brush. Even though the SwitchBot correctly marked some objects on the app’s map, the AI recognition can by no means keep up with flagship models such as a Narwhal Flow (Review | € 1,299.00 *).
Collisions also occur quite frequently in practice. Thanks to the bumper at the front, damage does not occur, but it can still be annoying. There were also minor problems in the area of bottlenecks. Here, the Robo sometimes seems overwhelmed, which is why route planning can be inaccurate. SwitchBot doesn’t pull up any trees when it comes to climbing abilities. According to the manufacturer, it should be able to overcome obstacles up to a height of around 20 mm.
Flagship models such as a Dreame X50 Ultra (Review | € 888.00 *) can overcome obstacles with a height of 60 mm. The S20 also supports carpet detection. If the sensors detect carpeting, not only is the suction power increased to the maximum. It also raises its mopping roller by 7 mm to avoid moistening the carpet. However, this lifting height is far from sufficient for every carpet.
SwitchBot S20 test: Practice
| Discipline | Points |
| Vacuuming hard floor | 98/100 |
| Vacuuming short pile carpet | 90/100 |
| Vacuuming long pile carpet | 85/100 |
| Mopping performance | Satisfactory |
| Obstacle detection | Sufficient to Satisfactory |
| Self-cleaning | Satisfactory |
Suction power
According to the manufacturer, the S20 offers 10,000 Pa suction power and therefore significantly more power than its predecessor. The suction power is perfectly adequate on hard floors. In our test, the SwitchBot was able to suck up almost all the oat flakes from the vinyl floor. However, it had problems in the corners.
Here, the S20 simply lacks an extendable side brush or a comparable system. The results on carpets were satisfactory to good. While short-pile carpets did not pose a major problem, a lot was unfortunately left behind on long-pile carpets. The carpet sensors also worked reliably.
The S20 reliably increased the suction power and lifted the cleaning roller at the same time. Its handling of hair is also commendable. The fully rubberized main brush works quite reliably with long hair. Tangles therefore did not occur in my test.
Mopping performance
The SwitchBot S20 also comes with a mopping function. Like its predecessor, it relies on its own in-house mop roller called RevoRoll. This may rotate quickly at 300 revolutions per minute and scores with a contact pressure of 1 kg, but is unfortunately quite narrow. The mopping function does a solid job indoors. The roller was only unable to cope with heavily dried stains.
To prevent the S20 from carrying dirt from A to B on the floor, it repeatedly scrapes the roller during cleaning and the dirty water ends up in the integrated dirty water tank. Cleaning corners is also a problem here, as is cleaning around the edges. Dirt is simply not reached by the roller. SwitchBot could have solved this problem in two ways.
On the one hand, the manufacturer could have designed the roller to be wider. Models such as the eufy S1 Pro (Review | € 949.00 *) show how effective this is. Alternatively, SwitchBot could have installed an extendable roller that moves out to the edges. SwitchBot already had this problem with the S10, which is why I would like to see a revision for the S30.
Cleaning station
The SwitchBot S20 comes with a practical cleaning station. This reliably vacuums up the collected dirt. It also cleans the mopping roller – but in a different way to the competition. While most cleaning stations rely on a kind of cleaning tray in which the robot is rinsed, the SwitchBot S20’s self-cleaning function is reminiscent of that of conventional vacuum cleaners such as a MOVA X4 Pro (Review | € 399.00 *.
The mopping roller is not moistened by external nozzles in the station. Instead, water from the fresh water tank integrated in the Robo is used. This wets the roller and a kind of scraper removes the dirt from the roller. Everything first ends up in the dirty water tank of the smart household helper and is then vacuumed up by the station.
Unfortunately, hot water is not used to clean the mopping roller. Accordingly, you should regularly throw the roller into the washing machine to prevent bacteria from forming. Once the roller has been cleaned, it is dried with hot air at 50°C. In our temperature check, however, it was unfortunately only a good 40°C.
The MultiClean station from SwitchBot is much more compact than the current flagship models. However, the compact design also has a disadvantage. After all, the volume of the water tanks is quite small. This means that you may have to refill the fresh water tank after every cleaning session in larger homes. If this bothers you, you can also buy the S20 as a model with a fixed water connection.
SwitchBot S20 test: SwitchBot S20 vs. SwitchBot S10
Slowly but surely, SwitchBot’s robot vacuum portfolio is growing. In addition to compact models such as the SwitchBot K11+ (Review | € 239.98 *), the manufacturer also offers larger models such as the SwitchBot S20 that we tested. This joins the SwitchBot S10 (Review | € 499.00 *). And the successor does a lot better.
With 10,000 Pascal, the S20 offers significantly stronger suction power. By comparison, the S10 only offers 6500 Pascal. This is particularly noticeable when cleaning carpets. The mopping system has also been intensively improved. Although both appliances use the RevoRoll system, the S20 generates around 300 revolutions per minute and applies an additional 1 kg of pressure to the floor. This should help with stubborn stains in particular.
The S10 has two separate base stations. Fortunately, the S20 has streamlined this concept by combining the suction and cleaning stations in its MultiClean system. In terms of smart home integration, the S20 comes with Matter 1.4 ex works. The S10 only works with Matter 1.2, which limits the possible uses. Unfortunately, nothing has changed in terms of navigation and obstacle detection.
Conclusion
With the SwitchBot S20, SwitchBot is trying to shake up the upper middle class of robot vacuums, but fails in several areas. It starts with the suction power. With 10,000 Pascal, the manufacturer simply lags behind the competition. While the performance can shine on hard floors, it is somewhat weak on carpets. This is especially true for long-pile carpets. In corners, you can also feel that the side brush unfortunately cannot be extended. The RevoRoll mopping system with rotating roller cleans thoroughly and evenly, but disappoints in the edges and corners.
While the navigation via LiDAR and dToF works quite reliably, the obstacle detection via AI camera is disappointing. The SwitchBot app impresses with its stability and many setting options. Matter compatibility in turn enables integration for HomeKit, Alexa and Google Home. The MultiClean station scores points with its powerful suction function, but unfortunately does not use hot water to clean the mopping roller. At least there is hot air drying. Unfortunately, the water tanks are also somewhat small, which can be annoying in larger homes. All in all, however, the SwitchBot S20 proves to be a solid robot vacuum with weaknesses.
PRO
CONTRA
The SwitchBot S20 impresses with good suction power, Matter integration and a convenient app, but is weaker when it comes to obstacle detection and edge cleaning.
SwitchBot S20
Design & processing
Ease of use
Suction power
Wiping performance
Navigation and obstacle detection
Equipment
Price-performance ratio
87/100
