Household robots make life easier for all of us. For example, vacuum robots simplify the weekly cleaning of the apartment immensely. After all, they autonomously take care of the cleanliness of your floors, which means that, in the best case, you only have to do “cosmetic work” in corners and niches. Especially in combination with an extraction station, the smart household helpers offer high user comfort. After all, you don’t have to worry about emptying the dust container every few days. In today’s Ultenic TS1 test, we want to take a look at a pleasantly inexpensive model. Can this stand up to the high-priced competition from Ecovacs, Roborock and co.
Specifications
| Suction force | 3,000 pascals |
| Suction levels | Quiet, Standard and Strong (1,000, 2,000 and 3,000 Pascal) |
| Maximum volume | 65 dB |
| Battery life | Up to 150 minutes |
| Battery capacity | 3,000 mAh |
| Sensors and Navigation | 3D TOF camera, anti-collision sensors, fall sensors, carpet sensor, |
| Wipe function | Yes, 2x rotating wiping pads |
| Operation | Remote control or app |
| Price | € 399.99 * |
Scope of delivery
Ultenic is surprisingly generous with its robot vacuum cleaner. In particular, I find the inclusion of consumables such as replacement filters very commendable. This way, you don’t get into the predicament of having to buy new accessories too quickly. Included with the smart household helper are:
- Suction robot
- Suction station
- 3x dust bags
- 1x replacement vacuum cleaner filter
- 1x replacement side brush
- 4x mop glider
- 1x cleaning tool
- 1x remote control
Ultenic TS1 review: design and workmanship
- Compact design
- Combination of glossy and matte black
- Omission of LiDAR makes for low profile
The first look is at the Ultenic TS1 itself. And this turns out quite unexciting. The device is immediately recognizable as a vacuum robot, not least because of its round design. A look at the top makes it clear that we are in a rather cheaper market segment here. After all, the manufacturer does without the iconic turret with LiDAR sensor. Instead, we see two buttons here as well as the WiFi light that signals a connection to the Internet. One button can be used to turn the robot vacuum on and off. The other, in turn, lets you send it back to its base station at the touch of a button.
Ultenic relies on touch-sensitive buttons here, rather than buttons with haptic feedback. Whether you like this is of course a matter of taste. Personally, I prefer the physical buttons that are still installed in flagships like a Roborock S8. The replacement for the missing LiDAR technology then works on the front of the smart household helper. A laser camera is used for orientation. We will take a look at how this affects navigation later. One thing is certain, however: the lack of LiDAR results in a low overall height. This allows the vacuum to get under very flat furniture.
Additional sensors are located on the rear panel. These come into play when entering the base station and prevent collisions in interaction with further proximity sensors. The container for fresh water and dust is also located at the rear. The sensor package is rounded off with drop sensors on the underside. Here we also find a side brush as well as the main brush. I don’t find it bad that Ultenic does without a solid rubber main brush, considering the price. A second side brush, however, it could have been gladly.
Ultenic TS1 test: suction station with a minimalist look
With the TS1, Ultenic goes along with the trend of so-called suction stations. These take care of emptying the collected dust and other dirt on their own and only need to be emptied about once a month. As practical as this concept may be, the implementation is sometimes ugly and clunky. Especially in the mid-range, which we are undoubtedly in here, you often have to deal with flashy and not too attractive stations. It is all the more pleasing that Ultenic takes a different path. For example, the suction station is pleasingly compact.
Given the low height and width, you’ll get this one to fit even in small niches in your home. Just as minimalistic as the design is the control option on the station. You won’t find any buttons here. This makes the focus on the operation via app or the included practical remote control clear. A look at the station’s entrance reveals the functions. You can not only see the charging points where the robot vacuum recharges its battery reserves. On top of that, you can see the entrance for the automatic emptying of the waste.
The station is not capable of more. However, you can’t expect more at this price. After all, all-in-one solutions with an additional dirt and fresh water tank for cleaning the wiping unit, such as the Ecovacs Deebot T20 OMNI (test) or Roborock S8 Pro Ultra (test) cost 1,000 euros upwards. If regular moistening of the wiping surfaces is important to you, but you want a similarly compact base station, the Narwal Freo (test) might be something for you. This one does without the suction function, but cleans the wiping unit at regular intervals.
Ultenic TS1 test: navigation
- 3D TOF camera for navigation
- Drop and carpet sensors on the bottom
- Anti-collision sensors
As already mentioned, the Ultenic TS1 does without a LiDAR sensor. Instead, a TOF-3D camera works here at the front, which serves the smart household helper for orientation and navigation. It seems to do its job quite well. However, you should not expect any miracles. The robot finds its way around your own four walls quite well. However, in direct comparison to models with LiDAR sensors, it needs significantly more time to map your home.
The proximity sensors also worked quite reliably. During testing, the TS1 had only one collision with my couch. Thanks to commercially available bumpers, however, neither the couch nor the robot came to any harm. Incidentally, the fall sensors also detect the nature of the surface. Accordingly, the robot vacuum also offers carpet detection. This ensures that the robot skilfully bypasses carpets during mopping to avoid wetting.
Finally, the two wiping mops are not liftable. The object recognition of the TS1 is satisfactory, but you shouldn’t rely too much on it. It happened once or twice in the test that the vacuum robot sucked in shoelaces or a charging cable, whereupon the main brush got tangled. In the best case, you simply clear such obstacles from the floor when you send the smart household helper on a cleaning tour.
Ultenic TS1 review: suction performance
- A total of three suction levels (1,000, 2,000 and 3,000 Pascal)
- Limited suction power provides only satisfactory results
- Collected dust is extracted in suction station
Let’s take a look at the performance on hard and carpeted floors. After all, the quality of a vacuum robot naturally stands and falls with the cleaning performance. The Ultenic TS1 offers a total of three different suction levels to choose from. In the “Quiet” mode, you get 1,000 Pascal. In the standard mode, it’s 2,000 Pascal. The strongest mode again offers 3,000 Pascal. These are by no means top rates. The T20 OMNI and Roborock S8 Pro offer twice the performance with a proud 6,000 Pascals. However, you have to keep the price in mind here, of course.
After I felt that the performance of the TS1 in “Quiet” mode was quite underpowered, I quickly switched to standard mode. Again, of course, don’t expect miracles. I would describe the results as solid. What I noticed in the test was that the smart household helper left a few dust particles here and there. Especially joints in the tile floor, but also the corner between baseboard and floor posed a problem. This can certainly be attributed to the too low suction power. After all, a strong vacuum cannot be created here.
If you want to mitigate this problem a bit, you should switch to the strongest mode. However, you’ll have to live with the device emitting a significantly higher operating volume here. In fact, despite half the power of the flagships, I sometimes found it to be significantly more annoying in terms of noise. At the latest on carpeted floors with medium to long pile, the TS1 starts to stumble. Large dust and dirt residues sometimes remain here. If you mainly have hard floors in your own four walls, you’ll get a satisfactory, but not good suction result here.
Ultenic TS1 test: mopping performance
- 2x rotating wiping pads provide good wiping results
- Carpet sensors allow the TS1 to avoid carpets
- Water flow rate customizable in app
The Ultenic TS1 surprised me especially with its wiping function. Honestly, I would not have expected it. After all, given the price, I assumed that the manufacturer placed here a simple wiping pad, which experience has shown to work more bad than good. But far from it. Similar to a Yeedi Floor 3 Station (test), an Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNI (test) or a Dreame L10s Ultra (test), two rotating mops are used here. The results of both mops are quite good. However, you should consider a few points for a good result.
Before each cleaning session with a wiping cycle, you should wet the two mops by hand beforehand. Otherwise, it will take too long for them to absorb enough water through the water flow from the fresh water tank. Furthermore, you should rinse the mops thoroughly after each cleaning cycle. In the best case, you should throw them into the washing machine. Since Ultenic includes a pair of spare mops, you can easily switch between the Duos. You should also make sure that the water tank is always well filled. Last but not least, it is important to adjust the water flow rate in the app.
Especially on stone floors or vinyl, you should set them quite high. This is especially the case if stubborn stains are given. If you pay attention to the points, the results can be quite respectable. However, models with a separate “washing function” in the base station are clearly superior. This is because the wiping unit is rinsed thoroughly at regular intervals during a cleaning tour. Thus, these do not carry the dirt collected at the beginning until the end.
Ultenic TS1 review: app operation
If you decide against app control for the Ultenic TS1, you’ll have to live with a severely limited feature set – even with handy remote control. For this reason, I advise you to download and use the app available for iOS and Android devices. The setup is very easy via this app. To connect the robot vacuum to the app, you first have to select the TS1 in the app’s device list. Then you just have to turn on the vacuum cleaner and follow the instructions on the smartphone or tablet display. Once you have set it up, you can use the app. Its range of functions is reminiscent of the usual suspects.
Here you can always see the current status of the robot vacuum cleaner, including the battery level and the history of the last cleaning tour. In addition, you can easily start a cleaning session or send the robot back to the charging station by pressing the smartphone display. You can also adjust the suction level and the water flow rate of the TS1. The map created by the robot can also be used to define virtual walls and no-go areas or targeted cleaning areas. It is also possible to clean specific rooms. The smart household helper automatically divides up the rooms. If this does not correspond to reality, you can simply make adjustments here.
Ultenic TS1 test: maintenance and battery life
When it comes to ease of use, you should also by no means underestimate the maintenance and staying power of a robot vacuum cleaner. The Ultenic TS1 is very easy to clean. On the one hand, this is due to the fact that the most important elements here can be dismantled very easily. This is especially practical if something gets tangled in the main brush. This is also where the cleaning tool, which is included by the manufacturer, comes in handy. This can be used not only to cut through hair. The brush, on the other hand, is best suited for removing dust from the sensors. As already mentioned, you should also always keep the two mops clean. Otherwise, the wiping function works more poorly than well. Thanks to the suction station, you don’t have to worry about emptying the dust container.
Nevertheless, you should ensure cleanliness here at regular intervals with an extra portion of water. Otherwise, foul odors can develop over time. However, the dust container should dry extensively before reinsertion. The battery life surprised me very positively in the test. It easily cleaned two floors of my house (approx. 100 m² total area) with one charge in standard mode. There was also just under 50 percent of the total battery capacity left. I assume that this is primarily due to the rather low suction power. After all, experience shows that this consumes the most energy in a robot vacuum. Once the battery is empty, it can be recharged quickly. Within just under 2 hours, the battery level grew from 20 to 100 percent.
Conclusion
For a price of just under 460 euros, the Ultenic TS1 offers a satisfactory overall package. It is actually only the rather weak suction performance that disappointed me in the test. However, the wiping performance surprised me all the more positively. The two rotating mops perform really well on hard floors. The compact, restrained design and the good workmanship also score points with me. All in all, it is a good, but not outstanding vacuum robot.
Ultenic TS1
Workmanship & design
Hardware
Performance
Value for money
86/100
The Ultenic TS1 is a solid vacuum robot that offers high user comfort at a fair price.
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