SwitchBot S10 Review

SwitchBot S10: Introduction

• Type: Robot vacuum cleaner with mop
• cosmic union: Dock option connecting to water and waste
• Navigation system: LiDAR

SwitchBot is a company I have a lot of time for, creating products that are different from everyone else’s and really doing things differently.

That approach certainly applies to the SwitchBot S10 robot vacuum, which has a docking station attached so it can fill and empty automatically.

Unlike the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra and Yeedi Mop Station Pro, which do some of the dirty work for you by draining dirty water from the cleaner and replacing it with clean water from a tank, but still require you to empty and fill. tanks periodically, the SwitchBot S10 takes care of all your water needs.

This is because it comes with a water station that, just like a dishwasher or washing machine does in your home, connects directly to the cold water supply and drains.

When it was first announced in September last year at IFA, there was nothing like it on the market, but Roborock now offers connected dock options like the S8 MaxV Ultra and Qrevo Slim, and other brands have introduced it too. to their lineups.

Combined with the normal self-emptying station, SwitchBot says the S10 can run for two months without any manual intervention.

With additional devices including a humidifier and dehumidifier, this S10 is more than just a robot vacuum cleaner; It is an aid that helps maintain indoor air quality.

It’s very good at best, but a slightly complicated setup routine and some complicated configuration options hold it back a bit.

Read our full SwitchBot S10 review to learn more.

Design and components

It’s not uncommon to see a robot vacuum with a self-emptying and self-cleaning docking station, like the Dreame L40 Ultra or the Roborock Qrevo Slim. The SwitchBot S10 combines things by having two separate docking stations.

The main one is the self-emptying station, which looks very similar to those from any other manufacturer.

This requires huge 4 liter bags, which are enough for two months of dirt, if not more. Replacements cost $15/£15 per pack of four, which is pretty good value.

Then there’s the freestanding scrubbing station, which is designed to fit under a kitchen cabinet door, in front of the baseboard.

This docking station is connected to your water supply, for fresh water and drainage, and can be filled with detergent to increase cleaning power. There is no need for power, as the SwitchBot S10 provides it when docked, recharging the docking station’s battery.

Just keep in mind that the docking station may come with a dead battery, preventing the robot from finding it after initial setup. I had to manually charge my mop station via its USB-C port for it to work, something the manual doesn’t mention.

If you don’t have an easily accessible drain and water outlet, SwitchBot sells an optional add-on kit for the mopping station that adds water tanks.

At $80/£80, this add-on is quite expensive and means you’ll end up with two bulky docks to fit instead of one. If you are not going to use the integrated option, a robot that has an all-in-one base makes much more sense.

Since the SwitchBot S10 uses the mopping station to fill with fresh dirty water and empty it, the robot can do some clever things with the optional add-ons: the humidifier and dehumidifier.

With the humidifier, the SwitchBot S10 can fill its tank with fresh water and then automatically recharge the humidifier tank; With the dehumidifier, the robot can empty the tank and pump the water through the drain pipes.

It’s a very smart idea if you fancy either device and don’t want to have to do any manual maintenance.

The main robot vacuum is similar to many others, with a LiDAR dome on top and buttons to start a clean and return to the base.

There’s also a camera on the front, which is used with AI to avoid common obstacles, with varying degrees of success.

Inside there is a small container that can be removed for cleaning and also washing the filter.

Below that is the familiar view of a side brush and main brush bar for agitating and removing dirt from hard floors and carpets.

Instead of microfiber mops, the SwitchBot S10 has a roller. Fresh water is put over the roller and then a squeegee removes dirt and water and stores it in a separate tank. It is a similar system to those used by hard floor cleaners and the Eufy Omni S1 Pro.

Here, the roller on the SwitchBot S10 is not as wide as that of the S1 Pro, and there is a large gap between the roller and the edge of the robot.

When a carpet is detected, the roller can be raised 7mm off the floor, allowing the SwitchBot S10 to roll over a low-pile carpet with the risk of getting it wet.

the application

• Many cleaning options.
• Needs careful adjustment to get the best clean.

Control of the SwitchBot S10 is done through the SwitchBot app, which houses all of the company’s products, such as the SwitchBot Lock Pro.

Once detected, the robot must perform mapping to discover its surroundings and automatically locate rooms based on where it thinks they should go.

If the robot makes a mistake, rooms can be easily split and merged, and there’s the option to set no-go zones if there are places you don’t want the SwitchBot S10 to go, and no-mop zones if you have delicate floors. You don’t want to get wet.

After running the mapping, I had to draw a box around the approximate location where the mopping station was, and then the SwitchBot S10 goes out to find it.

As mentioned above, make sure the mop station has enough power, or the S10 won’t be able to find it and will throw an error.

Multiple maps are supported, but if you want the SwitchBot S10 to mop on multiple floors, you’ll need multiple mopping stations.

Before starting cleaning, it is worth entering the advanced settings. I found that the Reduce Collision mode was activated, which has the explanation: “Once activated, your robot will avoid cleaning corners and edges on the map.”

It’s hard to think why such a mode would be useful. When I have a robot vacuum cleaner, I want it to clean everywhere.

Cleaning options include selecting one or two passes, a choice of four suction settings and two water mopping levels, and these can be set for all rooms or you can vary the settings room by room.

There are also options to vacuum alone or vacuum and mop at the same time.

For cleaning, I could select the SwitchBot S10 to select the entire map, rooms of my choice, or an area I drew on the map.

Performance

• Powerful suction
• Deep mopping
• Edge cleaning is not very good

There is 6500 Pa suction power available, which positions the SwitchBot S10 as a solid mid-range vacuum cleaner.

This is noticeable in everyday cleaning, especially on carpets: lighter spills and general dirt are easily picked up, but the robot cannot vacuum the dirt from the carpet fibers.

I found that mopping outdoors is very good. The roller does a brilliant job of picking up dirt and physically removing it. Even the toughest stains, like dried ketchup, were removed in four passes.

It’s the cutting-edge performance that lets the team down. I found that even with reduced collision mode disabled, the SwitchBot S10 had difficulty getting close to kitchen baseboards and baseboards, leaving behind a lot of mess. This happens with both the vacuum cleaner and the mop, where the small roller leaves a fairly large cleaning space.

Navigation is generally very good, although I found the AI’s obstacle avoidance a bit hit and miss – the SwitchBot S10 managed to avoid my fake pet’s mess, but ran into a cable and got tangled.

Battery life is 140 minutes on the lowest power setting, but even on higher power settings there is enough power to cover an average-sized floor with two passes.

I measured the SwitchBot S10 at 65.8 dB, making it relatively quiet for a robot. That is, you can hear it clearly, but the S10 isn’t too distracting to have running while you’re in the same room.

Final thoughts

The SwitchBot S10 is certainly different from the competition and promises a broader hands-free future with a dehumidifier and humidifier.

It’s a decent vacuum and a great mop for open floors, but it’s not the best for cleaning edges, and having two bases instead of one isn’t necessarily as convenient. At this price, the slightly cheaper Dreame L40 Ultra is a better overall robot vacuum.

how we test

When we publish our reviews, you can be sure that they are the result of “living with” long-term testing.

Cleaning robots typically live within an ecosystem or range of products that supposedly work in harmony. And they are designed to offer a variety of different cleaning options. It is therefore impossible to use a robot cleaner for a week and give a verdict.

Because we test the smart home kit all day, every day, we know what matters and how a particular smart cleaning machine compares to alternatives you might also be considering.

Our reviews are complete, objective and fair, and of course, we are never paid directly to review a device.

Read our guide on how we test robot vacuums to learn more.