Innovative design that minimizes maintenance

The SwitchBot S10 offers an innovative take on how robot vacuums work. Unlike many premium models that come with all-in-one docks to care for the robot and the mops, the S10 splits these functions into two separate stations. The first is dedicated to charging and dust-emptying, while the other is a sleek water station that connects directly to your household’s water supply and drainage, significantly reducing the need for manual intervention.

In a crowded market, the SwitchBot S10 presents a uniquely innovative approach to home cleaning. Let’s see if this innovative design makes it a better robot cleaner than its competition.

Price, availability, and specs

The SwitchBot S10 is available on SwitchBot’s online store and Amazon for $1,200. A coupon currently brings its price down to just $900, making it a better purchase overall. If you can’t, or don’t want to, connect it to your water pipes, an optional kit with external water tanks will be available in the coming weeks for $80.

What’s good about the SwitchBot S10?

Cleans it own mop

The SwitchBot S10 features two distinct docks: a self-emptying dock that also serves as a charging station and a water station. The latter takes up minimal space and is exclusively for water refilling and draining. It’s designed to fit under furniture or even kitchen baseboards and doesn’t require a power outlet, as it uses an internal battery. Once connected directly to your water pipes, the robot can drain and refill its water tanks without your help.

SwitchBot ships the S10 with different connectors and seals, ensuring it’s compatible with any household water supply and draining pipes. To reiterate, you can also buy external water tanks that plug into the water station if you don’t want to connect it to your pipes.

What’s more, the S10’s brush roller is designed like those found on wet-dry vacuums, like the Roborock Dyad Pro Combo. This means it comes with a built-in scraper and self-cleaning capabilities. This is a significant advantage, as the robot doesn’t have to return to the dock frequently to wash its mop.

Speaking of, the S10 washes and dries its mop roller brush internally, reducing the need to return to the station. In fact, it only goes to the water station to refill and drain its tanks, which helps make the overall design much more compact.

What’s more, the SwitchBot S10’s design significantly reduces the amount of maintenance required. Since the docks are only used to empty the dust bin and drain and refill the water tank, there’s no need to maintain them. This is very different from most of its competitors, which require frequent washing of the dock baseplates.

The self-cleaning roller brush also minimizes manual cleaning efforts, as it washes and dries inside the robot without soiling the dock.

Additionally, the bristleless brush helps prevent hair tangles, further simplifying maintenance. The dedicated water station also connects to the running water, which ensures routine tasks such as emptying dust and refilling water are automated. You only need to occasionally replace the dust bag, refill the cleaning solution, and clean the filter, making the S10 a low-maintenance option for busy households.

What’s bad about the SwitchBot S10?

Not the best mop

Despite being innovative, the S10’s mopping system doesn’t yield good results. Since it uses a brush roller instead of a flat mop or pads, it’s less effective than I expected. The brush roller doesn’t apply enough pressure or moisture to tackle dry and hard stains effectively. The water distribution is also uneven on the floor, leaving some areas dry after cleaning.

\The robot also lacks some of the advanced features modern robot vacuums have, such as extending mops and brushes to clean alongside baseboards and in the corners, such as the Roborock Qrevo MaxV. Also, while most modern flagship robot vacuums come with hot water mop washing, the S10 doesn’t offer that option, which could have added extra hygiene. That being said, it does dry the mop using hot air.

Besides the poor cleaning performance, the SwitchBot S10 is incredibly noisy, perhaps one of the noisiest I’ve tested. Its wheels and motor produce significant noise, making it particularly noticeable already. Worse, the mopping mode is especially loud, producing a constant noise, which is disruptive if you’re working or trying to wind down. The vacuuming modes are slightly quieter, but it’s unacceptable for a robot to be this loud.

In addition, the S10 struggles with obstacle detection and behaves as if it doesn’t have a proper detection system in place. During testing, it behaved like it relied only on LiDAR to sense obstacles despite clearly visible sensors at the front.

It frequently bumps into furniture legs and other objects placed in its path, even pushing them while vacuuming or mopping. Worse still, if you leave cables on the floor, it will vacuum them up, potentially causing serious damage.

Lastly, the app experience to control the S10 is a bit too basic and lacks some advanced features. While it allows for map customization, cleaning schedules, and adjusting suction power and water levels, it falls short in several areas. For instance, it doesn’t list obstacles sensed during the cleaning cycle or offer off-peak charging. Customization options are also limited, especially for cleaning settings, such as mop dampness or self-cleaning frequency.

Should you buy it?

The SwitchBot S10 offers a fresh take on robotic vacuums with its dual docking system and innovative water station, significantly reducing the need for human intervention. It excels in convenience and maintenance, with features like self-cleaning and automatic refilling that set it apart from many competitors.

However, the S10’s mopping system is less effective on tough stains, and it struggles to detect and avoid obstacles, which can be frustrating in a cluttered home environment. Then there’s its noisy operation, which can be a significant drawback for those who need a quieter cleaning device.

If you’re looking for a robot vacuum cleaner that delivers excellent cleaning performance while also minimizing maintenance by connecting to your water pipes, consider the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra instead. Its dock may require a bit more manual intervention, but the overall cleaning experience will be well worth it.