For a brand with such a strong reputation for market-leading products, the R10 Pro feels like a chink in Dreame's armor.

When it comes to design, maneuverability, and dust, it's a capable machine with glimpses of greatness as one of the best vacuums. It's one of the lightest and easiest-to-use stick vacuums I've tested, effortlessly gliding across floors. And for such an affordable device, smart features, such as LED lights and a handy lock button that keeps the vacuum running without you having to press the trigger, elevate it closer to more expensive models.

However, when it comes to providing a thorough deep clean, I was disappointed with this cordless vacuum's battery life and ability to tackle large messes. To find out if the Dreame R10 Pro could be the right vacuum model for your home, read on to explore my in-depth review.

My One Minute Verdict

Dreame products so often punch above their weight in terms of price and value, but with the R10 Pro you sadly get what you pay for.

If you have a smaller home or are looking for one of the best vacuums for pet hair that's light and easy to manage day to day, it's not a bad price to pay. Even on the super-quiet, less-powerful Eco mode, it clears fine debris in a single pass, and its Turbo mode is great for getting pet hair out of carpet fibers.

Beyond those everyday tasks, however, its limitations become difficult to ignore. Although Dreame claims up to 65 minutes of runtime, I managed just 25 minutes during mixed-mode testing, and even the brief use of Turbo mode drains the battery quickly. Large debris pickup is inconsistent, often requiring multiple passes and further extending cleaning time.

The vacuum won't stand securely without its wall mount, the modest 0.6L dust cup fills quickly, and debris repeatedly became trapped between the tube and dust cup, occasionally blocking suction. During one test, the dust cup even released unexpectedly, emptying its contents back onto the floor.

For those looking for a cordless vacuum for a larger home and to be able to tackle big cleans, I would recommend exploring options like the Dreame R20, which pairs a 90-minute runtime with a touchscreen display that takes the guesswork out of battery and suction mode, or the Shark Stratos cordless, which handles mixed debris smarter and more consistently.

Dreame R10 Pro: Specifications

Dreame R10 Pro: Design and Features

The Dreame R10 Pro doesn't veer too far from what you'd expect from a standard cordless stick vacuum. Its main unit sits on the top of a metal tube that connects to one of the vacuum's floorheads and attachments, and a transparent dust cup runs down the body of the handheld unit, so you can see how full it is.

You power the vacuum on and off using the trigger button on the underside of the main unit, and switch between the Eco, Med and Turbo modes using a slider switch on the top. A lock button keeps the vacuum running continuously without having to press the trigger, which makes a real difference during longer cleaning sessions, and there's a small LED dot alongside this button that lets you see how much battery life you have at a glance. It's lacking a more detailed display, but at this price point, that's not a surprise.

What was a pleasant surprise, however, was how much the R10 Pro's matte black design with gold accents elevates it well above its price, making it look more expensive than it is. At 3.64 lbs (1.65 kg) for the main unit, it's also on the lighter side for a cordless vacuum without sacrificing too much power.

Rather than a single multi-surface head, the R10 Pro comes with two interchangeable floorheads. The multi-surface brush uses V-shaped bristles and a comb design to grab hair and direct it up the tube rather than letting it tangle around the roller. The soft roller floorhead is added as a dedicated hard floor option, with a roller that picks up fine dust without scattering it across the room. Both floorheads have built-in LED lights at the front to help you see dust and debris, especially under furniture and in darker corners.

Beyond the floorheads, the kit includes a motorized mini-brush for upholstery and furnishings, a wide combination tool that acts as both a dusting brush and a crevice tool, a bendable crevice nozzle for tight and hard-to-reach spaces, and a short extension tube – all of which click on and off at the center of the tube with a button press.

Filtration is then managed by a five-layer washable filter system that Dreame claims captures 99.9% of particles down to 0.3 microns. It's not officially certified as HEPA-grade, but it comes close.

Inside the box is a wall-mounted bracket that stores the vacuum in an upright position. This is a necessity because the vacuum can't free-stand on its own; the floorhead doesn't lock into position and has a tendency to roll away or fall over. You'll also need to install this bracket near a plug as the charging cable doesn't stretch very far. Once plugged in, it takes around 3.5 hours to charge, but you only get up to 65 minutes of battery life on Eco mode (and less than 15 minutes on Turbo).

What Is the Dreame R10 Pro Like to Use?

The R10 Pro is easy to pick up and get going – there's no complicated setup and swapping between attachments is quick enough. The lack of dedicated storage for these attachments is disappointing but expected at this price.

In general cleaning terms, the R10 Pro handled day-to-day messes well, picking up pet hair from hard floors and low-pile carpet without fuss. The soft roller floorhead is quiet and smooth on hard floors, with no sense that it's going to scratch or drag across anything delicate, and it handles everyday debris – crumbs, dust, the odd bit of dried mud – without much effort.

On carpet, the vacuum works harder, and you feel a bit more resistance in the push, but it picks up well, and the suction is good. The anti-tangle design of the multi-surface floorhead largely holds up in everyday use too.

I liked having the option of the two floorheads, but storing the spare is a pain, and I almost exclusively ended up using the multi-surface head because it did the job well enough to not have to switch.

In use, the vacuum is light enough to carry upstairs or use for long periods. It can feel a little unbalanced when you're pushing it round the home because it's quite top-heavy, but this isn't a dealbreaker, and you soon get used to it.

The lock button is also a benefit for long cleans. Taking away the need to keep your finger on the trigger makes it maneuverable enough to get into corners and along baseboards without constantly repositioning yourself, plus the low-profile floorhead gets under most furniture without having to tilt the vacuum at an awkward angle.

What's not a benefit for long cleans is the poor battery life. For a vacuum this affordable, I didn't expect industry-leading runtimes, but I do think being able to do a full pass of my house in one run shouldn't be too much to ask. Dreame claims Eco mode lasts 65 minutes, and that holds true; however, in reality, Eco mode isn't strong enough to make a dent in pet hair or deeply clean. This means you have to ramp the vacuum up to Turbo periodically, and in my tests, I got (at most) 25 minutes switching between the two. For most everyday tasks and quick cleans, this will be ample, but for anything deeper or longer, you'll need to revert to a wired vacuum alternative or wait for the R10 Pro to charge.

The LED lights in the floorheads turned out to be more useful than I thought. They pick out dust along baseboards and under the sofa that I would have otherwise missed, and I found myself cleaning more thoroughly because of them – going over areas I would have assumed were fine and finding they weren't.

On noise, the R10 Pro is quiet enough on Eco, at 62dB, for someone to work comfortably in the next room. Turbo steps up the noise to 71dB on average, but the pitch is low, which makes it more gentle on the ears than I'd expected.

Compared to other cordless sticks I've tested at this price, the R10 Pro is impressive on pet hair in Turbo mode; the quality of the LED lighting stands out.

Where it falls is the lack of a freestanding dock, disappointing runtime, and mixed results between Eco and Turbo modes. Also, during one clean, the dust cup just opened by itself, pouring 10 minutes of dust and dirt back onto my floor.

Test 1: Flour and Sugar

To test how the R10 Pro handles fine debris, I scattered half a cup of flour and sugar in roughly a 50/50 split across carpet, hardwood, and laminate, spreading it over a wide enough area to clearly see the vacuum's path with each pass.

Flour and sugar work well because they mimic the kind of fine debris that builds up on floors between cleans and is often harder to shift than larger pieces.

On carpet, the R10 Pro performed well, pulling the flour and sugar out of the pile without spreading it around. Most of the debris was gone in a single pass, with only a very light dusting of flour remaining in the deeper parts of the pile on the first run. A second pass cleared it completely.

Flour did tend to gather at the edges of the brushroll, but this can be easily cleared away, and it doesn't transfer back onto the floor as you move the vacuum around.

On hardwood, the flour, at times, had a tendency to get pushed slightly ahead of the floorhead on the first pass, but it was quickly cleared on a second pass.

The sugar cleared more cleanly, but getting into the cracks between floorboards took an extra pass with the floorhead angled slightly, and some flour settled into the joins and needed the crevice nozzle to finish the job properly.

On laminate, the results were similar to hardwood, though the smoother surface meant slightly less scattering on contact and the flour cleared more easily across open areas. The edges of the room and the join between the floor and baseboard needed a second pass, but the overall result was clean without needing to change suction mode or switch attachments for the bulk of the test.

Test 2: Pantry

For the pantry test, I scattered half a cup of cereal and red lentils across carpet, hardwood, and laminate. Cereal and lentils represent the kind of debris that ends up on floors every day. For the cereal, we use off-brand Cheerios – which stand in for larger pieces of debris like crumbs and dry food, while the lentils are smaller and have a slightly tacky texture.

On carpet, the R10 Pro picked up the lentils confidently and without flinging pieces around, clearing most of it in a single pass. The cereal took a lot more work. The floorhead largely pushed them or sent them flying around rather than sucking them up. I had to physically lift the floorhead and make multiple passes over each one to remove them, or I had to resort to an attachment.

On hardwood, there was some scattering of the lentils on the first pass, but a second pass over the same area dealt with them, and on laminate, performance was similar to hardwood. The lentils again needed two passes in places, and there was a little scattering on contact, but nothing that required lifting and dropping the vacuum to dislodge pieces or any heavy-handed maneuvering.

The cereal performance proved even worse on hard floors. I was left with just piles of cereal in corners or along the edges, and those that did get sucked in ended up clogging the unit. I had to use water to soften the blockage and then clear it with the end of a spoon, which is less than ideal.

Test 3: Pet Hair

To test the R10 Pro on pet (and human) hair, I ran it across both carpet and hard floors after a typical day with my dog Maisie, without pre-cleaning either surface first.

On hard floors, the R10 Pro handled Maisie's hair well, pulling it in cleanly without spreading it around or leaving trails at the edges of the floorhead. The comb teeth design came into its own here – hair moved through the roller and into the dust cup without bunching. After a full pass, there was little left behind, and what remained was easy enough to catch on a second run. On carpet, the vacuum lifted most of the surface hair well, but the deeper the pile, the more effort was needed.

I did notice on one of Maisie's heavy shedding days, which are common when the weather is hot, that some of her hairs caught at the edges of the roller and had to be removed by hand, so you'll want to check it periodically rather than assuming it's clear.

My hair told a similar story. Longer strands cleared well on hard floors and low-pile carpet, though on thicker carpet strands occasionally needed a second pass to come up fully. The dust cup filled noticeably faster on heavy hair days, which is worth bearing in mind if you have multiple pets or a large home – the 0.6L capacity is on the smaller side, and you may find yourself emptying it mid-clean.

Test 4: Attachments

Swapping between attachments is easy on the R10 Pro. The button release at the collar joint is easy to find and operate with one hand, and nothing feels flimsy or loose once clicked into place.

The motorized mini-brush got the most use outside of the main floorheads. On the sofa, it lifted Maisie's hair from the fabric better than the main floorhead, and on cushions and upholstered chairs it did a thorough job without being rough on the material. The wide combination tool – which flips between a dusting brush and a crevice mode – is versatile enough for lots of different tasks and I used it regularly on baseboards, shelves and around the edges of radiators. It isn't as precise as a dedicated crevice tool, but it covers a lot of ground without needing to swap again.

For the crevice attachment, I sprinkled flour and sugar along the base of a wall, pressing some of it into the join between the floor and the skirting board. The nozzle cleared both the flour and the sugar cleanly in a single pass without spreading the debris outward.

The extension tube adds useful reach for high shelves and ceiling corners but feels unnecessary. The existing tube length covers most situations without it. Of all the attachments, it was the one I put back in the box most quickly and didn't miss.

Dreame R10 Pro Name: Setup and Maintenance

The R10 Pro arrives in a large, fairly hefty box, but unboxing it is straightforward.

The packaging is mostly cardboard with some paper wrapping around the individual components, and little unnecessary plastic. Everything is organized into separate cardboard compartments inside, so nothing is loose or rattling around, and the user manual sits on top so it's the first thing you see when you open it.

The box contains:

• Main handheld unit
• Metal wand
• Multi-surface floorhead
• Soft roller floorhead
• Motorized mini-brush
• Wide combination tool
• Bendable crevice nozzle
• Extension tube
• Wall-mounted storage bracket
• Charging cable and adapter
• User manual

That's a generous kit for this price.

Before you can use the R10 Pro, you'll need to charge it fully, but to do so you'll likely have to install the wall bracket first. This isn't 100% necessary, but the vacuum won't stand by itself, and you'll have to do it eventually anyway. Slotting it into the wall bracket and plugging in the cable takes seconds, and from flat it took around 3 hours to reach full charge – roughly in line with the 3.5 hours quoted by Dreame. There's no assembly required beyond attaching your chosen floorhead, which clicks into place with a single push.

Day-to-day vacuum maintenance is simple too (as long as you don't vacuum up lots of large debris that can block the unit). The dust cup empties with a single button press and the bin itself is easy to rinse out when needed. I didn't think having such an easy release system would impress me so much, but seeing as I always struggle with the systems on Dyson vacuums, this mattered more than I thought. The filter is removable and fully washable – Dreame recommends cleaning it every month or so depending on use – and it's a simple process of rinsing it under cold water, leaving it to dry for 24 hours, and clicking it back in.

The brushroll on the multi-surface floorhead can be removed for cleaning too, and the soft roller floorhead pulls apart easily enough to clear any debris that's worked its way inside. None of it requires tools or any particular effort, and keeping on top of it takes only a few minutes.

How Does the Dreame R10 Compare?

The R10 Pro sits in the middle of Dreame's R-series lineup, above the Dreame R10 and the Dreame R20. If you mainly clean hard floors and don't need the soft roller, the R10 undercuts the Pro on price and covers the basics, but given that the battery life complaints that dog the R10 Pro apply here too, and you lose the soft roller in the bargain, the Pro is the better buy if the price gap is small.

Dreame R20 is $50 / £50 more, but for that extra money you get 190 AW of suction, intelligent dirt detection that automatically adjusts power based on the floor type and debris, a touch screen display, and 90 minutes of runtime.

Against the competition, the Shark Stratos cordless ($499.99 / £399.99) is a significant step up in price but brings Clean Sense IQ technology that senses dirt and adjusts suction automatically, more reliable large debris pickup, and a MultiFLEX wand that folds flat for freestanding storage. It also often sells for much less than its RRP, and if you can get it on sale, it's a much stronger investment. At the other end, the Bissell CleanView XR Pet ($119.99 / £99.99) is cheaper than the R10 Pro and covers the essentials for pet owners and smaller homes, even if it lacks the LED lighting and the soft roller floorhead.

How We Test Vacuums

At Homes & Gardens, we take a detailed and standardized approach to how we test vacuums.

This includes vacuuming set amounts of fine and large debris on carpet, linoleum and hardwood floors to check cleaning performance across different types and surfaces. We test the anti-tangle performance and pet hair pickup as well as using each vacuum around the home to check weight, maneuverability, battery life, dustbin emptying, noise levels, and anything else you might need to consider before buying. Every factor is then weighed against the price when we give it our final mark.

I tested the Dreame R10 Pro for four weeks in my home, where I have two children and a dog. I ran it across carpet, laminate and hardwood floors, tested its noise levels using the DecibelX app and checked how easy it was to use and how well it fit into my life.

Love the latest product news and helpful shopping advice? Sign up for our newsletter and get the latest features delivered straight to your inbox.

After a few weeks of testing, the Ninja Luxe Café Mini Plus Espresso Machine has become a staple on my kitchen counter. This compact, convenient all-in-one brewer delivered brilliant espresso without the guesswork, offering the cafe experience in the comfort of my own home.

With a built-in conical burr grinder and hands-free milk frothing, it offers everything you need for barista-style drinks without the training.

That said, there were a few small issues that kept it from five stars, but I am being extremely picky. This is how I got on with the Ninja Luxe Café Mini Plus Espresso Machine during testing, and why I still think it is one of the best espresso machines money can buy.

Product Specifications: Ninja Luxe Café Mini Plus Espresso Machine

Design and First Impressions

The Ninja Luxe Café Mini Plus Espresso Machine arrived well boxed, in mostly sturdy cardboard packaging, with some fabric bags to protect the machine from scratches, and the signature Ninja stickers that held removeable components in place and offered quick tips for easy use. These were mostly easy to remove, but as has been the case with other Ninja products I have unboxed, some leave sticky residue behind. Luckily, we have some great tips for removing stickers if you struggle.

The machine was not incredibly heavy, weighing a little under 19 lbs, with the fabric bag making it easy to lift from the tight cardboard frame to my counter.

The machine comes with everything you need to get started, with a quick start guide and recipe guide, portafilter (with single and double shot baskets), stainless steel milk jug, tamper and funnel, and a complete cleaning kit with descaling solution and water hardness testing strips. Everything felt weighty − a good initial sign of quality.

Brewing Performance and Set Up

Before using the coffee machine, you need to complete some setup steps. Luckily, these are all easy to do.

Beyond cleaning removable components with soapy water to remove lingering factory debris, you need to soak and insert the water filter and perform a water hardness test.

The water filter is soaked in plain water for several minutes, which I did in a clean pitcher with a heavy spoon to hold it down as it tended to float. You finish this step by rinsing it under running water for 60 seconds before fitting it into the reservoir using the included casing, which features a handy dial to set a reminder for when you need to replace it. It's a small detail, but one I appreciated.

The machine also comes with water hardness test strips, making setup refreshingly straightforward. Simply dip a strip into a cup of your tap water, leave it on a flat surface for a few minutes, and compare the resulting color with the included guide.

You can then enter your water hardness into the machine during the initial setup. This allows it to optimize brewing performance and tailor its descaling schedule, helping to improve flavor while reducing limescale buildup over time.

The final step is to run one plain water cycle through your machine to flush out the components. I put the empty portafilter in place, selected the largest serving size with a large mug beneath the spout, and pressed brew. This water was then discarded.

With this complete, you are ready to brew.

Grinding Beans

The first step to making coffee with the Ninja Luxe Café Mini Plus is grinding your beans. The top hopper can hold up to 250 grams of fresh beans, and has an airtight lid to keep them fresh between brews.

What I loved about this machine is that it weighs your portafilter and decides the best grind size for your coffee, depending on your selected brew type, taking away any guesswork.

The process is remarkably simple. After selecting your brew type from espresso, iced, classic (drip), or rich, and attaching the dosing funnel to the portafilter, place it into the grinding cradle. On the first press of the grind button, the machine weighs the portafilter and automatically calculates the ideal dose and grind size based on your chosen drink and shot size.

It then displays a recommended grind setting on the LED screen. Simply adjust the grinder dial on the left-hand side of the machine to match the suggested number, press the grind button again, and the machine dispenses the correct amount of coffee. It takes the guesswork out of dialing in your espresso, making the process quick and approachable for beginners.

There was one instance where the machine ran out of beans mid-grinding. An orange warning light came on with a beep, so I simply added more and pressed the grind button again, allowing it to complete the programme without fuss.

Tamping is also simple. You leave the funnel attached and press the tamper down until it is flush with the top edge. These are then removed from the filter (and can be stored in a handy recess on the top of the machine).

The grinder grinds consistently, but suffers from retention. After grinding, I pushed the coffee machine backwards on my counter to sit more neatly in the corner, and the vibrations shook a significant amount of grounds out of place, falling onto the drip tray. It also dropped some grounds each time the portafilter was placed into the cradle. It has the potential to be very messy if you need to pull it out to use it each time.

Brewing Coffee

Brewing the coffee is just as simple. The portafilter slots into position as it would on any other coffee machine, lining the dot up with the dot on the machine and turning until the dot is in line with the head of the arrow on the machine. I will note that the machine needs to be held still when you do this, as its smaller size means that it is not quite heavy enough to weigh it down, and it can slide along your counter as you twist it into position.

With a mug beneath the spout, you press the brew button and let it do its thing. This process is the same no matter which brew type you selected before grinding.

I am happy to report that this process is relatively quiet, so much so that when my partner woke up early for work and made his morning coffee, it never disturbed me sleeping upstairs (and our house is on the smaller side, so noise travels). It is quick, too.

The plain hot water setting is a nice touch, but it can splutter in use, splashing coffee onto the stainless steel backsplash, which needs wiping down after. A dial on the right-hand side of the machine switches the Ninja Luxe Café Mini Plus to hot water only, allowing you to make an Americano drink without needing to boil your kettle. This water comes from a separate spout on the left side of the cup, and tends to splutter and flow unevenly during dispensing. On a few occasions, this splashed water over the edge of the mug onto the counter.

When the water neared the top of our mugs, we often had to stop the hot water cycle early, too, to avoid overflowing.

Beyond that, the coffee it brewed was excellent, with a rich, creamy crema on top of each shot. With our choice of quality, locally roasted beans, my partner hailed it as good as, if not better than, a coffee shop.

I will note that, as the coffee maker is designed to be compact, it does come at the cost of a small water reservoir. Four double shots and three water top-ups using the hot water setting drained it from max fill to below minimum (three Americanos and a flat white). The tank can be removed for refilling, but I found it easier to use a large jug to fill it in situ.

There was one instance when using the hot water function, in which the water dropped below the minimum line mid-brew. The machine seemed to panic at this, and made a loud buzzing noise as it continued to try and draw water it could not find. I stopped the programme manually, and added more water to the tank, and this did not happen again. But it suggests you need to double-check the tank before you press start, as it might not stop to warn you as it does when the beans run low.

Frothing Milk

I have never owned a milk frother before, which is what sets home coffee apart from a quality café. The Ninja Luxe Café Mini Plus, however, comes with a built-in hands-free milk frother that can steam and froth both dairy and plant-based milks.

As with the rest of the machine, I found this step simple. The included recipe book comes with a general suggestion for the amount of milk you need to create a standard cappuccino, flat white, and latte, so I followed their suggestions.

One small complaint is that the ml recommendations in the guide are not marked in the stainless steel milk jug they included. For a cappuccino, for example, they suggest 150 ml of milk; the jugs etched measurements skip this increment, so it takes a little guesswork. It is not the end of the world, but it does feel like an overlooked detail.

The milk jug is then placed beneath the steaming wand, the desired foam thickness selected with the dial, and the button pressed to begin. I used dairy-based semi-skimmed milk and found that it froths quickly without spitting, and pours wonderfully.

One frothed, you wipe down the wand with a damp cloth and flick it back into its downwards-facing position, where it will automatically purge. There is a drip hole beneath to catch this water for easy clean up.

Be aware when steaming milk after brewing coffee that the handle needs to point outwards, else coffee will drip down onto it.

Cleaning and Maintenance

Whenever I get a new appliance, I dread the cleaning process. Luckily, Ninja has made cleaning the coffee maker a breeze.

The drip tray beneath the appliance can be slid out for easy emptying and cleaning, dissembling into three layers for hand washing with soap and warm water. The portafilter is also hand-washable, and is easy to empty with a firm tap against the edge of a trash can.

The tray needs emptying regularly, I discovered. Luckily, there is an orange floating indicator that will rise when it is getting too full. I suggest emptying it before it reaches the top, as you risk spilling the water as you move to your sink otherwise.

The machine also comes with a long-handled brush for cleaning out the grinder and tamper storage well, as well as some descaling tablets and solution for deep cleaning of internal parts. The conical burr grinder also comes apart for easier cleaning.

What Shoppers Say

The general consensus amongst other uses is overwhelmingly positive, with reviews (at the time of writing) on the SharkNinja site setting the machine at 4.8 stars out of 5.

Shoppers comment on how easy it is to use, the compact size, and the incorporated steamer and grinder, which streamline the process.

One commented in their five-star review, 'I have never had so much fun playing barista in my home using the Ninja Luxe Cafe Mini Espresso Machine. This was easy to set up, and the instructions for every step of making so many different coffee House classics were so simple. I love that this machine includes a bean grinder as well as the full press setup for making your espresso or coffee.'

There is one limited one-star review which claims 'The coffee was burnt tasting and underachieved,' however, this is a single outlier, and hardly detailed. I take this as an exception.

We previously reviewed the Cafe Mini's larger predecessor, the Ninja Luxe Cafe Pro, and had a similarly wonderful experience. After her review, Lydia Hayman marked the larger machine down only for the sheer size of the appliance, meaning that this mini version is a welcome addition to the lineup for us. It carries with it all of the wonderful features and quality brewing of the previous machine, so which you pick will depend only on the amount of counter space you have available.

Should You Buy The Ninja Luxe Café Mini Plus Espresso Machine?

All in all, I would highly recommend the Ninja Luxe Café Mini Plus Espresso Machine. It is a fantastic, small-space-friendly coffee machine that is largely automated but still fun to use.

It brews wonderful barista-quality coffee, albeit with a little bit of mess, and has greatly improved our home coffees. In fact, I have lost count of how many times my coffee-obsessed partner uttered that he was excited to use his coffee machine in the morning as he got into bed each evening. He's been so excited to show it off to guests, too.

This is perfectly suited to people who love quality coffee from fresh beans, who want some of that authentic espresso experience at home without the faff of weighing their own and calculating the right pressure. You do not need any barista training or even a deep understanding of coffee to master this machine.

It is especially useful for those who have a small kitchen like me, who struggle to keep counters clear of everyday clutter without another appliance getting in the way.

That said, there is a lack of transparency about the materials used in the inner brew path, and I cannot be sure whether it is one of the best non-toxic coffee makers or not. If you are very health-conscious, it might be worth some extra digging.

How We Test Coffee Makers

At Homes & Gardens, we have a rigorous testing process for all of our coffee makers. This enables us to score coffee makers both individually and against other models on the market.

Once we have researched the best coffee makers on the market, we test at home, as it means we can use the appliance in our regular routines. This helps me uncover advantages (or most likely, pain points) I would never discover with a one-hour session in the test kitchen.

After unboxing, we'll let you know whether we get any extra accessories and what our first impressions are of the coffee maker. Here's where we'll talk about the size, style, build quality, and anything else that jumps out at us aesthetically.

Next, we'll get brewing. We make notes on how easy the coffee maker is to set up and start using. After each brew, we assess the flavor of each cup, the range of the machine, how long it keeps coffee warm for, the ease of cleaning, and the all-important price. Where applicable, we experiment with special features, such as integrated grinders and milk frothers.

Once we are happy that we've tested everything that we can, we'll take a step back and think about how the coffee maker compares to other models. We'll read through online reviews to get a sense of what customers are saying and then, bringing all that information together, our team will let you know who we think it suits and whether it's good value for money. As you can see, we leave no stone unturned.

If you’re interested and want to find out more, you can read all about the process in our how we test coffee makers page.

What Else to Shop

From cleaning essentials to countertop organizers, I have rounded up everything you need to flesh out your new home coffee station.

All prices correct at time of publication.

No matter how good your coffee machine is, the bean you pick will have a huge impact on the final taste of your coffee. We have a whole guide dedicated to choosing coffee beans to help find the best roast for you.

Love the latest product news and helpful shopping advice? Sign up for our newsletter and get the latest features delivered straight to your inbox.

The Tapo D235 Video Doorbell Camera is a budget-friendly, wired or battery-powered video doorbell that I have been impressed with from the get-go.

I've been a user of video doorbells since we bought our first home almost 10 years ago, with some more permanent fixtures than others. I was excited to try the Tapo D235 Video Doorbell Camera to see how it compared with the other video doorbells I've tested and make full use of the features.

It usually retails for around $190, but I've noticed that it's often discounted, and I've been impressed by how easy it was to install and use, with good video and audio quality. Aside from a screwdriver, it comes with everything you'll need to set it up on the day it's delivered. While it does come with a couple of concerns, I believe it is a worthwhile option to consider to improve your home's security.

My One-Minute Summary

Overall, the Tapo D235 Video Doorbell Camera is a good, reliable security camera that will use AI to detect motion, people, vehicles, pets, and packages. With just some very basic DIY skills, I had it set up within 10 minutes and have been happily testing for 16 days.

I have been particularly impressed by its ability to accurately detect motion and subjects as they enter the 33 ft / 10 m detection range. The color-night vision has been brilliant with no clarity lost too. I have also liked how good the Tapo app is in its ability to add detection tags, draw privacy zones, and access activity in Playback.

However, this storage is an ongoing cost that'll set you back $3.49 per month after the free 30 days. You do, however, have the option to use a 512GB microSD card to avoid these costs. Alternatively, the eufy E340 and the Lorex 2K avoid paying monthly fees.

Throughout testing, the battery has dropped from 100% down to 43%, even though it's expected to last 8 months – and I've decreased the sensitivity. I've also found that the audio hasn't been as crisp and clear as other Tapo video doorbells that I've tested.

I admit, I am more familiar with Ring video doorbells and security cameras because they are a permanent resident at my home address. I much prefer a wired video doorbell because I don't need to worry about recharging, and they are generally more difficult for those up to no good to remove.

That said, if you're a renter and are concerned about the security of your home, then a spend of around $109.99 for a video doorbell is always going to be a smart move on my watch.

Tapo D235 Video Doorbell Camera: Specifications

Installation and setup

If you opt to battery-power the Tapo D235 Video Doorbell Camera as I did, then before you do anything, you'll need to charge the integrated battery. It's estimated to take six hours to go from 0 to 100% charge; reality is closer to seven hours. You don't get notified when the battery is fully charged, so the best way to check this is to add the device to the Tapo app and view the battery levels from there.

Alternatively, if you're hardwiring the D235, then you can skip straight to installation.

The Tapo D235 Video Doorbell Camera arrives in a neat, compact box that contains everything you'll need for installation. Once you've removed the plastic wrapping from around the box and look inside, you'll find the: Tapo Video Doorbell, Tapo Chime, Mounting Template, Mounting Bracket, Vertical Mounting Wedge, Horizontal Mounting Wedge, USB Adapter Cable, Jumper for Existing Chime, Extension Wires (x2), Mounting Screws and Anchors (x3), Hardwire Installation Screws (x2), Doorbell Detaching Pin, Mounting Wedge Screws (x5), 3M Adhesive, Foam Pad, Wire Nuts (x2) and Quick Start Guide.

I installed the D235 to our wooden gated fence using only a couple of essential DIY skills such as lining up screws and using a screw driver, so it was nice and easy. I used the mounting wedge and bracket, and two screws, to adjust the view of our drive by 15° so that I can see who or what is approaching. There are also four tiny screws to fix the wedge to the bracket but note that these really are tiny so you'll need a screwdriver with a small head to screw them into position.

If you're securing to masonry then you'll need the relevant plugs. Equally, if you're hardwiring, then you may need to call in the help of a professional if you're replacing an existing video doorbell and adding a video doorbell to your network of smart devices for the first time.

It's advised that the doorbell be placed 4ft above the ground, and the 15° mounting wedge be used for a more focused view from a specific side.

The Tapo D235 then simply clicks onto the mount. This is then easy to remove, so good for recharging, but not good for thieves. The use of a release pin, such as eufy models, would've made it more of a challenge for those up to no good. However, the design does include an anti-theft release mechanism and tamper alerts to provide an additional layer of security.

If you are concerned about the D235 being removed, then the wired option is an alternative to consider, which is a much more permanent solution to surveilling your front door.

Aside from the charge time, it took sub-10 minutes to install the D235 in a location where I wanted to provide some additional security.

Video Quality

After using the Tapo D235 Video Doorbell Camera for 16 days, I have found the video quality to be consistently good.

Daytime: I could clearly recognize faces, vehicles, and neighbors' pets as they entered the 30ft/10m motion detection range. Equally, I could see large branded packaging once it was delivered to the floor in front of the lens with a focal length of 1.18mm.

However, details on packages were not clear when they came into range – it really needed to be on the floor in front of the doorbell for any branding to be read. This is the same for any branding on vehicles, although these couldn't get close enough to the doorbell for me to read the words, so it was blurred. And number plate detailing was unclear as vehicles were backed onto the drive.

However, the 16x digital zoom of the D235 was good enough to zoom in to some larger branding on packages and vehicles for identifying in 'playback' or live footage.

Nighttime: The video can be in full-color night vision, enabled by two 850-nanometer infrared LEDs to allow the D235 to capture footage in low-light conditions. You can also view footage at nighttime in Infrared Mode to create black-and-white images or Doorbell Mode to turn on spotlights when someone rings the doorbell at night.

Overall, the picture quality was just as good in nighttime as it was in daytime. It could also detect motion, people, vehicles, packages, and pets just as quickly as during the day, which makes it a great security measure for the house.

In both daytime and nighttime, the D235 also survived some torrential downpours of rain and strong winds during testing. It has an IP-66 rating, which means that it is dust-tight and protected from powerful jets of water.

Dynamic light: Our house is south-facing, so it gets direct sunlight throughout most of the day. The D235 has an f/1.8 aperture lens, which lets in significantly more light than video doorbells with a narrower aperture, making it ideal for bright environments.

It balanced the light beautifully; there is no beam of light behind a moving person, animal, or vehicle, with details remaining visible as they entered the 170.6° (Horizontal), 140.1° (Vertical) field of view.

Audio Quality

The Tapo D235 Video Doorbell Camera captures live audio and records audio, as well as featuring two-way audio with noise cancellation.

Throughout testing, I noticed a lag time between the live audio, where I could hear the audio before hearing it through the D235. I can also hear some interference from more general bird song and wind. It also sounds like the audio drops in and out when hearing it live.

When I tried out the two-way audio, there was a noticeable delay after the person had finished talking before I heard it through the D235.

Similarly, through Playback, there was a delay in recording activity noise. For example, when a workman was shoveling gravel on our drive, I saw them do this before hearing the noise. In Playback, the noise has interference, and it sounds tinny.

App and Smart Features

The only way to use the Tapo D235 Video Doorbell Camera is to download the Tapo app to your smartphone or tablet. This app is simple and intuitive to use. It can be downloaded by scanning the QR code found on the box and Quick Start Guide, or directly from Google Play (Android) or App Store (iOS).

Then, if you want to activate voice commands, you can link the app to Google Home or Amazon Alexa devices, such as the Echo Show. This means that another smart home gadget, other than your phone or tablet, will receive notifications when motion, people, vehicles, pets or packages are detected, or when the doorbell is activated. You'll also be able to answer the door (or gate in my case) and engage in two-way audio.

I found that the Tapo app was stable while using it, and it was quick to load. I could customize how I viewed and engaged with footage easily, too. For example, you can opt to capture footage in 2k or 960p; set motion detection tags and add privacy zones so that you're not surveilling a neighbor's land. This is an important feature, as capturing areas of your neighbors' homes where they might expect privacy (for instance, their front door) could land you in trouble.

You can also select the detection type (motion, person, pet, vehicle and package) that you'd like to receive an alert for. Switching any of them off may compromise the security of your home, but it'll preserve the battery life, so it'll be your call what is more important to you.

In the app is where you can engage in two-way audio; "answer" the door; activate the anti-theft alarm and opt for an "auto response" to automatically respond to visitors with a pre-recorded message if the doorbell isn't immediately answered. You can even tweak the settings to the Chime by adjusting the time effective.

If you're signed up to Tapo Cloud Storage, then you can also play back and download activity detected in the app. Activity is stored for 30 days, video clips can be made into a short video summary, weekly reports can be viewed, and rich notifications with snapshots will be received. I found it useful to look back through the activity outside our gate, even though I begrudge paying $3.49 per month when the trial ends.

Alternatively, you can install a microSD card to avoid paying a monthly fee. This means that the D235, and all other Tapo cameras, work without a subscription and can record motion clips locally.

The D235 can be shared with up to five family members in the app so that you can manage the smart device together. Invitees will have limited permissions, and they can not modify camera settings, but they'll still be able to live view and talk.

Motion Detection and Notifications

The Tapo D235 Video Doorbell Camera can detect motion, people, vehicles, pets, and packages – and you can receive a notification for all of it.

I found that the default settings were far too sensitive; I had a 'motion' notification when the wind moved a plastic bag some feet away from the camera lens, for example. I also noticed that the battery was draining.

I decreased the sensitivity in the app to the lowest it could be, which reduced the wind and rain setting it off, and it only notified me when motion, people, vehicles, pets and packages were within range.

Throughout the 16 days I tested the D235, we had tradesmen turning up for 10 of those days. With that, I've counted in excess of 500 notifications (I lost count) for motion, people, vehicles, pets and packages, which I received to my smartphone.

It can also work with Amazon Alexa and Google Home to receive notifications and doorbell activations; however, as someone who has yet to set up a smart home and isn't too confident with how voice assistants can be used, I haven't compromised how I've been using this smart device.

The chime rings when the doorbell is activated. This means that you can hear the doorbell ring when you're inside the home and don't have your smart device with or near you. You have six different ringtones to choose from and a range of noise levels.

Power and Battery Life

The Tapo D235 Video Doorbell Camera can be hardwired or battery-powered, making it a fantastic renter-safe home security option. As we've previously explored, I found it relatively easy to install, and I imagine that it'll be just as easy to remove as and when the battery needs to recharge.

It was installed next to the side gate for 16 days, and, in that time, I didn't have to recharge it. However, the power levels did significantly drop because of the detection sensitivity.

Tapo suggests that the battery can last for up to 8 months. The detection of motion, people, vehicles, pets, and packages will significantly affect usage. For example, we had tradesmen over in 10 of the 16 days of testing, and in that time the battery level depleted from 100% to 43%. 

During any ordinary day, I received, on average, fewer than 10 notifications for moving vehicles and people detection. This means that I'd expect the battery to last at least a few months, although this depends on the amount of activity detected day-by-day since it's clear that this will affect the battery life.

It took more than seven hours to charge the battery when it arrived, so I'd expect it to take this amount of time (perhaps longer) to recharge. A USB charging cable is included, but you will need to buy a plug, like this 3-pack USB wall charger ($5.99, Amazon), if you need the power from an electrical outlet. To charge it, you'll also need to remove the D235 from the mounting plate because the battery is built-in, and the charging port is on the back of this video doorbell.

This is a long time to be without a video doorbell while it's charging, so it would be better to do this when you're at home if you're concerned about security.

Connectivity and Reliability

For connectivity, the Tapo D235 Video Doorbell Camera has been one of the more reliable Ring-alternative doorbells that I have tested. It didn't detect a poor signal or lose connectivity, as with some of the other budget-friendly alternatives.

It requires a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi for a stable wireless connection. In my home, our Wi-Fi router is located behind thick, external stone walls and inside a cupboard under the stairs. With the D235 located around the side of the house behind a wooden fence next to the gate, the signal had some distance to travel, and yet it remained stable.

The D235 frequently pushed notifications to my phone when activity (motion or subjects) was detected; on one day it did this 174 times within 24 hours, as an example. This is a lot by anyone's standards, but we had workmen on site during the test period who, apparently, had to scuttle back and forth to their van or to the front yard. For contrast, our testers found the eufy E340 to have quite a severe lag despite being in a moderate range of the Wi-Fi router.

When subscribed to Tapo Cloud Storage, activity will also be recorded for playback and download; it'll record the activity in snippets of up to 20 seconds. It'll do this if you have a 512GB microSD card installed instead. And I could watch live footage from anywhere. I experienced fast load times and a consistent quality of footage and audio, regardless of live or Playback.

Privacy and Security

The Tapo D235 Video Doorbell has a couple of home privacy options, including custom zones to block out a neighbor's property and Privacy Mode to disable streaming and the recording functions to protect your privacy.

I enabled a privacy zone to prevent viewing or monitoring our neighbors who live opposite us. If I wanted to, I could set multiple privacy zones. I found these zones easy to 'add' by using my finger on the phone's screen to draw and adjust the square box in the Tapo app.

During testing, I also activated Privacy Mode. With this mode enabled, I couldn't live-stream or view any stored footage during this time, as it gets automatically disabled.

To watch Playback, I had to sign up for the Tapo Care Cloud Storage straight off the bat. This is unlike other video doorbells, including the Tapo D210 Video Doorbell, where I could enjoy a free 30-day trial and then sign up. This meant that no data will be stored unless you agree to pay upwards of $3.49 per month, unless you opt for local storage on a 512gB microSD card – like this SanDisk 512GB Ultra SDXC UHS-I Memory Card (Amazon).

It's generally unclear how my data is handled, with nothing obvious to read on the app. The app also doesn't support two‑factor authentication, which would provide extra login protection.

Price and Value

The Tapo D235 Video Doorbell comes with everything that you need (aside from a screwdriver) to start surveilling outside your home.

It's the third video doorbell from Tapo that I have tested, with close similarities to the Tapo D205 Video Doorbell Mini. The D205 retails for only $49.99, which gives clear day and night footage and crisp audio. However, unlike the D235 that I have on test, it doesn't come with a chime, and it lacks color night-vision, which is reflected in the price.

The Tapo D235 Video Doorbell usually retails for $190, but it is regularly discounted.

Aside from this up-front cost, you will also have the ongoing cost of the Tapo Care Cloud Storage to consider. This is typically around $3.49 per month when the free 30-day trial ends. During the trial, you'll get 30 days of cloud video storage for events, video clips that can be made into a short video summary, weekly reports, and rich notifications with snapshots.

This is notably cheaper than the Ring subscription plans, which start from $4.99 for the Basic plan. This plan includes up to 180 days of event history, person, package, and vehicle alerts, and video preview alerts. However, Ring video doorbells are generally more expensive than Tapo.

For example, I have the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro installed next to my front door. This costs $229.99 when not on sale at Amazon. The image quality is crisper day and night, and the audio is clear. However, I do need to be signed up to a Ring plan to receive doorbell calls and other alerts to my phone. You'll also need to buy a chime separately if you want to hear the doorbell ring from inside the home.

If you'd prefer to avoid paying any subscription fees and save on monthly costs, then I'd opt to install a 512GB memory card for local storage. This will mean that you'll get a video doorbell for a fraction of the price of a Ring video doorbell.

Alternatively, there are other video doorbell brands to consider. The eufy E340 video doorbell, for example, excelled in our tests. Our reviewer, Punteha van Terheyden, found that the eufy footage is crisp, the audio is clear, and it's easy to install. Plus, you can access all features without a monthly subscription – although you will get more storage and longer recording with it.

Installing a video doorbell is a good way to start improving your home security. If it's a priority, check out these home security tips to learn how else smart tech gadgets can help transform your home.

The Spot+Scrub Ai marks a shift for Dyson as its first robot vacuum to combine suction with a built-in mop. It's also the first real attempt at the wet-and-dry category dominated by rivals for years.

When it comes to vacuuming, particularly on carpet and pet hair, it's a strong contender for one of the best robot vacuums I've tried. When it comes to mopping, it falls short.

At $1,199, this isn't a cheap appliance, and after four weeks of testing, I found the Spot+Scrub Ai does most of what Dyson promises, just not all of it. Read on to find out where it excels, and where it let me down.

The One-Minute Summary

Dyson's first entry into the best vacuum-mops category combines serious vacuuming credentials with a disappointing mop.

Across four weeks of testing with a dog and children in the house, it cut my manual vacuuming by more than 90%, the biggest reduction I've seen from any robot vacuum I've tested. Its carpet and pet hair performance consistently impressed me more than my own upright Dyson, and its see-through dustbin reinforces that, regularly revealing just how much debris and hair it's pulling out of carpets I thought were already clean.

In standardized testing, the Spot+Scrub Ai handled sugar and lentils cleanly, but treated scattered cereal as an obstacle rather than mess, working through it in a stop-start pattern that often left pieces behind. It's a similar story with mopping, where ketchup cleared well, mustard was simply smeared around, and a foam trail left by the wet roller would occasionally trigger the robot into a repeated stain-removal loop until it gave up entirely. Over several weeks, I found myself mopping manually more often than I'd like.

The dock handles roller washing and bin emptying automatically, though the bin's release mechanism isn't obvious without checking a video first. If you're after the best robot vacuum for vacuuming and pet hair, this is one of the strongest I've tested. If mopping matters just as much, the Dreame Aqua 10 Roller remains the more dependable all-rounder, and it's the robot vacuum I always come back to at home when I'm not testing anything else.

Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai: Specifications

Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai: Setup

Getting the Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai up and running took a little longer than most robot vacuums I've tested, but that's not a huge surprise for a model with this many moving parts. Inside the box is the robot itself, the docking station, and a docking ramp. The two side sweepers (one red, one blue) and charging cable are in a separate tray, and all of it is packaged neatly and in easy-to-recycle packaging.

The docking ramp clicks onto the front of the station, and the charging cable connects at the back, at which point an LED confirms it's live. This LED was flashing red for a long time, and I wasn't sure what the error was until I filled the clean water tank, at which point it turned white.

To fill this tank, lift it out using its handle, lift the blue rubber flap on the back of the dock, and pour in your floor cleaner. Dyson recommends only using its own 02 Probiotic hard floor cleaning solution, but it doesn't include a bottle in the box, which means spending another $23.99 on top of what is already an expensive robot vacuum.

You can, in theory, use any hard floor cleaning solution or even skip this step completely, but this can cause problems with excess foaming – as I explain more about in the Performance section – and could invalidate your warranty. Once the solution is added, unclip the tank's lid and top it up with clean water before slotting it back into place.

Attaching the side sweepers is the easiest part of the process: turn the robot over on a soft surface, and click the red sweeper into the left mount and the blue one into the right.

Once assembled and positioned, the smart home setup via the MyDyson app is quick and easy. With the robot placed on the dock, the app walks you through connection, and you confirm the pairing by pressing the Power and Home buttons on the robot.

The robot then does a mapping run. Mine created a decent first map in a little under 15 minutes – although it thought my garden was an extra room. Obstacles, furniture, and room boundaries were identified, and the robot was then ready to start deep cleaning my home.

The app recommends charging the robot to 100% before running the initial deep clean, although mine managed it on 52% (the level of battery it had straight out of the box). The dock then takes care of all the prep, including washing the roller mop. All you need to do is clear the floor.

In my test, this initial setup took around 25 minutes, including water tank filling and the first mapping run. This puts it on par with the Dreame Aqua 10 Roller, which I found similarly quick to map but more fiddly to assemble.

Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai: Design and Features

The Spot+Scrub Ai is unmistakably and unapologetically a Dyson, complete with its red, purple, and gray colour scheme running throughout.

The dock is matte gray with a large, see-through dustbin on the left that has Dyson's iconic purple plastic lid with red clips and buttons. Next to this dustbin are two cylinders: one with a small, filled purple circle on the top (clean tank, right-hand side) and one with an outline of a circle (dirty tank, center).

It's not immediately clear which is the clean tank and which is the dirty water reservoir, and even now, after a month of testing, I occasionally forget and have to remove each to see which has the cleaning solution port behind it, and is therefore the clean tank.

Below the tanks are the two charging ports and the textured ramp where the robot sits when it's charging.

The charging cable that comes with the dock isn't very long, which limited where in my kitchen I could set it up so it was close enough to a plug but not in the way. Dyson's manual recommends putting the dock against a wall, on a level surface, with at least 19.7 inches of clearance around the sides and a staggering 59 inches in front, which narrows down suitable locations even more.

As does the fact that this isn't a unit you can tuck unobtrusively into a corner; at 17.9 inches high, 17.3 inches wide, and 20 inches deep, it has a large physical footprint, and I'd recommend checking the space in your own kitchen or boot room before committing.

As a side note, 59 inches is almost 5 ft, and for a lot of kitchens that will be impossible. I positioned mine in a much smaller area, and it had ample space to move around.

The robot itself is a round disc made of matte black plastic. Power and Home buttons sit on the top, and a status light between the buttons pulses white when charging and turns amber if something is wrong.

Just behind these buttons is a hinged panel marked Filter, where you'll find the removable built-in dustbin and filter. To access this bin and filter, you need to push the bottom of the robot up to release the latch. This isn't immediately clear and can be fiddly.

Flip the robot over, and you'll see the wet roller on the front half, which consists of a horizontal blue microfiber cylinder. The two side sweepers, which are used for pulling trapped debris from corners and edges sit above it.

Behind the wet roller is the anti-tangle brush bar, a shorter red-bristled roller beneath a hinged cover with a red release tab, two large treaded wheels and a camera and sensor cluster is built into the front.

According to Dyson, the wet roller uses a "12-point hydration system" that refreshes the roller with heated water on every rotation rather than dragging a single damp pad around the floor. It also extends to both the left and right as and when needed for better baseboard cleaning.

A camera and sensor cluster is built into the front edge, and this is where the Spot+Scrub Ai's stain-detection system lives. This system beams a blade of green light over the floor to spot and catch dust, crumbs, and stains that can sometimes be missed in normal lighting.

On carpet, for example, the AI lifts the wet roller out of the way to avoid spreading stains, while the dry brush bar retracts when it senses liquid, so wet messes don't dirty the roller.

The HD camera then sits just above this light strip, sending what the light sees to an onboard AI processor that compares the image against a reference bank of nearly 200 different substances, from food and liquid to pet mess and hidden dust.

This AI decides how the robot should respond, and all of this happens locally on the robot itself rather than in the cloud, which Dyson positions as a privacy benefit as much as a speed one.

The dock then handles everything else. Its cyclonic system empties the robot's bin, while the wet roller is washed in 60°C water and dried with 45°C warm air, ready for the next cycle without you touching it.

All of this runs through the MyDyson app, which – if you've used any smart Dyson product before – will be instantly recognisable and is where all of your Dyson appliances and tools live.

If you haven't used the app before, it has a black background with white text and icons. The home screen shows a 3D render of the robot and dock, sitting above a navigation bar split into Overview, Manage maps, and Product settings tabs. From Overview, you get a live status showing battery percentage, current activity (washing or drying the wet roller), and an Activity history screen where you can check previous cleans.

The Manage maps tab is where the floor plan lives, and tapping into a clean brings up a "Set up clean" screen with two toggles at the top: Room and Target. This lets you either select specific rooms or draw a target zone for one-off cleans.

For the cleans themselves, you can switch between Auto, Quick, Quiet, and Boost cleaning modes, choose vacuum-only, wash-only, vacuum-then-wash or even adjust hydration level, plus create cleaning schedules. It's a similar level of control to the Dreame Aqua 10 Roller and is one of the best parts of the Spot+Scrub Ai in my opinion.

Maintenance features are built into the app too. You can check the condition of brushes, filters, and bags, see when parts need replacing, and order spares directly. Plus, it's a good place to start if your robot vacuum keeps getting stuck or isn't working as it should.

What Is the Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai Like to Use?

Living with the Spot+Scrub Ai is mostly hands-off, which is the point of a robot in this category, but the app takes longer to get used to than the interface suggests.

The basics are easy, but where it often slowed me down was room identification. The dark background and white labelling look sharp, but the room icons on the map aren't always easy to tell apart, and working out which numbered room matched which actual space in my home took some trial and error. Zooming and panning around the 3D map view is also less smooth than the flat 2D view, which I found easier to read during a clean.

The robot moves with the deliberate pace I'd expect from a LiDAR-equipped robot – it knows where it is and easily moves around and avoids furniture legs, shoes, and messy cables left on the floor. It also moves well over the thresholds between rooms.

I have a high threshold between the Karndean flooring in my kitchen and the solid wood of my hallway and the Spot+Scrub Ai didn't once hesitate or get tripped up by this in the same way other robots – even robots that cost a similar amount – have in the past.

Where the AI navigation is less convincing is how it interprets what it finds. You can visibly see the robot reacting to mess and on the most part, this is impressive. The Spot+Scrub Ai can return to areas time and again until it's successfully cleared the mess.

However, there were several occasions where I watched it treat larger debris as obstacles, rather than mess. It would approach, pick up a piece, divert, approach again, pick up another, divert again, rather than running a few passes over the whole area the way it does with finer debris. It would then effectively give up and say 'clean complete,' which meant I had to finish the job manually.

Finally, onto noise. When I first started using the Spot+Scrub Ai, it rattled and was annoyingly loud until I realised the cover on the dry brush compartment hadn't been locked into place properly, after which it was near-on silent during cleans.

The only time its noise felt intrusive was at the end of cleans when the dock automatically emptied the dustbin. It also makes a low hum when it cleans the mop, and that hum lasts for a few hours as the dock dries the mop too, but neither is a problem, and you soon get used to it.

Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai: Vacuuming Tests

To assess how well the Spot+Scrub Ai handles different types of mess, I ran a set of standardized tests on both hard floor and carpet, scattering a quarter cup each of sugar, lentils, and cereal across the floor with some pushed into corners and edges.

Sugar is used as a stand-in for fine debris like dust, lentils are a good proxy for medium debris, and cereal represents larger crumbs, kibble, or similar.

Sugar and lentils were handled well on both surfaces. The Spot+Scrub AI lifted around 95% of the remnants cleanly in a single pass without scattering further across the floor and picked up the rest on a second pass.

I was consistently impressed, both during these fine and medium debris tests and in day-to-day use, by how much was picked up and emptied into the dock each time.

Having the see-through bin helps with this, and it regularly highlights just how dirty my floor can be (even when it's recently been manually vacuumed), and just how much the Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai collects.

The standout performance and depth of cleaning, on carpet particularly, also makes the Spot+Scrub Ai a fantastic robot vacuum for pet hair.

Not only could I see just how many hairs had been collected on each run thanks to the see-through dustbin again, but even while building Lego, playing chess or sitting on the floor with my dog, I noticed far fewer dog hairs ending up on my hands, the board or the pieces. This was more impressive than my upright Dyson and gave me huge confidence about how clean my floors were with the Spot+Scrub Ai.

Even areas my dog tends to settle in, which usually need a manual vacuum to remove the dander once a day, stayed visibly clearer for longer than I'm used to.

Sadly, this performance set my expectations so high that when the Dyson performed so poorly with large debris, it made it all the more disappointing.

Rather than clearing the scattered cereal pieces in a few passes – or at all in some cases – the robot seemed to treat them more like obstacles than mess. When used in Room mode, the vacuum worked relatively methodically and was able to capture most of the large debris other than pieces at the edges of rooms and furniture. It wasn't perfect, and it didn't live up to its performance with fine and medium debris, but it was passable.

In Target mode however, when cleaning hardwood floors as well as carpet, the Spot+Scrub Ai consistently failed at the most basic of tasks.

It would often approach a piece of debris, recoil slightly as if it was an obstacle, go back to it, pick it up, divert slightly, approach the next piece, bounce away from it, return to pick it up, divert again and repeat.

It worked in a stop-start pattern rather than running a clean sweep over the area, and this meant that sometimes it cleared the lot, but at other times it only cleared small pockets of debris. It would then announce it had finished and return to the dock, leaving me to finish the job myself again with a manual sweep or vacuum.

In practical terms, and for most day-to-day messes and general upkeep of the house, I can hardly fault the vacuuming prowess of the Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai. It cut my manual vacuuming by in excess of 90% – the biggest reduction I've seen in all my time testing robot vacuums. I still used my cordless vacuum on carpets and stairs every weekend, but for daily maintenance, the robot handled most of the work.

I rarely have spills that involve large debris, so beyond the standardized tests, its poor cereal performance didn't make a noticeable impact on my everyday life. It's most definitely worth noting and is a significant flaw in an otherwise brilliant vacuum, but it didn't end up being a dealbreaker.

Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai: Mopping Tests

As the first Dyson robot vacuum to come with a mop, a feature that was missing from its predecessor, the Dyson 360 Vis Nav, I was most excited to see if Dyson's vacuuming expertise could expand to mopping. Sadly, it didn't.

I tested its mopping skills using our standard two-stains method. For the first test, I poured a quarter cup of ketchup onto my kitchen floor; for the second, I used a quarter cup of mustard.

The ketchup, which is slightly thinner, was cleared reasonably well. The mop lifted it within a couple of passes without much residue left behind.

Mustard, being thicker, didn't fare nearly as well.

The robot moved over it repeatedly but largely just spread it around rather than lifting it away. Similar to how it handled the large debris, the vacuum incorrectly concluded it had finished, even when there were still large blobs of mustard on the floor. It scanned the area, announced it was done, and returned to the dock.

After both tests, the floor felt sticky rather than clean, and even when my husband returned home three hours later, he said he could still smell ketchup.

The issues didn't stop there, though. The wet roller would leave trails of foam, evenly spaced, behind it as it worked. Unless caught early, these trails would dry and become water marks, and you could visually see the route the Spot+Scrub Ai had taken.

On the odd occasion, the stain-detection system that makes the robot so attentive to spills also made it overly sensitive to problems like the foam trails. It kept reading each foam trail as a fresh stain; it would then spin back around to deal with it, which would leave more foam behind it, which it would read as a stain, and it got stuck in a stain removal loop to the point I had to send it back to the dock manually.

On one hand, this may be my fault for not using Dyson's own solution. On the other, it's poor form that you're forced to spend more on a very specific product to not have to suffer poor performance. Plus, I've never had this problem using my own solution with any other robot vacuum-mop I've tested, so it's hugely disappointing.

After mopping, floors were left slightly damp but not soaked on the default hydration settings, but you can increase or reduce how much water is used in the app. In most cases, they were dry enough to walk on comfortably within five minutes, albeit a bit sticky.

Over several weeks of testing, I found myself actively avoiding using the mopping feature on the Dyson and mopping manually more often, which is far from ideal.

Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai: Maintenance

One of the main reasons to buy a robot vacuum is to cut down on day-to-day chores rather than add to them, and the Spot+Scrub Ai is a mixed result on that front.

Most routine maintenance is meant to be handled by the dock. After each run, it empties the dustbin, washes the wet roller to stop odor and dries it with warm air automatically. During my tests, the roller always came out clean and dry and never damp or musty.

Hair management is also good, helped by the anti-tangle design on the main brush bar. With a dog in the house and my long hair, I still needed to check the brush bar every couple of weeks and pull out the odd wrapped strand by hand, rather than never touching it at all but it was minimal.

Day-to-day, the clean and dirty water tanks are easy to lift out and refill, but the dustbin itself is trickier, and I had to watch a video to work out how to empty it – it's very easy once you know how, but it's not immediately obvious.

The bin and filter assembly pops up from a hinged panel on top of the robot with a gentle press, and both the robot's filter and the docking station's filter can be rinsed under a tap and left to dry for 24 hours before refitting. The wet roller and brush bar slide out in a similar way, each released by a button or tab rather than anything more involved.

Dyson recommends washing filters monthly and replacing the water filter in the dock annually, and the MyDyson app doesn't yet flag these reminders automatically in the way some rival robot vacuums do, so it's on you to keep track in the Product Settings menu.

It does, however, let you order replacement parts from the app, and because knowing how to clean a robot vacuum is key to extending its lifespan, this is a welcome touch.

Overall, maintenance sits somewhere between hands-off and hands-on. Topping up water, emptying the dirty tank, and the occasional hair check are unavoidable, but the dock does handle the bulk of the day-to-day work without intervention. For a robot at this price, that's about what I'd expect, even if it isn't quite as effortless as the most hands-off robots on the market.

How Does the Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai Compare?

Against the eufy Omni S1 Pro, our current favorite robot vacuum, the Spot+Scrub Ai's biggest advantage is its dock, which stores debris for up to 100 days versus the eufy's 60. That means longer stretches between having to manually empty the bin. The eufy edges it on overall vacuuming and mopping consistency, though, and fewer of the stain-detection quirks I encountered.

The Roborock Saros Z70 sits at a similar level but takes a different approach, using a mechanical arm to physically pick up socks, tissues, and other small objects from the floor. It's a novel answer to a problem the Spot+Scrub Ai still hasn't solved, given how it treated cereal more like an obstacle than a mess during my tests.

For a more direct mop comparison, the Dreame Aqua 10 Roller offers stronger suction on paper at 30,000 Pa against the Dyson's 18,000 Pa, along with a longer-running self-cleaning system that I found much more dependable on tougher stains. The Dreame Aqua 10 Roller is my go-to robot vacuum at home when I'm not reviewing alternative models, which says a lot about how highly I rate it.

Alternatively, if budget is the priority, the Shark PowerDetect 2-in-1 costs less but still offers a capable clean across both vacuuming and mopping. It doesn't match the Spot+Scrub Ai's hair pickup on carpet, but for homes without pets that gap may not justify Dyson's premium.

How I Tested the Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai

I used the Spot+Scrub Ai as my main robot vacuum for four weeks, running it across hard flooring and carpet, with a dog, children, and the usual day-to-day mess that comes with both.

Alongside daily cleans, I ran our standardized vacuum tests, scattering a quarter cup each of sugar, lentils, and cereal on both hard floor and carpet to assess fine, medium, and large debris pickup, and setting two stains, ketchup and mustard, on hard flooring to test the mopping function.

I tracked how the robot navigated my home, how it handled the dock's self-cleaning and self-emptying cycles, and how the MyDyson app held up across day-to-day scheduling, room management, and cleaning history.

Next, learn how to choose the best vacuum for every home and budget.

I didn’t expect much out of a portable blender. After all, how helpful could something so small be? I was sorely mistaken. The GreenPan Spin & Go instantly lived up to its name, allowing me to make drinks, smoothies, and the occasional daiquiri quickly and painlessly as a busy mom of five. I was shocked by its versatility, strength, intuitive design, and ease of use right out of the box.

Over three weeks of using this personal blender, it became a go-to kitchen appliance, but a mini-version that I couldn’t live without, replacing bulkier blenders I’ve tested and loved recently.

Here’s why anyone addicted to iced coffee, smoothies, or single-serving cooking should consider this product.

Product Specifications: GreenPan Spin & Go Portable Blender

Design and First Impressions

Unboxing the portable blender is simple and takes just minutes. The designers had mercy on our busy lives and sent it already partially charged, though it’s recommended to charge for a full 70 minutes out of the box.

Of course, like every busy person, I skipped this to see how it would perform upon opening, and got multiple cycles out of it before needing to charge it. From there, the product can perform 15 cycles before needing to be charged for about an hour, which, in my use of the product, meant typically charging it for one hour once per week.

There is little to no setup. You simply open the container, motor, and lid and piece them together with simple directions, such as turning the container to secure it onto the motor.

The product comes in some trendy and pretty colors, including Blueberry, Cream, Seaside, Slate, and Strawberry, to match any preference or kitchen color scheme. At the time of publishing, the product was on sale for around $140, down from the typical price of around $200, suggesting that shoppers in the market for a portable blender should watch for sales on this product.

The product was packaged with some plastic and some recyclable materials, and overall well secured.

Blending Performance

In testing blenders, we put our products through rigorous testing, from chunky ice cubes to sticky ingredients, analyzing how well it will perform across a versatile range of recipes. The settings include: smoothie, crush, clean, blend, or pulse, and each have their purpose and are helpful for different foods and drinks.

Here’s what I found in each test.

The Ice test

Okay, fine, this was actually a daiquiri test. I combined five or six ice cubes with a small premade margarita and a small bowl of frozen strawberries.

I was shocked upon turning on the “crush” setting that all of the ice cubes were obliterated in literal seconds (under 10, to be precise). The blender takes a quick break every five to 10 seconds, which actually seems to help in letting the ingredients settle, just to be shaken up again. Within 15 seconds, the entire daiquiri was made, and all of the ice was smooth in consistency.

The initial few seconds were a bit higher on my decibel meter, in the high 80’s, but nothing stressful or overly unexpectedly loud. After those first few seconds, the sound was less intense.

The Smoothie Test

A thick smoothie consisting of a scoop of protein powder, a 20g protein Greek yogurt, and blueberries was a formidable foe to this small and typically mighty product. It struggled for a bit with getting all the yogurt from the sides of the container, but ultimately prevailed after a little time (still under 30 seconds total).

This test showed that it performs better with some added liquid, whether you are making sauces, smoothies, or dips.

So, in the future, I’ll add a bit of water to the smoothie if I use this product. In the end, it fully mixed the ingredients, with just a single blueberry remaining at the bottom.

The Portability Test

On a busy morning, as I got my kids out the door, I mixed some supplement powders into my coffee with a little ice and milk, a cold treat on a rushed day. This was a small moment of luxury in my busy life, and made me realize that with the right products such as this one, these small indulgences are possible without much extra time or effort.

The portability of the to-go cup meant that I could simply grab it and leave, without a straw (though that works too in the opening) or any cleanup or transferring. This is likely why the pouring spout is pretty small to begin with – it’s really for drinking, not pouring, typically. The only portability issue was that this wider container doesn’t fit into the cupholders of all of my cars. However, it’s still worth the portability to not have to transfer your drink into a to-go cup.

Cleaning and Maintenance

Just when you think this product couldn’t get any more convenient, you realize it’s self-cleaning. With just a little water, a drop of dish soap, and the “clean” button, you don’t have to scrub around blades like other blenders. Another option is to put the container and lid into the dishwasher, but definitely not the motor base. In reality, I’ll likely continue to hand-wash the container because it’s just so quick and easy.

Storing the product is simple for people who don’t want to occupy the counter space. You can disassemble it and easily store it in a small cabinet, or leave it out for the next use without taking up much space at all.

What Shoppers Say

This portable blender is a high performer, and rivals and competitors' products, such as the Ninja Blast Cordless Portable Blender, or the nutribullet Flip Portable Blender. Though some find the GreenPan too small, there is little other criticism, even on the GreenPan site itself, from reviewers.

The powerful, portable, easy-to-clean product stands up to its competitors, even at double the price of some, like the nutribullet.

Should You Buy the GreenPan Spin & Go Portable Blender?

Yes, you should absolutely buy the GreenPan Spin & Go Portable Blender. The product is simply life-changing, by giving you quick and easy access to healthy (or just fun) drinks and foods, eliminating steps like transferring liquid in the busy moments that matter.

Its intuitive design means you won’t have to guess, and the powerful motor means you won’t be shaking the ingredients to remix them or struggling through a blending job. It just does what it’s supposed to do.

How We Test Blenders

Over the years, we've refined our process for how we test blenders.

The first step is market research. We keep in touch with the industry to make sure that we're always first to hear about a new launch, and will almost always call it in to test to try and be among the first to assess how well it performs. Every blender must be tested for a prolonged period (two weeks or more) to check for any issues and assess the product's longevity, and where possible, we aim to keep blenders in-house to test them on a long-term basis, updating our reviews as the months and years pass to see if our favorite is still ahead of the crowd.

Smoothies are the most basic thing a blender can do. They're pretty much why blenders were invented, so if we've got a model that can't handle these you won't find it anywhere near our rankings of the best.

We then see if a blender can crush ice. Ice is useful for two reasons. One is as a straightforward test of sheer power. Weak blenders won't be able to crush it, or will do half a job. A powerful, premium blender should be able to mist ice cubes into fine white powder. If a blender can't manage this, then it can't earn a perfect score.

A blender will score extra points in our tests if it operates quietly. We monitor the decibel levels on every test. We also clean every blender by hand to see how easy this is, and if it feels safe.

You can find out more details on our How We Test Blenders page.

What Else to Shop

From must-have blender accessories to non-toxic portable food storage, we've curated our favourite kitchen essentials to simplify meal prep and make eating on the go easier.

All prices correct at time of publication.

Looking for something a little bigger, but still need to be cautious with storage space? Check out the best blender food processors to save space.

Love the latest product news and helpful shopping advice? Sign up for our newsletter and get the latest features delivered straight to your inbox.

The Beast GO Cordless Portable Blender is designed to be as stylish as it is practical. Its sleek, compact design takes up very little counter space, while the cordless construction makes it easy to blend wherever you are. In theory, it's a clever twist on a kitchen staple, allowing you to blend smoothies, shakes, dressings, and sauces at home, at work, or on the go.

Designed for portability, the Beast GO promises up to 13 blending cycles per charge and claims to be 50% more powerful than the average portable blender. It certainly has plenty of appeal for anyone short on space or constantly on the move.

After testing it, however, I found the experience to be a little more mixed. While there is a lot to like, a handful of frustrations hold it back from being one of the very best portable blenders for the money. Here's exactly where it shines, and where it falls short.

Product Specifications: Beast GO Cordless Blender

Design and First Impressions

Opening the blender was fairly easy, and all of the individual parts were laid out in a cardboard tray and individually wrapped in plastic. In addition to the motor base, it also comes with a 670 mL blending vessel, storage lid, drinking lid, carry cap, straw, charger, and cleaning brushes. I liked that this blender seemed to come with everything you needed to make a smoothie and take it on the go, which was definitely a plus, especially for anyone who doesn’t want to buy a bunch of individual items.

The motor base was halfway charged out of the box, so I plugged it in to get to a full charge. Immediately, I wished the charging cord were longer, but I made a mental note to swap it for a longer cord later if needed. Once the motor base was charged, I was ready to blend cord-free by simply adding a few ingredients and using the single light-up button on the motor base to either pulse or blend.

The base is also much lighter than my current blender, which I have to lug out and put away after each use. That makes the Beast GO Cordless Portable Blender ideal for people with small kitchens or who like to make things on the go, and it becomes even more lightweight if you swap the motor base out for a flat base.

Blending Performance

We test a range of standard foods across our blenders over a few weeks to judge performance and make comparisons between cookware. You can find more details on this process in our guide to How We Test Blenders,

For each of these tests, I used the standard 30-second blend cycle, occasionally stirring, shaking, or running a second blend cycle if needed. One of Beast’s tips is to start with five to seven pulses if you’re blending tougher ingredients.

The Smoothie Test

My first test on this blender was a fruit smoothie made with frozen pineapples, frozen mangos, coconut milk, and protein powder. The blender also comes with instructions on the order in which you add ingredients, starting with liquids, followed by powder and nut butters, then leafy greens, then fresh or frozen fruit, and ice cubes as needed. If you don’t add enough liquid, the button light will blink yellow, prompting you to add more liquid before proceeding. I was usually able to make this smoothie in two blending cycles, though I often had to stir in between.

I also find that many items with a smaller amount of liquid need more than one blend. This wasn’t necessarily surprising since the blades were much smaller than a typical home blender, and I found that shaking the blender while it was running did help; however, someone who wants a blender that’s one-and-done might find that this blender requires some guess-and-checking to ensure that all your ingredients are incorporated. The blender came in at 80 decibels when making this smoothie, which was quieter than my countertop but still a bit grating.

I also tried a peanut butter banana smoothie. This is my go-to smoothie, so I knew I had to use this combination of frozen bananas, soy milk, peanut butter powder, protein powder, and cacao for this test. Since I prefer a smoothie with a thicker consistency, I added less liquid than would be typically used to get a smoothie consistency, which meant that I needed to shake the blender during the first blend and run it a second time to get everything smooth. Then, it was easy to add the drinking lid and enjoy. The blender came in at 80 decibels, which was to be expected since it had large chunks of frozen fruit.

The Ice Test

Similar to the Beast Mighty 850 we reviewed, crushing ice is not this blender’s forte. The first time I added large ice cubes to the blender and pressed the button, I was initially met with a blinking yellow light, which indicated that there was a motor overload. I decided to add four ounces of water and then blend to see if that would work, and I was able to blend the ice into something resembling a crushed ice texture.

When testing it again, I added ice cubes up to the fill line and then blended. Initially, the blender didn’t turn on, and I realized this was because the large ice cubes were blocking the blade from spinning. After spinning, the blender turned on and ran its 30-second cycle. The sound averaged 70 decibels, which puts it on the quieter side but not the quietest option out there. Upon opening the blender, I found that the ice on the blade was more powdery, but the ice at the top of the blender was entirely intact. If making frozen drinks or concoctions, you might want to opt for something more powerful, such as the Vitamix e520.

The Sauce Test

While making steak, I decided to make chimichurri sauce with roughly chopped parsley and shallots. Initially, I tried to blend without any liquid, which did not work, so I added several tablespoons of olive oil and blended for 30 seconds. The blender did a good job of incorporating all the ingredients without pulverizing everything, and I was able to open the top, add the rest of the ingredients, and serve the sauce.

The smaller size of this blender is ideal for making sauces for my spouse and me. That said, I could see someone making food for a much larger group of people needing a blender with a larger capacity.

Portability

The Beast Go Portable Blender wins in the portability category, even enabling you to add ingredients, blend, and drink your concoction entirely on the go. I never had any issues with leaking as long as I had screwed the bottom very tightly. It’s very light and portable, making it great for anyone who’s on the go, and it fits easily in a smaller fridge at work. I was even able to rinse it out and clean it immediately.

The current design seems to assume that you’ll leave the motor base while drinking it, something I saw in all of the photos and promotional materials, though my preference was to flip the blender and add the drinking lid so I could take the blender on the go without an attached base. Even though I had read the instructions, I spilled my first smoothie all over myself because I unscrewed the blender from the base, which is what I did with the blender I typically use.

Afterward, I was much more careful to tighten the bottom, flip it, remove the motor base, and add the drinking lid. In hindsight, the instructions are very clear about how to open the blender, so I’d consider this a user error.

Cleaning and Maintenance

To clean the blender, wash the blending vessel, lid, and cap in the top rack of your dishwasher. The blender comes with a base cleaning brush, which can be used to clean the blade thoroughly with soap and water. It also comes with a straw cleaner, something I already had but appreciated using to clean the included silicone straw.

All the silicone accessories were easy to clean, and I didn’t need to use the dishwasher to clean any of the components. I found that hot water and a bottle brush were best for scrubbing the inside of the blending vessel, though I did notice that the ribbed interior of the blending vessel usually required some more meticulous scrubbing, especially when I made chunkier dips and sauces, or if I let it sit instead of washing it immediately.

My main gripe is that the blades of the blender cannot be removed from the motor base, which is not dishwasher safe, and cannot be submerged in water. To get around this, I covered the charging port and tilted the base to the side so only the blades would be under running water, and I scrubbed under the blades to clean them.

What Shoppers Say

The Beast Go Portable Blender is the best portable blender that I’ve tried, especially because it has a decent capacity and battery charge. This blender is on the pricier side, especially for the capacity, although many reviews found it to be worth the investment for how portable it was and how long the battery lasts.

It’s also ideal for people who are on the go since you can make and take your blended concoctions on the go with relative ease. Customers on Amazon agree, saying that this is a great portable blender that delivers reliable results, but it doesn’t replace a countertop blender that’s more powerful or has capacity for large batches.

Some constructive reviews concurred with my own experience, commenting that the blender can’t blend things that are too chunky or grainy, and that it was often frustrating to clean because of the ribbed interior. In particular, one person noted that blended nuts and seeds gather around the blades, making it harder to clean at times.

In terms of personal blenders with stronger blending power, the Nutribullet Ultra we reviewed is an option with a higher capacity at 32 ounces and can blend through frozen fruit, leafy greens, and powders in one go, and it’s even powerful enough to crush ice.

Should You Buy the Beast GO Portable Blender?

Overall, this is ideal for somebody looking for a cordless portable blender that looks pretty on your counter and next to your desk at work, and is particularly good if you want to blend something and immediately pour it onto your food or into a storage container. It’s also ideal for people who camp or take road trips since it has decent battery life and is easy to store.

Want something a little more powerful and are willing to forego the cordless feature? Check out our Ninja Blast review, which is ideal if you make protein shakes, or browse our list of top blenders. Otherwise, if you like your portability but prefer an insulated design that keeps your drink cold all day long, check out the Nutribullet Flip Insulated Blender.

You can certainly find more powerful countertop blenders at this price point, but this one is great for people with limited storage space who are only making one to two servings of smoothies or smaller amounts of dips and sauces. For a more powerful countertop blender that can make smoothies and soup as well as crush ice, try the Vitamix E520.

How We Test Blenders

Over the years, we've refined our process for how we test blenders.

The first step is market research. We keep in touch with the industry to make sure that we're always first to hear about a new launch, and will almost always call it in to test to try and be among the first to assess how well it performs. Every blender must be tested for a prolonged period (two weeks or more) to check for any issues and assess the product's longevity, and where possible, we aim to keep blenders in-house to test them on a long-term basis, updating our reviews as the months and years pass to see if our favorite is still ahead of the crowd.

Smoothies are the most basic thing a blender can do. They're pretty much why blenders were invented, so if we've got a model that can't handle these you won't find it anywhere near our rankings of the best.

We then see if a blender can crush ice. Ice is useful for two reasons. One is as a straightforward test of sheer power. Weak blenders won't be able to crush it, or will do half a job. A powerful, premium blender should be able to mist ice cubes into fine white powder. If a blender can't manage this, then it can't earn a perfect score.

A blender will score extra points in our tests if it operates quietly. We monitor the decibel levels on every test. We also clean every blender by hand to see how easy this is, and if it feels safe.

You can find out more details on our How We Test Blenders page.

What Else to Shop

From must-have blender accessories to non-toxic portable food storage, we've curated our favourite kitchen essentials to simplify meal prep and make eating on the go easier.

All prices correct at time of publication.

Looking for something with a little more versatility? Consider the best blender food processor combos to save space on double appliances

Love the latest product news and helpful shopping advice? Sign up for our newsletter and get the latest features delivered straight to your inbox.

In cases where a second vacuum cleaner is required for more robust cleaning (que tidying up after some DIY or sweeping up patio debris), a wet and dry vacuum cleaner will give you the versatility you're after since, after all, you should already have one of the best vacuums to use day to day.

I've tested the Karcher WD5 P Wet & Dry Vacuum to see if it can fulfil its mission of providing a 'powerful, convenient cleaning performance'. For one week, every other day, I have challenged it with: removing debris from the patio, blowing leaves out from underneath a table on the patio (using the blower function), lifting cereal and flour from hard flooring, and even removing water from the kids' sandpit.

The WD5 P has a 1100-watt motor to deliver superior air flow, and a 6.6-gallon container capacity for wet or dry debris. It'll remove the debris that you do not want your household vacuum to tackle, and I've found that it's a good appliance to have before pressure washing the patio (for example).

My One Minute Verdict

Easy to set up and simple to use with brilliant results, the Karcher WD5 P wet & dry vacuum cleaner is certainly one of the better wet & dry vacuums that I have used in a long time.

The 1100-watt motor delivers powerful suction to clear fine dust and heavy debris, and the built-in blower will quickly move dirt and debris from hard-to-reach places. It is a top-mounted design, which means that it is suitable for dry and wet debris, indoors and outdoors, but you'll need to swap out the fleece filter bag for any liquid pick-up.

It's one of six wet and dry vacuum cleaners by Karcher, with the WD5 P positioned toward the higher end. For example, it'll dent the wallet by $249, whereas the Karcher WD4 is $199, and the WD3 is $99.99. It is, however, robust. I've also tested the Karcher WD4, and I found that it is overall more powerful (despite having the same 1100-watt motor), more robust, and much easier to move around.

Throughout testing, though, the 26ft/5m power cable came up short. The 11.5ft suction hose is also gangly. And the 84dB noise level causes a stir.

A wet and dry vacuum cleaner that more closely resembles a cordless vacuum, such as the Dreame Z30 Pro Aqua Wet-to-Dry Vacuum, may be the better option if this noise and practicalities are likely to bother you. Alternatively, the Shark Messmaster Portable Wet/Dry Vacuum is compact enough to take outside to the car and leave it there to clear up after any little accidents, like spilled coffee or chip crumbs.

Karcher WD5 P Wet & Dry Vacuum Cleaner: Specifications

Karcher WD5 P Wet & Dry Vacuum Cleaner: Design and Features

The Karcher WD5 P Wet & Dry Vacuum Cleaner is designed to be used on dirt created by home projects outside of the home, which your standard vacuum simply can not handle.

It has a large 6.6-gallon (25L) container, which is suitable for holding wet and dry debris. The top-mounted filter allows for quick and easy removal from the filter box – without coming into contact with dirt. This means that there is no need to remove the filter as you switch between wet and dry cleaning, but you will need to remove the fleece bag to remove any wet stuff.

The top-mount can be released to access the fleece bag by folding down the handle and lifting to remove.

The WD5 P is packed with a 1100-watt motor, which can either clean up or blow away debris. To alternate between the two functions, attach the 11.5 ft. (3.5m) suction hose to either one of the outlets. You do only have the one power setting to use either function, but I found this ample enough for lifting dry or wet debris – and blowing it too.

It has a 26ft power cable and, unless you have a power outlet outside, you may benefit from an extension cord like this 10ft Amazon Basics cord ($6.99, Amazon). And while the 11.5ft suction hose with bent handle provides some extra length during cleaning, it can make it a difficult appliance to store because it doesn't like being wrapped around the container, and it increases the height required in the shed to house it.

At the base of the container are five wheels that help to maneuver the WD5 P. These are installed as part of the setup. You can either wheel it around by the fixed handle or lift it with this handle when taking it to another space to clean.

What Is the Karcher WD5 P Wet & Dry Vacuum Cleaner Like to Use?

The Karcher WD5 P wet and dry vacuum cleaner is a large appliance that'll need to be stored in the utility room or, better yet, in an outbuilding. It measures 25.7(H) x 15(W) x 16.5(L)in and weighs 19.2lbs, and when it's in use, it will get dirty.

It's designed to be used with either the floorhead or crevice tool attached to the suction tubes while removing debris off the floor, or while using the blower function. I found it easy to switch between the two different functions – blower and suction – by removing the suction tubes and tools, and turning the appliance with the one-speed dial.

The WD5 P is noticeably louder than a standard vacuum cleaner and is more in line with a pressure washer. I recorded a noise level reading of 84dB using the decibel meter reader app on my smartphone. This noise level is the same as that of the Karcher WD4, and it's equivalent to that of a passing vehicle.

Test 1: Flour and Sugar

In instances when you'll be wanting to clean up dust and dead skin, I wanted to see if the Karcher WD5 P could handle it by sprinkling half a cup of flour and half a cup of sugar on our tiled floor in the utility room. The flour is also an excellent visual test, as we can spot when it's left on the floor or stuck in any of the vacuum's parts.

With the floorhead attached to the suction hose and powered by the 1100-watt motor, the WD5 P effortlessly cleared a pathway through the flour and sugar in one clear pass. All the debris made it into the fleece bag; no clouds of 'dust' escaped before, during, and after the removal, either.

Test 2: Pantry

For my next test, I spilled cereal and rice on the tiled floor in our utility room. This was to replicate a scenario where the WD5 P could face larger debris, indoors and outdoors, such as small stones, sawdust, and wood chippings.

The floorhead made a clear pathway through the rice with no grains getting stuck or blown off course. However, the cereal got pushed along by the floorhead unless I lifted and dropped the floorhead on it so that it could be vacuumed. No cereal became stuck or lodged in the hose.

Test 3: Water

As a wet and dry vacuum, I wanted to demonstrate how the WD5 P removed liquid. To do this, I used it in the yard and challenged it with the removal of rainwater from my kids' sandpit after a deluge of rain over the past few days. I figured that it would be a big help to remove and contain the rainwater prior to emptying, rather than to flood the patio and make it wet for play.

When removing liquids, you'll need to remove the bag by lifting off the top of the canister. This will prevent the fleece bag from getting weighed down by liquid and avoid frequent replacement in case the fleece starts to degrade.

For the purpose of the test, I also removed the floorhead to get a clear visual, although it is suitable for use on liquids when the bristles are raised by flipping the switch on the floorhead.

All the liquid was quickly removed from the sandpit and deposited in the container. When I turned off the appliance, water ran back down the suction tubes that were being held in by the strong suction. This is something to be aware of, especially if you're removing floodwater or spilt liquids from washing machine leaks or gas can drops.

Test 4: Attachments

The Karcher WD5 P only comes with one attachment other than the floorhead, and that is the crevice tool. This tool is suitable for targeting the suction and blower delivered by the 1100-watt motor air flow. However, over time, I wouldn't expect this attachment to get much use because you can just use the handle to the same effect.

Throughout the week-long tests, I also used the Karcher WD5 P to clear up the patio in the yard. It was littered with sand from the kids' sandpit, leaves from fall, moss from the roof, and rotting vegetation.

I stretched the 5m-long cable and reached as far round as I could before pulling the plug out of the outlet, and my toddler son wanted to take over.

The WD5 P did a great job at removing everything within its path, with all debris contained in the container. However, some debris did become lodged in the floorhead and suction hose, which limited the suction power. I noticed a shift in gears when this occurred, so I switched off the power to dislodge the tissue and twigs.

Karcher WD5 Wet & Dry Vacuum Cleaner: Setup and Maintenance

The Karcher WD5 P wet and dry vacuum cleaner is a large appliance, so it arrives in a large delivery box. This big, branded yellow box doesn't have any handles, which makes it difficult to move into a space to set up, so I recommend having an extra pair of hands to help out.

A combination of cardboard and plastic packaging secures the parts inside the box. Inside the box are all the parts required to start using the WD5 P from the get-go. This includes: an 11.5 ft. (3.5m) suction hose, (2x) 1.8 ft. (0.5m) suction tubes, hand nozzle, crevice nozzle, a switchable wet/dry floor nozzle, automotive-style pleated filter, and a fleece filter bag. If you're buying the WD5 P in the States, you'll also receive a power tool adapter for attaching to an industrial DN 35 suction hose.

It also comes with the addition of a clip-on storage belt for securing the crevice nozzle and floor nozzle, which, although it isn't classed as an 'accessory' per se, it is a part that doesn't come with the Karcher WD4.

Upon opening, you'll find that the suction hose and five castor wheels are located inside the 6.6-gallon container. It also comes with instructions to "help" with setup, but, as with all Karcher instructions, I found these difficult to interpret and follow because there are no words to support the minuscule diagrams.

Fortunately, I could figure out what goes where using no fewer than some essential DIY skills, such as clipping and slotting together, and some thought.

To set it up, I clipped on the storage belt; attached the suction hose to the container; connected the suction tubes to the hose and hand nozzle; installed the fleece filter bag and popped on the five castor wheels. The pleated filter was already in place. This took no longer than five minutes.

All these parts will need some level of maintenance.

The fleece filter bags will need replacing when they get full, or if they get too damp from removing wet debris. How often you replace it will depend on the type of dry debris that you're removing. Replacement bags can be bought from Amazon for $16.19 (pack of 4), which can be attached by simply opening the bag and placing it inside the vacuum.

The filter bags will need to be removed when vacuuming wet debris or liquids. When this type of debris is being removed, the container will need to be wheeled over to a drain for emptying, which is OK in itself, but the container is large, so it's a bit cumbersome to lift or tip. The liquid will also be filthy dirty, and you won't want that being taken into your home.

In use, I found that the switchable wet/dry floor nozzle and suction tubes became lodged with larger debris, which stopped me in my tracks. I removed the blockage by unclipping the floor nozzle or suction tube (depending on the blockage location).

Over time, a cleaning tip that I would recommend is to wipe each part of the WD4 to keep it in a good working order. The top-mounted filter may also begin to perish and become damaged, so you'll need to replace it with a new one ($22.99, Karcher.com).

How Does the Karcher WD5 P Wet & Dry Vacuum Cleaner Compare?

The Karcher WD5 P is one of eight wet and dry vacuum cleaners from the German brand, which is available in the United States and the UK. As with half of the category, it's mains powered, whereas the other four wet and dry vacuum cleaners by the brand are battery-powered.

It's priced at $249.99 and is available to buy directly from Karcher or resellers such as Amazon (where you might find it a little cheaper). It is one of the more expensive wet and dry vacuums from the brand, with the more expensive tagged at $349.99 (Karcher WD6 PS) and the more affordable at $99.99 (Karcher WD3).

I've also reviewed the Karcher WD4 wet and dry vacuum cleaner and, after comparing the two, note that the WD5 P is generally more robust with sturdier onboard storage; one button to remove the top mount (rather than two clips at the side) and a stronger, fold-down handle. While it has the same 1100W motor as the WD4, it has a greater suction power (260 watts) and can pack away more debris into its 6.6-gallon container.

The wet and dry vacuum cleaners with a plug do fall short on what it can reach to clean because of the length of the power cable – it's just 5m in length, which can be restrictive when working on different jobs around the home. Karcher also has battery-powered wet and dry vacuums, like the WD2-18 Cordless Wet and Dry Vacuum, which is powered by an 18V / 2.5 Ah Karcher battery and has the largest container capacity (3.17 gallons) in the battery-powered category.

Alternatively, I appreciate that not everyone would be looking to have a wet and dry vacuum quiet as big as these Karchers (including the battery-powered), so, if you're after a second vacuum of this nature that is perhaps even more portable, then I'd be looking at the Shark Messmaster Portable Wet/Dry Vacuum.

This option retails for around $100, and our reviewer, Camryn Rabideau, found that it’s a powerful and versatile cleaning tool that can be used all around your home. On test, Camryn found that it had no problem sucking up spider webs, debris under car seats, and even spilled milk, and unlike a full-size shop vac, this model is quick and easy to clean. Plus, it’s compact enough to tuck into a closet when it’s not in use, so it’s ideal for anyone who has limited storage space in their home.

A wet and dry vacuum that more closely resembles a cordless vacuum is the Dreame Z30 Pro Aqua Wet-to-Dry Vacuum. As a stick vacuum, it is a lot lighter to use, and it'll do a great job of removing pet hair from hard flooring and carpets. Our reviewer, Victoria Woollaston, found that 'it's an impressive multitasker that delivers on its core promise of being a full-power cordless vacuum and floor washer in one.' The Z30 also has a self-cleaning station. However, it is almost double the price of the Karcher wet and dry vacuums, which isn't a drawback, just something to think about.

How We Test Vacuums

At Homes & Gardens, we have a dedicated and thorough procedure for how we test vacuums so we can get a like-for-like comparison between models, and to make sure we're recreating real-life circumstances.

I tested the Karcher WD5 P Wet & Dry Vacuum Cleaner as and when it was required over a two-week period. It was used on hard flooring (laminate and tiles), liquids and solids, indoors and outdoors. In addition to running all three standardized tests – flour and sugar; rice and cereal – I used it to clean the moss-heavy patio, and to remove water from the kids' sandpit. This included removing leaves, small stones, and moss fallen from the roof. I then recorded how noisy it was using the DecibelX app.

This gave me the complete picture of how this wet dry vacuum would perform in real conditions, rather than a single test session, including the practicalities of cleaning and storage, and its overall condition after the two weeks of testing.

If you're sold on getting the Karcher WD5 P Wet & Dry Vacuum Cleaner, then it would be wise to know about the things that you can clean with a wet-dry vacuum. However, if you only need a vacuum cleaner for removing dry debris, then check out these vacuum cleaners for pet hair, which are equally as good; just a different spec.

When I first received the Victoria Cast Iron Skillet, I wasn't sure what to expect. After weeks of hands-on testing, however, I can safely say that it is one of the best pans I have ever cooked with. It has allayed all of my fears of cooking with cast iron.

I used the 10" Victoria Cast Iron Skillet for a series of tests from robust burgers to delicate eggs, and was blown away at how perfectly it performed time after time. I was planning on gifting it to my dad after testing, but now it is staying firmly in my own kitchen.

This is exactly why I think this is some of the best non-toxic cookware money can buy, and how it far surpasses its modest $25 price tag.

Product Specifications: Victoria 10-Inch Cast Iron Skillet

Design and First Impressions

The Victoria Cast Iron Skillet is made in Colombia and looks similar to many of the other best cast iron pans, with a sturdy handle and helper handle to balance the weight. It's easy enough to hold with one hand if you have a strong grip, but the helper handle certainly helps if holding for a prolonged period.

The pan has two deep pouring spots on either side as well, which I found to be especially useful when I was pouring out some excess hot fat from the pan after frying burgers. They are shaped to prevent drips, which makes the process safer and simpler.

Arriving pre-seasoned with 100% non-GMO, kosher-certified flaxseed oil, the skillet is free from PTFE, PFOA, and other synthetic coatings, making it naturally non-toxic. The deep, smooth surface helps to prevent food from sticking. It is shaped specifically to allow for simmering sauces as well as frying, adding to its versatility.

Cooking Performance

When it comes to testing cast iron pans, I use the same tests to establish a baseline for performance, cooking meat, eggs, and pancakes to see how it handles searing and delicate release foods.

I could not find any fault with the Victoria Cast Iron Skillet in this regard. From first use, it delivered perfectly cooked foods that never stuck or burned, with the performance only improving over time as the seasoning developed.

The only thing to note is that the metal is so good at conducting and maintaining heat that the handle does become hot when cooking. I used a dish towel to lift it safely; however, you can also find custom-made Victoria silicone handle covers at Amazon.

Burgers

When first cooking with cast iron, it is always recommended that you cook higher-fat foods to help develop the initial seasoning. I chose burgers for this, using a butcher's pork burger for my first cook.

I preheated the pan on a low heat and added plenty of oil (more than I usually would for the first fry), and my extra-large burger.

It took approximately six minutes a side to cook through completely, and flipped easily with no sticking at all. I was incredibly impressed, as I had prepared myself for a mess. The whole process was seamless, with the meat browning without burning, and cooking through while remaining juicy.

When it was done, I took it out and added the buttered bun to toast as the meat rested. Again, I expected it to stick, especially as there was a small amount of debris left from the meat. However, it toasted evenly without sticking or tearing. All in all, it was thoroughly delicious.

I repeated this test a few weeks later when I cooked two beef burgers. It was a squash to get both XL patties into the 10" pan, but I managed, especially as they shrank while cooking.

Having used the pan a few times between the two burger tests, I could see the effect of seasoning building up nicely. The beef burgers left absolutely no residue, with no sticking. It was simply perfect. The buns toasted nicely again, too.

Sausage Hash

A quick sausage hash is a go-to lunch for me, and usually comprises of the vegetables I need to use up from the fridge. I used turkey sausages, onion, spinach, potato, and usually add tomatoes, although I omitted this from this test as it is inadvisable to cook high-acidity food in new cast iron.

As with the burgers, the meat browned evenly without sticking. The added finely diced onions caramelized quickly without scorching, and when I added starchy par-boiled potatoes, they hardly stuck. The pan did have some sticky residue on it after cooking, as to be expected, but it didn't burn, and was simple enough to scrape away with a wooden spoon.

Fried Eggs

Fried eggs are the real litmus test for a good pan. They are incredibly delicate, and the fine whites can stick and burn if you are not careful.

It is safe to say I was nervous for this test, but the preheated and oiled pan delivered once again. Having cracked two medium eggs into the hot oil, they fried wonderfully, developing a perfectly crispy skirt that didn't burn.

When it came to releasing them from the surface with my spatula, they lifted instantly without putting up a fight. After flipping and cooking, the pan had no debris left besides small parts of white that I broke off accidentally when separating the eggs. It felt miraculous.

Pancakes

It is safe to say that by the time I reached the pancake test, I was feeling incredibly confident. That said, I wasn't expecting just how perfectly it would master this task.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the first pancake of any batch is the sacrificial pancake. It never turns out quite right. This pan proved that wrong. I used my usual protein pancake mix, preheated the pan on low, and oiled well. I poured in the first batch of batter, allowed it to bubble across the surface, and flipped.

As with the eggs, the spatula slipped beneath with ease. To my joy, the pancake was perfectly golden, as you can see in the video below. I had my friend on a video call with me as I did this, and even she was impressed at how perfectly the first pancake turned out.

I needed to redistribute the oil between each pancake, lifting the pan and tilting it to ensure the surface was evenly coated without having to add any more. The rest of the pancakes were just as perfect.

After cooking, the pan looked as if it had hardly been used at all. It was brilliant, and I will never cook pancakes in anything else again.

Cleaning, Storage and Maintenance

Cleaning cast iron has a bad reputation for being difficult, and while it is not as simple as throwing it in the dishwasher or soaking it in the sink for a few hours, with the right steps, I found it to be surprisingly straightforward.

Because the pan didn't struggle with sticking, I waited for it to cool to the point of being very comfortable to handle, and used a chain mail scrubber, available at Walmart, to dislodge any debris, and then a soft sponge to clean away any excess grease.

Hand drying after is a must to avoid rust, but besides this, I also found putting it back on the stove for two minutes on a very low heat to be particularly effective at drying the metal out.

Beyond that, I seasoned lightly after every use with a small amount of grapeseed oil, also at Walmart, spreading it around the pan with a paper towel. Once dried, I put it back into my Umbra Peggy Organizer (from Amazon) in my cabinet.

It is recommended that you deeply season your cast-iron pans on occasion, adding more oil and baking it off in the oven. I have not reached this point with my pan yet, but given the ease of use in every other task, I do not expect any trouble with this.

How Does the Victoria 10-Inch Cast Iron Skillet Compare?

There are two main pans in our review catalogue to best compare the Victoria Cast Iron Skillet to, both tested by our former Kitchen Appliance Editor and Chef, Lydia Hayman.

The first is the Lodge Skillet, which has previously held the place of our best budget option. That said, I think the Victoria Skillet has taken its place. With its smooth surface and pretty design, it outdoes the rough machined surface of the Lodge for a similar price. They both perform well, but the smooth triple-seasoned surface of the Victoria makes it simpler to use out of the box.

Our current 'best in class' is the Field Company Skillet. This exceptional pan was met beat per beat by the Victoria pan. The Field Co pan feels slightly lighter in comparison, and is just as low stick, making either an excellent choice for your kitchen. At $165, however, it is almost seven times more expensive than the Victoria pan, so it will come down to budget and personal preference on design.

The Victoria 10" Cast Iron Skillet is also adored by customers, with several glowing five-star reviews on the Victoria Cookware site. Each complements how easy it is to use, even for first-time cast-iron cooks.

Of the lower star reviews, one user commented on the pan arriving with rust; however, I can only see one of these, and I am sure that the company facilitated an exchange, given the pans' limited lifetime warranty.

My Verdict: Should You Buy the Victoria 10-Inch Cast Iron Skillet?

Without a shadow of a doubt, I think the Victoria Cast Iron Skillet is worth the money and then some. At only $25 for a 10" pan (at the time of writing), it is one of the most affordable pans on the market, and performs like pans four or five times the price.

It is perfectly suited to anyone who enjoys cooking with cast iron or who wants to start and is wary of some higher-priced pieces. It truly excels at frying meat and handles delicate frying with grace. I cannot wait to see what else I can create in it.

How We Test Cookware at Homes & Gardens

The best cookware has to tick all the boxes: Versatility, manageable weight, safe materials, brilliant cooking performance, and, crucially, ease of cleaning.

You can read more details about how we test cookware at Homes & Gardens, including how long we vet each piece for and specifically which recipes we trial.

I test all cookware in my own home under real-world conditions – usually mid-week meals cooked after work, putting the pans through regular use over a range of recipes to get a good understanding of how these pans perform and fit into the everyday, hard-working home.

What Else to Shop

If you care for cookware correctly, cast-iron can last for generations. To help you protect your investment, I’ve rounded up six of my favourite cleaning, seasoning, and maintenance tools to keep your new heirloom performing at its best for decades to come.

All prices were correct at the time of publishing.

Not sure if cast iron is for you? We have a whole guide to choosing the best cookware that will help you find the right type for your household.

Love the latest product news and helpful shopping advice? Sign up for our newsletter and get the latest features delivered straight to your inbox.

The Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra carries only a modest premium over the standard S20, with a price tag that comes in just shy of $1000.

And while that seems like a steep price to pay, it’s competitive in the world of the best robot vacuums. For this price, you're getting a machine that vacuums and mops effectively, delivers strong suction performance, independently navigates around the home, and incorporates several genuinely advanced features.

Like the non-Ultra Yeedi S20 Infinity version that I also reviewed, this robot vacuum also uses two cleaning solutions for cleaner floors – something I appreciate when testing for the best vacuum. Read on to discover how the new Ultra model (currently discounted to $849.99 at Amazon) compares to its predecessor and if it's truly worth the premium price tag.

The One-Minute Summary

When I reviewed the Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra’s non-Ultra predecessor, I was impressed, if not quite blown away. While this upgraded version is not perfect, it gets much closer. It’s quieter in operation. Its vacuuming is just as good. Its mopping seems even better. And it’s easier to maintain.

It also keeps the things that I liked about the previous version, including the two cleaning solutions and the Matter-certified smart home support. It adds a few new features like an AI Agent Mode, though the touted 'Jet Spray' addition doesn't feel like a worthwhile addition.

I also think that, despite the price, it’s competitive with other models that offer the same type of cleaning experience. Just be prepared to spend close to a thousand dollars for it. Of course, that’s typically the case with the vacuums of this variety. You’re paying for the convenience and hands-free operation. A typical vacuum offers a deeper clean, but requires some elbow grease, and the Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra allows you to postpone those deep cleans and keep up regular cleans with ease.

Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra: Specifications

Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra: Setup

For a product that’s mostly already assembled and arrives in just a few pieces, the Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra does take a little while to set up. Now, it’s not complicated. The base station is intact except that the extended base plate needs to be attached (and it just drops in), and the robot vacuum itself already has all the brushes installed. Opening and adding the two different included cleaning solutions is not difficult.

Really, what takes so long is removing the various sheets of plastic and smaller pieces of styrofoam used to keep the Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra safe during transport. It’s a little annoying and feels a bit wasteful, but it does at least keep everything extra safe until fully set up, even if it takes five minutes to remove everything.

The physical assembly is otherwise straightforward and takes about three minutes of work. Plug the base station in, add the extended base plate, put the robot vacuum all the way back in the base station, and then just power on both the base station and robot vacuum. At that point, the Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra just needs to map your space before cleaning.

To fully finish setting up the robot vacuum, you will want to go through the app setup as well to get access to all the functionality of this vacuum. I did have some initial trouble connecting the robot vacuum to my phone (the whole process starts with a Bluetooth connection between a smartphone and the S20 Infinity Ultra), but I do have some wonky internet. Once connected, I had to just go through the prompts to finish setup. I would say the app setup process, not including my technical WiFi difficulties, probably took ten to twenty minutes.

Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra: Design and Features

One thing, among many, that I’ve noticed about expensive robot vacuums is that they all talk to you. They talk when they start up. They talk when they’re done. They talk when something’s in the way. But not all of the vacuums let you talk to them. The Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra, with its Matter Ecosystem support, lets you do so via voice assistant (as long as you’ve set up the robot through the Yeedi app already). I was able to connect through Alexa.

And like most expensive tech these days, the Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra also uses AI. You can run the vacuum in AI Agent Mode in the app, and the vacuum will adjust on its own the various cleaning settings, like suction power, to clean my floors as it sees fit. And truthfully, when using the Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra more passively (and not to vacuum up large messes), I ran it in this mode.

While features are a bit more fun to write about, the actual design of the Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra can’t be overlooked. I don’t quite mean the durability or build – those are on par with every robot vacuum I’ve tested above $500, but there are a couple of additions that make cleaning easier.

I really appreciate that the Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra uses two different cleaning solutions with its mopping capabilities. There are two cleaning solution-specific reservoirs inside the base station – along with the much bigger 4 and 2.2 litre respective clean and dirty water reservoirs – for those solutions, which help break down stains and feel more like a deep cleaning.

The base station also has a decently sized 2.5-litre dust bag. It can probably hold a good month or two of auto-empties from the robot vacuum before needing to be replaced. Also, it's worth mentioning that the base station is that it does mop drying, so be prepared to wait a few hours after mopping for the Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra to fully dry the mop roller.

As far as the robot vacuum itself goes, it’s flat on top – no little lookout tower in the middle – with just a magnetic top plate hiding its onboard dustbin and onboard controls, so that it can fit under furniture like a couch that some other robot vacuums can’t.

On the bottom, it may have just one side brush, but at least the bottom roller brush hoovering everything up, has zero tangle technology, a good option for those dealing with lots of pet hair. I find some variation of this type of anti-tangle tech on most mid-range to premium robot vacuums, so I’m a little more impressed by the Ozmo Roller 3.0, Yeedi’s mop roller, which not only mops a very even 27cm wide path, but lifts when going over carpet, and, most importantly, can extend out a couple of inches to get into edges and corners.

What Is the Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra Like to Use?

Interacting with the Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra is much the same as its smaller sibling, the non-Ultra version. Press the center button on the robot vacuum itself, and it will just start – usually using whatever settings were selected the last time the app was open. If you press the button without setting up the app, it does a standard level of vacuuming and mopping.

Within the app, starting to clean is pretty straightforward as well. If AI Agent Mode is selected, all you have to do is press start for a cleaning. If you want something specific, you can manually adjust several settings specific to that cleaning, such as cleaning mode (vacuum only, vacuum and mop, vacuum then mop), four levels of suction power from quiet mode to max, water flow level up to 50 (mL presumably), three levels of cleaning speed, and whether I want it to do one or two passes. My only issue here is that the app wanted to collapse this menu when I changed the water flow level, even though I was not done choosing my settings.

It’s also worth noting that the app allows you to choose some station-specific functions – Empty Bin, Wash Mop, Dry Mop – at will, which is nice. The app also lets you create a schedule as well as clean specific rooms or even specific zones if there’s a specific spill that needs cleaning – something I had to do for the vacuuming and mopping tests below.

Speaking of the map, I had no trouble dividing or combining rooms, though I didn’t need to with how accurately the Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra mapped out my space. I was also able to select rooms and select what kind of flooring is in that room (hardwood flooring, marble, etc.) as well as whether there’s carpet (a separate selection for some reason). You can even add furniture on the map, though this doesn’t seem necessary, and create a second map for another area in your home.

I want to mention some general things when the Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra is running. First, it’s among the quieter robot vacuums I’ve used. At standard vac and mop settings, this robot vacuum registers around 56dB in volume. That doesn’t mean you can’t hear it while going, but it’s quiet enough to ignore.

Also, I’ve already mentioned how this robot vacuum can get under furniture easily thanks to its flat top. What I haven’t mentioned is object avoidance, which I found to be very good here. Since I had it set to be very sensitive, it registered and avoided just about everything I would put in front of it, even thicker cables like an HDMI cable, only having trouble with a translucent container with water. That said, I still suggest picking up before running the Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra as it gives a good six-inch berth to anything it’s trying to avoid, so it will leave fairly large spots untouched because it’s avoiding a frisbee sitting on the floor.

Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra: Vacuuming Tests

When testing robot vacuums, we reviewers like to spot clean an area covered in different-sized granules to see how the unit responds. Usually, it’s cereal, lentils, and sugar. I had run out of lentils, so I used long-grain rice instead. For the vacuuming tests, I ran the Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra on both hard flooring and carpet.

After having run my tests, I found this robot vacuum to do well on both surfaces, but still not quite catch everything put down in front of it, especially if it wasn't set to deep cleaning and two passes in the app. This was particularly true on hard flooring, where it did kick a Cheerio or two around and left a trail of sugar on its first pass. It did pick up the rice immediately, however.

The story was much the same on carpet, though it didn’t kick the cereal around. It still needed an extra pass to pick up all the sugar. With a suction power rating of 22000Pa, the Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra is as powerful a robot vacuum as I’ve come across.

It still does not replace the need for a regular vacuum for deep cleaning. This is true more on carpet than on hard flooring, because the mop brush is not involved (it lifts up 15mm off the floor to keep it from getting wet), and that mop brush is the only part extending out, meaning that the vacuuming alone is not getting to the edges and corners where dust tends to build up most.

Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra: Mopping Tests

I was more impressed with the Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra’s mopping than its still-good vacuuming. A big part of that is that 27cm cleaning path width from the mop roller that is not only covered in a micro-fiber type fabric but puts 2800pA of downward pressure as it’s mopping. Also helpful is the fact that the mop roller extends out when cleaning. The Ozmo Roller 3.0, as Yeedi calls it, is how this robot vacuum is able to get into the edges and corners of a room.

As mentioned before, the addition of the two cleaning solutions is also something that I believe adds to this robot vacuum’s cleaning prowess. And, of course, the fact that it has the new 'Jet Spray' feature, to handle stains one would normally grab a wet/dry vacuum for, is nice, though I have to select a zone for the feature to use it, as opposed to doing it on its own. To test this feature, I rubbed some wet dirt on the floor and selected 'Jet Spray.' The Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra seems to spray water at the corner of the zone just to add extra water that it would push around instead of directly on the dirt, strangely enough. However, it also sucked everything up and left a very clean floor. I can’t decide if this feature is useful or a gimmick, but again, the floor was clean.

For the actual mop testing, I put some soy sauce, ketchup, and mustard on the floor all at once to see how the Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra would fare. The robot vacuum needed just one pass to mop everything up and leave a clean, non-sticky floor.

Just be aware that if you’re mopping large areas – I’m usually covering about 7 - 800 square feet on a usual cleaning - the robot vacuum will return regularly to the base station to fill up water and wash the mop roller. I appreciate the thoroughness and cleanliness, even if it does mean that the actual cleaning time for that space is about an hour.

Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra: Maintenance

When I reviewed the non-ultra version of this model, I felt that the ability to clean it up and maintain it was good, but not great. I could get to the onboard dustbin if I needed to, I could remove the central roller brush if something got tangled, and the app would let me know when certain things needed to be refilled or replaced.

But figuring out how to clean this robot vacuum is just a little bit easier than the previous model. That’s because the mop roller brush is actually removable, something that was not the case on the previous version meaning if it ended up trying to mop up a mess too big for it and something got behind the mop roller, I would have to use a Q-tip to get behind the mop roller and do what I could, hoping that running the mop wash feature in the app would be enough to finish the job. With the Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra, I can just remove the mop roller, clean it, clean behind it, and put it back in. Much easier.

The water tanks are as easy to access as they are with any other model. I will say that the door covering the cleaning solution reservoirs and the dustbag requires a little more force than expected to open. Out of all the expensive, feature-filled robot vacuums I’ve tested, I think this might be the easiest to clean. Just expect to spend a little money down the line to replace the cleaning solutions and dust bags.

How Does the Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra Compare?

Homes and Gardens’ top robot vacuum pick at the time of writing is the Dreame Aqua10 Ultra Roller, which has an MSRP of $1,599.99, though it is currently being offered up for a slightly more reasonable price of $1,049.99. It has a lot in common with the Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra thanks to its excellent mopping and object avoidance, not to mention its fairly low maintenance. The reviewer of the Dreame robot vacuum did find the app a bit overwhelming and not consistent when cleaning carpets.

Considering the Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra costs $999.99, I find it a very competent alternative to the Dreame Aqua10 Ultra Roller. After all, the app only becomes a bit much if you’re digging into all the various extra settings, and the carpet cleaning is good. That said, the Dreame is a little stronger in the vacuum compartment since it has 30,000pA of suction power, requiring fewer passes to handle vacuuming up, say, some spilled sugar.

It’s also worth comparing the Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra to the Yeedi S20 Infinity, which has an MSRP of $899.99. While the Ultra has the jet spray feature, I think the Ultra is worth the extra cost mainly because of the removable mop roller and quieter operation. That said, the non-Ultra version has a dustbin that doesn’t require dustbags, so it has less recurring costs in the long run.

How I tested the Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra

We take a methodical approach to how we test vacuums, which involves in-depth and standardized performance tests, running benchmarks, and living with the product to see how it fits into everyday cleaning.

For the Yeedi S20 Infinity Ultra, I used it for a week, running it every day in an area regularly occupied by five adults and two French Bulldogs (with the odd appearance of a reclusive cat). I ran it typically with vacuum and mop functionality together – often with the AI Agent Mode on – though I’ve run it with just one or the other for testing.

As far as targeted tests go, I did run it to pick up about a quarter cup of sugar, rice, and cereal, testing with each type of substance individually on both hard flooring and carpet. I also tested the mopping by running a test with ketchup, mustard, and soy sauce.

Next, explore our guide for choosing the best vacuum for pet hair for your home.

Sometimes, you need more than just a vacuum cleaner when cleaning. I'm thinking of the times when cereal has been spilt; the car is in need of a deep clean and the outbuildings need a vacuum. Fortunately, the Karcher WD4 Wet & Dry Vacuum Cleaner is designed to handle these messes, and more.

It'll effortlessly remove wet and dry debris, and all the things that you're best vacuum can't or won't want to get involved with. I know this first hand because I've been using it over a long weekend in my own home in other scenarios including to vacuum-away spilt dried cereals; clean-up the porch and suck-up water from the kids' sandpit after a deluge of rainfall.

On paper, the specification says that the 1100W of suction power will clear fine dust and heavy debris. Was it any good? Keep reading to find out what I think about it, and how it compares with similar wet and dry vacuums.

My One Minute Verdict

The Karcher WD4 wet and dry vacuum cleaner has been designed for substantial home projects where a standard vacuum cleaner lacks the durability required.

It provides 1100W of suction power to clear fine dust and heavy debris, including the removal of all the things that you really don't want your household vacuum to get involved with. The top-mounted design means that it is suitable for dry and wet debris, indoors and outdoors; you'll need to swap out the fleece filter bag for liquid pick-up, though, admittedly, I did find it to be a bit of a faff.

It's one of six wet dry vacuum cleaners in the product category, with the WD4 positioned as a mid-range appliance. For example, it has a greater capacity than the WD3 (17L), yet smaller capacity than the WD5 (25L). The price of Karcher wet dry vacuum cleaners ranges from $89.99 to $349.99, and the WD4 is marked up as bang in the middle of this range with a price of $199.99.

On test, I found it bulky to maneuver around; it has a restrictive 26.2ft power cable and 7.2ft suction hose that I felt like I was wrestling with. If you're after a wet dry vacuum that is perhaps more portable then I'd be looking at the Shark Messmaster Portable Wet/Dry Vacuum. Alternatively, the Dreame Z30 Pro Aqua Wet-to-Dry Vacuum more closely resembles a cordless vacuum, so it's more portable and versatile, and it handles pet hair on both carpet and hard floors.

Karcher WD4 Wet & Dry Vacuum Cleaner: Specifications

Karcher WD4 Wet & Dry Vacuum Cleaner: Design and Features

The Karcher WD4 Wet & Dry Vacuum Cleaner is designed to be used on the inside of the car, garage floor, or on yard jobs that your standard vacuum cleaner can not handle. I see it as the larger cousin to a canister vacuum.

It has a large 5.3-gallon (20L) container that'll hold large debris and liquids. The tear-resistant fleece bag slots inside the container and clips over the hose. When you're vacuuming liquids, it's advised to remove this bag, although it can easily cope with damp debris such as soggy cereal and wet houseplant soil.

To access the bag, the motor can be removed and lifted off the container by releasing the two clips on the side.

You'll find that the filter is top-mounted too. This is enclosed in the filter box, which can be easily removed without coming into contact with any dirt. This means that in the event that the filter becomes damaged, it can be easily replaced with a new one ($22.99, Karcher.com).

The WD4 is kitted out with 1100W of suction power, and the 2025 model (that I have) has a blower function too. There is only one power setting when using the "suction" or "blowing" function, which is strong enough to remove small stones or empty a 200lb sandpit full of water, and blow away dropped damp compost.

I found that the 26.25ft power cable was sufficient for the cleaning tasks I set. However, I will need an extension cord like this 10ft Amazon Basics cord ($6.99, Amazon) so that I can clean the car and further around the patio area.

The WD4 also has 7.2ft suction hose that connects to two suction tubes to add a further 3.28ft to the overall length when vacuuming; the floorhead or crevice tool accessory (included) simply slots onto the end of a tube. These can then all be taken apart just as easily as they connected together for storing onboard.

It can all be maneuvered as one appliance unit on four castor wheels that slot onto the base of the container as part of the setup. You can either wheel it around by the handle or lift it with this handle when taking it to another space to clean.

What Is the Karcher WD4 Wet & Dry Vacuum Cleaner Like to Use?

To look at, the Karcher WD4 wet dry vacuum cleaner is big. Measuring 20.7(H) x 14.4(W) x 15.1(L)in and weighing 15.2lbs, it is positively a unit and one that I needed to allow a generous amount of space for while cleaning my allocated spaces. It's also one that I would use and store at ground level because its size would be difficult to carry up/down stairs.

It's designed to be used with either the floorhead or crevice tool attached to the suction tubes while removing debris off the floor, or with the bent handle attached to the suction hose while using the blower function. I found it easy to switch between the two different functions – blower and suction – by removing the suction tubes and tools, and turning the appliance with the one-speed dial.

The WD4 is noticeably louder than a vacuum cleaner and is more in line with a pressure washer. I recorded a noise level reading of 84dB using the decibel meter reader app on my smartphone. This noise is equivalent to that of a passing vehicle.

Test 1: Flour and Sugar

In an instance where you'll be wanting to use the Karcher WD4 to clean up flour and sugar, I spilled some on our tiled utility room floor. I used half a cup of flour and sugar (about 50/50 split) to see how well the suction coped with fine debris.

The 1100W suction meant that the floorhead was firmly attached to the floor, but because this debris was so fine, the suction created a clear radius around it, and it removed all the flour and sugar within its path in one clear pass.

Test 2: Pantry

Next up, I spilt cereal and rice on the floor to emulate the type of larger debris that the WD4 could face, indoors and outdoors. I poured half a cup of cereal and half a cup of rice onto the tiled flooring in our utility room.

The floorhead effortlessly removed the rice with no grains getting stuck or blown off course from the floorhead. The cereal, however, got pushed along with the floorhead unless I lifted and dropped the floorhead on it so that it could be vacuumed. No cereal became stuck or lodged in the hose.

Test 3: Liquid

As a wet-dry vacuum, I wanted to demonstrate how the Karcher WD4 removed liquid. To do this, I took it into the yard and challenged it with the removal of rainwater from my kids' sandpit, which is more used to holding 200lbs of play sand, rather than rainwater. I figured that it would be a big help to remove and contain the rainwater prior to emptying, rather than to flood the patio and make it wet for play.

When removing liquids with the WD4, you'll need to remove the bag by lifting off the top of the canister and removing it. For the purpose of the test, I also removed the floorhead, although the floorhead is suitable for use on liquids because it doesn't have any bristles.

All the liquid was quickly removed and contained in the 5.3-gallon container. When I turned off the appliance, water ran back down the suction tubes that were being held in by the strong suction. This is a testament to the powerful suction and versatility.

Test 4: Attachments

The Karcher WD4 wet-dry vacuum only comes with one attachment other than the floorhead, and that is the crevice tool. This tool is suitable for targeting the vacuum suction. However, this would get seldom used if the WD4 is going to be used as an outdoor vacuum (porch, shed, and patio). It'll be better used to help clean the car, although I find it easier with a cordless vacuum cleaner.

I've also tested the WD4 in our grubby porch, which was shamefully littered with debris such as dirt, old receipts, cobwebs, and even Christmas tree branches. It's one of those jobs that I didn't want my household vacuum to clean, so I'm glad I had the WD4 around.

The only item it struggled to lift was a scrunched-up piece of tissue because it was larger than the diameter of the hose. Everything else was removed and banished into the 5.3-gallon bag in the container.

I then thought it would be prudent to try out the "blower" function. To do this, I dropped some old, damp compost on the patio in the yard. The WD4 had enough power to propel it in an onwards direction, and in any direction I wanted it to go. I imagine that this function would also be great for blowing away leaves, but this test will need to wait until fall, when the leaves are off the trees.

Karcher WD4 Wet & Dry Vacuum Cleaner: Setup and Maintenance

As a large appliance, the Karcher WD4 arrived in a big and heavy box. The box doesn't have handles either. To move it I managed to get my arms around it to lift but I imagine that, for some, it may be too difficult to move without some help.

The WD4 arrived as a complete kit, packaged using cardboard to secure each part inside the box and plastic bags around each part. I don't think that the use of plastic bags was necessary because with cardboard packaging securing it all within the box, there was no risk of movement and, therefore, no risk of damage.

Inside the box is: the main unit (WD4), a 7.5 ft. (2.2m) suction hose, (2x) 1.8 ft. (0.5m) suction tubes, hand nozzle, crevice nozzle, a wet/dry floor nozzle, an automotive-style pleated filter, and a fleece filter bag.

It also comes with some instructions, as with all Karcher instructions, I really struggled to read them. Fortunately, as all the parts were laid out, it was obvious how it all fitted together using no more than just a few essential DIY skills.

To set it up, I attached the suction hose, connected the suction tubes to the hose and hand nozzle, installed the fleece filter bag, and popped on the four caster wheels. The pleated filter was already in place. This took no longer than five minutes.

The fleece filter bags can hold up to 53 gallons of debris. How often you replace it will depend on the type of dry debris that you're removing, or if you end up cleaning more damp dirt than dry. Replacement bags can be bought from Amazon for $16.19 (pack of 4), which can be attached by simply opening the bag and placing it inside the vacuum.

When removing liquids, this will need to be poured away – ideally wheeled over to a drain because the size and weight of it is difficult to lift, and you may not want the dirty liquid poured down a sink plug inside the home.

Over time, a cleaning tip that I would recommend is to wipe each part of the WD4 to keep it in a good working order. The top-mounted filter may also begin to perish and become damaged, so you'll need to replace it with a new one ($22.99, Karcher.com).

How Does the Karcher WD4 Wet & Dry Vacuum Cleaner Compare?

The Karcher WD4 wet and dry vacuum cleaner is one of eight in the category from this German brand, and it's positioned in the middle of the range. For example, it has a greater capacity than the WD3 (17L) yet smaller capacity than the WD5 P (25L). The price of Karcher wet dry vacuum cleaners ranges from $89.99 to $349.99, and the WD4 is marked up as bang in the middle of this range with a price of $199.99.

I've found that the Karcher WD5 P wet and dry vacuum cleaner is generally more robust than the WD4 with sturdier onboard storage; one button to remove the top mount (rather than two clips at the side) and a stronger, fold-down handle. While it has the same 1100W motor as the WD4, it can pack away more debris, so it's made for bigger projects. This one costs $249.99 and, for the money, it must be said that I feel a lot more confident with it.

I appreciate that not everyone would be looking to have a wet-dry vacuum as big as these Karchers. If you're after a wet-dry vacuum that is perhaps more portable, then I'd be looking at the Shark Messmaster Portable Wet/Dry Vacuum.

This retails for around $100, and our reviewer, Camryn Rabideau, found that it’s a powerful and versatile cleaning tool that can be used all around your home. It had no problem sucking up spider webs, debris under car seats, and even spilled milk, and unlike a full-size shop vac, this model is quick and easy to clean. Plus, it’s compact enough to tuck into a closet when it’s not in use, so it’s ideal for anyone who has limited storage space in their home.

Alternatively, the Dreame Z30 Pro Aqua Wet-to-Dry Vacuum (LINK WHEN LIVE) more closely resembles a cordless vacuum, so it's more portable and versatile, and it handles pet hair on both carpet and hard floors. Our reviewer, Victoria Woollaston, found that 'it's an impressive multitasker that delivers on its core promise of being a full-power cordless vacuum and floor washer in one.' The Z30 also has a self-cleaning station, but it costs around $470, which puts the Karchers' indoor and outdoor versatility back into perspective.

How We Test Vacuums

At Homes & Gardens, we have a dedicated and thorough procedure of how we test vacuums so we can get a like-for-like comparison between models, and to make sure we're recreating real-life circumstances.

I tested the Karcher WD4 Wet & Dry Vacuum Cleaner as and when it was required over a two-week period. It was used on hard flooring (laminate and tiles), liquids and solids, indoors and outdoors. In addition to running all three standardized tests – flour and sugar; lentils and cereal; hair – I used it to clean the grubby porch and moss-heavy patio, and to remove water from the kids' sandpit. This included removing leaves, dried mud, bits of Christmas tree, and moss fallen from the roof. I then recorded how noisy it was using the DecibelX app.

This gave me the complete picture of how this wet-dry vacuum would perform in real conditions, rather than a single test session, including the practicalities of cleaning and storage, and its overall condition after the two weeks of testing.

If you're sold on getting the Karcher WD4 Wet & Dry Vacuum Cleaner then it would be wise to know about the things that you can clean with a wet dry vacuum. However, if you only need a vacuum cleaner for removing solely dry debris then check out these best vacuum cleaners for pet hair which are equally as good; just a different gig.

As a 15-year product journalist who has slept on many mattresses, some lumpy and bumpy, some too stiff, and others just right, I was so impressed by the Nolah Evolution Mattress that I’m still sleeping on it beyond the testing period by choice.

It’s a hybrid mattress that features cooling elements, high-density foam that relieves pressure on joints, and delivers an overall great night’s sleep.

Here’s why I’d consider it for a wide variety of mattress shoppers looking to get better sleep, and why it's a strong competitor for a spot among the very best mattresses.

The Nolah Evolution Mattress – My One-Minute Verdict

The Nolah Evolution is extremely comfortable and a mattress you look forward to sleeping on each night. It has a highly supportive memory foam top that helps you get that cozy, sinking-into-your-bed feeling, without making you feel hot or stuck.

It helps keep your spine in alignment, but also gives target relief in certain sections of the mattress where you might otherwise feel too much pressure.

The mattress comes in multiple options for firmness, which is helpful for determining which mattress will suit you and your needs, including plush, luxury firm, or firm. I chose the middle option, with the cooling pillow top, which you can also opt in or out of.

Specifications

The Nolah Evolution Mattress − Delivery, Unboxing and Setup

This mattress is pretty much ready for use right out of the box. The company notes that odors (known as off-gassing) can take up to 24 hours to dissipate, although I didn’t notice any.

You can opt in to or out of a delivery service that sets up the mattress for you. You can also select to have the delivery service carry the mattress to the right room for you, which is highly convenient and worth it if you’d struggle to do so yourself, as I would.

Once it’s set up, the mattress feels fresh and new, and I immediately noticed the highly raised areas on the mattress that make up the support top. This means the mattress is exceptionally bumpy compared to others at first glance, with raised parts of the topper − something that I came to appreciate when I realized how comfortable the topper is.

What It’s Like to Sleep on the Nolah Evolution Mattress

Pressure relief and support: Typically, I’d start to feel some joint pressure and even pain while falling asleep, particularly in my hips and back. This mattress eliminated that problem and helped me reduce the time it takes to fall asleep by about 10-30 minutes per night. This is because there was never any hip or back pain, even as a side and stomach sleeper, which can sometimes cause misalignment or extra pressure.

According to the brand, this is due to the “lumbar zone,” referring to five zones through the materials that help with weight redistribution, relieving pressure on the joints. The website shares that the “tri-zone foam” is a middle firm layer responsible for extra lumbar support, which keeps hips elevated and spine aligned in any sleep position, without sacrificing softness and flexibility near the shoulders. This all reflected my own experience with the bed completely.

Thermoregulation: Heat control in a mattress comes down to two things − just how far into the mattress you sink, which can cause you to feel hotter, and the materials themselves and their cooling abilities.

When you sleep on this mattress, you have a good amount of “sink in” feeling, allowing the mattress to come up around your sides a tiny bit, but it’s not so much that you feel engulfed by it. This has been a problem with some competitors I’ve tried. In addition, the fabric is cool and breathable, so it doesn’t make you hotter, which is helpful.

Motion Isolation: I tested the motion transfer both by observing how much I’m disturbed by my partner’s movement through the night, and also through a test with a large glass of water on the bed. In the water test, I pushed on the mattress near the water to see how much it moved, and if it spilled. I could apply a good amount of pressure and get pretty close to the water without impacting it, showing that the bed performs pretty well when it comes to motion transfer.

However, compared to some other beds, I did notice my partner moving periodically through the night, though it wasn’t enough to really fully wake me up. So, while the motion transfer isn’t perfect, it’s definitely a reasonable amount and shouldn’t impact your decision to buy this mattress.

Edge Support: There is a good amount of give on the edges of the bed that doesn’t fully reflect how supportive it is to sleep on the bed. So, if you are someone sleeping near the edge of the bed and/or sitting on the edge of the bed, you will notice the edge gives way, and you slip a bit on a downward incline.

Though I’m not an expert on the bed construction, I believe this is because more of the support is focused on those lumbar areas and pressure relief, while the rest of the bed is a bit more forgiving and flexible. So, areas around the head and shoulders and the bed edges aren’t quite as stiff and sturdy as the middle.

This is a good thing, unless you are sleeping right on the edge. However, it did dissuade me from sitting on the edge of the bed for any tasks.

Materials: There are eight layers of materials in the hybrid mattress, from the top cotton cover down to the high-density base foam. The materials are GREENGUARD Gold-certified, indicating compliance with emissions standards. They are also Certi-PUR-US-certified, meaning the mattress is free from heavy metals, retardants, and ozone depleters. Finally, the mattress doesn’t use any fiberglass in the materials, according to Nolah’s website.

Price: Finally, this mattress, though not a budget pick, is highly affordable compared to some competitors. This means people who want to invest in a great mattress but don’t want to spend money on more expensive luxury mattress brands might find their sweet spot here.

Who the Nolah Evolution Mattress Would Suit

The Nolah is surprisingly great for stomach sleepers − which is not the norm. Many mattresses cause stomach sleepers to end up with an arch in their lower back and an achy body by morning. On the contrary, this mattress helps maintain correct positioning regardless of which way you sleep.

The Nolah Evolution is also great for side sleepers, thanks to that pressure relief feature and the way it eliminates pain in the hips, knees, and elsewhere. This is one of the most notable features of using the bed, and side sleepers who have aches and pains will notice the difference.

Finally, the mattress is perfect for anyone wanting to invest in a mattress of luxurious quality and solid construction but not spend a fortune doing so.

My Verdict After Sleeping on the Nolah Evolution for 30 Nights

In the process of testing this mattress and others, I’ve come to know quickly which will go the distance when it comes to comfort, and which will end up with a disappointing lump in the middle a few months in and grouchy people who didn’t sleep well.

I’m excited to say that I have no concerns with this mattress and look forward to using it for years to come.

What to Shop

Interested in shopping for more tried-and-tested recommendations from Homes & Gardens? Shop our Sleep Editor-approved selection below.

All prices were correct at the time of publication.

Pairing your new mattress with one of the best cooling mattress toppers is an easy way to add thermoregulating comfort.

Love the latest product news and helpful shopping advice? Sign up for our newsletter and get the latest features delivered straight to your inbox.

I never knew my daily protein shake was suffering from Crowded Blender Syndrome. Normally, I’d pack ingredients all the way to the top, then wonder why it was struggling to blend.

After three weeks of testing the nutribullet PowerCore XL Blender, I discovered the problem was never my ingredients. The real issue was capacity. Ingredients need space to move freely if you want truly smooth smoothies, batters, and sauces. The XL design quickly proved its worth, delivering consistently thorough blends with minimal effort. Its intuitive controls make it remarkably easy to use straight out of the box, quickly earning a permanent spot on my countertop.

Here’s what to expect if you are ready to 'size up' on your best blender and are sick of too many options that don’t make much sense on the control panel.

Product Specifications: KitchenAid Artisan Plus 5 Quart Stand Mixer

Design and First Impressions

Unboxing the product is straightforward and simple. A large box contains the two main parts of the blender and a lid, multiple directions and paper materials, and some plastic and cardboard wrapping. It’s simple to remove the blender, give it a rinse in the sink and get blending.

One of the benefits of this blender is that little to no knowledge is required to get started. It might take a minute to understand which direction the large container and lid need to go to align and click in properly, but then you can get started.

My first impression was one of relief. There were just a few settings to choose from, unlike some options that feel like the equivalent of learning an entire new computer system just to make a shake. Instead, this just has two options for presets like “smoothie” and “pulse,” or you can just choose from low, medium, or high functions. Easy and quick.

Performance

To test this blender, I followed a thorough process that included multiple cooking tests to see how it did with different consistencies and types of foods and drinks.

I made a smoothie, a milkshake, pancake batter, and an icee/slushie. Each process taught me something different about what the blender can and can’t do, and which processes it is best for.

I also tested ease of use before and after the blending process, such as how easy it is to take it apart and wash it, get food out from around the blades, get the lid on and off, and move the entire appliance around the kitchen in spite of the suction cups on the bottom, determined to keep it in one place.

Overall, the blender performed somewhat well across the tests, though it would be nice to have easier features for pouring or scraping food from the bottom to prevent spills, stronger settings, and better ice handling.

1. Pancake Batter

In the first test, I made pancake batter for my favorite recipe, which includes cottage cheese, oats, eggs, and a sweetener like sugar, honey, agave, or whatever you prefer. I was immediately thrilled that I didn’t have to make it in two batches, like I normally have to do with a smaller blender. Instead, I dumped an entire container of cottage cheese in and still wasn’t even close to halfway to capacity. I added multiple cups of oats and the eggs, and still had plenty of room.

I blended this on the medium setting, and the final result was so much smoother than normal, even with steel-cut oats, which can end up not super smooth and a little too gritty in pancakes. I was happy to see the batter run out into the container like a thick liquid, without needing to be scraped out at all except for around the bottom a bit.

This proved the blender does well with higher quantities of food, not just because it has the capacity, but because it seems to blend better when there’s a heavier load to work with.

2. The Ice Test

On the contrary, I helped my child make an icee or slushie with a pile of 10-ish ice cubes and lemonade. The blender immediately struggled to crush the ice and made very loud sounds. The decibel meter read over 90 at one point, and averaged out around 85 when I was using the high setting. This wasn’t a pleasant experience compared to other blenders and food processors that have handled ice much better. The blender did much better when there were just a few ice cubes, such as in a smoothie, versus trying to handle a more significant amount of ice.

In the ice test, we ended up giving up and settling for large chunks of unblended ice. If you frequently use a blender to crush or blend ice, I’d recommend the Ninja Food Power Blender Ultimate System.

3. Smoothies & Milkshakes

I also used the blender to make a milkshake and a smoothie. While both turned out well, thicker mixtures were a little tricky to remove from around the blades. After testing several settings, including the Pulse and Smoothie functions, I found myself relying almost exclusively on the Medium and High speeds, which delivered better results. Rather than pulsing to redistribute ingredients, I often found a quick shake of the pitcher worked more effectively.

Like most blenders, it needs to come to a complete stop before the container can be removed, but thankfully, this only took a few seconds, making the overall blending process smooth and convenient.

Cleaning and Maintenance

This product comes apart into three pieces, not including the motor, for cleaning. I put all of these items: the lid, the middle and removable part of the lid, and the container into the dishwasher without issue. On a typical cycle, the dishwasher thoroughly cleans the container well, possibly even better than smaller blenders because there’s more room for water and soap to get up into the container and move around, removing old food particles.

Some people might struggle to fit the large container into a dishwasher given its size, so keep in mind it might have to be tilted. The suction cups are strong and effective, but not so strong that you can’t easily move it for storage. But overall, it is not a difficult product to clean or store.

How The nutribullet PowerCore XL Blender Compares

This product is larger, slightly less powerful, and much easier to use than other competitors. If you happen to be using a blender frequently with kids around (mine love to make their own milkshakes), this is an excellent option as it’s quite steady, simple, and self-explanatory. For others who want more extensive settings, competitors might be better options. To fully determine how to shop for the best product for you, check out our chef’s guide to blenders, food processors, and juicers.

On the nutribullet website, 118 reviewers have resulted in an overall rating of 4.8. One of the reviewers also noticed the product’s kid-friendly aspects, writing, “I love this blender! It is so easy to use and quickly blends up whatever I am serving. It is perfect for my kids smoothies and blending things like homemade apple sauce.” Another said it “blends smoothies like a dream,” and some reviewers had an easier experience than I did with ice.

On Amazon, ratings average 4.3 of 5, from 85 reviewers. According to a summary of Amazon’s reviews, people found the following helpful and complained most often about the noise level:

Powerful motor (1400W) that handles tough ingredients like greens, seeds, ice, and nuts

XL 72oz pitchergreat for batch blending and family-sized portions

Dishwasher-safe parts for easy cleanup

Automatic smoothie setting for one-touch convenience

BPA-free plastic pitcher

Should You Buy The nutribullet PowerCore XL Blender?

The nutribullet PowerCore XL Blender is an easy recommendation for most households. It’s reliable and efficient, with a durable design that feels built to withstand years of regular use.

While it has a few drawbacks, its generous capacity makes it difficult to beat for anyone regularly blending large batches of smoothies, soups, or pancake batter.

It is particularly well suited to larger families, meal preppers, and home cooks who prefer to batch-cook. Those who appreciate a simple, no-fuss appliance with intuitive controls will also find plenty to like.

However, if someone is sensitive to noise or uses the product primarily for ice blending, they should avoid this product.

What Else to Shop

To help you make the most of your home blender, we have rounded up six of the best accessories, from noise-dampening pads to leftover storage.

All prices were correct at the time of publication.

Love the latest product news and helpful shopping advice? Sign up for our newsletter and get the latest features delivered straight to your inbox.

After a month of use, the Dreame Z30 Pro Aqua is the closest thing I've tested to a vacuum that can (nearly) do it all. It clears debris well, mops properly, and the self-cleaning station means you rarely, if ever, have to touch a dirty brush head.

The anti-tangle brush roller came through a month of cleaning up after a shedding Labrador without needing a single manual hair removal. The LED lighting on the dry head consistently revealed dust I would have missed, and the wet cleaning head dealt with the kind of sticky, dried-on kitchen mess that most other wet-to-dry vacuums struggle with.

With the Z30, you're getting what is effectively two of the best vacuums and floor care appliances in one. Buying a comparable cordless stick vacuum and a decent floor washer separately would cost much more. Plus, for homes with a mix of floors and carpet – especially with pets – it's a hard combination to beat at this price.

My One-Minute Verdict

Dreame has spent the last couple of years making vacuums that look and perform a lot like Dyson's, usually for a lot less money. The Z30 Pro Aqua is something a tad more ambitious – a premium, full-power cordless stick vacuum that also mops the floor and has a self-cleaning base.

If wet cleaning isn't something you need and your home is mostly hard floors, the $649.99 / £399.99 Dreame H15 Pro offers better wet cleaning coverage for less money as a dedicated floor washer.

For homes that are mostly carpet and don't need wet cleaning, the $849.99 / £649.99 Dyson V15 Detect remains the best dry cordless I've tested.

Or if you want the Z30 Pro Aqua's suction without the wet cleaning, the standard Dreame Z30 is $599.99 / £299.99 and does an excellent job for considerably less.

Dreame Z30 Pro Aqua Specifications

Design and Features

Inside the box are two dedicated floor heads – the TangleCut multi-surface brush for dry cleaning, and the AquaCycle 2.0 wet cleaning brush – along with the self-cleaning charging station, a bendable extension rod, a crevice nozzle, a wide fluff tool, and a soft dusting brush.

Each of the attachments has dedicated storage ports on the base and clicks and locks into place.

Inside the dry floor head is a motorized brush roller fitted with a pair of internal cutting blades that slice through hair as it wraps around the roller. This is a more effective, albeit slightly aggressive, approach to the hair problem than the plastic combs on most anti-tangle brush rollers that just catch the hair, but don't cut it.

Once cut, the smaller strands can then more easily be sucked into the dustbin, and this leaves the brush roller much cleaner for longer than other vacuums I've tested. This is a real benefit if you live with pets or anyone with long hair.

Elsewhere on the dry floor head, a row of LEDs set at 140 degrees light up the floor ahead, making fine dust, pet dander, and crumbs more visible, especially on hardwood and stone floors where debris can easily be missed.

The second floor head is the wet cleaning brush, and this is where the Z30 Pro Aqua earns its name. Rather than a simple damp pad that smears water around, this runs a four-stage process:

• Water is sprayed onto the floor through eight nozzles
• The spinning roller scrubs the surface
• A wiper blade scrapes dirty water away
• Suction pulls the residue into a dirty-water tank

The two tanks – 13.5 fl oz (400ml) of clean water and 10.8 fl oz (320ml) for dirty – are kept separate throughout.

The extension rod is another feather in the cap for the Z30 Pro Aqua. Press a release button, and it bends up to 90 degrees, letting you angle the floor head almost parallel to the floor to get under low sofas and beds.

Combined with the wet brush's 180° lie-flat swivel, you can reach spaces that would typically be off-limits to a regular vacuum. It sounds like a minor detail, but in practice, particularly in homes with low-slung furniture, it's the kind of thing you'll appreciate every time you clean.

Where Dyson typically leans into bold colors and visible cyclone hardware, Dreame has gone for a more muted design with the Z30 Pro Aqua. The base, its three attachments, and both wet and dry floor heads are made of black plastic. The extension stick comes in the Dreame-branded gold and there are smaller, gold accents across the main body of the floor heads, too. The brush rollers themselves then have geometric purple, yellow, and black patterns.

Overall, this aesthetic makes the Z30 Pro Aqua look more premium than it is and means it will blend in with most home styles. The build quality is similarly solid and premium, and at 45in (115cm) tall, it's a standard size. Even if this does mean you need to store it somewhere with enough height for the stick, and enough floor space for the base.

Speaking of the base, this is the main feature that separates the Z30 Pro Aqua from conventional cordless vacuums. In addition to being a charging station, when you park the vacuum on the base after a wet-cleaning session, it automatically flushes the roller with fresh water. It then blows 70°C hot air through it for 30 minutes.

Power on the Dreame Z30 Pro Aqua is managed across three modes: Eco, Auto, and Turbo. All of which are shown on the handle's built-in LCD. The LCD also shows battery percentage and a real-time readout of particulate matter type and quantity.

Turbo mode delivers maximum suction, and Eco extends runtime but is better suited to light maintenance cleans than deep cleaning. In Auto mode, sensors detect how much dust and debris is being picked up to continuously adjust suction power to match. For instance, it will increase power on a thick rug or a concentrated patch of dirt and then pull back on a bare floor.

Filtration runs through five layers, finishing with a HEPA H14 filter that captures 99.99% of particles down to 0.1µm. This is the level at which bacteria and viruses become relevant and is the same filtration standard you'd find on the Dyson Gen5Detect, which we have also reviewed and rated to be a 5-star appliance.

What Is the Dreame Z30 Pro Aqua Like to Use?

When you pick up the Z30 Pro Aqua, the first thing you notice is how heavy it is. At 4.9lbs / 2.2kg, it's on the bulkier side for a cordless stick vacuum, but it's not uncomfortable to use.

The handle sits at a comfortable height, and the controls – a power button, suction mode switch, and dust cap release – are all within easy reach. Swapping between the two floor heads is relatively straightforward; the weight and bulk of the vacuum make it slightly awkward, but it's a quick job.

I'd prefer if just one floor head handled both types of cleans, in the way the best robot vacuums offer vacuuming and mopping together, but this is a minor complaint.

On the flip side, I like that both floor heads have been more precisely engineered to do one thing well, rather than trying to be a Jack of all trades.

Auto mode is where the vacuum spends most of its time in normal use, and the dirt detection does make a difference. You can hear and feel the suction change as it crosses from a hard floor onto a rug.

This takes some getting used to, and the automatic changes in suction (and thus noise) can be irritating. It also took me a while to trust that it was adjusting the suction correctly, which made the fact that I could see a real-time readout of what was being picked up on the built-in LCD another surprisingly useful feature.

In terms of battery life, Dreame's claim of 90 minutes on Eco mode fell short during my tests. In real-world use, I managed an average of 50 minutes on Eco, which is significantly less than the brand's numbers. In Auto mode, it was closer to 30–40 minutes. Turbo drains the battery considerably faster (in around 15-20 minutes) and, as such, is best used in short bursts for stubborn areas rather than as a default mode.

These Auto mode times were enough for a single, basic run of my medium-sized home, and based on how often I vacuum, which averages three to four times a week, this was plenty for me and my needs.

For the times I wanted a deeper clean, after we'd had friends over or when my brown Labrador had made a mess, I had to recharge mid-clean, which was annoying, but also is standard for many cordless vacuum batteries. I deliberately own an upright, corded vacuum for such scenarios where longer cleaning sessions at higher power are required.

On hard floors, the TangleCut dry brush head glides smoothly and quietly, with none of the scraping sounds you sometimes get from motorized heads on stone or tile. The LED lighting is a feature that sounds cosmetic but proves its worth on hardwood or stone.

You'll almost certainly find yourself cleaning areas you thought were already clean, or going back over areas to pick up missed pet hair, once you see what the light reveals. After two weeks of cleaning sessions, the brush roller still looks largely clean, which is not something I can normally say in my home.

Switching to wet cleaning mode is where the Z30 Pro Aqua really differentiates itself. Setting up the water tank takes under a minute, and once running, the AquaCycle 2.0 wet brush leaves hard floors much cleaner than a dry pass alone. It's particularly good at tackling the kind of dried-on stains around the stove, droplets from the coffee machine, or sticky patches near the sink that even the mopping feature of robovacuums often struggles with.

I also loved the fact the base deals with all the hassle that typically comes from wet cleaning. It's one of those features that have been standard on robo vacuums – including the brilliant Dreame Aqua 10 – for a while and is one you'll soon wonder how you ever did without. You never have to handle a wet, dirty brush head directly or deal with damp smells. It also stops mold and bacteria from forming between cleans and both are genuine quality-of-life improvements. The only thing you need to remember is to top-up/empty the tanks.

On a full tank, I managed an average of 40 minutes of wet cleaning. In theory, few people will need (or want) to be cleaning their floors for 40 minutes but it's impressive nonetheless. Obviously if the floors are particularly dirty or you have a house full of hardwood floors, you may need to top the tank back up mid-clean.

In terms of noise, it runs at around 91dB on Turbo and 61dB on Eco. It's loud in the way that most high-powered cordless vacuums are loud, but on Auto and Eco it's perfectly manageable for everyday use and you can easily hear a podcast playing, or your child shouting at you from another room.

Test 1: Flour and Sugar

For this test I used half a cup of flour and sugar spread across carpet, hardwood and laminate, covering enough ground to clearly see where the vacuum had been.

Flour and sugar are good stand-ins for the kind of fine mess that builds up on floors day to day: flour behaves like dust and dead skin, sugar's closer to the sticky, granular debris that tends to gather around kitchen counters and dining tables.

Flour is also a good visual indicator because you can immediately see what's been picked up and what's been left behind, and whether any has worked its way into the brush roll.

On carpet, the Z30 Pro Aqua was excellent. One pass was all it took to clear everything, with Auto mode kicking up the suction as soon as it hit the debris. Nothing was left behind and nothing got stuck in the brush.

On hard floors the fine flour and sugar were handled well on both laminate and hardwood, although it took a couple of passes to clear it all fully. The blue light that shines from the floor head came in handy here as it revealed what had been left behind.

Across all floor types, no flour was caked onto the brush roll, which is something that tripped up a lot of motorized heads I've tested.

Test 2: Pantry

For this test I used half a cup of cereal and red lentils spread across carpet, hardwood and laminate. Cereal mimics the kind of larger debris, like pasta or rice that you'd find on a kitchen floor after a spill, while the lentils are smaller and denser, with a habit of sticking to hard floors and rolling away from the suction path.

On carpet, like with the flour and sugar tests, the Z30 Pro did a great job. The brush roller drove everything into the suction path and both the cereal and lentils were cleared in a pass or two without any fuss.

On hard floors, it was more of a mixed bag. The lentils came up well on both laminate and hardwood; a few got flung around, but on the whole, the head passed over them easily. The cereal was trickier. On laminate, the brush head pushed the larger pieces forward and into corners rather than picking them up, so you end up chasing the mess a bit.

So much so, the only way to get rid of it all was to swap the dry floor head and the crevice nozzle. On hardwood, it was even worse, with pieces scattering away from the head more easily. Slowing down and working in shorter strokes helps, but it does take more effort than you'd want on what should be a quick kitchen clean-up.

It's worth saying this isn't unusual for a powerful motorized head on hard floors. The Dyson Gen5 Detect performs in a similar way, but it's something to be aware of if your home is mostly hard flooring and you're regularly dealing with larger debris.

Test 3: Pet Hair

We have a chocolate Labrador, and while labs aren't the heaviest shedders, compared to something like a Husky or a Golden Retriever, her short, fine hairs have a way of working themselves into carpet fibers and corners, which can make it trickier to keep the house clean with pets. You can't see these hairs easily day-to-day, but when you're building LEGO with the kids or setting up a board game on the floor, they're very noticeable.

I tested the Z30 Pro Aqua's performance on pet hair on both carpet and hard floors. In Eco mode, it made very little difference. The lower suction didn't even pull the hairs up from the lino, let alone from deep in the carpet.

Switching to Turbo made a major difference, and on both carpet and hard floors, Turbo mode cleared the hair more effectively than even my upright, corded vacuum does, leaving very little behind and making it a strong contender for our best vacuum for pet hair guide.

Crucially, the TangleCut dual-blade design stayed clean and free of hair throughout, with no need to stop and pull hair out any of it by hand.

The Attachments

In addition to the two floor heads and stick, the Dreame Z30 Pro Aqua comes with three attachments as standard:

• Crevice nozzle: A narrow, angled tool for tight spaces between sofa cushions, along baseboards, inside car door pockets, and around radiators.
• Wide fluff tool: A broad, soft-bristled head for more delicate surfaces like upholstery, curtains, mattresses, and lampshades.
• Soft dusting brush: A smaller brush for surfaces that need light attention rather than suction: shelves, blinds, keyboards, and other areas where you want to collect dust rather than scatter it.

Each one clicks and locks into place on the base, meaning they won't fall off or get lost. Getting them aligned takes a bit of trial and error, but once you've got it down, it's genuinely fast to switch between them mid-clean.

The crevice nozzle was the standout for me. It helped me clear all of the large debris that was flung into the corners of my kitchen following my tests. The angled end means it fits into even awkward spaces and pulls the debris up cleanly in a single pass. It's the attachment I reached for most often, and it's particularly good for baseboards.

The wide fluff tool does a decent job on upholstery and softer surfaces where you don't want a motorized brush roll making contact. It's gentler than it looks and picks up surface dust and pet hair from sofas and cushions without being too aggressive on the fabric. It's not an attachment you'll use every time, but it is useful when you need it.

The soft dusting brush is the most niche of the three. It's best suited to shelves, blinds, and surfaces that need a light touch rather than serious suction, and it works best on Eco mode. Even then, though, it's easy to accidentally vacuum up Lego pieces, and I'd love for the Z30 Pro to recognize when the dusting brush is attached and drop the suction down to a minimum.

Setup and Maintenance

The Z30 Pro Aqua isn't a small piece of kit and extends to its packaging. It arrives in a huge box that is primarily packed with cardboard and minimal plastic. Everything inside is then separated by molded cardboard inserts rather than foam.

Inside the box is the vacuum body, the TangleCut dry floor head, the AquaCycle 2.0 wet cleaning floor head, the self-cleaning charging station, the bendable extension rod, a crevice nozzle, a wide fluff tool, a soft dusting brush, and the power cable.

Assembly of all this kit minimal. The extension rod clicks into the vacuum body, one floor head clicks onto the bottom of the rod and the other slots into the dedicated floor head storage slot in base. The other storage slots on the base are for the different attachments and you can choose to distribute those as you like.

The charging connection is on the back of the extension rod, so you need to make sure that's correctly lined up with the connectors on the base before parking the vacuum. The docking mechanism itself uses a small hook that you push in to release and push back to lock. It's simple enough once you know it's there, but it's also easy to knock accidentally. This can cause the vacuum to release unexpectedly (and land on your head while you're adjusting the location of the base...) It also means it needs extra space around the entire unit in order to use this feature.

Once all the pieces are in place, the charging station plugs into the wall. The cord is short which doesn't leave many options when it comes to positioning. Dreame then recommends charging fully before first use. The manual claims this takes around four hours but during our setup it was closer to two. You can also see the current battery level on the LCD display, and the station's self-cleaning button lights up blue when it's powered on and charging.

The charging station handles the part of wet vacuum maintenance that I usually dread. After a wet cleaning session, it automatically cleans and dries the brush roller with zero intervention other than placing the vacuum on the base. The only thing you have to remember occasionally is to top up and empty the clean and dirty water tanks as needed.

After a dry vacuum session, you empty the dust bin by pressing a button on the main vacuum body to release the cap. This was one of my surprise favorite features. I find emptying the bagless bin on Dyson vacuums unnecessarily fiddly, and being able to do it largely one-handed on the Dreame Z30 Pro Aqua was, well, a dream.

For deeper cleaning, most of the Z30 Pro Aqua's components are washable. The dust cup, the AquaCycle 2.0 brush roller, the clean and dirty water tanks, and the pre-filter can all be rinsed under water.

The HEPA H14 filter is also washable. Dreame recommends cleaning it every month and allowing it to air dry for at least 24 hours before reinstalling, which means it's worth having a cleaning day routine where the filter wash happens at the start so it's dry by the time you're done. The filter is a lifetime component rather than a consumable, so there's no ongoing replacement cost.

The parts that need more careful handling are the motorized components, such as the TangleCut brush head's blades, and the vacuum body itself, which you can wipe down with a cloth. To clean the brush roller, press the release button to remove it, cut away any remaining hair, and wipe with a cloth.

Given that the TangleCut blades are actively cutting hair during use, the amount of manual hair you'll have to remove will be minimal. I didn't have to clear or clean it once during my month-long test, although I chose to take it off and clean it for hygiene purposes.

One point worth noting: the vacuum can only be charged with the AquaCycle 2.0 wet brush attached. The connectors on the rod can't reach the charging port on the base with the dry brush head attached. This means you can't simply park the vacuum on the base mid-session with the dry brush head attached and expect it to charge.

How Does the Dreame Z30 Pro Aqua Compare?

The most natural comparison for the Dreame Z30 Pro Aqua is the H15 Pro from Dreame's own wet-dry lineup. The $649.99 / £399.99 H15 Pro is a dedicated floor washer with 21,000Pa suction, a self-cleaning base with 100°C hot water wash, and a clever AI robotic arm that edges right up to skirting boards.

Where the H15 Pro has the advantage is in pure wet cleaning coverage – 60 minutes in floor washing mode covering up to 400m2 versus the Z30 Pro Aqua's 45 minutes and 290m2. The trade-off is that the H15 Pro is exclusively a floor washer. It can pick up dry debris, but it isn't a full-power cordless stick vacuum like the Z30 Pro Aqua.

The closest rival from outside Dreame is the Tineco Floor One S7 Pro, which retails for $799.99 / £599.99. Like the Z30 Pro Aqua, it combines vacuuming and mopping in one with smart dirt detection that automatically adjusts suction power and water flow. It also deodorizes.

If your home is mainly hard flooring and wet cleaning is your priority, the H15 Pro is worth considering, but if you want a single machine that genuinely replaces both your vacuum and your mop, the Z30 Pro Aqua makes a stronger case.

How We Test Vacuums

At Homes & Gardens, we standardize how we test vacuums so we can get a like-for-like comparison between models, and to make sure we're recreating real-life circumstances.

I tested the Dreame Z30 Pro Aqua for a month in my home, across carpet, hardwood, and laminate. In addition to running all three standardized tests – flour and sugar; lentils and cereal; pet hair – I used it for everyday cleaning throughout. This included picking up after Maisie, my chocolate Lab, tackling the kitchen floor after cooking, and using the wet cleaning function on the hard floors throughout the house. I then tracked how noisy it was using the DecibelX app.

This gave me a much more complete picture of how the vacuum performs in real conditions than a single test session would, including how the self-cleaning station holds up over repeated wet cleaning sessions and how the brush roll fares after weeks of regular use rather than just a single controlled test.

Overall, this would make one of the best Dyson alternatives, and is a worthy contender for versatile floor care. It is worth noting that if you have a lot of hard flooring, the water tank will need a top-up mid-session.

For more product news straight to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter.

On June 2, Levoit dropped two new vacuums – the Levoit VortexIQ and the VortexIQ Pro. Both vacuums boast Levoit’s new LED system called NeoSight, a 150-degree green LED light that better illuminates dust, pet hair, and debris that you wouldn’t be able to see by sight or with a regular light.

I’ve been testing cordless vacuums for five years, witnessing the evolution of vacuum technology from the introduction of auto-empty docks to smart features. So, I know that Levoit is not the first brand to employ a green light. Other vacuums like the Dyson V16 Piston Anima and the Ultenic U16 Flex boast it too. However, I’d never used a vacuum with this technology, which is why I was so excited to test the Levoit VortexIQ Pro for two weeks in my 1,600-square-foot home on historic hardwood and laminate floors and short- and high-pile rugs.

After running a variety of tests with the VortexIQ Pro, I understood the hype and got a better sense for its other features, like its impressive suction capabilities and attachments. Keep reading to learn more about this vacuum before checking out our best cordless vacuums guide to see how the Levoit VortexIQ Pro compares.

Levoit VortexIQ Pro: Specifications

Unboxing & setup

The Levoit VortexIQ Pro arrived in a lightweight compact box with two attachments, a charger, and a charging holder that can be affixed to the wall.

The vacuum was broken down into four parts, and it took me less than a minute to assemble it. The Levoit VortexIQ Pro arrived with a 77% battery life and took less than an hour to fully charge.

Levoit VortexIQ Pro: Design and Features

LED lights on vacuums aren’t anything new. They allow you to see dirt and debris in dark spaces. However, the Levoit VortexIQ Pro sports a NeoSight Dust Detection Light, or a 150-degree high-contrast green LED Light, which magnifies microscopic items on your floor like dust and hair.

According to Levoit, the green light makes particles appear 12 times larger than regular lighting. Unfortunately, the green LED light is only present when the regular vacuum head is in use and isn't employed with any of the attachments.

NeoSight light aside, the Levoit VortexIQ Pro is a standard cordless stick vacuum with a 180-degree lay-flat design and a single floorhead with an anti-tangle brush design that works on different floor types.

The handle features a power button and three power mode buttons – eco, mid, and turbo. Unfortunately, the Levoit VortexIQ Pro lacks smart features, which means the vacuum doesn’t increase the suction power if it recognizes dirt or debris or a different floor type.

Like other stick vacuums, the Levoit VortexIQ Pro can be broken down into a handheld device with or without the stick. Two attachments are provided. The 2-in-1 crevice tool is perfect for cleaning along baseboards, in corners, or blinds, while the mini motorized brush is perfect for removing pet hair from a couch or vacuuming in tight spaces, like next to your toilet.

The dustbin is 0.85 liters and features five-stage HEPA filtration that captures 99.99% of particles (like pet dander, pollen, etc.) as small as 0.3 microns.

Even though the vacuum can stand upright on its own, Levoit provided a charging dock that can be fastened to your wall (with screws provided). You can then plug the charger into the dock and set the vacuum to charge. If you don’t want to affix the charger to your wall, you can plug the charger into the battery when it's on or off the vacuum.

What is the Levoit VortexIQ Pro Like To Use?

At 3.5 lbs., the Levoit VortexIQ Pro is a considerably lightweight vacuum. As I vacuumed my house, it glided across my floors and didn’t scratch my historic hardwood. The vacuum head fit in tight spaces and maneuvered easily, so I didn’t have to move as much furniture around to clean in tight spaces.

With its 180-degree lay-flat design, I could reach under my bed and cabinets, pulling dirt and debris from hidden spots with ease. The vacuum head is also short enough to fit under my cabinet overhangs without issue.

The most prominent feature of the Levoit VortexIQ Pro is its NeoSight Dust Detection Light. I was astounded by the difference that a green LED light makes. It highlighted dirt, dust, and microscopic materials that I could not see with my naked eye or even a regular LED light. Tiny scratches on my historic wooden floor were even visible.

Although I wish the Levoit VortexIQ Pro had smart features – like the ability to recognize dirt and debris and automatically increase the suction power – I can see how the green LED light is meant to offset that lack of technology. I hope other vacuum brands adopt the green light. because I’m now convinced that I've been missing a lot of dirt, debris, and allergens in my home that I couldn't see before.

In general, I thought the Levoit VortexIQ Pro cleaned my house well, no matter the floor type. It suctioned up day-to-day dirt and debris that I tracked in from the mudroom, food waste that fell to the floor in my kitchen, and all the dust that comes with having a historic house. I tested the Levoit Aero last year, and I felt like the Levoit VortexIQ Pro did a better job at cleaning my floors of different-sized materials.

One of the biggest drawbacks to this vacuum was the front edge cleaning. When I used the vacuum head to clean straight at a wall, there was about an inch and a half strip of floor between the wall and the vacuum head that wasn’t cleaned. Thankfully, the edge cleaning was much better, reaching within a centimeter of the wall.

Whenever I turned on the vacuum, it automatically started in eco mode, but I preferred using the mid option as it offered better suction on hard floors and high-pile rugs, as well as 40 minutes of battery life. I was able to clean my entire house on the mid setting and still have 45% battery life left.

When I conducted cleaning tests (which you can see below), the eco mode performed better than expected. I was hoping that the battery would last longer than 48 minutes on eco mode, especially since the mid setting lasts 40 minutes. An eight-minute difference was disappointing.

The turbo setting was necessary to pick up larger debris, though with only a 13-minute battery life, I did not use that setting often because it then took 3 hours and 45 minutes for the vacuum to fully recharge. In terms of sound, Levoit VortexIQ Pro had a 75 dB rating on eco mode and a 79 dB rating on turbo mode – which is pretty standard, if not a bit on the low end.

It felt so good to use the VortexIQ Pro as a handheld vacuum, especially since I've been using a vacuum -- the Shark Freestyle Max cordless vacuum -- that can't be broken down. With the VortexIQ Pro, I utilized the 2-in-1 crevice tool to clean cobwebs from my 10-foot ceilings, dead bugs on my windowsills (I have over 20 windows), and dust around my tall baseboards (which cover the entire house). Not to mention, I used the mini motorized brush to clean tight spaces and my furniture, which is again something I can’t do with the Shark Freestyle Max.

Overall, the Levoit VortexIQ Pro is a solid vacuum for cleaning up daily messes, especially with the green LED light. The battery life is average, and the front edge cleaning is shockingly poor, but perhaps the attachment, side edge cleaning, and suction capabilities make up for that.

Test 1: Flour and Sugar

When it comes to vacuums, we always want to see how well it can pick up fine materials, especially things like dust, dead skin, and allergens. That’s why I sprinkled flour and sugar on my high-pile rug, hardwood floor, and laminate floor then used the vacuum on the eco and standard modes to suction up the fine materials. The white coloring makes it easy to see what’s left on the floor or the vacuum during the test.

When it came to the carpet test, the Levoit VortexIQ Pro suctioned 100% of the flour and sugar on mid mode. On eco mode, it picked up 95% of the material and left a light dusting of flour and sugar behind that only required one more pass to completely suction up. Bonus -- the Levoit VortexIQ Pro did a great job vacuuming fine materials in reverse on my rugs.

Although I expected to have similar results on hardwood and laminate, the Levoit VortexIQ Pro performed slightly differently for each. It suctioned all the flour and sugar from my laminate floors on eco and mid power modes. However, if I tried to vacuum in reverse, the flour-sugar mixture got stuck behind the wheels.

As for the hardwood floors, the Levoit VortexIQ Pro appeared to pick up all the flour and sugar in a single pass. That is, until I noticed that some of the mixture had stuck to the wheels and created lines on the floor that I then had to vacuum over. At least, no flour or sugar remained in the grooves of the hardwood.

Test 2: Pantry

Whether it’s dried mud, cereal, or rice, there will come a time when you need to vacuum medium and large items from your floors. To see if the Levoit VortexIQ Pro could handle larger debris, I laid out a row of Cheerios and dried green split peas on my hard floors and high-pile rugs.

No matter the floor type, the vacuum did a great job with suctioning the green split peas on eco and mid mode.

However, it pushed the Cheerios forward when I tried to vacuum them on all three floor types, which made it much more difficult to suction them up. I had to go very slowly over them and/or use the turbo mode, and even then, some of the Cheerios and split peas were flung about.

Between the historic hardwood floor test (which came after the rug test) and the laminate floor test, I got an error message on the vacuum, and it powered off. A little investigation revealed that the Cheerios had gotten stuck at the top of the vacuum, right before making their way into the dustbin. I had to remove them with a butter knife before I could complete the final test.

The Levoit Vortex IQ Pro may do a great job with fine and medium materials, but its capabilities with suctioning large materials are subpar and could result in a blockage issue.

Test 3: Hair

In my 20s, I developed a slight allergy to pet hair, which is why I don’t have pets. However, to give you the best insight on how well the Levoit VortexIQ Pro does with pet hair, I went to my neighbor’s house and procured cat hair to test on my hard floors, high-pile rugs, and an armchair.

When it came to my hard floors and high-pile rug, the vacuum suctioned up the cat hair quickly and efficiently on eco mode alone.

I used the mini motorized brush on eco mode to clean cat hair from a cream-colored armchair – and was amazed to see that it picked up nearly all the hair in a single pass. Two small hairs weren’t picked up on the first pass, but if I’d been using the mid or turbo mode, I have no doubt the results would’ve been perfect.

I even went the extra step of grabbing some hair from my hairbrush and putting it on the same chair. The results were practically the same, with one long piece of hair needing to be suctioned up on a second pass.

Test 4: Attachments

The Levoit VortexIQ Pro has two attachments – a mini motorized brush and a 2-in-1 crevice tool – that are easy to swap out. I found myself using the mini motorized brush quite a bit, and not just to clean my furniture.

There are plenty of spaces in my home, like between the oven and my wall, and alongside the toilet where the vacuum head can't fit. Yet, the green light shone bright in those tight areas, showing me just how much dust and dirt needed to be picked up. It’s a little awkward to use the mini motorized brush on my hard floors because it doesn’t bend like the robot vacuum head, but I got used to it because I'd rather use the attachment than pull out a broom.

The 2-in-1 crevice tool was excellent at cleaning the top and bottom of my baseboards and grabbing spider webs from the corners of windowsills and the ceiling. It even suctioned sugar in a single go on eco mode when I sprinkled it along the edge of a wall. The brush tool cleaned dust from my blinds decently on eco mode, but I had better results on mid and turbo modes.

Levoit VortexIQ Pro: Cleaning and Maintenance

The Levoit Vortex IQ Pro doesn’t come with an auto-empty dock, so whenever the dustbin became full, I had to turn it into a handheld vacuum and place it over the trash. From there, I pushed a button, and the lid swung open, emptying the dust and debris. The process is simple, but if you’re very sensitive to allergens and dust, there’s really no way to prevent the fine particles from escaping into the air. Cordless stick vacuums with sealable dust bags aren't common, but there are a few on the market.

I should note that when I emptied the dustbin, clumps of dirt and debris got stuck on the metal filter. I had to rotate the metal filter counterclockwise and remove it so that I could empty all the materials into the trash.

The dustbin can be removed from the vacuum and washed by hand with water. Same with the metal filter. The felt and foam filters should also be removed and washed by hand at least once a month and replaced every three months. As for the HEPA filter, it can be washed once a year.

How Does the Levoit VortexIQ Pro Compare?

Levoit has plenty of great cordless vacuum options that are comparable to the VortexIQ Pro. I recently tested the Levoit Aero, which performed similarly in suction tests, edge cleaning, and battery power to the VortexIQ Pro. The Aero has a headlight, but it’s not a green LED headlight. If you dislike maintenance, you may want to go with the Aero, which has an auto-empty charging base.

The Dreame R20 has a similar price point to the Levoit VortexIQ Pro but boasts smart features like adjusting the suction based on dust volume and floor type. The Dreame R20 may not be ideal for those with pets, but an up to 90-minute runtime and a weight of only 3.88 lbs. is impressive. Interestingly, it has a blue light that emits from the bristled floorhead (there are two floorheads), which does better than a regular light at revealing dust, though it's not up to par with Vortex IQ Pro's green light. Oddly, the soft floorhead – which is better on hardwood floors and tile – doesn’t have a light.

The Ultenic U16 Flex is probably the most similar cordless vacuum to the Levoit VortexIQ Pro, because it lacks auto-suction capability and has a floorhead outfitted with a green LED headlight. The two vacuums differ slightly in their cleaning capabilities, with the Ultenic U16 Flex performing better with large debris and the Levoit VortexIQ Pro better suited to suctioning pet hair and fine materials like flour and sugar from carpet.

Should You Buy It?

Thanks to the green LED light on the Levoit VortexIQ Pro, I was able to see a lot more dirt and debris on my floors, which resulted in cleaner floors.

Its lightweight nature, 180-degree lay-flat design, and compact floor head meant I could access tight and hard-to-reach spaces without having to move a lot of furniture. The suction power isn’t the highest I’ve tested, but it performed above average suctioning fine materials like flour from carpet and pet hair from furniture. It may struggle with larger materials like Cheerios and have poor front edge cleaning, but at least its side edge cleaning is efficient.

The battery dropped to about 50% once I cleaned my entire 1,600-square-foot home on a single charge on eco and mid modes. Those with decent-sized homes and apartments will likely have the same experience. Larger homes should consider a vacuum with a higher battery life.

All in all, the Levoit VortexIQ Pro is a great mid-range option for pet owners and those who hate the idea of missing any dirt, dust, and debris on their floors.

How We Test

At Homes & Gardens, we have a dedicated and thorough procedure of how we test vacuums that involves noting everything from unboxing to maintenance and using the vacuum around the house. I tested the Levoit VortexIQ Pro for two weeks on my high-pile rugs and hardwood and linoleum floors. This included sprinkling various substances on the three floor types to recreate real-life cleaning scenarios.

Love the latest product news and helpful shopping advice? Sign up for our newsletter and get the latest features delivered straight to your inbox.

When I learned that the Aarke Coffee Press was made from 100% stainless steel, I knew that I had to put it to the test. With zero plastic, it is the chic way to make a morning brew.

After trialing it at home, I can safely say it did not disappoint. The simple design brews wonderful coffee, with no gritty grounds escaping the quality filter. Even at the premium price point, it is easily one of the best non-toxic coffee makers on the market today.

Here's how I got on with the Aarke Coffee Press, and why this stylish staple will now be a permanent fixture on my counter.

Product Specifications: Aarke Coffee Press

Design and First Impressions

Having reviewed the Aarke Coffee Grinder previously, I expected good things from the Coffee Press. I am glad to say that the high-quality stainless steel has carried over.

Everything about the Aarke Coffee Press (also available at Williams Sonoma) oozes premium quality. The handle feels fantastic in the hand; it is not overly heavy despite the double-walled vacuum stainless steel body, and the polished exterior looks like something you would find in an upmarket coffee shop.

It arrived simply packaged, with no plastic besides a small piece of tape holding the box closed. Inside, the press was nestled in sturdy recyclable cardboard, with a soft bag to protect it from scratches. The matching coffee scoop was wrapped in paper. It is accompanied by an easy-to-read manual that offers suggestions on dosing and grind size, and specific instructions for use with the Aarke Coffee grinder.

What I love the most about this press is that it is plastic-free, with no BPAs in any part of the lid, filter, or plunger. It is pure, durable, non-reactive stainless steel, making it perfectly non-toxic. With a quick rinse, it was ready to use straight out of the box. It could not be simpler.

Performance

The best French presses make making coffee at home simple. Add your coffee grounds, your water, brew, and plunge before serving.

Aarke advises preheating the carafe before using, so I did just that, adding some hot water to let the steel warm up before dumping, drying, and adding my coffee and water.

I used the engraved measurements on the interior of the carafe to brew a four-cup measure, using the 1:12 coffee-to-water ratio to brew just over a single serving. The coffee was steeped for five minutes with the lid turned so that the spout was blocked off to prevent the coffee from cooling down.

I need not have worried about this, however. When the five minutes were up, I touched the exterior of the carafe and found it completely cool. It was as if I had not used the press at all, and it was still fresh out of the box. I was incredibly impressed at just how efficient the double wall insulation was.

Inside, the coffee was still piping hot. The plunger was easy to press down, although I will note that the stainless steel filter does scrape slightly on the stainless steel walls. This creates a small sound, but it is hardly disturbing.

The poured coffee was perfect. The filter kept all the coffee grounds compact and out of the final brew. The coffee was rich and smooth, and according to my partner, who has used it regularly since it arrived, the taste only improved with subsequent use. Whether that is a result of us fine-tuning our method or the stainless steel seasoning with time, I am not sure. Regardless, it makes it a promising investment.

I wanted to further test Aarke's claim that the press can keep coffee warm for up to three hours. To do so, I filled the carafe up to the six-cup measurement and used a food thermometer from Amazon to take readings every hour for three hours.

I preheated the carafe as before and was pleasantly surprised to find that the claim was fairly accurate. After three hours, the water had dropped by 55°F, with the temperature after three hours a comfortable 156°F. We don't generally recommend steeping French press coffee for this long, as you risk over-extraction, but it is nice to know that you are not at risk of a cold brew if you steep a little longer than the suggested five minutes.

Throughout the process, the exterior of the press stayed perfectly cool to the touch. The insulation is next to none.

Cleaning and Maintenance

Cleaning a French press always comes with the mildly irritating task of scooping the compacted grounds from the base, but overall, the Aarke is easy to clean.

Because of the large capacity, I found it easiest to use a wooden mixing spoon to reach the base and fish out the coffee to put into my compost. Beyond that the carafe was easy to rinse out. The filter separates with a small screw bolt at the base, making it easy to rinse between the layers and remove any lingering coffee.

All of the parts are dishwasher safe, too, but hand washing is simple enough. Just avoid harsh abrasives to prevent cosmetic scratches. I will note that, being stainless steel, the polished exterior is very prone to water marks if left to air dry, so I suggest towel drying to maintain the shine.

Despite the 34 oz capacity, the press is easy to store in a cabinet or on a shelf and looks good enough to be left on display as part of your coffee station.

How the Aarke Coffee Press Compares

Having used cheap own-brand glass French presses before, the difference is as clear as night and day. You might not be able to watch your coffee brew with the Aarke Stainless Steel Coffee Press; however, the double-wall insulation and plastic-free construction make it a far more elevated brewing experience, without the fear of contaminants.

The top premium contender for the Aarke is the Espro P7 French Press, which has retained its position as the best stainless steel coffee maker for the last few years. Another 32 oz brewer, the Espro is around $5 cheaper on average (at the time of writing). The main difference is in the filter. The Aarke uses a very typical filter comprised of a stainless steel spiral plate, mesh filter, and a cross plate. The Espro uses a patented double wire mesh filter, which is made using BPA-free plastic. As it is BPA-free, it is non-toxic; however, for those who are very particular about 'plastic-free' brews, the Aarke takes the cake.

They both deliver delicious, rich, grit-free coffee with double-wall insulation that keeps coffee warm for hours. Which you choose will come down to your particulars about plastic, BPA-free or not.

Should You Buy the Aarke Coffee Press?

I would absolutely recommend the Aarke Coffee Press to anyone who enjoys French press-style coffee. It is simple to use with premium construction and materials that promise plastic-free brewing.

While the Aarke does come in at a more premium price point ($150 at the time of writing), the quality justifies the investment. The vacuum insulation promises hot coffee without the risk of burns, and the easy-to-hold handle and balanced carafe make for easy pouring. We have noticed a steady improvement in flavour with each use, too, which promises great things for dedicated users. I think it is worth the price, and will be a fantastic find should it drop into any sales.

What Else to Shop

To help you detoxify your coffee routine and create the perfect home café, I’ve curated a selection of my favourite accessories, from non-toxic brewing essentials to smart organization upgrades that make every cup feel a little more special.

All prices were correct at the time of publication.

To help start your more mindful routine, consider selecting the best ethical coffee beans next.

Love the latest product news and helpful shopping advice? Sign up for our newsletter and get the latest features delivered straight to your inbox.

Stand mixers are kitchen workhorses. They need to be able to handle everything from the most delicate mixing to tough kneading without protest, which is why I was so excited to get my hands on the new super-powerful SMEG Forte Stand Mixer.

I put the 750-watt mixer to the test using my favorite tried-and-tested recipes, and it's safe to say that it is a fantastic addition to the SMEG retro-style lineup, delivering stellar baked results every time and easily vying for a spot on the best stand mixers list.

That said, there are a few tiny snags in using the Smeg Forte Stand Mixer that knocked just half a star off of my final verdict. Here's why I still think it can be worth the investment, and the small details to take into account.

Product Specifications: KitchenAid Artisan Plus 5 Quart Stand Mixer

Design and First Impressions

The SMEG Forte Stand Mixer revives the same classic retro silhouette as the rest of the SMEG offerings, with a curvaceous outline that oozes style and pairs wonderfully with their existing toasters, kettles, and more. Much like the original SMEG 1950s Retro Stand Mixer we reviewed a few years ago, the Forte comes in seven classic SMEG colors, all with stainless steel bowls.

The mixer looks great straight out of the box. It arrived well packaged, in mostly recyclable packaging, using sturdy cardboard and a few fabric bags to prevent the plastic exterior and stainless steel bowl from being scratched. The individual accessories were tucked neatly inside, too.

As with any stand mixer, this thing is not light. Coming in at 21lbs, it is a little lighter than the new KitchenAid Artisan Plus Stand Mixer I reviewed alongside it, but it is still not easy to lift from shelves if you wish to store it away. After a particularly tough arm day at the gym, my partner had to move it onto a slightly higher shelf for me when I needed some extra counter space. For general day-to-day use, however, it is so pretty that I suggest leaving it in place on your counter as part of your kitchen decor. Small appliance slide mats, from Amazon, can make it easier to move if required.

After unboxing and rinsing the attachments to remove any factory dust, it was as simple as plugging it in and starting to bake. There are 11 speed settings, an increase of one from the original design, that play into the new, more powerful motor. The SMEG Forte boasts a 750-watt motor, up from their previous 600 watts, and over double that of the new KitchenAid. The idea is that this will limit the risk of burnout, a common problem that plagues heavily used stand mixers. The mixer also promises a slow start, which steadily increases the speed up to the selected setting to avoid ingredients flying out of the bowl. I found this to be somewhat effective, but it was not as gentle as other mixers I have used in the past.

The Forte comes with four attachments as standard: A stainless steel wire whisk, an aluminum dough hook, a paddle beater, and a flex-edge beater. They also include a clear plastic splash guard with a pouring spout that sits neatly on top of the bowl.

Performance

To thoroughly test the stand mixer, I tested four of my favorite recipes that would assess the appliance's ability to tackle everything from thick doughs to delicate cream:

The Cake Test

Victoria sponge cake is a very simple recipe, but it is easy to get wrong. Overmix, and you risk a dense, chewy cake that is miles from the lightweight, melt-in-the-mouth result you're hoping for. For this reason, I usually hand-mix this batter for precision.

I started by creaming together the butter and sugar using the flex-edge beater attachment. It powered through the mix easily enough, slowly reducing it down to a light and fluffy paste; however, I did notice some sticking around the edge of the bowl. I think this is because the flex-edge silicone only lines one side of the beater, meaning the other is exposed aluminum. As a result, you only get half the scraping power. I had to stop before adding more ingredients to scrape the edges down.

I proceeded as usual, alternating between adding the flour and eggs so as to prevent the batter from splitting. I did this on a low speed to avoid overmixing the dough, especially when adding the final few measures of flour. This is the part when I usually turn to folding the mix with a spoon slowly to keep the air in. The SMEG was a little heavy-handed for this, even on the lowest speed, but it incorporated everything evenly nonetheless. Power is this mixer's forte,' if you'll pardon the pun, more so than precision.

I admittedly shared and ate the cake too quickly and forgot to take a photo, but it came out evenly with no clumps of flour and rose nicely. It wasn't as fluffy as mixing by hand, but it was still perfectly passable.

The Whipped Cream Test

Whipping cream requires high speeds, so I had a good feeling that the SMEG Forte would excel here.

Adding plain double cream to the bowl, I turned the whisk attachment onto a mid-high setting and let it work. The slow start stopped cream from flying up to the splash guard, which was nice to see, even if it was not the slowest build-up I have ever seen in a mixer. It was a little loud in the process, but nothing uncomfortable. It was as expected from a motor of that size.

It very quickly thickened the cream to a spreadable consistency, ready to be spread onto my cake.

The Bread Test

With its more powerful motor, I paid particular attention to the bread test, making my standard focaccia dough. It was a lot easier than mixing by hand and produced a wonderfully airy bread that sprang up when compressed.

The process of making the dough raised a few concerns, however, most notably in the movement of the mixer head. As with most stand mixers, the speed is limited when using the dough hook to prevent burning out the motor, but that was no issue for me. I did find an issue in fitting the dough hook, however. The metal didn't slot together neatly and felt like it was scraping or catching on insertions, needing a bit of force to get it into place and twist to secure. It made the whole appliance feel a little bit less premium.

That said, even on the slowest speed setting, on a high-hydration dough, the head 'bounced' as it mixed. SMEG claims its head movement is there to mimic the natural movement of hands kneading dough for consistent results; however, this is a 'feature' most stand mixers struggle with, which can loosen the head joint over time. I am not entirely convinced by it. Overall, however, I didn't experience any damage in my time testing, nor did the appliance rock or otherwise move on the counter as I worked.

The handled bowl made the dough easy to move around while the dough was proofing, and all in all, I was very impressed by the texture of my sweet cinnamon sugar focaccia.

The Cookie Test

The final test is cookies, used to assess the mixer with another dough type, and the ease of moving the bowl from the counter to the fridge. I used my base cookie recipe for this to make a chewy chocolate-chunk treat.

This mix is usually a nightmare to make by hand, giving me a shoulder ache by the end, so it was nice to take some of the effort out. As with every other recipe, the paddle attachments distributed ingredients nicely, combining them evenly without any lumps or clumps. It also folded the chunks of chocolate evenly, with no sign of rocking or struggling as it worked.

As I refrigerate my cookie dough overnight (at the very least), I removed the bowl, covered it with foil, and put it in the fridge. The bowl is rather squat in size, being wider than it is tall, which made this very easy to do without having to adjust the height of my shelving. It didn't feel heavy in my grip, either, even with the dough inside.

After baking, the cookies were perfectly chewy, with crisp edges that gave way to an almost Stroop-waffle-esque interior. It was another easy win.

Cleaning and Maintenance

Cleaning the SMEG Forte Stand Mixer was easy. The removable components are dishwasher safe, with the exception of the wire whisk. I hand-washed all of the pieces and found that even sticky bread dough came away with ease after a small stint soaking to loosen the oils. I always use a soft dish sponge and non-toxic soap, such as the Attitude Dish Soap from Walmart.

The exterior of the appliance, being shiny plastic, can then be buffed down with a damp cloth and dried to remove splatters and fingerprints.

It was as I was washing the bowl after the cookies that I realised that I had damaged it. When portioning cookies, I have always used my metal ice cream scoop from Walmart. It helps me achieve nice, even balls of dough for evenly sized cookies. I had used the same tool to portion dough from my KitchenAid with no issue, and given that stainless steel is a metal utensil safe, I used it without a second thought in the SMEG. After washing, the deep scratches made themselves known.

I flicked back through the manual and couldn't find any warnings against using metal in the bowl, so I didn't put this down to user error. That said, it is important to note that this bowl is more delicate than it looks.

How The SMEG Forte Stand Mixer Compares

When trialling stand mixers, I tested the Smeg Forte alongside the KitchenAid Artisan Plus Stand Mixer. Both delivered great results on the same bakes, and I would be hard-pressed to tell them apart if I were blindfolded. That said, the process of using each machine varied, and put the KitchenAid half a star ahead.

Both machines come at a premium price so far as stand mixers are concerned; however, for $50 more, the Artisan Plus offers greater precision control, including a folding speed and a bowl light. Even with a more powerful motor, these were two features I missed severely when using the SMEG Forte.

The general consensus online seems to agree that the Forte, while a great option, may not live up to alternatives. Another professional review, for instance, experienced the bowl rocking under the force of the mixer. While I did not experience this myself, it suggests that it might not be quite sturdy enough to withstand its own amped-up motor.

Shopper reviews are more positive, with the bulk of the praise falling on the cult-favorite retro design. Many Amazon shoppers, for instance, love that it matches their existing SMEG investments. Giving it five stars, shopper M commented, 'I love to bake and was finding making bread and similar products tedious due to the amount of hand kneading. The initial shock and slight buyer's remorse due to the price were instantly gone upon my first use! This machine can handle all types of dough, cookies, squares, buns, etc. If you are looking for a stand mixer and want something sturdy that can get the job done, I highly recommend this product!'

Of the one-star reviews, of which there are very few, customers report a range of issues from cords arriving broken to the tilt head mechanism not holding, and even the appliance not always turning on. None of us appeared to have the same issues, which suggests to me that there may be some quality-control concerns with the odd few appliances. It is worth noting that the overall reception is very positive, however, and these mark only a small section of shoppers.

Should You Buy The SMEG Forte Stand Mixer?

All in all, if you value aesthetics and bake occasionally, I do recommend the SMEG Forte Stand Mixer. It ultimately performed well on all of our tests, delivering tasty baked goods, but it just fell a little short in comparison to others on the market in terms of operation. It wouldn't suit someone running a cake business from their home, but it is a fun-looking addition for the occasional home cook.

If you already have an existing stand mixer that performs well, I do not see a need to rush to upgrade, especially with a recommended retail price of $549.99 at the time of writing. I would wait for a sale to invest.

What Else to Shop

Looking to create a cohesive appliance suite or simply elevate your baking setup? I’ve rounded up my favourite SMEG appliances alongside a selection of baking essentials to help outfit your kitchen in style, without compromising on non-toxic materials or performance.

All prices were correct at the time of publication.

Looking to make your baking setup more professional? We asked professional organizers for their best tips for storing bakeware to keep kitchens tidy.

Love the latest product news and helpful shopping advice? Sign up for our newsletter and get the latest features delivered straight to your inbox.

When the new KitchenAid Artisan Plus Stand Mixer first launched, I knew I had to get my hands on it, and having put it through its paces for the last few weeks, I can safely say it has not disappointed.

Having baked for the last 15 years, I understand how your tools can make or break your bake. A bad stand mixer can make the process more awkward than working by hand. Luckily, the Artisan Plus is not that, offering fantastic control and precision over everything from cakes to breads.

Here is how I got on reviewing the KitchenAid Artisan Plus Stand Mixer, and why I maintain, after my KitchenAid Artisan Plus first look, that it is arguably the best stand mixer money can buy.

Product Specifications: KitchenAid Artisan Plus 5 Quart Stand Mixer

Design and First Impressions

The KitchenAid Artisan Plus Stand Mixer follows the same design as its best-selling predecessor, the KitchenAid Classic Stand Mixer we reviewed a few years back. The signature tilt-head design has returned, but adding more colors to the mix, totalling 13 overall, with the new Sun Dried Tomato, Wild Blueberry, Iron Ore Bronze, and Oat colorways ensuring there is a style for every kitchen design.

The stand mixer looks great straight out of the box. It arrived well packaged in polystyrene to protect the main body of the unit (so not entirely recyclable), but all the components were tucked very neatly inside, so there was no risk of damage or scratches. The unit itself is rather heavy, both to lift and to move around on the counter. This is so that the unit does not rock or move even on the fastest mixing speeds; however, it might make it more difficult if you want to put it away in a cabinet after each use. That said, the design is so pretty, I suggest leaving it on the counter anyway. Small appliance slide mats, from Amazon, can make them easier to move if required.

From there, it is as simple as plugging in and starting to bake. I noted that there is an included cable tidy on the cord to help keep counters clear. It's a small detail, but appreciated in a small kitchen.

The Artisan Plus comes with four attachments as standard: A wire whisk, a dough hook, a standard paddle, and a double Flex Edge paddle, which came to be my favorite for mixing batters, but more on that later. Each accessory is crafted from solid stainless steel, with a good weight to them that makes them feel premium. The double Flex Edge has two silicone scrapers on either side, which scrape the edges of the bowl to ensure no batter is left unmixed. There is also a clear plastic splash guard that uses silicone 'feet' to clip onto the bowl. I love how sturdy this felt, and yes, the edge of the funnel is sturdy enough to crack eggs against.

A major upgrade from the previous classic design is the bowl handle. This was one of the few things we marked the original classic design down for missing. Also, stainless steel, the bowl is easy to handle and well-weighted, even with a heavy dough inside.

The stand-out new features on the Artisan Plus include the integrated bowl light, which activates whenever you put the head down and stays on when mixing. In my dark kitchen, it was a game-changer for being able to keep an eye on my mixes, casting a lovely yet practical soft glow over the contents of the bowl. It also added a cozier touch to the experience, which I appreciate.

Finally, the new speed settings, specifically the half-speed for folding, were fantastic. Anyone who bakes regularly knows how easy it is for a delicate batter to be ruined by the power of a stand mixer. However, the half-speed works slowly to avoid knocking air out of the mix. What's more, the speed dial can be used in two configurations. Turn the dial one way, and you can 'click' precisely between the marked speed settings. Turn the dial the other way, and you can glide seamlessly between each speed, effectively giving you full control and half-speeds between every markation. It is simply fantastic.

Performance

To thoroughly test the stand mixer, I tested four of my favorite recipes that would assess the appliance's ability to tackle everything from thick doughs to delicate cream:

The Cake Test

Not to blow my own trumpet, but I make a very good Victoria sponge cake. It is basic, but an undeniable classic. Done correctly, the sponge should be as light as air, and it is a mix I usually always hand-mix for precision.

Starting with creaming the butter and sugar together, I opted for the double Flex Edge beater to see how efficient it was at keeping the edges of the bowl clean. Admittedly, underestimating the power of the machine, I turned it on too high at first and sent a ring of butter around the top of the bowl. I removed the paddle, scraped the bowl down manually using its edge, replaced it, and tried again more slowly.

This was more successful. The paddle beat the mix until fluffy, keeping the bowl clean as it worked. From there, adding the vanilla and alternating adding the eggs and flour was simple. The clear cover with a spout helped direct ingredients in, but it was not needed to prevent splashes.

The fold speed came into its own when alternating the eggs and flour. This is the point where you are most likely to end up with a dense cake. Adding each slowly and folding it in maintains air, so you do not end up with a tough dough. I left the folding half-speed running as I added each, and found my batter to be lovely and light by the end.

After baking, the cake was fluffy and well-risen, with that airy texture I usually look for. I do think I overmixed it slightly, this being my first time using the stand mixer, but I put that down to user error, not being used to a mixer doing all the work for me, rather than me manually stopping and starting. All in all, I was very impressed.

The Whipped Cream Test

Whipped cream is a pain to make by hand. I did it once and never want to do it again.

I simply poured double cream into the base of the bowl, added the whisk attachment, and set it off on a high speed. I actually mixed it for too long, once again underappreciating the efficiency, but it was nothing that turning it down and adding some more fresh cream didn't fix. The resulting cream was lovely and thick, and perfect for spreading between the layers of my cake with fresh raspberry compote.

The lesson here is that the KitchenAid Artisan Plus is very efficient, taking only a minute or so to perfect whipped cream.

The Bread Test

Bread can be a make-or-break test for a stand mixer, but it is an essential test to pass if you want to avoid the labour of hand-kneading dough. I used a focaccia recipe to test the KitchenAid and found it to be a very straightforward experience.

As with most stand mixers, the speed is limited when using the dough hook, but I did not find that this limited my baking at all. The hook powered through the dough with ease, and the machine did not rock, nor did the head bounce up and down as some stand mixers are prone to. It remained sturdy throughout.

I will note that the top of the dough hook is large and flat, designed to stop the dough from climbing too far up and getting into the gears of the machine. This does mean you have to be smart when adding your ingredients so that they do not sit on top of this, however.

Making bread was also the only occasion when the splash guard failed me. I added a big spoonful of flour into the bowl while the hook was working too quickly, and it flew out of the gap at the back. It was a small mess, and I didn't do it again in any other tests, so I don't see this as a design flaw in any way.

The handled bowl made it easy to move the dough around as it was proofing, too.

The resulting focaccia dough passed the 'window pane' test with ease (evidencing good gluten development from proper kneading), rose perfectly, and created a delicious loaf that my friends demolished in one sitting.

The Cookie Test

My partner makes the best chocolate cookies (I'm not biased, I promise), so I roped him in to help with the cookie test. This dough usually makes our arms ache as we reach the final stages of mixing, so I was excited to finally have my favorite treat without the shoulder pain.

I used the standard paddle for this, once again mixing the melted butter and sugar, and then adding the eggs and flour. It breezed through with ease, with no clumping. Everything was mixed evenly, too, despite the lack of 'Flex Edges'. Once again, the machine showed no sign of struggle or rocking.

Adding in the chocolate, I put the half-fold speed setting to use again, and it dispersed the pieces very evenly without breaking them up too much. It was a softer, layered caramel chocolate, so this really impressed me.

We refrigerate our cookie dough for 24-72 hours before baking, and the stainless steel bowl was easy to remove, cover with foil, and slot onto our fridge shelf without having to alter the height of any of them.

After baking, the cookies were crisp at the edges and gooey in the middle. It is yet another win for the KitchenAid Artisan Plus.

Cleaning and Maintenance

Cleaning the KitchenAid Artisan Plus Stand Mixer is a breeze. With all the main components made from stainless steel, they wipe clean with warm water, dish soap (I use a non-toxic soap such as Attitude Dish Soap from Walmart), and a soft sponge.

The only item that gave me some trouble was the double Flex Edge, as some food was stubborn and stuck in the small silicone crease. Soaking this in warm water helped remove it.

You can leave the parts to air dry; however, I found drying with a soft cotton dish towel to be the best way to avoid marks on the stainless steel bowl.

The main body of the unit can be wiped down with a barely damp cloth. This was easy, even with my matte-textured Oat colorway appliance. I then decided to leave it on my counter, as it looks so pretty, it would be a shame to store it in a cabinet.

How The KitchenAid Artisan Plus Stand Mixer Compares

The online reception has been just as positive as my own. Verified users on the KitchenAid store have given the appliance five stars, with many commenting on the power and precision.

One noted, 'I made cupcakes with the KitchenAid Artisan Plus, and I totally get why people love it. It looks gorgeous, but it also works really well in real, everyday baking. The bowl is spacious, the mixing is smooth, and the whole process feels effortless. It's one of those products that just makes your kitchen routine better.'

The lowest star review is a three-star review by a customer who had difficulty with the whisk attachment reaching the base of the bowl. I personally did have this issue, and I do not see it mentioned in other reviews, so it may be down to alignment. If this is the case, it is something that can be fixed with a KitchenAid dime trick.

I reviewed the KitchenAid Artisan Plus Stand Mixer alongside the new SMEG Forte Stand Mixer, and the KitchenAid just edged in front in my assessments. Testing using the same recipes, both mixers delivered fantastic, near-identical results. That said, the SMEG does not have a half-speed, bowl light, or precision slider between the speed settings. The SMEG also struggled more with the bread dough, with more head rocking.

The KitchenAid is $50 more expensive at the time of writing, so whether those small details make or break the savings will come down to personal preference.

I personally prefer the style of the KitchenAid, but that is entirely my own taste and opinion.

Should You Buy The KitchenAid Artisan Plus Stand Mixer?

All in all, I would absolutely recommend buying the KitchenAid Artisan Plus Stand Mixer if you ever bake at home and are in need of a new workhorse. Whether you are making cakes, breads, pizza doughs, or cookies, the mixer can handle any mix with ease and precision, making it one of the best investments for home cooks. If you already have an existing KitchenAid, you may not need to rush to upgrade, especially as the new model is $100 more expensive than the original Artisan Stand Mixer at the time of writing, but it is worth keeping on your radar should you need a replacement any time soon.

The five-quart bowl might not be big enough if you run a cake business from your kitchen and regularly make cakes above four tiers; however, for the home baker, serious or casual, it is a certified upgrade that I can barely fault. It looks great and performs spectacularly. I can't wish for much more.

While I did not try any myself, the Artisan Plus is compatible with a wide range of the KitchenAid accessories ecosystem, too, from meat grinders to food processors, making it a worthwhile investment if you love to cook anything from scratch.

I will, of course, continue to use the stand mixer in my home and update this review should I discover anything else of note.

What Else to Shop

One of the best things about KitchenAid is the vast ecosystem of accessories you can add to your appliance. These extend the functionality way beyond cakes and bread, turning your investment into a truly multi-functional workhorse. These are some of my favorite KitchenAid accessories.

All prices were correct at the time of publication.

Looking to make your baking setup more professional? We asked professional organizers for their best tips for storing bakeware to keep kitchens tidy.

Love the latest product news and helpful shopping advice? Sign up for our newsletter and get the latest features delivered straight to your inbox.

My One Minute Verdict

The Karcher WD 6 P is not a vacuum for the faint-hearted. At 21.2lb / 9.6kg with a 7.9-gallon / 30-liter stainless steel tank, it most definitely earns its industrial, wet/dry shop title. It's a machine built for the kind of mess your everyday cordless won't touch, like flooded garages, workshop sawdust, post-renovation rubble, and anything liquid or heavy that has no business going near a regular vacuum.

When it works, it really works – and it’s a strong contender for the best vacuum for pet hair in the right setting. The suction is impressively powerful; my chocolate Labrador’s hair disappeared from hard floors and upholstery in a single pass. The blower function is equally effective, making quick work of leaf clearing and even blasting away water balloon debris scattered across the garden.

On carpet, the brushes on the main vacuum nozzle make the head stick and drag rather than glide, and on smooth hard floors, the same brush strips pushed debris around rather than picking it up cleanly.

This made it abundantly clear that the Kärcher WD 6 P is designed for rougher, uneven surfaces – garages, patios, workshops – rather than everyday flooring. Switching to wet mode, where the rubber lips take over from the brush strips, is a much more satisfying experience, and the machine's true strength lies in liquid pickup and heavy outdoor tasks.

Elsewhere, it's not an easy vacuum to build. Setup took close to 20 minutes – longer than any vacuum I've tested. Once built, it's also a beast of a machine and takes up a lot of space, which saw it quickly relegated to the garage.

At $349.99, this is a premium investment in a very specific kind of cleaning. If you have a garage, workshop, or outdoor space that regularly generates mess, it may well be the most capable tool you own. Especially if you have the storage space to match. For DIY fans, the integrated power tool socket on the front lets you plug your sander or drill directly into the machine and the vacuum starts and stops in sync with your tool, capturing dust at the source without any extra effort. Yet it is ultimately a niche recommendation.

If you're hoping for a versatile everyday vacuum that also handles the odd spill – especially if you have a low tolerance for noise and friction – you're better off with a standard wet-to-dry upright, like the Dreame H14 Pro or the Dyson V15 Detect.

Kärcher WD 6 P: Specifications

Kärcher WD 6 P: Design and Features

There is nothing subtle about the WD 6 P. It's unapologetically large, bulky and bright yellow. The 7.9-gallon / 30-liter stainless steel tank sits on five castors and is topped by a yellow motor head that houses the controls, filter system and accessory storage.

As with the rest of the Karcher range, it's a design that says workshop rather than home, which is exactly what Karcher intends – this vacuum is built for the kind of heavy-duty mess that a domestic canister or cordless simply can't handle.

The motor delivers 1,300W of rated input power and 300W of suction power – figures that put it well ahead of the Kärcher WD 5's 1,100W, and on par with the Bosch AdvancedVac 20's 300W suction, despite the Bosch drawing only 1,200W. The stainless steel tank is noticeably more durable than the plastic containers on lower-priced wet-dry vacs and is designed to withstand abrasive debris.

One of the WD 6 P's standout features is its push-button filter cleaning system, which Kärcher calls pulse technology. A single press sends a burst of air through the flat pleated filter, dislodging accumulated hidden dust back into the tank and restoring full suction power. This is particularly useful when vacuuming fine dust without a filter bag.

The flat pleated filter is also designed to stay dry during wet pickup – it sits in a top-mounted filter box that doesn't come into contact with liquid. This means you can switch between wet and dry tasks without removing or changing the filter. You do have to remove the fleece dustbag when switching to wet vacuuming, though (which I have forgotten on several occasions to my despair.)

On the front of the motor head is a rotary dial that you turn left to control the suction/blow power of the vacuum, and to the right to control the integrated power tool socket. This socket sits next to the dial and lets you plug in external tools to either provide power without the need for a separate extension lead, or it can be used to set the vacuum to switch on and off in sync with the tool. This is a useful feature during sanding or drilling and is something its predecessor, the WD 5 lacked.

An 8m (26.2ft) cord and 2.2m (7.2ft) hose then give the WD6 P a total working radius of just over 10m (33.5ft), which is more than enough for most workshops or large rooms. I could vacuum all rooms on my entire ground floor and into my garden without having to swap to different plugs.

The hose connects to two stainless steel extension tubes, a removable handle, and the floor nozzle. The other attachments include a crevice nozzle for baseboards, stair edges, and corners. A 1m (3.3ft) flexible hose is also included for connecting to the dust port on a power tool, and there's a bent handle you attach to the tubes to give you better control across the floor.

The floor nozzle is relatively narrow for a machine this size, which does limit how well it covers open floor areas, but allows it to get into tighter spots. It has a lever on the side that switches between two modes – dry, where brush strips extend down to sweep debris toward the suction inlet, and wet, where rubber squeegee lips take over to drag liquid toward it.

There is no neutral position; the nozzle is always in one mode or the other, so for bare suction without either the brushes or the rubber lips, you need to switch to a different attachment.

Both the cable and hose have dedicated storage positions on the machine, and the floor nozzle has a parking position so it can be hooked onto the body during work breaks.

For wet tasks, a drain screw at the base of the tank allows liquid to be emptied without lifting the machine – a practical consideration given that a full tank of water on the Kärcher WD 6 P will weigh around 66lb / 30kg.

The blower function works by moving the hose to the outlet port on the machine, reversing airflow to dislodge debris from hard-to-reach areas such as gravel beds or patio crevices. It's a small and simple touch, but it's super effective and useful, especially outdoors.

What Is the Kärcher WD 6 P Like to Use?

One of my favorite features of the Kärcher WD6 P is its castors. I never thought I'd celebrate something so innocuous, but having reviewed dozens of vacuums, these genuinely elevated the experience for me.

They make the machine incredibly easy to pull across hard floors and carpet, despite its bulk. I often get frustrated with the cord on upright and domestic vacuums always getting in the way, but the smooth way the castors navigate and pass over the WD 6 P's cord, plus having 26.2ft / 8m of cord to play with, means this was never an issue.

At 9.6kg (21.2lb) without accessories, there's no denying this is a heavy machine, and the weight is still felt when maneuvering in tight spaces or changing direction frequently, but the castors again make it feel much lighter and easier.

Due to the brushes on the floor nozzle, the Karcher WD6 P's performance on carpet and hardwood floors depends on getting the nozzle angle right. You have to tilt it slightly in order to pick up debris, rather than just move it around, and this doesn't always feel comfortable.

On carpet in particular, the brush and powerful suction work against you: the head drags and sticks, requiring real effort to push, and the brush strips tend to bury finer debris deeper into the pile rather than lifting it. This is not a machine built for carpeted rooms, or certainly not without switching to a different nozzle.

Switching to wet mode is a much better experience. The rubber lips glide across hard floors and pick up liquid cleanly and confidently, which is where the WD 6 P really earns its price.

On noise, the Kärcher WD 6 P is loud. The specification lists 73dB, but in my test, it was closer to 89dB on the minimum suction power, and 92dB on maximum. It's not comfortable for long periods.

Test 1: Flour and Sugar

For our flour and sugar test, I scattered a half-cup mixture across carpet, hardwood, and laminate to see how well the Kärcher WD6 P handles fine dry debris. This test is a proxy for the dust, skin cells, and fine dirt that build up across real homes.

On hard floors and laminate, the WD 6 P performed well, with the floor nozzle in dry mode picking up the mixture cleanly. The brushes on the underside of the nozzle come into their own here and guide the dust towards the suction inlet. Residue was minimal after a single pass.

Carpet was a different story. The suction and brush combo ended up simply pushing the flour and sugar deeper into the pile, leaving streaks across the carpet.

Working the nozzle repeatedly at different angles helped, but even with effort, some residue remained. If your home is predominantly carpeted, a dedicated upright or canister vacuum will serve you considerably better.

Test 2: Pantry

For my pantry test, I poured half a cup of cereal and lentils onto the same three floor types as before – carpet, hardwood and laminate.

On the laminate and wood, the Kärcher WD 6 P did an OK job with the lentils but struggled with cereal – you can clearly see in my review videos how the floor nozzle pushes the Cheerios around the surface rather than drawing them in cleanly, scattering pieces rather than collecting them.

Again, this is managed by angling the nozzle slightly, but the trade-off is that this isn't comfortable for long.

The brush strips work well on rougher, more uneven surfaces, such as garage floors or patios, where they have something to grip against, but on smooth flooring, they don't have enough purchase to guide lighter debris toward the suction inlet.

Test 3: Pet Hair

Maisie, my chocolate Labrador, is a dependable supplier of dark, dense, medium-length hair across my hard floors, upholstery, and carpets – and a solid real-world test for any vacuum claiming to be the best vacuum for pet hair.

On hard floors, the WD 6 P performed extremely well. Maisie’s hair vanished in a single pass, pulled straight into the hose without wrapping or leaving stray strands behind.

Suction is more than strong enough to handle even heavy concentrations of pet hair, and the lack of a brushroll means there’s nothing for hair to tangle around. A few strands do collect in the nozzle brushes, but they’re quick and easy to remove.

On carpet, the same angle-dependent performance applies, although longer pet hair is easier for it to lift and capture than fine dust and powder.

For pet owners with mostly hard floors and upholstery, the WD 6 P is highly capable. For carpet-heavy homes, however, a more dedicated pet-focused vacuum like the Miele Guard L1 Cat & Dog, available on Amazon, would be the better fit.

Test 4: Attachments

Swapping between attachments is refreshingly simple – in fact, it was the easiest part of the entire process. Everything twists and clicks securely onto the hose or extension tubes with a firm push, and detaches with a quick thumb press.

Nothing felt loose during use, although the fittings do require more force than you might be used to with a standard domestic vacuum – a reminder that this is built for tougher, more industrial-style cleaning.

The floor nozzle saw the most use. In dry mode, the brush strips are better suited to rougher, more textured surfaces than smooth floors, as noted in the tests above. In wet mode, however, the rubber lips performed noticeably better, giving a more controlled, purpose-built feel for handling spills and wet debris.

The lever switch between the two modes is easy to access and can be operated with your foot, making transitions quick and low-effort mid-clean.

The crevice nozzle proved genuinely useful. Dust in corners and along edges was removed cleanly in a single pass, with the strong suction doing most of the heavy lifting. It also came into its own for clearing the residue left behind during my flour and sugar tests, and it’s equally effective on baseboards, stair edges, and the gaps between appliances.

The bent handle noticeably improves control when pushing the floor nozzle across surfaces, particularly on carpet. It also detaches easily, allowing you to connect a nozzle directly to the hose for overhead cleaning or awkward angles without fuss.

One notable omission is the lack of an upholstery nozzle in the box – surprising at this price point – although a range of compatible accessories can be purchased separately from Kärcher.

Kärcher WD 6 P: Setup and Maintenance

The Kärcher WD 6 P was one of the most frustrating vacuums I’ve tested when it came to setup. Every step introduces more friction than you’d expect, from trying to attach the rotating castors to a wobbly, upside-down base, to repositioning the carry handle just to remove and refit the motor head.

Figuring out where everything goes isn’t intuitive either, and because the manual is mostly illustrated rather than genuinely explanatory, I ended up having to look up additional guidance online. The whole process took around 20 minutes and tested my patience more than once.

Emptying the WD 6 P is very dependent on what you’ve been cleaning. For wet waste, the drain screw at the base of the tank is the cleanest method – simply unscrew it, tilt the machine forward, and the liquid flows out without needing to lift the tank.

For dry waste, you need to move the carry handle forward to unlock the motor head, then twist, lift, and tip the tank into a bin.

Both emptying methods are straightforward enough, although the size and weight of the tank mean the process is less elegant than simply emptying a compact dustbin.

On the upside, the tank takes a long time to fill – unless you’re tackling a particularly large job – so this isn’t something you’ll need to do frequently in everyday use.

When used for dry tasks, the fleece bag does a good job of containing dust and can be lifted out cleanly without releasing a cloud of debris. That’s a meaningful advantage over bagless designs, especially after vacuuming fine dust or sawdust.

Replacement bags are readily available from Kärcher as well as third-party suppliers, and they’re simple to fit when needed.

The flat pleated filter is the component you’ll interact with most regularly. The push-button cleaning system takes care of the bulk of day-to-day maintenance, but when a more thorough clean is needed, the filter box releases with a press, folds open, and the filter lifts out cleanly without requiring you to reach inside the tank.

It can be rinsed under a tap and reused – Kärcher describes it as a lifetime filter when properly maintained – but it must be fully dry before being reinserted, which does require a bit of planning ahead.

The stainless steel tank interior is smooth and easy to wipe out, and shows less staining than a plastic container would over time. The hoses and tubes are straightforward to clear if blocked – disconnect, run water through if needed, and allow to dry.

Overall, the machine feels built to last, with the stainless steel tank and solid connection points giving it a durability that cheaper plastic wet-dry vacs don't match, and which helps justify the higher price.

How Does the Kärcher WD 6 P Compare?

The Kärcher WD 6 P sits at the mid-to-higher end of the wet-dry vacuum market at $349.99, and whether it justifies that price depends almost entirely on what you need it for. The most direct comparison is its predecessor, the $249.99 Kärcher WD 5. It shares the same core wet-dry design, but omits several key upgrades – including the power tool socket, push-button filter cleaning, and drain screw – all of which make a noticeable difference in day-to-day usability on the WD 6 P.

It also uses a smaller plastic container rather than the WD 6 P’s stainless steel tank, and the 16ft / 5m cord feels more restrictive in comparison. At $100 less, the WD 5 makes sense for lighter or occasional use, but for regular DIY work or more demanding wet cleaning tasks, the WD 6 P’s added features comfortably justify the step up.

How We Test Vacuums

We test every vacuum we review in real-world conditions across a range of floor types and debris categories. Each model goes through a consistent set of tests: flour and sugar on carpet, hard floors, and laminate to assess fine debris pickup; a pantry-style test using larger, heavier debris to evaluate general performance; and a pet hair test using real fur from Maisie, my chocolate Labrador, across both carpet and hard flooring.

We also assess each vacuum across setup time, ease of use, noise, manoeuvrability, and ongoing maintenance – including how simple it is to empty, clean, and reassemble. Every attachment is tested individually as well to understand its real-world practicality.

For wet-dry vacuums, we run additional tests covering wet pickup performance, evaluate any blower or secondary functions where included, and measure noise levels using the DecibelX app.

For full details of our testing methodology, see how we test vacuums.

The Tapo D205 Video Doorbell Mini is an entry-level, budget-friendly video doorbell that I've come to appreciate for what it is – an affordable Ring alternative that will enhance home security and convenience on a budget.

I've been a user of video doorbells since we bought our first home almost 10 years ago, with some a more permanent fixture than others. I was excited to try the Tapo D205 Video Doorbell Mini, to see how it compares with the other video doorbells I've tested and make full use of the features.

It's usually around $49.99, but currently on offer for $34.99 at Best Buy, and I've been impressed by the video and audio quality, and it was so easy to install. It's not without its quirks, though. As far as affordability goes, it's a contender for one of the best video doorbells on the market.

My One-Minute Summary

Overall, the Tapo D205 Video Doorbell Mini is a brilliant, budget-friendly doorbell that I found easy to install and use. With just some DIY know-how, a screwdriver and a smartphone, it's been a seamless experience through 14 days of testing.

I've been particularly impressed by the video and audio quality, both daytime and nighttime. The video quality can be adjusted to 2K or 360p to preserve battery life, which has dropped from 100% to 84%, so I'm not convinced it'll make it to the 180-day battery life expectancy.

It can detect people and motion as they enter a 25ft detection range, which is helpful if you're expecting a visitor or delivery, but not so helpful if you're planning on using the D205 as a means of surveillance beyond this modest distance.

The app is really easy to use, with the ability to engage in two-way audio, set privacy zones to block out a neighbor's property, and access stored activity in the Tapo Care Cloud storage. This storage is an ongoing cost that'll set you back $3.49 per month after the free 30 days. You do, however, have the option to use a 512GB microSD card to avoid these costs.

Equally, the eufy E340 and the Lorex 2K, both of which we've reviewed, are great alternatives if you want to avoid paying a monthly fee.

I admit, I am more familiar with Ring video doorbells and security cameras because they are a permanent resident at my home address. The cost of those devices are closer to $100+, which is double that of the D205, but if you want even more customization and detection with a fantastic range, then the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro is a good backup option, but with a higher upfront cost.

Tapo D205 Video Doorbell Mini: Specifications

Installation and setup

The Tapo D205 Video Doorbell Mini arrives in a neat, compact box that contains everything that you'll need for installation. In the box you'll find the video doorbell, mounting bracket, mounting wedge, 3M adhesive, foam pad, screws and anchors, USB cable, mounting template sticker, and the all-important quick start guide.

Before installing any hardware or software, the battery needed a charge. The guide estimated that this would take about 6.5 hours. However, my sample took around seven hours to charge.

Once the doorbell was fully charged, I set it up and installed it on our gated fence using only the essential DIY skills. I downloaded the Tapo app and connected it to the home Wi-Fi. I then followed the on-screen instructions and it went without a glitch.

To install, I first attached the mounting wedge to the bracket because I wanted to achieve a better view of looking down our drive. Make sure it's facing the right direction, and watch out for the screw underneath as it's tiny and easy to drop.

You can then attach the bracket in your desired spot by either sticking it to the wall or mounting it to the wall. I opted to install on the wooden fence next to the gate, the side access to our house. I used the screws for this, but if you're securing to masonry, the relevant plugs are also supplied.

It's advised that the doorbell be placed 4ft above the ground, and the 15° mounting wedge be used for a more focused view from a specific side.

The Tapo D215 then simply clicks into place, and a tiny screw underneath is all that holds it in place. This would be easy to remove; good for recharging, but not good for thieves. The use of a release pin, such as eufy models, would've made it more of a challenge for those up to no good.

Overall, it took me fewer than 10 minutes to set up and install the D205 by myself.

Video Quality

After using the Tapo D205 Video Doorbell Mini for 14 days, I have found that the video quality was consistently good.

Daytime: I could clearly recognize the faces I know at the gate, and larger branding on packages as they enter the 25ft motion detection range. However, small details on packages and number plate detailing were not as clear, unless this filled the 145° horizontal, or 83° vertical field of view.

I couldn't see the floor in front of the lens, so this, sadly, will put a lot of packages out of view. Ring and eufy doorbells often have package detection, so you're able to view the floor at your doorstep with the camera, and set alarms if anyone tries to remove it, which can help deter porch pirates. But those video doorbells cost more upfront, so on this budget-friendly Tapo, that's an area of functionality you won't have.

However, the 10x digital zoom of the D205 was exceptional; it didn't appear grainy, and details were just as clear as they were when zoomed out.

Nighttime: The video is in black and white at nighttime, enabled by two 850-nanometer infrared LEDs to allow the D205 to capture footage in low light conditions.

Overall, the picture was still clear, but a lot of detail was lost; faces needed to be close up to the camera lens for me to recognize them, and I could not read any packaging. It could, however, detect people just as quickly as during the day, which still makes it a viable security measure for the house.

In both daytime and nighttime, the D205 survived lashings of rain throughout the test period. It's an IP-54 rated device, which means that it is water-resistant, but it isn't fully waterproof.

Dynamic light: The front of our house gets a lot of sun throughout the day, which is balanced well; there is no beam of light behind a moving person, animal, or vehicle, and facial details remained clear in these bright conditions.

Audio Quality

I could clearly hear people outside standing next to the Tapo D205 Video Doorbell Mini, and they could clearly hear me when engaging in two-way communication with no echoes or delays.

However, when viewing live or stored footage, I noticed that the background noise (wind, traffic, etc.) sounded amplified. There was a constant low "hum" of this noise, but this doesn't interfere with the clarity of communication through the video doorbell.

This is where you feel the cost of more affordable video doorbells, as their higher-end counterparts have very effective noise cancellation to avoid wind, traffic, or background noise being picked up.

App and Smart Features

The Tapo app is simple and intuitive to use. It can be downloaded by scanning the QR code found on the box and Quick Start Guide, or direct from Google Play (Android) or App Store (iOS).

You can link it to Google Home or Amazon Alexa devices, such as the Echo Show, as another smart home gadget that receives notifications when motion or a person is detected, or when the doorbell is activated.

I found that the app was stable while using it and quick to load. I could customize how I viewed and engaged with footage easily, too. For example, you can opt to capture footage in 2k or 360p and set custom privacy zones so that you're not surveilling a neighbor's land. This is important as capturing areas of your neighbors' homes where they might expect privacy (for instance, their bedroom windows) could land you in trouble.

You can also talk through live footage, engage in two-way audio when the doorbell is activated, or, if you're not around, opt for a "quick response" to automatically respond if the doorbell isn't immediately answered.

If you're signed up to Tapo Cloud Storage, then you can also playback and download activity detected in the app. Activity is stored for 30 days, video clips can be made into a short video summary, weekly reports can be viewed, and rich notifications with snapshots will be received. I found it useful to look back through the activity outside our gate.

The D205 can be shared with up to five family members in the app so that you can manage the smart device together. Invitees will have limited permissions, and they can not modify camera settings, but they'll still be able to live view and talk.

Motion Detection and Notifications

The Tapo D205 Video Doorbell Mini can detect people when they come into range using AI algorithms, and motion within the cameras view. If either of these are enabled, you'll receive an instant notification to your phone.

To test the accuracy of the people detection and motion detection, I switched off motion detection. I waved my hand in front of the camera and received no notification. However, when I stood in front of the camera, I received a notification that a person was detected. This is good.

Both motion and people were detected as they entered the specified 25ft motion detection range. However, in reality, this range often felt a lot shorter. Neither motion nor people were detected as they approached the drive, and the camera stopped rolling as the subject was close to being out of range.

It's worth noting that, unlike the Tapo D210 Video Doorbell we reviewed, you can't set a Detection Tag in live view. This feature would draw a box around the subject (person, package, animal, vehicle) and track its movement while it's within range. I liked this detail, especially in low light levels, and it would be good to have the same access to software across all Tapo devices for consistency.

Increased sensitivity results in fewer missed recordings and notifications; lower sensitivity results in fewer unwanted recordings and notifications. By lowering the sensitivity, you will help to preserve the battery power, but I fear that this may miss some important events if you are using the D205 as a means of security.

The only time when I felt that the notifications were on overdrive was when I was taking out the trash. The D205 is located next to the trash cans, so if I were in this proximity to the camera for a couple of minutes, my phone received a notification every 20 seconds.

When the doorbell is activated, I also receive a notification on my phone. I noticed a lag time of a few seconds between pressing the button on the D205 and receiving the notification on my phone, which looked as though I was receiving a phone call.

It was quick to answer the doorbell and see who was standing outside the gate. Similarly, when motion or a person was detected, I found that I could quickly load the notification to see the activity.

The D205 can work with Amazon Alexa and Google Home to receive doorbell activations, too. As someone who has yet to set up a smart home and isn't too confident with how voice assistants can be used, I won't be compromising on how I use the device.

Power and Battery Life

The Tapo D205 Video Doorbell Mini is battery-powered, making it a fantastic renter-safe home security option. As we've previously explored, I found it easy to install and I imagine that it'll be just as easy to remove as and when needed.

It was installed next to the side gate for 14 days, and, in that time, I didn't have to recharge it, and the power levels haven't dropped as rapidly compared to other Ring-alternative video doorbells, such as the Reolink Video Doorbell (Battery), which dropped to 41% within just 10 days.

Within the time I tested the D205, the battery level depleted from 100% to 88%. Tapo suggests that the battery can last for up to 180 days, which I feel is an optimistic expectation. On the tested rate of battery usage, it would last just over 100 days.

It took more than seven hours to charge the battery when it arrived, so I'd expect it to take this amount of time (perhaps longer) to recharge. A USB charging cable is included, and you'll need to remove the D205 from the mounting plate to charge because the battery is built in. This is a long time to be without a video doorbell while it's charging, so it would be better to do this when you're at home if you're concerned about security.

Connectivity and Reliability

The Tapo D205 Video Doorbell Mini has been one of the more reliable Ring-alternative doorbells that I have tested. It didn't detect a poor signal or lose connectivity, as with the others.

It requires a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi for a stable wireless connection. In my home, our Wi-Fi router is located behind thick, external stone walls and inside a cupboard under the stairs. With the D205 located around the side of the house on a fence, the signal had some distance to travel, and yet it remained stable.

The D205 pushed notifications to my phone when activity was detected; it did this 25 times within 24 hours, as an example. For contrast, our testers found the eufy E340 to have quite a severe lag despite being in a moderate range of the Wi-Fi router.

When subscribed to Tapo Cloud Storage, activity will also be recorded for playback and download; it'll record the activity in snippets of up to 20 seconds. It'll do this if you have a 512GB microSD card installed instead. And I could watch live footage from anywhere. I experienced fast load times and a steady live view with clear audio.

If you find that the Wi-Fi connectivity is poor or that you're missing activity, the Tapo Smart Hub with Built-In Chime ($22.99 at Amazon) can be bought to boost signal across a lower frequency broadband, so it can reach the device without interference.

Privacy and Security

The Tapo D205 Video Doorbell Mini has a couple of home privacy options, including zones to block out a neighbor's property, and Privacy Mode to disable streaming and the recording functions to protect your privacy.

I enabled a privacy zone to block footage of my neighbors' homes, opposite. I could set multiple zones, if I wanted to, and it was simple enough to move the custom zone while editing.

I also activated Privacy Mode during testing, and it worked easily. I couldn't live-stream or view any stored footage during this, as it gets automatically disabled.

Unlike other video doorbells, including the Tapo D210 Video Doorbell, I had to sign up to the Tapo Care Cloud Storage off the bat, rather than enjoy a free trial period and sign up once that ends. This means that no data will be stored unless you sign up. While the first 30-days is free, you'll be looking at paying upwards of $3.49 per month after this time to continue with access to stored footage.

If you'd prefer to not have the ongoing cost, local storage on a 512gB microSD card – like this SanDisk 512GB Ultra SDXC UHS-I Memory Card (Amazon) – is another option.

Post-installation it is unclear how my data is handled with nothing obvious to read on the app. The app also doesn't support two‑factor authentication which would provide extra login protection.

Price and Value

The Tapo D205 Video Doorbell Mini comes with everything that you need (aside from a screwdriver) in the box. You may feel that you would benefit from the addition of a Chime. This will ensure that you hear when the doorbell is activated.

It doesn't look as though there is a compatible chime with the D205, so either the Amazon Echo Show 11 or the Amazon Echo Dot Max would suffice. The Echo Show 11 will also display footage as you answer the activated video doorbell.

The D205 can also be connected with the Tapo Smart Hub with Built-In Chime ($22.99, Amazon) if you need to boost the signal. This can make it part of a 64-strong ecosystem of Tapo devices, so you can control and access your video doorbell, security camera, and smart lighting all from one central hub.

Aside from the small upfront cost of the Tapo D205 Video Doorbell Mini, which is typically 49.99 on Amazon, but sometimes discounted as low as $34, you will also have the ongoing cost of the Tapo Care Cloud Storage.

This is typically around $3.49 per month when the free 30-day trial ends. During the trial, you'll get 30 days of cloud video storage for events, video clips that can be made into a short video summary, weekly reports and rich notifications with snapshots.

This is notably cheaper than the Ring subscription plans, starting at $4.99 for the Basic plan, which includes up to 180 days of event history, person, package, and vehicle alerts, and video preview alerts. However, Ring video doorbells are generally more expensive than Tapo.

For example, I have the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro installed next to my front door. This costs $229.99 when not on sale at Amazon. The image quality is comparably crisper day and night, and the 1536p head-to-toe HD+ video means that I can see a complete person standing right outside our front door, rather than just the head and shoulders that I see with the D205.

If you'd prefer to avoid paying any subscription fees altogether, then I'd opt to install a 512GB memory card for local storage. This will mean that you'll get a good, affordable video doorbell for a fraction of the price of a Ring video doorbell.

Alternatively, look into buying the eufy E340 video doorbell instead. On test, we found that the eufy footage is crisp, audio is clear, and it's easy to install. Plus, you can access all features without a monthly subscription. Subscriptions will get you more storage and allow longer recordings of doorside interactions.

Installing a video doorbell is a good way to start improving your home security. Learn how else smart tech gadgets can help transform your home, and check out these home security tips to make your home safer and more secure.

When offered the chance to review the eufy Omni E25, I was delighted to oblige. Anything that can help keep the constantly-building layer of dust and hair at bay and leave my kitchen and bathroom floors sparkling is an excellent floorcare upgrade for a busy home such as mine.

As I live in a cottage with wonky floorboards and nooks and crannies that collect all manner of hair and debris that comes from a busy life as a family of four, including two young children, I'd always imagined that even the best robot vacuums would find my higgledy-piggledy home something of a nemesis.

However, I have been deeply impressed with how well this sleek and efficient automatic appliance performs, handling all floor types and obstacles with ease, and saving me around 80% of my usual manual cleaning.

My One-Minute Verdict

On the whole, I found the eufy Omni E25 did a great job of keeping on top of my day-to-day cleaning, and, as it's so easy to use once you've set it up, whether from home, remotely, or with the scheduling option. I cleaned far more regularly with this than when I have to use a manual vacuum or mop; my house definitely feels cleaner.

It's not perfect, of course, and despite the corner-roving arm feature, there was still some dust and dirt to deal with manually in those pesky crevices, and spot cleaning after an accidental spill was more fiddly and time-consuming than simply getting my trusty old cordless Dyson out.

I won't be giving up my cordless vacuum for quick cleaning tasks, but it is also fair to say that I haven't gotten my stick vacuum out once since owning the eufy Omni E25 - a testament to its ease of use and efficiency. The dual brushes have also saved me the usual hair-wrap frustration, disposing of hair cleanly and neatly by itself. This feature will be a big win for pet owners, too.

Plus, if you suffer from chronic pain, a robot vacuum like this could be life-changing. No more bending and reaching into awkward spaces, as it does the work for you.

Eufy Omni E25: Specifications

eufy Omni E25: Setup and Maintenance

On delivery, the box was very heavy, and I was unable to lift it myself, so you might want to ensure that you have someone on hand to help you put it in place for unboxing. The eufy Omni E25 was very well packaged with a handy quick-start guide right at the top of the box, featuring a QR code for the e-manual and app download.

Inside, another smaller box, with a handle, was easy to pull out, and contained the vacuum itself, along with the power cord, base plate from the Omni station and a bottle of mop cleaning liquid (a nice bonus, as some products require you to buy these separately from the outset at extra cost).

The base station could then be easily lifted out and placed in position. I'd recommend choosing a designated spot for this before you start unboxing, as eufy suggests a 1.6ft clearance on either side and 4.9ft in front.

In my small cottage, finding a spot with the right clearance proved tricky, but it's worth noting from our other eufy robot vacuum testers that if you don't have the larger clearance on each side, the appliance will still function as expected. The clearance in front, however, is a must.

I positioned mine in the corner of my kitchen near the bins (with a much smaller clearance space) and haven't experienced any issues. The video below shows the robot locating and docking in the base station.

The power cable was too short to reach my socket on the kitchen counter, so I had to use an extension cable. It's not a deal breaker, but a minor irritation and worth considering before positioning.

Once I'd filled the clean water tank, the circular ring light lit up, indicating it was ready to go. I slotted the robot into its charging position and got to work downloading and exploring the app.

I added my eufy Omni E25 as a device on the eufy app and it indicated over 90% battery power, so it was good to go straight out of the box without the need for charging. All in all, I'd say the setup and mapping took me around 1-1.5 hours, but it's a one-time job and worth spending the time to get it right. Read on for more details, or jump to design and features, or the results of the tests we ran to determine its vacuuming performance and mopping power.

Then I followed a series of voice commands, triggered by the app, including connecting the device to my WiFi network, which was easily done, then mapping my floor to create 2D and 3D maps of each room.

When you select 'start mapping', the robot does a cursory sweep of the space, using its cameras and laser sensors to detect any furniture or obstacles. Eufy's advice is to remove as many obstacles as possible, such as power cables, toys, shoes and lightweight furniture, such as dining chairs, for the initial mapping to give a full scope of the area to be cleaned. Once complete, a map of my ground floor appeared on my phone.

This wasn't as accurate as I'd hoped initially, and the map indicated additional rooms where there weren't any, but luckily, there's an 'edit' option which you can use to merge, divide, rename, and expand rooms on your map. Additionally, the map updates with each cleaning to improve accuracy, and it produced a much better representation of my space after the first full floor clean.

Once happy with the map, you can create cleaning tasks and schedules for individual rooms or zones, adjusting the settings to vacuum, mop, or both, and the suction power and water levels to suit your floor surfaces.

The vacuum also automatically recognises when a surface changes from hard floor to carpet or rug and raises the mop head accordingly, but you can also add elements to your map, such as carpet, and even update the specific floor material to wood, marble, tile, and terrazzo, for more tailored cleaning.

Adding furniture, no-go zones (like staircases), or vacuum-only zones to your map allows for an even more tailored result. This does take a little time, but once it's done, you shouldn't need to repeat the process, and you can make small tweaks at any point.

There's no messy dustbin emptying to do with the eufy Omni E25 as it automatically collects dust from the vacuum into the dust bag in the base station after every 15 or 30 minutes of cleaning, or after every clean, which can be adjusted in your settings.

This is the loudest it gets at nearly 80dB, but it's very short-lived, and the clever 'do not disturb' setting will ensure this doesn't happen between certain hours of the day, such as when the children are asleep, or overnight.

The 3L dust bag is large enough for 75 days of continuous cleaning, according to eufy (but it does only come with one bag included, so you'll need to buy replacements, which come in a set of three 3L bags directly from eufy for $16.99).

I can't comment on ease of emptying yet, as I haven't had it for long enough. However, others on our team who have been using eufy robots for over a year say it's as simple as opening the compartment lid on the dock, pulling the bag up and out, and then slotting a new one in its place. The eufy app also provides a prompt and visual step-by-step for all maintenance as it arises, making switches fast and simple.

The self-cleaning mop scrapes away dirt and washes the extra-long brush in real time whilst in use, then performs a more thorough wash and dry afterwards – this can take as long as five hours, but it's quiet enough that you'll barely notice. This stops mold and bacterial growth, causing any odors or sanitation issues.

You can cut short the drying time if you want to perform other tasks, but it's advisable to revert back afterwards to complete the process, as it will prolong the life and hygiene of your mop.

You can empty the dust, clean or dry the mop in the app easily, at other times, too. I haven't had to empty the dirty water tank yet, even after two weeks of use, but I only have a small area to mop, and eufy says this usually needs emptying around once a week, so it will depend on how big your mopping area is.

Our colleagues who have tested for longer tend to empty it weekly to avoid odors building up inside that area, although this is not something you can smell unless you open the compartment.

The high-performance filter is easy to remove and clean with running water, which eufy recommends doing every two weeks, with a full replacement every six months.

There's a handy maintenance guide in the e-manual, which recommends manually cleaning the mop and brushes once a month and replacing them every six months.

While this sounds like a substantial outlay, the most cost-effective way of doing this is to buy a eufy accessories package for $69.99, which includes at least one of everything, and actually works out as quite a good deal.

Design and Features

The eufy Omni E25 has a good range of features, as you'd expect for the $1300 price tag, including a 250% improved turbo suction power of 20,000ps, compared to the brand's previous generation models.

Then there's the HydroJet™ Self-Cleaning Roller Mop, which distributes water evenly through 32 ports, cleans as it mops (120 times per minute).

And, as it removes the dirty water as it goes, my floors were nowhere near as wet as they are when I use a manual mop, even on the high water level setting, meaning they dried quickly, too (no more being banished from the kitchen for hours when I'm craving a coffee).

The 11.4" brush head is nearly the full width of the vacuum itself, allowing for the maximum cleaning area, and it applies 1kg of downward weight as it goes, designed to replicate the pressure you'd apply with a manual mop.

The Edge-Cleaning CornerRover™ Arm extends from the vac body and has thin, flexible bristles that navigate around corners and baseboards, where dust, hair, and crumbs gather, and flick them underneath the vacuum to be sucked up. I found this to be reasonably effective, but sometimes larger debris was flicked away from the vac and missed if it didn't do a second pass of the room.

The AI.See™ Obstacle Avoidance claims to offer superior object recognition, enabling the robot to dodge over 200 common objects as opposed to getting stuck or attempting to climb over things.

It did successfully dodge rogue toys and cables, but proved a little tricky when I actually wanted it to vacuum larger debris, such as in our cereal tests.

However, for the most thorough clean, you'll want to pick up any obstacles before starting a full room vacuum. On the plus side, this has meant I've been keeping my floors tidier and clutter-free more regularly – one of the unexpected benefits of owning a robot vacuum.

The eufy Omni E25 also has built-in carpet detection, automatically increasing its suction power, which is audibly noticeable, and it worked perfectly in my living room, which has wooden floors and a large rug.

And if, like me, you have an ongoing battle with hair, from people or trying to keep your house clean with pets, the DuoSpiral™ Detangle system is a revelation.

As the name suggests, it features not one, but two roller brushes, which direct collected hair into a gap in the middle, where it's sucked up, rather than getting wrapped around repeatedly and caught up.

Head of Solved and cat owner, Punteha Van Terheyden, also wrote about how her eufy robot vacuum was a game-changer for tackling pet hair, too.

Before this robot, I was having to constantly manual unravel hair from my old vacuum's brushroll, which was a deeply unpleasant task.

What Is the eufy Omni E25 Like to Use?

Once the app and mapping were set up, I found the eufy Omni E25 really simple to use. I simply selected 'start' on the app to begin cleaning, or choose a room and tailor the cleaning preferences (mop, vac, turbo etc).

I also liked the option to add custom cleans by room, as this allows for pre-programming cleaning preferences. Another option is to 'draw' out a zone, which is handy if you want to just clean a specific area, like under the dining table, rather than the whole room. I also enjoyed setting it to clean from the comfort of my car (via the app), while I was travelling back from a weekend away, then coming home to a freshly mopped kitchen.

Whilst the vacuum re-charges automatically whenever it's in its base station, I've not noticed it drop below around 80% during my testing period, so losing charge during a clean hasn't been an issue for me. However, I will caveat that by saying that my home does have a relatively small square footage compared to some.

The manufacturer says that the standard run time for the E25 is 125 mins, which is comparable to most of its models and only a touch less than the older, but more expensive eufy Omni S1 Pro at 140 mins.

One of my concerns was whether I'd be able to use the eufy Omni E25 on different floors of the house (I have friends who have invested in one robot vac for each floor).

This proved surprisingly easy with the multi-map function, which allows you to create and edit up to three different maps. I carried the E25 upstairs and placed it on floor, then put a physical barrier at the top of the stairs so that it didn't fall down during the initial mapping process, though it has anti-tip technology to prevent this anyway.

I also added a 'no-go' zone as an extra precaution. Once the cleaning upstairs was complete, the robot returned to where it started, so I could carry it back down and place it back in the base unit to empty and recharge.

The eufy Omni E25 navigated corners and edges really well, stopping short of my wooden furniture and baseboards by a hair's breadth, meaning no bumps and scratches, but allowing for close cleaning.

It even managed to get in between the legs of my dining chairs (with enough force to slightly nudge them out of the way), as well as under my sofa without getting stuck – if you do encounter this problem, these easy ways to stop your robot vacuum getting stuck could help.

The corner rover arm did whip up most of the dust and debris stuck around the edges of the rooms, but this feature isn't faultless, as some larger debris was simply flicked too far away from the machine for it to register, meaning it gets missed. I do like that you can visibly see where it has vacuumed on carpeted floors – like stripes on a freshly mowed lawn – as it adds to that 'just cleaned' feeling.

Whilst the eufy Omni E25 coped well with the transition from my wooden parquet flooring to the central flat rug in my living room (auto-adjusting the suction power when it recognised the change of surface), it did struggle with my smaller, more lightweight rug, which has a fringed edge and got tangled in the brushes.

I followed the advice in the app to tuck it underneath, and the vacuum attempted to get up and over the edge before giving up and going around it, instead.

If you're concerned about noise, it's not loud – around 51-55dB for normal cleaning (which equates to 'quiet home' noise levels according to the decibelX app that I used), and 59dB at maximum in turbo mode. It certainly wasn't enough to interrupt my work or even a call if I closed the door. This is also considerably less than comparable robot vacuum models, like the Dreame X50 Ultra which runs at 73dB.

The mop function coped with day-to-day surface dirt well, but did struggle to remove more dried-on stains (like coffee) even after a few attempts on the same spot. Having said that, I think it did loosen the stains as they wiped cleanly away with a damp cloth afterwards. I also liked the fact that the floors weren't sopping wet after use, thanks to the excess water being vacuumed up, meaning they dried almost instantly.

It's a huge improvement on manual mopping.

Vacuuming Performance

I performed three specific suction tests (sugar, lentils, and cereal) on two different surface types (tile and carpet), to gauge how successfully the eufy Omni E25's vacuum function performed.

At Homes & Gardens, we carry out the same standardized vacuum tests to create an even playing field for comparing and rating performance.

Here's how the eufy Omni E25 got on.

Test 1: Sugar

I poured a quarter of a cup of sugar out onto my kitchen flooring for the first test to see how the eufy Omni E25 coped with fine debris. The thing I found most fiddly about this test was working out how to clean a small area. There is a spot cleaning function, but it's quite well hidden in the settings part of the app. This cleaned around a 2ft square area, but I did find it difficult to pinpoint where I actually wanted the vacuum to go.

I found the most effective option to be the remote control function, which gives you freedom to decide where the vacuum goes. With this option, I cleaned up most of the sugar, but some did get stuck in the grooves between my kitchen tiles, and I had to finish the job manually.

The same test on the carpet was more successful (no tile grooves to contend with), and the turbo suction cleared the fine sugar from my thick-pile carpet with ease, although it did need a few passes to get all the granules.

Test 2: Lentils

This time, I scattered a quarter of a cup of dried lentils on my tiled kitchen floor, ensuring some landed in the grooves and along the baseboards.

Using the remote control function again, the eufy Omni E25 crunched through the lentils, sucking up most of them, but quite a few were scattered further away thanks to the brushes on the corner rover arm.

When you're in spot cleaning mode, the vacuum doesn't detect the debris that has been flicked to the opposite side of the room, but with the manual controls, I was able to pick up all the loose lentils.

On the carpet, the performance was similar, and the lentils seemed to prove tricky to suck up from the thick pile, even in turbo mode. I did manage to clean up most of them, but the weight-to-size ratio of the lentils made this a more challenging task.

Test 3: Cereal

For the final vacuuming test, I spilt a quarter cup of O-shaped cereal on the kitchen floor and another on the carpet. Initially, the eufy Omni E25 backed up when it encountered some of the large pieces of cereal, acting as if they were objects to avoid (small Legos, perhaps) rather than clean up.

But when I switched to remote control mode, it actually coped better with this larger debris than with the lentils and crushed the cereal into a powder before sucking them up from the tiled flooring.

On the carpet, the odd few Os were flung into corners, but again the remote control function allowed me to go back and forth over the same area a few times to pick most of them up.

It's also worth noting that a few days (and a few bin empties) after all three tests, I was still finding remnants of sugar, lentils and cereal in the base unit, and when I took the filter out to clean it, there were lentils left in the vacuum's small dustbin compartment, indicating that they hadn't been sucked into the main unit, so I did have to empty it manually.

How It Performed on Hair

While this isn't a specific test, it's worth a mention here, as hair can be troublesome for vacuum cleaners, getting tangled in the brushes and negatively affecting performance. It's especially important if you own pets or have long-haired members of your household who are constantly shedding.

I fall into the latter category (no pets, but three long-haired family members, me included), and one of my most heinous chores involves taking apart my vacuum brushes to untangle handfuls of tightly wound hair from the mechanism.

I was interested to see how the eufy Omni E25 would tackle this, having read about its dual brushes, which claim to prevent tangling. Well, this was one of my favorite features.

When I turned the robot upside down after vacuuming the whole of my first floor (all carpet, and the worst offender when it comes to hair), the brushes were clean as a whistle. I picked out a very dense hairball that was in the middle of the brushes and about to be sucked up for disposal, and one or two of these were also dropped on my carpet during the process (which were easily popped in the trash), but – crucially – none in the brushes themselves.

I did notice a little bit of hair tangled around the wheels, though, which I had to unwind, but compared to the alternative, I can live with that.

Mopping Performance

To put the mopping power of the eufy Omni E25 to the test, I put it through its paces with Ketchup and mustard spills – the same tests Homes & Gardens use for all robot vacuums with a mop function. This helps us to make a fair comparison and you to decide what to spend your money on.

Test 1: Ketchup

The eufy Omni E25 features a built-in camera to detect stains. For this test, I squirted a quarter cup of ketchup across my tiled kitchen floor and set the mop to work. There's no mop-only function, so the only option is to vacuum and mop. Before it starts cleaning, the base station performs a mop clean in situ, dispensing clean water and cleaning fluid onto the roller.

While the robot did seem to detect the spillage, honing in on it (in the zone cleaning mode), it did leave a fairly substantial smear on the floor, with more between the tile grooves, before returning to the base station. Once a mopping task is complete, the base station auto-cleans the mop, and you have to wait until this is finished before starting another task. It then moves on to drying the mop, but you can interrupt this to do more cleaning, which is a good thing, as a full dry can take up to five hours.

I was able to start the mop again in remote control mode and cover the ground that it had missed before, but I still needed to wipe the remaining Ketchup up from between the tile grooves with a kitchen towel to complete the job.

Test 2: Mustard

The eufy Omni E25 did a good job of cutting through the thick mustard spillage (again, around a quarter cup's worth), on the tiled kitchen floor. It didn't seem to smear it around as much as it did with the ketchup, but it did still leave some in the grooves and a slight residue on the tiles.

When I flipped the vacuum over, I also discovered a fairly sustantial about of ketchup and mustard in the brush and the tread of the wheels. This was a concern as I didn't want to risk vacuuming the rest of my home afterwards, without thoroughly cleaning off the residue, for fear of smearing sticky sauce on my other floors and carpets.

Whilst in general I really like the mop function of this robot vacuum, and think it's really effective at day-to-day cleaning, I think it has some way to go in terms of being effective at spot cleaning. It's also worth noting that the spot clean and remote control options aren't available in mop mode, so you'll need to rely on full room or zone cleaning to tackle spills like this.

How Does the eufy Omni E25 Compare?

The only difference that you'll find the eufy Omni E25 and its upgraded sister model, the eufy Omni E28, which we're in the process of reviewing, is the lack of a detachable portable deep cleaner, which puts the price tag up by $100.

This would be useful for tackling problem areas and dried-on stains, but it depends on what you're looking for in a robot vacuum and how much you want to spend.

If you do like the versatility of having a stick and handheld vac as well, you might want to try the eufy 3-in-1 E20, which includes all three options that share a canister for dust collection. It's around half the price and will save on storage compared to three completely separate items, but the robot vacuum power is considerably lower than the eufy Omni E25, with 8,000pa compared to 20,000pa.

The eufy Omni S1 Pro is a good bet if you have cats or dogs. This robot vacuum still comes highly recommended for pet hair, by Home Tech Editor Dan Fauzi, despite being an older and less powerful model.

But, the eufy Omni E25 swings it for me thanks to the higher suction power (20,000pa vs 8,000pa), more rotations per minute, and the improved detangling brushes, as well as for its more compact base station (the S1 stands at over 26" tall, compared to the E15 at 17"). The E25 is also $200 cheaper, so it's a win-win. It can often be discounted by hundreds of dollars at a time during retailer events, so look out for good deals.

If you have a lot of hard flooring, you'd do well to check out the newer, but more budget-friendly eufy Omni C28, which has similar functionality but slightly lower suction power (15,000pa), for around half the price of the E25.

As for other brands, the Dreame X50 Ultra comes at a similar price point to the eufy Omni E25, and our reviewer said it offered 'outstanding' cleaning performance, was 'a breeze to set up,' and she liked its 'lightweight design'. It's a bit louder at 73db, compared to the much quieter eufy Omni E25, which maxed 55db on turbo mode. But if that's not an issue, this is a good alternative.

How I Tested the eufy Omni E25

At Homes & Gardens, we have a dedicated and thorough procedure for how we test vacuums. We recreate real-life circumstances by putting each vacuum through its paces, making note of how it performs with different substances on different surfaces.

I tested the eufy Omni E25 with sugar, lentils, and cereal on both hard and carpeted floors, using various vacuuming modes (from spot cleaning to zone cleaning and remote control) to find the most effective, and recorded how successful it was at vacuuming each substance. I noted down any issues and where the vacuum struggled or excelled in my home, and took photos and videos to give an accurate representation of daily performance over the course of two weeks.

To test the mopping functionality of the eufy Omni E25, I spilled ketchup and mustard on a tiled kitchen floor, and recorded how effectively it cleaned the spillages up. I noted whether it left smears or residue between tiles and whether it required an additional clean to finish the job, as well as what was left on the vacuum after the task was complete.

Once you've mastered using the eufy Omni E25, (or a different model, if you prefer), you'll want to know how to clean your robot vacuum to ensure it performs at it best and lasts for as long as possible.

The Yeedi M16 Infinity robot vacuum is one of the most feature-packed automated floor cleaners you can buy, with its advanced roller mop, hot-water self-washing capabilities, and intelligent cleaning options making light work of even the toughest stains on my floors.

It quite easily ranks among the best robot vacuum cleaners available, even if it’s a bit large.

At a retail price of $999, it’s expensive, but not nearly as expensive as competitors, from Dreame and eufy, and has been seen on sale for as low as $599 in the two months since it launched.

One-Minute Summary

For those who like to take full control of their house cleaning, the Yeedi M16 is for you. Not only does it offer superb vacuum and mopping performance, but the app also allows you to customize a wide range of settings to help you find the perfect cleaning setup for your home.

Like most other flagship robot vacuums from the past several months, it uses a new roller-style mop that delivers a much better clean than the traditional pad or scrubber mops. The dock completely cleans the vacuum, both emptying the dust and thoroughly washing the mop during and after each mopping run, saving you from having to complete the dirty jobs yourself and preventing odors from building.

It is simple to set up and use, and is quite intelligent about mapping and avoiding obstacles. It’s not perfect, and it's best to first remove smaller toys and clutter from floors before commenting on a clean.

While the plethora of options and settings in the app are great for fine-tuning your cleaning regimen, it can also be quite overwhelming for someone just wanting to set and forget it. Overall, it’s a great option for families who need some low-maintenance automated cleaning help.

Specifications

Setup

Setting up the Yeedi M16 Infinity was quite simple. I was pleased to see a very minimal amount of styrofoam in the box, with all the components well packaged. I was less pleased to see the lack of additional accessories included. Aside from a bottle of cleaning solution, there’s nothing else included. Even the Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal, which was quite light on accessories as well, came with an extra side brush.

Once unboxed, the setup process in the Yeedi app is simple. Connect to your home Wi-Fi, tap through a few screens, and you’re ready to begin mapping. The mapping process was surprisingly quick and took less than 10 minutes to get through my entire 1-story, 1,800 sq. ft. home.

It is recommended to fully charge the vacuum before mapping your home for the first time, but you could manage it on less battery if you needed to. The app also recommends cleaning up the floors and moving curtains and such, but I noticed it only really moved through the middle of each room and spanned around to scan, so you won’t need completely bare floors to get up and running.

Design and Features

I personally like the design of the Yeedi M16 Infinity. The slightly two-tone white and beige color, combined with the matte finish, looks very premium and looks much better than many of the cheap black plastic-looking models.

It's a bit larger than some other models on the market, so if you're worried about it fitting into smaller spaces, make sure to check the dimensions of the spot you intend to place it in, my specifications table above.

The vacuum itself has only a large button on top with a panel that lifts to access the power and reset buttons, and the removable dust bin.

Around back are the charging connectors as well as the dock connections for emptying and refilling the mop water and emptying the dust bin. Underneath are the wheels, side brush, roller brush, and extendable roller mop. The Yeedi M16 Infinity is a bit thicker than some other models I’ve tested, but it never had a problem getting under my furniture.

The dock contains the dirty and clean water tanks on top, and popping off the front door reveals the disposable dust bag. The bottom of the dock, where the robot sits, houses the mop washing system, which is impressive at cleaning the mop roller thoroughly, so you don't have to. There’s also a tank for the cleaning solution.

The Yeedi app is where most of the controls live for the vacuum. From here, you can create cleaning schedules and fine-tune the way your vacuum cleans your home. When you select the Yeedi M16 Infinity in the app, the first thing you’re greeted with under the map is an option to immediately start a clean or to turn on Agent Mode.

Agent Mode uses AI to intelligently build cleaning patterns based on the cleanliness of your home and when you typically send it to clean. After a few uses, the app will automatically set whether to just vacuum or vacuum and mop, which suction power to use, the water flow rate for mopping, and a variety of other settings you would normally set manually.

The idea is that the Yeedi M16 Infinity will learn your home and your cleaning schedules and patterns, to quickly make the process even more hands-off over time.

In my testing, this worked pretty well but I have young children, which means lots of unpredictable messes. I had to exit out of Agent Mode to manually adjust settings, probably every three or four times I sent it to clean to better suit my household's floorcare needs.

In the same place where you turn on Agent Mode in the app, you can switch tabs between the vacuum and dock settings. Up front, you can tell the station to empty the dust bin, wash or dry the mop, and both tabs take you to more advanced settings at the bottom.

This is one area where the Yeedi M16 Infinity sets itself apart from the pack. There are more options in the settings menu for both the vacuum and the dock than I’ve ever seen in all my years of testing the latest robot vacuums.

There are all the expected settings like scheduling, auto-resume, do not disturb, and more, but Yeedi also gives you several additional useful options, like letting you select the order of rooms to clean, suction settings for the type of carpet you have, and even the sensitivity of obstacle sensing.

Most people won’t need to change the default settings, but it is impressive to see just how deeply you can customize the settings on the Yeedi M16 Ultra.

Vacuuming Performance and Tests

To test the vacuuming performance of the Yeedi M16 Infinity, I ran a series of our pantry tests using sugar, lentils, and cereal to represent fine, medium, and large debris.

Starting with tiled floors, I spread a bit of granulated sugar in a small area, but was sure to put some near the edge of the wall to see how well it could reach there. The results were not surprising; the Yeedi M16 Infinity picked up all the sugar in the first pass with no issues.

One thing I appreciated is that by default, the vacuum will clean long-ways across the area, then double back and clean in a perpendicular direction. This ensured that even the sugar that had fallen into the cracks of my tile was picked up, which is not something I can say for many other vacuums I’ve tested.

The lentils were also cleared away well, though, being large, some were pushed around a bit during the vacuuming. However, it did get them all in the first pass, and there were none left behind or pinged out of the cleaning path.

Cereal presented the hardest challenge on my tile floors, but again, the Yeedi M16 Infinitely performed admirably. As with the lentils, some of the cereal pieces got pushed around a bit on the tile while cleaning, and it missed a few on the first run.

However, the vacuum continued to clean the area until all the cereal was gone. If you typically deal with larger-sized debris like cereal, our best Dyson alternatives also handle large debris quite well.

My rugs offered a bit more of a challenge for the Yeedi M16 infinity, but once again, I was impressed with the results. On the standard suction, I could still see a few sugar granules left in the carpet after the first pass, but using stronger suction, it cleaned them up fine.

Once again, the lentils were picked up with no issues. It did push a few around again, but the extra pass got everything. Vacuuming in both directions in one pass provides an extra thoroughness I don't often see with other vacuums.

As expected, cereal debris presented the toughest challenge for vacuuming on the rug, but once again, I was impressed with Yeedi M16 Infinity's performance.

I had to run two passes to get it all picked up, but nothing was left behind after the second pass. Admittedly, I also spilled more on the floor than is likely to be the case with a typical spill, but it still shows the cleaning power of this robot.

Max suction power is typically only necessary for cleaning thick carpets or rugs, but I did run it just to see how it was, and it was honestly a bit loud. Granted, it would be quieter on a thick carpet, but it was still louder than I expected it to be at 88 decibels, which is as loud as a motorcycle.

Standard suction, which is the mode I most often left it on, registered at 66 decibels via the DecibelX app.

If you're more sensitive to noise and don't have much carpet, you might prefer one of the best cordless vacuums, which often offer quieter operation on area rugs.

Mopping Performance

For the mopping tests, I used ketchup and mustard to simulate stickier substances that might trip up some robot cleaners. Also, instead of cleaning the entire floor, I did a spot clean in only the area where the stain was. I was pleased to see that you can adjust the size of the spot cleaning depending on the size of the mess.

Also, similar to the Yeedi S14 Plus from late last year, the roller mop brush extends out from the side of the vacuum to get into all the corners and edges, which was much more effective than I thought it would be.

The Yeedi M16 Infinity had no problems cleaning up the ketchup. In just one pass, it cleaned up the entire spill without any residual mess left behind. This is the first vacuum I’ve tested with a roller mop instead of a pad mop, and I have to say it makes quite a difference.

Other vacuums have still been able to clean up similar messes, but not nearly as well as the M16 Infinity. Some, like the eufy X10 Pro Omni we have reviewed, didn't manage to clear ketchup and smeared it around. This performance from the Yeedi shouldn't be underestimated.

What impressed me most about the Yeedi M16 Infinity was how well it handled the mustard. Mustard is a thicker, oilier substance than ketchup, which makes it harder to clean, and it often leaves a smell behind.

With other vacuums, it took at least two, sometimes three passes for all the mustard to be cleaned up, but the Yeedi handled it in one go. I was truly impressed with just how well it cleaned.

One thing to note is that the M16 Infinity returns to the dock to clean the mop much more frequently than other mops I’ve seen. You can adjust this a bit in the settings if you want, but personally, I prefer it. It may take a few extra minutes to finish clearing, but it ensures the mess is cleaned more thoroughly, and it helps keep the mop from staining.

Overall, it performed better than most other vacuums I’ve tested, and for mopping your floors daily, it will do a superb job. This might make it particularly useful if you have lots of hard floors or have pets to contend with when keeping your house clean.

Ease of Maintenance

One of the biggest benefits of robot vacuum cleaners is that they mostly take care of themselves, and the Yeedi M16 Ultra does just as good a job at that as all the other top robot vacuums we’ve tested.

The OMNI dock empties the dust bin and dirty water after every clean and even washes the mop roller as well. The docking area would sometimes show pet hair or other dirt left behind from the cleaning, but that stuff never ended up back out on my floors.

My wife has long hair, which can often be a robot vacuum’s biggest challenge, but after a couple of weeks of testing, I never had to cut hair off from the vacuum brushes, which proves its anti-tangle technology is working exactly as expected. Even so, regularly checking the brushes as part of regularly cleaning your robot vacuum is a good idea.

Emptying and refilling the water tanks is very simple, as they both easily slide in and out from the top of the OMNI dock. I do miss the bag-less dustbin of the Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal, as it’s easier to maintain and I have fewer parts to purchase, but having to replace the bag is just part of having a robot vacuum, and it’s certainly easier than having to vacuum the house myself.

Unfortunately, like the Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal, replacement parts are not easy to purchase directly from the app. This is likely due, in part, to how new the vacuum is to the market, and thankfully, there are easy-to-find parts on Amazon, and the app notifies you when it’s time to replace them, but it’s still a bit annoying not to be able to purchase in-app.

Overall, the Yeedi M16 Infinity, even with having to empty the bags and manage the water buckets, cut my cleaning time effort by at least 80-90%.

How Does the Yeedi M16 Infinity Compare?

The Yeedi M16 Infinity cleans exceptionally well and has more than enough features and settings to give you a fantastic cleaning setup. The launch price was $999, but we’ve seen it for as low as $599, and the current listed retail price on Amazon is $799.

That’s almost the same price as another one of our favorite vacuums, the eufy Omni S1 Pro, but the Yeedi M16 looks a bit more premium and has more features and settings options.

Another favorite, the Dreame Aqua10 Ultra, typically runs closer to $1,200, but it also includes a roller mop that physically cleans itself while in use, so it does a better job of mopping.

How I Tested the Yeedi M16 Infinity

We’ve built a robust approach to how we test vacuums to ensure that every appliance we review endures the same in-depth and unbiased performance and benchmark tests. We also live with and regularly use the products for several weeks, giving us a good look at what it's like to have them in our homes.

I tested the Yeedi M16 Infinity for about three weeks in my single-family home with two adults, two young children, and a large dog.

I used the same materials for each test, including sugar, lentils, and cereal to represent fine, medium, and large particles as well as ketchup and mustard to represent a variety of liquid stains. Noise levels were measured using the DecibelX app, and I used a mixture of the scheduling and manual cleaning modes.

This process gave me a comprehensive look at how effectively it can replace the bulk of manual vacuuming and mopping chores around my house.

Next, explore our best vacuums for pet hair to better remove dust, fur and dander from your floors.

After spending a few months cooking with the Le Creuset Essential Stainless Steel Frying Pan, I have fallen in love with stainless steel cooking. Having previously avoided the material, fearing burnt dinners and hours spent scrubbing at the sink, the heritage cookware has proven that with patience, even pans that are not naturally non-stick can produce simple yet delicious results.

In terms of the best non-toxic cookware, the heirloom quality offerings from Le Creuset are the perfect investment, promising long-term health benefits in a move away from 'forever chemicals' in a pan that you can safely use for decades without replacement.

Here is exactly how I got on with the Le Creuset Essential Stainless Steel Frying Pan during my testing, the tiny snags and how I worked around them, and why I think this is one of the best stainless steel pans you can invest in for your home.

Product Specifications: Le Creuset Essential Stainless Steel Frying Pan

Design and First Impressions

As with other Le Creuset products I have unboxed, the Essential Stainless Steel Frying Pan came in recyclable packaging, with a sturdy cardboard box and tissue paper wrapping. There was one sticker inside the pan, which did prove difficult to get off, however after cleaning with olive oil to break down the adhesive naturally, this came away easily, allowing me to rinse the pan with warm soapy water before first use.

The pan is ready to use straight out of the box, and looks wonderful on the stove. I tested the 11-inch pan, which comes with a helper handle, helping to balance out the weight. I am able to support this pan in one hand with relative ease, but the helper handle is nice to have for moving the pan when it is particularly full, or it has been in the oven.

Cooking Performance

Cooking with stainless steel is not as simple as using non-stick, but with the right technique, you can achieve superior crispy results without the risk of 'forever chemical' contamination. The secret, I learned, is to use the Leidenfrost effect, allowing the pan to heat up enough that when you sprinkle water onto the surface, it beads and rolls away, rather than boils and steams off immediately. This indicates that you have enough of a heat barrier that food will not instantly adhere to the surface.

This does take some practise and getting used to, and is the same story with every stainless steel pan at any price point. I noticed that the three-ply Le Creuset pan, however, made it marginally easier as (when heated slowly) it heated evenly across the whole surface, preventing hot and cold spots.

To test the pan, I ran my usual delicate tests:

• Gyoza: Dumplings are one of my favorite foods, and gyoza are at the top of my list. When cooking in the Essential Stainless Steel Frying pan with a splash of oil, the dumplings browned and crisped evenly, and released without the delicate bottoms tearing.
• Tofu: Tofu is another great, delicate test, as it can tear easily and can be tricky to brown. Every time I cooked tofu in the Essential pan it did stick; however, it stuck and tore less with practice. The secret is to press as much water out as possible before adding to your oiled pan, and searing until it releases naturally. Any sticking was easily scraped away with a firmer touch, and it did not burn. Otherwise, the tofu crisped wonderfully.
• Onions: Onions are an essential test for any pan. In the Essential Frying Pan, they sauteed evenly, cooking down without scorching or sticking.
• Fried Eggs: Frying eggs took some trial and error, with one egg sticking slightly and the other releasing with ease. I think this came down to user error and not using an even coating of oil in the pan. It wasn't the easiest process, but the pan still delivered, giving crispy bases, and the stuck-on residue was easy to remove with my spatula once cooled.
• Sauces: In my liquid tests, simmering bolognaise, the liquid bubbled evenly across the surface, demonstrating wonderful heat retention and even heating, even on a stove ring smaller than the diameter of the pan.
• Pancakes: Pancakes were surprisingly easy in the pan. The batter bubbled quickly, and the pancake lifted and flipped easily without tearing or sticking, as you can see in the video below.

Cleaning, Storage and Maintenance

Despite food occasionally sticking, cleaning and caring for the cookware was straightforward. After letting the pan cool, I would clean it with warm soapy water and a soft dish sponge. Nine times out of ten, this delicate approach was more than enough to remove residue. When a more thorough approach was required, soaking the pan in warm soapy water often loosened the debris enough to be wiped away later.

There were two occasions where user error (i.e., heating the pan on too high a heat for too long) resulted in oil burning onto the surface. This was more difficult to remove, even after cleaning with lemon juice. Because stainless steel is so tough, however, a small amount of Barkeeper's Friend from Amazon on a soft cloth helped to buff away residue and restore the pan to new.

Storing the pan was also simple. Although it is large, and the long handle and protruding helper handle on the 11-inch model give this pan a large footprint, you can stack stainless steel pans easily without the fear of damaging delicate coatings. If you wish to prevent cosmetic scratches, you can use a standing cookware organizer like my Umbra Peggy Organizer from Walmart, or felt pan stackers from Amazon to help save space.

How Does the Le Creuset Essential Stainless Steel Frying Pan Compare?

The Le Creuset Essential Stainless Steel Frying Pan fares well against similar competition. While it is on the more expensive side, given the nature of the brand heritage, it promises heirloom quality.

In comparison to cookware such as the recently reviewed All-Clad D3 Everyday Stainless Steel Cookware Set, another on-par brand for quality, the Le Creuset pan performed just as well in every test, except for frying an egg, where the All-Clad just had the upper hand on easy release. That said, the All-Clad pan is more expensive at the recommended retail price, costing $139.99 compared to the Le Creuset at $125 (at the time of writing). When you consider the tiny difference, I think it makes the Le Creuset pick worth it.

My Verdict: Should You Buy The Le Creuset Essential Stainless Steel Frying Pan?

After using this pan religiously for several months, I can strongly recommend the Le Creuset Essential Stainless Steel Frying Pan to anyone looking for a durable, heirloom-quality stainless steel pan to upgrade their kitchen.

So long as you select stainless steel with the knowledge that it takes more work and practise than non-stick, you are sure to see promising rewards across a range of dishes. That said, for very delicate tasks such as fried eggs, I would still suggest a ceramic non-stick pan, especially for those new to stainless steel cooking or who want a quick, fuss-free breakfast routine. Otherwise, I cannot fault the performance, nor the quality.

How We Test Cookware at Homes & Gardens

The best cookware has to tick all the boxes: Versatility, manageable weight, safe materials, brilliant cooking performance, and, crucially, ease of cleaning.

You can read more details about how we test cookware at Homes & Gardens, including how long we vet each piece for and specifically which recipes we trial.

I test all cookware in my own home under real-world conditions – usually mid-week meals cooked after work, putting the pans through regular use over a range of recipes to get a good understanding of how these pans perform and fit into the everyday, hard-working home.

What Else to Shop

If you are considering stainless steel for the first time when choosing the best cookware, I’ve rounded up a few of my favorite accessories to help you make the most of your new pans, with fewer of the learning curves I had to work through.

All prices were correct at the time of publishing.

If you are looking to detoxify the rest of your kitchen setup, next consider the best non-toxic kitchen appliances.

Love the latest product news and helpful shopping advice? Sign up for our newsletter and get the latest features delivered straight to your inbox.

I had high hopes for the Saatva Rx mattress, having tested other products from their range in the past that I found to be well-made and comfortable.

After testing this offering for five weeks in my home, I'm so impressed that I am recommending it as one of the best mattresses out there. It worked to solve several persistent problems I have when sleeping, including overheating and back pain, and I will be keeping it for the long term.

Over the years, I have tested more than a dozen mattresses professionally, equating to hundreds of hours of scrutiny and learning. Some provide perfect support, but trap heat. Others keep me cool, but leave me with aches and pains when I wake up.

The Saatva Rx really delivers, though, it has a high price to match.

My One-Minute Verdict on the The Saatva Rx Mattress

The Saatva Rx Mattress, available at Saatva, was designed to help people with chronic back pain, and it delivers on that promise. Impressively, I have not woken up with back or hip pain once since I started using it. As a mom of four, I am useless without a good night's sleep, so this mattress has proven to be a fantastic addition to our household.

Additionally, its thermoregulation is impressive compared to similar mattresses I have tested, and I've found it keeps me much cooler throughout the night than any other mattress I have tried.

The Saatva Rx also performs admirably in both motion isolation and edge support. My husband and I go to bed and wake up at different times, and the mattress's stability helps me get a better night’s sleep.

Specifications

Delivery, Unboxing, and Set-Up

My Saatva Rx mattress arrived via complimentary white-glove delivery. Two delivery people carried the mattress up the stairs and into my bedroom. They removed the old mattress from my bed frame and put the new one in place.

There was no off-gassing smell (which indicates there are no volatile organic compounds in the materials) and no need to wait for the mattress to expand before sleeping on it.

I appreciated the included delivery and white-glove set-up because the mattress is very heavy.

What It's Like Sleeping On the Saatva Rx Mattress

Pressure relief and comfort: The Saatva Rx is designed for people like me with chronic back pain. Additionally, I fall asleep on my side and often wake up with hip pain when testing mattresses. My hip pain has all but disappeared since I started sleeping on the Saatva Rx.

This mattress is highly responsive to movement and does an outstanding job of contouring to my body, keeping me comfortable all night long. I am a very active sleeper, usually changing my sleep position several times throughout the night. That makes it difficult to find a mattress that works well for me, but the Saatva Rx stands out among other mattresses I’ve tested. Thanks to its impressive pressure relief and support, it keeps me comfortable in any position, making it perfect for combination sleepers like me and couples who may sleep in different positions.

The mattress also strikes the right balance between firmness and plushness. It’s firm enough so that I no longer wake up with back pain, but don’t feel as though I am sleeping on a hard board. Other mattresses struggle to find this balance.

Thermoregulation: A common complaint with memory foam mattresses is that they run hot. As a result, people often search for a way to cool them down. Fortunately, I didn’t have that problem with the Saatva Rx, and it kept me significantly cooler than any other mattress I’ve tested.

Although it’s not a specialty cooling mattress, the Saatva Rx is designed to promote cooling throughout the night, and includes a layer of cooling gel-infused foam that helps disperse body heat, and individually-wrapped coils to promote airflow. The mattress is also covered with an organic, breathable cotton cover that helps keep the mattress’s surface cool.

Motion isolation: To test the motion isolation of the Saatva Rx, I filled a glass almost to the top with water, then placed an 18.5-pound weight next to the glass. Although a few drops spilled out, the glass barely moved.

The water-glass test is consistent with my experience sharing the bed with my husband for more than a month and hardly feeling him toss and turn − his movements during the night haven’t disturbed me at all.

Additionally, my husband tends to get up earlier than me and his movements usually wake me. However, I’ve slept more soundly through his early starts, which is due, at least in part, to the Saatva Rx’s great motion isolation.

Pocket-sprung mattresses tend to perform better than memory foam or hybrid mattresses in motion-isolation tests, but the Saatva Rx held its own in this category.

Edge support: The edge support on the Saatva Rx is also excellent. When I sat on the edge of the mattress, I did not feel as though I would slip or fall off. When I get out of bed in the middle of the night, I feel secure when I sit on the edge of the mattress for a moment before standing up.

As an additional test, I placed a full glass of water on the edge of the mattress and set an 18.5-pound weight next to it. The glass noticeably tipped more here than it did when it was in the center of the mattress.

Nevertheless, the edge support on the Saatva Rx is significantly better than that of other mattresses I have tested, where the glass of water nearly tips over when performing the same test.

Weight bearing: Along with the other areas tested, seeing how well a mattress bears weight is an important part of how we test mattresses here at Homes & Gardens. To see how well the Saatva Rx bears weight, I placed an 18.5-pound weight in the center of the mattress. The weight barely sank into the mattress at all. Even more impressive is that the mattress rebounded very quickly, in about 2.5 seconds.

Materials: How comfortable a mattress is depends heavily on how the mattress is made and the materials used. The Saatva Rx has seven layers, which help address different needs. The sleep surface is a breathable, organic cotton cover with lumbar zone quilting.

Under the cover is a layer of gel-infused memory foam that helps relieve pressure. Next is a layer of micro-coils surrounded by a memory-foam-like layer of proprietary Rx Weave-Tech foam. Together, these layers help the mattress cradle the body, provide additional pressure relief, and keep the mattress cool.

Finally, hundreds of individually wrapped coils help improve the mattress’s durability and assist with pressure relief and motion isolation. The final layer is a high-density foam base that provides stability. The premium materials used in the Saatva Rx result in one of the best mattresses I have ever tested for comfort and functionality.

Price: The Saatva Rx is not the most inexpensive mattress on the market. However, I think the premium materials, combined with outstanding performance across all areas, make the mattress well worth the price.

Who Would The Saatva Rx Mattress Suit?

• Those with back problems: In my experience, the mattress delivered on its claims of relieving back pain. It also helped with other aches and pains, including persistent hip pain. Anyone with back pain or who wakes with aches and pains elsewhere should consider this mattress if they have the budget. Although the Saavta Rx is not a budget mattress, waking up pain-free may be worth the high price tag for those suffering from chronic pain.
• Hot sleepers: Although the Saavta Rx is not marketed as a cooling mattress, it has cooling properties that help prevent heat from being trapped. Cooler mattresses also come at a higher price, but anyone with a sizable budget who is tired of waking up hot may find that splurging on Saavta Rx is money well spent.
• Combination sleepers and couples: Thanks to multiple layers that help with pressure relief, responsiveness, and cradling, the Saavta Rx is a rare find that is comfortable for nearly everyone, no matter which position (or positions) they prefer to sleep in.

My Verdict after Sleeping on the Saatva Rx for Five Weeks

After sleeping on the Saavta Rx for more than a month, I highly recommend it to those who can stomach the high price tag. Anyone seeking an orthopedic-type mattress for back pain and those who tend to sleep hot, but want the comfort of a hybrid mattress made with memory foam, should consider investing in this mattress.

For me, waking pain-free and cool is well worth the price. The Saavta Rx is also a good investment for combo-sleepers and couples who have different sleep styles or patterns.

What to Shop

Below, you can shop our Sleep Editor's selection of accessories to protect and make the most of your mattress purchase, from cooling toppers to lightweight linens.

All prices were correct at the time of publication.

Next, delve into our best cooling mattress toppers and bed linens for the ultimate night's sleep.

Love the latest product news and helpful shopping advice? Sign up for our newsletter and get the latest features delivered straight to your inbox.

After chopping, blending, and shredding with the Ninja Foodi Power Blender Ultimate System for three weeks, it has become a must-have in my kitchen routine.

It is a strong competitor against standalone blenders, food processors, and mixers, instead combining all those functions into one very strong product. After purchasing this product, your counter space will thank you.

Kitchen gadgets that promise to do it all often have home chefs, including me, rolling their eyes when we realize another product will fail to actually blend ice in seconds, slide potatoes with pro-chef-like precision, and deliver on other promises. However, this best blender-food processor combo delivers in terms of speed, versatility, and power. Just watch your fingers!

Product Specifications: Ninja Foodi Power Blender Ultimate System

Design and First Impressions

Prepare a good amount of space and time to get to know each other ahead of unboxing your Foodi. This is because there are quite a few pieces to unwrap and explore, each with a different function, directions in a pamphlet, stickers with tips and tricks on them, and a corresponding recipe book. However, these useful accessories aren’t just extras that will (or should) gather dust in the pantry.

Instead, with some time and experimenting, you can see just how each could be most useful to you with your current cooking needs. Included you will find:

• The motor/base
• A blender and processor pitcher with a pour spout
• An XL smoothie maker bowl with storage lid
• Crushing and chopping blade
• Slicing and shredding blade
• Grating disc
• Disc spindle
• Dough blade assembly
• Hybrid edge blades assembly
• The recipe guide

Upon unboxing, I was excited about the size of the pitcher, which I immediately knew would come in handy making smoothies for my family of seven all at once, not two at a time with other blenders.

I also immediately appreciated some safety features meant to keep the blender on the base, and the top on the blender – extra turns, clicks, and buttons made sure that you really meant to remove it, and that it wasn’t an accident. In addition, strong suction keeps the base in place regardless of what happens up top.

The packaging itself was a mix of plastic protectors and recyclable materials, and all items came well-protected and securely situated in the box.

Blending Performance

Testing a blender doesn’t just involve whipping up a quick smoothie and judging its consistency, especially when it’s a blender/processor combo. Instead, I followed a thorough process that involved multiple cooking tests, outlined below, to test some of its various functions.

I made smoothies, crushed ice, chopped potatoes, and whipped up my first almond butter. Each had its own learning curve to decide which accessories were best and to test different functions’ performance. Throughout, I explored the 'Auto IQ programs,' which allow presets for smoothies, spreads, chopping, and others, but also tried the variable speed and blending/processing time in the manual setting too. I didn’t find any issues with the Auto-IQ settings being inaccurate, but generally found it easier to control the settings myself manually.

Users should note that while this is a high-performing machine, it’s not a quiet one. At over 90 decibels during the blending process, it is not considered a quiet blender. However, it’s on for such a short time as it does its job efficiently that it bothers everyone less than quieter options that take longer.

Overall, the product is high-performance and a joy to use.

The Processor Test

The first test was to chop potatoes, using the food processor and food chute, a hole in the top that allows you to send vegetables and other foods down the 'chute' into the main processor. From there, if a food gets stuck, you can use a helpful tool to shove the rest down to the bottom toward the blades.

The processing function is the fastest and most impressive way of cutting a vegetable I’d seen, and much more efficient than competing products I’ve tested in the past. A single potato was completely sliced and ready to make chips, hash browns, or a casserole side dish in a matter of seconds.

The slices were consistent, no food was stuck in the process, and the only errors were from the operator’s learning curve (such as trying to fit too big a potato through the chute).

The Ice Test

Next, I explored whether I’d be able to tell my kids that we officially have a slushie machine, based on its ability to crush ice as well as our local snow cone shop.

This blender had turned around 20 ice cubes into slushie-ready mix in under five seconds. In this moment, I realized how much I’d been unknowingly suffering with my own blender, shaking and reshaking it to give it a boost between blending sessions as it fought with ice cubes.

If you make a daily smoothie or smoothie bowl, this product is a must-have simply for its mastery of ice crushing.

The Nut Butter Test

Finally, I attempted to make almond butter, by blending almonds and oil, at the suggestion of the recipe book. The book is well-labeled with the appropriate settings to help you understand how to set up your machine to create that exact recipe.

Though I should have used a bit more oil, and ended up with more of an almond butter sprinkle topping than butter consistency, the machine did its job, again in seconds.

Cleaning and Maintenance

Sometimes, it can be difficult to get all the blended or processed food out of the deep pitcher, so have a long spatula on hand to reach all the corners. But the components easily come apart for washing, so that shouldn’t be an issue.

One trick I came to appreciate was putting some water into the blender and continuing to blend after my cooking was done, just for a few seconds, to prevent stuck-on food and drink from becoming too stuck. This made washing much easier afterward.

The entire product is dishwasher safe, which I appreciate as a busy mom of five who has two dishwashers running nearly all the time. With such a wide pitcher, the dishwasher does a great job of getting the larger components clean as well. I was a bit more careful putting blades and other sharp objects in the dishwasher, though, just in case little hands would help unload later.

That brings us to The Accident. While attempting to clean up and store this product, I cut two fingers on a blade. I didn’t drop it or do anything out of the ordinary, other than try to pick it up. So, when I say the blades are super sharp, I mean sharp enough that you shouldn’t touch any of them at all. That can affect storage and cleaning processes, but also likely the reason it’s such an efficient and high-performing product. Keep Band-Aids (available at Walmart) on hand if you are clumsy, and when storing the product, put it up high or otherwise wrap up the parts to protect others from the blades.

Luckily, the product fits under my standard height counter tops, though I wouldn’t be able to really cook much with it under there, so I have to pull it in and out to cook. But this gives options for storage – the whole thing doesn’t have to go back in the cupboard each time.

How Does the The Ninja Foodi Power Blender Ultimate System Compare?

As a longtime kitchen product tester, I have found this product to be exceptionally better than all other blenders I’ve tried through the years. In addition, it has equal-to-or-advanced food-processing functions and performance.

Competitors include Ninja’s own alternative option, the Ninja Professional Plus Kitchen System, which Homes and Gardens editors also loved and ranked as a top blender/processor. Others included the Nutribullet Triple Prep Blender System, noted for best savings, in addition to the Nutribullet’s Ultra Plus Kitchen System, which comes in at a more affordable price of just under $100 for those on a budget. Finally, the Braun MultiQuick 9 competes with the Ninja Foodi as the most versatile option, and also might be more space-saving for those with less counter space.

For those trying to decide which product is best, first match your needs up with the chef’s guide to blenders, food processors, and juicers.

On Ninja’s website, users rank this product as a 4.1, with close to 200 ratings. 119 of those ratings were five stars, with just 21 as one star. Performance was the top-ranking feature among those reviews, with quality being the lowest. One loyal Ninja fan says, compared to her older product, this one is much bigger with more options. She also noted that she liked the 'pour top' function, in which a small spout opens to let your smoothie pour into your favorite to-go cup without mess or issue.

Amazon customers reflect my satisfaction with the product, with over 4,000 ratings resulting in a 4.5 out of 5 stars. According to Amazon, customers overall note the solid performance, especially for smoothie and dough mixing, with strong motor power and quick blending times. However, there are some durability concerns, with some reporting it lasts for years, while others are concerned about cracking in the plastic pitcher. Customers overall considered it worth the price.

Should You Buy The The Ninja Foodi Power Blender Ultimate System?

Yes, you should buy this product. If you are looking for reliability, consistency, top performance, and don’t mind a little noise to achieve the perfect ice consistency, this is for you.

This product would suit busy cooks who want to chop vegetables quickly and have no use for slow or inefficient motors. Those who frequently make smoothies will appreciate the extra minutes they get back every day, not fighting with a blender, and people who want their products to be versatile and customizable will like the extra options, features, settings, and accessories.

How We Test Blenders

Over the years, we've refined our process for how we test blenders.

The first step is market research. We keep in touch with the industry to make sure that we're always first to hear about a new launch, and will almost always call it in to test to try and be among the first to assess how well it performs. Every blender must be tested for a prolonged period (two weeks or more) to check for any issues and assess the product's longevity, and where possible, we aim to keep blenders in-house to test them on a long-term basis, updating our reviews as the months and years pass to see if our favorite is still ahead of the crowd.

Smoothies are the most basic thing a blender can do. They're pretty much why blenders were invented, so if we've got a model that can't handle these you won't find it anywhere near our rankings of the best.

We then see if a blender can crush ice. Ice is useful for two reasons. One is as a straightforward test of sheer power. Weak blenders won't be able to crush it, or will do half a job. A powerful, premium blender should be able to mist ice cubes into fine white powder. If a blender can't manage this, then it can't earn a perfect score.

A blender will score extra points in our tests if it operates quietly. We monitor the decibel levels on every test. We also clean every blender by hand to see how easy this is, and if it feels safe.

You can find out more details on our How We Test Blenders page.

What Else to Shop

Add six products that help with the featured item, e.g. cleaning tools, extra accessories ti make the most of it.

All prices correct at time of publication.

sign off pointing to another helpful and related article.

Love the latest product news and helpful shopping advice? Sign up for our newsletter and get the latest features delivered straight to your inbox.

I was never sure ceramic pans would be worth the money. However, after testing the Zwilling Milano Ceramic Non-Stick Cookware, I can firmly say I have been converted.

Offering superior non-stick performance without the risk of 'forever chemicals', the titanium-reinforced ceramic non-toxic cookware offered both peace of mind and simpler mid-week cooking, with delicious results to boot. My only concern? Longevity.

This is how I found using the Zwilling Milano cookware set, specifically the saucepan, frying pan, saute pan, and wok, over the last month, and the small niggles that knocked off a star.

Product Specifications: Zwilling Milano Ceramic Non-Stick Cookware

Design and First Impressions

There is no denying that the Zwilling Milano Ceramic Non-Stick Cookware looks good. Available in matte black, blue, and brown (all with brass-effect handles), the pans cut a fine figure on my cooktop, giving them their first win.

Each pan was boxed individually and came in 100% recyclable packaging, with no plastic or tape getting in the way. The careful folds of the box and the pretty tissue paper protected both the pans and the glass lids from knocks and damage in transit.

One thing I did notice right out of the box was the weight. These are premium pans, and they feel it. The larger pans, notably the saute pan and wok, were tricky to hold in one hand for too long, even for my partner, who is a climber, meaning he has fantastic grip strength. This is accounted for in the design, with the larger pans having helper handles.

Each pan was washed with warm soapy water as instructed before first use.

Cooking Performance

Using the Zwilling Milano Ceramic Non-Stick Cookware was a dream. It was my first time using ceramic non-stick, but I found it easier to use than traditional PFAS-based non-stick cookware. The added peace of mind they gave me made the whole process far more enjoyable.

Each pan heated evenly, all the way to the rims, and retained heat as I cooked, which led to a few scorched onions during the first few uses when I forgot to turn down the heat accordingly. I found that I was generally able to use lower temperatures, as the cold-forged aluminum cores did most of the work for me. The long handles came in useful here, as the edges of the pan were searing to the touch, even on stove rings that were smaller than the diameter of the pan.

One thing to note is that each pan gave off a slightly strange smell on the first use. Even after washing, there was a slight 'factory' smell as it heated. This occurred with every pan on the first use, but not beyond that. It did not affect flavor, either.

Besides cooking, serving was also slightly cumbersome due to the weight of the larger pans. The saute pan, for instance, was difficult to hold in one hand, even for my gym-going partner, meaning we could not pour from it into bowls. A serving spoon fixed this (specifically a silicone spoon from Walmart, as metal utensils can damage the coating), but it is something to note if you have lessened grip strength. This is not as much of an issue with the smaller saucepan and frying pan.

To help you choose the best cookware, we test the same foods in all of our pans, to give you a fair overview:

• Gyoza: I always joke that dumplings are my favorite 'food group', so this is an important test to pass. The Milano frying pan handled the delicate challenge with ease, crisping the bases and releasing perfectly. No complaints.
• Tofu: Tofu is another great, delicate test, as it can tear easily and can be tricky to brown. The Milano wok handled it with ease, developing a wonderfully even golden edge with no sticking.
• Onions: Onions are the base of several cuisines, so it is important for a pan to caramelize them without sticking and scorching. The wok, frying pan, and saute pan all handled this with ease. The only scorching occurred as a result of user error and heating the pan too much.
• Pancakes: Pancakes bubbled evenly in the frying pan, released with ease for neat flipping, and did not stick.
• Fried Eggs: Fried eggs developed a crisp base without sticking. The pans were so nonstick that it was actually difficult to pick them out of the pan with a spatula (see the video below).
• Chicken Stir Fry: Chicken browned evenly, developing great color and flavor, and the added vegetables and noodles were easy to stir up, thanks to the large capacity.
• Sauces: In our liquid tests, simmering bolognaise, the liquid bubbled evenly across the surface, and when left to cook, it did not stick or burn.
• Rice: When cooking rice in the saucepan, it boiled evenly, and the grains were light and fluffy. The rice was easy to serve, with no sticking to the edges. Starch also washed off easily afterwards, too.

Cleaning, Storage and Maintenance

Cleaning the Zwilling Milano Ceramic Non-Stick Cookware was a breeze. Zwilling states that the pans are dishwasher safe, but I hand-washed the pans with ease using a soft dish sponge and non-toxic dish soap (such as Attitude dish soap, from Walmart). Residue came away easily with zero scrubbing, taking only a few seconds per pan.

When storing the pans, you must avoid stacking them to prevent damaging the delicate ceramic coating. For this, felt pan stackers, available at Amazon, can come in handy, especially if you are short on kitchen storage.

During the review process, I stored the pans with their glass lids on. After a few weeks, I noticed some damage to the rims of the most-used saute and saucepan, where the blue ceramic had chipped away. At first, I thought this may be from balancing the metal handles of my silicone utensils against the edge of the cookware on the stove, but the chips can also be found on the saucepan, in which I have only ever used wooden tools, which debunks this theory. I am left under the assumption that the damage is from the lids.

This does raise concerns about the general longevity of the cookware, especially at the premium cost. What's more, I did experience some water getting stuck in the edge of the lid, which I could not get out again.

How Does the Zwilling Milano Ceramic Non-Stick Cookware Compare?

The Zwilling Milano cookware stands up well against similarly positioned ceramic cookware. As with the Our Place Essentials Cookware, reviewed by Punteha van Terheyden, the ceramic coating is wonderfully non-stick, washes well, and cooks evenly. They are similar in weight, too. The difference lies in the longevity promise and price.

In her review, Punteha had no quality issues with the coating, with no reports thus far of chips or damage with frequent use. At $349.95 for an 11-piece set, they also come in significantly cheaper than the $599.99 five-piece Zwilling Milano set (at the time of writing).

Customer reviews on Zwilling's site largely agree with me. Verified shoppers around the world praise the excellent non-stick qualities, beautiful design, and ease of cleaning. However, there are similar mentions in a review by Ilona, of chips around the rims after a few uses, even after washing, which supports my concerns about long-term longevity. What's more, several reviews mention water sticking in the rims of the glass lids.

My Verdict: Should You Buy The Zwilling Milano Ceramic Non-Stick Cookware?

All in all, I do generally recommend the Zwilling Milano Ceramic Non-Stick Cookware, even with my concerns about longevity and water sticking in the lids. The results cannot be argued with, offering crisp bases at lower temperatures, even searing, and delicious, non-toxic results. They also look and feel premium, offering a wonderful pop of color to my counter.

The chips on the rims cannot be ignored, of course, but they have not, thus far, affected the cooking surface itself. I am going to try to test the pans for longer to monitor for additional damage, and will hopefully report back if needed. All in all, now understanding the true fragility of the coating, adjusting care by maintaining hand washing over dish washing, and avoiding balancing metal-handle tools or lids on the rims when cooking and in storage should hopefully mitigate future issues.

All in all, despite the price, they are a good investment, and I cannot fault the cooking experience and delicious results. With careful use, they are worth it; however, I would recommend waiting for a sale to find more value.

How We Test Cookware at Homes & Gardens

The best cookware has to tick all the boxes: Versatility, manageable weight, safe materials, brilliant cooking performance, and, crucially, ease of cleaning.

You can read more details about how we test cookware at Homes & Gardens, including how long we vet each piece for and specifically which recipes we trial.

I test all cookware in my own home under real-world conditions – usually mid-week meals cooked after work, putting the pans through regular use over a range of recipes to get a good understanding of how these pans perform and fit into the everyday, hard-working home.

What Else to Shop

To help you get the best performance from your ceramic non-stick cookware, I’ve curated six essential accessories and care tools designed to protect the coating and streamline everyday cooking.

All prices were correct at the time of publishing.

Looking to make your cookware investments last for decades to come? Brush up on how to clean and care for every type of cookware.

Love the latest product news and helpful shopping advice? Sign up for our newsletter and get the latest features delivered straight to your inbox.

After using the GreenPan Bistro 7‑Quart 360° Clear View Air Fryer for two weeks, I found it to be a hardworking, budget-friendly appliance that ticks plenty of practical boxes. You get an extra-large drawer suited to family-sized meals, PFAS-free components, and a standout glass lid that lets you monitor food as it cooks.

I usually gravitate toward air fryer toaster ovens, largely because I live in a small apartment and appreciate any appliance that can pull double duty. But sometimes a single-purpose tool that does one job exceptionally well is exactly what you need, and this model from GreenPan delivers on that front.

I was impressed by how intuitive it was and how reliably it handled everyday staples. If you want an affordable, non-toxic air fryer for a dorm room, small kitchen, or to keep on hand for family dinners and casual gatherings, it’s a strong contender.

Product Specifications: GreenPan Bistro 360 Degree Clear View Air Fryer

Design and First Impressions

The GreenPan Clear View is not your average air fryer. Its signature feature is a clear lid, which the company claims allows you to see when your food is ready. It’s a nice idea, and it does separate it from its competitors, but because it’s anchored by the control panel, it’s not exactly a wide-open view. I was curious as to how this would pan out when cooking. The air fryer was packaged well, and all its parts arrived safely, so unpacking and setting up were a cinch. I made sure to wash the drawer and air crisper tray in soapy water before using it, and just plugged it in.

The drawer is nice and roomy at seven quarts, and looks like it could easily fit an entire bag of French fries or a whole chicken. Perfect for someone like me, with a family that includes two growing teens and a bunch of hungry friends.

The rest of the air fryer is nothing dramatic. Its square shape has rounded edges, and its cord is long enough to use in most conventional kitchens. I also like the LED control panel, which is straightforward, with little easy-to-see screen presets shaped like fish, chicken, steak, vegetables, etc.

Cooking Performance

To make choosing the best kitchen appliances easier, we test a standard set of foods across all of our air fryers to make comparing the results simple.

The GreenPan Bistro was very intuitive to use overall, so much so that I did not find myself needing the instruction manual to get started.

French Fries

Testing frozen fries is always my first move when reviewing a new air fryer, so I happily planned ahead to cheat on my summer diet. The drawer on the GreenPan Bistro 7-Quart 360° Clear View Air Fryer is generously sized at seven quarts, but I resisted the urge to overfill it, knowing crowded fries rarely crisp well.

I started with a modest batch of thin-cut frozen fries and used the preset, which automatically set the temperature to 400°F for 20 minutes. Halfway through, the machine beeped, and the 'Shake' icon illuminated on the control panel, prompting me to pull out the tray and toss the fries. The result after 20 minutes was spot-on: Evenly crisped, golden fries that my son and I quickly divided between us.

For the second round, I pushed the limits and poured an entire bag of fries into the drawer. They fit easily, though I suspected they would need extra time to cook properly. I tried the preset again and followed the same process, including the mid-cycle shake, but as expected, the standard timing fell short. I added five more minutes using the 'Temp/Timer' control. This was also when I tested the Clear View lid to check browning. While the wraparound glass offered a glimpse inside, it wasn’t quite clear enough to judge doneness at a glance.

The added time ultimately did the trick, producing evenly cooked fries despite the fuller basket. Next time, I’ll skip the guesswork and go straight for 25 minutes at 400°F when cooking a larger batch.

Chicken and Salmon

For me, the whole appeal of an air fryer is making healthier meals taste better, so chicken felt like the natural next test in the GreenPan Bistro 7-Quart 360° Clear View Air Fryer. I sliced about a pound of chicken into cutlets, tossed them with jerk seasoning and a few sprays of avocado oil, then arranged them in the basket.

There’s no dedicated 'Chicken' preset, only one for wings, so I selected the Air Fry function and set it to 360°F for 20 minutes. I suspected they might need extra time, but I’d rather add minutes than risk drying them out. When the shake alert sounded, I turned the pieces over with a fork instead. In the end, they needed about seven additional minutes to cook through.

The cutlets came out tender and fully cooked, though the appliance’s 400°F maximum temperature meant they never developed the crisp exterior I typically look for in air-fried chicken. To test that theory, I cooked a batch of breaded frozen chicken tenders for roughly the same amount of time. Those emerged perfectly crisp, though, of course, they weren’t nearly as healthy.

As a final test, I added frozen salmon from Trader Joe's. I lightly salted the fillets, squeezed over some lemon juice, added a spray of avocado oil, and some fresh dill. I used the Seafood preset, which is 360 degrees Fahrenheight at 15 minutes, and that turned out beautifully

Vegetables

For vegetables, I began with a baked sweet potato. I pricked it with a fork, sprayed it lightly with avocado oil, and rubbed it with salt. The Bake preset defaulted to 360°F for 15 minutes, which I knew wouldn’t be nearly long enough. I did some research and found that the usual instructions for cooking a sweet potato in an air fryer are 400 degrees Fahrenheit on Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. That proved to be spot on: When I sliced it open, the sweet potato was steaming and soft inside with a crisp skin, exactly how I like it.

Next, I sliced some zucchini, gave it the same avocado spray and salting, then used the Vegetable preset, which is 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes. This time, I did shake them when the beeper went off, but they still needed longer once the timer ran out. I ended up increasing the temperature by 50 degrees and added another six minutes. I could see enough through the limited window to see they were starting to get a little darker than I’d like after five minutes, so I stopped it and took them out.

I’ve never found the air fryer a great way to crisp up veggies in general, though I’m always hoping to find the holy grail every time I test a new one. Yet, once again, the zucchini was well-cooked, but never got the proper crunch.

Cleaning and Maintenance

Cleaning an air fryer is much easier than its larger toaster oven counterparts, and the Clear View was no different. I just took out the drawer, threw the tray in the dishwasher, and washed out the inside of the drawer with a soft sponge and some dish soap. You can put the drawer in the dishwasher as well, but it takes up a whole lot of room, so I tend not to.

If you use the air fryer a lot, you can easily store it on your kitchen counter, and it fits easily under most conventional cabinets. If you have a big enough kitchen storage, it’s lightweight enough to take in and out of storage when you need it.

How Does the GreenPan Bistro 360 Degree Clear View Air Fryer Compare?

The GreenPan Bistro 360 Degree Clear View Air Fryer offers something different with the top-down viewing window, allowing you to keep track of cooking progress without having to open the drawer. That said, it still performs as you would expect any other standalone air fryer to.

Being a standalone air fryer, it does not function as a dehydrator, toaster, or broiler like air fryer oven variants such as the Ninja French Door Air Fryer I reviewed, but that said it does a very good job at what it advertises. Which type you pick will depend on what you need your application to do. Would I replace my air fryer toaster oven, like the Our Place Wonder Oven Pro, with it? Probably not. But, if you are looking for something new to take the place of several appliances, this might not work for you. Otherwise, it is a fantastic, sizable air fryer unit that will deliver time and time again.

Should You Buy The GreenPan Bistro 7-Quart 360° Clear View Air Fryer?

The GreenPan Bistro 7-Quart 360 Degree Clear View Air Fryer is an excellent choice if you’re looking for a non-toxic air fryer that can do all the basics well. It offers a wide range of presets, an intuitive interface, and a nice, deep drawer that works well for groups or families.

The Clear View lid feels more like a gimmick, since you have to peek through the edges of the wraparound window, but it does offer a glimpse of your food if you don’t feel like opening the drawer. I’m also never thrilled when an air fryer doesn’t go over 400 degrees Fahrenheit, considering the entire point is cooking at a high temperature, but it gets the job done nonetheless.

In the end, this is most definitely worth the just over $100 pricetag, and an especially good buy for students or folks looking to stay on a budget. However, if you want something that you’ll use every day, or that you feel more comfortable taking up space on your countertop, I’d suggest looking at one of our favorite toaster oven/air fryer combos.

How We Test Air Fryers

When looking at air fryers, we consider several things. Firstly, we look at the materials, looking for potentially toxic coatings, and prioritizing non-toxic products for peace of mind. Then, we focus on exceptional cooking performance. As a team of trained cooks, product testers, and appliance experts, we rigorously test each model by air-frying frozen fries, chicken wings, and roasted vegetables. During our taste tests, we seek food that’s perfectly crispy on the outside and tender within. Having tested the market leaders, we’re familiar with the industry benchmarks.

Ease of use is key, so our tests evaluate the intuitiveness of controls, basket design, and the accuracy of recipe presets. We also explore special features, like grilling and dehydrating, to assess versatility. While cooking, we make notes on capacity – essential for those looking for family-sized air fryers.

Since cleaning can be a hassle, we check if the removable parts are easy to wash, whether by hand or in the dishwasher. We also examine materials' durability, as this is a key criterion for long-lasting, non-toxic items. After testing, we scour the web for the best and worst customer reviews to assess the air fryer's reliability and overall customer satisfaction.

You can go behind the scenes and read more details on our how we test air fryers page.

What Else to Shop

Even with a non-toxic coating, it pays to be gentle with your ceramic-coated air fryer if you want it to last for years. With that in mind, I’ve rounded up a few of my favorite air fryer accessories to help you get the most from your new appliance while protecting its finish.

All prices correct at time of publication.

If you are looking to keep your air fryer in its best condition for years to come, brush up on the air fryer cleaning tasks you should be doing regularly.

Love the latest product news and helpful shopping advice? Sign up for our newsletter and get the latest features delivered straight to your inbox.

After years of relying on non-stick pans, I finally decided to try a classic All-Clad stainless-steel pan set. I haven’t looked back.

I tested the pieces included in the All-Clad S3 Everyday 5-piece set for about a month to see if I could live without non-stick pans for good. I was happily surprised by what I found.

The testing came at just the right time, as my old trusty non-stick pans had started to chip. After using this non-toxic cookware set for a few months, I will admit that I have fallen in love with it and will certainly be expanding my collection.

Product Specifications: All-Clad D3 Everyday Stainless Everyday 3-Ply Bonded Essential Cookware

Design and First Impressions

All-Clad’s D3 Everyday 5-Piece Set looks timeless on my kitchen counter and on my stovetop. Although some brands try to get your attention with flashy colors or modern design elements, All-Clad’s D3 Everyday Set is a classic, shiny stainless-steel set that goes with any type of decor and will never go out of style.

The set shipped in minimalist packaging, using only enough plastic to protect the included pots and pans.

The D3 Everyday Set has some weight to it due to its solid construction, but it’s easy to move around.

All-Clad’s D3 Everyday Set requires a little more work than non-stick pans. However, prepping them for use doesn’t take long, and cleaning isn’t as difficult as I feared.

What I appreciate most is the sense of longevity the set offers. Made by All-Clad, it feels like cookware designed to last for years. Unlike many non-stick pans that need replacing every few years, this is cookware I expect to keep in rotation for a long time, without constantly checking for the scratches or wear that signal it’s time to replace your pans.

I also don’t have to worry about inadvertently exposing my children to toxic materials or 'forever chemicals', sometimes found in non-stick cookware, so the extra work is worth the trade-off for me.

I had previously turned to a ceramic-coated stainless-steel pan, hoping for greater longevity. However, I quickly became disillusioned when my pricey pan warped after just a few months. These stainless steel pans feel like heirloom quality.

Cooking Performance

After washing the pans with soap and water, I put the set to work right away. Cooking with stainless steel initially felt unfamiliar; I was used to non-stick, but the adjustment was easier than expected.

With a little heat and oil, stainless steel can behave much like a non-stick surface. According to All-Clad’s instructions for the All-Clad D3 Everyday Cookware Set, the key is proper preheating. Start by warming the pan, then add a few drops of water. When the droplets begin to dance across the surface (the Leidenfrost effect), and a faint wisp of vapor appears, the pan is ready to cook in.

At first, the process sounded more complicated than it is. In practice, it takes just a couple of minutes, and after a week of cooking with the set, it quickly becomes second nature. Many stainless steel cookware brands recommend a similar method.

Then, I tested the pans using four standard ingredients:

• Onions: I make fried onions at least once a week, so using a pan that produces perfectly caramelized onions is important to me. In every test, my D3 Everyday pan sizzled evenly, creating perfectly caramelized onions. The onions never stuck, and they colored nicely without scorching.
• Sauce: To test how well the set handles sauce, I simmered an entire jar of Rao’s marinara sauce in the pan. It started simmering in one minute and 22 seconds. The sauce simmered evenly throughout the pan.
• Seared tofu: Because I am a vegetarian, I seared tofu as part of my testing. The D3 Everyday pan produced a perfect golden brown, although it did stick slightly in places. This was easily removed with my spoon, however.
• Fried eggs: My fried eggs fried easily with nice, crispy edges. They slid out of the pan easily on almost all of my trials. There was one exception where I believe I did not add enough oil to the pan to make it non-stick, so I attribute that mistake to user error rather than a fault with the pan. For this trial, my egg still slid out easily, but I noticed some burnt residue left behind.

Overall, my D3 Everyday pots and pans are a joy to use. They need more care and attention than non-stick pans, but no more than any other stainless-steel cookware. Learning how to use and clean them properly was a bit of a learning curve. However, getting the hang of it didn’t take long, and the extra steps became second nature and easy to execute within a week.

Cleaning, Storage and Maintenance

All-Clad’s D3 Everyday line is relatively easy to clean, though not as easy as non-stick cookware. After most uses, I was able to clean the pots and pans in the set with warm water, soap, and a sponge. Occasionally, I needed to soak the pans in warm water with a few drops of soap for about 10-15 minutes to loosen some stuck food. That’s something I rarely had to do when using non-stick pans, but it’s not difficult. I can go about my day as the pans soak without giving them a second thought.

All-Clad recommends using baking soda to remove burned-on food and a cleaner such as Bar Keepers Friend, from Walmart, or Bon Ami, from Amazon, to remove other types of tough-to-clean spots. In my weeks of testing, I never had to use anything other than soap and water to make my cookware sparkle like new. Since All-Clad has clean lines, there aren’t any nooks and crannies for food to get stuck in, making cleaning easier.

All-Clad recommends hand-washing its cookware rather than placing it in the dishwasher. While some users report running their pots and pans through a dishwasher without issue, the brand advises against it, noting that repeated dishwasher cycles can gradually damage stainless steel and lead to small surface pits.

According to All-Clad, these pits won’t affect cooking performance, but they can detract from the clean, polished finish the brand is known for. To preserve the look, I plan to hand-wash my All-Clad D3 Everyday Cookware Set and keep it in good condition for years to come.

Storage has been straightforward, too. I can easily fit every piece from the set into my standard-sized kitchen cabinets.

What Customers Say About All-Clad's Stainless Steel Pans

Fellow customers also love All-Clad’s D-3 set.

On the All-Clad site, verified shopper Kelley shared, 'Little bit of a learning curve after using non-stick cookware for years, but I'm getting the hang of it and learning a few new tricks. Early results are great, and I love the heft and style of these pots and pans. They clean up nicely and look like new when dried right after washing.'

Fellow shopper A. Mason adds, 'I absolutely love this set. It's comfortable to hold, well weighted, and doesn't slip on my glass range. I accidentally forgot my pot on the stove and boiled the water out of it – and it had black spots on the bottom and a rose-gold hue (extreme oxidation) overall, and I was able to clean it up within minutes with a quick soak in Barkeeper's friend (note: Not too long or it will dull the finish). It was amazing, cleaned right up, and didn't warp. It's as good as new. I love this set and plan to use it for a lifetime!'

Overall, customers looking for an alternative to non-stick pans that they hope will last a decade or more are happy with All-Clad’s D3 Everyday Set.

Most of the negative reviews I saw center on unhappiness with All-Clad’s customer service. Some reviewers complain about food sticking to their pans, but it’s unclear whether those reviewers followed All-Clad’s recommended steps to prevent sticking. Moreover, because the D3 Everyday collection is not non-stick, some sticking is expected from time to time.

My Verdict: Should You Buy The All-Clad D3 Everyday Stainless Everyday Essential Cookware Set?

The All-Clad D3 Everyday Cookware Set is an excellent stainless-steel option, particularly for home cooks who are reconsidering traditional non-stick pans. After all, even Ina Garten relies on All-Clad cookware in her Hamptons kitchen.

Compared with non-stick cookware, stainless steel requires a few extra steps, both when preheating the pan and when cleaning up afterward, so it may not be the most convenient choice for every home cook. The pieces are also not dishwasher safe, which is worth considering before investing.

Still, for anyone seeking heirloom-quality cookware, the set is an excellent choice. The pots and pans feel exceptionally durable, cook evenly, and maintain the polished, professional look stainless steel is known for.

From a value perspective, the set also makes sense. All-Clad’s D3 Everyday pieces are built to last far longer than most non-stick cookware, which often needs replacing every few years. While I originally chose the D3 Everyday Set to round out my existing collection, the five-piece configuration also works well as a starter set, covering the essentials needed for everyday cooking as well as more ambitious recipes.

In fact, the D3 Everyday pans have quickly become my go-to cookware. After a little trial and error, I’ve found that the extra attention stainless steel requires is a small trade-off for the durability, performance, and peace of mind the set provides.

How We Test Cookware at Homes & Gardens

The best cookware has to tick all the boxes: Versatility, manageable weight, safe materials, brilliant cooking performance, and, crucially, ease of cleaning.

You can read more details about how we test cookware at Homes & Gardens, including how long we vet each piece for and specifically which recipes we trial.

I test all cookware in my own home under real-world conditions – usually mid-week meals cooked after work, putting the pans through regular use over a range of recipes to get a good understanding of how these pans perform and fit into the everyday, hard-working home.

What Else to Shop

To get the most out of your stainless steel cookware, I’ve rounded up six essential tools that make it easier to cook cleanly, without introducing unnecessary toxins back into your kitchen.

All prices were correct at the time of publishing.

Once you have made your investment, be sure to explore how to clean all types of cookware, including stainless steel, to ensure your set stays looking new for as long as possible. Reading more about the common cleaning mistakes people make with stainless steel can also help prolong the life of the D3 Everyday Set.

Love the latest product news and helpful shopping advice? Sign up for our newsletter and get the latest features delivered straight to your inbox.

My love story with slush drinks started when I was five, and my parents would take me to the local play centre. So, when I learned 20 years later that I could make them in my own kitchen with a Ninja SLUSHi Max, I jumped at the opportunity to review this countertop addition.

After testing it for a few weeks in my home, I can firmly say that it is one of the most enjoyable 'novelty' appliances I have ever tried. It slushes quickly, creating wonderful, customisable drinks without the need for ice or noisy blenders, and is the perfect pre-summer investment to impress guests all season long.

With only a few minor snags that ultimately docked just half a star, this fun kitchen investment is one of the best Ninja appliances for families and regular hosts. Here's how I got on with the Ninja Slushi Max.

Product Specifications: Ninja SLUSHi Max

Design and First Impressions

I will admit that I was concerned by the size and weight of the Ninja SLUSHi Max when it first arrived on my doorstep. The box was huge, and the large numbering on the side let me know that it was 44lbs (20KG). Luckily, I lift weights regularly, meaning I was able to move it from the front door to the kitchen, but this is a bulky box to manoeuvre alone if you are not used to lifting weights.

Even then, I still needed a second pair of hands to unbox the appliance. The box is held together with two plastic straps, which must be cut off. Once removed, the top section of the box slides off, leaving the SLUSHi nestled in a cardboard base. I needed my partner's help removing the outer cardboard box to cut the straps, and again to slide this base out as I lifted the main unit.

I am thrilled to say that without all this robust packaging, the machine is lighter, at 31.99 lbs. Most of this packaging was recyclable cardboard, besides the straps and the tape.

Inside the box, there was the unit and four instruction sheets. One booklet was the regulatory information, and the other three were guides. The full instruction manual and recipe book were accompanied by a condensed QuickStart guide, which contained the essential reading. Finally, there was a troubleshooting sheet with tips for achieving the perfect consistency.

The appliance itself is large, which was expected, given that this is the Max edition, but it's not so big as to completely take over my small kitchen. All in all, I think it is very chic, especially in the gray and gold 'Mocha' colorway. It was also covered in the signature Ninja stickers full of tips taken from the manual. I decided to leave most of these on for quick reference, but otherwise, they peel off easily.

Once in position, the machine must sit on the flat surface for two hours to allow the refrigerant to settle before first use. For easy moving, you can lift the front of the machine and slide it back and forth without damaging your counter.

Performance

The Ninja SLUSHi Max has six main drink settings: SlushAssist, which detects the liquid used and chills accordingly; slush, frozen cocktail, frozen cocktail max, milkshake, and frozen juice.

The unit then has an adjustable dial with 15 more temperature settings so you can achieve the perfect consistency, from cooler and more icy, to less icy and more pourable. When slushing, the machine registers around 70 decibels, around that of a normal conversation. This is not too distracting, and closing the kitchen door when I was in the room next door dulled it enough to not be heard over the TV. I was very impressed.

It is important to note that, as with any slush, be it homemade or commercial, it is a high-sugar drink. As the SLUSHi Max makes clear, this appliance does not work with diet or low sugar drinks without added sugar or syrup. We are not making health drinks here; they are truly indulgent, as the sugar content prevents the liquid from freezing solid. The unit has a built-in 'add sugar' or 'add liquid' warning system, which I put to the test.

Otherwise, I focused on the SlushAssist and milkshake settings for my tests, using fruit juice, low-sugar drink mixes, and dairy, respectively. I did not test the cocktail setting, as I do not personally consume alcohol.

The Slushie Test

The primary function of the SLUSHi Max is to make slush drinks, so a fruit slush was my first test.

After rinsing the machine out, I poured 34fl oz of a pre-mixed coconut and pineapple juice into the top spout, turned the machine on, and hit the SlushAssist button. This programme starts by 'sensing' the liquid, mixing it around without cooling. During this time, the machine is registering the sugar content (it must be at least five grams per 100ml of liquid, which my carton juice was), and picking the right temperature for the type of liquid.

After a few minutes of sensing, the machine switched straight to 'slushing' mode, indicated by the text on the LED screen. I was getting on with making some lunch while this worked, and was surprised at how quickly it was done. I did not fill the machine up to the max line, of course, but for 34fl oz it took less than 15 minutes to form a thick slush. The more liquid, the longer it will take. A max fill of an alcoholic beverage can take up to one hour, according to the manual.

The slush was so thick that I actually found myself turning the fine-tuning dial down slightly towards the thinner mix, and let the machine do its thing. A few minutes passed, the 'enjoy' light came on, and it was much easier to dispense and enjoy. It was exactly the quality I would expect from a commercial vendor.

I repeated this test later with a protein drink mix that I knew was too low in sugar. I added three tablespoons of granulated sugar to the drink mix and mixed it up before adding it to the machine, and chose SlushAssist once again. The process began as usual, and after a few minutes, it became noticeably louder. A few seconds later, the 'add sugar' light came on.

As per instructions, I dispensed some of the liquid, added another tablespoon of sugar, mixed, and added it back in before resuming the programme. This time, the machine 'sensed' the mix for a lot longer before returning to slushing. In the end, however, the programme was completed, and the slush was perfect. The troubleshooting was quick and relatively fuss-free. I was very impressed.

The Milkshake Test

I am a milkshake snob, and I must say that the milkshake setting let me down a little. If you are looking for a super smooth, indulgent shake, this is not the machine for you. Instead, I would suggest sticking to the usual method of milk and ice cream in a blender such as the Ninja BlendBoss I reviewed.

I followed a recipe in the included booklet, mixing whole milk, whipping cream, and vanilla flavoring in a bowl before pouring it into the machine. The fact that you have to mix the ingredients before adding them annoyed me, as you have to mix enough liquid to reach the minimum fill, and you have to use a large bowl. This made a complete mess when I went to add it to the machine, and I resorted to spooning it in. It is by no means as smooth as using juice.

Once it was finally in, I used the dedicated milkshake setting and left it to run. This took a little longer than the juice, at around half an hour for 27fl oz. When it came to dispensing, it was far too thick and took forever (see the video below), and I had to turn the dial to adjust several times before it actually came out into my glass. When it did, it was very icy and slightly clumpy. If you have ever run the experiment of making ice cream by hand, shaking a bag of cream and milk in a bag of ice, it was not too dissimilar to the results of that.

It was far from the thick, silky, smooth experience I would hope for, and while not unpalatable, I cannot see myself using the machine for dairy again.

Cleaning and Maintenance

Cleaning the Ninja SLUSHi Max was surprisingly simple, albeit a little cumbersome in my small sink.

The appliance has a built-in 'rinse' setting, which runs the motor without cooling, allowing you to pour in warm water into the empty barrel and dispense, removing the bulk of residue from your drink. I used this after every cycle, filling it to the max line, and dispensing into a large mixing bowl.

In the case of cleaning after juice, this worked wonders at removing all of the residue, meaning that handwashing in the sink was easy. The unit comes apart quickly, sliding the back handle forward to release the mixing unit, which slides off the front. The auger (mixing paddle) then also slides off, and the base condensation tray slides out too. It is truly effortless.

I used a soft cloth and non-toxic dish soap (such as Attitude from Walmart) to wipe out the interior and the stainless steel cooling unit, which remains attached to the main unit. Once dry, everything slides back into the place the way it came off. It is that easy.

After using dairy in the machine, however, the process was a little more irritating. I used the same steps; however required two rinse cycles before removing the components. Beyond that, I had to make an effort to get all of the milk from every small gap. If the milkshake had been restaurant-quality, I would not have minded, but it seemed like a waste of energy.

What Shoppers Say

The overall rating on the Ninja website largely agrees with my experience, with 4.3/5 stars on average.

Of the five-star reviews, customers praise how easy the SlushAssist setting makes the process, removing the guesswork entirely. They also love how easy it is to clean.

One shopper commented that it was 'great for alcohol' with the machine able to slush drinks with up to a 20% alcohol content. 'I have the original Ninja SLUSHi, and I just received the new one. I used them both at the same time with same ingredients. I will say that the new Ninja Max performed much better when slushing alcohol and was much faster. I did not have to dilute the alcohol and was able to get a sorbet-type consistency.' I am glad to hear this, when I cannot test this function myself.

One-star reviews usually comment on customer service, which is not something we take into account for appliance reviews. Otherwise, one user claimed their machine overheated and shut off several times during use. This is not something I have had an issue with, and it is the only example I can find of this complaint.

The story is much the same on the Ninja SLUSHi Max Amazon listing, with overjoyed users loving the increased capacity and speed of slushing.

Should You Buy The Ninja Slushi Max?

All in all, I would recommend the Ninja SLUSHi Max to anyone who is looking for a fun and useful hosting addition to their kitchen this summer. It is big and really only serves one function, but it is a very fun addition for anyone with the space. I personally have a tiny kitchen, but love it so much that I am willing to go through boxing it up at the end of the summer season to store elsewhere over winter.

It is best suited to people who host regularly and people with larger households, where the extra-large capacity and quick cooling times are perfect for catering to a crowd. At $369.99 at the time of writing, it is not the most affordable novelty kitchen 'toy', but I think it is a fun investment if you have the budget and know you will get good use out of it.

What Else to Shop

To help you add to the experience and make the most of your new investment, I have selected six of the best accessories for your SLUSHi.

All prices correct at time of publication.

While planning ahead for summer, brush up on the summer hosting mistakes to avoid to keep things running smoothly.

Love the latest product news and helpful shopping advice? Sign up for our newsletter and get the latest features delivered straight to your inbox.

After reviewing the Greenpan Spectra 10” pan (and its smaller 8” counterpart) for several weeks, I was pleased to have found a great and healthier replacement for my traditional non-stick pans.

Like many people, I decided to ditch my Teflon pans due to health concerns. I loved the ease of using a non-stick surface, but I didn’t want to take chances with my children’s health, so I knew I needed to make a change.

I wanted the best non-toxic cookware made without forever chemicals that would cook evenly. Plus, I was intrigued by the Spectra line’s textured diamond surface, which claims to promote even heating and enhance the pan’s non-stick properties.

Perhaps most importantly, as a working mom of four, I wanted pans that would be easy to clean and virtually maintenance-free. Spectera delivered, and I am so glad I gave the Greenpan Spectra 10” pan, available at Amazon, a try.

Product Specifications: Greenpan Spectra Thermobond Frying Pan

Design and First Impressions: Greenpan Spectra Thermobond Frying Pan

The Greenpan Spectra looks like a standard non-stick pan with a twist. The exterior is stainless steel and is a high-shine silver. The interior is coated with GreenPan’s trademark dark black Thermalon ceramic finish. However, what really sets Spectra pans apart is that the pan is etched with a stainless steel diamond design to help prevent sticking and create a surface that promotes more even cooking.

The Spectera pans also come with clear glass lids with stainless steel handles. The lids are practical because you can keep an eye on what’s cooking, but they also give the pans a high-end look that looks nice on my stove. The pans are also light and easy to move around. Because I store my pans under my stove and need to bend down to take them out or put them away, using lightweight cookware is important to me.

The pans are easy to use straight away. They are shipped in a thick cardboard box. Each pan and lid was covered with a plastic sheath for protection, but the box wasn’t stuffed with unnecessary material. Although the included instructions recommend handwashing the pans, they are dishwasher safe. I decided to run them through the dishwasher once before use to sterilize them, and they came out of the dishwasher still looking brand-new. However, in order to extend the pan’s life, I have hand-washed it since and found the pan easy to clean with soap and water.

Cooking Performance: Greenpan Spectra Thermobond Frying Pan

Overall, the GreenPan Spectera 10” pan was a joy to use with my induction stove. The pan has a good weight, and the stay-cool handle is effective. To really put it through its paces, I tested the frying pan using four everyday essentials:

• Onions: I am from Philadelphia, where fried onions are practically a religion. Using the Greenpan Spectra, my onions sizzled evenly and caramelized without sticking. They colored nicely without scorching and tasted delicious.
• Sauce: We simmer sauces to check for even heat retention, and the GreenPan Spectra Thermobond delivered. I filled the 10” pan with tomato sauce and brought it to a simmer. The sauce was fully simmering in one minute and 18 seconds, starting at the edge and quickly moving to the center. This is relatively fast, and I was pleased with the results.
• Seared Tofu: Because I am a vegetarian, I seared tofu as part of my testing. The tofu seared nicely. None of my pieces of tofu stuck to the pan, and they browned very nicely.
• Fried eggs: When I fried an egg, it slid off the pan easily without sticking. My egg friend nicely with crispy edges.

Cleaning, Storage and Maintenance: Greenpan Spectra Thermobond Frying Pan

The Spectra pans are easy to clean with warm water, soap, and a non-scratch sponge. I was concerned that food would get stuck in the etched diamond pattern, but that hasn’t been an issue. Although the pans are dishwasher safe, Greenpan recommends handwashing them to prolong the life of the Thermalon ceramic coating. This is common advice when it comes to cleaning and caring for every type of cookware.

I was initially very excited to have found dishwasher-safe non-stick pans, but was let down to learn that using the dishwasher would most likely wear down the pans’ non-stick coating prematurely.

The 8” and 10” pans are both standard sizes for cookware and are easy to store in my kitchen cabinet. As with any pans, however, to protect the lining, I suggest avoiding stacking or using trivets or pan protectors between the pans to avoid damage.

How Does the GreenPan Spectra Thermobond Frying Pans Rate Online?

Some reviewers note that they like that the pan feels hefty and well-made without being too heavy. Others praise the pan’s even heat distribution, exemplary non-stick qualities, and ease of cleaning.

'Fantastic, the best pan I've ever owned. Been using it daily for months,' shared Amazon shopper, Michael Anetsberger. 'I've had it for six months or so, and it still maintains extremely good non-stick. I clean it with gentle soap and warm water, I don't over-scrub it to clean it, and I use minimal olive oil or butter to cook with it. Nothing ever sticks to it for long because I'll just move the pan around, and it'll free itself and continue to sear perfectly. It cooks very evenly. I have had no denting, staining, or any weird issues with it at all.

'I will likely never buy another brand again. GreenPan is the OG ceramic nonstick for a reason; they do it better than anyone else.'

That being said, some reviewers report issues with the pan’s durability. Specifically, some reviews state that the pan’s non-stick properties disappeared after a few months, and a few note that a gray residue comes off the pan after washing. This is not something I experienced in my testing, however.

My Verdict: Should You Buy The GreenPan Spectra Thermobond Frying Pans?

I really enjoy cooking with the Greenpan Spectra 10” pan. It looks great on my stove and helps me cook faster and better. Although I was initially disappointed that it’s not truly dishwasher safe, the pan cleans very easily, so it hasn’t been as big a pain as I was expecting.

All in all, I would certainly recommend them. Overall, the Greenpan Spectra is a good choice at a reasonable price point for a premium non-stick pan. It costs less than some of its competitors, and the pan’s unique diamond etching helps me cook better, with less sticking and better searing.

The 10” pan in particular is a good choice for those with limited storage space. People with large families like mine might consider getting the GreenPan Spectera 10-piece set that comes with a variety of pots and pans in different sizes. Although I only tested the frying pan for this review, I received the entire 10-piece set and have used (and loved) every pot and pan in the set.

How We Test Cookware at Homes & Gardens

The best cookware has to tick all the boxes: Versatility, manageable weight, safe materials, brilliant cooking performance, and, crucially, ease of cleaning.

You can read more details about how we test cookware at Homes & Gardens, including how long we vet each piece for and specifically which recipes we trial.

I test all cookware in my own home under real-world conditions – usually mid-week meals cooked after work, putting the pans through regular use over a range of recipes to get a good understanding of how these pans perform and fit into the everyday, hard-working home.

What Else to Shop

I have curated six essential accessories to help you make the most of your new non-stick, non-toxic cookware, to make everything from cooking to cleaning to storage simpler.

All prices were correct at the time of publishing.

If you still aren’t sure whether non-stick pans are right for you, read more about them first. We have also delved into cookware labels and myths with toxicologists to help you make healthier cookware choices.

Love the latest product news and helpful shopping advice? Sign up for our newsletter and get the latest features delivered straight to your inbox.

After weeks spent reviewing the Beosound Premiere, a $4,700 Bang & Olufsen offering, I can confirm that if you're after the best possible sound from a single bar, this is the one to choose. It also makes for a real audio statement for your home.

Testing it against our standardised list of films, TV scenes, and songs, the question isn't whether it sounds good. It's whether it sounds almost $5,000 good.

Here's how it stacked up against the best soundbars on the market.

My One-Minute Verdict

The Beosound Premiere is one of the most sonically standout soundbars I've ever tested, which is somewhat of a relief given its high price.

It has a 7.1.4 channel configuration, which means it has seven main speakers, one subwoofer channel, and four up-firing speakers. This bounces sound off your ceiling in a way that creates genuine height and makes whatever you're listening to feel truly surround and immersive.

Dialogue is crisp, action scenes have weight, and music sounds full and spatially rich in a way that few single soundbars can match. This is undoubtedly because of B&O's Wide Stage technology that uses beam-forming to create the illusion of speakers beyond the bar itself.

Physical setup is simple – it's essentially plug-and-play via HDMI eARC – even if the boxes are surprisingly heavy and awkward. Sadly, the digital experience didn't match. The B&O app looks the part but ultimately feels clunky, especially when switching between inputs. There's also no remote control in the box.

The assumption is that you'll just use the app as the control, but when the app falls short, the whole experience falls short, and at this price, it's disappointing. There is, however, a separate Beoremote One that you can add to your setup for $400.

Elsewhere, the design is most definitely an acquired taste. Up close, the natural aluminium and workmanship are beautiful and bold, but from afar, it borders on imposing and industrial. It's also oversized. For some people, this will be exactly what they want and expect from a statement piece, for others (me included), it's too much.

Room-filling sound won't come from a small and subtle speaker, but if you want something slightly less expensive with similarly impressive performance, the $1,099 Sonos Arc Ultra, which delivers exceptional surround sound at a lower price point, and the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar, which offers hyper-realistic surround sound and a similarly sleek design for around $899.

Beosound Premiere: Specifications

Beosound Premiere: Setup

There is nothing small or subtle about the Beosound Premiere. Not only is the box so heavy I couldn't lift it on my own – something to bear in mind if you live in an upstairs apartment or similar – but its length makes it awkward to open and navigate. The wooden cover we were sent with our review sample came in a box of its own, too, to add to the packaging and bulk.

Once you get inside, however, unboxing is both easy and luxurious. There's no plastic anywhere, making it a sustainable design choice. Everything is sleek, considered, and presented in soft material bags in a way that feels entirely in keeping with the high price tag. Inside you'll find the soundbar, an HDMI cable, a LAN cable, a mains cable, and a polishing cloth.

I didn't have space to mount the soundbar below my TV, which experts claim is the best soundbar placement, but everything I would have needed for mounting is also in the box, including the brackets, a drilling template, and a hex screwdriver. Just bear in mind that the soundbar weighs 18.7lbs (8.5kg), so it's unlikely to be a one-person job. You'll also need to make sure your wall can take this weight.

The Beosound Premiere connects to your TV via HDMI eARC, which is the enhanced version of the standard Audio Return Channel. It also means it can handle high-quality audio formats like Dolby Atmos.

Once connected, sound started coming through almost immediately. Having had many soundbars, particularly from Samsung, in the past, which required some fiddly selecting of sources and so on, the ease with which the Premiere was installed was a highlight.

The B&O app then guides you through what's called a Room Compensation calibration. As part of this, the soundbar emits a series of tones to analyse the acoustics of your space and optimise the sound accordingly. This only took a few minutes and led to truly immersive sound.

The one thing missing from the box is a remote control. B&O assumes most users will control everything through the app or the touch strip along the top of the bar. This works well enough (albeit far from brilliantly) day-to-day, but for almost $5,000, the absence feels like an oversight.

You can buy B&O's Beoremote One separately, but it'll cost you an additional $450 (£400) on top of what you've already paid.

In total, setup took no longer than 10 minutes and most of that was the calibration stage.

Beosound Premiere: Design and Features

I've tested dozens of soundbars in my time, and the Beosound Premiere is one of the most striking I've ever had in my living room. Made from pure aluminium and said to have been precision-formed at B&O's Factory 5 in Struer, Denmark, it's definitely not designed to blend in.

The natural aluminium finish has a matte satin quality that catches light without being distracting. It's available in Gold Tone and Black Anthracite; I tested the latter, which blended perfectly against my integrated TV stand. Each finish can be paired with an optional oak or grey fabric speaker cover (sold separately), meaning there's scope to match it to your interior rather than working around it. More on that below.

The design and shape are bold at best; industrial at worst. At 36.7in wide and 6.7in tall, it's substantial and will obscure the bottom portion of most TV screens if placed on the same shelf.

The centrally-mounted up-firing driver sits behind an aluminium grille, and LEDs glow softly inside the bar as you adjust the volume or other settings. It's a nice touch, but if you prefer a cleaner look, you can buy an optional oak or fabric grille for anadditional $1,200 and $325, respectively. Alternatively, if you want the sound quality but not this design at all, there are several ways you can hide your soundbar.

Inside, 10 custom speaker drivers are arranged across seven internal channels: Left, centre, and right front-firing drivers, left and right side-firing drivers, and left and right up-firing drivers – all powered by 580 watts of Class D amplification.

That's a serious amount of hardware packed into a single bar, which explains why it's so large. It also explains why, when paired with B&O's proprietary Wide Stage beam-forming technology, the sound is so much wider and taller than you'd expect. This setup creates the impression of multiple speakers and offers one of the most immersive consumer surround sound formats I've seen.

Control is handled primarily through the B&O app, which comes with five pre-defined sound modes, fully customisable EQ settings, and a Room Compensation feature that analyses your space and adjusts the sound to suit. On face value, this app looks clean and well-designed, but the problem is using it day-to-day.

Switching between your TV audio and a streaming source like TIDAL or Spotify requires more steps than it should, and some controls are buried in locations that aren't obvious until you've spent time hunting for them.

For a soundbar you're operating primarily through an app, that friction adds up. It doesn't matter how good the tools are if you can't find them.

If you want to avoid the app or reduce how much you use it, a touch strip along the top of the bar handles volume, playback, and input switching in a much more intuitive way, and is enough control for daily use. It's also worth noting that there's no support for smart home assistants like Alexa or Google Assistant built in, which feels like an oversight for such an expensive appliance and would have been another welcome alternative to the app.

If your living room ideas lean toward the minimal or traditional, this bar makes a strong statement that not everyone will want. But if you're the kind of person who treats a beautiful object as a design feature in its own right – and who wants it to also deliver Dolby Atmos 7.1.4, 580 watts of amplification, and the full range of streaming services – the Premiere will look and feel outstanding.