Ultenic T10 Lite robot vacuum cleaner review: Better than the original model

T3's Ultenic T10 Lite robot vacuum cleaner review in a sentence: It might be smaller but packs just as much punch as the original larger edition.

Ultenic isn’t the first name that comes into my head when I’m asked about robot vacuum cleaners, especially when it’s said in the same breath as the likes of Dyson, Hoover and Shark. However, I’ve now tried a few models from this up and coming brand and the new Ultenic T10 Lite robot vacuum cleaner is definitely promising. It’s essentially a thinner variation on the original T10 robot vac, which means that it’s more able to get underneath furniture.

The Ultenic T10 was praised by me a while ago now, so it’s timely that the Lite edition has arrived and I was keen to chart the progression made by the company and see just how much benefit a thinner edition would be compared to the original model. Plus, owning a robot vacuum cleaner makes a lot of sense, especially if like me, you have a decent amount of hard flooring.

The downstairs of my home is covered in wood flooring, which means a robot vacuum is a real boon. They work best when used little and often, which therefore makes the Ultenic T10 Lite robot vacuum an obvious choice. That said, I still use a standard vacuum model for upstairs, which is carpeted as well as a stick vacuum for the car and hard to reach areas such as ceilings and coving. Okay, so maybe that’s overkill, but you can never have enough vacuum cleaners in your home, right?

Here's how the Ultenic T10 Lite robot vacuum cleaner stacks up…

Ultenic T10 Lite Robot Vacuum Cleaner review: Price and availability

The original Ultenic T10 robot vacuum cleaner is available now and can still be purchased for a respectable $599 from Amazon in the US. The Lite edition will appear in the US shortly and is already available for around £239 from Amazon via the UK outlet, which is pretty good given it has a RRP of £299.99. The latter also compares well, for example, against the older Elite model, which is currently £279.99 from Amazon in the UK. If you need a more compact machine for less money, it’s a no-brainer.

Ultenic T10 Lite Robot Vacuum Cleaner review: Is it any good?

The first time I used a robot vacuum I spent a bit of time getting my head around how to get it to perform at its best. Ultenic has done the decent thing and included a brilliant quick user guide, which is printed on a big sheet of card inside the box. It’s the first thing you see, and I found it brilliant for getting started.

There’s also an overview of what’s inside the box, which includes the robot vac itself, the dust collector base station, a dinky cleaning brush, full printed product manual, a map bracket assembly, a pair of rotating side brushes plus HEPA filter (there’s also one already installed) and mop. An optional dust bag is in there too, in case you’d rather keep everything in a contained area rather than having dust and detritus collected straight to the dust collector bin.

My next accolade goes to the installation and setup procedure. Again, this is printed on the sheet and basically required me to remove packaging, clip the rotating brush into place, put the dust collector into position and plug it into the mains and then carry out a first charge. Very simple, totally no-nonsense and actually more straightforward than I found the original Ultenic T10 model to be.

The specification on offer is impressive too with 180 minutes of battery life promised, control options that include app, remote and voice plus there’s a respectable 3 litre bin capacity, which is decent. Suction too, is solid at 5000pa maximum, while there’s an auto empty base and lots of special features that can be accessed by the supporting app. Ultenic has certainly made the Lite edition smaller, but no less potent.

Ultenic T10 Lite Robot Vacuum Cleaner review: Performance

The Ultenic T10 Lite robot vacuum cleaner offers everything that I’d expect from its bigger relative and turned out to be a more than capable performer. There’s obviously the 2-in1 vacuum and mop functionality for starters, with a 350ml onboard dustbin augmented by a 250ml water tank.

Meanwhile, mapping is one area where Ultenic things has things firmly under control, with a purported a rather rapid 15-minute time needed to scan an entire house. I only tend to use robot vacs downstairs, and it managed to cover my floor area in about 10 minutes, which I think is more than acceptable.

There are three speeds too, which allowed me to tailor performance to suit the conditions, so Eco at 1500pa was fine for a light once over, Standard at 3000pa was better for more intensive work, while Turbo seemed best suited to carpets thanks to its 5000pa suction. Admittedly, the highest power level is noticeable but the official figure for top-end operation is 50db, which isn’t bad at all.

However, the main plus is the body of the unit itself is only 9cm high, which means it’s more able to get into tight spaces without struggling. I found it really useful for things like the sofa and dining room table, which have been a headache for other models I’ve tried. Once the on-board dust compartment is full, the Ultenic heads back to the charger dock and discharges its load automatically into the 3-litre receptacle, which I used with the bin liner in order to reduce dust and dirt leakage and easier disposal.

Another bonus with this model is just how well it works with the supporting app. Ultenic has done some great work improving this software, which is now very intuitive and let me customise my cleaning schedule with various widgets. The appliance also worked quite happy with both Siri and Alexa too, which means that it’s going to appeal to anyone who makes the most of voice operated appliances around the home.

Over-the-air software updates should keep it reasonably futureproof too and, as mentioned, Ultenic also reckons the appliance is good for 180 minutes of battery life. I see no reason to disagree.

Ultenic T10 Lite Robot Vacuum Cleaner review: Verdict

I think the Ultenic T10 Lite robot vacuum cleaner makes a lot of sense if you’re looking for a machine that can get into tighter spots than its bigger relative. It’s also got the mopping functionality and a dazzling array of features and functions that can be controlled via voice commands or the rather good app. Overall, considering the cheaper price tag, I’d say this model is great value and the way it can happily handle a mix of hard flooring and carpets adds additional appeal.

Ultenic T10 Lite Robot Vacuum Cleaner review: Alternatives to consider

The Ultenic T10 is an obvious place to start if something larger is required and, because it has been out for a while, comes with a very competitive price tag. I have also recently tested the Hoover HG4 Hydro Pro, which isn’t quite as compact as this model, but it ticks all the boxes on the robovac front. It is reasonable small too.

I was also a big fan of the Shark Matrix Plus Robot Vacuum with its vac and mop functionality. Similarly, the Roborock Qrevo Master robot vacuum is good, but both of these models are full-size appliances. If size isn’t a problem then the iRobot Roomba Combo J9+ is a solid option and does a little bit of everything as does the eufy Clean X8 Pro machine. Elsewhere, have a look at the eufy X9 Pro as well as the keenly priced iRobot Roomba j7+.