I’ve been testing and writing about robot vacuums for almost a decade here on TechRadar Australia and one of the highlights for me over the last 12 months has been (if you’ll allow the pun) an absolute dream machine.
If you read my in-depth review of the Dreame Aqua10 Ultra, you’ll know how impressed I was with its overall performance, and my nitpicky complaints were mostly about how its battery is used, which honestly isn’t even a complaint – maybe more of an observation.
However, this is a premium model that I have rarely seen on sale. Its slightly cheaper sibling, the standard Dreame Aqua10 Roller, however, is almost as good and also currently 44% off at Amazon, and just AU$69.35 more than its Prime Day price from early July.
It’s still better than having to pay almost three thousand dollars for the Ultra version.
The differences between Aqua10 Roller and its Ultra sibling may seem like a long list, but trust someone who still uses the latter in her home – it’s overkill and not worth the extra money.
So what are these differences? Well, for starters, the LiDAR turret doesn’t automatically lower on the standard Roller version, but that’s not unique, especially at this price. It also lacks the 3D mapping offered by the Ultra version, but, again, a 2D map is about all most people will need (floors, after all, tend to be quite flat). And it has a single-compartment soap dispenser instead of the Ultra’s double-slot one, which, again, isn’t necessary unless you also want to use an odor-neutralizing solution.
For your money you still get a whopping 30,000Pa of suction which, given how my Ultra version uses it, will work great on carpets and I’m impressed with how the roller mop works on the Dreame. There are plenty of smart features available on the Aqua10, including Smart Stain Removal, so if you think your robovac has forgotten its navigation path and is running in circles, it’s probably just its sensors picking up extra dirt in a small area and forcing the robot to clean repeatedly for a thorough job.
It’s also a machine that promises excellent edge cleaning, as it uses the exact same side brush and extendable roller mop as the Ultra model. And the Roller even features the same automatic mop cover, which turns on whenever it detects carpet to keep the mop head clean and your carpet dry.
While the Roller doesn’t quite match the Ultra’s ability to clear thresholds and steps up to 8cm in height, its ability to tackle heights of up to 6cm is still above average, meaning it can potentially make its way onto terraces if your sliding door frames aren’t very high.
If it works everywhere as well as my Ultra model, I think the Dreame Aqua10 Roller will be hard to beat at its current discounted price.
