Dreame X50 Ultra Complete

A robot that vacuums and mops, with a dock that handles almost all the upkeep: it empties the dust into a 3.2-litre bag, washes the pads with water at up to 80 °C, dries them with warm air, doses detergent by itself and treats pads and bag with two UV lamps. The clean and dirty water tanks sit in the dock and are filled and emptied by hand; the kit that connects the dock to the plumbing is sold separately and is not available everywhere.

What sets it apart is how it moves. Two retractable legs lift the robot over thresholds: 4.2 cm on a single step, up to 6 cm over two closely spaced steps. The laser mapping sensor retracts when the robot goes under furniture, bringing its height down from 11.1 to 8.9 cm; in those spots the body passes flush, so the underside of the furniture has to be smooth. Obstacles are recognised by a camera and structured light, and the pads reach out 4 cm towards skirting boards and corners. On rugs the pads lift by 10.5 mm; on deep-pile rugs the robot leaves them in the dock.

The camera also serves video calls from the app, with two-way audio: while it is active the robot's button flashes pink. The robot can also look for the household pet and take its photo; storage for photos on Dreame's cloud comes with a subscription. Wi-Fi is 2.4 GHz only, the app is Dreamehome, and Matter will come with an update that has not been released yet. The battery can only be replaced by a service centre.