I tried out the Dreame X50 Ultra Complete - the world’s first robot vacuum with retractable legs!

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Our verdict

If there’s one thing I absolutely hate doing, it’s cleaning. Sure, daily tidiness and keeping on top of kitchens and bathrooms are doable, but when it comes to deep cleaning a three bedroom, three bathroom, open-plan living area dormer home, I’m guilty of avoiding it. In fact, I’d rather hire a cleaner. 

With that said, anything that can help make my life easier is always welcome in my home. And these days, there’s nothing quite as useful as one of the best robot vacuum cleaners IMHO. I’ve tested a robot vacuum before - the eufy BoostIQ RoboVac 15C Max - so I've got the gist of what they should and shouldn’t do. My biggest bugbear with that particular model was its lack of mapping technology, so you can imagine how blown my mind was testing the Dreame X50 Ultra Complete.

Admittedly, it’s an eye-watering price at £1,199, which is this vacuum cleaner’s biggest deterrent. But I’ve been testing this self-emptying and self-cleaning robo vac every single day since before Christmas and still now, six months later, it’s performing seamlessly. In fact, I’ve only needed to manually help it out when the clean water needs filling and the dirty tank needs emptying. It has mapped my home, it glides quietly around us - dodging obstacles and furniture with ease - it picks up all muck, dust, fluff and hair (mine and the dogs') and it mops! 

Now, I know there are more affordable options on the market that do very similar tasks, like the eufy Clean X10 Pro Omni for example, which is a good £500 cheaper. But I’ve yet to see a robot vacuum that can rival the technology built into the Dreame X50 Ultra, which I’ll delve into in more detail below.

What's in the box?

The vacuum arrived in a very large box, but that was to be expected given it has its own charging tower. I was astonished to find several spare parts for the vacuum. Given so many things these days come with an added price tag, I was impressed to see how much Dreame included with the vacuum itself. 

In the box you’ll find a pair of rollers, two new side brushes, three vacuum bags, three filters, a bottle of Dreame’s own floor cleaner for different surfaces and 12 mop pads - which is more accessories than I’ve ever seen come with a vacuum.

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How easy was the Dreame X50 Ultra Complete to set up?

Setting it up was relatively straightforward and the included instructions are clear - just take the main dock out of the box, attach the ramp plate and plug it in. You then need to place the robo vac itself onto the docking station in its position so it begins to charge and you can start setup via the app.

To connect your Dreame X50 Ultra to the internet, you first need to download the Dreamehome app. Once you’ve set up your account you’ll be able to connect your vacuum. It was very intuitive when connecting to the Wi-Fi and was done in just a few steps. 

From the app you can set your Dreame X50 Ultra off to map your house, which it does using its 360° scanning sensor. Once it’s completed its (rather detailed) mapping, it’s ready to start cleaning based on your individual room settings. It’s really clever as you can customise each room to match your needs and whether it’s a high traffic area. 

For example, our open-plan dining and living space is our main family room - two dogs, two kids and my husband and I spend most of our day in this room. So for this room in particular, I set the vacuum to be on turbo suction and to complete two rounds of cleaning. Whereas, for my children's bedrooms it only needed to be on standard suction with one round of cleaning. 

I must mention here the vacuum’s mopping capabilities, too, which have been a huge lifesaver for us, especially in my kids' bathrooms. Having two boys - one reception age, the other preschool age - means there’s a lot of, er, missed splashes during toileting and thanks to the X50, I can rest assured knowing it’s mopped the bathroom twice over.

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What's the Dreame X50 Ultra Complete like to use day-to-day?

How easy is it to start, pause, and schedule cleans?

Thanks to its clever controls via the app, I scheduled the Dreame X50 Ultra to clean our main living spaces every night around 11pm, with an additional full-house clean on a Saturday or Sunday that I manually set off (when my children have tidied their bedrooms). 

Even without the app though, you can start and stop the robot vac from the controls on the unit itself - although you won’t benefit from the customised cleaning routines this way. So, if you’re going to invest in this particular vacuum, you need to be comfortable with using the app on a regular basis. 

It’s definitely a novelty watching the vacuum make its way around our home while we’re sat in the garden centre enjoying a coffee and cake on a weekend, I’ll be honest.

How well does the Dreame X50 navigate around rooms?

One thing I disliked about the previous robot vacuum I tested was that there were no mapping capabilities. Instead it would sort of bounce off walls and furniture as you watch with anticipation as to whether it will finally roll over that one patch of carpet it keeps managing to dodge. 

With the Dreame X50 Ultra, there’s no anticipation. Only assurance. Thanks to its clever mapping via the app, the vacuum moves logically throughout your home in a pattern that leaves a very satisfying mark on carpets. 

There’s only been a few times it’s been stuck, which I receive an alert for, and this has mainly been due to wires under my child's bed that it’s gone over.

Due to the open-plan design of our home, there’s few tight spaces in the main living areas. With that said, the vacuum has needed to navigate its way around the legs of our dining table and chairs, which can prove tricky if we don’t place them properly. Plus, in my kids' bedrooms, a quick look under their beds will reveal a few rogue teddy bears, LEGO pieces and lonely socks. In both scenarios though, we’ve found that the Dreame X50 Ultra manages to navigate its way through, or if that is impossible, around. 

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Can the Dreame X50 truly handle thresholds and door tracks up to 6cm?

Yes, we have indoor concrete pavers underneath our doors at the front and back, and each time the vacuum has attempted to climb over the 5cm ledge to clean them. Sadly they’re not wide enough to fit the vacuum as a whole, though. 

We also have a 1cm drop between the carpeted dining area and laminate floor in the kitchen, which it navigated without any issue.

How well does the Dual Flex Arm Technology clean corners and edges?

To be honest, a bit hit and miss - especially in the kitchen. On our carpeted areas it’s not as noticeable if the edges aren’t covered thoroughly, but in the kitchen - where crumbs are inevitable and rogue pieces of kibble from the dogs can be found - it’s more obvious that it doesn’t quite get everything. 

With that said, I found changing the customisation settings in the kitchen to go from once over to twice helped in the end.

How is the battery life of the Dreame X50 Ultra Complete?

We found that a full charge would last roughly 80% of the downstairs before needing to return to the dock. However, what I love about that is that if it needs to charge mid-clean, it will do so and then when it’s at a sufficient charge again, it’ll resume from the same point so you don’t need to remember yourself. 

I’d imagine the battery life would be much more efficient if you had it on quiet mode and only set to go over places once, but since my settings meant I wanted a more thorough clean in specific rooms, it’s no surprise that it needs to charge halfway through.

It's also very reliable at returning to the dock. Although there were a few instances where, for example, I’d put my heated clothes dryer out and it couldn’t follow its usual path back to the dock. In these cases it took a little bit longer to go around the sofa. 

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How does the Dreame X50 Ultra Complete perform on pet hair?

We have two little white dogs who don’t shed as they’re hypoallergenic so thankfully, pet hair isn’t too much of a problem in our home. With that said, it does pick up whatever hair is on the floor well and doesn’t tangle (mainly my hair, to be honest). 

Unlike my previous robot vacuum, and even the handheld vacuum I own where I have to cut my own hair out of the roller bars, I’ve not had to do this with the Dreame X50 Ultra.

How well does the Dreame X50 Ultra Complete perform on carpets?

We find it performs very well - especially in turbo mode - on carpets. 90% of our home is carpeted so having a robo vac that actually works on this type of flooring was very important for us. We found the suction was strong enough to pick up dirt, dust, crumbs and even glitter in carpet fibres.

How well does the Dreame X50 Ultra Complete perform on hard floors?

I’ve been very happy with how well the Dreame X50 Ultra cleans our kitchen and bathroom floors. These are the only rooms in our home that have laminate flooring placed, and it’s very satisfying watching the vacuum leave a wet, clean mark as it goes along. 

I also appreciate that you can set how wet the mop is - which is handy if you have visitors coming over shortly and you don’t have time for it to dry.

We know when it’s proceeding with a mop clean as it does make a fair bit of noise, but it’s rather satisfying knowing that your mop pads are being efficiently cleaned without you having to lift a finger!

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How easy is it to empty and maintain the Dreame X50 Ultra Complete?

Like the mop cleaning, the self-emptying dustbin does make some noise when it’s working, but honestly, it’s SO nice not having to empty a vacuum myself. With other vacuums I’ve tested I’ve disliked having to manually empty it, often battling with latches or filters stuck, causing dust and debris to fall to the ground. With the Dreame X50 Ultra, it’s all emptied nice and neatly into a vacuum bag inside the dock.

In the top part of the docking station are the clean and dirty water tanks. I’ve emptied the dirty one a few times, mainly as I’m conscious of the smell that gathers in there due to all the muck (I speak from experience having tested a carpet cleaner…) and I’ve filled the clean water tank a few times, too. I love that you can just add water and not worry about diluting the cleaner every time you fill it up. Thankfully, the cleaning dispenser is built into the docking station already and will manage this for you.

I’ve been testing the Dreame X50 Ultra for over six months now and I’ve only needed to clean the brush and filters once. This was part of a larger deep house clean and not necessarily because I needed to clean the vacuum. Its design does a very good job of keeping it in tip-top shape on its own.

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Does the Dreame X50 Ultra Complete offer good value for money?

Full transparency, I tested two Dreame X50 Ultra Robot Vacuums as the first one malfunctioned after a few months. However, I believe this was because it was one of the first review samples to be sent out. Thankfully, Dreame were very quick to replace it so I could continue thoroughly testing the vacuum and all of its features. Although, if I had paid the RRP for it myself, I don’t think I would have been very pleased.

Based on performance though, I would recommend it, especially if you have the budget. It’s the world’s first robot vacuum to have robotic retractable legs that can scale 6cm ledges as it navigates around your home. The 360° scanning is impressive, and the fact it can dodge obstacles in my children's bedrooms with ease is great. Lastly, the detangling duobrush means you’re not left battling with scissors and a roller brush - as I often am as I personally shed hair at a ridiculous rate.

How we tested

We’ve been trying out the Dreame X50 Ultra for the last six months in our three bedroom, three bathroom home. 

We use it on a daily basis on both carpeted and hard floors. We have two young children and two pets who tend to generate a fair bit of mess on a daily basis.

About the author

Rebecca Roberts is a writer, editor, and content marketing expert hailing from Leeds. Here at Mumsnet, she commissions, writes, and edits to bring parents content designed to make life easier. Having birthed two DC just 15 months apart, she knows all too well how stressful it can be to keep your home clean and tidy when you’re managing a busy household. So, she’s fully invested in finding the best products for families and has tested alternative vacuums like the eufy BoostIQ RoboVac 15C Max and the VAX Blade 4 Pet & Car Vacuum Cleaner. 

Beyond her role as an editor here at Mumsnet, Rebecca can be found balancing life as a working mum of two toddlers and when she’s not at her desk, you’ll likely find her at a local playgroup, in a nearby coffee shop, or walking the dog.

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