New Dreame robot hoover has legs and climbs six centimetres high

The new X50 Ultra robot hoover can't climb stairs yet, but the new flagship from Dreame can overcome obstacles up to six centimetres high.

Legs push the robot over the obstacle

This height is quite respectable. Normal robot hoovers can only reach a maximum of two centimetres. The first climbing robot, the Roborock Qrevo Curv, overcame a threshold of three centimetres in my test. According to the manufacturer, the Dreame would therefore overcome a hurdle twice as high.

The Dreame can do this because it doesn't simply tilt and take a running jump over the threshold like the Roborock. Instead, it folds out two additional legs with small rollers that are located right next to the large wheels. This allows it to approach the obstacle. As soon as the front part is over the threshold, it folds the legs backwards and pushes itself over it.

How this works can be seen here in the video using a prototype that Dreame showed at the IFA tech fair in Berlin in autumn.

Lidar tower is retracted

The second new feature of Dreame is a retractable eyelid tower. The area with the sensors, which protrudes above the lid of the robot, can be automatically retracted to clean underneath furniture with low ground clearance, such as sofas or beds. As a result, the robot is only 8.9 centimetres high instead of just over 11.1 centimetres.

Other than that, you can expect the usual features, such as a retractable wiper and mop for thorough cleaning of edges and corners. Mops and brushes can be raised by one centimetre so that carpets do not get wet when vacuuming. The robot can also store the two mops in the base station when not in use.

The lidar scanner and camera recognise 200 different objects and avoid them. The robot should also be able to avoid the droppings of animals. The suction power of the previous model was 12,000 pascals, now it is specified as 20,000 pascals.

A new double brush ensures that long hair no longer gets tangled up. This is fitted as standard - last year, such anti-tangling brushes were only available from Dreame as an accessory.

Also new is the UV light, which removes bacteria from the mops and dust bag. The mops are now washed with water heated to 80 instead of 70 degrees and then dried with hot air.

The Dreame X50 Ultra will be on sale from 15 January and should then also be available to order from our shop. The official retail price is around 1500 francs or euros.