SwitchBot Mini Robot Vacuum K10+ review: Compact cleaning

Price When Reviewed

$499.99

Best Prices Today: SwitchBot Mini Robot Vacuum K10+

Self-emptying robot vacuums are notorious space hogs. Their bulky base stations are significantly taller and extend much further from the wall than conventional charging docks, to say nothing of the open space the robot needs to maneuver in and out of them. That’s tough to accommodate when you live in a small space.

Home automation brand SwitchBot has addressed this problem with its Mini Robot Vacuum K10+. The combo vacuum and mop is 50 percent smaller than its competitors, according to SwitchBot, but maintains roughly the same cleaning capabilities.

Design

Any review of a “mini” appliance has to start with its size. Robot vacuums have long been standardized at roughly 13 inches in diameter. The K10+ robot measures just 9.7 inches across. Shaving off those few inches allows the bot to maneuver more easily in narrow spaces that commonly trap its larger counterparts, such as between chair legs. Its compact size is also better suited for reaching into corners and deftly navigating obstacles in open space.

This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best robot vacuums.

The same goes for the K10+’s height. Even with a LIDAR turret on top, the robot is just a smidge over 3.5 inches tall, so it slips under even the lowest beds and couches with ease.

Michael Ansaldo/Foundry

The auto-empty station measures 12.7 x 10.3 x 8.3 inches (HxWxD), which is downright diminutive compared to the Roomba Combo J9+’s beautiful but bulky 15.8 x 12.2 x 13.3-inch (LxWxH) Clean Base. The station doesn’t include a docking plate, further reducing its size. Instead, the robot charges via a pair of contacts set into the front of the station.

Several accessories are included with the K10+. These include a pair of spinning edge brushes, a mopping plate, two dust bags, two bin filters, and a pack of 30 mopping cloths.

Setup

The K10+ requires minimal setup. You need to attach one of the two spinning edge brushes to the bottom of the robot and plug in the base station, then set the robot against the contacts. While it’s charging, you download the SwitchBot app and create an account, then add the device. You’ll need to press the Home and Clean buttons on top of the robot to initiate the Wi-Fi connection process, then follow the app prompts to enter your network login.

The app offers a quick mapping option wherein the robot patrols and learns the layout of your space without cleaning. It mapped my whole home in about 15 minutes and produced a fairly accurate map of the accessible spaces with color-coded room divisions. You can edit the finished map to make it more accurate and to add cleaning areas and no-go zones.

Michael Ansaldo/Foundry

To start vacuuming, you just have to tap Clean in the app. The app defaults to whole-house cleaning, but you can choose to clean by room or area. You can opt to have the robot make one or two passes and select from four suction levels—”quiet,” “standard,” “strong,” and “max.” The K10+ suction tops out at 2500 Pa.

Performance

The vac did an excellent job vacuuming dirt, dust, and pet hair from my laminate floors and area rugs, and unlike its larger counterparts, it didn’t get ensnared in our kitchen chair legs or the base of my office chair. The only interruption was when a charging cable I neglected to pick up got tangled around its roller, but that was easily remedied by removing the brush.

Mopping with the K10+ was less impressive. Most mid-priced 2-in-1 robot vacuums use a small water tank affixed with a microfiber cloth that you attach to the bottom of the robot for mopping jobs. You fill the tank with tap water, and it slowly dampens the cloth, which is dragged over the floor as the robot cleans.

I’m guessing that using the same approach with the K10+ would have necessitated a water tank so small that the user would end up having to refill it several times in the course of a single cleaning. Instead, the bot uses a plastic mopping plate and wet wipes. You need to wrap a wipe around the plate and secure it to the plate’s Velcro tabs and hooks.

I’ve made the process sound easier than it is; it took me several attempts (and wet wipes) to get it right, with the wipe getting drier by the minute.

Michael Ansaldo/Foundry

Once the plate-and-wipe system is assembled, you fit it over the roller brush—which means you can’t vacuum and mop simultaneously, so you have to run two separate jobs every time you want to completely clean your floors. You’ll know the plate is attached correctly when the K10+ announces it’s in mop mode. Then you just have to press the Clean button to start mopping.

The K10+ doesn’t mop in any conventional sense, though. It’s just wiping down your floors with a moist towelette. That will pick up dust and loose dirt, but it’s no match for liquid spills, scuffs, or stains. On the plus side, it doesn’t leave any wet streaks.

The SwitchBot app tracks the usage of the K10+’s brushes, filter, dust bag, and sensors so you know when to replace or clean them. It also allows you to schedule cleaning jobs and generate cleaning reports. And because the app controls the entire SwitchBot smart ecosystem, you can create scenes where the K10+ interacts with other SwitchBot products. It also works with Alexa, Google Home, Siri shortcuts, IFTTT, and Samsung SmartThings.

Should you buy the SwitchBot Mini Robot Vacuum K10+?

Despite its quirky mopping system, I like the SwitchBot Mini Robot Vacuum K10+. It did as good a job vacuuming as the best mid-priced robot vacuums I’ve used and with far fewer navigation hang-ups. And it takes up a fraction of the floor space of any other self-emptying vacuum you might use. If you live in an apartment or space is at a premium in your home, the K10+ is probably the solution for you.