Powerful and Detailed Robot Vacuum Cleaner: Dreame L40s Pro Ultra's Impressive Performance and Precise Cleaning
Revamped Dreame L40s Pro Ultra Robot Vacuum Cleaner
Your abode is about to get spick-and-span with the latest addition to Dreame's roster of cleaning heroes, the L40s Pro Ultra. This improved version of the L40 Ultra hits the market this spring, bringing a punchier motor and features from pricier devices at a more affordable price range. Let's dive in and see if it's worth your hard-earned dough.
© Fabrice Brochain for Tech and Smart Home Insider By Fabrice Brochain, Tech and Smart Home Insider Published on
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Contents
- Surveillance: Chillin' like a villain, prone to hallucinations (4/5)
- Aspiration: Paw-some pick-up for pet owners (4/5)
- Floor washing: Overzealous but gets the job done (4/5)
- App: Simplify, matey! (3.5/5)
- Maintenance: A model to mimic (5/5)
- Repairability: So-so (Average)
- Alternatives to the L40s Pro Ultra
- Conclusion
Upgrade your living space with Dreame's brand new spring offering - the L40s Pro Ultra robot vacuum cleaner. Priced at 899 euros, it finds its sweet spot between the L40 Ultra and the L50 Pro Ultra, mirroring the L20 Ultra and the X40 Ultra Complete high-end models from last year. It's no walk in the park keeping up with this extensive lineup!
Technically, the L40s Pro Ultra inherits many characteristics from the L40 Ultra while borrowing from the L50 Pro Ultra. It offers advanced robotics features at a relatively budget-friendly price, but with a few concessions. This piece explores whether the L40s Pro Ultra lives up to the hype by taking it for a spin in our humble abode for two weeks.
If its price tag seems a bit steep for your taste, check out our guide to the Top 5 Robot Vacuum Cleaners. It's updated frequently to help you find your perfect match.
Surveillance: Chillin' like a villain, prone to hallucinations (4/5)
The L40s Pro Ultra gets its navigation cues from the L40 Ultra's traditional LiDAR sensor, a lateral sensor, and an RGB camera tucked into its snoot. It sports a dash of AI to identify obstructions in its path. After its initial sniff around your home, the L40s Pro Ultra roams with ease, mapping out reasonably accurate rooms. Be wary, though, as its RGB camera can pull a fast one on you - pet owners might relate as it once circumvented a spot on the carpet by mistaking it for spilled liquid, and during a tile-washing session, it perceived large particles (really just sunlight bouncing off the clean floor). A tweak to its recognition algorithms would do it a world of good.
© Fabrice Brochain for Tech and Smart Home Insider Dreame L40s Pro Ultra also includes the L50 Ultra's EasyLeap system, enabling it to climb small steps or threshold rails up to 4 cm high over two levels (2 cm + 2 cm). However, it's still lagging behind the X50 Ultra Complete by 2 cm. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite clear our chair's flat edge, which stands at 2 cm, after two attempts.
© Fabrice Brochain for Tech and Smart Home InsiderNavigating around obstacles is par for the course; the L40s Pro Ultra shows promise by perfectly avoiding the earbud case, slipper, USB cable, and tangled cables on carpets, never getting too close. Its RGB camera's live feed of its movements around the house is handy for peeping on your abode while you're away, searching for pets, or keeping an eye on your little ones. It also snaps photos of obstacles it encounters along the way.
Aspiration: Paw-some pick-up for pet owners (4/5)
Powered by a motor spitting out 19,000 Pa, the L40s Pro Ultra leaves the L40 Ultra in the dust in the pick-up department. It effortlessly draws in litter like dirtbags and pet hair, regardless of flooring. A quartet of suction modes – Silent, Standard, Turbo, and Max, with an extra one-time Max+ mode – cater to your cleaning preferences and needs.
© Fabrice Brochain for Tech and Smart Home Insider Standard mode is just the ticket for hard floors, plowing through crumbs, hair, and pet fur without breaking a sweat. Instead of performin' a miracle, the Large Particles mode kicks in additional suction power when it detects larger-than-normal debris. But beware, its definition of "large particles" is a tad flexible, pulling in tiny morsels along with the big guns.
© Fabrice Brochain for Tech and Smart Home Insider On carpeting, multiple passes might be required to attempt extricating heavy debris from the fibers, but it handles it without batting an eye.
© Fabrice Brochain for Tech and Smart Home InsiderDreame's HyperStream Detangling DuoBrush proved more effective on the L40s Pro Ultra, thanks to its double-barreled attack of rigid bristles and rubber blades. It nipped at the fibers of a thick carpet, separating them from pet fluff with minimal fuss.
In contrast, we weren't blown away by the CleanGenius mode, which adjusts the cleaning method based on the floor's dirtiness. Multiple passes seem excessive, unnecessarily extending the cleaning time.
Floor washing: Overzealous but gets the job done (4/5)
The L40s Pro Ultra employs the same two spinning pads as the L40 Ultra, one of which is expandable. It can also flex its pads to slide 'em under furniture and hard-to-reach cul-de-sacs. It's a slippery slope waiting to see where it'll end up! Frankly, it does the job, moving around with precision, seeking out each nook and cranny. Staff at Dreame claim enhanced cleaning efficiency due to additional pressure on the mops and pads, but our tests didn't reveal significant improvement over the L40 Ultra.
© Fabrice Brochain for Tech and Smart Home Insider Through the app, you can modify the humidity level for steam cleaning, offering a choice between 32 levels for a deeper or shallower clean. L40s Pro Ultra performs admirably for routine floor maintenance, lifting away light stains in a single pass. For heavier stains, crank up the humidity level to max, and let the robot take care of the grime using an iterative process. The L40s Pro Ultra can tackle tough stains like tomato sauce or oil spills given time.
© Fabrice Brochain for Tech and Smart Home Insider CleanGenius mode left us wanting more. Hoping it'd clean up after itself like a genie in a bottle, we were disappointed when it initiated a second clean even for a single stain. An overenthusiastic master cleaner, it'll prolong your cleaning time and waste resources for little gain.
App: Simplify, matey! (3.5/5)
Dreame's app is jam-packed with features like a pirate's booty. But alas, the booty might be too much for some - between menus, submenus, and settings, newbies could get overwhelmed. Simplified mode for novice users and an advanced mode for power users would make for a better user experience.
© Fabrice Brochain for Tech and Smart Home Insider Of course, the app includes standard functions such as room rearrangement, placing mats, altering floor types, and setting virtual walls or schedules. Fiddlin' 'round with cleanin' sequences is straightforward, though, like its other robot brethren, the app could benefit from a more streamlined user interface.
Maintenance: A model to mimic (5/5)
Dreame remains the belle of the ball when it comes to robot vacuum cleaner maintenance. The L40s Pro Ultra includes an effective anti-tangle brush that leaves us snag-free - no more tangled hair on brushes or axles. The dual brush made its way onto the L40s Pro Ultra, sporting more rigid bristles and a rubber blade design. This adaptation handled fibers with ease.
© Fabrice Brochain for Tech and Smart Home InsiderThe water tank on the receiving station sports a whopping 4.5L capacity for fresh water and a 4L capacity for dirty water, ensuring it's always ready for battle. The dust bag's sufficient 3.2L capacity also means you won't find yourself swapping it out as frequently.
© Fabrice Brochain for Tech and Smart Home Insider The station comes equipped with a small detergent reservoir, its contents doled out by the robot during cleaning phases. It also cleanses the mops and ensures they're dried using heated air, either with 2, 3, or 4 hours of cookin' time, depending on what tickles your fancy. With a silent mode option, you can prolong drying time.
© Fabrice Brochain for Tech and Smart Home Insider Maintaining the station is a cinch; GRAB THE APP and trigger an auto-clean of the washing tray for a minute, and voilà, the station's sparkly clean! The bottom filter needs the occasional scrubb'in, but it's hardly a chore.
© Fabrice Brochain for Tech and Smart Home InsiderFinally, Dreame claims a 30% faster charge for the L40s Pro Ultra compared to the L40 Ultra, taking 3 hours and 20 minutes to juice up from empty to full. That's many adorable tinks of time saved!
Repairability: So-so (Average)
The L40s Pro Ultra shows modest repairability chops with an iFixit score of 8.2/10, matching the L40 Ultra's score. Dreame extends a 3-year warranty, a year longer than the legal requirement. The brand has spare parts available on its website to support the L40s Pro Ultra's longevity.
Alternatives to the L40s Pro Ultra
Roborock Qrevo Edge S5A
The Qrevo Edge S5A squares off against the Dreame L40s Pro Ultra. It offers a suction power of 17,000 Pa, a tad less than the L40s Pro Ultra, but shares many of its features, such as mop cleaning at 75°C and an anti-tangle brush. However, it gets brownie points for its straightforward app.
Dreame L40 Ultra
If you don't require the L40s Pro Ultra's 19,000 Pa suction power, the L40 Ultra is an adequate alternative. Apart from its lower suction power (12,000 Pa) and mop washing at 65°C, it shares the same spec sheet as the L40s Pro Ultra - but it comes at a lower price tag.
Conclusion
The Dreame L40s Pro Ultra boosts the L40 Ultra's suction power, employs an enhanced auto-emptying system, and includes a more robust mop-washing feature. While its aspiration performance excels, CleanGenius mode remains underwhelming, extending cleaning time and using more water. Decide whether the few improvements over the L40 Ultra are worth the added 150 euros based on your cleaning needs.
- Navigation: 4/5
- Aspiration Quality: 4/5
- Floor washing: 4/5
- App Ergonomics: 3.5/5
- Maintenance: 5/5
Some links are affiliate and may generate a commission for our site. Prices are indicative and subject to change. The content presented was written independently by a professional journalist.
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