The Dreame Z10 Pro is the third robot vacuum from the company I happen to test for the past two years and I’m quite impressed by how fast the company is growing making high-end products and keeping the price lower than competitors. Most of the latest tech in the robot vacuum word I’ve seen is presented in this robot. It navigates by using a Lidar and 3D sensor, has mopping, strong suction, a large long-lasting battery, and supports an auto-empty station. It's currently one of the most advanced robot vacuum in the Dreame lineup.
I've been using it almost every day for the last 3 weeks and put it through a bunch of tests, and I am ready to share a bit more.
Dreame Z10 Pro Video Review
Appearance & a few words
Most robots I review are black or white so when I opened the box with the Dreame and noticed that it is more of a silvery-grey I liked it immediately. It feels well build and looks really good in my opinion, even though the base is taller than most competitors. The appearance didn’t change much compared to the previous Dreame L10 Pro model.
The accessories kit is not big but you have to trade something for a great-performing robot that is also well-built and doesn't have a high price tag. The package contains the user manual, mopping pad with a built-in water tank, one spare disposable bag, power cable, side brush, robot vacuum itself, and the auto-emptying base.
The main brush is a roller with bristles and rubber fins, and I like that it has detachable side tips which helps a lot when cleaning it off tangled hair.
The self-emptying system is bagged with the largest bag I’ve seen that holds 4L of dust and based on what the company claims, has to be enough for 2 months of usage but of course, it all depends on different conditions and how often you use the vac.
The cord can be partially hidden behind the base which is very handy.
The dustbin is similar to the previous models with a two-level filtration that contents a screen and HEPA filter.
Most robots have room for the cleaning tool under the lid and the Dreame is no exception. I see two doors underneath the dustbin as well as the base. The doors open up automatically when the self-emptying process starts. The great thing of the auto-emptying system is using one port to agitate air into the dustbin while the second port is used to suck all the dirt out of the bin.
What you would expect from such a robot is a big water tank but the Z10 pro actually comes with the smallest container in the lineup having only 150 ml of capacity. So if you are looking for a robot that would mop the whole place, this one is not really the right one. You still might refill the container every once in a while but in my experience, such a small container is rather good for spot mopping like kitchen only, etc.
Navigation & Mapping
Upfront is a high-precision 3D sensor that helps to avoid small objects. There is also a wall sensor that keeps the robot close to walls as much as possible. Underneath is one side brush for corner and near walls cleaning, 6 cliff sensors, roller brush, and self-emptying outlets.
The Dreame Z10 Pro maps the house by using a Lidar that scans around creating a pretty accurate map. Еру 3D sensor helps to avoid small objects like socks, cables, slippers, and other small things that may lie on the floor. I find it works impressively well in real-world usage. Slowly jumping into my favorite feature, object avoidance.
I tried to see how well the Dreame avoids cables and found that it is good at seeing white cords but can't sense the black ones. I have never tested a robot that would be perfectly accurate at avoiding cables but the Dreame Z10 Pro was actually really good at it, I would say the best I've seen so far. It can't sense the tiniest things most of the time but might catch some with the sensor. However, it did awesome avoiding socks I left laying on the floor.
As you can see the object avoidance is not perfect, nothing is perfect, but compared to competitors the Dreame Z10 Pro is definitely one of the best. I’ve had some issues with obstacle avoidance as it avoided debris that I scattered on the floor when trying to test cleaning performance and sometimes it doesn’t want to climb on my medium pile carpet thinking it is an obstacle that should be avoided. I think it’s something that can be fixed with a software update and I really hope Dreame will fix it soon. Of course, there is an option in the app to disable the 3D sensor if it causes any issues in your use case, but in this scenario, you’ll lose the advantages of the obstacle avoidance feature.
As to coverage, the vac does not miss any spots and is gentle with the objects like the pots. It doesn't bump or drag them around which happens rarer than you might think.
A 5200 mAh battery lasts 150 minutes which is a big pro if you live in a large house. It cleans about 1sqm per 1min and so it covers up to 150 sqm on a single charge. The robot has recharge & resume meaning that in big houses it returns to the dock to charge and then resumes cleaning from the spot it left off if it doesn’t do the job on one charge.
Cleaning tests
For the cleaning tests, I use 100 grams of sand and different kinds of debris, and as usual, weigh the bin before and after each test. I ran the robot on a low and medium-pile carpet as well as hard floor.
In terms of cleaning performance, the Dreame Z10 Pro is at the top of my list among other best-performed devices, like the Roborock S7, Yeedi Vac Station, 360 S10, and Roomba i3+ I tested recently. I have to say it again, most robots do the job on hard floors, and the Dreame is no exception but what it really does well is cleaning carpets.
Not many models I’ve seen do the job this good. You will hardly find the difference in real-world usage between the robots mentioned above in terms of vacuuming performance. Maybe only the flagship Roomba i7 and s9 may show better results on carpets because of its dual roller brush system.
| Score, % / Surface | Hard floor, debris | Hard floor, sand | Low-pile, debris | Low-pile, send | Medium-pile, debris |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dreame Z10 Pro | 97.9 | 99 | 99.7 | 97.5 | 98.8 |
| Average score for a high-end device | 99.1 | 96.4 | 99.5 | 91.2 | 96.9 |
In almost all tests the Dreame has shown better cleaning results compared to other more expensive robots I have tested.
My conclusion is the Dreame Z10 Pro is perfectly fine for homes with mostly carpeted surface, it pickups sand off the carpet, heavier debris, pet, and human hair pretty well. But don’t expect too much, no robot vacuum is able to remove all the sand and fine particles deeply embedded into shaggy or medium pile carpets. A robot vacuum is not a competitor to an upright vacuum as even the most powerful ones do not have as much suction.
In terms of cleaning corners, the Dreame Z10 Pro doesn’t go too close to the wall, leaving a small area untouched, not the best in this test, just average among other round-shaped robots.
Long hair tends to get wrapped around the brush, and for someone like me who faces this over and over again, removable side tips make a big deal as hair is prone to get stuck around the edges the most. However, for example, in my parent’s house, the robot doesn’t have the same issue as it doesn’t deal with long hair. Even the smallest things in design cause hair wrapping more or less depending on the model and I don’t know why, but the Dreame seems to be one of the best in this area. When cleaning the brushroll I didn’t notice that much hair even tho it did run around the house a few times before.
Aside from that, a part of my maintenance routine is washing the mopping cloth which I do in the washing machine.
The robot can climb up to 2cm obstacles like door thresholds and can fit under any furniture with a 10 cm gap or higher.
Mopping performance
Let’s see how it performs in mopping mode. The water tank has an electric water pump which means it doesn’t leak when charging and the water flow is evenly controlled by electronics. The mopping seems to be doing well but the water tank is small compared to some other models I’ve tested and is not enough for a big cleaning area especially on the highest water level settings.
It's easy to fill the water tank, attach it to the robot and then in the app, tweak the water flow settings from low to high depending on your floor type and mopping tasks. The Z10 Pro vacuums and mops at the same time. In my testing, it can mop a 60 square meters area on the high water level and 100 square meters on the lowest settings before the water tank needs refilling. In my place, it finishes mopping the entire apartment on the highest settings and I still can see some water left in the container. But in larger homes, you would need to refill the water tank every once in a while.
Self-emptying base tests
I find most cleaning bases I tested to be good at sucking up the day-to-day messes the robots pick up in my apartment and the Dreame auto-empty base is not an exception. but it’s always good to know what the base can do in extreme conditions. I filled the dustbin full of cat’s, and human hair. It did the job extremely well.
For the second run, I used lots of debris and let the base do the job. It did suck it up almost completely but left some in the dustbin and suction inlet. I would say good job Dreame!
The last and most extreme test is with the dustbin full of hair and debris and after letting the base suck it up which is did completely fine, it starts giving me an error notification saying the air duct is blocked. After cleaning it up, the system works fine. Summing up, the Dreame’s base did the job just fine, maybe one of the best taking into account other models I’ve tested.
The app
The app is made really well with tons of settings I like. When finishing cleaning, it saves the map and divides it into rooms. After that, I can set no-go or no-mop zones. As usual, I set no-go and no-mop zones for a navigation test. The two options aim to do the same thing, keeping the robot off certain areas. Only no-mop zones are active with mopping attachments preventing the robot from going on carpets when it mops. The no-go zones help to keep the robot from going to certain areas in your house in both mopping and vacuuming mode. The Dreame obeys restricted areas well.
Editing a map is easy too, I can merge or divide areas if I don't like the way the Dreame has broken the map into sections. Here is also a zoned cleaning to send the robot cleaning a specific spot and scheduling. When scheduling, I can either set the robot to clean the whole house or separate rooms, time and days to clean as well as tweak suction and water level. The Dreame also saves four maps and can be used in a multi-level house.
Price & Where to buy
- Dreame Z10 Pro on Amazon: $599.99
- On Aliexpress for $408.42.
Conclusion
The Dreame Z10 Pro seems like a perfect robot vacuum for those who are looking for a powerful robot vacuum with a self-emptying base that would do the job just fine and additionally has object avoidance. The only downside, well, a few of them is a small water tank and sensitivity of object avoidance.
The robot might avoid messes on the floor thinking it's a small object but I do believe Dreame will fix it with the latest updates. The small water tank is what it is tho. If you like me use mopping feature a lot, this robot is not the best option or if you are ready to refill the tank during mopping, then the robot is for you. I do use mopping every time my robots clean so the size of the water tank matters for me but for homes with mostly carpets, it is not a big deal.
Since it has a sensor to avoid objects, the robot doesn't show an icon of the avoided objects on the map which I prefer on my Roborock S6 MaxV.
I think the base is one if not the best of what I have tested so far. Easily better than the Roomba i3+ has. I have tested both. Additionally, it has the biggest dustbag.
Overall, I feel like the price you pay for the Dreame Z10 Pro totally worth the value you get with the robot. One of the best cleaning performances on par with a solid self-emptying system makes the robot in my top 5 list of the robots I would recommend these days.