At CES 2020, ILIFE introduced its new Lidar-guided robot vacuum, the ILIFE A10s. Besides the features most robots at this price range have, the A10s also have new things such as manual suction control which I haven’t seen in any robot vacuum before, and side brushes rotation speed.
Let’s see what the new model brings to the table.
The difference between the ILIFE A10 and A10S is that the A10S is a hybrid robot vacuum while the A10 does not come with mopping attachments. Those two are also sold in different regions.
ILIFE A10s Main Features
- Lidar mapping
- Purposeful navigation
- Room select
- Zoned cleaning
- No-go zones support
- No-mop zones support
- Side sweeper rotating speed
- Manual suction control
- Multimap
- Carpet identification
- An electronic water tank that vibrates
- Two cleaning brushes in the box
The ILIFE A10s can do mopping and sweeping at the same time, saves more than one map, and follows a purposeful navigation pattern.
As always ILIFE is general on accessories and the A10s comes with a lot of accessories in the box.
What comes in the box with the ILIFE:
- The robot
- Charging dock integrated into a mopping mat
- Adapter
- Water tank
- Dustbin
- Extra brushroll (silicone)
- Extra HEPA filter
- Cleaning tool
- Remote controller (2 batteries included)
- Extra side brushes (2pcs)
- Extra mopping cloth
The robot has a glossy finish. A dustbin is located on the side and has a HEPA filter. The filter is not washable. The dustbin is relatively big (600 ml).
The side brushes are marked (L and R) and can be installed by pressing them on the robot underneath.
The cleaning brush does not have detachable side tips which make it challenging to clean the clogged hair. Additional silicone roller is ideal for hard floor and pet as well as long human hair.
Unlike other Wi-Fi-enabled robots, the ILIFE includes a remote control for those who do not want to use the app as much.
Normally it is either the remote or app.
The remote allows manually control the robot, start and stop it, set time, schedule it to work at a specific time, spot cleaning, manually setting suction power, docking, and edge cleaning.
App
If you want to use the app, it will give you more options such as tracking the robot in real-time. When the robot completes the map, you can set no-go zones, make it clean within a particular area, and order it to clean a specific room.
Aside from no-go zones, there is also a no-mop zones option that keeps the robot off carpets in mopping mode.
Once the ILIFE creates the map, it automatically divides it into separate rooms.
In the app, you also can schedule the robot, watch the cleaning history, keep on tracking the accessories maintenance, and so on.
The best thing about the A10s is its ability to set suction power manually. I’ve never seen such an option before. Instead of selecting among three or four cleaning modes, you can manually set suction.
Another cool feature is the side brush rotation speed control. The best option would be to set it to 30-40% as those would not scatter debris around yet would catch debris efficiently.
The robot’s voice volume is also adjustable.
The robot identifies the carpet and automatically boosts suction when steps on one.
The ILIFE A10s has all features of the high-end devices.
Cleaning performance
The 2,900 mAh li-ion battery provides cleaning time for up to 100 minutes and takes about 6 hours to fully charge. On one charge it covers ~100 square meters (1076 sqft).
The robot cleans 1 square meter in one minute which is an average time for Lidar-based devices.
The manufacturer does not specify the robot’s suction. On hard floors, it does the job but might scatter the debris which is common for most robots. To prevent this, you can manually change the rotation speed settings.
As to preventing hair tangling, the ILIFE is not the best. Hair gets clogged around the side brushes and main brush too.
To handle pet or human hair, use the silicone brushroll that is designed for this purpose.
The climbing ability of the ILIFE is not the best. It can go over a 15 mm (0.59 in) obstacle which does not make the robot suitable for cleaning medium-pile carpets.
The robot is not noisy but not the quietest either. Just like most devices in this price range. On low power, it makes ~60 dB, on high it would be 68 dB.
Mopping
A big 300 ml water tank (+100 ml integrated dustbin) ensures covering a large area of hard floors.
The water tank has a motor inside which helps it to vibrate as the robot mops. Aside from that, it allows setting water level output which you can do in the app. Inside the water tank, there is some space for dust so the robot can do the vacuuming and mopping at the same time.
As to mopping, the robot does the job but would not be significantly better than most competitors. The vibrating water tank does not make a big difference compared to the standard electronic tank.
Price
The ILIFE A10s is not widely available yet. The price is going to be around $400 which is a good deal for such features.
To sum up
The ILIFE A10s is a decent device for the price. It has lots of attachments and some features that are completely new to the market.
It does the job on carpet and hard floor, but would not be suitable for high-pile carpets.
If you are looking for a budget Lidar-guided robot that has a mopping feature, your home is not big and you have pets, have a look at the ILIFE A10s.