CES 2025: the Robot Vacuum Cleaner of Your Dreams Can Overcome Small Obstacles
I honestly thought this would be the year the world saw its first robot vacuum cleaner that could climb stairs: while the Dreame X50 Ultra, announced today at CES, was described as such, it turns out that it can only climb “stairs.” if the steps in question are less than two inches high. Rather, the Dreame X50 is a rapid- climbing robot that’s perhaps less interesting, but still useful.
There’s a lot of new technology under the hood of the X50. This robot has 20,000 Pa of suction: For context, while suction ratings have increased dramatically this year, many robot vacuums that I think do an exceptional job do so with less than 12,000 Pa of suction. There’s a limit to how much strong suction can really help, and at least one executive admitted to me that the number is increasing primarily because consumers tend to choose the vacuum cleaner with the highest Pa. However, more suction definitely won’t hurt.
Like many other robots, the X50 is starting to move away from LiDAR solely by adding cameras. LiDAR uses light to measure the space in front of the robot, but does so with less accuracy than cameras, and LiDAR requires the familiar round button on top of more robot vacuums. In the case of the X50, the LiDAR tower is still present, but can be retracted to reach under low places such as a sofa if necessary. At this stage, the robot relies solely on RGB cameras with advanced AI capabilities. Companies use AI to identify objects so the robot knows to avoid them.
In addition, all robots this year pay special attention to untangling brushes. This makes sense, since rollers and brushes often get tangled not only in hair, but also in stray strings, carpet threads, and debris on the ground. This means you will have to lift the robot, untangle it, and remove the rollers. The Dreame has a retractable brush arm and two rollers, and while it’s not anything special, the rollers can rotate in reverse, which should help with detangling. Dreame has received TÜV certification for “100% hair detangling.”
But let’s talk about the cool stuff: The Dreame X50 Ultra has legs underneath the vacuum that can lift the front of the vacuum over obstacles up to two inches high. This may not seem like much of an achievement, but the design team has managed to continually improve this height, so it’s reasonable to hope that stairs will be introduced someday soon. So what will two inches get you? It can climb over power cords, small shoes, or a rolled-up edge of carpet. Most importantly, he can climb over one hell of a threshold—that passage between rooms or floor types—and gain access to parts of the house that he couldn’t reach on his own before.
The Dreame X50 Ultra will retail for $1,699 and will be available for pre-order on January 7, ahead of its Valentine’s Day release.