Short Intro
When I visited IFA Berlin in 2023, SwitchBot were promoting their new robot vacuums: the S10 and it’s smaller brother the K10+. The company was all over the media at the time, mostly because of their innovative plumbing connection system that came with the S10.
This year at IFA, SwitchBot showcased several new products, including an upgrade to their mini robot vacuum, the K10+ Pro. They also have a K10+ Pro combo device coming up, with a handheld vacuum attachment with 20.000pa suction power! I asked the guys at IFA for a testing sample of the K10+ Pro, as I already had the K10 to compare the two.
After about 10 days of usage, testing and taking notes, I have collected a good amount of data in order to write an in-depth review on this new robovac. In this article, I’m taking a look at what’s changed in the SwitchBot K10+ Pro compared to the first gen K10+, sharing my experience with the bot and hopefully help someone decide if this mini robot vacuum is worth it’s higher price tag.
The SwitchBot K10+ Pro Mini Robovac is available on their Official Webstore and
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon NL | Amazon ES | Amazon IT
K10+ vs K10+ Pro: What’s the difference?
While the K10+ and K10+ Pro are almost the same robot vacuum, there are some differences that need to be noted. Some are subtle, while others are significant enough to create a difference in vacuuming performance. Here’s how the two compare side by side.
The original K10+ comes with a bristle anti-tangle brush and 2500Pa suction power. The K10+ Pro replaces the bristle brush with a rubber design similar to the S10, and increases the suction power to 3000Pa for better vacuuming performance. The new one is labeled as multi-surface brush, implying it can handle different floor surfaces much better.
Both the K10+ and K10+ Pro retain the same disposable mop-pad mechanism, which requires manual installation if you wish to use the mopping function. This involves attaching a wet wipe to the underside of the robot, which it drags across the floor. At best, the robot can only provide a mediocre wipe of smooth floors like tile floors and nothing beyond that.
The new K10+ Pro borrows its laser LiDAR navigation and camera system from the powerful S10. It’s more efficient and precise, which means a better battery life since the K10+ pro will be bumping into things less. The dust box also got an upgrade, from 150ml on the K10+ to 200ml on the Pro version.
Under the main lid, not a lot has changed. The dustbin went through some design changes, such as making the outer wall opaque to prevent dust being seen when its full. It slots easily in place from the top down, just like it did with the K10+. The buttons for on/off, home and the main power switch are located in the same place as before.
SwitchBot app and Home Assistant Integration
Like the K10+, the Pro is very easy to onboard and setup in the SwitchBot app. You will be greeted with an intuitive and easy to use user interface, with all features of this robovac accessible within a few taps. Once onboarded to the SwitchBot app, you will need to let the K10+ Pro run and map your space.
The K10+ mapping process is faster than the original model, thanks to its LiDAR navigation system. After completing the initial map, you can label rooms and areas, as well as designate no-go zones for the robot.
In the app’s UI, you can enable RC mode, allowing you to control the robot manually, similar to an RC car.
The “Find Robot” feature helps you locate the K10+ by making it emit an audible sound, making it easier to find both visually and audibly.
The “Accessory Usage Life” section helps track the lifespan of key components, such as the filter, side brush, brush roll, dust bag, and sensors, by showing their remaining working hours. When you replace a part, simply click “Reset” to update the counter for that component.
Since the K10+ Pro supports Matter, you can add it to any Matter controller, like Home Assistant, and control it through there. This requires SwitchBot’s Hub 2 or Hub Mini, which is a bit weird since the K10+ Pro uses Wi-Fi. Why not make it support Matter without a hub? My guess is, certification fees.
If you do have a hub laying around like me, you can share the K10+ to Home Assistant. This will allow you to merely toggle the K10+ Pro, starting or stopping its operation. Nothing else is controllable through Matter, it does not support any other feature besides start and stop.
Performance of the K10+ Pro
The first thing I noticed on the K10+ Pro as opposed to the K10+ was the much more efficient navigation system. It easily goes around obstacles and avoids them in advance, as opposed to bumping into thing and then realizing they are there. This is definitely the most valuable difference between the two.
As the K10+ series is very small, going around chair and table legs is a breeze for this bot. It sneaks around them without issues, something the much larger S10 struggles with. It is also capable of going over heights 2cm in height, which includes carpets and floor differences.
In terms of actual vacuuming performance, I would say it’s not really measurable. The K10+ and K10+ Pro both performed comparably, even though the Pro version boasts a 500Pa higher suction power. The fully rubber mop on the K10+ Pro does a better job in one go, but once the K10+ passes a second time the floors are cleaned the same. This is why I would say both do the job without any noticeable differences.
Just like the K10+, you can turn on carpet mode and have the bot automatically increase suction power once is detects it’s over a carpet. I did not notice any difference in the efficiency of this mode between the two, as they both operate correctly. Thick and bushy carpets are the arch nemesis of the K10+ Pro like they are for the K10+. These robot will get stuck in such carpets nine out of ten times.
They have no issues with regular carpets, check out this video:
SwitchBot K10+ cleaning a standard carpet
The K10+ and K10+ Pro produce very little noise when they vacuum in standard mode. However, this results in a mediocre vacuuming performance and requires multiple runs of your space to get it clean. I highly suggest treating it like any other robovac: setting it to maximum and leaving the room when it does it’s thing.
As I mentioned earlier, I consider the mopping thing a gimmick on both, as the K10+ is not really a mopping robot. Checkout my full review of the K10+ to learn more about my experience with this robovac.
Final Thoughts and Pricing
If you already have the SwitchBot K10+ Mini robot vacuum, I honestly don’t think it’s worth replacing with the K10+ Pro. Obviously, you are going to get an upgraded navigation system, slightly better vacuuming performance and some other small tweaks, but other than that, the K10+ is good for what it is.
If you are on the market for a mini robot vacuum of this size however, the K10+ Pro should be on your shortlist at least. The new LiDAR system alone is worth some consideration, ignoring all the other improvements. But then, we get to the main issues with the K10+ Pro: the price.
The K10+ Pro Mini Robot Vacuum is much pricier than the K10+, retailing at $600. At this price range, there are comparable bots with better performance, higher suction power, better battery life and an overall bump in robot vacuum experience. I highly suggest checking out VacuumWars on YouTube, those guys are much better experts than I am in suggestion a viable alternative.
I would say the one thing the K10+ Pro has going for it above the competition is it’s size. It’s very small and navigates so easily among tight spaces, it’s super interesting to watch. Here are some links for the K10+ Pro if you’ve decided it’s for you.
The SwitchBot K10+ Pro Mini Robovac is available on their Official Webstore and
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon NL | Amazon ES | Amazon IT
