Ultenic made a name for itself with us mainly through cordless vacuum cleaners and vacuum robots that score points with a good price-performance ratio. Both the Ultenic FS1 cordless vacuum cleaner (test report) and the Ultenic T10 robot vacuum cleaner (test report) have one thing in common: a suction station. This is also the case with the Ultenic TS1. Despite the suction station and two rotating mops, the robot vacuum cleaner still offers surprisingly good value for money. This initially made us quite suspicious in the run-up to the test. So much performance – at least on paper – for just 200 euros? That just can’t go well, it probably won’t work in everyday life – right?
Design and workmanship
When we first started using it, we were pleasantly surprised on the one hand, but on the other hand our fears seemed to be confirmed. The robot looks appealing with its glass top and colored illuminated sensor buttons. The station doesn’t look cheap thanks to the display on the front and the eye-catching shape and also scores with gold accents on otherwise black plastic. However, when we start, we hear some starting sounds clinking and rattling at us and an English-speaking voice gives the first signs of life. However, it sounds as if the voice actress was in a swimming pool during the recording – under water.
This brings back painful memories of the Roborock vacuum cleaners, such as the Roborock Dyad Pro Combo (test report). Here the sound was even worse – and that was with a more expensive device from a brand manufacturer. In this respect, you can even forgive this fact about the Ultenic vacuum cleaner.
The look also immediately reminds us of another vacuum robot: the Proscenic M9 (test report). Parallels can be found primarily in the shape of the suction station, which, when viewed from above, is reminiscent of a circle that has been divided in the middle and pulled apart. The resulting stretched cube with round sides on the left and right is overall quite flat, narrow and so small that it can fit even in a fairly small apartment.
But with Proscenic there is no display at the front and the M9 comes with a laser turret. Ultenic dispenses with this form of laser navigation and instead relies on ToF sensors (Time of Flight), i.e. lasers that look straight ahead. As a result, the robot has to “look around” every now and then and rotate around its own axis, but it remains very flat at just under 8 centimeters high. The 360 S10 (test report) used a similar, albeit higher quality, navigation model and was able to score points with it at the time.
Positive: The Ultenics TS1 suction station even offers cable management, but the display is very simple and can only show four different symbols – at least in color. There are no control options on the station like other models. The manufacturer includes two replacement pads for wiping, two replacement bags for the station, a replacement side brush as well as a replacement filter and a remote control including batteries. The wiping pads are suitable for washing machines.
Connection and app
Despite using a mixed WiFi network with 2.4 and 5 GHz, establishing a connection from the robot vacuum cleaner to the Ultenic app worked quickly and easily – the last model we tested, the Zaco F1S (test report), with a significantly higher price, required a pure 2.4 GHz. GHz network. Not only with the serious price difference, but generally in 2024, such problems should actually be a thing of the past and Zaco could learn a lesson from Ultenic.
Otherwise there is nothing to complain about about the app. Apart from the menu navigation, which is not necessarily distributed sensibly across two icons at the top right, users can find everything that is important here and can also be found in the much more expensive competition. Translation errors are surprisingly limited. In addition to an automatic increase in suction power on carpets, virtual boundaries and no-go zones, users can create schedules, integrate voice assistants and set the amount of water when mopping in three stages. Even without a laser tower, the app shows the bot’s whereabouts live on the cleaning map as well as the routes it has already taken – impressive for the price.
All pictures of the Ultenic TS1 in the test
Ultenic TS1
Navigation and cleaning performance
Currently, nothing beats vacuum robots with laser navigation in a tower when it comes to precision and path finding. But that doesn’t mean that there isn’t another way – the Ultenic TS1 is the best example of this. With its forward-facing ToF sensors, like models with rotating laser turrets, it precisely records its surroundings and can thus find its way around it perfectly.
Main difference: While the laser tower continuously sees obstacles to the side or even behind it due to its rapid rotation, the Ultenic model only works directly forward. Accordingly, it often happens that the robot has to orient itself by turning before it returns to the charging station or believes that it has maneuvered itself into a difficult situation. Even when driving normally, individual full rotations are still incorporated every now and then. This literally slows down the robot – vacuum robots with laser towers are simply a little faster.
It can also happen that he drives sideways in front of a table leg without braking because he can only scan a very narrow area in front of him. This didn’t cause any damage in the test, as the robot has the typical bumper at the front. This is also used quite often, although rarely as brutally as just described. Most of the time the bot is much gentler in its approach – quite often in fact. With the TS1, friendly nudging is common practice.
Otherwise there is little to complain about. The Ultenic TS1 didn’t get stuck in the test and it always found its way around – albeit with the pirouettes described. As with expensive models, cleaning takes place in a controlled manner; there is no need to pass through individual areas multiple times. The TS1 also covers the edges first and then cleans the remaining surface. That leaves a pretty good impression – not only, but especially in view of the surprisingly low price.
You have to make slight compromises when it comes to the pure cleaning quality. The manufacturer promises up to 3000 Pa suction power, but in normal operation it is only 2000 Pa and that is primarily enough for hard floors with the Ultenic-Bot. The cleaning performance is still okay on laminate, tiles or parquet, but here too more expensive models offer more. Sometimes even “heavy” dirt particles such as pine needles were catapulted out of the way with the side brush, but sometimes they were not completely vacuumed up.
On carpet, the discrepancy to more expensive models becomes even greater. While the cleaning power is sufficient with regular use, at least for low-pile carpets and hard floors, the TS1 is rather unsuitable for carpets with longer hairs. It is also quite loud: In the test, we were able to measure around 64 decibels at a distance of around one meter in the strongest mode. That’s actually within limits, but it feels louder.
After completing the work, the vacuum cleaner scores points with its well-functioning suction station. It’s loud as usual, but only works for a short time and shouldn’t really bother anyone. The manufacturer promises up to 60 days of work without human intervention for a suction bag, but of course, as always, this depends on the level of dirt and the frequency of the robot’s journeys.
There is another positive surprise when wiping: In contrast to almost all affordable models, the Ultenic TS1 does not come with a simple wiping cloth, but rather two rotating wiping pads. Even if they cannot be lifted to drive on carpet and there is no cleaning station for them, in combination with the liquid flow control in the app, this is a wiping function that promises more than just dusting. Once the pads are installed, the TS1 avoids carpeting. A complete cleaning of the room is not possible without manual intervention from the owner. If you want that, you have to go for significantly more expensive models, ideally with a complete cleaning station. Top models like Roborock S8 Pro Ultra (test report) or Dreame Bot L20 Ultra (test report) quickly cost over 1000 euros.
The battery of the Ultenic TS1 is not a highlight, but it is also not a weak point of the robot. In mixed operation with carpet and hard floors with automatic suction power increase, we achieved around 100 square meters (gross) with one load in the test. Without the many spins that would probably be another 20 percent more. At just under 15 percent, the model returns to the charging station and then continues cleaning at the last location after around 2 hours. This means that even larger apartments can be cleaned easily.
Preis
The manufacturer Ultenic states the RRP for the TS1 at a whopping 700 euros – that is clearly too much for the vacuum cleaner. At the time of testing, however, the selling price directly from the manufacturer was an almost ridiculous 200 euros. Geekmaxi is currently offering the Ultenic TS1 for just under 240 Euro on – this is also a real bargain.
Conclusion
For 700 euros (RRP), the Ultenic TS1 won’t lure a tired dog out from behind the stove. But at 200 or 250 euros it’s a completely different matter. Because for so little money there is hardly a vacuum cleaner with more power and features. Because the TS1 comes with a suction station, with laser navigation (albeit without a tower) and rotating wiping pads. Since everything works pretty well in everyday life, the price-performance ratio of the black and gold bot is currently hard to beat. Of course there are better vacuum robots, but in relation to the extremely low price, the Ultenic model is an absolute recommendation!