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3i G10+ robot vacuum: two-minute review
The 3i G10+ is a hybrid robot vacuum and mop that has a clever USP that makes it an especially good choice for small homes: the onboard dust cup is around twice the usual size, and compresses its contents to fit even more in. It’s an ideal solution for those people who don’t have space for a massive self-empty base station taking up their living room, but equally don’t want to have to manually empty dust after every clean.
While it lacks the fancier features found on today’s best robot vacuums, it’s certainly one of the best budget robovacs I’ve tested, punching above its affordable price tag. There are several features I wouldn’t expect in this price bracket, including an extending side brush and a mop pad that kicks out to get closer to the edges of rooms and can lift when traversing carpet. The result is very thorough vacuuming, strong edge cleaning, and solid mopping too.
It’s not perfect. I found the 3i G10+ struggled to mount the charger when the dock was placed on a carpet, and the object avoidance is a little hit-and-miss. It’s also not the best choice if mopping is your priority – the small onboard tank needs refilling regularly, and the fact the mop pads can’t be removed from their base for machine-washing is annoying.
However, given the overall balance of performance to price, I think the 3i G10+ is a very solid recommendation. For me, the pros vastly outweigh the cons. Read on for my full 3i G10+ robot vacuum review.
3i G10+ robot vacuum review: price & availability
- List price: $449 (about £560 / AU$1,110)
- Available: US only
- Launched: January 2025 (on sale June 2025)
The 3i G10+ was unveiled at CES 2025 and then went on sale in June that year. It’s only available in the US, and any way you slice it, the 3i G10+ is very well-priced for what you’re getting. At full list price, it’s $449, but at time of writing it was reduced to $399 (about £560 / AU$1,110). Both fall into the TechRadar budget price bracket for robovacs. Sure, you can go cheaper with some robot vacuum models, but to get one with mopping capability, this is about as low as you can go.
There’s also the innovative dust compression, enabling you to avoid having to make space for a bulky dock. There are only a few other bots that offer this. One example is the Narwal Freo X Plus, which costs about the same as the G10+ (going for $399.99 / AU$899), but has some unwelcome quirks that the 3i doesn’t suffer from. There’s also the Roomba 205 DustCompactor Combo for $469.99 / £399, but the least said about that bot and its performance, the better.
The Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 goes for the same price when discounted, but has a higher MSRP of $699.99 / £449.99. It does have a bigger auto-self emptying base station with a 1.9 quart (about 1.8L) dustbin capacity, so requires a bit more space. It’s also a bit older of a model, which at the time of review had a glitchy app and just average mopping. With the 3i G10+, you get 1 still very good 1L dustbin without having to set aside the space for such a big base station. And that’s Shark‘s most reasonably priced mopping robot vacuum.
The Ecovacs Deebot N10 Plus might be the robot vacuum that the 3i G10+ reminds me of most. The Ecovacs has a higher MSRP of $649.99 / £499 / AU$999, but can be regularly found at the same price as the 3i G10+. It also has a small auto-self emptying base station. It, however, has an annoying quirk in that you have to physically remove the mop pad for use on carpet. And in that regard, the 3i G10+ is easier to use, as I’ll get into below.
While the 3i G10+ isn’t quite perfect, it sets a high bar for anything around $400.
- Value for money score: 4.5 out of 5
3i G10+ robot vacuum specs
|
Max suction: |
18,000 Pa |
|
Robot diameter: |
14 in / 35.6 cm |
|
Robot height: |
4.3 in / 10.9 cm |
|
Dock dimensions (W x D x H): |
5.9 x 5.3 x 3.8 in / 15 x 13.5 x 9.7 cm |
|
Dust bin volume (bot): |
1L |
|
Water tank volume (bot): |
0.2L |
|
Base type: |
Charge only |
|
Noise level (average): |
52dB |
|
Runtime: |
180 minutes |
3i G10+ robot vacuum review: design
- Large capacity onboard dustbin with compression
- Water tank is small but easy to access
- Extendable side brush and mop pad
The 3i G10+ might have the typical disc shape, but it doesn’t look like most robot vacuums. Instead of the little raised navigation tower poking out of the top, this robot vacuum has a much larger, almost egg-shaped raised portion that not only contains sensors (the typical reason for these raised areas), but also the power button and, most importantly, the dustbin.
That dustbin is unusual in that not only does it have a supersized 1L capacity – most robot vacuums have less than half of that – but also an internal mechanism to compress all the dirt and debris coming in. That means that even though there’s no auto-empty dustbin in the dock (instead, it’s a compact, charge-only setup), you won’t need to empty the onboard bin too regularly. Because the dust is potentially sitting around in the bot for a while, 3i has built in a UV light to keep things hygienic.
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Getting back to the exterior of the 3i G10+. The water tank hugs the back of the unit and pulls off and snaps back into place via magnets, making it very easy to access and fill up. It has a small capacity – just 247ml – so it needs regular refilling.
(If you’re using the mop on a regular basis then a bigger, more comprehensive clean station that can wash and dry the mop pads for you, as well as refilling the tanks, is a big effort-saver. Although you will of course have to make space for it.)
Underneath, there’s a single side brush, a brush roll, and a stationary mop pad. However, there’s more going on here as well. That side brush can extend out to reach further into the edges of rooms. The mop pad is just a stationary one, but the 3i G10+ can move the whole pad out a bit for more thorough edge mopping too. Those kinds of features are unusual for robot vacuums at this price point.
- Design score: 4.5 out of 5
3i G10+ robot vacuum review: performance
- Very good vacuuming and solid mopping, including edges
- Mop pad can’t be removed from mount for machine-washing
- Quiet operation
While I usually prefer robot vacuums to have two side brushes, one on each side, the single brush and brush roll on the 3i G10+ proved more than up to the job of vacuuming whatever dirt, dust, and debris was lying around. It helps that the side brush actually extends out, sweeping anything away from the edge of the room and into the bot’s suction path.
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I used this robot vacuum on hardwood flooring, tile and carpet, and found it did a very solid job on all three. I also ran TechRadar’s usual suction tests, sprinkling flour, sugar, and breakfast cereal on the floor and seeing how efficiently it cleared it. It took two passes to get everything, but once those were complete, you couldn’t tell that anything had been spilled.
The mopping performance is pretty good as well, though not quite up to the standard of the vacuuming. The mop pad is the flat kind that gets dragged across the floor. It’s great for surface-level cleaning but not tough enough for anything more challenging – I find dual, spinning mop pads offer more thorough clean.
In general use I found the coverage was good, and not streaky the way that this kind of mop pad can be. Because the mop pad can kick out to the side, the si G10+ is great at mopping into the edges of rooms. Also a plus is the fact that it will lift the mop pad up a few millimeters when going onto carpet to keep said carpet from getting wet – you don’t always get that kind of functionality with a bot at this price point.
I ran some mopping tests that involved spilling soda and coffee on the floor and seeing how well the bot handled it. While it cleared the area effectively, my whole floor ended up smelling like coffee and soda afterwards. I’d recommend tackling spillages manually, to avoid this.
Because the base station doesn’t have mop-cleaning capabilities, you’ll also need to stay on top of washing the mop pads fairly regularly. Annoyingly (and unusually), while the mop and its mount can be removed from the bot, the cloth part doesn’t come off its mount. That means you can’t throw it in a washing machine, but instead have to hand-wash. I was annoyed to find the mop cloth-and-mount took nearly a day to dry, though it went a lot quicker when I put it in the sun.
The object avoidance is unfortunately not as good as advertised. While the G10+ did manage to register and avoid some objects, I also watched it push around a bag clip, bump into a dog water bowl, and climb up on the base of a chair and end up stuck. Overall, the object avoidance is rather hit and miss. I’ve found that to be par for the course with more budget and mid-range models, though.
On the bright side, operation is relatively quiet, registering at 52dB during regular use and 56dB when extending side brush. I’ve used some robot vacuums that get much, much louder and it can be distracting. Having one with a quiet drone, especially when I’m trying to work or do something when it’s running, is appreciated.
The battery lasts a very decent 240 minutes – enough time to clean the full 700 square feet area it could reach without having to recharge.
Lastly, though it vacuums just fine on carpet, it can’t seem to get back onto its base station when on carpet (medium pile for reference). It’s as if the 3i G10+ can’t catch onto the ramp attached to the base station to reach the charging contacts. It’s a bit strange and one of the drawbacks of not having a bigger mat for the robot vacuum to go up on.
- Performance score: 4 out of 5
3i G10+ robot vacuum review: app
- Straightforward to set up and use including maps
- Has an AI Auto Mode to make things even easier
- Comes with pet camera and manual controls
I typically don’t find a lot of issues with robot vacuum apps these days, and it’s no different with the 3i app. It’s intuitive to get started, from pairing to going through the various instructions to complete the setup process. Other than waiting for the app and vacuum to pair and connect to WiFi, it’s also a straightforward process.
Part of setting it up is also mapping your space and, though the 3i G10+ takes its time, it does a thorough job and even guesses the names of different rooms (not always correctly). Editing the map does take a tiny bit of menu diving, but once you get the screen to make changes, it works well and is happy to let you partition certain spaces more than once – an issue I’ve actually had with some models.
As far as using the app, the 3i G10+ home page is straightforward with the map top center, important info at the top, menu diving icons top right, as well as the more specific cleaning functions on the lower half of the screen.
There’s a lot of flexibility for adjusting how you want your space cleaned including whether you want to vacuum or vacuum and mop, along with suction power, water level, cycles, and more. But if you don’t want to manually set the cleaning mode, ‘AI Auto’ will decide the various settings for you. I found it useful for spaces with different types of surfaces – for example, it’ll adjust automatically when going from hardwood to carpet.
Beyond the meat and potatoes of the app, there are more useful features including Alexa and Google Voice Assistant support. You can even take over the camera and motor functions to check on a pet when you’re not home.
Should you buy the 3i G10+ robot vacuum?
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Attribute |
Notes |
Rating |
|---|---|---|
|
Value |
Budget bracket, with a very solid feature list for the price. |
4.5 / 5 |
|
Design |
The large onboard dustbin with compression is just part of what sets this bot apart. It also has an extendable side brush and mop pad. |
4.5 / 5 |
|
Performance |
Very solid vacuuming, good mopping and thorough edge cleaning. Quiet in operation, too. However, struggles to return to dock if dock is placed on carpet. |
4 / 5 |
|
App |
The interface and mapping, along with everything else, is easy. |
4.5 / 5 |
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
3i G10+ robot vacuum review: alternatives to consider
How I tested the 3i G10+ robot vacuum
To test the 3i G10+, I used it for a couple weeks, testing its vacuum and mop capabilities not only on hardwood floors, but also when going from hardwood floors to carpets (with some intentionally dropped objects here and there). I also tested its cleaning abilities with spillages of various types. I went through every nook and cranny of the app, looking at things like mapping and ease of use.
Read more about how we test robot vacuum cleaners
