SwitchBot S20 review: the smart robot vacuum that’s a total steal
This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement.
The new SwitchBot S20 might be bigger than its predecessors, but it’s smarter, stronger and better value than robot vacuums twice the price
For several years now, SwitchBot has been offering a range of robot vacuums that are significantly smaller than their rivals.
This gives them a strong USP, because they can slip into smaller spaces, and reach nooks and crannies that other robots have to avoid. Think dining room tables, low sideboards, and around sofas, and so on.
When SwitchBot launched its new S20, I was worried that this USP had been taken away. It's a bigger robot, covering a more conventional footprint, which SwitchBot says makes it more suitable for people with larger homes. Does that put it into a small niche at the same time as taking away its best design feature? I had to test one out.
I've been living with the new S20 for a few months now, and it's fair to say, it's still a thoroughly competent device. SwitchBot has a habit of breaking the mould with its innovations, but at first glance there's nothing overtly remarkable about the S20.
It's a typical size, the base station is nice and compact, but still a bulky unit to tuck away, and the usual high-end features such as self-cleaning mops, auto drainage and refill, auto waste collection, and auto mop drying are all present and correct.
It does, however, come with an array of extras, to save you having to buy replacement rollers, brushes, bags, and so on, at least for a while.
And I like the fact it has a plumbing kit so you can connect it to your mains water and drainage supply - although, like many people, I can't physically do this, because everything's in a cupboard. It's nice to have the option, though.
The innovations do start to flow in thick and fast when you dig into the features a bit more. There's 10kPa of suction, the latest dToF LiDAR, an AI camera for obstacle avoidance, and advanced carpet detection.
These are additions you'd usually find on a robot vacuum costing around the £1,000 mark, but SwitchBot has managed to keep the price down to £799.99. And you can get it for £499.99 if you follow this link to a voucher deal on Amazon.
It doesn't stop there, either, because SwitchBot has managed to get its robot to exert 1KG of pressure on its cylindrical mop roller, there's a built-in wiper to remove excess moisture, and the AI camera doesn't just avoid things, it identifies them. It's all very clever.
And then there's the cleaning power. The 10,000Pa sounds great on paper, but robot vacuums tend to be a bit lacklustre in practice. The SwitchBot S20 is every bit as good as vacuums costing double the price and, while hard-floor performance is better than carpet performance, as you'd expect, it's really very good.
So the S20 stands up incredibly well against its rivals. And the funny thing is, some of the biggest thorns in its side are its smaller siblings. By going larger, SwitchBot has made the S20 slightly less practical than offerings like the K10+ Pro. Although the additional features of the S20 make up for this to a large extent.
And then there's the price. Even if you don't catch the deal and you have to pay the £799.99 standard price, it's still a bargain compared to some of the flagship models out there.
At £499, it's just an absolute steal, and by a long way one of the most feature-rich robots you'll find at this price.