The ‘world’s smallest’ robot vacuum is now available in a combo version, but for me it defeats the whole point

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The ‘world’s smallest’ robot vacuum is now available in a combo version, but for me it defeats the whole point

SwitchBot attracted plenty of attention and praise with the launch of the K10+, a pint-sized robot vacuum for people who don’t have a ton of space at home – but while the dinky bot can get into a lot of nooks and crannies, it can’t clean your stairs or your sofa.

To get around this, SwitchBot has now unveiled the K10+ Pro Combo, which takes the latest model of the mini robovac and bundles in a lightweight stick vacuum that attaches to, and auto-empties into, the same dock. Said dock has gained a long chimney-like extension for the purpose, and now looks a little like a futuristic pizza oven.

This robovac scored highly in our SwitchBot K10+ Pro review, and the manual vacuum looks decent too. It promises many of the same features I’d look for in today’s best cordless vacuums, including an advanced filtration system, a roller designed not to get tangled with hair, a lie-flat design, and detailing tools for handling different cleaning tasks.

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(Image credit: SwitchBot)

However, I’m not entirely sold on the new configuration. First, the stick vacuum attaches to the back of the dock, which means you can’t position the dock flush to the wall. This is perhaps to ensure that the bot can find its way back (you need to position the dock with clear space to the front and sides), but it does mean that you now have to have your dock sitting away from the wall and taking up more space in the room, if you want to avoid accidentally scraping the stick vacuum down the wall as you dock it.

I’m also not convinced that you’d be saving space compared to having a separate wall-mounted cordless vacuum dock – the kind you get with most Dyson vacuums. Sure, the two docks would be in separate spots, but cumulatively they wouldn’t take up much more space than this combination effort.

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(Image credit: SwitchBot)

If you’re wondering why I’m fixating on space here, remember that the SwitchBot robovac’s whole USP is that it’s small. If you have space for a ******* dock, you’d just buy a regular-sized robot vacuum, and open up a world of other options (here are TechRadar’s best robot vacuum picks if you’re looking for inspiration).

With a capacity of three liters, the dust cup hidden in the dock is at least large enough to cope with a decent volume of dust, although it has lost a chunk of capacity compared to the standard K10+ Pro dock, which holds four liters.

If you are sold on this idea, now’s the time to buy, as there are discounts on the SwitchBot K10+ Pro Combo in both the US and the ***.

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Analysis: a self-emptying invasion?

SwitchBot is not the only vacuum brand to be offering such a setup. Take the Yeedi C12 Combo, for instance, which also combines a stick vacuum (with additional mopping head) and full-sized robovac, and comes with an absolute beast of a dock.

It’s also part of an interesting trend for self-emptying manual vacuums. Both of the newest and best Shark vacuums have optional auto-empty docks, for example. I see the appeal with robot vacuums, because the onboard bins are necessarily tiny, and the whole point is to be a hands-off solution. But if you’re manually vacuuming in the first place, it’s not a whole lot more effort to empty the dust cup yourself.

I’ve tested out the Shark PowerDetect, and while the auto-empty dock works well, it’s bulky and not terribly attractive. Personally, I would choose to empty my own bin over having the dock out in my home, so I’m interested to see if this growing trend takes off.

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