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Forget smartphones, electric vehicles, and wearables, robot vacuums are the most exciting thing happening in tech right now and the Dreame X50 Ultra is enough to prove it. The innovation that we’ve witnessed in this industry in the last 16 months has been nothing short of revolutionary as brands rewrite the idea of a basic vacuum cleaner into something that can scan, clean, and mop the floor without you even being home.
Now, some can even pick up items, and others, like the one I’ve been testing, can jump up ledges and reach hard-to-reach places.
I’ve been testing the Dreame X50 Ultra for a month now, and I’m not exaggerating. This robot vacuum can leap up ledges (up to 6cm) thanks to ProLeap retractable legs. It’s a giant leap (pun intended) forward in technology compared to the Eureka J20 robot vacuum I used previously, and if your robot vacuum regularly gets stuck on carpets, against doorway sills, and ledges, this is the device for you. But is Dreame X50 Ultra worth the $2,999 asking price? Let’s find out.
Dreame X50 Ultra Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| ProLeap Retractable Legs Navigation Suction power Mopping Plenty of manualised controls for custom cleaning Set and forget cleaning if you want it | Price Large dock size Battery life could be better |
What Does the Dreame X50 Ultra Cost?
The Dreame X50 Ultra is priced at AUD$2,999 which makes it one of the most expensive robot vacuums on the market.
That said, it’s the only robot vacuum on the market that can leap up ledges of this height (up to 6cm), so it’s a unique product that demands a steeper price. When you’re shopping you should consider that this is an ever-evolving industry, and the features that we find on robot vacuums today will very likely trickle down into cheaper robot vacuums in time. Today is not that day, however.
NOTE: Robot vacuums can often be found on sale. However, they’re typically not the top-of-the-range models like this Dreame X50 Ultra or its competitors in the ECOVACS X8 Pro Omni (AUD$2,499) and Roborock Saros 10 (AUD$2,999). You likely won’t find a deal on these models until EOFY, Cyber Monday, and Black Friday.
Features and Specs of the Dreame X50 Ultra
| Dreame X50 Ultra | |
| Price (AUD$) | $2,999 |
| Unique Features | Retractable legs for superior terrain handling |
| Suction Power | Up to 20,000 Pa |
| Mopping System | Dual rotary mops (180 RPM), 60°C hot water self-cleaning |
| Navigation System | VersaLift™ with LDS & DToF sensors |
| Obstacle Handling | ProLeap™ retractable legs; climbs up to 6 cm |
| Battery Capacity | 6,400 mAh |
| Runtime | Up to 220 minutes, 205m² (2207.85ft²) |
| Dustbin Capacity | 3.2 L auto-emptying bag |
| Water Tank Capacity | Clean: 3.2 L; Dirty: 2.9 L |
| Self-Cleaning Base Station | Yes; mop washing, drying, water refill, dustbin emptying |
| Smart Features | App, Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri, Apple Watch, Matter Protocol |
Dreame X50 Ultra Unboxing and Setup
Like all robot vacuums, the Dreame X50 Ultra comes in a large box that houses everything you need to use the device.
Here’s a list of everything that’s included in the box:
- Dreame X50 Ultra Robot Vacuum
- Base Station
- Main Brush (pre-installed)
- Brush Guard (pre-installed)
- Side Brush (pre-installed)
- Scale Inhibitor (pre-installed)
- Dust Box (pre-installed)
- 2x Mop Pad Holder
- 2x Mop Pad
- 2x Dust Bag (pre-installed x1)
- Cleaning Tool
- 200ml Cleaning Solution
- Base Station Ramp Extension
- Quick Start Guide
- User Manual
While most robot vacuums have everything pre-installed, it’s nice to see that this is the case with the Dreame X50 Ultra. That means you can get straight to filling the tanks, mapping the room, vacuuming, and mopping without stuffing around with tools.
NOTE: The base station is large and you’ll want to consider where you put the robot vacuum. It measures 457 x 340 x 590mm and weighs 9.09kg.
How Does the Dreame X50 Ultra Perform?
Map and Vacuum Performance
- Suction Power: Up to 20,000 Pa
- Mopping: Dual rotating mops
It’s impressive that with so much emphasis placed on the ProLeap retractable legs, the Dreame X50 Ultra has some of the highest suction power on the market at up to 20,000 Pa. That’s a lot of suction power and compares well with another highly-rated robot vacuum, the ECOVACS X8 Pro Omni, which has a claimed suction power of up to 22,000 Pa and the Roborock Saros 10 with 22,000 Pa. It also compares well with middle-of-the-range corded stick vacuums, which is impressive.
This was enough suction power to lift embedded dust, pet hair, and crumbs from my carpet, but also fine particles like flour and sand from my hard floors. What I love most about high-suction robot vacuums is that they can pick up these things on the first pass which saves a little battery and frustration.
That said, high suction equals more noise, but that’s not entirely true with the Dreame X50 Ultra. Even when the suction power is turned up it’s not too noisy for vacuuming during the day, and when you want to sleep and vacuum at night you can turn the suction power down to its lowest setting. Even then, this is enough to clean hard floors, and most of the work is done when mopping.
Speaking of mopping, it does an excellent job of this. The Dreame X50 Ultra has dual rotating mops, and this hardware is top-notch. I was particularly impressed by the Smart Dirt Detection 2.0 software that can tell the difference between solids, liquids, or a mix and choose the amount of water, suction, and speed of the mopping pads to get this dirt out. It also has MopExtend RoboSwing Technology which means an arm extends the mop pad to clean right up against the skirting boards, something that other roller-style robot vacuum mops can’t manage.
When it comes time to clean the mops the X50 Ultra uses 20 high-temp spray nozzles to clean the mop heads, hits them with hot water, and then finishes off the entire process with UV light within the dust bag opening to achieve a 99.98% reduction in bacteria, according to the brand. This also prevents any unwanted odours from making their way into your house. Honestly, it works very well. I worry about how the mops are cleaned and dried because I recently had my hardwood floors recoated and don’t want micro scratches.
Navigation and Obstacle Avoidance
- ProLeap Robotic Retractable Legs: Climbs up to 6cm terrains, ideal for sills, and uneven floors
- VersaLift Navigation: Upgraded LDS Laser + DToF sensors for obstacles
The X50 Ultra can vacuum and mop with the best of them, but where it stands out is with navigation.
It might seem like a gimmick from videos online, but the ProLeap Robotic Retractable Legs were a game changer for my situation. The thick rug (seen in the image) is a showstopper for most robot vacuums, but not the X50 Ultra. It edges up against the rug, realises it can’t lift itself up, deploys the retractable legs to lift the front of the vacuum, and then drags the back half up.
The robot is also smart enough to realise that it’s on a long-pile rug and it can detach the mop pads in the base station to avoid wetting the carpet. Impressive stuff, and it works every time, which is even more impressive. When it’s on short-pile carpets, it can lift the mop pads by 10.5mm to avoid moisture build-up.
Outside of the retractable legs, it does a great job avoiding obstacles with an LDS Laser and DToF sensors. There are 3D structured light and AI actions involved with this stuff and it can identify more than 200 objects, including wiring, socks, shoes, and charging bases. Does it work? Well, it never got stuck during my month of testing, so that’s a resounding yes.
I don’t have pets, so I can’t comment on how well these functions work, but it has a pet-finding mode that searches the house until it finds your animal. Then, it takes a photo and uploads it to the app so you know where your animals are when you’re not at home.
Battery Life and Runtime
- Battery: 6,400mAh, up to 260 minutes runtime
Dreame has stuffed a lot of technology into the X50 Ultra, and battery life suffers because of this. You’ll get up to 220 minutes of runtime on a single charge, good enough to clean a 205m² (2207.85ft²) room. However, that’s less than its competitors in the ECOVACS X8 Pro Omni (up to 291 minutes) and less than the Eureka J20 I was using previously.
Still, battery life is not a problem unless you’re trying to clean one large room, such as an office. It will also return itself to the base station, recharge, and then finish the clean if it runs out of battery.
I have a 48m² living room and it takes 54 minutes to vacuum and mop the floor, which is about average for a robot vacuum. You can speed this process up through the app by selecting how deeply you want to clean.
App Features and Smart Controls
- Smart Home Integration: Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri, Apple Watch, Matter Protocol
- App Support: Custom room settings, scheduling, mapping, and cleaning history
There’s all the smart home functionality you could want with the Dream X50 Ultra, including Apple Watch Support. However, I only really used the Dreame app as it has all of the extended functionality.
You can customize the cleaning modes, including vacuum, mop, vacuum and mop, mop after vacuum, and custom room clean. Then, you can choose the suction power from quiet, standard, turbo, and max. Next, the wetness, from slightly dry to moist and wet. Finally, the mop washing frequency and route, from quick to standard.
However, I’m a plug-and-play type of user, and the CleanGenius function can figure out most of these things for you. I put the Dreame in Mop after Vacuum mode and just press play.
The ability to select which zones you want cleaned is also a useful function, and it will create these rooms by itself while it maps your room. Then, you just select which room you want the X50 Ultra to clean and it takes itself there and cleans it. Simple!
Should You Buy the Dreame X50 Ultra?
The Dreame X50 Ultra is expensive, but it’s also the best robot vacuum that we’ve ever tested.
It can leap up small ledges and carpets, and that’s changed the way that I use a robot vacuum. It’s also the first device that I’ve ever used that doesn’t get stuck, which is the difference between a robot vacuum that I can set and forget and one that needs constant attention, almost negating the benefits of a robo vac entirely.
However, beyond the leaping ability, it has high suction power, great mopping, room navigation, mop cleaning, and fast charging. If you don’t need the longest battery life on the market and want the best robot vacuum on the market, the Dreame X50 Ultra is what you’re looking for.
