3 days ago
Dreame Just Unveiled Affordable Robot Vacuums That Can Climb Over the Threshold Between Rooms. I Saw Them First
Dreame is well known for its robot vacuums, with the Dreame X50 Ultra being one of CNET's top picks due to its ability to cross obstacles with its lift system and advanced mapping and navigation. This feature, first unveiled at CES 2025, is great if you have thresholds in your home, but it's also costly, running around $1,700 at full price. Dreame's new L40s lineup aims to make this handy feature more affordable, bringing the lift system to the L40s Ultra and premium navigation and multifloor mapping to the rest of the lineup.
I spent a few hours with Dreame's new robot vacuums to see how they perform. I also looked at Dreame's more premium Aqua 10 Series, which incorporated the threshold-crossing feature and made it even better. Here's what impressed me most.
Watch this: Follow These Tips for Buying a Robot Vacuum in 2025
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Premium features across the L40s lineup
The L40s lineup brings more premium features from the X50 Ultra to more affordable vacuums.
Ajay Kumar/CNET
The new Dreame L40s shares a couple of premium features across the lineup. The main feature is on the sensor and software side, with all three new models getting the Pathfinder smart navigation and 3DAdapt obstacle avoidance. These give them smarter mapping and route planning for cleaning sessions and more advanced sensors to detect and navigate around obstacles. In the app, you'll be able to set customizable cleaning zones and virtual boundaries if there's somewhere you don't want the robots to go.
There's also support for multifloor mapping, making it easier for a single robot to tackle multiple levels, though you'll still need to move them since they can't climb stairs quite yet. Naturally, you get smart home integration with support for third-party voice assistants, including Alexa and Google Assistant.
On the hardware side, all three vacuums have a 5,200-mAh extended battery, which should provide more cleaning time. They also all get the Vormax suction, which should provide stronger suction that can adjust to your flooring type. All the new robots also come with self-empty and auto-refilling docking stations.
Dreame Aqua 10 Roller and Ultra Roller
The Aqua 10 at the docking station.
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The Aqua 10 Ultra Roller is the robot vacuum I spent the most time with in Dreame's demo area. It's a much more advanced robot than the L40s. Dreame's showcase was similar to the demo we first saw at CES for the X50 Ultra, where we watched it scoot over a pair of thresholds.
The regular Aqua 10 Roller supports obstacles crossing up to 2.36 inches as long as they're a double-layer step with a 3-centimeter or more gap between them, while the Ultra 10 Roller can do even better with support for obstacles up to 3.15 inches high. That's notably better than the X50 Ultra, which only manages 2.36 inches. The robot did a fairly impressive job of recognizing when the thresholding was approaching and deploying its lift system with plenty of time to leverage itself over the barrier.
The Aqua 10 climbed the barriers like a champ.
Ajay Kumar/CNET
I noticed that, unlike the X50 Ultra, which often took multiple tries to approach a barrier and needed to frequently back up and try again, the Aqua 10 Ultra Roller could cross each threshold on the first try. I also liked that when it approached a plastic barrier intended to replicate low furniture, it immediately lowered its sensor module on top, letting it pass under it without getting caught. It's an underrated feature and one I've had issues with on other robot vacuums I've tested, where the sensors can't retract.
This is something of a perfect test environment compared to using the robot vacuum in my home, but the results seem promising. It looks like Dreame may have refined the ability of the robot to recognize the threshold, but also identify when exactly it needs to deploy its legs to get itself over the barrier. Whether this still holds in a more challenging environment, such as my apartment with three cats and larger thresholds of 2 inches and higher, remains to be seen. But I'm aiming to test it.
The Aqua 10 knew when to boost itself up for maximum leverage.
Ajay Kumar/CNET
Other capabilities are impressive. Both models come with 30,000 pascals of suction, which should translate into strong pickup performance on hard flooring and carpet. You also get a rolling mop brush roller that constantly cleans itself with fresh water in real time. The vacuum also self-cleans in its docking station with temperatures up to 212 degrees Fahrenheit.
The robot uses an interesting method to avoid getting the carpet wet by mopping. Rather than lifting up the mopping pads like many robots, it covers the mop with a rubber guard when carpets are detected, presumably saving you from errant drips and accidental contact with more plush carpets.
The Aqua 10 sensor is retractable, letting it fit under low furniture.
Ajay Kumar/CNET
The Aqua 10 series should be available in October 2025, with pricing to be determined.
Dreame L40s Ultra
The L40s Ultra next to its siblings.
Ajay Kumar/CNET
The L40s Ultra supports obstacle crossing for a double-layer threshold up to 40 millimeters (1.5 inches), which isn't quite as high as either of the Aqua Rollers or Dreame X50 Ultra. For a single-layer threshold, the maximum height is 22 millimeters. I didn't get a chance to evaluate cleaning performance, but it comes with 19,000 pascals of suction, which should translate to fairly good pickup on hard flooring, though carpet is usually the real challenge in our testing.
Regarding other features, the L40s Ultra has a dual-brush system with SideReach for vacuuming and MopExtend for mopping. Jargon aside, all you need to know is that the brushes and mops will pop up to tackle corners and edges. There's also an 8-in-1 docking station called the PowerDocket, which offers four-temperature mop washing, auto-emptying for up to 100 days, and 30% faster charging.
In terms of price, the L40s Ultra will run you $1,400, making it a few hundred dollars cheaper than the X50 Ultra while offering similar flagship features. However, it's available on sale with a code DML40S600, which gives it to you for significantly less until Aug. 31.
Dreame L40s Ultra AE
The L40s Ultra AE is a robot vacuum designed for pets and families. Like the Ultra, it has 19,000 pascals of suction and a liftable rubber brush designed to prevent hair tangles (TriCut Brush 3.0). You also get corner cleaning with MopExtend and 167-degree Farenheight hot water mop cleaning. Like all the other models, it comes with a self-cleaning and self-emptying base station.
The AE will cost $1,100 at full price, but it's similarly on sale for $400 until Aug. 31 with the code DML40SAE400.
Dreame L40s Ultra CE
L40s Ultra CE in the middle, next to the D20 Plus (left) and L40s Ultra (right).
Ajay Kumar/CNET
The CE is Dreame's entry-level model. It comes with 13,000 pascales of suction, but it still has higher-end features like being able to detect flooring types and automatically boost suction for carpet (a vital feature if you have three cats). It has rotating mops capable of pressurized scrubbing. The base station supports auto-emptying like other models and has a 3.2-liter dust bag capacity lasting 100 days.
The CE has the most affordable price of the lineup, running $900, though you can get it for $350 off with the code DML40SCE350.
Check out our list of the best robot vacuums available now to see how the Dreame Aqua Roller 10 series and L40s Ultra series compare with other models.
