Oral-B iO 10 Review: Lavish Luxury

Worth When Reviewed

Not but obtainable within the US

Oral-B is the model that springs to thoughts first when desirous about electrical toothbrushes and the agency is again with one other flagship mannequin within the iO Collection 10. 

As you may anticipate, this replaces the iO9 on the high of the pile and comes with a variety of enhancements and new options, together with dwell teaching constructed into the iO Sense good charger and superior stress recognition. 

The query is, are you able to abdomen this toothbrush’s whopping £800 asking value?

Design & Construct 

There’s not an enormous quantity of issues you are able to do with the design of an electrical toothbrush however Oral-B has accomplished its finest with the iO10. 

You may have all the same old issues in place, together with a full-colour OLED display screen constructed into the entrance with an influence button above and a menu button under.  

More often than not, the display screen will present you issues like brushing time and varied smiley faces when you’ve completed, whereas the menu has varied choices, together with cleansing modes and customising the ring gentle on the high. 

That can pulse when the iO10 is charging but additionally serves as a stress indicator – extra on that later. 

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

The iO10 is on the market in black or white colors and has a speckled design meant to characterize the evening sky, though the white mannequin I examined jogs my memory extra of a granite kitchen worktop. 

I like the graceful soft-touch end to the physique and the way in which the interchangeable heads have small icons on the entrance corresponding to a rainbow or diamond that can assist you bear in mind which is yours (if sharing) quite than a colored plastic ring. 

Nonetheless, the comb doesn’t detect completely different brush heads as completely different individuals, so it’s not preferrred for sharing one deal with between a number of individuals if you wish to observe all of your brushing and get stats on the app. 

It’s by way of the iO Sense good charger that the iO10 actually differentiates itself from the opposite Oral-B fashions and rivals.  

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

The toothbrush stands in the midst of this when docked and is held in place with magnets, although they aren’t vastly sturdy so it’s not essentially the most safe resolution. I knocked the iO10 on the ground a few instances, though it doesn’t assist that my toilet is slightly cramped. 

The bottom has a digital clock on the entrance to time your brushing but additionally a set of six lights on the highest to educate you in real-time – extra on how they work under. When it’s not timing your session, it conveniently doubles as a digital clock, though solely when you’ve set it up by way of the app. 

The comb comes with a journey case which may maintain the comb deal with and one toothbrush head. Whereas it does the job on a primary degree, it has a surprisingly awkward button to launch the lid and doesn’t have USB charging as rumoured.  

As a substitute, you’ll want to make use of the provided charger. When you’re within the UK, it matches a shaver socket. You additionally get a refill holder which inserts two brushes. 

Efficiency & Options 

It took me quite a few makes an attempt to get the iO10 synced up with my cellphone. Nonetheless, I didn’t even do that for a few weeks which tells you numerous about how a lot you want it. 

The clock perform on the bottom is an actual boon (it wants Wi-Fi) however not like different iO brushes, you don’t want the app for guided teaching. Mentioned base has a hoop of six lights which step by step flip from blue to white as you sweep every zone. 

When every zone has had sufficient brushing motion, it performs slightly gentle present and whenever you’re all accomplished as a result of all six lights will dance, flashing white and blue. The app does have barely extra superior teaching with entrance, high and again components if you wish to get in-depth and do issues like gather badges for achievements as if it had been some type of health tracker. 

Nonetheless, I usually discovered that taking my cellphone in to brush my enamel was a ache and utilizing the bottom is far more handy.  

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

My gripe with the bottom is that the monitoring across the six zones can usually be gradual to maintain up as you progress spherical. Even worse, it typically thinks you’re brushing the alternative aspect of your mouth, so you will need to use your personal judgment. 

The stress sensor works very nicely certainly, and each the ring gentle and the bottom will flip pink if you happen to’re pushing too laborious. You’ll should depend on the deal with gentle to know if you happen to’re not making use of sufficient stress, although. 

This may go from inexperienced (right stress) to no matter color you’ve set the ring gentle to. Maybe a bit complicated if you happen to’ve set it to orange quite than white, for instance. 

The stress steerage, mixed with the Final Clear brush heads I examined with – which have issues like twisted ‘tuft-in-tuft’ angled bristles for higher attain, resulted in a wonderful efficiency.  

In comparison with my outdated however nonetheless respectable Philips Sonicare, the iO10 leaves my enamel and gums feeling a lot cleaner and a few locations that are usually an issue space aren’t a lot with the iO10. 

I usually used the iO10 on the Day by day Clear mode, however you have got an additional six to select from: Delicate, Gum Care, Intense Clear, Whitening, Tremendous Delicate and Tongue Cleaner. That’s greater than different iO brushes just like the Collection 5, which appropriately has 5. 

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

The iO10 additionally expenses extra rapidly: round three hours in comparison with 12 of the Collection 5. With the bottom in your toilet this shouldn’t matter a lot. 

On the Day by day Clear mode, the iO10 makes use of round 5% of the battery energy for a 2-2:30 minute brush so you need to be capable to get round 20 cleans if you happen to’re travelling and don’t have any approach of charging it. Nonetheless, it’s not completely dependable: the iO10 had a said 4% battery energy, then powered off just a few seconds after hitting go. 

Worth 

The value, as with so many electrical toothbrushes, is the place issues get a bit difficult, within the UK not less than. It’s not but obtainable within the US, however you’ll be able to be part of the waitlist. The iO10 could be a flagship, top-of-the-line, mannequin however I undoubtedly did a double take on the £800 value. 

That’s greater than numerous high-end smartphones, however the RRP for a toothbrush is one thing of a misnomer. It’s actually simply that value for a short while in order that when it will get an inevitable low cost, it seems to be a fantastic deal. As you’ll see, it’s already obtainable for lower than half the RRP.

On the time of writing, regardless of the iO10 simply hitting cabinets, you should buy it for 50% off on the official Oral-B store and retailers will possible have comparable, and even cheaper costs if you happen to store round. It’s also possible to purchase it from retailers corresponding to Boots and Currys.

Even at £400, this can be a dear little bit of equipment and can instantly put many potential prospects off. If that’s you, and I completely get it, then Oral-B does have some extra inexpensive choices: we’d advocate testing the iO Collection 6. 

You could find a lot extra choices in our greatest electrical toothbrushes chart. 

Verdict 

In some ways, the iO10 is a superb electrical toothbrush. It’s actually one of the crucial technically superior fashions available on the market proper now. 

Nonetheless, Oral-B doesn’t do itself any favours with the £800 RRP, other than making it appear to be a relative discount at £400. Even then, it’s far too costly for most individuals. 

Some glorious options and efficiency go a protracted technique to making the iO10 a fascinating brush however that value means expectations are understandably excessive. 

When the case is tough to open and doesn’t have USB charging, adopted by laggy and typically inconsistent monitoring from the bottom – the headline characteristic no much less – it doesn’t really feel like the cash is justified. 

Certain, if you happen to’ve received loads of money to splash then this can be a luxurious toothbrush, however in any other case you’ll discover higher worth elsewhere – together with throughout the iO vary.