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Bosch Unlimited 10 vacuum review: smart, powerful, and built for busy homes
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Bosch Unlimited 10 vacuum review: smart, powerful, and built for busy homes

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Bosch Unlimited 10: two-minute review

Product info

There are two slightly different versions of the Bosch Unlimited 10 vacuum. For this review, I tested the BCS1051GB, sometimes called the Unlimited 10 ProPower. It’s all black and has a slightly better battery.

There’s also the BBS1041GGB, which has a gray plate on the front and slightly shorter runtimes. It’s also cheaper.

The Bosch Unlimited 10 vacuum cleaner, launched in March 2025, is a clear step up from the Unlimited 9. Where the older model offered a 60-minute runtime, three cleaning modes and a 105-minute charge time, the Unlimited 10 ProPower bumps it up to an impressive 100-minute runtime, six cleaning modes, and a much faster 60-minute recharge via the fast-charger supplied. It also adds a forward-bending wand for easier under-furniture cleaning and a hi-tech, interactive display.

Bosch is well-established in home appliances but less dominant in cordless vacuums, and the Unlimited 10 feels like its most serious challenger to Dyson and Shark yet. On test, it delivered consistently strong results on hard floors and carpet alike, with the added flexibility of its extended runtime if you invest in extra batteries. Its smart touch control fascia and LED ring that provides a visual indicator of dust-busting progress will appeal to tech geeks. But, if you want to be really nit-picky, its small dustbin, a floorhead that lacks anti-hair wrap features, and overall weightiness are slight drawbacks.

It’s not quite the Dyson-slayer Bosch might have been aiming for, but the Unlimited 10 is easily one of the best cordless vacuum cleaners I’ve tested so far this year. If you’re on the hunt for impressive suction, long runtimes and easy handling, this one’s a clever, future-proof contender. Keep reading as I dive into its design, performance and value to see if the Bosch Unlimited 10 is the best vacuum cleaner for you.

Everything that came in the box for my review model (Image credit: Future)

Bosch Unlimited 10 ProPower review: price & availability

  • List price: from £569.99
  • Launch date: March 2025
  • Availability: UK and Europe

The Bosch Unlimited 10 BCS1051GB hit the shelves in March 2025 and is currently available across the UK and Europe. Rather confusingly, there is also a slightly lower spec Unlimited 10 BBS1041GGB model in graphite, which was launched at the same time with a RRP of £569.99 (already on offer at £419.99), but, at the time of writing, the black version – sometimes called the ‘ProPower’ – I tested sits squarely at £629.99.

Both versions share the same core cleaning tech, but the main advantage of the BCS1051GB is its larger 5.0 Ah battery, offering up to 100 minutes of runtime (vs 80 minutes with 4.0 Ah). If you’re happy to go for the older Unlimited 9, prices now start from £399.99, so there’s a decent saving to be had there.

One of Bosch’s big selling points is its swappable battery system, which works across more than 100 devices from over 10 brands, making it easy to swap batteries and avoid buying and storing multiple chargers. If you want to double your runtime on the Unlimited 10 ProPower vacuum you’ll need to budget another £137.41 for a second battery pack.

Price-wise, the Bosch Unlimited 10 ProPower lands in the premium bracket of stick vacuums, especially if you pony up for that extra battery, rubbing shoulders with Dyson’s V15 Detect and Shark’s flagship models. On paper, that’s a big ask, but the Bosch claws back some value with its long runtime, six cleaning modes and clever flexible tube. At full price it feels expensive, but as the entry level Unlimited 10 is already discounted by £150 on Bosch’s own website, I predict it won’t be long before the ProPower is on offer, too.

  • Value for money score: 3.5 out of 5

Bosch Unlimited 10 ProPower specs

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Model:

BCS1051GB ProPower (reviewed)

BBS1041GGB

Weight:

3.8 kg

3.8 kg

Dimensions (H x W x D):

130 x 25 x 21.6 cm

130 x 25 x 21.6 cm

Floorhead width:

25cm

25cm

Filter:

HEPA

HEPA

Bin capacity:

0.4L

0.4L

Battery:

18v 5.0 Ah

18 V 4.0 Ah

Max runtime:

100 mins

80 mins

Charge time:

60 mins

90 mins

Bosch Unlimited 10 ProPower review: design

  • Stylish stick vacuum with touchscreen controls, but a tad bulky
  • Compression lever to squish dirt and aid with bin emptying
  • Foot presser for no-bend tool switching

With its matte black finish and streamlined design, the Bosch Unlimited 10 ProPower makes a strong first impression. It boasts a distinctly more premium look than the brand’s earlier vacuums, and while it’s not the most lightweight cleaner out there, but its slightly hefty build does feel reassuringly substantial.

Like most cordless sticks, this vacuum can be configured as a standard upright stick or a handheld, just by plugging the floorhead or upholstery tools into the main unit. I’d have liked a mini turbo brush for getting dog hairs out of the sofas (we have two spaniels), but the extra-long upholstery nozzle with soft rubbery construction that doesn’t scratch the skirting boards was a welcome addition.

The foot pedal makes it easier to release the floorhead without bending down (Image credit: Future)

Swapping out nozzles is especially satisfying, thanks to the handy foot-release pedal on the floorhead, which means you don’t need to bend down every time you want to switch. (Dyson has addressed the same problem on its V16 Piston Animal, except that model uses a slide-down cuff at the top of the wand rather than a foot pedal.)

The wall-mounted docking station is designed to charge the unit when docked so there’s also no need to manually connect the charging cable. If you prefer, and need a fast recharge, you can slide the battery off and charge it in the battery charging unit supplied.

The fast charger gets the battery to full power in just over an hour (Image credit: Future)

Another excellent design feature is the compression lever on the dust bin, which pushes down debris. It’s useful both for squishing the dirt in the bin to make room for more, and for ejecting everything efficiently when it’s time to empty the bin. It meant I didn’t have to get my hands dirty fishing out tangled fluff or hair stuck around the filters. (Incidentally, this is another feature that also appears on the new Dyson V16.)

I loved the touchscreen display, which replaces traditional buttons with a clear, modern interface. You can scroll through the six cleaning modes (Eco, Auto, Turbo, Silent, Car and Delicate), and it also has tutorials on emptying the bin, cleaning filters and so on, so you’ll never have to go hunting for the instruction manual.

The touchscreen is easy and intuitive to use and keeps you abreast of power levels and other key info (Image credit: Future)

Anyone and everyone, but especially those with mobility issues, will appreciate the Unlimited 10’s flexible main pipe, which has a button that lets it bend forwards to a 90-degree angle. This makes sliding the vacuum under sofas, beds, and low or leggy furniture much easier, with no need to crouch down or manhandle heavy furniture.

Press a button and the main hose turns into your flexible friend (Image credit: Future)

This feature isn’t exclusive to Bosch – in fact, it appears on a number of the best Shark vacuums – but it is a welcome addition nonetheless. I used it a lot more than I thought I would, and got a great deal of joy from listening to all the unseen dust and dirt being sucked up from my home’s deepest, darkest voids.

Bosch Unlimited 10 review: performance

  • Packs a powerful punch on hard floors and carpets
  • Auto mode nails switching across different surfaces
  • Super easy to empty, but the dark bin and weight are niggles

With two hairy dogs, messy kids, and a busy family home that always seems to be one mealtime away from total chaos, the Bosch Unlimited 10 had plenty to prove, and I’m delighted to report it did us proud. The bendy wand seemed gimmicky but turned out to be extremely nifty for scooting under sofas, while the floorhead twists nimbly around chair legs and hugs skirting boards. I loved the bright LEDs on the floorhead too: there’s nothing like seeing the hidden dust bunnies lit up before they disappear.

Powerful headlamps make dirt detection easier (Image credit: Future)

Downstairs in my home I have a mix of flooring, primarily hard (wood, porcelain, laminate and terracotta) with a few rugs thrown in, and upstairs is mainly carpet. On hard floors the Bosch Unlimited 10 glided along effortlessly, and when I hit a rug, I could really feel the suction crank up. Auto mode got it spot-on every time, even showing the floor type on the monitor screen, while Turbo is a bit wild on thick carpets but brilliant for the car mats and dog beds.

Day to day, I mostly stuck to Auto and Silent modes, both are more than enough for crumbs, fur and stray feathers (did I mention we also have a budgie?). Silent, in particular, kept things calm without losing too much oomph on the suction front. When I needed extra muscle, Turbo mode swooped in for stubborn dirt or the sofa cushions.

The main floorhead works well on upholstery but I’d have liked a smaller one (Image credit: Future)

Crucially, it didn’t do that annoying thing where bigger crumbs get batted around instead of sucked up; everything just disappeared in one or two passes. And although my decibel monitor app measured noise levels between 65 and 72dBA across modes, none of them had me worried the neighbors might complain.

I’ll admit there are two modes I probably won’t use much – Car mode and Delicate Carpet mode – but for the sake of this review, I gave them a spin. Car Mode sits somewhere between Auto and Turbo in terms of power, and is designed for nozzle work in the nooks and crannies of your car. Normally, I leave that job to our local valet, but it gave a solid “interim clean” performance – not valet-level, but good enough to freshen things up between visits.

Delicate Carpet mode, meanwhile, turns off the rollers and relies on suction alone, making it ideal for more sensitive floor coverings like sisal, silk, or any rug that hates a beater bar. I only have one rug that qualifies, but it handled it gently and effectively.

The red button slides down to drag the bin contents out (Image credit: Future)

Cleaning out the bin and dust-busting the filter is surprisingly fuss-free. The lever in the bin, which you slide down from the outside, means you can compress the contents of the bin to fit more in (useful because the bin itself is very small). It also comes into its own when it comes to emptying – no more grim moments fishing out clumps of fur.

The twist-to-clean filter is oddly satisfying too: you just hold the filter over the bin and turn the top of the filter and some magic within flicks all the dust out. An alarming amount of dust in fact, which is surely just a sign that the filter really must be very good, not that my house is exceptionally dirty?

Sadly, the Bosch Unlimited 10 isn’t entirely perfect. Disappointingly, the floorhead roller did collect its fair share of hair while I was cleaning. Most vacuum makers have solved this issue now, with anti hair-wrap features. The roller pops out easily, so it’s relatively easy to snip away tangles with scissors or a sharp knife, but I’d wouldn’t expect to have to do this on a premium-priced vacuum.

The roller wasn’t too bad with hairs, but a few stray strands lingered (Image credit: Future)

The dark-grey dustbin makes it tricky to see when it’s full unless you peer closely. It’s also a bit heavy – after about 10 minutes on the stairs I definitely felt the weight of the Unlimited 10 in my arms, and after testing the battery life, my arm was nearly ready to drop off. I exaggerate, but it was certainly one of the heavier stick vacuums I have reviewed, and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it for anyone who is elderly or infirm.

Another key feature of the Bosch Unlimited 10 worth mentioning is its MicroClean LED ring. The Tineco Pure One X and Shark PowerDetect has similar tech, and it’s essentially designed to give you visual feedback on cleanliness levels/progress as you clean. The ring glows red when it’s still picking up dust and debris, then flips to blue once the area is spotless. The idea is that it takes the guesswork out of knowing when you’ve done enough passes.

I’ll be honest, I’m generally happy to trust my eyes to tell me whether a floor looks clean, and I didn’t really pay much attention to the LEDs, so I’m not sure how useful it really is for me. That said, anyone who frets about hidden dirt or just likes a reassuring visual prompt might appreciate this feature.

The LED halo changes colour to indicate cleaning is complete (Image credit: Future)

Suction tests

To really put this vacuum through its paces, I set up a few very scientific (erm, slightly chaotic) tests using oats and teabags across hard floors and carpets. It felt a bit like hosting a chimp’s tea party and the dogs trying to eat my testing material didn’t help matters, but it definitely showed what this vacuum was made of.

First up, I ripped open a teabag and sprinkled its contents across the hard flooring (engineered oak boards) in the kitchen. In the lowest power setting, Eco mode, the Unlimited 10 guzzled those tealeaves up in one sweep, no mess left behind, no repeat passes needed to get that blue LED light ring assurance the floor was clean. Honestly, I was embarrassingly giddy at how satisfying it was watching the tea vanish, even from the grooves between the floor planks.

Over on the carpet though, it was a different story: Eco just wasn’t enough. Switching up to Turbo mode gave it the grunt it needed, and once I did that, the tea leaves were gone in seconds.

Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Future)

Teabag test

(Image credit: Future)

Next came the oats, about 30g of finest Scottish Porridge Oats scattered across the floor like confetti. On hard flooring, Eco Mode struggled a bit: the vacuum dragged the oats backwards, leaving them behind. I quickly learned that lifting the head slightly and giving Turbo mode a spin sorted them out without fuss. It wasn’t the smoothest pass, but it did the job quickly enough. On carpet, it was oddly easier. Eco did most of the work, but I did ramp it up to Turbo to nab the last few stubborn bits.

Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)

carpet test

Finally, I checked out how well this vacuum handled edge cleaning. I sprinkled a line of tea right along the skirting board in the kitchen. Running the vacuum parallel left a faint dusty line, but as soon as I changed tack and went in head-on at a right angle, it snaffled up the lot. So yes, you’ll probably still want the crevice tool now and then, but with a bit of maneuvering the main floorhead is surprisingly capable at perimeter duty.

If you approach it from the correct angle, the edge cleaning is excellent (Image credit: Future)

All in all, these “tea and oats” experiments were a good stress test, and while not every mode was perfect for every mess, the Unlimited 10 handled everything I threw at it without too much drama or excessive time wasting.

  • Performance score: 4.5 out of 5

Bosch Unlimited 10 review: battery

  • For the BCS1051GB ProPower version:
    • Up to 87 minutes in Eco, 32 in Auto, 30 in Silent, and 14 in Turbo
  • Fast recharge in just over an hour – barely enough time for a nap
  • Battery works across Bosch’s 18V All Alliance range

Note, in this section I’ll be focusing on the Unlimited 10 BCS1051GB ProPower model, which has a slightly better battery than the BBS1041GGB.

Battery life is one of the Unlimited 10’s real strengths. In Eco mode, I clocked a solid 87 minutes, which is more than enough for multiple cleans or one mega session. Auto mode, which I used most, lasted about 32 minutes – no doubt helped by the fact my home is at least 70% hard flooring, while Silent mode gave me around 30 minutes of cleaning time. If you’re a suction-obsessed cleaner and stick to Turbo mode, you’re looking at just 14 minutes, so if your home is wall-to-wall carpet you might want to budget for a spare battery.

Recharge time was another bonus. From empty to full, it took just over an hour, which is slightly more than Bosch’s claim, but still super quick compared to most rivals. I could plug it in before lunch, and it would be ready to go again by the time I’d eaten and caught up on my Socials.

Another noteworthy trick is that the battery is part of Bosch’s 18V Power For All Alliance, which means you can swap it into more than just your vacuum – from power drills to hedge trimmers. It’s a small thing, but being able to share batteries across gadgets is genuinely useful, especially if you’re already in the Bosch ecosystem.

For day-to-day cleaning, I’d rate the battery life excellent. I managed to get around my four-bed Victorian house in one charge, as long as I resisted leaning on Turbo too much. For a cordless, that’s pretty impressive, and it takes away a lot of the range anxiety I used to get from early stick vacuums.

  • Battery life score: 4.5 out of 5

Should you buy the Bosch Unlimited 10?

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Attribute

Notes

Rating

Value for money

Premium price, but justifiable with strong suction, smart features, and quick-charging battery, especially if you’ve already bought into Bosch’s battery-sharing system.

3.5/5

Design

Sleek and modern with clever touches like a bendy pipe, foot-release floorhead, and touchscreen controls, though its top-heavy build won’t suit everyone.

4/5

Performance

Excellent on hard floors and carpets, with smart Auto mode, bright LEDs, and easy maneuverability.

4.5/5

Battery

Impressive runtimes across most cleaning modes and a rapid one-hour recharge, easily catering for a family-sized home.

4.5/5

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

How I tested the Bosch Unlimited 10 ProPower

I put the Bosch Unlimited 10 ProPower through its paces for four weeks over the summer holidays — the absolute messiest time of year in our house. With two dogs, two daughters riding most days, and the endless trail of hay, horsehair, and snack crumbs that comes with it, our four-bedroom Victorian home in deepest Devon was a perfect test ground. We’ve got a mix of hard floors and carpet, so I was able to see how well it adapted to different surfaces, as well as how it coped with daily chaos.

I used all the attachments and functions, from the detail brush on the sofas and stairs to the bendy wand for reaching under beds. I ran proper “mess tests” too – oats and teabags scattered across both carpets and hard floors – and I checked how close it could get to edges without switching to the crevice tool. I also kept tabs on battery life, recording runtimes across Eco, Auto, Silent and Turbo modes, and timed how long it took to recharge.

To round it out, I used a decibel meter app to measure noise levels in each mode, because I wanted to know if it was genuinely quiet or just “quiet for a vacuum.” I lived with it as our only vacuum, using it on everything from dog hair tumbleweeds to post-dinner disasters, and came away with a clear sense of how it performs in real life.

Read more about how we test vacuum cleaners.

First reviewed August 2025



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9 Best Down Comforters (2025), Tested in Our Homes in Every Season
Product Reviews

9 Best Down Comforters (2025), Tested in Our Homes in Every Season

by admin


Compare Our Top 9 Down Comforters

More Comforters We’ve Tested

If you want a warm blanket but you don’t want traditional down, consider a down alternative, or a comforter made with eucalyptus or bamboo.

Buffy Breeze Comforter

Photograph: Buffy

Buffy Breeze Comforter for $200: The Buffy Breeze Comforter has been on my bed for years. It’s made with a eucalyptus fiber fill and has a eucalyptus fiber cover, which lends it a silky feeling and excellent temperature regulation. It keeps me warm in the winter, but in the summer it doesn’t get too hot or feel too stifling. There are cute duvet covers available that I don’t entirely love—the comforter shifts around inside quite a bit—but if you want a duvet cover, this one is decent and made out of similar materials so it won’t detract from the comforter’s cooling features. The best part is that the Buffy Breeze is pretty affordable, and it goes on sale during basically every shopping holiday.

The Company Store Legends Luxury Luxe Royal Down Medium Warmth Comforter for $592: For the price, I admit I was expecting this to be about as high-end a down comforter experience as one could get. And indeed, the RDS-certified Legends Luxury Luxe Royal looks nice, with a silky embossed basketweave design on the cover, but it didn’t have the same loft or fluffy feel as the brand’s Legends Hotel line. Which is strange, as it has a higher fill power than my favorite Legends Hotel comforter, the Premium Alberta (700-750 to Alberta’s 600-650). And it’s not just me—during testing, I lent the Legends Luxury Luxe Royal to my teen son, who had previously been trying the Alberta, and he only made it three days before asking for the Alberta back. —Kat Merck

Photograph: Kat Merck

LaCrosse Premium Down Medium Warmth Comforter for $352: From the Company Store’s flagship LaCrosse collection, this RDS-certified comforter hits all the brand’s high points: loops for comforters that have ties; 600-650 fill power; combed cotton sateen cover. However, it is around the same price as the Legends Hotel Premium Alberta, above, which is considerably fluffier. —Kat Merck

Photograph: Brooklinen

Brooklinen Airweave Cotton Quilt for $254: This fluffy quilt is made of a waffled, textured fabric that feels lightweight, airy, and fluffy but still manages to keep heat in. It’s a wonderful blanket for summer months or afternoon naps, and I love the punchy colors. (I tested it in Marigold, a vibrant orange that brings me joy every time I see it.) My tester blanket did have a couple of loose threads, but careful snipping took care of them.

Utopia Bedding Down Alternative Comforter for $34: If you’re on a tight budget, this affordable down alternative comforter offers great value for the price. It’s quilted and lightweight, but it’ll still keep you warm despite not being particularly heavy. I wasn’t a huge fan of the outer fabric—it’s microfiber that I found to be a bit scratchy and rough. But the comforter is available in a wide array of colors (there are 11 to choose from), and it has corner loops so it’ll work with a duvet cover. It’s also well-constructed—I didn’t find a single loose thread or stitch, unlike some other affordable comforters I’ve used in the past.

Eden & Om Bamboo Comforter

Photograph: Louryn Strampe

Eden & Om Bamboo Comforter for $149: This blanket is silky-soft and quite thin. It’d be a great option for a summer blanket since it’s naturally cooling, though conversely, you might want to have a warmer comforter around for cooler nights. Even in the Extra weight, it doesn’t completely block the chill from my box fan, let alone keep me warm enough in the brutal winter months. But on nights when it isn’t dreadfully chilly outside, this blanket reminds me of the Buffy Breeze comforter (above)—it helps regulate my body temperature without making me too warm or too cold. It’s also pretty breathable so on the off chance I do sweat, I don’t wake up feeling trapped and overheated.

Ikea FJÄLLBRÄCKA for $129: I used this Ikea comforter for several years. It’s not even 100 percent down (they cut it with duck feathers), it tends to get a little lumpy, and it’s not especially lofty, but it does have a 252-thread-count shell that prevents feather leakage. The biggest downside is that the added duck feathers give this comforter a little more of a “poultry smell” than white goose down feathers would. However, this comforter is also machine washable and sturdier than a lot of quilts I’ve used at this price point. —Martin Cizmar

Comforters We Don’t Recommend

Photograph: Wayfair

White Noise Goose Down and Feather All Season Comforter for $72: This all-season medium-weight comforter is breathable, balanced, and suitable for all seasons, with between 2 and 3 inches of 600-fill power thickness. The outside material is soft but feels sort of weird to the touch because it’s made of polyester and nylon—although this helps with noise reduction and is quieter than the others I’ve tested. It’s machine washable and struck a great balance between being thin and light enough for warmer weather while having enough thickness to still feel cozy. However, the comforter came with a really weird, pungent odor that smelled like grass and sweat. I washed and dried it two times to make the stench bearable to sleep with, but every once in a while during testing I could still smell the odor faintly. This is a solid all-season down comforter that strikes a good balance and has a great price point. I just wish it hadn’t smelled so gross. —Molly Higgins

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Down is the layer of fluffy feathers between a bird’s outer feathers and its skin. It’s a great insulating material—just think of all those birds that manage to stay warm and dry all year long. Down is efficient, it’s more eco-friendly than some alternative materials, and it’s breathable despite keeping things so warm. Down holds up well over time with proper care, so your initial investment will last for years. A down comforter is especially worthwhile if you live in a cold climate. Blankets made with down alternatives or other types of materials can be good, too, but if you’re looking for a warm blanket that’ll last decades, down is probably what you want. We have an article dedicated to helping you decide.

How Do You Choose a Down Comforter?

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Look for a cover thread count between 230 and 500. Fabrics with these thread counts are “down-proof” and minimize the chances of feathers poking through.

Fill power vs. fill weight: Fill power is a measurement of how much space, in cubic inches, an ounce of down takes up—for instance, a fill power of 600 means one ounce of down will take up 600 cubic inches. A higher fill power means fluffier, more efficient down. Fill power doesn’t necessarily translate to warmth, but it’s an indication of the quality of the down and how much the down compresses. Fill weight, on the other hand, is the amount of down inside the product. If something has high fill power but low fill weight, it won’t necessarily be warmer than if something has low fill power and high fill weight. It’s a little confusing. The most important factor is how the down is distributed. Look for baffle-box or sewn-through construction in your comforters for an indication that down will be distributed evenly and keep you warm throughout the night. Baffle boxes keep down lofty but need to be shaken sometimes to reallocate the down inside, whereas sewn-through keeps things in place but often results in a slightly less fluffy comforter.

Goose vs. duck down: Goose down has a higher fill power than duck down, so it’s fluffier and loftier. It’s also less smelly and generally more hypoallergenic. On the other hand, duck down is usually more affordable. We think goose down is best unless you’re on a very tight budget. Two common types of goose down are Hungarian and Hutterite. Both are considered to be top-notch based on the large down clusters typical of birds that come from the cold regions of Hungary and Canada. Hutterite tends to be more affordable. You likely wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the two. Hungarian down can be a bit loftier, and Hutterite down can be a bit softer, but ultimately neither of these factors should make or break your decision to purchase a comforter. When it comes to the types of birds the down comes from, however, you should look for all goose down or at least a blend of goose and duck. That will cut back on odors and allergens and offer a fluffier, more high-quality blanket.

Down comforter care tips: If you’re investing in a comforter, you might want to consider getting a duvet cover, which can help protect the comforter and also usually improves the look (unless you’re into plain white). When it comes to washing the comforter itself, you want to follow the instructions on the care tag, and wash it as infrequently as you can. You can do it at home if your washer is big enough; otherwise, head to local laundromat to use their bigger machines. Use a delicate wash cycle with high spin speed to get as much moisture out as possible, and avoid using fabric softener, which can degrade the down’s fluffy texture. You should also use a small amount of detergent—err on the side of less, not more—and consider an extra rinse cycle to ensure that all the soap is rinsed out. Make sure that your comforter is fully dry using a low-heat setting. It might take a few cycles. Fluff the comforter between rounds to ensure efficient drying and maximum loft. I like using wool dryer balls to help make drying more efficient.

How Does WIRED Test Down Comforters?

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For each comforter we tested, our testers slept with our respective picks for at least seven nights in locations around the US—our testers included folks living in Portland, Oregon; northern Illinois; New York City; and Kansas City, Missouri. Every comforter in this list has at least been tested during autumn, though most have been tested during every season. We looked for comforters that struck a balance between price, efficiency, and quality, and sought out different fill weights, fill powers, and materials to ensure our recommendations met a variety of reader needs. We assessed how we felt as we fell asleep, slept, and woke up. We paid careful attention to details such as whether a comforter was noisy while settling in for the night, or whether any feathers poked through.

Power up with unlimited access to WIRED. Get best-in-class reporting and exclusive subscriber content that’s too important to ignore. Subscribe Today.



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9 Best Robot Vacuums (2025): Tested and Reviewed in Real Homes
Product Reviews

9 Best Robot Vacuums (2025): Tested and Reviewed in Real Homes

by admin


Compare Top 9 Robot Vacuums

Other Robot Vacuums to Consider

Photograph: Adrienne So

We are approaching the great robot vacuum convergence. At whatever price you want to pay, you can find a robot vacuum that will look very similar and have similar features. Here are a few that also worked well for us.

Roborock Qrevo Curv for $1,099: This was Roborock’s 2024 flagship vacuum, and it’s still great (reviewer Ryan Waniata calls it the best robot vacuum he’s ever used). It has slightly less suction power than this year’s Saros 10R, but I did use it to clean an entire carpet full of baking powder. We are waiting for Roborock to release the Qrevo Curv line into the North American market for 2025.

Tapo TP-Link RV20 Max for $200: This is a perfectly fine, slim, basic robot vacuum that was our most affordable pick for most of the year. However, I’ve had it running in my living room for long-term testing and I am becoming a little exasperated by how often it gets knocked off the dock and runs out of battery.

Eufy Mach S1 Pro for $950: This astoundingly beautiful robot vacuum will be the centerpiece of your kitchen. The water chamber is see-through and lights up, and an ozone generator purportedly removes up to 99.99 percent of bacteria. It also has ultra-precise navigation and a self-cleaning roller mop that washes itself as it cleans. However, it only has 8,000 Pa suction, which is less than some of our other picks, and at 26.4 inches high, the dock is very tall and makes storage difficult.

Eufy X10 Pro Omni for $550: Believe it or not, this is not a bad price for a hybrid robot vacuum mop (9/10, WIRED Recommends) with such fantastic navigational capabilities! (Sales have brought it even lower.) However, the Yeedi above is cheaper and offers mostly the same functionality.

Avoid These Robot Vacuums

Not every vacuum earns a spot on our list. These are the ones I repacked straightaway.

Mova P50 Pro Ultra Robot Vacuum for $799: This robot vacuum features a staggering 19,000 Pa of suction and a wide array of high-end features, like an extendable side brush and an intelligent dirt detection system. Reviewer Molly Higgins appreciated that it’s self-cleaning and that the bin auto-empties, but she found that, despite its smart systems, the mapping was not accurate, small obstacles often threw it off, and the vacuum eventually started avoiding rooms altogether.

Eufy E28 Combo Robot Vacuum for $983: I was super disappointed by this, since I have two dogs and two kids and frequently need to use a deep carpet cleaner, in addition to a mop and vacuum. This vacuum can mop and has a detachable carpet cleaning station. Unfortunately, the water injection system is wonky. The robot vacuum has to be perfectly positioned to get injected with water from the tank (I often had to tap it into place with my foot), and every time I mopped, it leaked all over my kitchen floor. At least the carpet cleaner was effective.

iRobot Combo J7+ for $399: iRobot makes beautiful robot vacuums that I’ve liked for years, but the software experience on this one was poor when I tested it. Since then, the company has undergone many twists and turns and released a new line under a new CEO. We will update this roundup once we have tested the latest lineup.

Ecovacs Deebot T50 Max Pro Omni for $788: My tester could not make it back to the docking station. I have asked Ecovacs for another review sample and will update this once I have tested it.

TP-Link Tapo RV30C for $148: I like the simplicity of this robot vacuum, but you can’t find replacement bags for it anymore.

Eureka J20 and Eureka J15 Pro Ultra for $830: Eureka is a highly respected name in the vacuum field, and these robot vacuums are gorgeous and come with many bells and whistles. However, Eureka vacuums found the tiny lip between the hardwood floor of my kitchen to the carpet of the living room to be completely insurmountable, and the app also forgot the map every time it hit a minor obstacle. It was so annoying.

Narwal Freo X Ultra for $700: This is a beautiful vacuum with lots of features, including baseboard dusting. However, despite moving it from room to room to find better Wi-Fi, and switching from phone to phone to try different versions of the app, I was unable to connect it to the app and so could not use it. (I reached out to Narwal multiple times but could not fix it; we will update if I do find a fix in the future.)

Switchbot K10+ for $600: You can now accessorize this tiny robot vacuum with additional cleaning accessories, like a stick vacuum or air purifier. Unfortunately, the robot vacuum itself still is horrible. This is the only vacuum where I’ve ever experienced a pooptastrophe—where it dragged a dog poop all over my house. Reviewer Simon Hill also tried this robot vacuum and discovered that it’s suicidal. The roller gets clogged easily, it can’t find its way back to the dock, and it often hurls itself down the stairs.

Shark PowerDetect 2-in-1 for $1,000: This vacuum cleaned surprisingly well (5/10, WIRED Review). However, it doesn’t auto-empty, DirtDetect doesn’t work, and the app is completely bonkers (maps aren’t accurate, can’t add multiple floors, and cleaning times are off).

What Navigation System Do I Use?

Robot vacuum manufacturers will try to tell you that the most important spec is the level of suction. That is wrong—it’s the navigation system. It doesn’t matter how good a vacuum is at cleaning if it gets stuck every time it starts. A more complicated or expensive navigation system doesn’t guarantee that it won’t get stuck, but it is a good starting point. Many vacuums also combine systems.

Sensor mapping: The most inexpensive vacuums use a combination of sensors along the exterior of the vacuum, like cliff detectors on the bottom and wall detectors on the bumper, to ping-pong around your home avoiding obstacles.

Gyroscope: This is an affordable but surprisingly effective method of mapping that has been used in ships for centuries. A spinning wheel or light helps the vacuum determine its position relative to other objects in your home.

Lidar: Lidar stands for “light detection and ranging.” The vacuum uses pulsed lasers to determine how far away each object is.

Camera navigation: There’s a camera on it. Basically, the vacuum has little eyes that look around. While I’ve found this system to be extremely accurate and/or unintentionally hilarious, you must look for additional security protocols to make sure that said hilarious images of your home don’t end up on the internet.

SLAM: With SLAM navigation, or “simultaneous localization and mapping,” the vacuum uses algorithms to process a bunch of data—for example, how many times the wheels have rotated, along with camera or sensor data—to calculate where and how far it should move. It’s usually used in combination with a few, or all, of these other navigation technologies.

IMU: An inertial measurement unit is a system that combines multiple sensors like gyroscopes and accelerometers to navigate by dead reckoning.

Machine learning: Many robot vacuum manufacturers now tout their own proprietary mapping system. For example, iRobot uses a system called Imprint Smart Mapping that learns as it cleans, as does Roborock’s SmartPlan. These also usually come in combination with a camera or lasers.

Robot Vacuum Tips

Robot vacuums have a complicated task. Your home is ever-changing, and no robot vacuum will be perfect. We have a few starting points here, but if you’re still having trouble, you should check out our guide to getting the most into your robot vacuum.

Do robot vacuums work on hardwood? Yes. Many robot vacuums have different cleaning modes that will allow you to select between carpeting, tile, or other floor surfaces. If you have a combination mop-vacuum, only use the brand’s recommended liquid cleaner. Using a generic cleaner may clog your docking station.

Will my pet hate my robot vacuum? Maybe. I’ve introduced three dogs to robot vacuums with minimal problems, but if you’re nervous, you can try giving your pets treats when you turn the vacuum on for the first few times.

Stay home for your robot vacuum’s first few runs. Many homes have hot spots—a weird door jamb, a lumpy rug—where you will need to rescue your vac. Do a quick run-through beforehand for robot booby traps, like ribbons, charging cables, and pieces of string.

Check your Wi-Fi. If you have a Wi-Fi-enabled robot vacuum, most of them can only connect to the 2.4-GHz wireless band. If you’re having problems connecting, make sure you’re linking to the right band. Check out our guide to setting up your smart home for more tips.

Vacs need maintenance. Like every robot—especially one that comes in contact with the grimiest parts of your house—you need to care for it regularly. Error messages may prompt you to empty the bin mid-run, cut the hair off the rollers, or wipe off the cliff sensors. Instruction manuals and YouTube can help.

Vacuum during the day. If you have the choice, it’s usually better to schedule a run at 2 pm than at midnight, since many vacuums also use optical sensors to navigate.

Don’t throw out your hand vacuum. I hate to be a downer, but you’re probably still going to need a full-size manual vacuum once in a while. I keep a Dyson around for quick spot cleaning and vacuuming bedroom corners.

Be wary about disposable bags: Some vacuums pull dust into a disposable bag. Instead of dumping out the bin and getting dust everywhere, you just toss the bag out neatly and replace it. Unfortunately, some companies stop selling these bags altogether (looking at you, TP-Link), leaving you with a functioning robot vacuum that can’t suck up dust anywhere. Try and find information on how long parts like this will be available.

How We Test

I’ve been personally reviewing robot vacuums since 2017 and have tested well more than 100 (I have not tracked the exact number but I have reviewed one roughly every two weeks for eight years). Each WIRED gear tester sets up the vacuum in their own home, according to the manufacturer’s instructions, and in a spot with clear Wi-Fi signal. Over the course of at least two weeks, we run the vacuum every day, examining a number of factors: battery life; how well the app works; whether the map is accurate; if it consistently cleans around the edges of your home; and how well it picks up dirt of various sizes, which includes sand, lint, dog hair, Cheerios, wood chips, and flour.

We also look for mitigating factors, such as whether it’s incredibly loud or ugly, or if it fits into your kitchen at all. For a vacuum to be useful, you have to want to use it and have it around. We also noted a vacuum’s power via the manufacturer’s stated Pa, or pascals—the higher the number, the greater the suction.

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GameFi Guides

Hong Kong Police Arrest Two Over Alleged Crypto Mining in Care Homes

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In brief

  • Two technicians were arrested for allegedly setting up eight illicit crypto mining rigs.
  • Running the hidden mining rigs inflated monthly electricity bills for care homes.
  • Illegal crypto mining has become a growing problem globally.

Hong Kong police have detained two men on suspicion of diverting electricity from care homes for the disabled to power cryptocurrency mining machines.

Police allege the pair, aged 32 and 33, used their access during renovation work to install eight devices in the suspended ceilings of two offices. The machines ran around the clock, adding as much as $1,153 (HK$9,000) to monthly power bills.

Inspector Ng Tsz-wing from Sham Shui Po’s technology and financial crime squad said the case came to light after one home noticed repeated slowdowns in its internet service. Its IT staff uncovered unauthorised equipment concealed above the office ceiling, and similar devices were later discovered in another home in Sau Mau Ping.

Police arrested the suspects last Friday in Mong Kok and Sham Shui Po on charges of “abstracting electricity.” Investigators believe the men acted alone rather than as part of a larger syndicate.



Ng urged organisations to keep close watch over contractors during renovations and to monitor electricity bills for sudden increases. He warned that concealed equipment can remain hidden for months. Under Hong Kong’s Theft Ordinance, illegally using electricity carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

“The public should also pay more attention to electricity bills or network usage and make relevant checks and notify police in case they find some suspicious circumstances,” Ng said, according to the South China Morning Post.

Illegal crypto mining is “power theft and a safety risk,” Shanon Squires, Chief Mining Officer at Compass Mining, told Decrypt. He added that, “This activity goes against core tenets for many Bitcoiners, such as private property rights and not harming others. Engaging in electricity theft is directly taking someone’s property without permission and causing them harm by sticking them with the bill.”

Squires pointed out that the mining rigs shown by Hong Kong police “do not appear to be Bitcoin miners,” noting that, “At smaller scales, it’s possible that illegal mining is more common than generally perceived, especially for altcoin mining rather than Bitcoin, unless it’s a larger-scale operation.”

Crypto mining and energy consumption

Cryptocurrency mining, the process of using specialized computers to solve complex mathematical problems in exchange for coins, is notoriously energy-hungry.

Research by Digiconomist estimates that Bitcoin mining alone generates an annual carbon footprint of more than 105 million tonnes of CO2, comparable to Belgium’s total emissions. Its electricity use is similar to Thailand’s, and its freshwater demand mirrors Switzerland’s.

The Hong Kong case is far from isolated. In Thailand earlier this year, police raided three abandoned houses in Pathum Thani province and seized 63 mining machines that were illegally connected to utility poles.

In the UK, officers in West Yorkshire uncovered an operation in Bradford where miners were running off an illicit electricity supply.

And in Central Asia, officials have also reported widespread abuse of energy grids. Tajikistan’s attorney general said illegal mining drained more than US$3.5 million worth of electricity in the first half of 2025 alone, while in neighbouring Kazakhstan, authorities discovered miners tapping into enough power to supply a city of 70,000.

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Real Estate Speculators Are Swooping In to Buy Disaster-Hit Homes
Gaming Gear

Real Estate Speculators Are Swooping In to Buy Disaster-Hit Homes

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“Hi there Gina, hope you’re having a great day,” said another exactly two weeks later. “My name is Christine, I am a land buyer. I’m reaching out to see if you have any plans to sell the lot.” The text was signed by “Twin Acres.” Twin Acres is not a registered real estate broker. Grist’s attempt to text the number back went unanswered.

Sometimes, Miceli said, she answers the texts. “It depends on my mood. I think there’s been a time or two I’ve said, ‘Go to hell.’” She has no plans to leave. She’s raising her family in the home her husband’s grandparents bought, and she owns a local brewery.

Some theorists call this phenomenon “disaster gentrification,” when real estate investors flood a disaster zone to buy up damaged properties for cheap.

Samantha Montano, a professor of emergency management and author of the book Disasterology, spent years living and working in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and saw it happen with her own eyes. In areas like the Lower Ninth Ward, some people displaced by the storm didn’t have the resources to return. Speculators rushed in. Some landowners became instant millionaires, selling their properties to out-of-state developers hoping to rebuild and flip their property.

“The issue of gentrification in New Orleans was there from the beginning,” Montano said. “There were many groups who were warning about that, advocating for housing policy and other recovery policies to account for gentrification. [They] tried to prevent it.” Twenty years later, the demographics of New Orleans have shifted: Lower-income and Black residents have been displaced, and whiter, wealthier new residents took their place. “Certainly that is all very much intertwined in the recovery and in who had access to the resources to return and rebuild—and who didn’t,” she said.

In the wake of the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, earlier this year, half of home purchases were by limited liability corporations, according to Dwell, the home design news site. That’s nearly double what they typically represent compared to individuals buying homes. Just six companies—among them Ocean Development Inc. and Black Lion Properties LLC—dominated those transactions in Altadena, spending millions of dollars to purchase destroyed properties in historically Black neighborhoods. It’s difficult to find out who these companies are: Often, they contact potential sellers through fake phone numbers or under names that aren’t necessarily attached to real corporations.

The value of disaster-struck land consistently bounces back fast, meaning that buyers can flip the land or homes—sometimes even without making repairs. As climate change fuels more frequent severe natural disasters across the United States, “disaster investors” seem set to make greater profits than ever—and communities like North St. Louis stand to bear the burden.

A for-sale sign in Altadena, California, in March, three months after wildfires swept through the area.Photograph: Juliana Yamada/Getty Images



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Princeton Researchers
Gaming Gear

Princeton scientists bend wireless signals around walls, hinting at wild terabit data speeds in homes, cars, and crowded cities

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  • High-frequency signals collapse when walls or people block their path
  • Neural networks learned beam bending by simulating countless basketball practice shots
  • Metasurfaces integrated into transmitters shaped signals with extreme precision

For years, researchers have struggled with some vulnerabilities in ultrahigh-frequency communications.

Ultrahigh frequencies are so fragile that signals that promise immense bandwidth can collapse when confronted with even modest obstacles, as walls, bookcases, or simply moving people can bring cutting-edge transmissions to a halt.

However, a new approach from Princeton engineers suggests those barriers may not be permanent roadblocks, although the leap from experiment to real-world deployment still remains uncertain.


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From physics experiments to adaptive transmissions

The idea of bending signals to avoid obstacles is not new. Engineers have long worked with “Airy beams,” which can curve in controlled ways, but applying them to wireless data has been hampered by practical limits.

Haoze Chen, one of the researchers, says most prior work focused on showing the beams could exist, not on making them usable in unpredictable environments.

The problem is, every curve depends on countless variables, leaving no straightforward way to scan or compute the ideal path.

To make the beams useful, researchers borrowed an analogy from sports. Instead of calculating each shot, basketball players learn through repeated practice what works in different contexts.

Chen explained the Princeton team aimed for a similar process, replacing trial-and-error athletes with a neural network designed to adapt its responses.

Rather than physically transmitting beams for every possible obstacle, doctoral student Atsutse Kludze built a simulator that allowed the system to practice virtually.

This approach greatly reduced training time while still grounding the models in the physics of Airy beams.

Once trained, the system was able to adapt extremely quickly, using a specially designed metasurface to shape the transmissions.

Unlike reflectors, which depend on external structures, the metasurface can be integrated directly into the transmitter, which allowed beams to curve around sudden obstructions, maintaining connectivity without requiring clear line-of-sight.

The team demonstrated that the neural network could select the most effective beam path in cluttered and shifting scenarios, something conventional methods cannot achieve.

It also claims this is a step toward harnessing the sub-terahertz band, a part of the spectrum that could support up to ten times more data than today’s systems.

Lead investigator Yasaman Ghasempour argued that addressing obstacles is essential before such bandwidth can be used for demanding applications like immersive virtual reality or fully autonomous transport.

“This work tackles a long-standing problem that has prevented the adoption of such high frequencies in dynamic wireless communications to date,” Ghasempour said.

Still, challenges remain. Translating laboratory demonstrations into commercial devices requires scaling the hardware, refining the training methods, and proving that adaptive beams can handle real-world complexity at speed.

The promise of wireless links approaching terabit-class throughput may be visible, but the path around the obstacles, both physical and technological, is still winding.

Via Techxplore

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