Midea VCR S10 Plus: bagless station, napkin lift, 4000 Pa!

Hello to all readers of this project! This review will examine the new Midea VCR S10 Plus robot vacuum cleaner. The model's key feature is its self-cleaning station, equipped with a bagless dust collector. Dirt is collected from the robot into a special cyclonic filtration system, rather than a traditional cloth bag. This solution will be more convenient and cost-effective for many. In addition to the station's unique design, the robot vacuum boasts a wet mopping function, a cleaning cloth lift system for carpets, 4000 Pa of suction power, and lidar-based navigation. This set of features comes at a hefty price – around $500. Below, I'll thoroughly test the Midea VCR S10 Plus, highlight its pros and cons based on my test results, and then express my personal opinion. So, let's get started!

Equipment

Let's start with the package contents. The robot vacuum cleaner arrived in this branded box:

The delivery kit includes the robot with a station, a spare cloth, a cleaning tool for the robot, and an operating manual translated into Russian.

Appearance

Let's take a look at the Midea VCR S10 Plus's design. Let's start with the robot vacuum itself. It's round, comes in black, and features a matte, stain-resistant plastic.

A wall sensor is mounted on the side, and sensors for detecting large obstacles in the robot's path are located in the center of the bumper. The robot's body is 97 mm high from the floor.

Navigation is handled by a lidar unit, which has a spring-loaded cover. Next to it is a control panel consisting of three mechanical buttons.

The combined water and dirt container is removable from the rear. The dust container holds up to 200 ml of dry dirt. The filtration system includes a HEPA filter and mesh. The water tank holds 220 ml. The cloth wetting level is electronically adjustable.

The cleaning cloth itself is of a familiar design, secured to the holder with a groove and Velcro. As mentioned earlier, the Midea VCR S10 Plus can automatically raise the holder and the cleaning cloth when entering and exiting the station. The cleaning cloth can be raised up to 10 mm.

The robot has four anti-fall sensors installed underneath, including a carpet sensor. It also has two side brushes, three-beam and quick-release.

The central brush block is floating, which is a plus. The central brush is the same as the previous one. Midea S8+Equipped with bristle inserts of varying elasticity, it can be removed from both sides for cleaning hair and fur.

Speaking of the station, this is what it looks like:

It's really cool that it has a blow-out HEPA filter.

The multi-cyclone flask is equipped with a convenient handle for carrying and removing from the station. Pressing a button at the bottom opens the bottom, allowing waste to fall out. If necessary, you can also open the top lid, remove the fabric and sponge filter, and remove the cyclone itself with its mesh. It can be rinsed with water. Just make sure it's thoroughly dry before replacing it in the station.

The pros and cons of the robot's design will be discussed during the final review. Let's move on!

Technical specifications

The main characteristics of the Midea VCR S10 Plus, as declared by the manufacturer:

• Li-Ion battery 5200 mAh.
• Suction power 4000 Pa.
• Operating time up to 180 min.
• Dust collector in the station: 3 liters.
• The dust collector in the robot is 200 ml.
• Water tank 220 ml.
• Obstacle clearance 2 cm.
• Robot dimensions: 350*97 mm.
• Station dimensions: 178*244*445 mm.

Here I would like to highlight the increased suction power, which will be verified in tests, and the compact size of the station.

Functional capabilities

As for the robot vacuum cleaner's functions, it's controlled via the proprietary SmartHome mobile app. It's entirely in Russian. Everything is convenient and intuitive.

All main functions are displayed on the screen:

• Self-cleaning of the dust collector at the station.
• Saving multiple cleaning maps in memory.
• Automatic zoning of premises into rooms.
• Selecting areas and rooms for cleaning.
• Virtual walls and no-go zones (and for wet cleaning mode).
• Suction power adjustment.
• Adjusting the degree of wetting of the napkin.
• Cleaning log.
• Setting up cleaning according to a schedule.
• Voice notifications in Russian.
• Automatic power increase on carpet.
• Automatic lifting of the napkin on the carpet.
• Yandex.Alice support.

Overall, it has all the basic functions for customizing cleaning parameters. The only thing I personally miss is a custom mode, allowing me to flexibly adjust the power and water flow level for each room individually.

Testing

A detailed video review of the Midea VCR S10 Plus, including all tests, has already been prepared and published on the channel:

Navigation

And finally, let's move on to the tests. As always, we first test the obstacle course navigation. The robot first walks around the room's perimeter, then zips around. It easily ran over the dryer's legs, neatly swept the box and chair legs, and then headed to the station.

Separately, due to numerous requests from subscribers, I'm starting new tests to test how the robot handles chrome furniture legs. The Midea VCR S10 Plus has no problem with this; it cleans using the standard algorithm.

I also tested whether the robot can fit under furniture within 10 cm of a gap. Yes, it can do this without any problem. The test was successful.

Speaking of navigating within the home, the robot cleans room by room, following the perimeter, then in a serpentine pattern. There were no uncleaned areas, and the cleaning speed was standard; this test was also passed!

Suction power

Regarding suction power, at the lowest setting, labeled Gentle mode, the robot was able to partially remove debris from a 2 mm gap. In Quiet mode, it completely cleaned a 2 mm gap. In Standard mode, the robot partially cleaned 4 mm and partially cleaned 10 mm. In Turbo mode, the Midea VCR S10 Plus cleaned 6 mm and 8 mm gaps, with 10 mm being slightly better. So, I can say that this robot vacuum cleaner has truly powerful suction power!

Dry cleaning

When testing the dust collection performance on laminate flooring, I discovered several unusual issues. First, the robot might skip a narrow area along the baseboard, while the side brush doesn't sweep it closely. Second, the central brush can't throw large debris into the dust bin, so it gets trapped behind it. In my case, these were litter granules. This also reduces dust collection performance, causing some debris to be scattered by the brush. I haven't observed this again in normal household conditions, but I did run the test several times.

A little wool and hair is wound around the central brush, as well as around the side brush.

Carpet cleaning

The robot cleans low-pile carpets without any problems.

On medium pile carpets, the cleaning quality is slightly lower, but in any case, the majority of the debris is collected.

A few particles of debris got stuck in the pile, but in my opinion this is not critical, given the original condition of the carpet.

Self-cleaning

After the dirty tests, I ran the self-cleaning program and saw that the station did a good job. Only one pellet of litter remained, even though it was half full.

Wet cleaning

Although robots without a cleaning station are still a primitive wet cleaning option by 2024 standards, the Midea VCR S10 Plus mops floors better than most similar machines without a cleaning station. The cleaning station presses firmly against the floor and absorbs dirt.

There remains only a narrow blind zone along the baseboard, 5.5 cm wide, as with most analogues.

Wet cleaning and carpets

Speaking of wet cleaning on carpeted floors, thanks to the Midea VCR S10 Plus's lifting system, it can vacuum and mop simultaneously, leaving carpets dry and clean. That's a plus!

Passability

The robot vacuum cleaner can easily navigate 2cm-high thresholds. That's a plus!

Driving on black surfaces

However, on black carpet, the movement algorithm is strange. It partially drives onto the carpet, but then begins to back away. The anti-fall sensors detect a black carpet as a chasm, and the robot avoids such surfaces. This problem does not occur on hard black surfaces.

Noise level

Finally, we measured the robot's noise level. It ranged from 59 to 68 dB in different modes—quite standard for robot vacuums, especially given their high power. I also checked the station's noise level, which reached 77.5 dB. This is slightly elevated, but not alarming. This is likely due to the plastic vacuum cleaner's poorer sound insulation than the dust bag inside the station's lid.

Personal opinion

The Midea VCR S10 Plus robot vacuum cleaner has been thoroughly reviewed and tested. our evaluation system he managed to gain 141 points and this is a good result for a robot vacuum cleaner with a station only for self-cleaning of the dust collector.

Overall rating of tested robot vacuum cleaners: https://robovac.washerhouse.com/en/rejtingi/robovac-obshhij-rejting-robotov-pylesosov-robo.html.

I'll highlight the pros and cons I discovered during testing, and then express my own opinion of the robot. I liked the following:

1. The self-cleaning station's bagless design is easy to maintain and can be rinsed with water. Plus, you save on bags; you don't have to worry about ordering a spare bag and keeping it on hand. It's also convenient that the transparent plastic allows you to quickly detect if the robot has picked up something unwanted from the floor—something valuable, for example, a chain. While many might argue that a transparent container is a good thing, as it allows you to see the debris, I'm just expressing my personal opinion.
2. High-quality filtration system in the station.
3. High suction power of the robot.
4. In everyday life, we can say that high-quality dry and wet cleaning.
5. Lifting the napkin when driving onto carpets.
6. Full Russification of the application and voice notifications.
7. Yandex.Alice support.
8. Two side brushes, for those who still care.
9. Good cross-country ability.
10. Availability of warranty and service.

Among the disadvantages I would highlight:

1. There are problems with collecting large debris, such as litter granules.
2. Afraid of black carpets.
3. There is no custom mode in the settings.
4. And the price. $500 for a self-cleaning robot vacuum cleaner without a cloth is a bit steep in my opinion.

Ultimately, for me personally, the first and last points are the most significant. While the first point isn't noticeable in everyday life—at least, no untidy areas or scattered trash were noticed during testing in my apartment—the price is a more compelling argument.

But if you liked the robot specifically for its station and other features, I see no compelling reason not to recommend it. It's effective, unique, and versatile.

On that note, I'd like to end this review. If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments. Happy shopping, everyone. Bye!