Dreame Bot L20 Ultra Complete: Same Flagship, Only Cheaper

The new Dreame Bot L20 Ultra Complete robot vacuum cleaner is a slightly simplified version of the previously released Dreame Bot L30 Ultra, which became the brand's global flagship at the end of 2023. By slightly limiting its functionality, we were able to reduce the price from $1,150-$1,200 to $1,000-$1,100. We also included a year's supply of consumables and offered an alternative white and gold color scheme, which many prefer. So, below, I'll thoroughly test the Dreame Bot L20 Ultra Complete, discuss its differences from the L30 Ultra, and share my opinion on when this robot is preferable. So, let's get started!

Equipment

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

The Complete version comes with the following set of consumables:

As a result, in addition to the robot and station itself, the kit includes:

1. Power adapter.
2. Two napkin holders.
3. A cartridge with detergent that is installed in the station.
4. Operating instructions.
5. 3 spare cartridges with detergent.
6. 12 spare napkins.
7. 4 spare bags for the station, one of which is installed in a special compartment of the station.
8. 3 spare HEPA filters.
9. Spare central brush.
10. Two spare side brushes.

The package is fantastic! This is the most fully equipped robot vacuum cleaner I've ever seen, and there were over 150 of them during the review! This is a significant advantage compared to similar products and even the flagship L30 Ultra.

You can also purchase a module for connection to the sewer and water supply. At the time of writing, its price starts at $120. The kit includes compartments for dirty and clean water, a base for installing the module in the station, a magnetic control unit through which water flows from the water supply to the station, as well as various tubes, adapters, connectors, and other accessories for connecting the station to the network. Detailed instructions in Russian on connecting the module to the utility lines are also included.

Appearance

Now let's take a look at the Dreame Bot L20 Ultra Complete's design. Let's start with the robot vacuum itself. It's white with gold accents and looks very stylish. The plastic itself is matte and stain-resistant. The body is round and measures approximately 104 mm in height.

A wall sensor is mounted on the right bumper. An active camera is located in the front for recognizing objects on the floor and remotely monitoring the home.

3D sensors and LED backlighting are located on both sides of the camera, allowing the robot to accurately recognize objects in complete darkness. The backlighting turns on automatically.

The control panel features three mechanical buttons. Navigation is handled by a lidar sensor. It has a spring-loaded cover. The top cover is completely removable and held in place by magnets. Underneath is a 350 ml dust collector. The filtration system consists of a mesh filter and a HEPA filter. The dust collector and filter are washable with water.

The water tank is hidden inside the robot, and water is automatically pumped into it at the station. The tank capacity is 80 ml.

There are four fall protection sensors. A carpet sensor is located next to the swivel roller. The side brush is three-beam and quick-release. The central brush unit is floating.

Silicone turbo brush. Both ends can be removed for cleaning hair and pet hair.

If necessary, you can purchase a regular bristle-petal turbo brush, which cleans carpets better.

The Dreame Bot L20 Ultra Complete is also compatible with the new central blade brush that comes with Dreame Bot X30 ProA test of the new turbo brush was demonstrated in the X30 review, which has already been published on the channel.

The robot comes with napkin holders. The holders are equipped with magnets, and the napkins are held in place with Velcro. It's worth noting that the Dreame Bot L20 Ultra Complete can automatically lift the napkins when it enters carpeted areas. This is a plus.

And here's how one of the robot's key features works—the so-called retractable cleaning cloth holder. The arm extends to the right, allowing the cleaning cloth to extend beyond the robot's body. There's no blind spot between the edge of the robot and the baseboard. A very clever solution that's already been appreciated. Dreame Bot X20 Pro, which was the first to be equipped with such a system!

The station is highly functional. It self-cleans the dust bin, washes the cleaning cloths with water, dries them with warm air after cleaning, and even automatically mixes detergent into the water during washing and when refilling the robot's tank. The only difference between this station and the Dreame Bot L30 Ultra is that it doesn't heat the water when washing the cleaning cloths. Room-temperature water is supplied to the washing area.

Conveniently, the ramp for the robot to enter and the tray for washing the wipes are removable. The waste bag is located in the center behind the lid. A spare bag is conveniently stored nearby.

An important point: the robot's entry platform itself is equipped with magnetized pins. These allow the Dreame Bot L20 Ultra Complete to release the cleaning pad holders at the docking station when needed. This allows the robot to exit the docking station for dry cleaning only, without the cleaning pads, completely eliminating any contact between wet cleaning pads and the carpet. A truly smart solution!

Under the top cover are the water tanks. The dirty water tank holds 4 liters, while the clean water tank holds 4.5 liters. Between them, an additional cover conveniently stores the robot's cleaning tool and a 450 ml detergent cartridge. These water tanks have increased capacity.

The clean water tank doesn't have a silver-based disinfection module installed inside, unlike the X20 Pro and X30 Pro. However, you can purchase this module separately and install it in the tank. This module simply attaches to the tube, and the tubes are the same size, so the module is completely compatible.

Connecting the station

As a reminder, the station is equipped with connections to the sewer and water supply. They are hidden behind the cover. Connection is simple. First, unscrew the jumper between the tanks, remove the plugs from the holes inside the station, install the module platform underneath, and then the modules themselves. Then replace the jumper.

Next, connect the station to the water supply according to the instructions. I personally configured the plumbing like this: I installed a surface-mounted outlet next to the station, which I simply glued to the wall tile, and also hid the hoses in the baseboard, one of which is connected to the water supply using the supplied pass-through elbow, and the other is connected to the trap under the sink. So, I didn't initially plan for the station during the renovation, but that didn't stop me from carefully tidying everything up once the renovation was complete. You can take this idea into consideration.

After connecting the station to the network, a notification appears in the app indicating that the special module has been connected. You'll need to run a station test. In my case, the test was successful, and the robot can now operate fully autonomously.

Activate the self-cleaning function and voila – water fills the clean water tank and, after washing the wipes, drains down the drain. Keep the lid closed, as the system requires a vacuum, so keep this in mind.

Technical specifications

Key features of the Dreame Bot L20 Ultra Complete, as stated by the manufacturer:

Robot vacuum cleaner:

• Li-Ion battery 6400 mAh.
• Suction power up to 7000 Pa.
• Operating time up to 260 min.
• Dust collector 350 ml.
• Water tank 80 ml.
• Obstacle clearance up to 20 mm.
• Dimensions: 350*104 mm.

Station:

• Clean water tank: 4.5 l.
• Dirty water tank: 4 l.
• Bag in station: 3.2 l.
• Dimensions: 607*426*499 mm.

Of the specifications, the only important thing to highlight is the claimed high suction power, which will be verified in tests. Compared to the L30 Ultra, the power is reduced by 300 Pa, but nevertheless, compared to most similar models, it is still very powerful. The other specifications remain unchanged.

Functional capabilities

Speaking of features, the Dreame Bot L20 Ultra Complete is controlled via the proprietary Dreamehome app. It connects to the network without any issues, and there are no regional locks or workarounds. The app is in Russian, and the robot itself also speaks Russian. Everything is convenient and intuitive.

The main functions of the robot are displayed on the screen:

• Self-cleaning dust collector.
• Washing napkins.
• Drying napkins with hot air.
• Automatic addition of detergent.
• Lifting napkins on the carpet.
• Recognizing objects on the floor.
• Camera illumination in low light conditions.
• Remote home monitoring via smartphone.
• Saving multiple cleaning maps in memory.
• 3D map of the room.
• 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.
• Setting the frequency of rinsing wipes (by area, by zones).
• User mode.
• Ultimate mode.
• Cleaning log.
• Setting up cleaning according to a schedule.
• Automatic power increase on carpet.
• Carpet cleaning in wet cleaning mode.
• Automatic removal of napkin holders at the station.
• Yandex.Alice support.

A wide range of options are available for flexible cleaning settings. For example, there's an Ultimate mode, which automatically determines the cleaning pattern based on the level of dirt on the floor, activating a second cleaning cycle or independently adjusting the power level and the wetness of the cleaning pads. This smart solution improves cleaning efficiency and further integrates artificial intelligence into the robotic vacuum's algorithms.

I'll also demonstrate the remote home monitoring feature via smartphone. Entering a password you choose activates the camera, which transmits real-time images to your smartphone screen. The image quality is high. You can either control the robot manually or specify a location on the map where you want it to go automatically. You can also take photos, which will be saved in a separate folder, and send voice messages through the robot's speaker. Another useful feature is to direct the robot to a specific location, where it will rotate in place and automatically take photos of the room from all sides. This is called guard mode. Very convenient.

The only feature that's been removed compared to the Dreame Bot L30 Ultra is the proprietary voice assistant, which allows you to speak commands to the robot in Russian without the need for additional devices. However, even in the L30, this assistant is still in beta testing and very rough. Therefore, the lack of this feature isn't a major issue for now, and I hope that after successful testing, it will be added to the L20 Ultra.

Testing

A detailed video review of the Dreame Bot L20 Ultra Complete, including all tests, has already been prepared and published on the channel:

Navigation

And finally, let's move on to the tests. First, we'll test the Dreame Bot L20 Ultra Complete's navigation in a room with obstacles. The robot vacuum first moves around the perimeter of the room, then cleans the entire accessible area in a serpentine pattern. It slightly rammed the legs of the dryer, but managed to avoid it. It also swept around a box and the legs of chairs, then returned to the station. The test was successful.

Speaking of navigation within the house, the robot vacuum cleaner cleans room by room, following the perimeter, then in a serpentine pattern. After each room, as I found, it returns to the station and washes its cleaning pads, then resumes cleaning from where it left off. In total, the robot returned to the station and washed its cleaning pads five times during the cleaning process. There were no uncleaned areas; this model has excellent navigation!

Object recognition

Speaking of the floor object recognition system, it's very accurate. The robot vacuum successfully recognized six out of six objects. It briefly touched a sneaker, a toy, and a bathroom scale. But this isn't critical. More serious obstacles, such as a sock, wires, and a fake pet surprise, were accurately detected, and the robot vacuum neatly avoided them.

The Dreame Bot L20 Ultra Complete performs worse in terms of object recognition in complete darkness. This time, it drove over a pet's surprise, chewed a sock, and knocked over a bathroom scale. In other words, it avoided three of the six objects. Therefore, compared to similar systems, Dreame has one of the most accurate object recognition systems, but it's still not perfect. In any case, the robot vacuum cleaner avoids objects very carefully and barely touches furniture, but Dreame's engineers still have some room for improvement!

Suction power

The suction power was impressive. The Dreame Bot L20 Ultra Complete easily sucked up debris from even a 10mm gap. It's definitely a very powerful robot vacuum, just like its siblings the L30, X20 Pro, and X30 Pro.

Dry cleaning

The collection performance of various types of debris on laminate floors is good. It only retains a small amount of debris in corners, where round robot vacuums can't reach. But even in corners, it swept slightly better than most other round robot vacuums. See for yourself. The central brush didn't get tangled in hair or fur, which is its main advantage. All debris was collected in the dust bin. Test passed!

Carpet cleaning

The Dreame Bot L20 Ultra Complete does a great job of cleaning carpets. The cleaning quality on carpets is very high, thanks to both its high power and the floating turbo brush module. Test passed!

Wet cleaning and carpets

When it comes to wet cleaning on carpeted floors, you can choose from three different robot behaviors. The first is to automatically lift the cleaning cloths when entering carpets, allowing the robot vacuum to simultaneously vacuum and mop the floor, leaving the carpets dry and clean.

The second option is to enable the automatic carpet avoidance feature in wet cleaning mode. And the third mode is unique. The robot vacuum first performs dry and wet cleaning of hard floors, then returns to the base, automatically detaches the cleaning pads, and returns to the cleaning process, having vacuumed the carpets without the pads. This is especially useful for high- and medium-pile carpets, as it completely eliminates any contact between the pad and the carpet if necessary.

The idea is very cool. Not only does it completely eliminate contact between wet wipes and carpets, but it's also a more reliable solution than simply lifting the wipes on carpets. A so-called lift can wear out faster if used frequently.

Wiping off dirt

This robot vacuum cleaner does a good job of removing dirt. And you can see that the retractable cleaning cloth allows the robot to thoroughly clean dirt right up to the baseboard. There's still a blind spot, but that's only in the corners, where the round cleaning cloth can't reach.

But here's another important point: the Dreame Bot L20 Ultra Complete has an updated mopping mode for baseboards and corners. Now, when it enters corners, it backs up, effectively cleaning the floor in the corners as thoroughly as possible. A truly brilliant solution that deserves special mentions and special mentions!

In any case, when it comes to wet cleaning performance in a domestic environment, this is the best result to date! No streaks or dirt marks remain; the test was passed!

Removing difficult stains

The Dreame Bot L20 Ultra Complete struggled with tough stains. It managed to remove coffee stains, but stubborn dried-on sauce stains proved unbearable. Its cleaning performance is inferior to some premium competitors. Nevertheless, I believe the wet cleaning function is more than sufficient for everyday use. However, Dreame's engineers still have some room for improvement in future flagship models.

Washing quality of napkins

Now I'd like to test the effectiveness of the station itself. Let's start with the cleaning performance of the wipes. In everyday use, after cleaning the floor of dirt, the wipes are in a terrible state. And after washing the wipes, I can say they are actually clean. A minimal amount of dirt is removed under the pressure of warm water. That's a plus!

But after tough stains, the wipes don't wash out very well. Then again, even with the heated water setting, the L30 Ultra station demonstrated a similar result, namely, not completely washing the wipes. So, I don't consider the lack of a heated water feature a major drawback. That said, the heated water setting is a small, but still a plus.

Cleaning the station itself is easy. Just remove the wipe tray and the robot entry ramp. Rinse with water in the sink and return it. The station is clean!

Self-cleaning quality

The self-cleaning performance of the dust bin is good. I ran the robot vacuum in a room with a lot of debris. It cleaned everything up, and we saw that the dust bin was completely full. We returned the robot vacuum to the docking station and saw that the dust bin was completely clean after self-cleaning. The robot's self-cleaning is well implemented!

Obstacle clearance

The Dreame Bot L20 Ultra Complete's 2cm thresholds easily slide over the napkins. That's a plus!

Driving on black surfaces

It's also not afraid of black surfaces, easily driving on completely black carpet. This is another advantage of the robot!

Noise level

As for the noise level, it ranges from 56 to 72 dB. The noise level is quite standard for this model, considering its high suction power.

Personal opinion

The Dreame Bot L20 Ultra Complete has been thoroughly reviewed and tested. According to our rating system, it scored 217 points and take second place in overall ranking of tested robotic vacuum cleaners, second only to the older Dreame Bot L30 Ultra, which scored 219 points. I'll highlight the robot's pros and cons, and then share my own opinion. I liked the following:

1. A retractable cloth allows the robot to thoroughly clean areas along baseboards and furniture.
2. The presence of a system for recognizing objects on the floor, which does not go blind in the dark.
3. Remote home monitoring by connecting to the robot's camera via a smartphone.
4. Combined station for self-cleaning, washing and drying napkins.
5. Effective drying of napkins with hot air.
6. Automatic removal of napkin holders at the station for complete dry cleaning.
7. Automatic supply of detergent when washing napkins.
8. Increased capacity of water tanks.
9. An optional module for connection to utility networks is available.
10. High-quality self-cleaning and washing of napkins.
11. Ultimate mode, thanks to which the robot independently selects the cleaning algorithm.
12. An improved algorithm for cleaning floors in corners, in which the robot moves its rear end as far into the corner as possible, using the cleaning cloth as a support.
13. High-quality dry and wet cleaning on any surface.
14. The turbo brush makes it easier to clean hair and fur.
15. Automatic lifting of napkins when driving onto carpets.
16. Convenient maintenance of the robot and station.
17. A large number of functions for flexible adjustment of cleaning parameters.
18. Good cross-country ability.
19. The robot vacuum cleaner is not afraid of black floor coverings.
20. Stylish design.
21. High-quality assembly and high brand authority.
22. Complete Russification.
23. Yandex.Alice support.
24. Availability of warranty and service.
25. And of course, an excellent package that includes a year's supply of consumables!

There are also some disadvantages, the main ones being:

1. Doesn't completely sweep out debris in the corners.
2. Not capable of removing difficult stains.
3. The object recognition system requires some improvement.
4. Large station dimensions.

Ultimately, I can say that all of the above criticisms are actually very minor and are more like suggestions to Dreame's engineers on what further improvements could be made to make this robot vacuum cleaner closer to the ideal solution. The lack of a proprietary voice assistant and a water heating function in the station are not considered serious drawbacks, so in my opinion, by 2023 standards, this is no less an interesting option than the OBJECTIVELY best robot vacuum of 2023 – the Dreame Bot L30 Ultra. For some, even the L20 Ultra Complete could deservedly be considered the better choice of these two flagships. The white and gold color scheme, expanded package, and slightly lower price are all advantages. Nevertheless, the L30 is, after all, the older model, and I suspect that a future feature update may support the L30 but not the L20, as was the case with the Dreame Bot L10s Ultra. This robot was updated with a new algorithm for cleaning floors along walls much faster than the practically identical Dreame Bot L10 Ultra.

In any case, the Dreame Bot L20 Ultra Complete's design, integrated technologies, features, and, most importantly, cleaning efficiency, deserves the title of one of the best robot vacuums of 2023. It's also very stylish, easy to maintain, extremely portable, and tailored to the Russian market. So, when choosing the best robot vacuum between the Dreame Bot L20 Ultra Complete and the L30 Ultra, I'd recommend focusing more on color, weighing the expanded features and slightly better price against the potential upgrades that the L30 will receive sooner.

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!