Ultenic FS1 test: What can the cheap vacuum cleaner with suction station do?

Dyson has long had a lot of competition in the field of cordless vacuum cleaners. It is mainly devices from Far Eastern manufacturers that are giving the traditional British company a run for its money. This also includes the rather unknown brand Ultenic. With the FS1, it has now launched a very special cordless vacuum cleaner. The unique selling point of the smart household helper is reminiscent of modern, fully equipped vacuum robots. After all, it comes with a practical suction station. Whether this bears fruit in practice or is an unnecessary gimmick and how the chic vacuum does in everyday cleaning, we want to check in the Ultenic FS1 test.

Inhaltsverzeichnis / Table of contents

In addition to the cordless vacuum cleaner itself, we find in the scope of delivery the suction station and the matching power cord. Furthermore, the manufacturer includes two attachments with textile brush and crevice nozzle, which can be used as an alternative to the main brush.

In terms of accessories, there's still a spare filter, two spare dust bags for the extraction station, and a handy cleaning tool. That should certainly be enough for the vast majority. However, it remains to be noted that the competition is partly much more generous here.

A cool design can not be denied the Ultenic FS1 in any case. Thus, with its modern lines and the mainly blue and gray color scheme, it is partly clearly reminiscent of industry king Dyson or but also some devices from Dreame. An orange accent provides an attractive splash of color. The dirt container is transparent so that you can see how full it is. When it comes to the material, the manufacturer relies primarily on plastic.

This is by no means a taboo. After all, even Dyson's expensive devices rely on it, which gives them a decisive advantage, especially when it comes to weight. As the owner of a Dyson V11, I found it really impressive that I could hardly notice any qualitative differences in a direct comparison. You certainly don't feel the clear price difference here. But of course, the Ultenic FS1 has differences from Dyson.

For example, the classic trigger operation is not used here. Instead, the Chinese brand relies on an On/Off button on the top of the device. All that is needed here is the push of a button to switch the cordless vacuum cleaner on and off again. The advantage is obvious. It saves your index finger from getting a cramp, especially during longer cleaning sessions. A disadvantage, on the other hand, is that two-handed operation is unavoidable.

Namely, while you hold the cordless vacuum like a gun with one hand, you have to press the button on the top with the other. What one likes better is ultimately a matter of taste. Personally, I prefer a mixture of both. Many devices now offer the option of being switched on and off by pressing the trigger once. An example of this is the Tineco Pure One Air Pro (test).

With modern battery vacuums, a display is now commonplace. Accordingly, it is not surprising that the Ultenic FS1 also comes with a screen. Here you can see the most important core information such as the current battery status and power level. The device offers a total of three different levels with auto, low and high. Unfortunately, the battery level is only displayed in bars and not as a percentage as usual. On top of that, the smart household helper uses the screen to inform its user of any errors. In theory, of course, this sounds like a practical help.

When using it, however, it is noticeable that the positioning is not well thought out. While the competition usually places the whole thing on the back of the device, Ultenic decides to install the display on the top. Thus, you always have to lower the device a bit to see the content. Furthermore, the questionable placement of the display ensures that you can't see it when the vacuum is dwelling in the suction station. This is a bit annoying, as you can't see the charge level while the unit is charging. This may not be a total failure, but it does gnaw a bit at the ease of use.

Meanwhile, I was already allowed to test many smart household helpers with practical suction station. However, these were always vacuum robots and not battery-powered vacuums. The Ultenic FS1 offers exactly such a feature. You do not get a classic charging holder or charging stand here. Instead, when the job is done, the device takes up residence in a suction station to be emptied and charged.

The manufacturer has designed the base station in such a way that there is also room for a spare battery. It's really cool that you can not only store the second battery here. On top of that, it can be charged directly. Unlike other vacuum robots, the FS1 does not automatically start the suction process when it is placed in the station. Instead, you use the dedicated button on the battery-powered vacuum cleaner itself. However, you should always do this, as otherwise there is a risk of annoying soiling.

Finally, the vacuum opens the flap of its dirt container automatically every time you place it in the station. If you now remove the FS1 from the holder too vigorously and quickly, you risk dropping some of the contents of the dirt container onto the floor. In the best case, you should always ensure that the container is empty by using the suction function. If the container would not open automatically, but only with the start of the suction function, the problem would not exist in the first place.

Unlike yet quite slow vacuum robots or heavy vacuum wipers, cordless vacuum cleaners come into play when things have to go fast. It is all the more important that the devices are maneuverable and not too heavy. Both are true for the Ultenic FS1. Although it is no lightweight at 7 kg, I was still able to maneuver the vacuum from A to B without any problems in the test thanks to its maneuverable design. The joint reacts very quickly, especially when changing directions, which makes the FS1 a pleasantly fast battery-powered vacuum cleaner. It is also easy to get under flat furniture. The LED lighting on the brush head helps to keep an overview. The overall design of the cordless vacuum cleaner looks well thought out.

Finally, the Ultenic FS1 relies on a smart plug-in system that not only promises flexible use. On top of that, the uncomplicated assembly and disassembly allows for easy cleaning. Even the five filters can be easily accessed and cleaned or replaced. The FS1 does not use a rigid solution for the suction tube. Instead, a telescopic tube is used. You can extend and retract it as you wish. This makes the smart household helper suitable for people of different heights. Less nice, however, is the fact that you always have to retract the telescopic pole when you place the vacuum in the base station.

Let's move on to the supreme discipline – cleaning performance. Here, the technical data let us hope for great things. Thus, the 450-watt motor of the battery-powered vacuum cleaner is supposed to provide a proud 30,000 pascals of suction power. With these prerequisites, it is not surprising that the smart household helper achieves good cleaning results. However, some competitors have the edge here.

Devices like the Tineco Pure One S15 Pro (test) simply deliver better cleaning results. While it does suck up dirt reliably, when maneuvering across the floor, it sometimes fails to "hold" it. In the end, a small amount of dirt ends up back on the floor. Otherwise, the battery-powered vacuum benefits from its maneuverability in practice. I got into almost every corner, which made the final result after cleaning really solid.

I am thrilled with the suction station. After all, the plan here works out perfectly. With a lot of power, the station sucks the dirt container of the vacuum cleaner empty. In the process, not even dog or cat hair gets stuck in the container. Of course, you also have to empty the station's dust bag at regular intervals. Here I have to grumble a little again.

Finally, I think it was a great achievement for vacuum cleaners to do without dust bags for years. With the introduction of suction stations, these are now making a comeback in robot vacuums and possibly soon in cordless vacuums like the FS1. This is not really sustainable, but it is certainly practical. After all, the bag can be easily removed from the FS1, thrown away and replaced with a new one.

In terms of battery life, the Ultenic FS1 then leans very out of the window. Proud 60 minutes would like to be able to hold out the battery vacuum. In practice, however, it was rather 45 minutes with quite normal use. Depending on which of the three suction levels you choose, the battery runtime naturally shrinks or lengthens. Personally, I think the runtime is perfectly sufficient. If more is needed, you simply get a replacement battery and make a pit stop in between. During the test, I was very glad that I have quite little carpeting in my own four walls.

Finally, this seems to be a real Achilles heel of the Ultenic FS1. This is not only because it is quite difficult to maneuver on carpets. On top of that, the automatic carpet detection functioned quite unreliably. After switching to carpet, the device initially increased the performance noticeably. Immediately afterwards, however, the performance dropped again. In the meantime, the FS1 raised it again. The manufacturer will probably have to tweak the sensor a bit more. Anyone who has a real problem with this should simply leave the Auto mode and manually switch to Power mode when it comes to a carpeted floor.

The Ultenic FS1 is a good cordless vacuum cleaner, which scores especially in the discipline of price-performance ratio. It scores with a chic design, a practical suction station and solid suction power at a fair price, which is significantly below comparable devices. Certainly, the smart household helper gives reason for complaint here and there. On the one hand, there are questionable design decisions like the misplaced display or the automatically opening flap of the dust container. However, since these are not cost-cutting measures, but simply obvious flaws in the concept, I hope for improvements in the next generation. Then the Ultenic (FS2?) could be a real challenge for the expensive competition from Dyson and Co.

The Ultenic FS1 is a solid cordless vacuum cleaner that scores with great features and an impressive price-performance ratio.

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