DO NOT BUY THE iO SERIES 10.
It is ridiculously expensive and there is simply no justification to pay the price asked
of it.
Make no mistake, it is an excellent brush.
It offers all you could want and a lot more.
The iO Sense Smart Charger available with the 10 can enhance your user experience, but
it won’t clean your teeth any better.
Buy the iO Series 9, it is a much better buy.
Hey, it’s Jon from Electric Teeth here.
Price wouldn’t normally be the first thing I mention when reviewing a toothbrush, but
the price asked of the Series 10 is just so ridiculous I can’t not.
In the UK, the retail price of the Series 9 is £500.
The Series 10 is £800.
That is £300 more for what is essentially an enhanced charging stand.
Don’t get me wrong, the iO Sense charger is handy and a smart addition, but it isn’t
a £300 upgrade.
It is more like a £30 or £40 extra.
Ok, so the reality is that in the UK, the actual selling prices tend to be 50% less.
Thus the 10 drops to £400 and the iO9, £250.
This reduces the difference to £150.
But still, we are talking about a piece of hardware that probably costs Oral-B no more
than about £15 to manufacture.
There is absolutely no way I can justify this ludicrous price premium.
For the £150 price difference, you can buy 3 of our most recommended Oral-B brushes!
At the time of review, the iO10 is available in the UK and central Europe but hasn’t
yet begun shipping in the USA and Canada.
Therefore, the price argument for those in the US might be different when it does.
But, realistically, no matter your location, the iO10 isn’t worth anything more than
$40/£40 more.
I will pin a comment below this video with my updated opinion when the 10 launches in
the USA.
The iO Series 10 is the most premium model in the iO range and technically supersedes
the iO9.
The 10’s unique selling point is the iO Sense Smart charger.
It is a round charging stand to which the handle magnetises and can be fully recharged
in a very impressive 3 hours.
This is considerably quicker than the vast majority of toothbrushes.
But unlike any other charging stand I have seen, there is a clock built into the front
along with 6 LEDs on the top.
These LEDs light up in different ways, depending on how it is configured.
With the brush time configuration, as you begin brushing the first LED is lit with a
blue light.
As the 20 seconds for that section passes, the light fades through to white.
This then continues with each LED being lit consecutively until all 6 LEDs have been lit
white.
The theory is that by this point all your teeth will have been brushed for 2 minutes
in total.
When set to coverage mode all the LEDs are lit with a blue light.
The LED for the sextant you are brushing will begin to fade from blue, changing to white
as you successfully brush the tooth surfaces.
Once the brush feels that you have successfully cleaned that sextant the white light dances
a little, indicating you are complete and can move to the next section.
This is then repeated until ideally, all lights are white.
You can move between sextants as much as you please and the LEDs will be lit accordingly.
Whilst you don’t have to follow a strict order it is advisable to do so to ensure an
even clean.
If you don’t get a full coverage in zones the light won’t change to white.
Therefore come the end of a 2 minute clean you may find some zones are blue to a pale
white rather than a bright white.
You want to aim for all white lights.
During the brushing session, a timer is shown on the front of the stand to show how much
time has elapsed.
The stand connects to the brush and your phone via Bluetooth.
It also connects to WiFi too.
For the best user experience, you need both active.
I like that the stand offers an easy way to get at a glance notification and feedback
on what is going on.
Whilst the smartphone app provides the most comprehensive feedback, the smart charger
is a good alternative and likely more convenient for many when brushing their teeth.
Linked to the charger is the iO10’s ability to connect to your phone and track 16 different
zones as you brush.
Do be aware, the smart charger is only feeding back on 6 rather than 16.
This 16 zone, 3D teeth tracking that Oral-B calls it, is made possible via sensors in
the brush and clever tech in the software.
Essentially the position of the brush is being monitored to give you an overall score at
the end of the brushing session.
The on-screen visual then shows you where you have and have not brushed so that you
can take immediate corrective action.
The brushing data is logged and displayed via dashboards within the smartphone app from
which you can get meaningful and actionable feedback.
Ultimately the idea from all of this tech is that it learns about your habits, informs
you and encourages you to brush your teeth better.
If you can master your oral care routine at home you can limit the number of dental visits
and treatment you need, in turn reducing your overall costs.
For those who know their brushing routine isn’t great, this tech can help as it will
highlight areas for improvement.
If you brush too hard, miss certain areas, or don’t brush for long enough, the app
will let you know.
Because it is tracking 16 zones, and not 6 like many other iO models the quality of the
feedback is better.
If you are failing to clean the upper right biting surface all the time, you will know
about it.
All very clever it is, but it isn’t perfect.
The tracking can lag at times and it won’t always register the correct zones.
You don’t need a smart toothbrush to achieve great results.
The iO10 has a clean and minimalistic design to the brush handle like the other iO Series
brushes.
The iO10 is available in cosmic black or stardust white.
They both have a speckled paint finish to the handle.
I can’t say I love it or hate it.
This cosmic black looks like it has toothpaste residue on the handle already with all the
white specs.
The finish actually gives a bit of texture as you don’t get the large rubber grips
as you do on some models, making it easier to keep clean.
It has a colour display that is built into the handle.
It is flanked by a power and mode button.
Whilst it is far from necessary, it is a neat feature and certainly adds to the premium
feel.
You get emoji style feedback on your brushing, an on-screen timer during a cleaning session
and you even have the ability to control settings that are usually reserved for the app.
The display isn’t touchscreen.
All the electronics including the rechargeable battery are sealed inside the handle.
It feels pretty solid and durable in hand too.
There are no less than 7 different cleaning modes to choose from.
Simply switch between them by using the lower of the 2 function buttons on the handle.
As you do, the icon and text on the screen will change to show you the modes available.
Honestly, you don’t need 7, Daily Clean and Sensitive are my go to choices and are
more than enough for most users.
But, you have the choice if you so desire.
You can actually disable and re-order the modes via the app if you want.
Each mode is designed to be used for 2 minutes, with the exception of tongue clean which is
designed for 30 seconds of use.
Many people brush for just 45-70 seconds per day, far less than the recommended 2 minutes
twice a day.
This is why the iO10 has a pacer and timer.
They are designed to encourage you to brush for the correct time and to do so evenly.
Spend 20 seconds in each of the 6 sextants of the mouth being sure to brush all surfaces.
A brief pause in the brushing, along with a vibration in the brush handle will alert
you to move from one section to another.
You will then get a similar, but different notification at 2 minutes.
And of course, the iO Sense charger stand can alert you too.
Also present is a smart visible pressure sensor.
It is one of the best sensor implementations going, changing colour based on the pressure
applied.
If it’s lit white, you’re not applying enough pressure.
If it’s red, you’re using too much.
You want to see a green light all the time you brush.
It would be useful if the handle vibrated differently when applying too much pressure,
but sadly it doesn't.
The lights on the iOSense charger also turn red when the sensor is activated
I can confirm the brushing results are as good as you would expect, no complaints here.
Follow the guidance and you will have wonderfully clean teeth after each use.
The small round oscillating, rotating and micro vibrating brush head gives a deep and
invigorating clean.
For existing Oral-B users, the brushing sensation with the iO Series is a little more gentle
than other brushes.
The magnetically driven motor sealed inside the handle works differently but still achieves
great plaque removal.
Another bonus is that the brush is quieter, at 64 decibels when in use.
The iO10 comes with 1 Ultimate Clean brush head included in the box.
It is 1 of 4 different brush head styles to choose from.
A preferred head for many is the softer bristled option called Gentle Care.
To learn about them all, watch this video.
Unfortunately, the iO specific brush heads command a price point double that of replacement
heads for other Oral-B handles.
This has a negative knock on effect on the ownership costs.
Like a manual brush, the bristles need to ideally be replaced every 3 months.
Being a smart toothbrush the head is tracked.
You get an on screen and in app notification right when you need to replace it.
The iO10 has a rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery.
This gives just over 2 weeks of use on a full charge.
This is acceptable but not the best usage time available on brushes today.
Feedback on the charge level is given via the smartphone app and via the display
Use the iO Sense charger to replenish the battery.
The detachable power cord has a 2 pin connector and supports 100-240 volts.
So, if you travel you just need a plug adapter for the relevant country.
In the box with the 10 is Oral-B’s power2go travel case.
Holding the handle and 1 head you can recharge the brush in the case, providing the proprietary
power cable is connected.
You need to use the same power adapter as the stand.
The case doesn’t allow the brush to be charged over USB and there is no battery built into
the case itself.
It does the job, but Philips Sonicare travel cases are better.
The reliability of Oral-B products tends to be pretty good.
You will likely get a usable life far greater than the 2 year period that the supplied warranty
supports you for.
It is a shame that in an age where we are becoming more environmentally considerate,
Oral-B has yet to make components like the battery easily replaceable.
I like the iO10 and I genuinely do believe the iO Sense charger is a clever and useful
addition for some.
But sold with the iO10 it is far too expensive.
Truthfully, rather than launching the iO10, I think Oral-B could have just produced the
iO Sense smart charger and sold it as an accessory or bundled it with existing iO models.
My testing would seem to suggest it works with other iO brushes.
If you want a technically advanced model buy the iO9.
A link to buy is included in the description.
If you are not fussed, pick a considerably more affordable model, check out the recommendations
in this video.