- This is the iO,
the latest toothbrush for 2020 and beyond from Oral-B.
It represents a new phase of electric toothbrush design
for the company.
I've been testing it for a few weeks
and I'm here to give you my opinions on it
and let you know what the main
pros and cons are of this toothbrush.
(upbeat music)
So before I give you my verdict,
I want you to know that there's a full written review
that accompanies this video linked in the description below.
That goes into a lot more detail about the iO.
It's a very capable electric toothbrush
and if I spoke about all these features in the video,
it would make for a very long watch.
So I kept this video nice and short
with just my overall verdict and pros and cons
so let's get to it.
The iO is the best looking and performing
Oral-B toothbrush that I've ever used,
and of course it cleans the teeth really well.
It introduces significant enhancements
in terms of its mechanical performance,
the noise and appearance
in comparison to other Oral-B electric toothbrushes.
The iO is a top of the line brush
and the price tag reflects this.
Essential features are present
as are some arguably less essential features,
including items like a colour display in the handle,
a pressure sensor and a long battery life
make the iO a very appealing toothbrush.
The real-time 3D teeth tracking and smart technology
is very clever,
it encourages us to brush our teeth for longer
and to a better standard,
but it's not without its faults.
Few are likely to commit to using the app on a daily basis.
If you want the very best of Oral-B today,
the iO is certainly that,
but for something so pricey,
there is scope for improvement.
If you are conscious of your budget,
my recommendation would be to go for
one of the better value
electric toothbrushes that exist today.
My recommendation for those in the UK and Europe
at the time of recording
would be the Oral-B Pro 2 2500
and if you live in the USA or Canada,
then consider the Sonicare ProtectiveClean 4100
or if you would particularly like smart features
at a more affordable price point,
then do consider the Oral-B Genius X.
So then to the pros and cons of this electric toothbrush.
So the first pro is the cleaning action.
Oral-B toothbrushes have always provided
a very good clean of the teeth and gums
and the iO is no exception.
The small oscillating rotating
brush head performs very well
and the experience with brushing
is actually slightly softer in my experience with the iO
in comparison to other Oral-B electric toothbrushes.
And that in part is as a result of the new frictionless
motor that is built into this toothbrush.
So another pro is the noise that this brush produces.
All toothbrushes produce some noise,
but this iO is much quieter
than most other Oral-B electric toothbrushes
and that's thanks to the new motor that is built in.
(motor sounds)
so like many toothbrushes
this does have a built in timer and pacer.
And that is of course,
very useful for helping you brush
for the dentist-recommended two minutes
and brushing those teeth evenly.
There is a pressure sensor built in
and that's a real positive
because the brush will alert you via a red light
at the top of the brush handle
when you're applying too much pressure
during your brushing routine.
However, the iO goes a little bit further
and shows you when you're applying the correct pressure.
This is something we haven't seen before on other brushes.
What will happen is the light ring at the top of the handle
will actually turn green when you're applying the correct
pressure and red when you're applying too much.
Now, if you haven't already noticed the design of the iO
is quite different to other Oral-B electric toothbrushes.
Yes, the overall form factor is the same
as most other toothbrushes,
but the iO, in my opinion, at least looks a lot sleeker.
Gone are the large expanses of rubber grips.
Gone are the cleaning mode icons
on the front of the brush handle.
It is still of plastic construction primarily,
but it's more fitting of the price tag asked of it.
And one of the biggest design changes
is the inclusion of a colour OLED display
into the brush handle.
You'll see that between the power and mode cleaning button.
Now this display is very useful
because it allows you to interact with the brush handle
and set things like
the colour of the LED ring,
it also allows you to change the cleaning modes
that you're using on the toothbrush
and it also allows you to see information such as
how much charge remains in the battery,
because you don't have a battery charge icon
on the handle itself.
That information has moved to the display.
It's not a touch screen display,
it's all controlled via the power and mode buttons,
but what the display also does
is provide you useful information, post brushing.
So at the end of a typical brushing routine,
you should hopefully get a smiley face appear on the screen.
However, if you get a sad face,
that's an indication that you haven't brushed well enough.
So for example, if you've brushed for only 30 seconds,
you're going to get a sad face,
which essentially is there to encourage you
to brush for a bit longer
until you get that happy or starry eyed face,
which is what you are aiming for.
Now, another pro is the battery life of the Oral-B iO.
It has a claimed two plus weeks of battery life,
but in my hands on testing the iO,
it's absolutely smashed it.
Now the exact battery life
will depend on the cleaning mode you use,
but I got somewhere between six and seven weeks
in my hands on testing,
which is absolutely fantastic
and this is definitely the best battery life
I've ever seen on an Oral-B toothbrush.
Another pro has to be the magnetic charger
that comes provided.
This is a new type of stand provided with the iO.
As the name implies
the handle magnetises to the charging base
and it actually charges the toothbrush
in a roundabout three hours.
Compare that to the typical 12 to 15 hours,
it takes to charge an electric toothbrush
and the iO clearly charges much quicker.
So the last pro then has to be the smart features.
Now, there's a lot to this toothbrush
in terms of smart technology,
but ultimately the iO allows you
to track your brushing technique in real-time
and give you clear onscreen guidance
as to how to brush better.
It shows you which teeth you've brushed,
which teeth you've maybe missed,
and those teeth you need to give that extra attention to.
Over time this data is logged within an app
so that you can review your performance
and see if you have indeed gotten better over time.
The app will provide useful insights and feedback
and what you're ultimately looking for
is that when you're using the app
and you're using it in real time,
the teeth on the screen turn from a blue colour
through to a nice bright white,
and that will show that you've got
excellent coverage in your brushing.
So then to the negative or the cons with the iO
and the first has to be the brush heads.
Now don't get me wrong,
the Oral-B cleans really well,
and I love the small round brush head,
but with the introduction of the iO,
Oral-B have introduced a new range of brush heads
and these are specific to the iO.
You cannot use the existing range of toothbrush heads
that are used on other Oral-B toothbrushes.
And with the introduction of these new heads
comes an increase in price.
The cost per head is significantly more expensive
than the current range of brush heads
available for other Oral-B toothbrushes.
So another con is the pressure sensor.
Now I mentioned this as a positive,
but what I find to be a bit of a negative
around the pressure sensor
is previous models used to also change
the sound of the brush,
so not only would you get a light notification,
you get an audible warning as well.
You don't get that with the iO,
and I don't understand why they've changed it.
And then in line with that,
the app shows you when you're using too much pressure,
but it doesn't alert you
if you're using insufficient pressure.
And given that the iO alerts you via a green LED
when you're using the appropriate pressure,
you think the app would alert you too,
but sadly it doesn't.
Now another negative is the box contents.
Now the box contents does vary
from one part of the world to another
and depending on which variant of the iO you pick up,
but I think Oral-B could have included
a little bit more in the box,
be it that extra brush heads
or possibly a smartphone holder
to place your smartphone in,
to aid you when you're using the brush
in real-time with the app.
It would be nice to have something to actually
put the smartphone in rather than
having to actually hold the smartphone in your hand,
as is the case at present.
The OLED display is also a negative.
I really like it, it's innovative,
but I had expected more from the display.
I was expecting more dynamic feedback
and messages after brushing.
The smiley faces and everything are useful,
but I was expecting it to come back and say,
try brushing for longer next time.
Try reducing the pressure and things like that.
I think that would be more insightful
given that the concept with the iO
is to sort of educate you about
how to brush your teeth better
and that doesn't really transition,
unless you're using the app.
Another con has to be the travel case.
It holds a handle and just one brush head
in comparison to most other cases
that will hold the handle and two brush heads.
Now it is a charging travel case,
which means you can charge the toothbrush when it's inside,
but to do that, you have to use
a separate proprietary power adapter.
So Philips Sonicare for example,
have USB cables built into their travel charging cases
and that makes the whole solution much more convenient.
And given that the iO is a premium electric toothbrush,
I had expected the case to be a little bit better quality
it's certainly does the job,
but it doesn't have the premium finish of the likes
of the Sonicare travel case.
So to the penultimate con then,
and this has to be the app and the real-time tracking
and the data that the app stores.
It's very clever,
but it's almost too clever for its own good.
The app pertains a lot of information
and I think for the vast majority of people,
this is going to be information overload.
There are certain flows within the app
and the way you use it that are perhaps
a little bit overbearing,
I think it could be simplified in places.
On the whole it's good,
but probably the biggest bugbear in terms of using the app
is the fact that the position detection
is not all that accurate.
I certainly found that at times it was recording
the brush in a different position
to where I actually had it
and I also found that it was always encouraging me
to brush for much longer than I actually probably needed to.
Other experiences may be different,
but I think for the vast majority of people
using the app sounds appealing,
but it's actually going to be a lot more work
in day-to-day life
and something that very few
actually spend the time investing in
and getting the benefit from.
So the technology is almost too complicated
for its own good
and there's no point buying an expensive toothbrush
with all this technology,
unless you're really invested in getting the most out of it
and making full use of that app.
So then the last and final con is the price.
Now prices do vary around the world,
but this is one expensive toothbrush.
And for the vast majority of people,
there are much better value options that exist.
So for residents of the UK or Europe,
at the time of recording,
I recommend the Oral-B Pro 2 2500
and if you live in the USA or Canada,
I recommend you check out
the Sonicare ProtectiveClean 4100.
Now those brushes don't have all the smart features,
but they're certainly better value for money.
Now, I totally understand that you need to pay a premium
for a top of the line electric toothbrush,
but the retail price in the UK is 500 pounds
and 300 pounds in the USA.
Now that is expensive by anyone's standards.
Now, the reality is those prices are the retail price
and the actual selling price tends to be different.
Now the discounts do vary from one country to another.
In the UK and Europe, discounts tend to be around about 50%,
so that means that 500 pound price tag drops to 250
And in the USA, the discount tends to be 20 to 25%,
so you're going to see the iO drop to right about $225.
Factor in the cost of replacement brush heads,
which are more expensive on the iO,
around about 10 to 15 pounds or 10 to $15 per head.
And that takes the daily ownership cost
to around about 32 pence in the UK
or 28 cents in the USA.
So there we have it,
that's my review of the Oral-B iO.
As I suggested,
there is a full written review
that goes into a lot more detail
linked in the description below.
If you found this video useful,
be sure to give it a thumbs up.
For more videos like this, click Subscribe,
but until next time, thanks for watching.
(upbeat music)