In this review, I put the Bosch Unlimited 10 ProPower Cordless Vacuum through its paces to see if it can be called one of the best cordless vacuums on the market.
After using it every day for two weeks, I understand why it might be the perfect vacuum for some, as its impressive run time and cleaning prowess on hard floors can’t be faulted. However, those with heavily carpeted homes may want to put a little more thought into their purchase.
In a nutshell
As the latest model in Bosch’s Unlimited cordless vacuum range, the 10 ProPower is a premium product that promises a lot. Special features include MicroClean™ Technology, which is designed to pick up microscopic dirt that we’re not able to see, and an interactive touch-screen display to enable user customisation.
All of this has led to a hefty RRP of £629.99, making this cordless vacuum one of the most expensive on the market. Having now used it every day for two weeks, I do have to question the hefty price tag.
It’s got one of the longest running times I’ve ever seen and seriously impressive suction power, and if home is mostly hard floors, you shouldn’t run into any problems as it leaves floors squeaky clean and gets the job done properly. In fact, I think you’ll be pretty happy with it.
It also has some pretty cool features, and it works well as a handheld vacuum thanks to the attachments. But the powerful suction means that the vacuum doesn’t run smoothly over carpeted surfaces, so if you’re someone who wants to grab the vacuum and give carpets a quick refresh, the Unlimited 10 ProPower may make things a little trickier.
Specifications
- Max. run time: 100 min
- Charging time: 1 hour
- Bin volume: 0.4L
- Weight: 3.7kg
- Dimensions: H130 x L25 x W21.6 cm
- Modes: 3
- In the box: crevice nozzle, furniture brush, charging cable, quick charger, battery pack, docking station, long flexible crevice nozzle, floorhead, vacuum unit
- RRP: £629.99
How I tested
Unboxing, assembly, and first impressions
The Bosch Unlimited 10 ProPower arrived in a standard cardboard box that’s lightweight enough to carry around without much struggle. Within the outer box used for postage purposes, there’s a second, smaller box which carries the product’s branding and paints a pretty detailed picture of what the appliance looks like.
Upon opening the second box, I was a little disappointed to see that all the vacuum’s components were wrapped in single-use plastic. I’ve tested a few vacuums now, so I know that recyclable packaging materials do just as good a job at protecting the appliance during transport. And while the plastic used for the Bosch Unlimited 10 can usually be recycled at larger supermarkets, I know this isn’t convenient for many and is more likely to end up being thrown away with household waste.
Once I got everything out of the box, I could see that this vacuum carries a modern, sleek design. The body has a black finish, but subtle elements of red provide a nice visual contrast. And before assembling the vacuum, I popped the battery on charge, which slides into the charging pack nicely.
I will say that I felt a little overwhelmed at the size of the booklets at first (though I soon realised that the size of the booklets is mainly due to the variety of translations provided). There’s a whole booklet included just for the battery, covering its specifications, display elements, troubleshooting, and maintenance. It felt like a lot of information, but it’s not necessary to understand everything in here. It’s just useful to have on hand in case it’s needed.
In the vacuum manual, picture diagrams are used in the first instance, before written instructions, which go through safety, usage, and cleaning. Written instructions are always my personal preference, but it’s good that the manual includes both, and I can reference the diagrams as well.
According to the product information provided on the Bosch website, the battery only takes one hour to charge, and I was happily surprised to learn this was true, having tested cordless vacuums with much longer charging times. There’s a green LED light on the charging station that flashes while the battery is charging. Then, after an hour, I could see the green light had stopped flashing and the battery was good to go.
Assembling the Unlimited 10 ProPower couldn’t be easier. The main stick clicks into the vacuum unit at one end and the floorhead at the other, and the battery slides into the top of the vacuum with a satisfying click. So, once everything was in place, I was ready to start testing.
What’s it like to use?
After turning it on via the clickable power button, the Bosch Unlimited 10 ProPower springs into life. I tested it on my living room carpet first, which was in desperate need of a vacuum after a busy week. For context, I have a mixture of hard floor and carpets in my flat, but the majority of the space (living room, bedrooms, and corridors) is covered in short-pile carpet. The bathroom and kitchen have vinyl flooring.
First, I popped my foot on the floorhead and bent the device towards me, but I immediately sensed that the vacuum didn’t glide over the carpet smoothly. For the first couple of minutes, I couldn’t move it forward at all, and I could only pull the device backwards. I was really confused at this, and I even went online to check that this vacuum was designed for carpets as well as hard floors. It said that it was, so I persevered, and eventually, I was able to move it forward over my living room floor.
There’s an electronic display panel on the vacuum which indicates what mode the device is in. It changes colour along with the mode (red for turbo, green for eco, and a bluey purple for auto). The LED ring light underneath the vacuum handle also changes to the corresponding colours when switching between modes.
After realising that the vacuum was in turbo mode, I switched to auto mode via the arrow buttons to see if this helped with gliding the vacuum over my carpet. It did, though it still didn’t feel as smooth as other vacuums I’ve tested.
After a while, I realised that I was struggling to use the Unlimited 10 ProPower on my carpet because of the vacuum’s suction power. Its cleaning capabilities are so strong that it kind of sticks to the carpet when in use. This is probably due to the vacuum’s MicroClean™ Technology, which can pick up microscopic dirt that we’re unable to see visually.
When the floor is ‘truly clean’, the LED ring changes to blue. And it’s definitely satisfying to see this colour change, particularly in high-traffic areas that easily collect debris (for me, this is the carpeted area of the living room that leads on to the kitchen).
Thankfully, after my first (somewhat slow) turn around the living room, I can see satisfying carpet streaks everywhere I look, and I really feel like the floor has had a deep clean.
However, to get an even clearer visual of the Unlimited 10 ProPower’s cleaning capabilities, I threw some flour down on the carpet as part of how we test vacuum cleaners at Ideal Home. Unsurprisingly, the vacuum picks up every bit of flour in a single swipe. And while it may not have been the smoothest to run over carpet, it definitely offers powerful pick-up abilities to make up for it.
I had no issue manoeuvring the vacuum over the hard floor in my kitchen. It ran smoothly, and I could see from the control panel (and hear from the drop in noise levels) that the vacuum had switched to a less powerful mode. Most cordless vacuums I’ve tested require the mode to be changed manually, so it’s definitely a plus that the Unlimited 10 ProPower does this for you.
To get another visual on how well the vacuum cleans hard floors, I threw some flour down in the kitchen and ran the device over the area. Again, every inch of flour was picked up in a single swipe. This once again made it clear that in regards to pick-up power, the Bosch Unlimited 10 ProPower was never going to struggle.
Another feature I liked about this vacuum was the flexible pole, which can bend to a 90-degree angle via a clickable button on the pole. This makes easy work of cleaning under furniture and around awkward corners, and limits the need to switch to handheld mode every time.
I will say that while the Unlimited 10 ProPower isn’t marketed as an upright vacuum, it can’t be left to stand on its own at all without toppling over. I have tested other stick vacuums that will topple over eventually, but are fine to leave standing for a couple of minutes. This isn’t the case with the Bosch model, and it can be a little bit of a hindrance to lie the vacuum flat every time I turn it off – even if it’s only for a minute while I move something out of the way, for example.
The handle of the vacuum sits comfortably in my hand, at least, and I’d say it’s a nice, lightweight appliance to move around with. Plus, the information available is a nice touch.
Aside from indicating the remaining battery life, the control panel automatically detects the floor type and displays this as an image. This is a pretty cool feature, and I’ll admit it was fun to see the image change from carpet to hard floor as I moved about the flat.
Next, I tested the vacuum in handheld mode. It comes with a number of attachments, including a short crevice nozzle, furniture brush, and a longer crevice nozzle which clips onto the end of the short nozzle. I always favour cordless vacuums that can easily transition into a handheld device, which the Unlimited 10 ProPower definitely does. The vacuum unit easily lifts away from the pole, and the attachments seamlessly click into place.
I used the longer crevice nozzle to clean the edges of each room, followed by the skirting boards. It was nice and easy to use the vacuum in handheld mode, and I could see that it was picking up the dust and debris that had made their way to the edges of each room.
At this point, I noticed that the control panel was quite sensitive; I only needed to brush the touch screen with my hand or arm, and it changed mode. Interestingly, ‘additional modes’ come up at this point, followed by ‘silent mode’. This left me feeling confused because the vacuum didn’t get any quieter despite the screen indicating that it was in silent mode. As this wasn’t a feature I was expecting, it didn’t bother me too much, though I can see it would be confusing (and perhaps a little frustrating) for anyone else using it, too.
I used the soft furniture brush to clean my sofa, pouffe, and later, the mattress. Again, I could see that the vacuum was doing a good job of picking up debris, but I noticed that the power doesn’t amp up like it does when I’m using the device as a traditional vacuum. I assumed this was because a higher power wouldn’t be suitable for cleaning furniture, and again, it’s reassuring to know that the vacuum automatically adjusts its suction power for different surfaces.
As is expected, the noise levels of the Unlimited 10 ProPower change in line with the suction power. According to the app I used for testing, the noise is around 78 dB in auto mode, 73.5 dB in eco, and 87.4 dB in turbo. This is all pretty standard, and I wouldn’t say that the vacuum is especially loud compared to other models I’ve tested.
That being said, when the vacuum really amps up the power (which it will do automatically when it detects a high-debris area), the noise becomes not only louder but also more unpleasant. It’s not a dealbreaker, but definitely something to consider if you’re sensitive to sound.
All in all, after using the vacuum consistently for two weeks, I’m still not quite used to how it runs over carpet. There are times when I feel like I need to pick it up to move it, which isn’t ideal for quick, daily cleans. And it seems that the caveat to the vacuum’s incredible pick-up capabilities is that it’s unable to glide smoothly over a carpeted surface.
The vacuum does get easier to move when it deems the floor clean enough, and it definitely glides a lot more smoothly in eco mode compared to auto. I’d actually recommend using the eco mode for those lighter, daily cleans when you’re just wanting to give the floor a quick refresh – it’s easier to use and will still vacuum the floors well.
What’s it like to clean?
Like most of the best vacuum cleaners, the Bosch Unlimited 10 ProPower offers hands-free emptying. The dust bin lid opens via a clickable button, and there’s also a sliding mechanism which pushes out the bin’s contents. All in all, emptying the vacuum was a smooth process.
I’m not someone who empties my vacuum after each use, so I did wait until the dust collector was pretty full before emptying. I was quite surprised at just how much dust and debris had been collected after a mere week or so, which is further testament to how much this vacuum can pick up.
This did mean that a lot of dust had settled within the dust bin, even after I’d used the sliding mechanism to empty it. However, I used kitchen roll to wipe off what dust I could, and though it was difficult to get it spotless, I was able to clear most of the lingering dust away.
The dust bin can be clicked away from the rest of the vacuum completely, which is how you access the filter. The instructions recommend cleaning the filter when it’s ‘heavily soiled’ and suction power decreases. After one week of testing a little dust had started to collect around the filter of my unit, which I wiped away slightly damp cloth.
It was also a bit of a faff to reattach the dust bin to the vacuum, but after a bit of wiggling around, it clicked back into place. The brush bar also removes from the floorhead fairly easily, and has a wide design to reduce hair tangling. There was only a small amount of hair and dust that had collected around the brush bar after a couple of weeks using the vacuum, which was good to see.
In terms of charging, the battery pack is easily removed from the vacuum and slots into the charging station. Thanks to the impressive run time of 100 minutes, it really doesn’t feel like the battery needs charging often. It’s nice to be able to use a cordless vacuum without worrying about the battery running flat, which is definitely the experience I’ve had with the Unlimited 10 ProPower. Of course, the run time does go down when switching to turbo mode, but I rarely felt the need to switch to this, given how impressive the vacuum’s pick-up power is in standard mode.
There’s also a docking station included, which will come in handy if you have a space to store your vacuum on the wall.
How does it compare to similar models?
The 10 ProPower is the latest in the Unlimited cordless vacuum series from Bosch, with this version boasting a bigger battery and an interactive touch-screen display compared to the standard Unlimited 10. When buying the vacuums at their RRPs, you’d pay an extra £50 for the additional features of the ProPower.
In comparison to our current favourite cordless vacuum, the Shark Stratos IZ420UKT, the Bosch Unlimited 10 ProPower is more expensive (prices of the Shark Stratos do vary depending on which model you buy). The Stratos Pet Pro model with a double battery pack has an RRP of £449.99, which is almost £200 less than the Bosch model. The higher price tag of the Unlimited 10 ProPower is likely down to its ultra-high suction power, but given how impressed our reviewer was with the Shark model, I don’t think it’s necessary to pay the extra for the 10 ProPower.
If you’re looking for a cordless vacuum that’s amazing value for money, we love the Dyson V8 Absolute. Available to purchase from anywhere between £249-£399, it offers fantastic suction power and a wide range of handy attachments. It’s still an investment, but you’d be able to get immaculate floors without committing to the steep cost of the Bosch Unlimited 10 ProPower.
Where the Bosch model does excel compared to both the Shark and Dyson alternatives is in its battery life. You can purchase the Shark Stratos with a double battery pack, which in theory means you’d never run out of charge when using it, but you might prefer to have just one battery pack to think about – in which case, the Bosch model would be ideal. As a standalone battery, it supersedes Dyson and Shark in both battery life and charging times.
Should you buy the Bosch Unlimited 10 ProPower Cordless Vacuum?
With regards to how clean the Bosch Unlimited 10 ProPower left my floors, I have no complaints. It’s the most powerful vacuum I’ve tested, and it really does have some cool features. The fact that it automatically detects the floor type and suction power needed is great, and I’m a fan of the LED indicator, which turns blue once the floor is deemed ‘truly clean’.
But all of this comes at a cost (and not just literally). I can’t quite get on board with how this vacuum feels to use on carpet. It doesn’t glide across a carpeted surface smoothly, even on the lightest power mode (though this is a marked improvement from turbo mode). The beauty of cordless vacuums is that they feel quick and easy to use, and this is where the Unlimited 10 ProPower falls short.
That being said, if your home has mainly hard floors, this could be a great vacuum to invest in. It’s high-tech and features an interactive touch-screen display that would likely please many. Just be prepared to pay a lot for these additional features. £629.99 is incredibly high for a cordless vacuum, but keep an eye on the Bosch website as they do seem to discount their vacuums frequently.
All in all, I’d say that this vacuum isn’t the best fit for my home – but, if you want a device that’s going to deeply clean your floors, the Unlimited 10 ProPower is worth considering.
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