3i Reviews

3i is a newcomer, selling robot vacuums only since 2022. After testing its flagship S10 Ultra with a water-recycling dock, we turned our attention to the company’s mid-tier offering, the P10 Ultra. We bought one for ourselves, then ran it through our full test suite and found both some benefits and some drawbacks. This review covers those results and whether we think the P10 Ultra offers good value for its price. At Vacuum Wars, we purchase every robot vacuum we test—no sponsorships, no free samples—so our reviews remain 100% independent and trusted by our audience. 3i P10 Ultra Hardware and Basics The 3i P10 Ultra’s list price sits at the high end for a mid-tier robot robot vacuum–mop combo. Its feature list closely resembles the MOVA P10 Pro Ultra, which we believe to be the 3i P10’s most natural competitor and which won several Vacuum Wars awards in mid-2025, so we’ll reference the MOVA often in this review. (Both carry the “P10” name; we’ll keep brand names front-and-center to avoid confusion.) The 3i P10 Ultra is rated at 18,000Pa of suction and paired with a full-feature docking station that washes and dries its mop pads. Positioned between 3i’s entry-level G10+ (no auto-empty dock) and the premium S10 Ultra (water recycling, near-autonomous base), the P10 Ultra includes a disposable dust bag in the dock, a 400 ml on-board dustbin, a 3.94-inch height profile, and an official 180-minute runtime. It’s also specced to climb thresholds up to 20 mm. Our 3i P10 Ultra robot vacuum-mop combo and dock that we purchased for this review. © Vacuum Wars 3i P10 Ultra Specs at-a-Glance Spec / Context3i P10 Ultra DetailsMSRPHigh for the segment (frequently discounted)Closest competitorMOVA P10 Pro Ultra (nearly identical specs)Mopping SystemDual spinning, lifting mop-pads with one extending padRated suction18,000 PaDock functionsBagged auto-empty • Hot-water pad wash • Hot-air dryHeight3.94 in / 100 mmThreshold Climbing20mmOn-board dust-bin400 mLBattery (spec)5,200 mAh (180 min claimed runtime)Line-up placementSits between entry-level G10+ (no auto-empty dock) and flagship S10 Ultra (water-recycling dock) 3i P10 Ultra Vacuuming Performance The 3i P10 Ultra features an anti-tangle main brush designed to remove hair as it vacuums, along with a fixed side brush that sweeps debris into the main suction port. However, at this price point, we would have expected a more advanced side-brush design—one that extends outward to reach corners and wall edges, like the corner-sweeping arm found on the MOVA P10 Pro Ultra. The fixed brush on the 3i may result in reduced coverage along baseboards and in tight corners. The 3i P10 Ultra has an anti-tangle main brush and a fixed side brush © Vacuum Wars In its basic job as a vacuum, the robot did a good job of picking up debris of different sizes on various surfaces. We observed its dirt detection feature in action, where it increased its suction and did slower passes over heavily soiled areas when its camera sensed large concentrations of debris. When enabled, dirt detection makes the 3i P10 Ultra slow down and increase its power in heavily soiled areas © Vacuum Wars Suction and Airflow Tests Its suction bench test was indeed impressive, clocking 1.35 kPa compared to the MOVA P10’s score of 1.08 and the average of 0.83. Its airflow test lagged, however, scoring below the 16.4 average with only 11 cfm, and far below MOVA’s impressive 20 cfm. This might explain MOVA’s superior performance in the crevice pickup test as well, which is more important for homes with deeper grout or more gaps in flooring. While suction bench tests were high at 1.35kPA (right), the airflow was below average at 11 cfm (left) © Vacuum Wars Carpet Deep Clean It performed well in our carpet deep clean test, where we embed sand into medium pile carpet and measure how much the robot can remove. The 3i did better than average and better than the MOVA, with the 3i removing 84% of the sand compared to MOVA’s score of 81%. The 3i P10 Ultra removed 84% of sand in our carpet deep clean test, better than the average of 75% © Vacuum Wars Power at-a-Glance Metric3i P10 UltraMOVA P10 ProCategory AverageSuction (bench, kPa)1.35 kPa1.08 kPa0.83 kPaAirflow (CFM)11 CFM20 CFM16.4 CFMCarpet Deep-Clean (% sand removed)84%81%75% Pet Hair The 3i P10 Ultra excels at hair management. Its anti-tangle main brush teams with a dock-mounted blade to strip away any strands that cling to the roller. In our 7-inch hair-tangle test, the P10 finished with 0% hair wrapped—well below the category average of 38% and even topping the MOVA’s 4%. In our hair tangle test, the P10 finished with 0% hair wrapped around the main brush © Vacuum Wars In our flattened pet hair test, where we press 2.5 inch hair onto carpet to mimic real-life conditions, the P10 lifted 81% of the hair, matching the category average and beating the MOVA’s 66%. On Vacuum Wars’ overall pet score, the 3i edges out the MOVA, 4.4 to 4.3. Hair Pickup at-a-Glance Test3i P10 UltraMOVA P10 ProCategory Avg7-in hair tangle0% wrapped4%38%Flattened pet hair (carpet)81%66 %81% 3i P10 Ultra Mopping Mopping System The 3i P10 Ultra has two spinning mop pads that lift over carpets, allowing vacuum-and-mop runs in one pass. One of the mop pads extends to the side to get into corners, and it applies downward pressure for a more forceful scrubbing action, unlike more basic models that simply drag a wet pad behind it. The 3i P10 Ultra has two spinning mop pads that produce downward pressure that lift 10mm over carpets and have one pad that extends to the side for corner cleaning © Vacuum Wars Mopping Performance The 3i did well in our dried on stain test, scoring 141 points, which was much higher than the average of 93 points. This was also much better than the MOVA’s unimpressive score of 73 points. The downside: it left 2.25 g of residual water—more than twice the 1.01-g average and well above MOVA’s 1.05 g—raising concerns about streaking floors and longer drying times. The 3i P10 Ultra did well in our stain test with 141 points, but it had more than double the average amount of water left behind, which penalized its mopping results © Vacuum Wars Mopping Metric3i P10 UltraMOVA P10 ProCategory AverageDried-Stain Removal (points)1417393Water Left Behind (g)2.25 g1.05 g1.01 g 3i P10 Ultra Navigation The 3i P10 uses a top-mounted spinning LiDAR to map and plan routes. In our Navigation index it scored 4.15 (versus an average of 3.0), while MOVA posted an impressive 4.57. The 3i P10 Ultra uses a top-mounted spinning LiDAR turret © Vacuum Wars For navigation efficiency (m²/min), the 3i covered 0.81 m² per minute; MOVA managed 0.83 m²/min. The biggest difference was apparent on our test floor plan, where MOVA finished in 44 minutes versus the 3i’s 61 minutes (average time is 60 minutes). The 3i P10 Ultra covered our floor plan in 61 minutes, a little slower than average, but much slower than the MOVA P10 Pro Ultra's 44 minute run © Vacuum Wars Metric3i P10 UltraMOVA P10 ProAvgNav score (0-5)4.154.573.0Efficiency (m²/min)0.810.830.70Total clean time (our test floor plan)61 min44 min60 min 3i P10 Ultra Obstacle Avoidance The 3i P10 Ultra uses an RGB camera paired with an LED light and 3D structured light to sense obstacles in its path like cables, shoes, pet toys, and other floor clutter. It did not impress us in our tests, earning an overall below average score of 3.33 compared to the average of 3.44. MOVA dominated with an overall score of 3.96 in obstacle avoidance. Obstacle avoidance was also a complaint in online user reviews and forums, with several customers noting that the robot got confused with shiny or otherwise irregular surfaces, causing false alarms and unreliable coverage. In our combined obstacle avoidance tests, the 3i avoided a slightly below-average number of obstacles, avoiding 16 out of 24 where the average is 16.6. The MOVA led with 19 out of 24. the 3i avoided a slightly below-average number of obstacles, avoiding 16 out of 24 where the average is 16.6 © Vacuum Wars Obstacle-Avoidance Metric3i P10 UltraMOVA P10 ProCategory AverageOverall OA score (0–5)3.333.963.44Obstacles avoided (out of 24)161916.6 3i P10 Ultra Dock Features The 3i P10 Ultra has a full-featured dock, complete with auto-detergent filling, auto-emptying into a disposable bag, hot water mop washing, hot air mop drying, and a self-cleaning removable base tray. It also has an anti-tangle blade in the dock to ensure no hairs remain wrapped around the main brush. The dock does not support fast-charging, and it does not have a dirty water detection feature, where it measures how dirty the water is to determine if the floor needs another pass. Dock Features At-A-Glance Dock Feature3i P10 UltraMOVA P10 ProSelf-empty✓✓Bagged / baglessBaggedBaggedBag size (L)3 L3.2 LMop-pad washing✓✓Hot-water wash✓✓Mop-pad drying✓✓Hot-air dry✓✓Auto-detergent filling✓XBin self-cleaning tray✓✓Dirty-water sensorX✓Plumbing-ready optionXX 3i P10 Ultra Battery Life The 3i P10 Ultra comes with a battery pack with 5200mAh, which matches the battery size of the MOVA P10. 3i claims an official run time of 180 minutes. In our tests, the battery efficiency was ok, covering 2.03 square meters per each 1 percent of battery power. This is above the average of 1.31, but below MOVA’s score of 2.43. The 3i P10 Ultra covered more ground per percent of battery life than the average at 2.03 meters squared, but it was still below the MOVA P10's coverage of 2.43 meters squared © Vacuum Wars Battery life was another complaint we saw online from users, with some claiming shorter run times, but it is difficult to tell if this is a real problem with the battery efficiency since there are so many real-world factors that can affect battery performance, including temperature and how much carpet is in a house, power settings etc. In our estimate, we believe the robot can cover 1769 square feet in a single charge on low power settings, which is better than the average of 1015 square feet, but not as good as the MOVA at an impressive 2157 square feet. Battery Metric3i P10 UltraMOVA P10 ProCategory Average*Battery pack5,200 mAh5,200 mAh—Claimed runtime (low power)180 min150 min—Efficiency (m² per 1 % battery)2.032.431.31Estimated coverage per charge (low power)1,769 ft²2,157 ft²1,015 ft² 3i P10 Ultra App Features The 3i app had a fairly comprehensive set of app features. In the app, you have cleaning schedules, room selection, no-go zones, carpet settings, 3d mapping, quick mapping, multi-floor map, room editing, do not disturb settings, smart route, pet recognition, child lock, multiple dock controls, and custom mop washing. The 3i app has a fairly comprehensive list of features that would be expected for a mid-level robot vacuum. 3i also advertises that the 3i P10 Ultra is usable with both 2.4G and 5G wifi, a rare feature © Vacuum Wars MOVA has a slight edge by including an onboard virtual assistant, which many users find useful if their wifi is unreliable. However it is also worth noting that 3i claims the 3i P10 Ultra is compatible with both 2.4G wifi and 5G, which is rare for a robot vacuum and is a question we get a lot. 3i and MOVA App Comparison App / Smart-Home Feature3i P10 UltraMOVA P10 ProWi-Fi connectivity2.4 GHz & 5 GHz2.4 GHz onlyAmazon Alexa / Google Assistant✓✓On-board voice assistantX✓Multi-level mapping✓✓Individual-room settings✓✓Cleaning-sequence scheduling✓✓Virtual barriers & no-mop zones✓✓Zone cleaning✓✓Room-select cleaning✓✓Recharge & resume✓✓ Verdict In conclusion, the 3i P10 Ultra has a laundry list of features that we would expect from a robot at this tier, and it was truly successful with its anti-tangle system. However, it also had a lack-luster obstacle avoidance score that was supported by some negative user feedback, and we weren’t really impressed with its mopping performance when compared to its closest competitor, which also has a lower list price. At the list price, we don’t feel that it is a good value. But if you catch it on sale, where it is often several hundred dollars below list price, we think the 3i P10 Ultra would be a good buy. 3i P10 Ultra in the Vacuum Wars Studio © Vacuum Wars Frequently Asked Questions Is the 3i P10 Ultra good for pet hair? Yes. In our 7-inch hair-tangle test it left 0% hair wrapped on the roller (average is 38%), and it removed 81% of flattened pet hair—better than the MOVA P10 Pro’s 66%. How does the 3i P10 Ultra compare to the MOVA P10 Pro in overall cleaning performance? The 3i scores higher for suction (1.35 kPa vs. 1.08 kPa) and carpet deep-clean (84% vs. 81%), but MOVA leads in airflow, obstacle avoidance, navigation speed, and battery coverage per charge. Can the 3i P10 Ultra mop and vacuum at the same time? Yes. Its dual spinning mop pads lift 10 mm over carpets, so it can vacuum rugs while mopping hard floors in a single run. One pad even extends outward for better edge coverage. Does the 3i P10 Ultra leave water streaks after mopping? It can. The robot left 2.25 g of residual water—more than double the category average—so floors may take longer to dry and could streak compared with rivals. Is the 3i P10 Ultra worth its list price? At full MSRP we think better values exist, such as the MOVA P10 Pro. However, when the 3i P10 Ultra is discounted by a few hundred dollars, its strong suction and hair management make it a solid buy. Do you have a review of the MOVA P10 Pro? Yes we do! 3i P10 Ultra See it at Amazon

3i P10 Ultra Robot Vacuum Review: What Impressed Us—and What Didn’t

Amanda

Amanda

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