Summary:
A flexible and smart cordless vacuum that offers a wealth of cool features and power.
Pros:
* Svelte. This unit looks great. Stark white, black accents, and chrome trim. It looks great for a vacuum.
* Easy to read display. The touch controls and status displays are great. The display shows how hard the vacuum is working (i.e. how dirty the surface is), the remaining battery life, and other status depending on what is going on.
* Smart + easy controls. The unit is smart. By default, auto mode will provide as much power as the unit thinks it needs. When it detects more debris it increases power. There is even a handy toggle that you can use to keep the unit on rather than keep the trigger depressed. Finally, you can operate this unit on manual mode and use the touch-sensitive slider to control just how much power you need. Of course, total run time correlates directly with how much power the unit is using. For that reason, listed run times won't be that helpful.
* Attachments. This unit comes with a boatload of attachments to perform specific functions. This is super handy because my other handhelds don't have that many and so it's difficult to do certain spot cleanings, for instance.
* Ergonomic. The unit attachments including the main direct drive power brush attachment have angled necks where appropriate. This means that it is easy to swivel the unit to get under tough to reach spots and for cleaning staircases. I have another handheld vacuum that works really well at floors, but not so much on stairs or in spot cleaning situations. That is where this unit shines.
* Wall mount! I cannot overstate how pleased I am that this unit comes with a wall-mount for the main unit, the spare battery, and a few of the larger attachments. I get to keep this thing off of the floor and don't have to hassle with disconnecting and connecting cords (thereby decreasing cable life - the main concern with my existing Shark). No awkward leaning against the wall, no misplaced attachments. It's convenient and looks nice.
* Easy to clean. The unit can be broken down quite easily for maintenance and cleaning. Speaking of which, emptying the bin is also a breeze.
* Spare battery! Yep, a spare battery.
* Pre-filter cleaning attachment. This device has an attachment that you insert the pre-filter in when it is dirty, and it reverses cleans the pre-filter. This helps extend its consumable life and is a nifty inclusion.
Cons:
* Dust Bin. The dust bin size isn't as large as I'd like. But, considering how much power the unit has, I think that something larger might lead to poorer performance pretty quickly in a cleaning session. Frequent emptying of the bin will likely ensure better performance and longevity.
* Wifi capability (mobile app). I'm not sure what features are exposed using the mobile app experience because I couldn't get the app to connect to the vacuum using the (surprisingly) detailed instructions. The caveat they list is 2Ghz only, so I really didn't feel it was worth my effort in making this work since it would involve me making router changes, bouncing the network, etc, just to get a vacuum to work. I don't know how to make this easier, but this is a problem for most appliances like this (I faced the same issue on a robot vacuum and a mop vacuum I own - even if they eventually connected). I really wanted to deduct 1 * because of this annoyance, but since I don't know what I'm missing, I'll leave it.
Use:
So far the device has been super helpful. We have a corgi and our carpet is a dark shade of grey, almost charcoal. His hair isn't too noticeable, surprisingly, but it is still there. Cleaning it with the Shark in handheld mode is a pain in the butt because the main brush head is awkward and limp by design. The main brush on the Tineco, however, has a strong neck and is angled such that you can easily vacuum staircases standing up or with the extender removed. No back pain!
We vacuum our main (2nd) floor daily (hardwood) and we vacuum the 1st and 3rd floors weekly (carpet/tile) along with all of the staircases and landings. The picture of the dust bin shows approximately 8-10 minutes of use on the staircase leading from the 2nd floor to the 3rd and to the 3rd-floor catwalks.
Note:
I have a four-story home and we need to clean every floor with something. We have tested this unit on our carpet and hardwoods and it definitely does better than our Deebot, cordless Shark, and our cordless Bissell wet/dry mop. It probably falls behind our *corded* Dyson Ball for obvious reasons but excels in its accessibility, mobility, and included attachments.
Only time will tell, but this vacuum seems to be a promising keeper! I definitely recommend it.