Review: This robot vacuum has an amazing new feature

It doesn't seem like it's been that long since premium robot vacuum cleaners finally encompassed all the main features they needed. Or so we thought...

The key attributes for any high-end robot vacuum should empty its dust container automatically, fill its mop tank automatically, and wash and dry its mop heads automatically. Quite frankly, if you have to do any of these yourself, you've not really dived into the world of home automation quite deeply enough yet.

While it seemed to take an age for technology to reach this holy grail phase, there is now a profusion of devices that fit the brief. Roomba, Roborock, and Eufy are all among the big names offering all the features, and the latest one I've been testing is a robot by Dreame. The L40 Ultra.

Pronounced "Dreamy", it's a company that's been at this for a while. And its products get better with every launch. But, to be fair, you can say that about all of its competitors.

We've reached the stage now when any new launch needs to do something clever to stand out. Simply packing in all the automations you'd ever want just doesn't break new ground any more.

So Dreame has entered the fray with some very clever features that aren't quite there with the competition. Yet.

Firstly, the L40 Ultra has a quite remarkable 11,000Pa of suction power. To put that into context, the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra has 6,000Pa while the significantly more expensive Eufy S1 Pro Omni has 8,000Pa.

The Dreame puts it to good use, too. Particularly on carpet, which is where you're bound to notice the difference, it gets into the fibres deeper than pretty much any robot vacuum I've tested. And it goes without saying its performance on hard floors is also top notch.

This is helped significantly be a new innovation I'm keen to see more of in robot vacuums - extendable brushes and mops.

The rotating brushes that bash dirt into the suction zone and reach out to the edges of rooms are not fixed in the Dreame L40 Ultra, so they automatically reach out to tuck into nooks and crannies.

This gets around a limitation of any round robot and effectively squares off the edges - something the Eufy S1 Pro Omni does physically, rather than virtually, I must add.

It's quite a remarkable skill, and it can adjusted in the app, and the app is very easy to use and set up.

You'd think with all that power and those trick extensions it would give the best overall performance of any robot vacuum. In truth, it comes close.

One of the problems I've experienced is tangles. I have a labradoodle in my house, so there's lots of pet hair to tackle. However the Dreame does include a trick roller brush, which is designed to cut up the fur. It's well worth using, because it really makes a difference.

The built-in LiDAR navigation system is good, the obstacle avoidance is very clever, if not class-leading, and there's a native voice command system in case that sort of thing floats your boat.

It could be argued that one of the few downsides with the Dreame L40 Ultra is the price. It's £999 whether you buy it from Dreame directly, or through Amazon.

But I'm afraid we're in that era now. Flagship robot vacuums really do cost that sort of money and it's becoming a pretty typical benchmark if you want all the features.

So it leaves little to dislike about the L40 Ultra. The base station's design is a little unimaginative compared to some of its competitors, but it's genuinely one of the most competent all-rounders I've tested.

I guess this means choosing the perfect robot vacuum has just become a little bit harder. It's a nice problem to have, I suppose.