Dreame’s Robot Vacuum Won’t Be Climbing Stairs, but We Saw It Summit a Small Ledge at CES 2025

Stairs are the bane of every robot vacuum owner’s existence. If you have stairs in your house, you either need different robot vacuums for each floor or you need to physically carry your robot vacuum up the stairs like an errant cat. When we heard that Dreame might have this problem solved with its new robovac showcased at CES 2025, we were excited to check it out. 

Unfortunately, the first few demos showed a robot with a few hiccups before it could hit the main stage. Dreame reps blamed spotty Wi-Fi, which is definitely a thing during the massive Las Vegas trade show. But after a few aborted attempts to see it, we finally got to watch it climb.

Let’s be clear: The Dreame X50 robot vacuum is not climbing the stairs. But we saw it climb some small ledges just a couple of inches high, and it felt like a big step toward making robot vacuums work for the whole home.

Curse your tiny little robot legs

Unfortunately, while adding a tiny motorized swing arm (what Dreame calls its ProLeap System) is promising for navigating obstacles, the Dreame X50 Ultra isn’t quite capable of climbing stairs. The robot can really only climb “stairs” if the stairs are two inches (4.2 centimeters) tall or under. So unless you have stairs for ants in your home, Dreame is capable of crossing a vertical threshold rather than climbing stairs. It can also handle sliding door tracks up to 6 centimeters wide. 

That’s not to say this makes the X50 Ultra useless. The demo we saw at CES had the vacuum climb two small ledges and then return to its home base. It slammed pretty hard into the first ledge before realizing it should deploy the legs. Two little wheeled appendages popped out and lifted it up just enough to get some traction on the top of the ledge. It seemed to notice the second ledge a little earlier and stopped ahead of it to lift up and drive more smoothly overtop. A Dreame rep said the robot’s capable of both sensing a step and adapting to one that’s more unexpected.

For the longterm, Dreame noted that it’s working on the development of a robot vacuum with an arm that can pick up socks and shoes, similar to the Roborock Saros Z70 with its task arm. 

Navigation 

Speaking of navigation, it features 360-degree scanning with DToF LiDAR technology, which has become a buzzword among robotic manufacturers. The reasoning is that LiDAR, by itself, isn’t as reliable as adding camera sensors to the mix. Using a mix of both LiDAR and cameras gives you much more accurate navigations, and then Dreame adds its own AI in to help with object recognition. 

It’s also worth noting that this means the X50 Ultra should be able to navigate small obstacles like power cords or cat toys without getting stuck, with dual bottom view sensors that can identify up to 200 types of objects and intelligently detect height. The robo vac also features Dreame’s proprietary VersaLift Navigation system, which lets it adjust height dynamically to clean under furniture like coffee tables and sofas. Notably, the LiDAR sensor is usually mounted to the top of a robovac, but in this case it can retract to get under low spaces. 

 It comes with a TÜV-certified (meaning it meets certain product testing standards) HyperStream Detangling DuoBrush to reduce instances of brushes getting tangled by pet hair and under debris. 

Cleaning capabilities 

We’ve talked a lot about what the Dreame X50 Ultra can’t do, but as for what it can do, it’s nothing to scoff at. The robovac has 20,000 Pa of suction power and doubles as a mopping robot. It comes with the AceClean DryBoard 20 high-temp spray self-cleaning system and an automatic 176-degree Fahrenheit hot water mop for washing and drying. 

Price and availability 

As you might have guessed, all these features and capabilities, combined with two years of development from Dreame, resulted in a princely price. You can expect to spend $1699.99 for the Dreame X50 Ultra, making it even more expensive than Eureka’s new J15 Max Ultra at $1,299. 

It’ll be available through Dreame’s official site and Amazon starting Feb. 14, though if you preorder starting Jan. 7, you can reserve it for $39, get a $390 coupon and $149 cleaning kit, and two additional years of warranty.