Introduction
It’s been almost three years since I’ve seen a Tineco vacuum cleaner, which is a shame. The last cleaner I reviewed, the Pure One S12, was a low-cost cordless vacuum cleaner with some high-end features. Finally, we have an update, the Tineco Pure One S15 Pro, which builds on the original’s success in many ways, delivering a thorough clean.
Design and features
Smart app connectedLCD shows helpful informationGood range of accessories
Design-wise, the Tineco Pure One S15 Pro doesn’t stray too far from its predecessor. With the wand removed, this vacuum cleaner looks like an upright watering can. Weight is pushed towards the front, so it naturally points down. I found that this made it slightly more difficult to lift up for cleaning around the ceiling, even though it weighs just 3kg. This model ships with a floor stand that the appliance drops into for charging. There’s a removable battery here, although only one is provided in the box. Tineco provides a basic range of accessories, including a crevice tool/dusting brush and a mini motorised pet tool, which is great for sofas and other soft furnishings. These accessories can all clip into the back of the charging base, but the vacuum cleaner has no accessory storage on board. That’s enough accessories for most jobs, but the S15 Pro falls short of the huge range that came with the S12. The S15 Pro has a single floorhead with V-shaped bristles, designed to prevent hair from wrapping around them. But Tineco does provide a razor tool and brush, just in case. This floorhead has LED lights on the front to help you see what you’re cleaning, although it doesn’t highlight dirt in the same way that the laser lights on the latest Dyson vacuum cleaners do. This vacuum cleaner has a 0.5-litre bin, which is big enough to see you through an average clean. I love its emptying mechanism: push the slider on the back of the cleaner, and it slides a rubber ring down inside the bin, pushing dirt out of the flap at the bottom. I found that I could empty this appliance in a clean and effective manner without any need for additional banging. While the bin can’t be removed from the vacuum cleaner’s body, the inner filter is detachable and also houses the pre-filter. There’s a spare pre-filter in the box, although the S15 Pro doesn’t come with the fancy filter-cleaning tool that the S12 had. There’s also a rear filter at the back, which can be pulled out, cleaned under running water and dried before it’s replaced. On top, there’s a large LCD, which has been upgraded from the one on the S12. Here, the S15 Pro shows the percentage of battery life left, plus the cleaning mode. It can also display additional information, such as how to unblock the airways should it get clogged. That’s similar to the screens on the Dyson V15 Detect and Dyson V12 Detect Slim vacuum cleaners. A trigger turns the vacuum cleaner on and off, but it doesn’t have to be held down for cleaning. The S15 Pro turns on in automatic mode, adjusting motor speed based on the level of dirt that’s detected. I found that this system responded quickly to dirt on the floor, with the colour light around the outside of the LCD filling up red, based on how much debris there was. There’s also a manual slider that lets you adjust power levels between one and six. That’s a huge amount of variance and, realistically, too much choice. Can anyone really know if they need power level four or five? It would be easier and better if there were just two or three modes to cover most situations. This is a smart vacuum cleaner that connects to the Tineco app. The app tells you how long the pre-filter has left before it needs cleaning and lets you adjust the vacuum cleaner’s mode and even set a cleaning schedule, reminding you when it’s time to get the appliance out. It’s all a complete waste of time, and after using the app to see what it could do, I never bothered with it again.
Performance
Edge performance is a little lackingVery powerfulDecent battery life
I put the Tineco Pure One S15 Pro through my normal tests, starting off by measuring its raw power in airwatts (AW). On its lowest setting, it was at 38AW, which is still enough for light debris or to clean around objects where you don’t want too much power, such as a keyboard. On the middle level, I measured power at a decent 109AW, which is sufficient for most cleaning jobs. Moving to maximum, the S15 Pro delivered a huge 229AW, which puts it slightly above both the Shark IZ420UKT and the Dyson V12. In auto mode, the vacuum will move between the minimum and maximum points, depending on the level of dirt. I moved on to my real-world tests. First, I put a teaspoon of flour onto my test carpet and then gave the Tineco Pure One S15 Pro a pass forwards and backwards through the middle on auto power. Here, the vacuum removed all dirt in a pass. Next, I combed cat hair into the carpet and gave the vacuum a pass over it. Once again, it impressed me with its raw power, picking out the cat hair easily. I moved to the tricky edge test, with flour spread onto carpet tiles right up to the skirting board. Here, a pass along the skirting board on auto power removed everything from the carpet, bar right at the edge. Moving up to maximum power, I managed to get a bit more dust, but there was still a trace left and I had to finish off the job with the crevice tool. Finally, I moved to the hard floor test, sprinkling a teaspoon of rice onto the floor. Running the S15 Pro through the mess, it adjusted power automatically and managed to pick up the grains, although the brushes did flick some around for a bit, requiring a few sweeps to get everything. I measured the S15 Pro at 68.5dB on the minimum and 72.1dB on maximum power, which puts it in line with the competition. Battery life is harder to measure, as the auto mode means that each cleaning session can vary depending on how dusty your house is. I cleaned around the Trusted Reviews test lab, which hadn’t been vacuumed in a week, so it represents an average home. I worked out that battery life was 27mins 30secs, which is similar to that of the Shark IZ420UKT. However, the Shark has two batteries, so it can actually last for double that in my tests. On boost mode, the Tineco Pure One S15 Pro lasted for just 9mins 47secs, so this setting should be used sparingly. At this kind of battery life, the S15 Pro doesn’t quite last long enough to clean my three-bedroom house. It could work in stages, or it could be used to clean a smaller flat on a single charge. Remember, battery life itself isn’t the only important thing – it’s cleaning performance: a vacuum cleaner with longer battery life but less suction power will clean less surface area than a more powerful cleaner with shorter battery life.
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Sustainability
TrustedReviews holds the fact that global warming is not a myth as a core value and will continuously endeavour to help protect our planet from harm in its business practices. If you’re looking for something else, then check out my guide to the best cordless vacuum cleaners. Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy. As part of this mission, whenever we review a product, we send the company a series of questions to help us gauge and make transparent the impact the device has on the environment. We currently haven’t received answers to the questions on this product, but we will update this page the moment we do. You can see a detailed breakdown of the questions we ask and why in our sustainability info page.
