One major robot vacuum trend of the past 12 months or so has been bots that can climb over particularly tall thresholds. And while the dream of a robovac that can make its own way up the stairs is still just that, developments have taken a significant shift forward with the launch of a robot vacuum that has tiny little legs.

Launched at CES 2025, the Dreame X50 Ultra Complete robot vacuum features retractable mechanical legs that enable it to climb over obstacles up to 4.2cm in a single step, or 6cm tall in two steps, using what Dreame is calling its ‘ProLeap System’.

Prior to this, even the best robot vacuums were rendered fairly useless if you had a home with tall room dividers or small steps between rooms. Such developments are also useful if you have furniture that features bars that run along the ground, as these can also quickly beach traditional robot vacuums.

Whether Dreame’s little stilts prove a more effective approach than Roborock’s quadbike like suspension rig or the Shark PowerDetect robovac that kind of twerks itself over high thresholds remains to be seen – we have a review in progress and will report back.

The X50 Ultra Complete looks to be part of a new trend for robot vacuums with limbs. Elsewhere at CES, Roborock has unveiled the Saros Z70, a robot vacuum with a mechanical arm that can clear away your socks. Perhaps unsurprisingly given how competitive the robovac industry is, Dreame is using the event to show off its own experiments into robo-arm technology, although its own ‘Bionic Multi-Arm Joint Robotic Arm’ seems to be still in the experimental phase, and isn’t included on the X50 Ultra Complete.

What else do we know?

The little feet are the obvious headline feature on the X50 Ultra Complete, but other notable additions include a shock absorption system that softens collisions and absorbs sound for quieter operation. There’s up to 20,000Pa of suction, which isn’t quite as high as the 22,000Pa offered by some other new model showing at CES, but is still a huge step up from most brands’ previous flagships (the Dreame L40 Ultra has ‘just’ 11,000Pa). An extending side brush and extending mop pad helps offer more complete edge cleaning.

While we don’t have much information right now, the navigation system also looks interesting. Dreame says the X50 Ultra Complete can raise or lower its radar to gain an accurate 3D perception of its environment, using something called VersaLift navigation.

The Dreame X50 Ultra Complete is scheduled to go on sale in the UK from early February, with a list price of £1,399. We don’t yet have details for other territories.

You might also like…

• Roborock’s new robovacs are determined to get under your sofa – here’s how
• How do robot vacuums navigate?
• Browse the best robot vacuums for pet hair