At a glance
Expert Rating
Benefits
- Good battery life
- Custom Brushing Modes
- USB charging
- Color screen
- Luminous pressure sensor
Disadvantages
- Brushing feedback is too complicated
- Dear
Our verdict
This brush is high quality, stylishly designed, and does everything you could want from an electric toothbrush, and more. While not all the features are there, they are enough to make it a great purchase, even if it is expensive.
If you like technology in your electric toothbrush, Oclean is a brand to consider. Their electric toothbrushes are packed with cutting-edge features.
The X Ultra S is no exception. In fact, it might just be the first electric toothbrush that speaks to you.
Design and construction
- Color touch screen
- Light handle
- High quality brush heads
The X Ultra S brush is a stylish brush with a tapered, matte handle and a colour touchscreen. It is available in two colours: pale green and dark green.
Below the display is a button to turn the brush on and off, but you can switch between cleaning modes by sliding your finger across the screen. When you brush your teeth, the screen shows a countdown, but the numbers are small and it’s not easy to read them while you brush your teeth, which is not helped by the silver film that covers the screen.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
When you start brushing your teeth, an ugly image of a row of orange-red teeth appears on the screen. As you brush, the teeth on the screen turn white. The aim is to show you the areas you missed when cleaning. Via the app, you’ll also get much more detailed feedback on your brushing.
At the base of the brush handle is a light ring pressure sensor that glows red when you’re pressing too hard. Overbrushing is a common problem, and this is one of the features we consider a must-have.
The brush feels noticeably light in the hand, weighing just 110g compared to the Oral-B iO4’s 137g. This is even more impressive when you consider its features and long battery life: it’s very well-rounded.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
It comes with a light-up USB charging base, a magnetic wall mount for the brush and three brush heads: ultra gum care, ultra clean and ultra white.
I’m always a little perplexed when oral care brands do this, as most people will have a preference for one type and it would make sense to provide three brush heads of the most popular, universal type.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
But the brush heads are well made, with a tapered silicone brush head that’s gentler on gums and a mix of silicone and nylon bristles.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
The USB charging case is also available for travel, with space for the brush handle and both brush heads. It’s black and gray (or green and cream, depending on which color brush you choose), with a vegan leather finish. It’s considerably higher quality than the hard plastic cases you get, even with a high-end Oral-B iO. The iO cases also don’t have a charging port, and the brushes don’t offer USB charging at all.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Oclean claims the X Ultra S has a 40-day battery life, but that’s only likely if you stick to two 2-minute brushing sessions per day.
If you share the brush or brush for longer periods of time, the battery life will be shorter. I’ve used some custom programs that can last three or even four minutes. If you do the same thing, I think two to three weeks is a more realistic battery life.
Performance, Features and Application
- Range of brushing modes
- Customizable brushing
- Voice alerts while brushing
The X Ultra S toothbrush is quiet and offers good brushing performance. But that’s just the beginning of what it can do.
Most electric toothbrushes give you a simple choice of cleaning modes. For example, you can choose between a gentle mode, a daily mode, or a gum care mode. The X Ultra S is a little different.
Using the touchscreen, you can choose between Sensitive Gum Care, Whitening Polish, Scientific Brushing (more on that later), Unlimited Clean, Sunrise Soothe, and Sunset Clean—that’s a lot of options, and it’s not immediately clear what they all offer.
But that’s not all. To get the most out of the brush, you’ll need to download the Oclean app, create an account, and pair your brush. This proved to be quick and easy in our testing.
If you want the most advanced electric toothbrush available, the X Ultra S is for you.
The app offers several ways to tailor brushing performance to your preferences. To get started, you can take a quiz about your dental health and get a smart suggestion. You can also choose from 14 cleaning modes (e.g. Braces, Super Whitening, or Travel). You can even create your own custom mode, specifying brushing time, mode, and intensity level.
It may seem like a lot of hassle just to brush your teeth, but I really liked the ability to customize the brushing and the mode I created was effective and left my teeth clean.
The X Ultra S also provides brushing feedback, both in real time and after the fact. As you brush, it provides AI-powered voice guidance: it will talk to you via bone conduction to correct your technique.
To activate this feature, choose the scientific brushing mode and get ready. Because the first time a little voice in your mouth says “Pressure boost” or “Go to the next section,” it’s a bit of a surprise.
Once you’re back in your body after the shock, you may be wondering how effective this method is. Sure, it’s hard to ignore a voice coming from your own head, but it’s not always easy to understand what that voice is saying. If you listen to music while you brush your teeth, you may have a hard time deciphering what your toothbrush is telling you to do. And, let’s face it, it’s deeply unsettling.
I can’t help but hope that this feature doesn’t expand.
In addition to alerting you when you’re brushing too hard, these voice alerts will also prompt you to switch to brushing another part of your mouth and correct your brushing technique.
In the app, you can also see the percentage of battery life remaining on your device, which is handy, and how long you’ve been using your current brush head.
There is also a considerable amount of feedback on brushing. Probably too much. Every brushing session is recorded and analyzed. The main form of feedback is the “Brushing Clover,” a graphic illustration of your brushing success, measuring session length, frequency, and giving you an overall brushing score out of 100.
It’s useful, in a fun way, as it’s quite addictive to try to improve your brushing score and could be a handy tool for anyone looking to brush up on their brushing technique or who forgets to brush regularly.
In the app, you will also see a map of your teeth. After brushing, it will show you the areas you have neglected. But the accuracy of the toothbrush position detector is a question mark. The app regularly indicated that I was neglecting the left side of my mouth, but never the right, even though I was only brushing that side and spending much more time on the left side. But my dentist never mentioned this problem. So, do I have a problem with my brushing or with the toothbrush position detector?
Overall, there’s a lot of great information here. But like most dental apps, I think most people will abandon it in the long run.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Pricing and Availability
In the UK, this electric toothbrush is undoubtedly expensive. Its RRP is £199.99 and you can buy it for that price on the Oclean website. It’s even more expensive at Selfridges, at £219.99.
This is without a doubt one of the most feature-packed brushes we’ve tested, and if you want the AI voice alerts, you won’t find them anywhere else. However, if you’re happy with a luxury brush with a colour display, a choice of brushing modes, a pressure sensor and app compatibility, you can pick up the Oral-B iO8 for £150-£170. You can read our iO8 review to see if it’s a better fit for you, but bear in mind that it doesn’t have USB charging and its battery life is much shorter.
In the US, the X Ultra S is available from Oclean for $129.99, making it a more tempting purchase.
If this isn’t the right purchase for you, take a look at our comparisons of the best electric toothbrushes and the best cheap electric toothbrushes for more options and buying advice. We also have an Oral-B specific chart, to help you choose the best Oral-B toothbrush for you.
Should you buy the Oclean X Ultra S?
The Oclean X Ultra S has a lot of impressive features. I particularly liked the USB charging and USB carrying case, the well-designed brush heads, the screen on the handle, and the ability to customize brushing. I’m not convinced by the AI voice alerts and have some doubts about the accuracy of the position detection system.
However, it’s easily the most feature-rich electric toothbrush we’ve tested, and it’s light to hold, quiet, and effective. Overall, if you want the most advanced electric toothbrush on the market, the X Ultra S is the one for you.
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