Oral-B iO Series 2 Electric Toothbrush Review: Diet iO

Best prices today: Oral-B iO Series 2

$64.97

Oral-B’s iO series offers excellent brushing performance to date, along with a highly visible and effective pressure sensor, a choice of brushing modes, a brushing timer and a range of other features, depending on the model you choose.

There are so many iO models available (nine, including the all-new iO2) that you can find one that perfectly suits your preferences. However, it’s not easy to choose between them if you don’t know what each one offers. Check out our guide to Oral-B electric toothbrushes to find the model that’s right for you.

I was eagerly awaiting the release of the iO2, the most budget-friendly iO brush currently available. But when I started testing it, I discovered that it wasn’t quite what I expected. Read on to find out why.

Design and construction

• Three brushing modes
• Brushing Timer Alerts
• Pressure sensor – but it’s hard to see while brushing

At first glance, the iO2 looks like any other iO brush. It has the same size, the same matte handle, and uses the same iO brush heads.

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Emma Rowley / Foundry

But it is a bit lighter. At 117g (without brush head), it weighs 10g less than the iO4 (127g).

The other big, visible difference is the lack of the light ring around the neck, like all other iO brushes. The light ring has multiple functions. It’s decorative (you can customize the color in the app). It cycles through a rainbow of colors when you’ve completed the dentist-approved two minutes of brushing. And, most importantly, it acts as a bright red/green pressure sensor: When you’re using the right amount of pressure, it glows solid green. Press too hard and the light ring turns red.

This is arguably one of the best features of the iO, and the iO2 doesn’t have it. Instead, there’s a small 1 x 5mm indicator light that flashes red if you press too hard. Since it’s on the front of the brush, it’s not visible in the mirror for most of the time you’re brushing. It’s just not nearly as good.

Oral-B claims that when you press too hard, the motor also slows down to protect your gums. You can hear a change in vibration, but since the brushing performance is already so gentle, it’s hard to feel much of a difference.

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Emma Rowley / Foundry

The iO2 is simple to use, with just one button to turn it on, cycle through three brushing modes and – with a long press – turn it off.

You can buy the iO2 in black, white, or a new forest green colorway. Keep in mind that since the iO brush heads only come in black or white, you’ll get a two-tone brush if you opt for green.

The iO2 offers three brushing modes: ultra-sensitive, gentle, and daily clean. It also has a quadrant alert in the form of a vibration change every thirty seconds to let you know it’s time to move on to a new section of your teeth. After two minutes, a longer alert lets you know you’re done brushing. But the brushing session doesn’t stop automatically, so you might miss the alert if you wander off.

As you might expect at this price, the brush doesn’t have any smart features.

Performance and features

• Very soft
• Long battery life
• Full charge takes 24 hours

The visible differences between the iO2 and other iO brushes are one thing, but there are also invisible differences.

The iO2 has a different motor than the other models in the series, which may explain why it’s a bit lighter. Oral-B didn’t give many details about the motor, but as soon as you turn it on, you’ll notice that the brush isn’t as powerful as the other iOs and offers a much gentler cleaning performance.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing: Oral-B has positioned the iO2 as an electric alternative for people who typically use a manual toothbrush. If you find the vibrations of more powerful brushes too harsh, the iO2 might be the electric toothbrush for you.

Personally, I prefer the feel of a standard iO, although that’s not to say the iO2 doesn’t clean teeth just as well. After using it for a few weeks during the testing period, I found that it does a good job of cleaning teeth.

The iO2 has one huge advantage over all the other toothbrushes in the iO range: its battery life, which Oral-B claims should last a month. This makes it a good option to share and take with you when you travel.

Basically, you’ll get about two weeks of battery life between charges with any other iO brush. We tend to find that higher-end brushes with more features don’t last as long. However, the 7, 8, 9, and 10 have a 3-hour quick charge, which alleviates this issue considerably.

When the battery needs to be recharged, the pressure sensor indicator will light up red. And it will flash green on the stand while charging. But since it takes 24 hours to fully charge, this is one brush you don’t want to let go completely flat.

Your best bet is to leave it on the included charging stand, or at least charge it regularly. It uses the same charging stand as all the cheaper iO brushes, which comes with a standard two-pin plug in the US and a razor plug in the UK. We wish the iO brushes had USB charging, but even the higher-end models don’t have it at this point.

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Pricing and Availability

The iO2 has not yet been released in the UK.

In the US, you can buy the iO2 starter kit, which includes the handle, two brush heads, and a charger, on Amazon for around $64 to $65, depending on whether you choose the white, black, or green color option. This is a better value option than buying from Target or Walgreens for $59.99, since you’ll only get one brush head with your purchase.

Should you buy the Oral-B iO2?

If you currently use a manual toothbrush and want a gentle electric toothbrush with long battery life, the iO2 is a solid choice. But keep in mind that replacement brush heads for traditional Oral-B brushes will be cheaper, so a traditional (non-iO) Oral-B brush will save you money in the long run.

For those who want all the best features of an iO without shelling out a huge amount, we’d say spending the extra $20 for the iO3 is the better choice. But we have more budget-friendly recommendations in our roundup of the best Oral-B toothbrushes.