Oclean X Ultra S review: a chatty guide to next-level oral care
Oclean X Ultra S: Two-minute review
I’ve been reading about Oclean toothbrushes for a while now and I’ve been impressed by how popular the brand has become in a few markets in a short period of time. We already think Oclean X Pro is one of them best electric toothbrushso I was very excited when the Oclean X Ultra S finally arrived in Australia in November 2024, after being released in the United States in April 2024.
The Oclean X Ultra S is a sonic electric toothbrush with some very smart features, including using bone conduction technology to provide real-time verbal feedback to help you brush your teeth correctly. I’ve been using it since it launched in Australia late last year, and there’s hardly a day that goes by that I don’t get scolded for doing something wrong.
What I mean by “scold” is that the voice alert sounds like a 4 or 5 year old scolding you. You’ll hear feedback like “Too much pressure” suddenly blared in your ears, or, as happened to me a few times, “Hold the brush at a 45-degree angle.” I mean, you can’t exactly measure that angle when you’re brushing your teeth, right? While I wasn’t scolded for brushing my teeth too fast, there were reminders of that. The most common verbal feedback for the X Ultra S is to “switch zones” every 30 seconds.
Despite sounding like a grumpy child at times, I think the verbal feedback is helpful as I’ve found it improved my brushing habits over time, although it’s not always clear to understand what the voice is telling you to do. . It took me a few times to realize that I was told to hold the brush a certain way (at a 45-degree angle), and even the “switch area” prompt sometimes sounded a little incoherent over the hum of the brush. I wish the voice prompts were a little clearer, but I’m really glad it’s not too loud.
If you happen to live in a crowded house (or are traveling), the people around you will hardly know that you were scolded for not brushing your teeth well. A few weeks after I started testing the Oclean X Ultra S, I was out of the country for a four-week family vacation, and no one standing about two feet away from me heard anything. In fact, as a sonic toothbrush, the X Ultra S isn’t very noisy – despite the motor moving up to 84,000 times per minute, the buzz doesn’t exceed 45 decibels. To put that into perspective, that’s how noisy the library is.
The (gory) detailed brushing data is available in the Oclean Care+ smartphone app. The toothbrush divides the mouth into 4 areas and counts the inner and outer sides of the pearly whites separately, thus tracking 8 areas. However, it does not track the biting surfaces of your molars and premolars. Not only will you see a clover-shaped graph that shows your brushing score, how many times you brushed your teeth that day, and for how long, but you’ll also see a 3D removable denture graph that shows you how well you brushed each time. You will also be given information on how much excessive pressure you may have used or if there is any lateral movement.
image 1 of 2
In fact, some of this information will be displayed on the bright, colorful touch screen of the brush itself, including the shamrock. The display automatically turns on when you pick up the brush from the charging base or travel case, showing a default mode based on the time of day – Sunrise Soothing in the morning or Sunset Clearing in the evening. There are a total of 6 modes saved on the brush, including so-called exclusive modes, and you can choose from 14 modes on the app (yes, there are a lot of brushing modes here!). If you want, you can even set your own custom brushing patterns through the app and save them on the brush. Swipe down on the side of the touch screen to cycle through the 6 saved options.
The Oclean X Ultra S connects to the app via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and setup is simple. While traveling, the brush can save up to seven days of cleaning data, then transfers this information to the app when returning to the original Wi-Fi network. During the testing period, I traveled abroad for a total of 3.5 weeks, and unfortunately, it was not possible to transfer early brushing data to the app, but the last week of travel was visible on the app. By the way, this information can also be sent to apple Health app (if you happen to be an iPhone user).
image 1 of 2
While it comes with a small round charging base that also doubles as a stand, there’s even a magnetic wall mount with a double-sided adhesive pad. Oclean says there’s wireless charging here, but that doesn’t work for me, and to be honest, I don’t miss the feature at all – it does it for me when it has an impressive battery life of up to 40 days Seems redundant.
Granted, such long battery life is only possible if you brush your teeth twice a day for the recommended 2 minutes each time, although I think the Oclean X Ultra S could last longer. At the end of my 26-day overseas trip, the X Ultra S’s battery dropped from a full charge to 40%, which was using infinite cleaning mode, allowing me to brush my teeth for over two minutes at a time (my average time was four minutes). There are other brushes that offer similar battery life, but I haven’t seen a travel case that charges the brush while you’re away.
image 1 of 2
While it does appear to be relatively flimsy compared to some travel cases that come with the likes of Philips Sonicare and Oral-B electric toothbrushes, the Oclean X Ultra S’s case looks premium and well-made. Importantly, it has a USB-C port that can actually charge the toothbrush – something that’s hard to find with other popular brands. The box also stores two brush heads.
The X Ultra S comes with three interchangeable brush heads in the box, each suitable for a different type of cleaning, such as sensitive gums or whitening. They look just like any other sonic brush head, and there’s nothing amazing about the design of the brushes themselves. However, the color touchscreen is bright and looks pretty smart when lit up. It can send you holiday greetings and display weather conditions. Even the light around the base of the brush (which turns from white to red when you apply too much pressure) adds to the beauty of the brush.
All in all, the Oclean The smartest electric toothbrush ever. Maybe a little too clever, as my only (minor) issue with the brush is how the verbal feedback sounds – like a child scolding you. Other than that, this is a toothbrush that you can definitely…well, use with all your might, but maybe consider picking it up when it’s on sale.
Oclean X Ultra S review: price and availability
- Announced at CES in January 2024; U.S. release in April 2024
- Available now in the US and Australia; not available in the UK
- Priced at US$129.99/AU$449.95
As mentioned earlier in this review, the Oclean X Ultra S debuted at the CES tech trade show in January 2024 and quickly made headlines as the only electric toothbrush that could talk. It will subsequently be released in the United States in April 2024 and then in Australia in November 2024. While it’s not officially released in the UK yet, you can probably get it at Amazon But shipped and sold by third party resellers.
The Oclean X Ultra S sells for $129.99 in the US and a whopping AU$449.95 in Australia, which is much higher than in other markets, even after taking taxes into account. However, the X Ultra S can be purchased for half the Australian price during a major sale on Black Friday 2024, just days after its Australian release.
If you’re in the UK, I’ve seen it online from third-party retailers selling it for between £93 and £219.99. UK customers who want to try Oclean brushes can opt for the X Pro Elite, with list prices starting at £69.90.
Considering its various smart features and build quality, I think the Oclean X Ultra S is definitely worth considering if you’re looking to stop using a manual brush or are keen on upgrading to a new electric brush. Keep in mind that it may take a while to get used to the verbal prompts – if you’re patient, you’ll definitely see an improvement in your brushing habits.
Oclean X Ultra S review: Specs
| Battery life: | up to 40 days |
| TOLL: | Proprietary stand + USB-C travel case |
| Charging time: | 4.5 hours |
| vibration: | Sonic, up to 84,000 per minute |
| Noise level: | 45 decibels |
| Timer: | 30 seconds voice prompt |
| Water resistance: | IPX7 level |
| Brushing mode: | 5 standard + 14 additional “exclusive” modes |
Oclean X Ultra S: Scorecard
| property | notes | Fraction |
|---|---|---|
| value | It’s reasonably priced for US consumers, but it doesn’t cost too much in Australia. That said, it should be easy to buy at half price. | 4.5/5 |
| design | This is a smart looking brush, and the color touchscreen is the highlight here, but even the travel case is excellent. | 4.5/5 |
| feature | There is currently no other electric toothbrush that can match the features offered by the Oclean X Ultra S, such as multiple brushing modes and voice prompts. | 5/5 |
| Performance | Whatever your brushing needs, the Oclean X Ultra S will have a mode to suit you, or you can create your own. | 5/5 |
Should I buy Oclean X Ultra S?
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
also consider
If you don’t like the Oclean X Ultra S or are looking for a different product, here are a few options to consider – one is a vibrating toothbrush and the other is a sonic toothbrush.
How I tested Oclean X Ultra S
- Daily use for two months, twice daily
- Test period includes 26 days of overseas travel (without charging base)
- Tried different brushing modes and brush heads
I switched from my Oral-B vibrating toothbrush to the Oclean X Ultra S in November 2024, shortly after it was released to the Australian market (I live in Sydney). Since then, I’ve been using it twice a day (and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future), trying out the different brushing modes already in the app, and trying to set up my own custom modes. It took me a few sessions to realize that the greatest voice feedback comes from the Exclusive mode, which for me has helped improve my brushing habits over time.
About three weeks after I started testing the Oclean X Ultra S, I was scheduled to go on vacation overseas, which was the perfect opportunity to test its claimed battery life. I didn’t have a charging stand for it, and while I know I could use the travel case and any USB-C cable to charge the brush, I didn’t have to.
I’ve been using different electric toothbrushes—sonic and vibrating—over the years and used that knowledge to rate the Oclean X Ultra S.
Read more about How we test
(The first review will be in January 2025)
