One-minute review

The Ultenic FS1 is a cordless, bagless vacuum that can empty its own dirt into a bag in the charging station, and there aren’t too many models around with this feature. At the time of writing, there are no cordless stick vacuums that can self empty in our best cordless vacuums list, so will the Ultenic FS1 make the cut?

Ultenic is still a relatively little known Chinese brand, and although it concentrates on cordless and robot vacuums, its affordable air fryers have featured in our roundup of the best air fryers. The Ultenic FS1 offers pretty standard features for a cordless vacuum, with one notable difference: the self-emptying function.

Its large charging dock houses a 0.66-gallon/ 3-liter dust bag, and with a simple press of a button, the dirt is sucked into the bag. This means there’s no dust cloud every time you eject the canister into your trash. Combine this with the five-stage HEPA filtration and this is a vacuum you’ll want to seriously consider if you suffer allergies.

With four suction levels to choose from, I found it very effective on all my floors; but struggled to use it as a handheld vacuum. The self-empty function does its job, but would be improved if it was automatic. Plus, the bulky charging and emptying station won’t suit every home.

Ultenic FS1 review: price and availability

•  List price: $799/ £398

The Ultenic FS1 is currently only available in the UK, where you can order online from Amazon. There are plans to launch it in the US around the end of June 2023, where it will also be available from Amazon US. And although the list price is $799, we’re told it’s likely to be discounted to $399 as part of a launch promotion.

The spare battery option should be available to UK customers soon at a price of around £39. We’ve yet to get any details on the list price of spare batteries in the US.

• Value score: 5/5

Ultenic FS1 review: specifications

Ultenic FS1 review: design and features

• Telescopic wand
• 5-stage HEPA filtration
• Self-emptying

The charging and self-emptying docking station is the main design feature that sets this vacuum apart from all the other cordless vacuums around. And at first I was struck by how large it is. The measurements when the vacuum is docked are 37 x 10.6 x 11 inches/ 94 x 27 x 28cm (h x w x d).

But, when you consider that the dock has the ability to charge two batteries as well as house a 3-liter dust bag, it’s actually quite well proportioned. Note that you'll have to locate it near a power outlet, though, and while it isn't ugly, it’s probably something you’ll want to hide away in a laundry or cleaning cupboard.

When it comes to the self-empty function, every time the vacuum is placed on the charging dock, the dust canister automatically opens. But here’s the thing, the dock doesn’t automatically suck all the dirt into the bag until you press a button to start the process. Then, when you remove the vacuum, the dust canister lid remains open, so you have to manually close it. And if you forget to press the button to suck out the dirt before lifting it off again, there's a chance you’ll end up with dust and dirt spilling out. Although this is the kind of mistake you’re only likely to make once.

The vacuum is switched on via the power button that’s located next to the display screen. Power levels are adjusted by pressing a button on the end. There are mode indicators on the screen, making it easy to see if you’re in Eco, Auto, High, or Turbo mode. The Turbo mode is designed to deliver very high suction for short bursts, so it automatically switches off after 10 seconds.

The vacuum comes with a crevice nozzle and a small brush. These can be attached directly to the vacuum for use as a handheld unit, or attached to the telescopic tube for overhead cleaning. There’s no storage space for the tools on the dock, though, which I think is an oversight given its size.

The Ultenic FS1 requires very little setup when it first comes out of the box. A dust bag is already installed, as are all the filters; but it also comes with some spare filters and dust bags to get you started.

In terms of maintenance, the filters are washable and the brush can be removed from the floorhead to make it easy to cut away any hair or clogs. There are fault indicators on the display panel to alert you about faults such as a clogged floor brush.

• Design score: 4/5

Ultenic FS1 review: performance

• Good suction and maneuverability on floors
• Heavy and bulky as a handheld
• Suction is better at the front of the floorhead than the sides

The handle feels chunky in the hands, verging on uncomfortable if used for long periods. For context, I’m 5ft 2in, so I don’t have very big hands; others may find it more comfortable. Another thing I noticed when I used it on high suction for a prolonged period was that the motor part above the handle started to get quite warm and I could feel this heat on the top of my hand.

When vacuuming up a flour spill on my tiled kitchen floor, I had to switch it to Boost mode and go over the area a few times to completely remove all of the flour. It was pretty efficient at collecting oats from wood floors, though. And when it came to tackling debris along the baseboards, it was far more effective when I approached the baseboard with the front of the vacuum than when I walked along with the side of the floorhead against the baseboard.

The vacuum is pretty well balanced when cleaning floors and offers good maneuverability, gliding easily around tight corners and across all floor surfaces. But when used as a handheld vacuum it feels unbalanced, heavy and cumbersome. I tried vacuuming my car and quickly developed an arm-ache, so found it best to use it in short bursts.

When converted to a handheld vacuum its usefulness is limited, since there are only two small tools included in the box. The crevice nozzle is handy for getting down the side of the car or sofa seats. But the round brush is small, and I found that its size combined with the angle of vacuuming, often meant it was tricky to use unless attached to the telescopic wand. I also missed having a tool specifically for upholstery.

It is possible to attach the floorhead directly to the handheld unit, and I found this to be the most convenient way to vacuum the stairs. But, the telescopic tube is another useful feature that allows you to decrease the distance between the handle and floorhead when needed.

The vacuum defaults to Auto mode when switched on, and in this mode it supposedly increases the suction power when you move to carpet. I tried to test this, but found the volume of the vacuum didn’t change as I moved from one floor type to another. This is usually a good way to confirm that the suction power has changed, so without a change in volume, it was tricky to assess whether it was actually doing it. Nevertheless, Auto mode will be fine for most daily vacuuming tasks.

I recorded a noise level of 80dB in Auto mode on carpet, but for times when noise is an issue, this drops to 70dB if you use Eco mode. The self-emptying function hit 82dB on my noise meter, but it only lasts for 15 seconds.

• Performance score: 4/5

Ultenic FS1 review: battery life

• Removable battery
• Can only be charged via docking station
• Screen doesn’t tell you the exact battery percentage

During the review, I timed the battery life when vacuuming carpet on high suction; the battery lasted just under 12 minutes. Ultenic says the runtime extends to 60 minutes, but this will of course be when using Eco mode. Battery life in Auto mode will vary.

A full recharge took just under 2 ½ hours, which is pretty speedy in comparison to other cordless vacuums I’ve reviewed.

The battery doesn’t need to be removed for charging; simply placing the vacuum on the docking station initiates charging. But if you purchase a second battery, there’s an additional slot on the docking station for it to charge simultaneously. 

There’s a battery level indicator on the vacuum's display panel, but it’s pretty vague, since it only uses three bars to illustrate the battery level. During vacuuming, the last bar will flash when it’s about to run out of juice.

• Battery score: 5/5

Should I buy the Ultenic FS1?

Buy it if...

Don’t buy it if...

Also consider

If you’re not sure about the Ultenic FS1, here are a couple of other options to consider...

How I tested the Ultenic FS1

• I used this vacuum in my own home
• I vacuumed floors, upholstery, shelves and my car
• I timed the battery life and how long it takes to recharge

I used the Ultenic FS1 all around my two-bedroom, split-level home in the English countryside. I tried out all of its suction levels on my carpet, hard floor, tiled floor and stairs. During testing, I monitored the battery life, noise levels and tested it with purposeful spills of flour and oats, as well as general everyday cleans.

I’ve been reviewing vacuums since 2008, when I started reviewing appliances at Good Housekeeping UK. I’ve seen a lot of vacuums come and go and can spot potential gimmicks or annoying features a mile off.

Read more about how we test.

[First reviewed May 2023]

Canon continues to improve its refillable ink tank lineup with the addition of this affordable all-in-one MegaTank. 

The Canon PIXMA G3270 (known in the UK as the G3570) could lure home users away from cheaper cartridge-based printers with its rock-bottom running cost and plentiful inbox ink. 

It improves importantly on Canon’s outgoing entry-level all-in-one printer by adding Wi-Fi without adding to the cost. 

To keep that purchase price down to around US$230 (£280), there is still no front-loading paper tray, no auto-duplex mode and no touchscreen. This is a pared back printer with a modest recommended monthly duty cycle of 3,000 pages, so all those features are reserved for the step-up model. 

But with the ability to scan and print on a wide variety of paper stock and enough bottled ink in the box for up to 6,000 monochrome pages and 7,700 color, this could be the MegaTank you have been waiting for. 

Canon PIXMA G3270: Design and build

The Canon PIXMA G3270/G3570 looks like your average compact AIO with pleasingly rounded corners, textured plastic and neatly integrated ink tanks. Being a budget model, the 1.35-in display is rather small and the control panel is fixed rather than tiltable. Canon has also dispensed with a front paper tray altogether so you have to load all paper via the rear intake which can only hold 100 sheets. It’s not ideal because paper in the rear tray is exposed to dust. 

There’s an A4/Letter-sized glass scanner bed on top and a USB data cable connection at the rear, but no Ethernet port and no USB Host port. When you open it up by lifting the top section, you can access the four ink reservoirs and install the two fine print heads. For an entry-level device, it feels well made and doesn’t take up too much room on your desktop.

Canon PIXMA G3270: Features

The Canon PIXMA G3270/G3570 has most of the features you would expect in a home office printer, but not all. Being a three-in-one, it can scan, copy and print on any size paper up to A4/Letter. Wi-Fi with AirPrint compatibility is built in and at 11ipm (imprints per minute) for monochrome pages, the print rate is reasonably fast. However, with no front loading paper tray, the paper capacity is limited to 100 sheets and these have to stick out of the rear tray. 

There’s no touchscreen interface, only a monochrome display with buttons. And there’s no USB Host port or Ethernet port either. Its inability to print both sides of the page automatically (auto duplex) is the most annoying omission though. Manual duplexing is time consuming and simplex printing is a waste of paper.

In terms of print quality and economy, the spec sheet looks more promising with a high print resolution of 1,200 x 4,800 dpi and a total of 1,792 nozzles applying the ink. The large ink tanks are capable of holding 70ml of each color and 170ml of black ink. The box includes four bottles to match those capacities, and that’s enough to print 6,000 black and white pages plus 7,700 color pages in standard quality, or many more in draft mode. The C/M/Y inks are dye-based, which means vivid colors, while the black ink is pigment based for greater durability.   

Like all of Canon’s inkjet printers, the Canon PIXMA G3270/G3570 is unfussy when it comes to printable media and the list includes square photo paper, magnetic paper and quite thick paper up to  265gsm in weight.

Canon PIXMA G3270: Setup and operation

To get started, you first need to install the print heads. These look like two ink cartridges and their job is to draw ink from the reservoirs to supply the inkjets. This CISS (continuous ink supply system) works in the same way as aftermarket CISS packages that are used to upgrade cartridge-based inkjets. In this case of course, the ink tanks are already built into the design. 

Filling them is easy because the supplied ink bottles have spouts that fit only the corresponding ink color, so there’s no chance of pouring the wrong ink in the wrong tank.

Once the six inks have had time to filter through to the heads, you can follow the rest of the on-screen setup prompts. These will tell you to load some paper in the rear tray and print out a test page to visually check that the print heads are aligned correctly. You can also use the companion app called Canon Print to finish setting up the printer and get it connected to your Wi-Fi network. 

Everyday operation of Canon PIXMA G3270/G3570 is fine, although the display is quite small and hard to read. The supporting app makes it quite easy to print and scan from your smartphone, or via the cloud. This inkjet is a little noisy when printing (49dB), but it’s fast enough at 11ipm (imprints per minute) and we experienced no misprints or paper jams during the test.

Canon PIXMA G3270: Performance

The Canon PIXMA G3270/G3570 turns out satisfyingly crisp pages of dark black text on white paper. The pigment based black ink bonds quickly with plain paper of all varieties to give a clear and durable hard copy. If you switch to draft mode in order to save ink and print time, and the text is perceivably lighter, but no less legible. The pages emerge at the quoted standard rate of 11ipm, but as mentioned before, there’s no auto duplex mode, which makes printing on both sides of the page a much more time consuming exercise. 

Unlike the pigment black ink suspension, the dye-based C/M/Y inks are a solution which means your colors may run if the paper gets damp. Our test pages, however, looked bright, colorful and consistent without failing the finger smudge test.

Where the combination of dye and pigment inks does not work so well is with photo printing on coated paper. While the print resolution is fine, the colors do not really pop and the glossy finish looks a little flat when compared to the prints from a dedicated photo printer. The similarly styled Canon PIXMA G620/G650 is a little more expensive, but its photo printing is far superior. 

The inbuilt scanner is of sufficiently high resolution (1,200 x 600 dpi) to grab sharp images and make quite faithful digital copies that lose only a little clarity and color in the process. In short, the Canon PIXMA G3270/G3570 passed all of our tests scoring highest with its bold black and white text pages and lowest when it came to photo printing.

Canon PIXMA G3270: Final verdict

For an all-in-one inkjet with refillable tanks, the Canon PIXMA G3270/G3570 is competitively priced, especially when you consider how much bottled ink is included in the box. It’s only slightly larger than a cartridge-based equivalent and it can print on every kind of blank media from square photo paper to fabric patches. The scanner bed enables reliable digital copying, while the inbuilt Wi-Fi means you can print from your smartphone using Canon’s excellent companion app. 

To meet this price point, however, Canon has made some cuts and while the front paper tray, touchscreen interface and USB Host port all seem like logical luxuries to drop from the feature list, the absence of an auto duplex mode feels like a step too far. For affordable printing at home, this basic MegaTank could be all you need, but for more features, you’ll need to spend a little more.

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