This shapeshifting cleaner can transform into a robot vacuum, a stick vacuum or a mop — and I almost couldn’t believe my eyes

As TechRadar’s Homes Editor for floorcare I’ve seen my fair share of unusual contraptions among the ranks of the best robot vacuums – but I’ve never seen anything quite like the xLean TR1. This is a robot vacuum that can also be used as a manual stick vacuum – and it can mop and vacuum in both modes.

The shapeshifting design isn’t the only interesting thing about this gadget though: it’s also kitted out with a ‘self-evolving intelligence system’ that means it learns your own cleaning techniques while it’s being used in manual mode, and can then replicate them in robot mode.

I had a chance to check it out at CES 2026, and it’s certainly an intriguing prospect (it’s currently still in development, and not yet available to buy). When it’s time to switch from robot to manual mode, the LiDAR puck on the top of the robovac will retract, leaving a hole that becomes a port into which a wand and handle slots. What was the robot vacuum then becomes the floorhead of the manual vacuum.

There are a small handful of robovac models, such as the Eufy E20, that have manual and robot components that share a dock, with the idea that if you have a robot vacuum, you’ll then also need something handheld to clean stairs, furniture and the like. That’s not the idea here, though, because in manual mode the cleaner is too bulky and heavy for use off the ground.