There are vacuum cleaners that look good in photos, but only after a few days of use do you find out whether someone actually thought about everyday life. In an apartment, suction power is not the only thing that matters. What also matters is where you can place the device, whether you need to drill into the wall, whether you still have to empty the dustbin after cleaning, and whether the vacuum cleaner was designed as if every user had a separate utility room at home.
That is exactly why the iLife H90 Pro seemed interesting to me from the start. It is a cordless vacuum cleaner with an automatic emptying station, but without a huge base that looks like a small refrigerator. The manufacturer promises 35 kPa of suction power in the vacuum itself, 20 kPa suction in the station, a 6-stage HEPA filtration system, a 0.5-liter dustbin in the vacuum, a 2-liter dust bag in the station, at least 40 minutes of runtime, a replaceable battery, and an electric brush with strong green lighting.
On top of that, the set includes as many as 5 dust bags. Each of them is supposed to last up to 90 days of cleaning before it needs to be replaced. It sounds good, especially since at the time of preparing this material the iLife H90 Pro costs around 150 eur. The device was provided for review by iLife, but as always, I test it in my own way. Link to the manufacturer’s store is in the video description.
First Impressions
The first impression is positive. The H90 Pro looks neat and quite modern. It comes in a steel-gray color with purple accents, and some elements are additionally highlighted in orange, referring to the colors of the manufacturer’s logo. The whole design looks clean and tidy, without pretending too hard to be premium, but also without giving the impression of cheap plastic.
The battery is located in the upper part of the central unit. There is no button in the shaped handle, but there is a crossbar element that improves grip when maneuvering. On the back of the body, there is a simple display with three control buttons. In the center, there is the power button, next to it the suction power adjustment button, and the turbo mode button. There are basically four operating modes to choose from: eco, normal, auto, and turbo. Suction power is shown by the number of green bars, just like the battery level.
It is a simple and clear solution. You do not have to wonder what is currently enabled. I have only one complaint about the buttons themselves. Sometimes they can slightly catch against each other and do not spring back as smoothly as I would like. It is not a major problem, but with a device used every day, details like this are noticeable. However, I rate the overall fit and finish of the vacuum cleaner very well.
For me, the biggest advantage of the design is the foldable and adjustable tube. This is a solution I really like in stick vacuum cleaners because it immediately improves comfort. You can adjust the length to the user’s height, so you do not have to bend down or vacuum in an unnatural position. For taller people, this is a big plus, but also for shorter users, because not everyone feels comfortable with a vacuum cleaner that has one fixed length. The adjustment also helps with storage.
The H90 Pro can be laid almost flat on the floor, making it easier to reach under furniture. And that is practical. The electric brush is one of the stronger points of this model. It has very intense green lighting, and I have to admit that it works really well. You can vacuum even in the dark, without turning on the room light. Dust, crumbs, and small debris on the floor are immediately visible. The LEDs are quite strong.
The roller in the brush can be removed and cleaned periodically. There is also a small comb designed to cut hair moving along the roller, so it does not wrap around the electric brush. The module itself is small and located near the inlet of the tube, but in practice it is enough. This is a good idea, especially if there are long-haired people or pets at home.
The brush itself does have dead zones at the front and on the sides. You lose about one centimeter where the roller physically does not reach. This is a problem with many vacuum cleaners and automatic mops: the brush design does not allow it to reach perfectly to the very edge. iLife partly compensates for this with suction power, because the vacuum can pull in dirt even from areas where the roller itself does not reach perfectly. Still, when cleaning along baseboards, corners, or very precise areas, it is something to keep in mind.
Docking Station
The docking station is the second most important part of this set. And here, in my opinion, iLife made a very sensible decision. The station is small. It does not dominate the room and does not look like a device designed only for large houses. This matters, because many vacuum cleaners with self-emptying bases, automatic mops, or robot vacuums have huge stations that are difficult to place sensibly in an apartment. In this respect, the H90 Pro is much more practical.
The storage height is around 69 cm, so the whole setup is quite compact. However, to place the vacuum cleaner in the station, you first need to detach the tube. The tube attaches to the side, and the central unit goes into the docking station. So this is not a system where you put the whole vacuum away in one motion. On one hand, it is a minor inconvenience. On the other hand, this is exactly what allows the station to be smaller and easier to place in a normal apartment.
I also like that the station has a dedicated slot for the crevice tool. It may seem like a small thing, but it is very practical. I usually end up finding vacuum accessories later in drawers, cabinets, or places where they definitely should not be. Here, at least one additional attachment has its own specific place.
The biggest convenience is, of course, automatic dustbin emptying. After placing the central unit into the station, the vacuum can automatically empty the debris into the 2-liter dust bag. According to the manufacturer, one bag should last over 3 months, depending, of course, on how often you clean and how much dirt you collect. The set includes 5 bags, so the starting supply is genuinely reasonable.
It is very good that you can choose how the emptying process works. It can start automatically after placing the vacuum in the station, but you can also switch it to manual mode. And I really appreciate the second option. Automatic emptying is convenient, but loud. The whole process lasts around 30 seconds. During that time, the station sucks dirt out of the vacuum’s dustbin three times, and then cleans the HEPA filter once. The noise is quite noticeable, although fortunately it does not last long.
Still, I cannot imagine a situation where in the evening I quickly vacuum something spilled in the kitchen, put the vacuum back, and the station hums loudly through the whole home for half a minute. That is exactly why manual mode makes sense. You can quickly clean, put the device away, and run emptying later. After the process is finished, the device switches to charging mode.
Practical Use
So how does the H90 Pro clean in practice?
Quite well. Eco mode is enough for everyday vacuuming of hard floors. If you need more power, you can switch to normal mode or turbo. Normal mode is quite strong and can easily be used for daily cleaning of dirt and carpets. Turbo works intensively, but after 15 seconds the vacuum automatically returns to eco mode. This probably protects the battery and motor, but it is worth knowing, because it is not a mode intended for long vacuuming of the entire apartment.
My biggest complaint is about auto mode. In theory, it should adjust suction power to dirt levels or the surface type. In practice, during my tests it behaved almost exactly like eco mode. I vacuumed a carpet, scattered larger and smaller debris, tested different surfaces, and not once did I notice the vacuum clearly increasing or decreasing power by itself. So it is difficult to consider this mode genuinely useful. It feels more like a function that exists in the menu but does not bring much to everyday cleaning. In other models I have tested, auto mode recognizes the amount of dirt entering the vacuum and increases or decreases motor power based on that. Here, nothing really happens.
On the other hand, I rate the cleaning effectiveness well. During the tests, I scattered crushed chips, a torn tea bag, some sugar, salt, and greasy all-purpose seasoning. The vacuum picked everything up in a single pass. This is exactly the type of test that reflects everyday life at home: something crunchy, something loose, something fine, and something that likes to stick to the floor. The H90 Pro handled it in one pass. That is a very good result.
There is, however, one thing to be careful about. When vacuuming carpets with the tube fully extended, I noticed that the structure can flex quite strongly. This puts stress on the lower locking clip, and in my case a slight deformation appeared there. This does not mean the vacuum fell apart, but it is a signal not to push it too hard when fully extended. Especially on carpets, where resistance is higher. It is better to guide it more gently to avoid overloading the mount.
According to the specification, runtime is at least 40 minutes, depending, of course, on the mode. That is a reasonable value for an apartment. Eco should be enough for quick everyday cleaning, while with bigger messes and frequent turbo use, runtime will naturally be shorter. A big plus goes to the replaceable battery, because it increases the long-term life of the device. After a few years, when the battery starts to weaken, it will be easier to replace it than to throw away the whole vacuum cleaner.
So how can I summarize the iLife H90 Pro?
This is a vacuum cleaner that works best as a practical device for apartments. It does not try to be the most advanced model on the market, but it has several things that really matter in everyday use. It has an attractive design, an adjustable and foldable construction, a small docking station, automatic emptying, a replaceable battery, strong green lighting, and good performance on typical household dirt.
The biggest advantages are the small station, comfortable length adjustment, the ability to reach under furniture, self-emptying with manual mode, strong light on the brush, and good cleaning results. I also like that after emptying, the vacuum automatically switches to charging mode, and the accessories have their own place.
The downsides? To place the device in the station, you need to detach the tube. Emptying is loud. In my tests, auto mode did not show any meaningful operation. The buttons could work better. The brush has small dead zones on the sides and at the front. And you need to be careful not to push the vacuum too hard when the tube is fully extended, because the construction can flex and put stress on the lower mount.
