In 2020, Oral-B launched the iO electric toothbrush.
The iO is pretty special for a number of different reasons, but in particular, it marked quite a radical redesign for Oral-B powered toothbrushes.
Oral-B implemented a new frictionless linear magnetic drive system. That is a fancy way of saying, they designed a new motor to help the bristles clean the teeth more effectively.
In addition, an OLED display was added to the handle of the brush. No more backlit cleaning mode icons on the handle, the display shows these.
Charging the toothbrush was made quicker thanks to a new magnetic charger. It is capable of charging the brush in just 3 hours, compared to the more standard 12-15 hours of most other Oral-B brushes.
And one other significant change was the new pressure sensor. Unlike older visible pressure sensors that illuminate red when too much force is detected, this one also lights up green, when the correct pressure is being applied.
If you want to know what it is like to use, do take a look at our comprehensive Oral-B iO review.
At the time of launch, 3 different versions of the iO were made available. They were the iO Series 7, 8 and 9.
The 7 Series was the slightly more cost effective option, compared to the flagship Series 9.
Whilst the underlying brushing technology and handle design didn’t change, some features did. For example, the Series 7 comes with 5 cleaning modes and a black and white display as opposed to the 7 brushing modes and color display of the iO9.
We have compiled a thorough comparison between the iO Series 7, 8 and 9 if you want to know more about the differences.
A year on Oral-B have launched a new variant to join the iO family, the Series 6.
The new Series 6 offers an even more affordable model but retains some of the most desirable elements of the iO range.
The key difference here is the charging stand.
The iO Series 6 does not come with a magnetic charging stand. Instead, it comes with a charging stand commonly offered with more affordable Oral-B brushes.
Therefore you can expect a full charge of the iO6 to take around 12 hours, compared to the 3 hours of the iO7, iO8 and iO9.
A subtle difference with the charging of the iO6, compared to the other models is that the iO6 shows a precise battery percentage on the display. For example, 42%. It may well be that the firmware has been updated within the brush, but at the time of review, the iO 7, 8 and 9 only showed the battery charge in 10% increments.
It comes with 5 cleaning modes and a black and white display, like the Series 7. And it has Bluetooth connectivity and various sensors for real-time tracking of your brushing.
It retains the iO design language and only the iO specific brush heads work with the 6 Series.
If you were not already aware, with the introduction of the iO came a new range of brush heads, compatible only with the iO brush handle.
Our guide to Oral-B brush heads explains in more detail, but the 2 styles of head compatible with the Series 6 are the Ultimate Clean and Gentle Care heads.
The Series 6 is available with 2 different colored brush handles. Your choices are:
- Opal gray
- Lava black
In the box you get:
- 1 x Oral-B iO Series 6 brush handle
- 1 x Ultimate Clean brush head
- 1 x Charging stand
- 1 x Travel case
The travel case is a hard plastic case that will hold the brush handle and up to 2 brush heads. It does not allow in the case charging like the iO9.
The iO range has some pretty hefty price tags. The Series 7 retails at $199.99, the Series 8 $249.99 and the Series 9 $299.99.
$149.99 is the price for the Series 6, a $50 saving on the Series 7. This appears to be a reasonable reduction for what isn’t a significant difference to everyday usability.
However, like a lot of electric toothbrushes, the actual selling prices tend to be much less. Often as much as 25% less. This means you can expect to see the Series 6 selling for around the $110 price point.
I wouldn’t be surprised if it even drops below the $100 mark at times.