Oral-B’s Genius X was its first AI-powered electric toothbrush, and things have changed a lot in the years since. If you want so-called AI toothbrushing, you can now go for Oral-B’s extensive iO range. However, this is quite a bit more expensive. Since it launched in 2019, the Genius X has plummeted in price from around £400 to just £64.99 (if you nab it with a discount).
The Genius X claims to use AI to track where your brush moves in real time. It’s designed to help you improve your brushing technique and coverage.
Replacing the Genius 9000, the Genius X was developed as a way of coaching users. This is done via a connected app – real-time feedback is offered on the areas of the mouth which we might be neglecting. When I put this technology to the test, it didn't disappoint. In fact, it identified the exact same area of neglect that a dentist had pointed out to me weeks earlier.
But what about its cleaning power? And how comfortable was my brushing experience? From the cleaning modes to how good the battery life is, keep reading for my in-depth review.
How I tested
Swapping my usual toothbrush with the Genius X, I assessed it on the following criteria:
- Ergonomics: I used the brush for my everyday cleans, when I assessed comfort in the hand, ease of use, and how intuitive it was to operate.
- User-experience: I paid close attention to the app, monitoring if it lagged, if it could accurately map my brushing, and ultimately, if it helped me brush my teeth.
- Cleaning power: I considered the efficiency of the motor and looked at the brush head. A good clean is powerful, but gentle, so I assessed how effectively and comfortably the brush cleaned hard-to-reach areas.
- Modes: I tested all the cleaning modes to examine if they were effective.
- Battery life: I charged the battery up to full and made a note of how long it took to run out, and I made sure to assess this when using more battery-draining modes, too.
Why you can trust us
John Axworthy has been a consumer writer for nearly three decades, and he has been writing for IndyBest since 2017. As someone who takes his dental routine seriously, electric toothbrushes are one of John’s niches. He’s reviewed top-of-the-range models from Philips, Oral-B and Spotlight, and, like all our reviews, his verdicts are always based on rigorous real-world testing.
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Oral B Genius X
Cleaning action: Oscillating/ rotating/ pulsating
Pressure sensor: Yes
Cleaning modes: Six
Two-minute timer: Yes
30-second pacer: Yes
Travel case: Yes
Operating time (full to empty): Three weeks
Charging time: One hour
Why we love it
- Effective app
- Reasonable price
- Great features
Take note
- Newer models improve on power
First impressions
The fact that you don’t have to manually brush with an electric model means that all a manufacturer has to do is make the brush feel comfortable and well balanced, while the brush head goes to work.
By the time Oral-B brought the Genius X to market it was well practiced at this. The rubber-gripped Genius X is ergonomic and handles well with a silicone on/off button that’s easy to operate at the start and end of a brushing session.
Below this, lies the silicone cleaning mode button, five backlit icons that light up to show which mode the brush is currently in and towards the base of the brush is the three bar battery indicator. The brush only has corresponding icons for five out of the six available cleaning modes, with the two minute daily clean not featuring, which could lead to some confusion when you first start using the brush.
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In terms of colours you can choose between rose gold, black or blush pink, which relate to the colour of the elongated oval face plate on the handle. The black brush is all black, while the other two are a combination of their signature colour and white, so you probably have just enough choice without the headache of having to decide between any number of colour combinations.
As with most current Oral-B models there is the usual raised ridge at the very bottom that will stop the brush from rolling off your sink if you lay it flat.
The LED light ring at the very top of the handle can be customised (through the app) to glow with your choice of 12 colours and it will stay lit as you brush, acting as a pressure sensor (flashing when you’re pressing too hard), quad pacer (flashing when you’ve been brushing for 30 seconds) and also flashing when your cleaning time is up. It’s easy to see throughout brushing. The whole unit isn’t as sleek looking as some of the later incarnations from both Oral B and Sonicare, but it’s hardly an eyesore.
User experience
As with all premium electric brushes, one of your first tasks is to choose the brushing mode that suits you (and your teeth) best. The Genius X has six to choose from: daily clean (which lasts for two minutes), pro clean (three minutes), sensitive (more gentle cleaning for two minutes), as well as whitening, gum care and tongue care.
You can only select or change modes when the toothbrush is on, which isn’t particularly user-friendly, especially if you’ve already got toothpaste on the brush head.
However, whatever mode you end your brushing cycle with the brush will default to when it starts up again, so this could be a workaround. Also, the brush won’t turn off automatically, so once your mode’s time is up you’ll need to find the on/off button to power down.
I liked the fact that if you do have to turn the brush off briefly when you’re in the middle of brushing (30 seconds or less), the Genius X will memorise the elapsed time and operate accordingly when you switch the brush on again.
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The in-built pressure sensor is also well thought out as not only does it warn you by turning the LED smart ring red in colour, but also the action of the brush pulsations will slow, as will the movements per minute.
I also liked the fact that the travel case doubles as a phone cradle, so you don’t have to balance your phone precariously in a room where water flows freely. This shows some real joined up thinking on the part of Oral-B.
The app
Let’s talk about “position detection” because that’s what all the electronics packed into the handle are there for with a gyroscope, accelerometer and six axis sensors, all feeding data back to the Oral-B app to tell it where the brush head is in the mouth. The AI can then interpret the info to feedback how well you have covered all the surfaces of your teeth in a single session.
It can do this as you’re cleaning, with teeth turning from blue to white as the AI deems that they have been covered in real time, as well as allowing you to see how successful a clean has been once it’s over, rating coverage, brushing time and pressure applied.
One look at reviews sections of the Genius X on various sites and you will get an overwhelming sense that a major issue has been that the app simply isn’t accurate enough and the AI isn’t worth the programme it’s coded on.
This was borne out when I first started using the app, with the real-time feedback from the app having a tough time differentiating from different surfaces of the tooth and sometimes the lag was quite significant, which could have been down to bad Bluetooth performance.
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However, performance did improve over time, like the AI was learning how I brush my teeth and adapting how it presented that on the coverage, which is the whole point of AI, surely? Within a week of use, the Genius X began to morph into a truly spatially aware toothbrush and was updating the in-app, on-screen graphic in real time, flashing white where the brush was at work and then turning solid white when it deemed that I had brushed enough.
Cleaning
Of course, none of the AI is worth anything if the performance of the brush head, in combination with the efficiency of the motor, doesn’t combine to produce an all around clean, that’s powerful without being harsh.
Oral-B’s signature round brush heads with the oscillating-rotating action tend to feel more robust on teeth and gums, compared to brushes that rely on sonic pulses, and the X’s head isn’t angled, but we had no trouble getting into the deeper recesses of the mouth.
I found that the default daily clean mode left me with a satisfyingly clean feel and the more thorough pro clean, which lasts for three minutes, was the mode that helped me regularly get 100 per cent coverage of all the teeth surfaces, according to the app.
However, I can see that for someone suffering from gum disease, even with the soft bristles of the provided sensi ultrathin brush head, the pro clean could cause excessive bleeding and so the gum care mode might be a better option. The brush head itself has soft, gentle bristles, some of which are coloured blue and lose their colour over time, so that you know when to change the brush head.
Battery life
Oral-B claims “over two weeks” of battery life, and this is pretty accurate. I managed just over two weeks, brushing twice a day, which was ample if you’re lucky enough to be off on holiday somewhere.
On the more sapping pro clean mode that battery life reduced to just under two weeks. However, the travel case comes with a charging port and its own power cable, so you can charge on the go. Remember, this is quite a feature packed brush andit’s not just the motor that the battery is powering.
Buy now £64.99, Tesco.com
The verdict: Oral B genius X
The Genius X may not be as modern as the brushes released since (which might account for its plummeting price point), but this will work in your favour if you’re not so bothered about looks and just want a smart electric brush with premium cleaning ability.
It’s still packed with features, and the position detection technology actually works very well. The app aims to be your personal brushing coach, whether this is something you want in the morning depends on how leisurely your bathroom visits are – especially before work.
This review was written in 2022, but you can find the latest models from Oral-B in our review of the best electric toothbrushes, where our tech critic, Steve Hogarty, has reviewed a range of budget, mid-range and premium options. The Genius X didn’t quite make the cut this year, because the value for money and performance are better with newer models – the Oral-B iO2, for instance, which is his top pick overall.
That being said, the Genius X doesn’t scrimp on features, and it’s comparable to the performance of Oral-B’s iO brushes, so if you find it on sale, it could still be worth it.
For more options, read our review of the best electric toothbrushes
