Oral-B iO3 Electric Toothbrush Review: a solid upgrade if you want cleaner teeth without all the smart gimmicks

I’ve been using the Oral-B iO3 for a few weeks now, swapping from an older Oral-B Pro model that I’d had for a couple of years. I’m not a dentist, just someone who got tired of manual brushing and wanted something that actually feels like it’s doing a proper job. The short version: it cleans really well, feels more modern than the old Pro range, but there are a couple of annoying details you only notice once you live with it.

The main thing that stood out right away is the cleaning feel. Compared to my Pro 2/3 style handle, the iO3 feels smoother and less rattly, but still strong. My teeth feel that “just been to the hygienist” kind of smooth after a couple of minutes, especially around the gumline and behind the front teeth where I usually miss spots. So on the core job – cleaning – it’s pretty solid.

Where it starts to be less straightforward is the usability side. The brush only has a light ring and vibrations, no screen or icons, and the manual is honestly not great. You have three modes, but no clear indicator which one you’re on, so at the start you’re basically guessing by the sound and feel. There’s also no Bluetooth or app support on this model, which personally I’m fine with, but some people might expect it because it’s an iO.

Overall, my first impression is that this is a strong cleaner with some slightly half-baked user guidance. If you just want a powerful brush and don’t care about apps and screens, it does the job very well. If you’re picky about clear modes, travel lock, and detailed instructions, you might find yourself rolling your eyes a bit at how basic some parts feel for the price.

Value really depends on the price you pay. At full RRP, I’d say the iO3 starts to feel a bit pricey for what it offers: strong cleaning, but no Bluetooth, no screen, and fairly basic controls. However, this thing is often on sale. People have picked up twin packs for around £80 in Prime deals, and single handles often drop well below the list price. At those discounted prices, it makes a lot more sense and feels like good value.

You do need to factor in the cost of the iO brush heads. They’re usually more expensive than the older Oral-B heads and you can’t reuse your old stash from a Pro model because the fitting is different. On the plus side, the iO heads are easier to keep clean – there’s less plastic ridge and fewer little gaps where toothpaste gunk can build up. They rinse off quickly and don’t get as gross at the base, which I appreciated after a week of use.

In terms of what you actually get for your money: strong cleaning performance, a pressure sensor that genuinely helps protect your gums, a decent battery, and a travel case. What you don’t get: app support, fancy display, clear mode indicators, or a travel lock. If you don’t care about smart features and just want a reliable, modern-feeling electric brush, this is a pretty solid package when it’s on offer.

If you’re on a tight budget and don’t mind a slightly rougher feel, a cheaper Oral-B Pro model will still clean your teeth well for less money, and the heads are cheaper. But if you want a quieter, smoother brush and you can catch the iO3 at a good discount, it strikes a nice balance between performance and price, even if it’s not the cheapest option long term once you add in head replacements.

The iO3 in matt black actually looks pretty good on the sink. It’s slimmer and more modern-looking than the older Oral-B Pro handles, and the matte finish helps it not show every fingerprint or water mark. The round head is still the classic Oral-B style, but the iO heads look a bit cleaner and more compact around the base compared to the old clip-on heads with coloured rings.

On the handle you basically get: a power button, a mode button, and the light ring near the neck that doubles as the pressure sensor and timer indicator. No screen, no icons for modes, no Bluetooth symbol, nothing like that. From a visual design point of view, it’s neat. From a usability point of view, it’s a bit too stripped back. You’re meant to switch modes by pressing the smaller button, but there’s no direct feedback on what you selected beyond how it sounds and feels.

One thing I did like is the light ring’s behaviour. When you press too hard, it glows red, and when you’re in the right pressure range, it shows a different colour. That’s actually useful in real time, especially if you tend to scrub like you’re trying to sand down your teeth. There’s also a timer feedback during brushing, but it’s fairly basic – no quarter-segment lights like some other models, just vibrations to tell you when to move on and when the 2 minutes are up.

In short, the design looks tidy and modern and feels nice in the hand, but it sacrifices clarity for style. A small icon or a basic row of LEDs for modes would have made a big difference. If you’re the sort of person who just wants to pick a mode once and never touch it again, you’ll be fine. If you like clearly seeing what setting you’re on, this might annoy you more than it should.

The iO3 uses a lithium-ion battery, and so far the battery life has been solid. Brushing twice a day for 2 minutes, I was getting roughly two weeks before the power started to feel a bit weaker and I decided to drop it back on the charger. That lines up with what others say online and is decent for this type of brush. It’s not the longest battery I’ve seen, but it’s more than enough for normal use.

The charger itself is the usual Oral-B 2‑pin stand. You just drop the handle on it and it sits upright. No USB, no wireless pad beyond that stand, nothing fancy. The charge time from near empty to full is a few hours – I usually just leave it overnight and it’s ready the next morning. There’s no detailed percentage indicator, just a basic light, so you don’t get nerdy stats, but you can tell when it’s low and when it’s charging.

One slightly odd behaviour I ran into: holding the power button for around 10 seconds basically shuts the brush down in a way that makes it look dead until you put it back on the charger. Some people online mentioned it like a reset or travel lock, but Oral-B apparently says it’s not meant to be used and isn’t a proper travel lock. So don’t rely on that if you’re trying to avoid accidental activation in a bag; just use the travel case and pack it carefully.

For travel, the two-week battery life is fine for most trips if you start with a full charge. The only catch is the 2‑pin charger – if you’re going abroad or staying somewhere without a shaver socket, you need to remember an adapter. Overall, battery and charging are solid and predictable, just not packed with smart features or detailed indicators.

Comfort-wise, the iO3 is a step up from my older Oral-B Pro brush. The vibration style is different – more of a smooth buzzing than the rougher mechanical chug of the older models. That means less rattling in your skull and less buzzing in your hand. The handle shape is slightly tapered and the rubberised areas give enough grip even when your hand is wet. I never felt like it was going to slip out of my hand.

In the mouth, the round iO head feels familiar if you’ve used Oral-B before, but it glides a bit easier along the gums. I’ve got slightly sensitive gums, and on my old brush I sometimes got that raw feeling if I pushed too hard or stayed too long in one area. With this one, using the Sensitive mode and paying attention to the pressure light, I didn’t get that sore feeling even when I pushed my luck a bit. The bristles aren’t super soft, but they’re not harsh either – pretty much in the middle.

Noise is another comfort factor. The iO3 is noticeably quieter than my Pro 3. It’s not silent, but it’s more of a high‑pitched hum than a loud grind. If you brush while someone else is sleeping in the next room, they’re still going to hear something, but it’s less intrusive. In your head it also feels calmer, especially when you’re doing the inside surfaces of the front teeth where older brushes used to feel quite rough.

Overall, if you’re worried about comfort because you’ve had rough experiences with older electric brushes, this is a decent option. It’s not cloud-soft or anything, but the mix of smoother vibration, pressure sensor, and a milder mode makes it easy to use twice a day without feeling like you’re punishing your gums.

Out of the box, the Oral-B iO3 keeps things pretty simple. In my pack I had the handle, two iO brush heads, the 2‑pin charging stand, and a basic travel case. That’s it. No fancy accessories, no extra chargers, no wall adapter – so if your bathroom doesn’t have a shaver socket, you’ll need a 2‑pin to 3‑pin adapter separately. Annoying if you weren’t expecting it, but pretty standard for Oral-B in the UK.

The travel case is decent but basic plastic. It holds the handle and two heads and protects them in a bag, but it’s not padded or premium or anything like that. It’s more for keeping things clean than for surviving being thrown across an airport. Still, it’s light and does the job, which is all I really need from it. For short trips it’s perfectly fine.

The documentation is where it gets a bit messy. You get a big universal leaflet with lots of diagrams that try to cover multiple iO models plus a smaller card for the iO3. The problem is: it’s vague. It hints at customisation and extra modes that this model simply doesn’t have, and it never clearly explains how the modes behave (like whether it remembers the last one used). I ended up having to look online and even then found conflicting info, until I saw what Oral-B support said: it restarts in the last used mode.

So presentation-wise: the content of the box is fine and practical, but the paperwork feels like they tried to save money with one generic set of instructions for half the range. If you’re new to electric brushes or not very techy, expect a bit of confusion for the first few uses. Once you’ve figured it out, you don’t really need the manual again, but the first impression is a bit sloppy.

On cleaning performance, this is where the iO3 earns its keep. Compared to a manual brush, there’s no contest. After the first couple of uses, the difference on the back of my front teeth and around the gumline was very obvious. That “squeaky” feel when you run your tongue over your teeth lasted longer through the day, and plaque build-up around the lower front teeth dropped a lot within a week or so.

I mostly used two of the three modes: Daily Clean and Sensitive. Daily Clean is strong and feels like it’s really working through plaque, especially on molars and along the gumline. Sensitive is slightly softer but still effective. I barely bothered with Whitening, to be honest – it feels like a slightly different rhythm, but I didn’t notice a big visible colour change in a couple of weeks, just a general “less stained” look from better cleaning overall.

The built-in timer and the pressure sensor help keep you honest. Every 30 seconds you get a slight pause to tell you to move to the next quadrant, and after 2 minutes it does a longer signal. It’s basic, but it stops you from doing the classic 20 seconds blitz and calling it a day. The pressure sensor is genuinely useful if you’re heavy-handed. I saw it go red a few times at the start, then less as I adjusted. That alone probably helps with gum health.

Compared to my old Oral-B Pro, the clean feels slightly more uniform, especially around the gum edges. It’s not night and day, but enough that I noticed after a week. If you’re coming from a manual brush, though, you’ll feel a big upgrade in the first couple of days. So in terms of pure effectiveness, it gets the job done very well and justifies the switch to electric if you haven’t already made it.