GTech AirRam Platinum review 

As well as various tests run in our Saga Exceptional testing centre, we used the AirRam Platinum for a week across different types of flooring – carpet, tiles and laminate – to see how effectively it would work. We also tested how well it picks up different things including hair, dust and cereal across the different floor types.  

Across a three-bedroom house, we ran the vacuum cleaner every day for a week, measuring how long a single charge would last. As well as vacuuming floor spaces, we also looked at how it worked on other areas such as upholstery and stairs. 

Finally, we looked at the bin capacity, seeing how much we could vacuum before we needed to empty it.  

What struck us immediately was how small the packaging was for the AirRam Platinum. Proving that sometimes the best things do indeed come in small packages, it was nice not to have to wrestle a large, tall box into our house.  

On opening the box, we were pleasantly surprised to find a white machine, which makes a change from the usual dull grey and black on offer. The white gives it a premium finish and even though when assembled it is very lightweight, it doesn’t feel cheap.

It was easy to put together and instructions were straight–forward with just five parts (six if you count the battery) to assemble. As it’s a cordless vacuum cleaner, it’s not the usual stick design, which some people might not like. We liked the quirky design, though, and loved that it stands up alone, unlike the traditional stick models. 

Compared to traditional uprights though, it’s easy to store. The handle collapses to make it smaller and, as it’s free-standing, it doesn’t need a wall mount or propping up, as most cordless machines do.

It fitted neatly into our cupboard space, but the head is quite large, approximately 30 x 23 cm (12 x 9 inches). This is bigger than the upright we have, so you’ll need to make sure you factor in room for it. 

The biggest plus for us though is at just 3.35kg (7lb 6oz), it’s easy to lift. The additional lifting handle makes it a breeze to carry around the house. 

The AirRam Platinum was so easy to set up that we didn’t have to consult the manual once, which is always a good sign. It’s just a case of adding the handle to the head and you’re ready to go.  

While it’s easy to set up and use without a manual, when you do need to refer to it, it’s well-written, with lots of accompanying illustrations, so you know exactly what you’re doing. 

Once charged, it’s just a case of switching the power button on with your foot and vacuuming – and that’s it. The battery life light on the unit is also super useful. It reduces in quarters around a circle to show how much power is left, but aside from that, there are no other buttons or triggers to worry about.

The only issue we found was when we stepped on the floor head to bring the handle back, we sometimes accidentally hit the power button.

This model uses ‘Forward Inertia Drive’, which helps pull the vacuum forward, making it almost glide over hard floors and carpets alike. It’s so easy to push and pull that it would suit anyone with mobility issues or those that find heavier upright vacuum cleaners difficult to use. 

The one major downside to this vacuum cleaner is that it doesn’t come with any attachments. You can buy an additional cleaning kit that comes with an attachable speed-clean handle that helps you use the vacuum on stairs and upholstery, but that’s it.

Instead, you can buy one of GTech’s handheld models (although these do start £129.99, so it’s a significant extra expense) to help with cleaning upholstery and those little nooks and crannies. 

The advice from GTech is to clean your vacuum cleaner monthly and, thankfully, it’s a super uncomplicated process. The filter is tucked neatly within the bin and comes out easily. A simple wash with water is all that’s needed and then you just leave it to dry before you re-insert. It comes with an additional filter, which is great when you do need to replace it.

As it’s white, we did notice the dirt showing up a bit more often, but it was nothing that couldn’t be fixed with a quick wipe down using a damp microfibre cloth. 

The Platinum uses anti-hair wrap technology and in all our time of using it, we never had to clean the brush bar out. We did remove the bar, though, to see how easy it was to do, and it was quite simple. You simply press buttons on each side and out it comes.

If you have a jam – which we experienced when vacuuming a small, lightweight rug – it’s the same process.  

The tests in our centre showed that the Platinum picked up around 99% of the measured debris used. This included cereals, oats, rice, sand and dog hair.   

This model uses patented AirLOC Technology, which is designed to collect large debris as you push forwards and then form a seal on the backstroke, tackling embedded hair and fine dust. You can definitely feel this technology working on thicker carpets, and it leaves that satisfying ‘stripe’ on the carpet, that proves it’s had a good clean. 

While it fared reasonably well on laminate and vinyl flooring, we fround we had to run the machine back and forwards a few times before it picked up all the larger debris, such as cereal. It also didn’t pick up anything near the edge. While it performed better on skirting boards on carpeted floors, this is a definite issue with this machine and is also when a crevice tool would come in handy. 

The handle pivots so you can swerve around corners, which is great for effortless cleaning. However, on occasion, it did sometimes pop back up into static mode, so we had to step on the floor head again to get it working. Its shallow profile allows it to reach deep under beds and sofas and we loved the headlight, which highlighted dust and dog hair we might normally miss. 

The one thing we found was that handle was a bit short for us, so if you’re over 5ft 6in (167cm), you’ll be bending over a little bit. Unfortunately, there’s no way to extend this.  

As it doesn’t come with any attachments, it’s no good for those chores such as cleaning the car or getting into nooks and crannies.

The additional hands-free attachment, which is sold separately, does allow you to use it on upholstery, mattresses or stairs, but we found the head a bit too large to use on our stairs.  

Compared to traditional corded uprights, the Platinum was a lot less noisy. Tests in our centre show that at head height the vacuum noise levels were 76db on carpets and 78db on hard floors.

To put that in context, a normal conversation is around 60db, while some of the other vacuums tested in the lab came out nearer 85db. It meant we didn’t have any problem hearing others talk while using it. 

At 0.8l (one and a half pints) the bin has a reasonable capacity for a cordless and it did OK around our three-bedroom house. We did find it was better to empty it after doing half the house, otherwise, it ran the risk of debris falling out of the bin when moving the vacuum cleaner. 

The bin uses a slider system, so once you pop open the end, you slide the dirt and debris out of the bin without having to touch it. We noticed that hair got stuck sometimes, but on the whole, it worked pretty well.  

The bin also contains a place to put a scent booster. However, while we got a whiff of this when we first installed it, by the third vacuum, there was no trace of a smell.

GTech recommends the boosters are replaced every month, and five are included in the box, but at £13.99 each it’s an outlay that doesn’t quite feel worth the money.

As the Platinum doesn’t have a boost or high-power mode, the 22V lithium-ion battery lasts well. The channel that takes the dirt from the brush to the bin is also just 2cm (just under an inch), which means less battery power is needed to force it in there.  

We used the vacuum eight times to clean the house from top to bottom and it still had some charge left. While GTech says the battery lasts an hour, our lab tests say it’s nearer 45 minutes.

However, our lab tests also show this is one of the best cordless vacuums when it comes to battery life, perhaps because there isn’t a boost mode, which drains the battery.

Additional batteries aren’t cheap at £99.99, but as per our lab test, it takes just under three hours (2 hours and 50 minutes to be precise) to charge it, so it’s easy to get going again. 

Charging is straightforward. You can either do it while the battery is still attached to the machine or remove it and charge it elsewhere. The indicator lights on the front show when the battery level is dropping so you know when to get charging.  

At £349.99, it’s a tad on the expensive side, especially compared to corded uprights, but with the Air Ram Platinum, you get a vacuum cleaner that handles well and is a delight to use. It’s perfect if you’re looking for something lightweight and it really does make vacuuming effortless.  

At this price, we would also expect it to come with some attachments for more versatile cleaning. You can buy a hand-held attachment for an extra £20, which allows you to use the head on upholstery or mattresses, but there are no other attachments available.

The only way to solve this would be to buy one of GTech’s handheld vacuums that do come with the required attachments, but as we’ve already mentioned these start from £129, so would increase the cost further.  

While there are many cordless stick vacuums around for all budgets, there’s less to choose from when it comes to cordless uprights. Both Shark and Vax offer these, while Tineco has a cordless model that’s also a wet and dry vacuum cleaner. 

At £399.99, the Shark cordless upright is in a comparable price bracket to the Platinum. It too offers one hour of run-time and anti-hair wrap technology. Unlike the GTech, it transforms into a hand-held vacuum with attachments, so you can clean your car or the stairs with ease. It does however weigh a whole 2kg (4 lb 6oz) more than the Platinum so will be heavier to move around the house. 

If you want to spend less but still want a cordless upright, then Vax has the perfect vacuum cleaner. At just £200, it promises 100 minutes of run-time thanks to the two batteries it comes with. It also has different attachments that allow you to get into nooks and crannies or clean upholstery with ease. It’s slightly heavier than the Platinum and unlike the Shark, doesn’t detach from the main casing for ease of use. 

The most expensive out of our competitors at £629.99, currently with £100 off, the Tineco vacuum cleaner can handle both dry and wet spills. It also works as a mop, which is perfect for hard floors. It comes with a high-tech LCD display that lets you know when your floor is fully clean, as well as highlighting battery and suction levels. It also boasts superior edge cleaning capabilities with a brush roller that’s been designed to glide closely against skirting boards and hard-to-reach corners.  

Overall, we like the AirRam Platinum. Compared to some vacuum cleaners that need a degree to use them, it’s simple to use straight out of the box.

The beauty of it being a cordless upright also means you have the freedom that brings, while not having the storage headache that comes with traditional stick cordless vacuums. It’s easy to manoeuvre and the lightest vacuum cleaner we’ve ever used, which means you can whip around the house in minutes. It’s also a lot less noisy than traditional uprights. 

The only thing that lets it down is the lack of attachments. Even though you can add a handle to make the head to make it into handheld, we really missed the crevice tool for getting into those nooks and crannies, and we just don’t feel like splashing the cash for a GTech handheld to allow us to do that.