As a dental hygienist with over 10 years of experience, I’ve tested and used countless electric toothbrushes. The Oral B IO series stands out for its innovative technology and features that promote better oral health. In this review, I’ll compare the Oral B IO 6 vs 7 vs 8 vs 9 models based on my hands-on experience and expertise. I’ll break down their key differences to help you choose the right IO toothbrush for your needs and budget.
Oral B IO Series 6, 7, 8, and 9 use artificial intelligence (AI) run by a frictionless magnetic drive which effectively delivers micro-vibrations through the tips and hints of the bristles to improve your brushing technique for effective brushing. This new technology is a result of six years of research hence why the Series naming starts from Series 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.
And here are the seven Oral B io 6 vs 7 vs 8 vs 9 key differences and specs comparison review.
Difference between Oral B IO Series 6 vs 7 vs 8 vs 9 Specs
1. Charging
Oral-B IO series 9 comes with a power2go charging station but IO 6, 7, and 8 come with a regular charger. The power2go enables io9 to charge inside the traveling case via a detachable power adapter.
The lower-end IO 6 has a NiMH battery and must be plugged in to recharge.
The IO 7, 8 and 9 have lithium ion batteries and come with travel cases that double as chargers. This gives you the flexibility to recharge on the go. In my experience testing electric toothbrushes, lithium ion batteries retain charge better over time.
2. Cleaning Modes
- io 6 and 7 have fewer cleaning modes than io 8, but all in all io 9 and 10 series have the most.
- Oral B IO series 6 and 7 have five cleaning modes, io 8 has six while io 9 and 10 have seven modes. The additional cleaning modes have different auto-stop times as well as settings which might make them practical or customizable to suit your needs.
3. Brush Heads
- Oral B io 6 series has fewer number brush heads than io 7 and 8 while io 9 has the highest number of brush heads.
- IO6 comes with only one brush head but IO seven comes with two, IO 8 with three, and io nine series with four brush heads.
4. Price
- Oral-B io series 6 is the cheapest of all them all while io 9 is more expensive than them all.
- IO8 costs roughly 50 dollars more than IO7 but, Oral B IO9 is 50 dollars more expensive than the IO8.
- IO series 7 is roughly a hundred dollars cheaper than the io series 9.
Oral B IO 6 vs 7 Series Specs
- Oral B IO 6 does not have a magnetic charging base but io 7 has. This implies that it will take longer to charge io6 versus io7. Otherwise, Oral B IO 6 Series is more or less like the IO 7 Series in all other specs.
- Oral B io 6 takes 12 hours to recharge but IO 7 takes only 3-4 hours. Yet, most other features of the IO series 7 are still in the io6.
Oral B IO Series 7 vs Series 8 Specs
- Oral B io 7 has 5 cleaning modes but the io8 has 6. They both include daily cleaning, intense, sensitive, whitening, and gum care modes. But, IO 8 has one more mode, the very sensitive mode.
- IO 7 has 2 brush heads but the io8 3 brush heads.
- IO 7 is available in black onyx and grey alabaster, but, IO 8 comes as white-colored alabaster, violet ametrine, or black onyx.
Oral B IO 7 vs 9 Specs
- Oral-B io series 7 has 5 cleaning modes but the IO series 9 has 7. They both have daily clean, intense, sensitive, whiten, and gum care but, io9 has two more brushing modes: very sensitive and tongue clean modes.
- Oral-B IO series 9 comes with four brush heads compared to two of IO7.
- Again, IO IO9 has full 3D tracking for the cleaning performance but IO series 7 does not.
- Unlike IO Series IO7 which comes in black onyx and grey alabaster, the IO series 9 comes in black onyx, white-coloured alabaster and rose quartz.
Oral B IO Series 8 vs Series 9 Specs
- Oral-B IO8 has six cleaning modes but the IO 9 has 7. They both have daily pristine, sensitive, whitening, intense, very sensitive, and gum care. Yet, io9 has one more mode, a tongue-clean mode.
- IO 8 series comes with a regular travel case but the IO series 9 comes with a power2go charging station. The powergo enables the io9 to charge on the travel case.
- IO 9 has a 3D tracker but the IO series 8 doesn’t. The 3D tracker helps io9 to track the performance of up to 16 zones that are easy to miss without it.
- IO8 includes six cleaning modes but the IO 9 electric toothbrush has 7. They both have daily pristine, sensitive, whitening, intense, very sensitive, and gum care. Yet, io9 has one more mode, a tongue-clean mode.
- IO9 also comes with four brush heads as compared to the three of the IO8.
- IO9 comes with four brush heads as compared to the three of the IO8.
- Both models are available in onyx which is a black and white alabaster style option. The Nine Series is also available in rose quartz compared to the violet ametrine of the io series 8.
- The IO9 is 50 dollars more expensive than the IO8.
Table of Contents
Similarities
- They all run on an Artificial intelligence algorithm developed following six years of research that tracked multiple users’ brushing habits to identify zones that are easily missed.
- They all have standard two-minute timers as recommended by dentists.
- All the Series IO versions can fully charge in less than 3 hours. The battery can last for over three weeks.
- All Series IO models are less noisy thanks to the micro-vibrations generated by the frictionless magnetic drive.
- They all have stylish and sleek make-up.
- All three of the variants have an active OLED display, however exactly where the eight and nine series have a color display, while the series seven has a white and black display.
- All designs make use of the iO Ultimate Clean brush heads.
- All models are available in a black onyx, as well as a white alabaster style choice. Here, ‘s a summary of ways in which all three series of the iO are actually the same. All of the designs have:
- Built-in pacer (thirty seconds/quadrants)
- Built-in stress sensor – lit reddish when pressure is simply too great, green when it’s simply right.
- Rechargeable lithium-ion battery presenting 14+ days of use between charges.
- Bluetooth technology to hook up to a smartphone.
- Comes with the magnetic technology drive system
- Oscillating rotating cleaning action with micro-vibrations
- Magnetic charging stand
- Technically, however, the number of similarities outweighs the variations. It’s mainly the package contents, selection of cleaning cost, and modes that differ.
Oral B Genius X vs IO
Oral-B IO provides a more advanced brushing experience with the addition of micro-vibrations and a more interactive display than Oral-B Genius X. But both electric toothbrushes, however, offer Bluetooth connectivity and similar smart features. The Genius X focuses more on high oscillations and pulsations rather than micro-vibrations.
Some of the drawbacks regarding Oral b brushes are that they are loud and have a noisy motor, short battery life as well as extended charging time. The majority of Oral-B and various other models take 14+ long hours to charge as well as last for a week or perhaps 2 at most. The brand new style of the iO improves on these issues, making it feel a lot more contemporary and handy to use.
Curiously unlike the majority of other Oral-B versions, the IO toothbrush heads aren’t compatible with some other versions.
As you can see, the eight and nine Series have additional cleaning modes compared to the seven. Ideally, cleaning modes help you customize this Oral B toothbrush to the specific condition or area you want to focus on. At the core, the cleaning capabilities of all the series seven, eight and 9 are more or less the same. It is the inclusion of cleaning modes that extends the functionality of the 9 and io series 8. However, these modes do not always change the real cleaning results. Rather the modes alter an owner’s experience as well as comfort with the toothbrush.
Two more brushing modes as available in the io 9 are actually great though you will most likely never actually use them as often as you may like. The Tongue Cleaner function is simply programmed to switch off after twenty seconds, though you can do the very same thing by hand with any additional function.
- A choice of colors can also be good to have because they give choice to choose what color suits your taste, but they are no deal-breaker. The Series 7 only has two colors (Black and grey) can be argued to be a color most people will accommodate because these are conservative colors.
- 3D teeth tracking is perhaps the best-added element, but only in case, you are dedicated to using the app each day.
- A charging traveling case is an excellent concept but, unlike several other manufacturers which supply a USB cord, the case has a unique mains charger. This can make it a lot less small, taking up almost as much room as the normal charging base.
Here is the general key takeaways of the IO seven, eight, and nine)
Pros:
- Sleek and fashionable design
- Excellent cleaning performance
- Encourages better brushing habits.
- Interactive display (Inbuilt LED Interactive display)
- AI tracking provides detailed feedback.
- Apart from Series 6 io, Charges quickly (3 hours) charging time for the battery to fully charge. No more waiting for 13 hours for the battery to fully charge. Series 6 io takes 12 hours to fully charge.
- Good battery life (Battery charge lasts for a long (up to 21-28 days on a single charge)
- Quiet motor (A smooth motor that is less noisy than most conventional Oral-B models)
- An intuitive magnetic drive charging base
- An improved brush head that improves oral health
Cons:
- Cost of the brush as well as replacement heads
- Only one head included
- Charging traveling cases not so convenient
- The built-in display might show more details
- The app requires some dedication and can really feel gimmicky
Accessories
After six years of research, the iO toothbrush offers exceptional results. It leaves your tooth feeling clean. These results have been established in clinical trials. It has been proven to remove 6 times more plaque along the gumline than a mechanical brush. This can help reverse gingivitis (gum disease). After 8 weeks of use, eighty-two % of individuals with the iO had healthy gums, compared to only twenty-four that utilized a mechanical brush.
Timer and pressure sensor
As has become very common in most electric toothbrushes right now, a built-in timer signals whenever your brushing time is up and a quad pacer tells you when it is some time to move to a new segment of the mouth. For the regular Daily Clean mode, this’s set to 2 minutes broken into 4 30-second intervals. You may change these adjustments via the app in case you want.
The pressure sensor is usually not a particularly fresh element, though the iO brings a brand new twist to it. Using the light band around the handle, not just tells you in case you are applying a lot of strain (red) but additionally in case you are not using adequate pressure then the light turns white. You should be aiming for green, which shows you are doing it perfectly. The white light comes with a small decrease in the motor speed.
You can change the colors to customize the color displayed on the LED band when the brush is actually on although not in use; an enjoyable but unnecessary feature.
A timer, quad pacer as well as stress sensor are actually all extremely handy electric toothbrush features.
App and built-in screen
The display screen on the brand new Oral B electric toothbrush is a huge step up from having one or perhaps 2 small lights communicating info to you. It says’ Hello’ whenever you choose it as well as lets you choose your cleaning mode and examine the battery life. A timer shows just how long you have been brushing for, though it is tough to see this without stopping as well as taking the brush out of the mouth.
When you’ve completed, you get sometimes a happy face or maybe a sad face based on how efficiently you brushed. That is fine, though it will be beneficial to understand especially what you might improve. Did you brush way too hard? Quit too soon? Or perhaps did you became distracted and just cleaned one side of your mouth? You will have to examine the app to discover.
Oral-B has created a brand new app to go along with this particular brush, with a modified design including the Brushing Recognition AI. If you’ve it available as you brush, it displays your progress of yours in real-time. When you complete it, it provides you with an entire score based on your brushing time, pressure, and coverage.
The thought is the fact that many of these technologies within the iO train one to brush your teeth better. With time, you need to read your score improve. In addition, you get awarded medals for particular milestones, like scoring ninety % or even much more for 3 consecutive days. This gamification of tooth brushing may appeal to a few, while for other people it comes across as a little gimmicky and childish.
In case you are guilty of scrolling on your phone yours when you are brushing and not truly paying attention to what you are doing, the app will surely help you focus. However one does need to be dedicated to making use of it to get by far the most out of it. When you do not have the app open as you brush, a bit of info will still be kept in the brush and transmitted to the app the next time you open it.
Charging and battery life
The new IO series model has addressed some of the weak points in other models (batteries lasting only 10-14 days and also batteries taking up to 12 hours to fully charge). The new model batteries last longer than two weeks (some say it can last up to a month on a full charge.). Other models by this manufacturer last only 7-10 days after a full charge. This is better than Sonicare models that last up to 14 days after a full charge.
Charging takes just 3 hours with the magnetic charging stand. Once again, this’s an enormous enhancement on having to charge your toothbrush off for the very best part of one day. In addition, you can check out via the display just how much battery life is left.
Accessories
They might have made room for one more The iO is very slim on accessories. In the package you get:
- Power2Go Charging traveling case (black) or white
- iO Toothbrush handle
- one x iO Ultimate Clean brush head
- Magnetic charging stand
- Travel case power adaptor
However, the real charging cord for the travel case is pretty bulky. Instead of a basic USB cable, which various other toothbrush charging cases have, this one utilizes an adaptor that is virtually as bulky as the normal charging stand.
The very good battery life means you may not have to charge it while you are away. But given that the charging travel case is actually among the premium features of the io Nine Series, it does not add a lot to the item.
Oral B IO 6 Review
In May 2021 io series 6 was introduced to the Oral-B io range. It is the cheapest of the IO models because it doesn’t have magnetic charging. This means that it will take at least 12 hours to recharge, unlike io series 7,8,9 which will take only 3 hours to fully recharge, thanks to the magnetic charging technique.
The io 6 was launched one year after launching the iO7, eight and nine. It offers an even less expensive model but retains several of the most desired components of the iO range.
The iO six doesn’t include a magnetic charging stand. Rather, it has a charging stand generally offered with a lot more economical brushes.
Therefore you can count on a complete charge of the iO6 to take around twelve hours, compared to the three hours of the nine, eight, and io seven.
A subtle variation with the charging of the iO6, in comparison to the various other designs, would be that the io6 shows an accurate battery portion on the color display on the series 6 model. For instance, forty-two % unlike the iO seven, eight, and nine which just showed the battery charge in ten % increments.
The io6 comes fitted with five cleaning modes and a white and black display, just like the Series Seven. It also has sensors and Bluetooth connectivity for real-time tracking when you are brushing your teeth.
It retains the iO design in which only compatible iO particular brush heads work with the Six Series. The two types of brush heads compatible with the Series Six are actually the Ultimate Clean as well as Gentle Care heads.
The Series six is offered with two various colored brush handles (Lava black and Opal grey).
The contents of the box are as follows:
- One x iO 6 brush handle
- Two x Ultimate Clean brush head
- One x Charging stand
You also get one traveling case (a tough plastic case) which is going to hold the brush handle and up to two brush heads. Unlike the io 9, the io6 traveling case does not have a USB charging port and therefore you cannot recharge the brush via the traveling case.
As stated earlier, the o6 is the cheapest of the io range partly due to the lack of auxiliary features like no magnetic charging or USB charging with the traveling case.
Is Oral B IO Electric Toothbrush Worth It?
In general, the Oral B electric toothbrush IO Series is markedly completely different from older versions that have primarily relied on the patented 3D technology of vibrations, pulsations, and oscillations.
IO uses artificial intelligence (AI) run by a frictionless magnetic drive which effectively delivers micro-vibrations through the tips and hints of the bristles to improve your brushing technique for effective brushing. This new technology is a result of six years of research hence why the Series naming starts from Series 6, 7, 8, and 9.
- The iO is extraordinary for a variety of distinct reasons, but particularly, it marked quite a major redesign for powered toothbrushes. Oral-B implemented an innovative frictionless linear magnetic drive feature. They created a new engine to assist the bristles with a view of increasing the effectiveness of teeth cleaning.
- Another new feature in the IO range is that the backlit cleaning mode is now displayed in an LED screen that is positioned right under the neck of the handle.
- Charging the toothbrush was made quicker because of a brand-new magnetic charger. It’s effective at charging the brush in only three hours, compared to the considerably more regular 12-15 hours for most other electric toothbrushes.
- And one other important change was the brand-new pressure sensor. Unlike in older models where the pressure sensor flashes reddish illumination when an excessive amount of pressure is recognized, this one illuminates green, when the proper pressure is now being applied.
Which is better, Oral B IO 6, 7, 8, or 9 Electric Toothbrush?
The Oral B IO 9 is a compelling model. Some of the key things are micro-vibration engineering, smoother exceptionally clean, peaceful motor, good battery, LED display… You wind up with a toothbrush that is fun to use as well as leaves your tooth feeling like one coming out of the dentist’s chair. When comparing the io six, seven, and eight, it appears to be worth paying the increase for the best electric toothbrush model, so long as you have discovered it with a good discount.
Price Comparison:
Check the Oral B IO (Series 9, 8, 7) Black Friday Deals.
If you are still undecided, check Amazon customer reviews? You can also check our Oral B vs Sonicare page for more options.
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- Oral B iO Series 7 and 7c Electric Toothbrush Reviews
Dr. Tom Bell has a PhD in Medical Anthropology. He has a keen interest in oral health topics and is the founder of dentalrave. He has been an oral health researcher and electric toothbrush enthusiast for over 10 years. Tom works with Awin and others in his research. When not talking about dental hygiene and gadgets, Tom likes spending time outdoors hiking.