Oral-B has announced a July launch for the latest addition to its iO electric toothbrush line. With a recommended retail price of $59.94 in the US (but no launch date or UK price yet publicised), the iO Series 2 will be its most budget-friendly yet.

If you’re in the US, you can pre-order the iO2 starter kit (which contains an extra brush head) from Amazon now for $65.99.

Here’s why I’m looking forward to its release.

In my opinion, Oral-B’s iO line offers the best brushing performance around and I regularly recommend these brushes to friends. But for people who aren’t sold on the advanced feature sets – which include smart brushing feedback, fast charging and a full-colour OLED screen – the prices can be an obstacle. 

There are currently eight brushes in the Oral-B iO line, ranging from the iO3 to the luxury iO10. Each one has a slightly different feature set, corresponding to a US price point between $79.99 for the iO3 and $379.49 for the iO10.

It’s a different story in the UK, where prices tend to jump around a lot more, and electric toothbrushes often launch at wildly inflated prices. You might see the Oral-B iO3 with an RRP of £160 – but you shouldn’t pay more than £75 for it. Similarly, the iO10 has an RRP of £800, but is widely available for around £400.

To find out about the features of all the brushes in Oral-B’s iO line, see what you should pay and get our recommendations, have a look at our round-up of the best Oral-B electric toothbrushes.  

The bottom line is that the cost can be off-putting to people who would benefit from an iO, and the iO2’s $59.94 price point should give the brush a much wider appeal. It’s been designed to tempt people who use a manual brush to make the switch to electric.

Here’s why you might want to make the leap.

What features does the Oral-B iO2 have?

The iO2 has all the features we want to see in an electric toothbrush:

• Solid brushing performance: the brush head both oscillates and vibrates for powerful cleaning and plaque removal.
• Dentist-recommended 2-minute timer, plus quadrant alerts to let you know when you’ve brushed one section of your mouth for long enough.
• Pressure sensor: pressing too hard is one of the most common errors when brushing and can damage gums and weaken tooth enamel. If the bristles on your brush tend to part in the middle like a palm tree, it’s a sign that you should use a brush with a pressure sensor. The iO2 has a pressure sensor that glows red and will slow down the brush’s operation if you press too hard when cleaning.
• Three brushing modes, for the perfect comfort level: super sensitive, gentle and daily clean.
• Single button operation for ease of use.

Oral-B has not yet given out any information on the length of the battery life or the brush’s charging time. Based on other iO brushes at a similar price point, we think the battery will last for 7-10 days – if you only brush twice daily for 2 minutes (remember that sharing a brush will halve its battery life). It’s likely to have a charging time of 20+ hours, which means it’s a much better option if you’re happy to keep it on its charging stand.

When will the iO2 be available?

If you’re in the US, you can pre-order the iO2 starter kit from Amazon now for $65.99. You’ll get two black brush heads, a black brush handle and a standard white Oral-B charger in the kit. It’ll be delivered in July.

The iO2 with a single brush head will be available from Oral-B in the US and other US retailers from July for $59.94. Its UK price and release date have not yet been confirmed.

We’ll be reviewing the iO2 as soon as it becomes available. In the meantime, for our top recommendations, check out our round-ups of the best Oral-B electric toothbrushes, the best cheap electric toothbrushes and the best electric toothbrushes overall.