Philips i9000 Prestige Ultra Electric Shaver

Summary

If you shave often, have a medium or dense beard and want a rotary shaver that follows every curve of your face and cleans itself in a minute, the Philips i9000 Prestige Ultra is a great fit. We tested it in Spain in its black XP9405/31 version. On Amazon.co.uk it’s sold as the XP9404/38 in chrome, the same i9000 Prestige Ultra with a different finish. We shaved on two days’ stubble, both dry and with foam, and with foam the neck was smooth in two passes.

The chin and moustache felt even to the touch right from the start, with no rough patches. It struggled most when used dry on the lower neck, needing up to three passes and leaving the odd hair near the Adam’s apple and under the jawline, where the stubble is thicker.

A full charge gave us 10 shaves of five to six minutes, over 10 days. A full charge took 1 h 02 min, and five minutes of quick charging was enough for a complete shave.

Cleaning is one of the things we liked most. It comes with a quick-clean pod that gets the heads ready in one timed minute, without you touching them. On the other hand, it doesn’t dry the shaver, it uses cartridges that need replacing and there’s no USB wall charger in the box.

We recommend it if you want a shaver you can tune to your skin, that glides well with foam and cleans itself in no time.

Analysis and verdict

Closeness of shave – Score: 8.4/10

It’s a rotary shaver with Philips’ lift-and-cut system, which raises each hair from the root before cutting it, double blades that rotate in a circle to catch stubble growing in any direction, and compact heads that move independently to follow your face. It also has five shaving modes, so you can choose more gentleness or more power depending on the day. Philips talks about up to 8 million cutting motions per minute, a figure we haven’t measured.

What we noticed from the very first shave is how well the heads adapt to the jawline and chin. They ride over the curves without you having to twist your wrist all the time, and on the moustache and under the nose they left the skin even without any effort.

Dry, on two days’ stubble, the neck needed three passes. Running a hand against the grain, we found slight roughness under the jawline and around the Adam’s apple, and isolated hairs were left on the lower neck, especially near the Adam’s apple. The chin and moustache were practically even.

With foam, two passes were enough, with the odd touch-up here and there. A faint trace remained on the lower neck along with a stubborn hair or two under the jaw, but the chin and moustache came out smooth to the touch, with no rough patches.

Foam reduced friction and saved us passes on the neck, although the final closeness was practically the same as dry. If your beard is dense, it’s worth shaving with foam and letting the heads do the work without pressing.

With rotary shavers it usually works best to move the heads in small circles rather than straight strokes, and on the neck it helps to stretch the skin a little with your other hand. That way they catch the crooked hairs around the Adam’s apple more easily and you save yourself a pass or two.

Battery life – Score: 8.5/10

Philips quotes 60 minutes of battery life. In our test we got 10 full shaves of five to six minutes each, spread over 10 days with no recharging in between. That’s what you’d expect from that figure with full face-and-neck shaves.

If you shave daily, that’s a little over a week without thinking about the charger. The shaver shows the battery as a percentage and warns you when it’s running low, and after the warning it still gave us a full shave, enough to finish and put it on charge.

A full charge took 1 h 02 min, in line with the hour Philips states. And if you realise too late that it’s flat, five minutes of quick charging gave us a complete shave, exactly as the brand promises.

If you shave every other day, the same charge lasts about three weeks. And because the quick charge works so well, running out of battery is more of an oversight than a problem, as five minutes plugged in will get you out of trouble.

It charges on an illuminated stand with a USB-A cable, but there’s no USB wall charger in the box. You can use your phone’s charger or any USB port, but it’s worth bearing in mind if you’re buying it as a gift.

Comfort and cleaning – Score: 8.7/10

Ten minutes of continuous use left the head slightly warm, never uncomfortable. There was some tugging now and then under the jaw, where the stubble is thicker, mostly when we moved the shaver too quickly. With slower movements it happened far less often.

It’s kind to the skin. Dry, we noticed mild irritation on the lower neck after several passes over the same spot, and with foam the shave felt smoother. If you have sensitive skin, the gentler modes plus foam are your best combination.

Cleaning is its strong point. You can rinse it under the tap, but the easy way is to leave it in its quick-clean pod, which has it ready in 1 minute by our stopwatch. It doesn’t dry the shaver, though, so let it air-dry before you put it away.

Maintenance has a running cost. The pod uses cleaning-fluid cartridges that you’ll need to keep replacing, and Philips recommends changing the heads every two years. The replacement is the SH91/50, which Philips lists as compatible with the i9000 Prestige range. It’s not a cheap spare part, but as it’s only changed every two years the cost is spread out nicely.

What convinced us least was the space it needs. Between the charging stand and the cleaning pod, it takes up more room by the basin than a shaver without accessories, so you’ll want a fixed spot for it in the bathroom. In return, keeping it in the same place means it’s charged and clean every morning.

Design, modes and accessories

Philips says it can be used dry or wet, with foam or gel and even in the shower. Its five shaving modes let you choose how much power you want, and in our test the gentle ones were the most pleasant on the neck.

The box of the unit we tested contained the shaver, the quick-clean pod with one cartridge, the illuminated charging stand and the USB-A cable; the UK listing doesn’t detail the box contents. Philips advertises up to 7 years’ warranty on the UK listing, subject to its own terms, and your statutory rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 apply on top.

In the hand it feels well balanced, and the illuminated stand shows at a glance whether it’s charging. It’s a shaver designed to stay at home in its spot in the bathroom rather than travel around in a suitcase.

Who we recommend it for

It’s for you if you shave often, have a medium or dense beard and want a shave you can adjust with several modes, that glides well with foam and cleans itself in a moment. Also if a long manufacturer’s warranty matters to you and you want a shaver that will last for years.

It’s not for you if you’re after a budget or compact shaver for travelling, if you have no room by the basin for the pod and the stand, or if you’d rather avoid the ongoing cost of cartridges and heads.

If you tend to shave in a rush, bear in mind that dry, the neck needs a bit of going over. But if you take one more minute with foam, your chin and moustache are left smooth to the touch, without a single rough patch, and the neck is done in two passes.

Pros

• Heads that adapt to the jawline, with an even chin and moustache and no rough patches with foam.
• Quick-clean pod that takes 1 minute, without touching the heads.
• Five minutes of quick charging for a full shave, and a full charge in 1 h 02 min.
• Up to 7 years’ warranty under Philips’ terms, and SH91/50 heads that last two years.

Cons

• Up to three passes on the neck when dry, with isolated hairs near the Adam’s apple.
• 10 shaves per charge and no USB wall charger in the box.

Our test

Test 1: Closeness of shave – two days’ stubble, dry and wet

With two days’ stubble, we shaved the whole face and neck dry and then wet with foam. Afterwards we ran a hand against the grain to find any missed patches, and counted how many passes the neck needed, as it’s the hardest area.

Dry, it took three passes, with slight roughness under the jawline and isolated hairs near the Adam’s apple. With foam, two passes with the odd touch-up and a chin and moustache free of rough patches. For you, that means a very even finish on the face and a little going over on the neck, less with foam.

Test 2: Battery life – full charge and daily use until it switched off

We charged the shaver fully, timing it, and used it for one shave a day without recharging until it switched off. We counted the number of shaves, how long each one lasted and how many it managed after the low-battery warning, and we also timed a five-minute quick charge.

It gave 10 shaves of five to six minutes over 10 days, with one full shave after the warning. A full charge took 1 h 02 min and the five-minute quick charge was enough for a complete shave. At home, that means a little over a week without plugging it in if you shave daily.

Test 3: Comfort and cleaning – ten minutes non-stop and a pod cycle

We used the shaver for ten minutes non-stop and noted whether it pulled at the hair, whether the head heated up and whether the skin got irritated. Then we cleaned it under the tap and with its quick-clean pod, which we timed, and checked which replacement head it takes and how often Philips recommends changing it.

There was some tugging now and then under the jaw and the head ended up slightly warm. Irritation was mild dry and less with foam. The pod finished its cycle in 1 minute, without drying, and the SH91/50 head is changed every two years. In practice, cleaning it doesn’t eat into your time, in exchange for topping up cartridges and letting it air-dry.

If you’d like to know more about what to look for, take a look at our guide to the best electric shavers, where you’ll find the best models we’ve tested and help to choose the right one for you.