Hoto: The 4-in-1 vacuum that fits in your pocket

It was the same story every time.

I'd come back from a weekend at the beach and the car was a disaster. Sand on the mats, crumbs between the seats, dust everywhere. To clean it, there were two options.

The self-service car wash with the coin-operated vacuum and the hose that’s always too short, or half an hour of labor at home with the heavy-duty vacuum cleaner and an extension cord stretched all the way to the garage. Then I found the Hoto vacuum, and that scene never repeated itself again.

It’s a small cylinder, barely larger than a thermos. It weighs about three hundred and fifty grams and fits in the door pocket. Cordless. It recharges via a USB-C cable, the same one as your phone. No coins, no extension cords, no hose that can't reach.

The interesting part is that it doesn’t just vacuum. It does four things. It vacuums, with three power levels up to twenty thousand pascals in the high-end model—enough to pull up sand, crumbs, and pet hair stuck in the carpet. It blows, which is useful for dust between computer keys or the car radio. It inflates air mattresses, floats, and balls with the right attachment. And it provides vacuum sealing for storage bags—those ones you compress at the end of the season to save space in the closet. One object, four jobs.

Hoto is a brand linked to the Xiaomi ecosystem, known for accessories with polished designs sold at fair prices. You can see it in the materials and the finish. The filter is a washable HEPA. You rinse it and put it back, without having to buy a new one every time.

Three practical things to consider before deciding.

First, it’s perfect for quick clean-ups, not for replacing your home vacuum. The battery lasts about thirty-five minutes at the lowest setting, but at maximum power, it drops to ten or fifteen minutes. That’s enough for the car interior, but not for the whole apartment.

Second, at the highest speed, it’s noisy—quite noisy. Inside a closed car, you can definitely hear it. You need it for stubborn sand; for everything else, the lower levels work fine and are quieter.

Third, it charges with the same USB-C cable as your phone. Keep one in the glove box and you’re always ready. It’s also convenient for travel, as it can be recharged from the car's power outlet.

In Switzerland, it can be found on Galaxus and Amazon for around sixty or seventy francs, depending on the model and current discounts. For what it does, it's a reasonable price.

It’s not a life-changing object. It’s an object that removes a small, recurring annoyance—the kind that is irritating precisely because it’s small. Sometimes useful technology is just that. Not the kind that amazes you on paper, but the kind that makes a daily nuisance disappear without a second thought.

More info: https://hototools.com/products/hoto-autocare-air-duster-vacuum

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