I have used the Philips OneBlade Face QP2530/20 since November 2018. At first, I was very happy with it for styling my small short under 3mm beard and mustache. Once I grew a full beard and let it grow longer and used the 5mm comb I noticed the OneBlade wasn’t really powerful enough to cut the beard quickly and it was starting to kill the replaceable blades more quickly.
The Philips OneBlade is good for some things but it isn’t what you would hope for based on the promise ‘OneBlade does it all’ which Philips is marketing. I find it’s great for styling and creating clean lines and edges. It’s not a shaver and it’s not good for long hair.
For my longer beard, I started using the Remington Barba beard trimmer MB320C. I have used it since February 2020 and it’s much better for long hair, but for the fine lines and edges, OneBlade is definitely better.
Philips OneBlade marketing versus reality
Philips OneBlade is marketed as a hybrid styler for trimming, shaving, and creating clean lines and edges with the slogan “OneBlade does it all.” One could argue that yes it kind of is able to do it all, but it does some of it poorly.
For creating clean lines and edges I must agree the OneBlade is really handy and saves time compared to other alternatives I have used and I really find it’s a good buy for this purpose.
Everyone agrees that you will not be able to do a clean shave with the OneBlade and it’s not a replacement for a foil shaver.
The Philips OneBlade comes with attachable stubble comes for 1, 2, 3, 5 mm stubble length. If you have a smaller beard and the hair is not very long yet it will work fine for the shorter length of 1-3 mm but in my experience already with the 5 mm stubble length results are not good anymore.
Testing the devices
In the below video I show how the Philips OneBlade performs against the Remington Barba beard trimmer.
Pros of the OneBlade
- Great value – Inexpensive device
- Versatile
- Very good for edging
- Trimming of shorter hair works well
Cons of the OneBlade
- Replacement blades are rather expensive
- Doesn’t deliver on the promise of “Does it all”
- Not good for shaving
- Not good for trimming longer hair
Extended test experiences
Using the device for more than 12 months I have found the battery life is sufficient with a run time of 60 minutes. Charging does take 4 hours but that has never been an issue for me since I just plug it in when it indicates low power and take it off the charger in the evening or the next morning.
The device doesn’t provide a close shave but you can get quite close and do so without any skin irritation so that is a definite plus. The only time I have felt skin irritation is when trying to cut longer hair over 5mm which has got stuck in the blade resulting in pulling of the hair which caused some skin irritation. So I wouldn’t use the device for longer hair since there are better trimmers for that purpose.
Philips OneBlade Features
Waterproof
Is the OneBlade waterproof? Yes. The OneBlade manual says you can use it for a dry or wet shave and it can be used even in the shower. The power cord, however, is not for immersion in water and can’t be used in the shower.
Behind the device you can see that it does have an IPX7 waterproof rating meaning that it can be submerged into water to a depth of one meters (around 3 feet) for up to 30 minutes.
In the below video you can see my waterproof test for the Philips OneBlade.
Can the OneBlade get wet? Yes. See the above answer about using it in the shower.
Batteries and Run Time
There are many models sold and some of them have modern Lithium-ion batteries and some have the old Ni-MH type batteries.
The OneBlade QP2520 models come with Ni-MH batteries which give a run time of 45 minutes and take 8 hours to charge.
The OneBlade QP2530 and QP2630 models come with Lithium-ion batteries with a 60 minutes run time and 4 hours charging time.
The OneBlade Pro models QP6620 and QP6520 come also with Lithium-ion batteries with a 90 minutes run time and 1 hour charging time.
Replacement Blades
When to replace the head and install a new replacement blade? The OneBlade blades have a wear indicator. The wear indicator is a green patch that will slowly start to show in the middle of the blade. Ones the patch is fully visible it’s time to change the blade. You will also notice the blade becoming blunt and not cutting so well and an increased rate of hair-pulling. The wear indicator will most likely not be so precise so rather follow your own experience of the blade becoming less sharp.
Philips says the blades last for up to 4 months when doing 2 full shaves per week. In my experience, the blade will not last for 4 months if you try to do everything with the blade every day. On the other hand, the blades do last much longer than 4 months when using it mainly for edging as I do.
Essentially there is only one type of blade that fits on all of the OneBlade handles. There are different codes for replacement blade packs like QP210, QP220, and QP230 where the second number indicates how many replacement blades the back contains, for example, the QP230 is a three-pack.
The blades are designed for trimming, edging, and shaving. The blades have rounded plastic tips so the blades don’t touch your skin directly. This rounded tip also means that you will not get a clean shave with these blades. The blades work very nicely for edging and also for trimming on shorter hair. In my experience, they don’t work well on longer hair over 3 mm in length.
The blades are very easy to change but they are not exactly cheap. The 1-pack replacement blade is around $ 15 and the 3-pack is $ 30. In the below table you will find links to check current prices.
| Picture | Buy on Amazon | Price | Battery type | Run time | Charge time | Stubble combs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
  | QP230/80 OneBlade Replacement Blades | $ 30 | - | - | - | Replacement blade x 3 |
  | OneBlade Body Kit | $ 20 | - | - | - | Replacement blade x 1 + skin guard and body comb |
I paid 29 € for the QP2530 which included the handle and one blade during a Christmas sale. So getting 3 blades will cost more than the device itself with one blade.
OneBlade models
Which OneBlade to buy? There are many OneBlade models out there but I would buy one of the non-pro versions with a lithium battery to get the best value. The only differences the models have are essentially the battery type and the accessories it comes with.
In the below comparison table you can find many of the models sold in the US. I wouldn’t worry too much about the accessories since you can get all the accessories separately as well if you need them. I don’t see much point in the pro model since the main benefit I see with it is faster charging. My recommendation is to not pay the retail price but rather check with the below links to see if you can get the OneBlade at a discounted price.
| Picture | Buy on Amazon | Price | Battery type | Run time | Charge time | Stubble combs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
  | QP2520/70 OneBlade | $ 35 | Ni-MH | 45 minutes | 8 hours | 1, 3, 5 mm |
  | QP2520/90 OneBlade | $ 35 | Ni-MH | 45 minutes | 8 hours | 1, 3, 5 mm |
  | QP2630/70 OneBlade | $ 50 | Lithium-ion | 60 minutes | 4 hours | 1, 2, 3, 5 mm + skin guard and body comb |
  | QP6510/70 Oneblade Pro | $ 60 | Lithium-ion | 60 minutes | 1 hours | 12-length comb (0.5 - 9 mm) |
