Most electric shaver advice starts with brands. It should start with your face, because the single decision that governs comfort is the shape of the head — and it is decided by your beard and your skin, not by a badge.
Rotary or foil — decide this first
Rotary heads suit a thick beard that grows in all directions, and they suit anyone who shaves only occasionally rather than daily.
Foil heads are the better answer for a fine beard, for sensitive skin, or if you shave every day. They are gentler on the skin, which is exactly what matters when you are back at it tomorrow morning.
Get that wrong and no amount of technology rescues the result. Get it right and the rest is refinement.
What "smart" actually buys you
A shaver earns the label in one of two ways: connectivity with an app, or sensors that optimise the machine automatically without you touching anything.
The connected route. Philips is the reference brand here and the one with its own application. It offers a real-time shaving guide, shaving plans personalised to your skin and face, tips, and cleaning and spares manuals. The genuinely practical part is the feedback: its sensors report on how you actually shave, so you can improve technique — reducing the number of passes, or concentrating on parts of the face you are neglecting.
The unconnected route. Models with smart functions but no app generally carry sensors that adjust operating power to the contour of your face and to the thickness and density of your beard. You stop having to manage it yourself, which means more comfort and fewer passes for the same result.
The third kind of clever is the base. Some charging stations select the right cleaning programme and run it automatically — the case with the Braun Series 9 and 7.
Also worth weighing
Design and ergonomics. A good shaver needs a grip that lets you hold it firmly and manoeuvre comfortably around the contours of your face. A display helps, if only to tell you how much battery is left.
Your own routine. Beard type, skin type and how often you shave drive the head choice above — and they matter more than the accessory list in the box.
The picks
The premium option — Braun Series 9 Pro 9465cc. One of the most premium and complete shavers on the market. Its head is a 4+1 arrangement with a ProLift Trimmer, and the reason to buy it is arguably the station rather than the shaver: the SmartCare 5-in-1 base intelligently selects the cleaning programme required, then charges automatically, cleans hygienically, lubricates and dries. The Series 7 shares that base.
The sensor flagship — Philips Series 9000 S9987/55. Rechargeable, usable wet or dry, with technologies to reduce skin irritation and fast charging ready in an hour. The kit runs to shaver, cleaning base, charging stand and travel case. On the smart side it adds, beyond the motion sensor of its smaller sibling, an illuminated pressure sensor that tells you in the moment whether to press harder or lighter, and a beard-density sensor that adapts power automatically.
The connected all-rounder — Philips Series 7000 S7788/59. One of the successors to the brand's first connected shaver. Rechargeable, wet or dry, with irritation-reducing technologies, and a generous kit: charging base with a light beard styler, cleaning brush, integrated trimmer, travel case and a small cleaning container. Its smart element is motion sensors that track how you shave and feed technique advice into the app, alongside health and grooming tips.
For sensitive skin and daily shaving — Panasonic ES-LS6A. A foil head with 6 blades, aimed squarely at sensitive skin or anyone shaving daily. Wet or dry, premium ergonomic design, and it cleans by simply going under the tap. It has no connectivity at all — its cleverness is a beard sensor that adjusts power to the contours of the face and to beard thickness and density.
The budget pick — Xiaomi Electric Shaver S700. A circular head with a ceramic blade and IPX7 water resistance, so it works in the shower and rinses clean under the tap. It charges from its base or over USB-C, runs an ultra-quiet brushless motor, and uses a high-strength series-6 aluminium body.
Before you buy
Four questions. Rotary or foil? Thick, multi-directional beard or occasional shaving points to rotary; fine beard, sensitive skin or daily shaving points to foil. Do you want coaching or automation? An app gives feedback on technique; sensors simply handle it for you. Will you maintain it? A self-cleaning base is the difference between a shaver that stays hygienic and one that does not. And wet or dry? — every pick here handles both, but only some rinse clean under a tap.
Our best electric toothbrushes guide covers the other daily bathroom device.
