Review: Ecovacs Deebot X1 Omni robot vacuum takes automation to the limit
“OK Yiko, follow me” was my command to Ecovacs‘ latest robot vacuum that takes automated cleaning to stratospheric levels.
“OK Yiko, follow me” was my command to Ecovacs‘ latest robot vacuum that takes automated cleaning to stratospheric levels.
Not only does the Deebot X1 Omni autonomously vacuum carpets and mop floors, it empties its own dust and cleans the circular mopping pads with water after use. And you can lead it to the dirt.
However, I discovered that while the Omni gets many new features right, it struggles with others.
The robot vacuum looks similar to its predecessors, although it has a metallic coloured lid that adds a touch of class.
The big surprise is the enormous 57cm high “Omni station” that looks like a robotic version of a dog kennel. The robot lives and recharges in the bottom section. The mid section contains a three litre dust bag. A motor whirrs away whenever the robot docks, transferring dust to the station bag which Ecovacs says you may not empty for up to 60 days.
The top section contains a four litre tank for freshwater and another tank for dirty water.
When the robot finishes mopping, the whirring of dust emptying is followed by gurgling noises which is the cleaning of the two mop pads.
The Omni offers 5000Pa (Pascal pressure unit) of suction. The figure 5000Pa may not sound much; some cordless vacuums are rated that. But it’s double the rating of the previous Deebot model and the robot vacuum does a good job on my carpet.
Ecovacs has improved the Deebot’s mopping capability for hard floors, replacing the static mopping cloth of previous Deebots with two rotating circular mopping pads. But it doesn’t have the elbow grease to match human mopping.
And there is a problem, namely it loses its ability to navigate with the mopping pads on carpet. If you position the Omni station on carpet, and install the mopping pads, the unit won’t make it to the kitchen to mop. It will rotate in circles like a confused bot. The mopping system does better if most of your home is a hard surface and has the Omni Station is installed on hard ground.
Nevertheless, you won’t need to manually vacuum or mop your floors so often if the robot goes over them every few days. Clean early and often. Set it in the schedule.
Ecovacs has made strides with mapping, the first task it completes after installation. It took just a few minutes for the Deebot to create a striking 3D map of my home. The previous model Deebot would mooch around, taking much longer.
Old Deebots could lose their orientation even on carpet and would have to remap your home if you picked them up and moved them. The Omni retained knowledge of its map when I picked it up to insert its mopping pads or moved the station.
The other new feature is native voice commands. You could use voice commands to address the previous Deebot with Google and Amazon assistants, but commands were limited mainly to starting and stopping vacuuming.
The Omni has its own built-in assistant, Yiko, and a more expansive list of commands. You can ask Yiko to start or pause cleaning, add more suction power, or increase water flow while mopping. The faster the water flow, the better the mopping, but the robot will return more often to the station for refills.
I found nominating a room for cleaning, and asking Yiko to follow my voice and vacuum to be very useful.
There were times the phrase “OK, Yiko” wouldn’t wake the robot. I needed to speak slowly and firmly. Yiko might need some robot vacuum obedience training.
You can label rooms on the map in the Ecovacs app, and have the robot clean a nominated room using a voice command: “OK Yiko, vacuum the lounge”.
You can nominate furniture areas and the Omni will try to clean underneath them.
The Omni, like its predecessors, struggles with avoiding some obstacles. It wrapped itself in two of my power cords and got caught inside horizontal legs of furniture. You can address this by assigning areas as no-go zones on the map. The Omni navigated with ease around larger obstacles.
The Omni also features a separate video mode. The robot will patrol your home even shooting video as it goes.
While it cleans and mops automatically, there is more maintenance of the robot and station to perform. You also need to periodically buy replacement mopping pads, dust bags, and main and side brushes. You have to decide whether the extended functionality is worth the trouble and cost. I’d like to see Ecovacs install the improved suction and navigation capability in cheaper models.
While the Ecovacs Deebot X1 Omni takes vacuuming and cleaning to stratospheric levels, at $2499 recommended, it also takes the cost of robot vacuums to stratospheric levels. You might be happier outlaying just a few hundred dollars on a cheaper robot vacuum and empty the dust after each run yourself. The Omni is available from Australian retail store outlets, but overseas pricing is less, so shop around.
There is one less expensive Omni-style version, the Deebot X1 Turbo for $2099, from Amazon and eBay.
