Eufy X10 Pro Omni review: two-minute review

The Eufy X10 Pro Omni is a quality robotic vacuum and mop. It has excellent suction power, while also being pleasantly quiet in all but its most powerful setting, navigates around obstacles very well indeed, and even reports back with photos of objects it has avoided. The mopping system is especially good, with two rotating pads that press down onto the floor with 2.2lbs of pressure and spin at 180rpm. The result is a top-notch clean with no puddles or streaking.

The base station is larger than some others, including that of the Eufy X8 Pro, but is nicely designed and houses tanks for both clean and empty water for the mop. The robot's navigation system uses a camera and LiDAR to precisely map your home and quickly creates a floor plan that can be edited in the Eufy Clean app – it's then easy to name rooms and create no-go or no-mop zones.

As with other Eufy robots, the X10 can struggle to climb over larger doorway thresholds. This in itself isn't a major problem, but the issue is how the robot sometimes manages (more often than not, to be fair), yet sometimes fails. Some adjustments to your thresholds might be required if your floors are particularly uneven.

Overall, the X10 Pro Omni is a high-end robotic vacuum with excellent performance, especially when it comes to mopping hard floors. The base station is large, but offers a complete, hands-off cleaning experience.

Eufy X10 Pro Omni review: price & availability

• List price: $799.99 / £799 / AU$1,699.95
• Availability: Available now

The X10 Pro Omni sits above the Eufy X8 Pro but below its new flagship, the Eufy Omni S1 Pro. At $800 / £800 it's a little more expensive than the X9, but falls comfortably below the S1, to the tune of over $500 / £500. The X10 Pro Omni’s list price is also comfortably below that of the four-figure Roomba Combo J9+.

Splashing out a four-figure sum on a robotic vacuum might sound absurd – especially when entry-level models start below $300 – but such figures have quickly become table stakes, and at $800 the X10 Pro Omni feels like fairly good value. Especially when the new S1, which is also a robotic vacuum and mop with self-emptying of both its dustbin and water tank, costs a whopping $1,500.

• Value for money score: 4.5 out of 5

Eufy X10 Pro Omni review: design

• D-shaped vacuum with single side brush
• Two rotating mops
• Charge station empties bin and water tank

The Eufy X10 Pro Omni is a D-shaped robotic vacuum with a roller brush and two spinning mops underneath, plus a single rotating brush on its side for flicking dirt out from the corners of your room. When in use, the two mops push down with a force of 2.2lbs (1kg) and spin at 180rpm to scrub dirt away from hard floors.

The robot’s vision system includes LiDAR technology, so it can see just as well at night as it can during the day, and the mops automatically lift when it drives onto carpets to avoid getting them wet. A specially designed comb is intended to automatically remove hair from the roller brush, preventing it from getting tangled up.

A base station is included and charges the robot and also empties the dustbin, dries the mops with warm air and swaps out the robot’s dirty water for clean. Eufy says the base station's 2.5-liter dust bag only needs replacing every two months, based on a three-person household without pets, or 45 days with one pet and 30 days with two. It also states that the 3-liter water tank provides enough water to mop a 1,500-2,000sqft home two or three times.

Everything feels well made and it’s easy to get the robot set up and ready for its first clean. The base station isn’t particularly attractive – and it's also quite large. That said, I prefer the X10’s simple design over the transparent, glowing water tanks of the Eufy S1 Pro Omni.

The base station measures 18.1in (460mm) tall, but requires an extra 13.7in (350mm) above that to access the dustbin and water tanks. The station is 14.4in (366mm) wide and 18.9in (480mm) deep, including the ramp used by the robot to drive into its charging dock. The robot itself is 4.47in (113.5mm) tall, including the sensor housing, and has a footprint of 12.87 x 13.9inc (327 x 353mm).

As ever with Eufy robots, the base station needs about 20in (50cm) of free space either side, so it can drive up against the wall, and 59in (150cm) in front, where it needs space to drive out from the charger and orient itself before each clean. In reality, you can get away with placing the charge dock in the corner of a room, right next to a wall. The robot still works just fine, but won’t be able to clean between the station and the wall.

Lastly, the robot’s dust bin is easily accessible by opening the lid (which is held closed with magnets) and pulling it out. From there you can retrieve any debris that's got stuck and access the filter, which requires occasional cleaning. Water is automatically fed in and out of the robot when docked at the base station, so there’s no removable tank (as there is with the cheaper Eufy X8), and the mop pads can be removed to be cleaned and eventually replaced.

• Design score: 4.5 out of 5 

Eufy X10 Pro Omni review: performance

• Intelligent navigation
• Scales uneven thresholds (most of the time)
• Excellent cleaning performance

Before I tested the X10 with a set of specific tasks, I used the robot for a couple of weeks as any regular customer would. This included setting it up in my kitchen and using it to periodically clean individual rooms, along with the occasional whole-home deep clean.

Right away, the X10 impressed. The robot quickly and accurately mapped my apartment during its first exploratory clean, using the LiDAR sensor to work out where all the walls and furniture were, and even splitting the floor plan into rooms. I then used the app to name each room and set a no-go zone under the sofa, since there’s so much stuff back there I’m always worried about robotic vacuums getting stuck. The X10 never did, but I’d rather it doesn’t try picking a fight with the random DIY tools, paints cans and pieces of wood from our recent kitchen installation still lurking under there.

I also initially set no-mop zones for the carpeted bedroom and a large rug in the lounge, but soon learned to trust the X10’s ability to spot the difference between hard floors, carpets and rugs. A couple of weeks later, and it hasn’t once tried to inadvertently mop the carpet.

I’ve also been impressed with the robot’s navigation, and how it stops instantly if something gets in its way. Step in front of it and it stops on a dime, before quickly working out an alternative route. It’s also good at climbing over uneven doorway thresholds. Eufy’s newer and far more expensive S1 Pro Omni really struggled with thresholds and climbing from exposed floorboards to carpet; so much so that it sometimes completely failed to enter certain rooms.

The X10 is far better in this regard, but was still inconsistent in its ability to clear raised thresholds. When tasked with a whole-home clean it would manage just fine, but when asked to clean only the kitchen it would drive down onto the floorboards of the hallway, then repeatedly fail to climb back over the circa-2cm threshold. Sometimes it would succeed, only to drive back down and get stuck again.

As with the S1, I wouldn’t mind if the robot accepted defeat and admitted failure every time, but instead its ability to clear the threshold is inconsistent.

The vacuuming performance felt about on par with the S1, especially when turned up to Turbo or Max settings. While a fair bit louder than the Quiet and Standard modes, the more powerful settings produced a deep clean, reliably sucking debris, dust, hair and fluff out of carpets. I also found it works best when configured to vacuum each room twice with either the Standard or Deep intensity setting. I would say the X10’s vacuum performance is about on par with my Dyson V10, and I was especially impressed with its ability to pull fluff and hair out of carpet. That said, the Dyson still picked up some extra dust and hair when used right after the X10 had completed a job at maximum suction.

You’ll also still need a manual vacuum for areas that robots like the X10 simply can’t reach, such as tight gaps between furniture and the stairs. As ever, these robots are great for light, frequent cleans – and free up a nice chunk of your time in the process – but can’t replace a manual vacuum entirely.

I found a single pass with the Fast setting is fine for a quick daily clean, and I can see this working great for little-used spare bedrooms. But for my one-bed flat, where every room is used frequently, a more intensive clean works best. I also found it did a great job of avoiding all manner of obstacles. Eufy says the robot can recognize over 100 types of objects, from toys and cables, to clothes and the all-important pet mess. However, during one clean it mistook a small plant pot for a bin and a stray sock for a shoe. It also labeled a fireplace hearth as a "base" and steered well clear of it, missing a patch of carpet in the process.

The X10’s mopping performance is particularly good, thanks to how the mops press down and spin quickly. This is far more effective than the static mopping pad of the Eufy Clean X8 Pro, which is simply dragged around. The X10 gives hard floors a proper clean, and I like how it drives in a pattern that ensures the mops, which are at the rear of the robot, are pushed into corners and up against the walls at every opportunity.

Now for the specific tests, where flour, biscuit crumbs and oats are used to see how robotic vacuums perform in controlled conditions. First, I combine flour with biscuit crumbs and sprinkle the mix on a patch of hard floor, then ask the X10 to clean that area with its least powerful suction setting, which I recorded at about 62 decibels.

The X10 did an okay job, and took just a couple of minutes to vacuum the whole kitchen, but missed a few obvious patches of crumb mix. I tried again, this time using Standard suction (64dB) and with it set to clean the same area twice instead of once. I’ve found from other vacuum reviews that this makes a huge difference, as debris flicked around on the first pass is often collected on the second. The result this time was better, but some debris remained. 

Finally, switching up to Turbo suction (66dB) and enabling deep cleaning, where it drives a more thorough route across each room, completely cleared the crumb mix and left the floor perfectly clean. As for other sounds, the vacuum briefly hit a rather loud 82dB while emptying its bin into the base station, then settled down to 62dB for a minute to clean the mop, and a barely audible 42dB while the mop was dried with hot air.

I then performed the same test on carpet and saw similar results. The less powerful suction modes are best for frequent, light cleans of lesser-used parts of your home (like the spare bedrooms), while the more powerful settings work great in higher-traffic areas or for spills. I was again impressed with how well the X10 sucks debris out of carpet.

I was less impressed by how it handled larger debris. Like other robot vacuums, it had a habit of flicking oats around the room instead of collecting them up. The rotating brush does a decent job at collecting dust and hair, but fails to pull larger debris, like the oats, away from the edges of a floor and into the robot’s path. Instead it often does the opposite, pushing debris into the corners and up against furniture where it is more difficult to reach, especially on floors where the carpet slopes downwards at the edges.

Larger debris like this requires maximum suction, as even Turbo mode struggled to pick everything up – not including the oats flicked to the corners of the room. As ever, the conclusion is that robotic vacuums are great for simple cleaning but can’t match a manual vacuum for clearing up specific spillages.

Finally, I tested the mopping function by spilling a sugary drink and some hot sauce on a wooden floor and leaving the mess to dry. I set the robot to mop the kitchen and it did a fantastic job, completely removing the stains and using just the right amount of water to clean the floor without leaving any streaks or puddles. It then took just a minute or so to clean the mop, and spent a couple of hours drying them. As with the Eufy S1, the X10’s mopping function is flawless, and far better than the static mop of the X8.

• Performance score: 4 out of 5 

Eufy X10 Pro Omni review: app

• Easy to use
• Lots of configuration available
• Handy pre-set cleaning scenarios

Just like the X8 and S1, the X10 is controlled by the Eufy Clean smartphone app for iOS and Android. It’s one of the better smart home companion apps I’ve used, thanks to it being intuitive and easy to use, but with lots of customization available to those who want it.

Such configurability includes setting the X10 Pro Omni to clean whichever rooms you want, however you like. For example, you can ask it to vacuum and mop the kitchen with deep intensity, Turbo suction and medium water usage, and for it to make two passes on each stage of the clean, then head into the lounge and do a standard vacuum.

I especially like how you can create shortcut icons for specific cleaning scenarios. For example, you can create a scenario called Post-Meal Clean, where the robot will perform a quick, low-intensity clean of your kitchen (or whichever bit of floor space you want) with just a tap. There are also scenarios for deep or daily cleans for the whole home, and you can make your own too.

It’s also easy to split your home map up into sections and name each room accordingly, and to create no-go or no-mop zones to stop the robot doing anything wrong. The Eufy Labs section includes a couple of experimental features, including one called Smart Track Cleaning, where pressing the robot’s front bumper with your foot for three seconds turns it on and has it follow you, cleaning as it goes.

Lastly, the app can be used to manually control base station functions. This is handy for if you’ve had to pick the robot up and return it to its charger for whatever reason, or if you have disrupted its cleaning routine. With a couple of taps it’s easy to have the station empty the robot’s dustbin and wash then dry the mops – which it does very effectively by blowing them with air heated to 45C for around two hours.

• App score: 5 out of 5 

Should you buy the Eufy X10 Pro Omni?

Buy it if… 

Don’t buy it if… 

How I tested the Eufy Clean X10 Pro Omni

I set up the X10 Pro Omni and used it as my only vacuum and mop for a couple of weeks. During this time I let it create a map of my own, then named rooms and created no-go and no-mop zones.

I then experimented with all of the various vacuuming and mopping modes, before conducting several specific tests to learn exactly how well each mode performs, and how buyers can get the most out of their robot.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed July 2024

Eufy Clean X8 Pro robot vacuum: two-minute review

The Eufy Clean X8 Pro is a powerful robotic vacuum cleaner and mop with LiDAR for smart navigation and a self-emptying bin for hands-free cleaning. The setup process is seamless, with quick and accurate mapping. The app works very well indeed; it is quick, intuitive and makes it easy to adjust your maps and tweak settings, as well as create cleaning schedules and adjust the suction strength.

The vacuum performs well, with very high suction strength, intelligent navigation and the ability to drive over relatively high door thresholds and through medium-thickness carpets and rugs without getting stuck. However, the anti-tangle roller brush can’t handle human hair, and requires frequent manual cleaning.

We also encountered an issue where the robot got confused and added phantom rooms to the map, which required a factory reset. The mopping function is rather basic, since it requires manual fitting and doesn’t move or self-clean. It’s fine for frequent, low-intensity wipes of hard floors, but isn’t suitable for removing dried-on stains.

Overall, the X8 Clean is a compact but powerful robotic vacuum with a top-drawer smartphone app and impressive cleaning abilities, but it falls short compared to today's best robot vacuums when it comes to dealing with human hair. 

Eufy Clean X8 Pro review: price & availability

• List price: $649.99 / £599 / AU$999.95
• Availability: US, UK, Australia

The Eufy X8 Pro hit the market with a US retail price of $649.99, but at the time of writing (July 2024) Eufy’s own website has $250 off, taking the price down to a far more affordable $399.99. At that lower price it feels like excellent value for money.

Elsewhere, the vacuum is priced at a rather steep £599 from Eufy’s own UK website, but at the time of writing it’s just £290 from Amazon. Eufy’s Australia website has it priced at AU$999.95.

As with other robotic vacuum cleaners – and non-robotic ones too – there are some ongoing costs to consider. This includes the dust bags used by the self-emptying system, as well as consumable components like the robot's side brush and roller brush.

In a world where four-figure robotic vacuums aren't uncommon, some of the deals we've seen make the X8 Pro feel like very good value for money.

• Value for money score: 4 out of 5

Eufy Clean X8 Pro review: design

• Self-emptying charge dock
• Mop attachment fitted manually
• 4.5-inches / 11.4cm tall

The Eufy Clean X8 Pro is a circular robotic vacuum cleaner with an attachable mop. It can be bought on its own or, as reviewed here, with a self-emptying station for an even more hands-off experience.

As with many other robotic vacuums, the X8 Pro has a circular vision system on top. In this case the system is called iPath and it uses lidar and infrared technology to view its environment and work its way around your home. The top panel is also home to buttons for starting/pausing the robot, activating the spot cleaning function, and instructing it to return to base and charge its battery.

The robot measures 13.5 in (34.3 cm) in diameter and is 4.5 in (11.4 cm) tall, including the top-mounted sensor module. This makes it slightly taller than some other robotic vacuums, especially those with their vision system on the front instead of on top, so you’ll want to bear this in mind if you have any particularly low furniture. Eufy recommends creating no-go zones in the app to prevent the robot driving under furniture that is lower than 12cm. You'll also need to set no-mop zones in carpeted areas.

The hinged top cover lifts up to reveal access to the dust bin, which lifts out for manual emptying and filter replacement. Handily, the robot says 'dust bin removed' and 'dust bin inserted' to let you know what you’re doing.

Turn the robot over and you’re greeted by the centrally-mounted roller brush, single spinning brush for flicking debris out of the corner of your rooms, and two wheels.

Since this X9 Pro also works as a mop, the water tank is removed by sliding it out from the rear. You’ll need to fill and empty this manually, and also attach the included mopping pad when you want to use that mode.

The charging and self-emptying station measures approximately 15in (38cm) tall, and is 7.5in (19cm) wide and 6.5in (16.5cm) deep. It is designed to be placed up against a wall, and although not compulsory, it comes with a clear plastic mat onto which the robot and charge station can sit. The mat has sticky pads for fixing it to hard floors, or it can help protect carpets from the damp mop.

The station is more compact than some other models, not least that of Eufy’s S1 Pro, since that model also houses tanks for clean and dirty water. All you'll find in the X8’s base station is a compartment for the included 2.5-liter dust bag, which Eufy says should need replacing roughly every six weeks, depending on usage.

• Design score: 4.5 out of 5 

Eufy Clean X8 Pro review: performance

• Powerful but quiet suction
• Solid navigation capabilities, but sometimes fail to spot all debris
• Mopping is basic

My first task for the X8 Pro was for it to map my apartment. It did this very well, and soon beamed a floor plan back to the Eufy Clean smartphone app (free for iOS and Android). From there it’s easy to split the floor up into rooms and name them accordingly, and you can also have the robot create a map for each floor of your home, if applicable.

After that, it’s easy to either start the robot right away, or create a custom cleaning mode for each room. You can, for example, tell the robot to always use Turbo or Max suction power for the kitchen, pass through the bedroom twice at Standard suction, then clean the lesser-used guest bedroom once with Quiet mode, the least powerful of the four vacuum settings.

A mopping mode can also be assigned to each room, with three options – low, medium and high – on offer. These refer to how much water the robot uses, but since the mop doesn’t actually move (the robot simply drags it around), water quantity is the only variable on offer.

Alternatively, you can draw a specific zone for the robot to clean in, which is useful when you need to vacuum a certain bit of carpet, or when perhaps only the rug needs attention on an otherwise clean hard floor. For the most part, you’ll likely just set the suction power, enable BoostIQ (which increases power depending on debris quantity and floor type) and hit the Auto button. The robot will then vacuum the entire floor plan, before returning to base to empty its bin and recharge.

The robot can even be driven manually, using directional buttons in the app, but you’ll likely only use this once for the novelty value.

Before performing specific tests with carefully measured amounts of debris, I used the Eufy X8 Pro as if it were my own for a couple of weeks. This meant setting it up, then having it clean my flat on automatic mode every couple of days – and let me tell you, its vacuum performance was seriously impressive.

Unlike the (much) more expensive Eufy Omni S1 Pro, the X8 never failed to climb up from the floorboards of my hallway onto the bedroom carpet. The S1 was a bit hit-and-miss in this aspect, and would sometimes get stuck in a relatively thick rug, but the X8 just soldiered right on, turning up the suction when it encountered said rug, or clambering onto the bedroom carpet from the bare floorboards of the hallway. It sometimes got stuck among the frankly embarrassing amount of stuff under the sofa, but never failed to eventually free itself and carry on with the job.

I was also impressed with the X8 Pro’s ability to judge tight gaps, as it would pass through a half-opened door with just 0.4in (1cm) of clearance on either side. That said, it likes to gently bump into its surroundings, seemingly feeling its way around. This is mostly fine, and didn’t cause any damage, but it had a habit of squashing shoes under a bookcase in the hallway.

At one point it spent several minutes fighting with the power cable of a floor lamp. I can’t decide if it’s smart enough to repeatedly try and break free, or dumb enough to not realize what was going on. I suspect the latter, so while I admire the X8 Pro’s ability to keep on going without calling for help – as the S1 Pro does more frequently – I urge buyers to exercise caution and clear away cables before letting the robot loose. Incidentally, if it gets tangled up and needs your help, it stops cleaning as soon as you pick it up, then resumes when you tap the play icon in the app.

Eufy describes the X8 Pro as offering 'tangle-free cleaning', thanks to a roller brush and comb that 'detangles hair automatically', meaning there’s apparently 'no more need to manually clean the roller brush yourself'. This is not entirely true, however, as even in my pet-free home the brush became tangled with human hair after just a couple of cleans, resulting in the robot stopping and asking for help. This only took me a moment to fix, but had I not been at home it would have aborted its cleaning job and headed back to base.

Just 30 minutes later, and the X8 Pro again asked for its brush to be de-tangled, before failing for 15 minutes to find its way back to the charger. Even after I told it to head home via the app, it pondered around a couple of rooms before eventually finding the base station. I thought all was well, but the next morning realized it hadn’t parked properly, despite there being no obstacles, and therefore failed to charge.

I was disappointed by how the robot became tangled up with just a small amount of hair. It seems most hair manages to pass through the brush and into the bin successfully, but when just a small amount remains on the brush the robot stops and calls for help. Eufy promotes the X8 Pro as a vacuum for dealing with pet hair, but in my experience just a small clump of (admittedly long) human hair is enough to render it disabled. This is a shame, because it otherwise performed very well.

Now for the more specific tests, and to see how the X8 Pro’s twin, 4,000Pa turbines get on. My first test was to see how effectively the vacuum sucks up a dry, dusty mixture of flour and biscuit crumbs from a hard floor. The lowest suction mode (recorded at 65 decibels) did a respectable job and picked up most of the debris, but left a few patches. The X8 also managed to flick debris away with its rotating brush, rather than push it into its own path. 

I repeated the test with the next most powerful setting, called Standard and recorded at 68 decibels. It did a better job, but still failed to collect debris from in front of its base station. This is a common theme with the X8 Pro, as it seems unwilling to produce any suction while maneuvering in and out of the charger.

The same thing occurred when using the Turbo (67db) and Max (69db) settings. I found the solution was to set the vacuum to perform each clean twice, which is easy to do thanks to a '2x' icon in the app. That way, any debris flicked around on the first pass is collected the second time around. Smartly, instead of just following the same route twice, the robot covers the majority of the floor by zig-zagging left to right on its first pass, then up and down on its second.

I then tried to repeat this test on carpet but, bizarrely, the robot failed to find its way from the charger in the kitchen to the neighboring bedroom, a journey it had made many times before. Instead it drove around aimlessly for several minutes and began adding new, made-up rooms to the map, compounding the confusion. Since map editing only goes as far as merging, dividing and naming rooms, I had to delete the map for my entire flat and create a new one. There’s a ‘revert’ button in the app, but since this was grayed out it couldn’t be used.

I don’t know what went wrong here, as nothing was relocated or otherwise interfered with between tests. I had to perform a factory reset and have asked Eufy for input on what they think went wrong. I’ll update this review if I get a response.

With the flat remapped, the robot did a great job of vacuuming up debris from carpet, with standard suction and the two-pass technique working a charm, even on hair.

Next, I tasked the vacuum with clearing up larger debris, in the form of oats. I repeated this on the same hard floor and carpet as before, and it did a good job. The rotating brush still had a habit of flicking debris around the room, especially on hard floors, but this is a fault of pretty much all robotic vacuums. Perhaps they should only use their rotating brushes when driving along a wall, instead of in open space.

Finally, the mop. Unlike the much pricier Eufy S1 Pro, the X8’s mop feels like a bit of an afterthought. It has to be attached manually and, unlike the S1’s, it doesn’t move or clean itself in any way. You also have to fill and empty the robot’s water tank manually. In my tests it did an acceptable job of keeping hard floors clean, but this robot should not be used to mop up fresh spillages, as it vacuums first, then mops. Also, because the center of the mopping pad is thicker than the outer edges, it doesn’t clean evenly.

Instead, this is a machine for frequent cleaning – a little-and-often approach, instead of being called upon to tackle something more substantial. I imagine most buyers will relegate the mop attachment to a cupboard and accept that that’s a job they’ll have to do manually for best results. If you want a great robotic mop, the Eufy S1 Pro is far better suited.

Eufy claims up to 180 minutes of battery life, but I found half that is more realistic. As an example, 30 minutes of cleaning took the battery from 90 to 62 percent.

• Performance score: 3.5 out of 5 

Eufy Clean X8 Pro review: app

• Easy to set up and use
• Can schedule cleans and target individual rooms
• Offers lots of configurability

As with the pricier S1, the X8 Pro is controlled via the Eufy Clean app, which is intuitive to use and works really well. It’s easy to control how the robot functions (suction strength, which rooms to clean, etc.) and there are plenty of settings to adjust to help you get the most out of the robot. You can set a daily or weekly schedule, tell it to only clean a specific room, or clean a designated area of your choice. All that’s missing is the option to have the robot mop and not vacuum. Instead, no matter which setting you pick, it’ll first vacuum then mop.

The app also acts as a service center for your robot, clearly showing how far through their lifecycle each of its components are, including the dust bag, filter, side brush and rolling brush. The app tells you how many hours of cleaning each item is still good for, and there are links to purchase replacements. There’s even a tool to help find your robot, should it have somehow got itself lost under the sofa.

My only wish is that the phantom rooms plotted by the X8 Pro during my testing could be removed without creating a whole new map.

• App score: 4.5 out of 5 

Should you buy the Eufy Clean X8 Pro?

Buy it if… 

Don’t buy it if… 

How I tested the Eufy Clean X8 Pro

I set up the Eufy Clean X8 Pro in my apartment and used it as my only vacuum cleaner for a couple of weeks. After this, I conducted several specific tests to see how well it worked in each of its four suction modes. I also tried out the mopping feature and recorded the volume of both the vacuum itself and the self-emptying bin.

I closely observed how the robot tackled different types of debris and how it navigated between rooms with different flooring. 

• First reviewed: July 2024

Eufy S1 Pro robot vacuum: two-minute review

• View Omni S1 Pro at Eufy

The Eufy Omni S1 Pro (or just Eufy S1 Pro if you're not in the US) is a robotic vacuum cleaner and mop with a docking station that automatically empties the dust bin, replenishes the water tank with clean, ozonated water, dries the mop and charges the battery after each clean. It uses lidar to help with navigation around your home, creates accurate maps of every room (even across multiple floors) and employs the Eufy Clean smartphone app to let you set schedules and customize how you want the S1 to clean. I tested one out to see how it performs in practice, how it compares to the rest of today's best robot vacuums, and if it justifies its premium price tag.

On test, I found the S1 to mop hard floors incredibly well, thanks to its rotating mop that spins at high speed and pushes down onto the floor with 2.2lbs (1kg) of force. The S1 also does a good job of vacuuming, with four suction strengths available and two rotating brushes for getting into the corners of every room. The Eufy Clean app works very well, and so too does the docking station, which adds a cleaning solution to water before it’s pumped into the robot.

The S1 navigates effectively, driving close to walls without crashing into them and avoiding steps, while automatically raising its mop when driving over rugs and carpets. Its ability to clear raised room thresholds can be inconsistent, however, with the robot sometimes failing to enter rooms it has previously driven into without a problem. This can be fixed by turning off an anti-drop function. It also struggled a little when tasked with vacuuming up fine, engrained debris, and it sometimes failed to spot obvious, medium-sized debris.

The lower suction modes are quiet, the app is quick and responsive, and the battery life is excellent. Eufy insists that only its own cleaning solution is used with the mopping system, adding to the ongoing costs. It also sits in the premium price bracket – 

Eufy Omni S1 Pro review: price & availability

• List price: $1,499 / £1,499
• Launch date: June 2024
• Availability: US, UK, 

Eufy took the unusual move of launching this robotic vacuum and mop as a crowd-funded Kickstarter project. It raised a whopping $3.5m from almost 3,200 backers at the time of writing, with many backers paying $999 for their S1 Pro. The actual retail price is significantly higher, at $1,499 / £1,499 (it's not currently available in Australia, but that's equivalent to AU$2,699) from when the vacuum robot went on sale on 19 June 2024.

Being a vacuum cleaner and mopping system, there are several parts that can be replaced over time. Eufy includes several spares in the box – more on which later – but buyers should bear in mind that they’ll need to pay for replacement dust bags, filters, mops and brushes when the included ones wear out. Eufy also insists S1 Pro owners buy the company’s own hard floor cleaner, which comes in a $19.99 bottle specifically shaped to fit the S1 Pro. Other cleaners, Eufy says, may cause 'irreversible damage' to the machine.

The idea of a four-figure vacuum might be shocking to some readers (and it does sit in TechRadar's premium price bracket), but it's not so unusual these days, at least when looking at flagship models. The Roomba Combo j9+ by iRobot costs a similar amount, while the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra isn’t far off $2,000.

• Value for money score: 4 out of 5

Eufy Omni S1 Pro review: design

• Self-emptying charge dock handles dust and water
• Rotating mop applies pressure and self-cleans as it goes
• 3.78-inch / 9.6cm tall

With the S1 Pro, Eufy has gone against the trend for robotic vacuums with smaller, more compact docking stations. Instead, this is a robot with a large, imposing base station that houses the dust bin, as well as tanks for clean and dirty water, and a cleaning solution.

The base station is 67 cm tall and has a footprint of 38 x 47cm. I was able to tuck it into a corner of my small flat for a few weeks to conduct this review, but had to move a table to make sure the base station had the required 50cm of clear space either side. It’ll function without this clearance, but the robot won’t be able to clean between its charger and the nearby wall.

The robot itself is broadly similar to most other automated vacuums, albeit slightly taller than the Roomba Combo J9 Plus. The Eufy measures 9.6cm tall, 32cm wide and 34cm long. Turn it over and you’ll find a pair of heavy-duty wheels, a 290 mm rotating mop, a pair of spinning brushes for clearing dust and debris from the corners of your floor, and a rubber roller brush for scooping dust and debris into the suction system. This is all easily accessible without tools, by simply removing the top cover (which is held in place magnetically) then lifting out the robot’s dust bin.

Handily, the robot speaks aloud when items have been removed and installed. It’ll say things like 'dirty water tank removed' and 'dust bin installed' to help you quickly identify each component.

The charge base has a control panel on the top, complete with buttons for operating the robot and a display that shows animations to help with maintenance, such as how to replace the water tanks. It also says when filters and other components need cleaning. This means you can use the robot without even touching the smartphone app (once it has been set up, anyway). Printed instructions make the setup process very simple, and you’ll be up and running in just a few minutes.

The S1 Pro's design means it empties its dust bin into a larger bag in the base station at the end of each cleaning session. It also fills its onboard tank with clean, ozonated water from the base station’s larger tank before each session, then empties itself into the base’s dirty water tank when finished. Eufy says the dust bag should only need replacing every couple of months, while the water tank managed half a dozen mopping sessions before running dry. Naturally, this will depend on your floor space and how much is mopped.

I was impressed with the quality of the Eufy’s hardware. It all feels very sturdy, but takes up plenty of space. I would have liked to see storage space in the dock for spare parts, as with the iRobot Roomba Combo J9 Plus, but that isn't the case here. To its credit, Eufy suggests the taller base station makes it easy to pick up and replace the water tanks, since smaller base stations mean stooping over.

Lastly, there's no option to plumb the base station into your home’s water supply, but Eufy says 'water accessories' for the S1 Pro are currently under development.

• Design score: 4.5 out of 5 

Eufy Omni S1 Pro review: performance

• Superb mopping abilities
• Solid navigation capabilities, but could fail to spot even larger debris
• Vacuuming is good but not great

As with any robot vacuum, its first task was to map my apartment. Our property has a lounge, hallway, kitchen and bedroom, plus a bathroom with a step, so the robot has access to every corner of the property, except for part of the bathroom. If I wanted to map that small section, I could have, since the app lets you save maps of multiple floors.

The S1 Pro quickly plowed into a relatively thick rug and got stuck, before calling for help. My bad. I’d not reviewed a robotic vacuum in this property before and, while the style of rug isn’t uncommon, it’s a little higher than the 25mm maximum carpet height Eufy says the S1 Pro can cope with.

Lesson learnt, rug rolled up and robot restarted, it quickly mapped the entire flat and returned to base, having not slipped down the bathroom step.

The Eufy Clean app now shows a very accurate map of my home, and it takes just a few seconds to separate the rooms into different zones and give them each a name. That way, you can tell the robot to go clean one room, or vacuum all rooms but one.

Eufy claims 8,000 Pa of suction power, which is the same as some of the brand’s cheaper robotic vacuums, like the Eufy X10. There are four suction levels to pick from, called Quiet, Standard, Turbo and Max, plus mopping settings of Soft, Standard and Deep, and the option to clean an area once or twice in each session.

You can also tell the robot to vacuum and mop an area, or just vacuum – since you won’t want it to mop your carpets. And on that note, the robot automatically detects carpet, then lifts the mop to keep it clear of the floor. There’s no option to mop only, so it shouldn’t be used to clear up large liquid spills, since it’ll try to vacuum the floor first.

Before giving the S1 Pro a set of specific challenges, I used it for a week as a normal robotic vacuum and mop. I found it very easy to use and the mopping results were fantastic. It really does a great job of cleaning wooden floors, administering just the right amount of water to not leave puddles or streaks, and cleaning the mop as it goes. Eufy says the mopping roller spins at 170 rpm and pushes down onto the floor with a force of 2.2lbs.

My varnished floors shone clean and, if more proof were needed, the murky contents of the waste water tank looked like it had been scooped out of the River Thames.

After vacuuming and mopping, the S1 Pro returns to its charger and empties its dust bin and water tank, then dries the mop. The emptying takes just a few seconds (but is rather loud, peaking at 79dB, compared to just 62dB when vacuuming on the quietest mode and 76dB on max suction), then the mop is cleaned and dried over a period of about 4.5 hours. There’s a quiet humming during this time, but at just 50dB it isn’t really noticeable.

As for intelligence, the S1 Pro’s ability to drive around obstacles is good. It uses what Eufy calls its 3D MatrixEye Depth Perception System to understand its environment. This comprises a camera with a 120-degree lens and a lidar system. I found the Eufy does a great job of driving close to walls and furniture while very rarely crashing into anything. It even uses a set of icons on the map to indicate where it has avoided some common items, like shoes and cables.

Moving to more specific tests, and the results were mixed. First up, I tested the S1 Pro on a mix of biscuit crumbs and flour. It had no trouble picking this up from a hard floor, even with the lowest and quietest suction mode, but had a habit of flicking debris into the corners of the room with its spinning brushes, which it then failed to collect. It also struggled to clear a floor threshold strip that had previously caused it no problems; I noticed how the robot tried a few times to drive over it, then drove more quickly and succeeded.

I repeated this test on carpet but the higher Turbo and Max suction settings were needed, and even then some of the flour and crumb mix was left behind.

During these tests the robot sometimes failed to enter one room. There’s a small, ~2cm threshold to clear between the wooden hallway and carpeted bedroom, and the Eufy managed this just fine on numerous previous cleans, but failed on this occasion, before succeeding on a subsequent clean.

I later learnt this hesitancy is solved by digging into the settings pages of the Eufy Clean app and disabling a function called Visual Anti-Drop. After that, the robot drove over thresholds with more confidence.Pictured below, this must be right on the threshold, so to speak, of what it’s capable of clearing.

I expected a little more from its vacuuming abilities during this test, and was left with the impression that, while good at performing a daily clean of an otherwise tidy home, the S1 Pro can’t be relied upon to clean a specific area of dirt, or a recent spill of food or other debris. I instead reached for my Dyson V10 and had the carpet spotless in just a few seconds.

Next up, I tasked the Eufy with clearing larger dry debris from the same wooden floor and carpet as the previous test. For this I used oats, and thankfully the Standard mode was enough to pick up almost every single piece from a wooden floor. The rotary brushes still flung some dirt into the corners, but it was mostly a success.

It performed similarly well on carpet, with most of the oats picked up and just a few left behind. Frustratingly, the robot declared the clean complete and shut down the vacuum with a bunch of oats right in front of it.

The large oats also highlighted a problem with the S1 Pro’s self-emptying system. It appeared to have done everything correctly, but when I picked it up a couple of hours later a load of oats, dust and fluff fell out from under the robot. I couldn’t see an obvious blockage and the dust bag in the base station was only around 20 percent full, but contained only half the oats it should have. The rest were caught up in the rotor, having not made it to the bin, and fell out.

I’ve now realized you need to set the robot to empty its dustbin every time it returns to the charger (an option in the app), instead of less frequently. Otherwise, debris will spill out when you pick it up, for example to move it to a different floor.

All that said, I need to reiterate just how good the mop function is, and how thoroughly it cleans both the floor and itself. I hope a future software update will suggest owners turn off the Visual Anti-Drop function if the robot struggles with thresholds.

Finally, the battery life seems very good indeed. On one particular clean, the charge level fell from 100 percent to 94 percent after 22 minutes of vacuuming an area of 140 square feet. Eufy says the robot can run for 3.6 hours and cover a space of up to 1,976 square feet on one charge.

• Performance score: 4 out of 5 

Eufy Omni S1 Pro review: app

• Easy to set up and use
• Can schedule cleans and target individual rooms
• Offers lots of configurability

The Eufy Clean app is impressive and makes it easy to control the vacuum, create schedules and split your home into zones. The latter works especially well, with the robot quickly mapping our flat and correctly splitting up the rooms and hallway. Once that’s done, it’s easy to tell the robot to clean an individual room, or draw a box over a specific area that needs vacuuming or mopping.

The app gives access to all four suction modes, both mopping modes, and lets you tell the robot how you’d like each room cleaning. For example, you could ask it to do an extra thorough job of the kitchen and hallway, while going easy on the spare bedroom. There are lots of settings to fiddle with, but it’s all intuitively laid out and neatly explained. The app is also used to create virtual walls and set up no-go zones to stop the robot entering certain areas of your home.

• App score: 5 out of 5 

Should you buy the Eufy Omni S1 Pro?

Buy it if… 

Don’t buy it if… 

How I tested the Eufy S1 Pro

I lived with the S1 Pro for a few weeks before writing this review. I let it map my home, then used it to keep on top of the vacuuming and mopping, leaving to clean every room on the standard setting every few days. After this, I carried out several specific tests to see how well it picks up different types of dry debris from both hard floors and carpet.

I observed how the robot navigated, how it avoided objects and steps, and how it managed with raised thresholds. I also kept tabs on battery usage and used an app to test how loud it is in all of its various cleaning modes. 

• First reviewed: June 2024

Eureka E10s: two-minute review

The E10s is Eureka's mid-range robot vacuum, offering every feature you need. Its vacuuming and mopping capability is complimented by a bagless self-emptying dust station, real-time mapping, and customizable cleaning schedules.

The vacuum strength can be adjusted to suit the debris that needs picking up, but even at the strongest 4,000Pa of suction, there was still litter left behind. Freshly dropped crumbs and dirt were generally fine, but more stubborn walked-in dirt couldn't be captured. The noise at this level of suction also becomes a problem, especially if you're trying to relax at the same time or make sure the children stay asleep. This lack of high-end performance means you'll still need one of the best vacuum cleaners for those deeper cleans, though generally speaking no robotic cleaner can ever live up the the best vacuum cleaners in terms of suction power.

The E10s took a while to map my house, but once it was finished, it was able to predictably find its way around each room without too much trouble. As with most vacuums of this type, getting into corners was a little tricky, although the rotating dual brushes helped extend the capture range.

At the end of a clean, the E10 found its way back to its charging station and emptied its contents. It did this reliably and without any mess spilling out onto the floor. Unfortunately, the vacuum was rarely able to deposit the full contents of its clean into the base station. This resulted in the need for fairly regular maintenance cleaning to keep everything running smoothly. The base station itself looks great, with a clear perspex front, enabling users to see whether it needs emptying without having to tamper with it, though some may prefer vacuum debris to be left unseen.

The mop pad feels like a half-hearted attempt at providing a premium feature. In essence, all it is doing is running a wet cloth along the floor behind the vacuum. The app allows you to control how much water it uses, something you'll need to be conscious of with hardwood floors. The mop was able to clean up fresh spills but couldn't push through deeper stains. I don't particularly mind this, as any mop that excels at this is likely to risk damaging the top layer of the floor. 

The mop automatically lifts when it's working in a 'no mop zone' which means the vacuum can move between surfaces without the user having to remove or insert the mop pad. That being said, the pad does attract a lot of unwanted dirt when traveling across carpets, which substantially limits its effectiveness when it then moves on to a hard floor.

Despite these small setbacks, the E10s is still a fantastic mid-range robot vacuum that will keep your house clean and tidy. At only $699, you'll get a largely effective robot vacuum, which will only require you to get out a standard vacuum cleaner or mop when performing deep cleans. 

Eureka E10s robot vacuum review: price & availability

• How much does it cost? $699.99 / AU$1,099
• When is it available? Available now
• Where is it available? Available in the US and Australia

The Eureka E10s costs $699.99 / AU$1,099, and you can buy it in the US at various retailers, including Amazon and Walmart. The E10 is also available in Australia. There are no plans at the moment for a UK release.

This price point puts it firmly in the middle of the market between the super-budget options and premium alternatives. For the price, you'll get a fantastic all-rounder robot vacuum cleaner that includes a mop pad for basic mopping capabilities. Its bagless technology means owners will also avoid the cost of replacement bags, making this an even more affordable option. 

The Eufy Clean X9 Pro is a little more expensive, but delivers better mopping performance. If mopping is important to you, then the Ecovacs DEEBOT T20 Omni is another great option. If you want one of the best robot vacuums that excel at everything, then check out the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra for $1,599 / AU$2,699.

• Value score: 4.5 out of 5

Eureka E10s robot vacuum specs

Eureka E10 robot vacuum review: design & features

• Bagless Self-Emptying Dust Station
• 2-in-1 Vacuum and Mop System
• Multi-Level Cleaning

The Eureka E10s vacuum and base station are fairly compact and were well packaged inside a relatively small box. Having unboxed everything, I proceeded to plug the device in, download the app, and connect the two, which took no more than 10 minutes. After leaving the device to charge for a few hours, it was ready to map my house.

The robot vacuum is a beautiful round shape made of premium-quality powder-coated dark grey plastic. The color and material will help to keep the case looking great and free from scuff marks compared to white plastic alternatives. 

At 13.8 x 13.8 x 3.8 inches, it is a little larger than I expected, but it really looks the part. However, it is on the taller side of the robot vacuum spectrum, so it's worth considering if there will be enough clearance room for the E10s to venture beneath lower furniture. The top of the robot includes three neat buttons for quickly turning it off, setting it to clean, or sending it back to the base station for charging. More specific and targeted cleaning tasks can be carried out through the app.

Two side brushes are easily inserted into the vacuum, which helps it cover a greater area of dust and dirt. This was particularly effective at the edges and corners of rooms. Without them, I think it would have struggled in these areas.

The mop pad sits at the back of the device and is attached with velcro and a thin rod that you slide into the main unit. The pad can be easily removed for cleaning and re-applying. The dust box is easy to remove and clean out, something that is regularly necessary due to the middling performance of the self-emptying process.

Moving on to the base station, we find an identical design ethos with pleasing curved edges and the same powder-coated dark grey plastic. At a size of 9.87 x 7.1 x 17.4 inches, it sits next to the wall and, after a while, just blends into the background.

The debris receptacle is easily removed by pulling on the top handle and is largely made of see-through plastic, so you know when it needs emptying. The presence of a small LED light on the front of the base station tells you that it is connected to a power source.

The robot vacuum includes two metal connection points, which, when connected to the base station, allow the device to be charged. I found that the robot had no problems finding its way back to its home.

The vacuum is complemented by an easy-to-use, powerful app. This makes it possible to see the mapped area, specify rooms, and dictate the suction power and water level. You can also set up a cleaning schedule for automated cleaning at set times.

I found it funny that there was a 'Find My Robot' feature. I'm not sure whose house is so big that it might get lost, but maybe it could get stuck under a sofa or chair. I can't say I needed it, but the option is certainly nice to have.

• Design score: 4 out of 5

Eureka E10 robot vacuum review: performance

• Easy-to-use app
• Vacuuming for everyday cleaning
• Sub-par mopping

For the first test, I sprinkled a mix of crushed digestives and flour onto my carpet and hard floor before setting it to clean on its lowest suction power. At this level of power, the E10s was unable to pick up any of the debris. The flour and biscuits just got compacted into the carpet, meaning I needed to wipe the carpet afterward. 

It fared slightly better on a hard floor, although it still struggled to collect a meaningful amount of dirt. After changing the power modes all the way from gentle through to turbo, I found that at the highest power setting, it was able to collect most of the debris, although it needed two or three turns to do it adequately.

The second test with oats was very much the same story. The dual brushes helped to direct the oats into the vacuum, but the lowest suction wasn't strong enough to draw them up. The highest suction power was able to get up most of the oats.

The mop pad cleaned fresh spills nicely, although its effectiveness in mopping up spills rather than just spreading them around was completely dependent upon how wet the pad already was. More stubborn stains weren't effectively removed, largely due to the lack of oscillating or rotating mops.

In terms of noise, the robot vacuum reached 55dB on its lowest suction and 70dB on its highest. The former noise level just blends into the background, whereas the latter ruins a nice, relaxing evening. Because you'll want to use the highest suction level most of the time, you'll need to run this vacuum when you're out and about, during the daytime, or when you're doing other jobs around the house and are less likely to be bothered by the volume. 

The E10s boasts self-emptying technology that negates the need for bags. I was excited to use this feature but was disappointed by its performance. Dust, dirt, and debris became stuck along the route from capturing to emptying, and it quickly became clogged.

This made the vacuum largely ineffective, even at the highest suction power. This problem meant that I had to get in the habit of cleaning out the various parts of the robot vacuum before setting it going. I don't mind a certain amount of maintenance, but when you expect your robot vacuum to remove these tasks, it becomes a little annoying.

The performance of the mapping and navigation technology was second to none. The robot vacuum took a while to map out our house, taking a lot of wrong turns and stumbling over table legs, but after it was finished, the map was surprisingly accurate. The software did a good job of straightening out edges and producing a reliable map for the robot to follow. 

These types of vacuums can have a hard time navigating around the edges of rooms, constantly readjusting themselves to try and access all areas. The E10s was able to detect objects and brush up alongside them with a high level of accuracy. Rather than rotating and readjusting, it opted to push alongside these edges and therefore perform more efficient routes.

There are, of course, times when the robot became confused or tried to repeatedly travel in a set direction, but on the whole, it proved to be both reliable and predictable.

• Performance score: 3.5 out of 5

Eureka E10 robot vacuum review: app

• Easy-to-use app
• Room and zone mapping
• Cleaning scheduling

The Eureka app offers a high level of functionality while maintaining a relatively simple and intuitive interface. After performing the initial mapping, the app gives a full display of the scanned rooms and enables users to name rooms as well as set no-go or no-mop zones. The map also shows where the base station is to help you orient yourself.

Setting the robot to clean can be done in a number of ways. The easiest way is to select specific rooms on the map and hit the clean button. It is also possible to use the zones feature and create a cleaning area. For more stubborn dirt, it is possible to set the clean to be carried out up to three times. 

The final way to set a clean going is to use the Scheduled Cleaning feature. This lets you specify a time, a repeat schedule, and a number of cleaning cycles. It also allows you to specify which rooms are to be cleaned on that particular schedule. Finally, multiple schedules can be created to create a highly customized schedule.

Another feature is multi-floor mapping and thankfully, the robot is clever enough to not throw itself down the stairs. The only downside, albeit an understandable one, is that the robot can't move between floors and so will require manual moving before a clean occurs. This gets tricky when partnering multi-floor cleaning with a cleaning schedule.

I found the mapping and customizing of the resulting maps pretty intuitive, but after showing my parents how it worked, I realized that the process is not as straightforward as it needs to be for less tech-savvy people. There were times when the app went wrong or the robot struggled, requiring a certain level of intervention and troubleshooting. 

• App score: 4.5 out of 5

Eureka E10 robot vacuum review: battery life

• Battery lasts up to three hours
• Takes around 4 hours to recharge

The E10s is equipped with an internal lithium-ion battery that is advertised to last as long as 3 hours. The maximum battery life is only applicable when using the quiet setting for suction, and the life drops to 100 minutes when set to high suction power.

In practice, I found the battery lasted just over an hour when at its highest suction setting. Considering that the effectiveness of the vacuum requires it to be on this level, you shouldn't expect it to be able to clean much more than 600-800 square feet per charge.

It took around four hours to charge the battery from empty to full, an amount of time that is fine considering most people will only perform a maximum of one clean per day.

The robot will return to its base station whenever it needs a charge and will return to cleaning automatically when it has finished charging.

• Battery life score: 3.5 out of 5

Should I buy the Eureka E10?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Eureka E10: Also consider

If the Eureka E10s isn't for you, have a look at these alternatives.

How I tested the Eureka E10s

• Tested over several weeks
• Used all vacuum and mopping settings
• Tests included all floor types, including carpet and hardwood

I tested the Eureka E10s in my 600-foot home, which includes a mixture of carpet, hardwood materials, and a low-pile rug. Over several weeks, I set the robot out on several whole house cleans, and as much as possible, I tried to leave the vacuum to get on with the job itself. These cleans enabled me to see how the vacuum handled a wide variety of different debris and types of navigation situations.

I carried out some more defined tests, including a fine dust and larger debris test to check its vacuuming capabilities. The former was made up of crushed digestives and flour, with the latter consisting of oats. These helped me see how well the vacuum was able to handle different types of mess. 

We pride ourselves on our independence and our rigorous review-testing process, offering up long-term attention to the products we review and making sure our reviews are updated and maintained – regardless of when a device was released, if you can still buy it, it's on our radar.

Read more about how we test

• First reviewed: March 2024

One-Minute Review

iRobot’s Roomba Combo J9 Plus (stylized as Roomba Combo j9+) is almost everything you could want from an autonomous cleaning companion, and one of the best robot vacuums if your budget allows for it.

It takes everything that made the Roomba Combo J7 Plus great (we awarded that model four-and-a-half stars in our review) – such as the first of its kind retractable mop pad that folds down from the top of the robot, ensuring zero risk of it wetting your carpet, unlike bottom-mounted mops – and elevates it with improved object detection, more powerful suction, and a smart scrubbing mop (a feature that's since been added to the J7 models).

The upshot is that this sleek cleaning machine will clear pretty much all the dirt you throw at it, with iRobot saying the vacuum delivers “100% more suction power” than its previous models. At the same time, the Combo J9 Plus avoids pet waste and any objects you’ve left lying around that might cause it issues. 

During my months of using the Combo J9 Plus, it has become stuck only once (on its first-ever clean), and a quick edit of the app’s map to label that area a Keep Out zone has meant in the dozens of cleans since it has managed to vacuum and mop my home and return to its self-emptying charging dock with zero issue.

Speaking of which, the Roomba Combo J9 Plus’ base is surprisingly stylish for a bin. A wood-effect top makes it look like (and it could be used as) a small table, meaning it would be fine to have it hiding in plain sight in your living room. That said, the noise of the vacuum emptying is a little loud, plus the base needs to be near an electrical outlet, and have a decent amount of space around.

The only slight disappointment for a robot vacuum at this top-tier level is that the base doesn’t clean its own mop pad. The upside is the base doesn’t store any dirty water, which can become smelly if it isn't changed regularly; and changing the mop yourself is hardly a hassle.

So, the only thing really holding back the Combo J9 Plus Roomba is its $1,399.99 / £1,249 price. As such, those on a budget would do well to keep their eyes peeled at sale time. 

Roomba Combo J9 Plus: Price and availability

• List price: $1,399.99 / £1,249

The iRobot Roomba Combo J9 Plus is available to buy online, and you can pick it up from either the official iRobot store or Amazon for $1,399.99 / £1,249. The good news for those on a budget is that we have seen it discounted during Black Friday and the January sales, for example, so be on the lookout for a deal.

For the price, you get a vacuuming and mopping robot, a self-emptying base that can refill the robot’s water, too, two mop heads, two AllergenLock bags, a spare filter, and an extra side brush for the first time you need to replace them.

If you want the self-emptying base but no mop then you can buy the Roomba J9 Plus for $899.99 / £949; or, the regular Roomba J9 with no self-emptying base or mop will cost you £699 (only available in the UK).

My advice is to get one of the Plus models with a base. Not having to remember to empty the Roomba every time is a major convenience. The Combo’s mop is certainly handy, too; but no matter what type of home you have, the base is worth the extra expense. 

Whichever model you choose, be aware that there are ongoing costs with this robot vacuum. The self-emptying base station’s vacuum bags need to be replaced when they’re full; the rollers, brush and filter will need to be switched out every so often – the app will notify you when it's time – and if you want the mop to deliver a better clean then you’ll want to use iRobot’s approved cleaning solution instead of regular water.

Value: 4/5

Roomba Combo J9 Plus: Design

• Stylish self-emptying and self-charging dock
• Mop pad that won’t drag on carpet
• 3.4-inch / 8.7cm tall

The iRobot Roomba Combo J9 Plus shares a lot of design features with its sibling, the Combo J7 Plus, with the best of these being mop placement.

Unlike most robot vacs that raise the mop down from underneath the base, bringing a risk that the mop will brush against your rug when your robot passes onto the raised surface, the Combo J9 Plus’ mop folds down from the top of the vacuum. As such, there's zero chance it will catch on surfaces it shouldn't mop.

The only downside is that the vacuum isn’t able to clean or replace its own mop as some other robot mops. I didn't find this a major inconvenience, though. 

Just like previous Roombas, the Combo J9 Plus is clad in an all-black plastic casing, with a gunmetal disc sitting at the center of the matte surface on the top side. Offset towards the front of the Roomba you’ll find the singular control – a button that can pause or start the robot when you press it mid-clean, or send it home on holding it down for a few seconds.

On the front side of the Roomba you’ll find its camera, and a protective plastic bumper that has some give so that both the robot and whatever it (gently) bumps don’t become damaged. Underneath you’ll find the brush that flicks dirt into the path of the vacuum rollers, as well as two bidirectional wheels and a swivel wheel that allow it to move in all directions.

At the back, you’ll find the robot’s dust bin and water container. The robot automatically empties its dirt and refills its water at the end of each clean  – or mid-clean, if necessary – so you’ll probably never need to deal with it. That is, except to change the filter when the app notifies you to do so.

Size-wise, the Room Combo J9 Plus measures 3.4-inch / 8.7cm tall, and 13.3 x 13.3 inches / 33.8 x 33.9cm in length and width. So before picking this robot up you might want to measure your furniture to see if the Roomba can get beneath it and navigate around it.

The base station is also a fairly sizeable 15.9 x 16.1 x 12.2 inches / 40.5 x 41 x 31cm (h x w x l), and iRobot recommends you have 1.5ft / 0.5m on each side and 4ft / 1.2m in front. It isn't massive, but neither is it the smallest; and it needs to be situated near a power socket, too.

If you do have to place the base in plain sight in your living room, for example, then you’ll appreciate its stylish design and wooden-effect top; it really doesn't look like a bin at all. Do note that the robot vacuum is quite loud when it empties itself, although the sound is no louder than a regular vacuum cleaner and the process is pretty speedy.

Opening up the base reveals the large water storage tank. Those who mop frequently, and have a lot of hard floors, should expect it to last a month. I have fewer hard floors, so that one tank should last a few months. There's also a drawer containing the AllergenLock bag into which dirt is deposited. This will usually require emptying around every 60 days of cleaning – the LED on the front of the base will light up red when it needs emptying. There are also two shelves on the back of the door for storing spare Roomba parts such as the extra dirtbag, filter and brush head that are supplied with the vacuum at purchase.

 Design: 4.5/5 

Roomba Combo J9 Plus: Performance

• “100% more suction power” than previous Roomba models
• Smart scrub tackles tougher messes
• Brush can flick larger debris around a bit before it’s vacuumed

The Roomba Combo J9 Plus is a cleaning powerhouse that’s able to suck up dirt and debris across a range of floor types. 

iRobot hasn’t said how powerful its J9-series models are specifically, but does state that they have “100% more suction power” than its i-Series robots. Previously iRobot said the Roomba Combo J7 Plus came with merely “standard” cleaning power, so we’ve taken this to mean the J9 models are twice as powerful as that robo vac too. 

In our tests, this boost in power saw the Roomba pick up all dirt and debris in its path. The only issue we found was that the brush can flick larger bits around, which can extend the time the robot vacuum spends cleaning. In addition, depending on the shape of your room and furniture placement, it won’t be able to get into every nook and cranny (although it does a pretty great job overall).

In addition to more powerful suction, the Roomba Combo J9 Plus and its J9 siblings arrive with Dirt Detective – some smart software that allows the robot vacuum to learn the areas of your home that get the dirtiest. With this information the vacuum will then turn on its high suction settings or scrub the floors a little harder in those areas.

Speaking of scrubbing, the Combo J9 models with a mop offer a smart scrub feature – that was also added to the Combo J7 models. Rather than simply dragging its mop over your hard floors, when the J9 Combo Plus cleaner detects a tougher stain, it will move back and forth over the area to scrub it clean. 

Those who want their robot to always deliver the most intense clean can even program the Roomba through the app to use its most powerful suction every time and / or do two passes of every room. Just note that this may mean the robo vac needs to recharge mid-clean, though.

You might also want to invest in some iRobot-approved cleaning solution if you want the mop to give your hard floors a deeper clean.

I'll add that this robot is also very reliable from the perspective that it’s able to clean with (almost) zero human assistance. In my months of testing the Roomba Combo J9 Plus, it has become stuck precisely once – it entered a small gap to go under a unit from which it then couldn’t escape. However, by adding a Keep Out zone in the app (more on that down below) it has never become stuck there again. The only other thing I had to do was remember to open the doors before sending it on a clean, and make sure my lights were turned on the light was low, since the Roomba can’t clean in the dark.

Performance: 5/5

Roomba Combo J9 Plus: App

• Can program, schedule, and start cleans from anywhere
• Analyze obstacles and adjust your map as necessary
• Keep an eye on your vacuum’s health

The iRobot app is your one-stop shop for managing everything related to your Roomba Combo J9 Plus vacuum, and it’s super easy to use. 

Setting up your vacuum is simple via the app, which takes you through the process step by step covering everything from connecting your robot, naming it, and creating your first map. 

Once your map is complete, you’ll want to do a clean or two – and my advice is to make sure you’re at home while these initial cleans take place. The robot is pretty darn smart and able to avoid obstacles, but as I mentioned above, my cleaner did become stuck on the first clean. Once I'd rescued it, the Roomba completed its task, and adding the area to the Keep Out zone via the app has meant that this hasn't happened again.

Note that this robo vac can snap pics of obstacles it comes across, which you can either mark as another Keep Out zone, as a temporary obstacle that you can make sure isn’t in the way next time, or as an imaginary obstacle that the vacuum doesn’t need to worry about. After those first two test cleans, I’ve been happy to let the Roomba Combo J9 Plus clean while I’m out – and it has always does a great job.

You can also add No Mop and Clean Zones if you want the Roomba to only vacuum a hard surface in that area, and if you want the robot to take extra care cleaning that space respectively.

Lastly in the app, scroll down to the Product Health menu and you can inspect every detail of your robot vacuum’s components. Based on the number of cleaning hours your Roomba has performed, the iRobot app will estimate how long your components have left before they need to be replaced. This is super handy for keeping your Roomba in tip-top shape.

App: 5/5 

Roomba Combo J9 Plus: Battery

• Cleverly recharges itself when needed
• Charge remaining only viewable in the app

In all honesty, the battery is a bit of a mystery to me since this robot vacuum handles charging itself. 

Most of the time, the Roomba Combo J9 Plus cleaned my spaces without needing to recharge its battery mid-clean. However, the one time I had it clean every room twice on Max suction settings, it did need to return to base to top up the battery. Nevertheless, it did so without any intervention from me. 

Roomba Combo J9 Plus: Score card

Should I buy the Roomba Combo J9 Plus?

Buy it if… 

Don’t buy it if… 

Ecovacs DEEBOT T20 Omni: One-minute review

The Ecovacs DEEBOT T20 Omni robot vacuum’s claim to fame is its hot water mop pad washing. While it seems like a minor thing to hang your hat on, it does actually work (with some slightly gross side effects). But, it does much more than add this feature.

In fact, its performance is on par with many of the best robot vacuums whether it’s vacuuming or mopping. I appreciate the intuitive nature of the app and the solid mapping of this robot vacuum as well.

It does have some issues that are specific to it. For instance, you’re going to pay for that hot water mop pad washing. And, it creates a lot of dirty water that needs to be emptied regularly.

But, it still has its place, making cleaning generally much more convenient. I’ll let you decide whether it’s the best vacuum for you, but it’s not a hard one to recommend, especially if you use it in an area with mostly hard flooring. 

Ecovacs DEEBOT T20 Omni: price and availability

• List price: $1,099.99 / £951.65 / AU$1,799
• Available in the US, UK, and Australia

While Ecovacs vacuums often get a nice sale, the going price of the DEEBOT T20 Omni is not cheap. At $1,099.99 / £951.65 / AU$1,799, it vies for flagship status alongside models like the iRobot Roomba Combo J7 Plus, a very highly rated and expensive model that also adds in mopping.

At the very least, this Ecovacs vacuum is widely available unlike the US-only Yeedi Cube. However, the Yeedi Cube offers vacuuming and mopping for a relatively cheaper price of $699 (about £559 / about AU$1,054), not to mention that it’s regularly on sale as well.

Considering how expensive the Ecovacs DEEBOT T20 Omni is, it’s surprising that it doesn’t come with any cleaning solution. If you want to buy that as well, you’ll have to spend an extra $27.99 / £23.99 / AU$28.

• Value: 4 / 5

Ecovacs DEEBOT T20 Omni: Specifications

Ecovacs DEEBOT T20 Omni: Design and features

• Two side brushes and a single brush roll
• Large base station with big clean and dirty water tanks
• Has unique hot water mop pad washing as well as auto-empty

The Ecovacs DEEBOT T20 Omni comes in a white and silver colorway with an all-white self-emptying charging station. The robot vacuum itself is of the circular variety that somewhat differentiates itself visually from other models by the fact that there’s a removable top plate which hides the dustbin – most robot vacuums have the dustbin accessible in the back of the unit.

It also has two side brushes to sweep debris in front of it compared to the single side brush many come with. While there’s just a single brushroll underneath, there’s up to 6000Pa of suction, which is more than enough, as we’ll discuss in the next section.

More uniquely, most robot vacuums that can mop use a single pad that’s dragged along the floor. Instead of going that route, Ecovacs has included two circular pads for mopping duties that actually rotate and apply downward pressure when in use. Plus, they can raise off the floor when needed, such as when in vacuum only mode or it goes over carpeting.

A big part of the Ecovacs DEEBOT T20 Omni’s design (and price) is that self-emptying charging station. It’s pretty large, about 22 and a half inches tall (57cm) and 17 inches wide (43cm) – certainly not ideal for smaller spaces. However, it’s big for a reason. It contains four liter clean and dirty water tanks for not only mopping but for cleaning the mop pads as this particular station uses hot water to remove oil and stains. 

This feature is apparently unique to the Ecovacs DEEBOT T20 Omni. The charging station will also dry the mop pads as well as automatically empty the contents from the robot vacuum’s dustbin so you don’t have to clean it out between cleaning sessions.

• Design: 4.5 / 5

Ecovacs DEEBOT T20 Omni: Performance

• Excellent vacuuming and mopping
• Not so good with edges
• Hot water mop pad washing creates a lot of dirty water quickly

While the Ecovacs DEEBOT T20 Omni is not unique in the fact that it both vacuums and mops, it’s a bit rarer in that it does both well. I’ve seen robot vacuums that have added mopping as a bit of an afterthought, and so end up leaving streaks and uneven results. That’s not the case here as the Ecovacs easily vacuums up dirt, debris, and lots of pet hair and does in an orderly pattern so it gets every inch.

Since the mopping pads apply downward pressure and spin, they actually scrub the floors. I ran it once after a dog had stepped in some poop and tracked it through the foyer. While major remnants had been cleaned up, the floor was still far from clean. After a pass from the Ecovacs DEEBOT T20 Omni, there was no sign of any mess.

While this robot vacuum does a good job of vacuuming and mopping, it does have the issue that all robot vacuums seem to have to a certain degree, it doesn’t do so well getting edges and corners. In fact, there’s a mode to improve that in the app but the Ecovacs DEEBOT T20 Omni will only do it once every seven days and only in auto or housekeeping mode.

When it comes to object avoidance, the execution is a little above average. It can avoid larger obstacles and doesn’t get stuck on any venting, but still gets tangled on cables and cords. While that’s worth noting, it’s also an issue that robot vacuums inherently have, just like the mediocre edge cleaning.

Back on the positive side, the hot water mop pad washing is a nice addition. It does mean that cleaning four rooms takes a couple hours to do as the robot vacuum regularly returns to the charging station to not only replenish on clean water, but to clean the pads properly. Having emptied the dirty water tank multiple times since I’ve started testing it, I can say that whatever is being washed out of the pads makes me wonder how clean the floors are when using other mopping robot vacuums that don’t have their mopping pads regularly washed.

Here, the base station does it for you. The only downside to it is that you have to empty the dirty water tank every few uses as it fills rather quickly.

• Performance: 4 / 5

Ecovacs DEEBOT T20 Omni: App

• Great job mapping
• Lots of adjustments on tap
• Voice assistant support

When first using the Ecovacs app, you have to scan the QR code on the robot vacuum for setup. It’s a fairly intuitive process, much like using the app in general, and is followed by the robot vacuum scanning your space to create a map.

Possibly one of my favorite parts of the app is the fact that once the Ecovacs DEEBOT T20 Omni has mapped out the space, the app has intelligently and automatically segmented it into rooms, requiring minimal effort on your end (it did combine two rooms due to an open-floor layout). On top of that, you can view the map in 2D or 3D.

Beyond its mapping capabilities, adjusting cleaning strength, combination of vacuuming and/or mopping, and which areas to clean is straightforward. And, if you do any menu diving, you can adjust how wet the mop pads get, the interval at which the robot vacuum returns to the station to clean the mop pads, and a whole lot more. There really isn’t anything missing.

If there’s one quibble, it’s the fact that despite this robot vacuum’s support for Alexa and Google voice assistant, only settings for its own voice assistant, Yiko, is easy to find within the app. So, integration with Alexa is a bit less intuitive (you have to go through the Alexa app to set up). At least, Yiko is very responsive whenever I ask it to clean a particular room or go back to the charging station.

• App: 4.5 / 5

Ecovacs DEEBOT T20 Omni: Battery life

• Has 190 minutes of battery life
• Regularly recharges

While the battery life is rated at 190 minutes, you’ll probably never see the Ecovacs DEEBOT T20 Omni run for that long. Whenever I ask it to clean everything, it will go for maybe ten or fifteen minutes and then return to the base station to empty the contents, clean the mop pads, and charge back up.

Even if you manage to have it run for that long, 190 minutes is very good for robot vacuums. Many very good models last between 100 - 120 minutes. Still, the Ecovacs DEEBOT T20 Omni whenever it needs to so you don’t have to worry about running it, charging it, and then running it again.

• Battery: 4.5 / 5

Should I buy the Ecovacs DEEBOT T20 Omni?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Ecovacs DEEBOT T20 Omni: Also consider

Not sold on the prowess of the Ecovacs DEEBOT T20 Omni? Below are a couple of alternatives that you can consider.

How I tested the Ecovacs DEEBOT T20 Omni

• Tested for a couple weeks
• Tested both mopping and vacuum capabilities
• Used on several types of flooring

To test the Ecovacs DEEBOT T20 Omni, I used it for a couple weeks to vacuum and mop the hardwood floors in my house. I also tested all the features listed in the app, from mapping to different levels of cleaning. 

I took note of how well the vacuum cleaned the edges of a room as well as around obstacles, not to mention running it over different surfaces including two different types of hard flooring and carpeting.

I’ve tested a lot of tech gear over the years from air fryers and vacuum cleaners to laptops and audio equipment, and so have been able to use my expertise towards giving an honest and fair opinion, not to mention a critical eye, to any product I test. I also make sure that when I reviewed, I hold up a product to what it's supposed to do and whether it's worth the price.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed December 2023

Proscenic Floobot X1: Two-minute review

The Proscenic Floobot X1 robot vacuum combines a stylish design with plenty of useful features, such as the ability to detect whether it’s on carpet or hard flooring and apply its cleaning tools accordingly, automatic room mapping, consistent mopping action and a self-emptying dustbox.

The latter’s UV light helps eradicate germs, as well as allowing the user to avoid getting their hands dirty. There are solid scheduling options, app-based tools for marking off areas to avoid, and a LiDAR camera and sensors that assist with object avoidance.

The 15cm-tall puck design is modest enough for the Proscenic Floobot X1 to slip under furniture to access and clean awkward spaces, but the rotating brush that flicks dust to dislodge it along the edges of a room doesn’t always result in the debris then being vacuumed up.

The best aspects are the remote control, and the smooth furrows the Floobot X1 ploughs when cleaning fairly large rooms, but some of the extras, such as the app scheduling and supposedly smart room coverage, are less convincing.

Object avoidance is generally good, with no issues encountered near stairs, but low-lying items such as stray laces and a tray containing pet food were not detected at all. The consumables cost for replacement dustbags is pricey, and the app had some setup gotchas.

However, we were generally impressed with the features for the money and would be happy to marshall this robot vacuum around an open-plan home, though we would not consider it among the best vacuums around.

Proscenic Floobot X1: Price and availability

• List price: $499 / £399
• When is it available: Available now
• Where is it available: Available in the US and the UK

It’s definitely worth shopping around to get the best deal on a Proscenic Floobot X1. While the UK Proscenic website lists the Floobot X1 at £499, matching the $499 asking price on the US Proscenic website, you can save a lot by buying through Amazon. Here, the RRP is shown as £349 but Amazon UK will sell you the X1 for a great value £299 and Amazon US asks $399.  

• Value score: 4 / 5

Proscenic Floobot X1: Specifications

Proscenic Floobot X1: Design

• Smart charging station that supports self-emptying function
• Straightforward remote control, on device on/off button and Proscenic app
• Detailed scheduling and power options for mopping and cleaning

The Proscenic Floobot X1 arrives in a compact box that promises ‘smarter mapping, simpler mopping’. The bundled remote control delivers on this, with dedicated buttons for auto cleaning and mopping. You can operate the Floobot X1 in several ways: via the Proscenic app over Wi-Fi, via Bluetooth, using the remote control, or directly using the power buttons on the robovac itself.

Note that there are three Proscenic apps – you want the one that’s simply called ‘Proscenic’ which lists Floobot X1 in its device list. The app connects the Floobot X1 to your home Wi-Fi network as long as you have a 2.4GHz network, and then to your smartphone via Bluetooth. 

The package includes a charging station-cum-dustbin with a straightforward clip-together base plus spare consumables and brushes. Setup is via the app, which also has a link to a  visual ‘quick start guide’ though the branding here on and the Proscenic website designates the X1 as a Floobot.

Once you’ve clicked the two pieces of the charging dock base together and placed the charging dock on top you’re ready to plug in, and line up the Floobot X1 robot vacuum for its first charge. A quick glance at the schematic in the comprehensive User’s Manual reveals that the charging contacts are on either side of the dust box, and that the Floobot X1 should therefore be placed on the charging mat with the Proscenic branding facing the docking station. The correct positioning is confirmed when the vacuum’s indicator lights turn blue, which is followed by a brief musical and spoken greeting. The Floobot X1’s lights then turn green and flash to show that it’s charging. Once charged, the light turns a solid green. 

Suction-wise, there are four settings which can be instantly adjusted via the detailed Proscenic app: the maximum vacuuming power is 3000pa. A Pascal rating of 2,500 to 3000 is fairly standard for vacuum cleaner suction. while the sonic mop has three soak settings and can scrub up to 3000 times a minute. A single LiDAR camera governs the X1’s journey across your floors and helps it avoid unexpected items in its path. The lack of top-mounted cameras facilitates a low-profile design, but more cameras would surely have led to a more efficient route-map. 

The Floobot X1 comes with a dust bag already installed inside the charging station, with a second included in the box. When full, the Robot Vacuum will automatically wend its way to the docking station and position itself ready to empty the content of its dust box into the station’s 2.5-litre dustbin. Proscenic touts the usefulness of the self-emptying Floobot X1, which should be able to vacuum or mop up a month’s worth of dust and debris before the dustbag needs to be replaced. As well as minimising the amount of dust you need to deal with while engaged in the often unedifying process of emptying the dust bag into a larger dustbin, a UV light on the charging station deftly disinfects, neutralising pathogens and bacteria. These consumables cost just under £15 for six from Amazon or direct from Proscenic but can also be bought singly or in packs of three.

Another consumable cost is the mopping pads, two of which are provided in the box. You need to rinse and dry these pads between mopping sessions or when they become noticeably grubby, and once they’re worn out new ones cost £12 for four or £21 for a new consumables kit including a HEPA filter and new brushes. Proscenic also recommends that you tape off sharp edges that could damage the Floobot X1 – our stone hearth, for example – so factor in some preparation time for this, or price in some child-friendly plastic bumpers. You’ll also need to move anything that the X1 is likely to attempt to steer under, such as low-legged armchairs that don’t provide enough clearance for the Floobot X1 robo-puck.

• Design score: 4.5 / 5 

Proscenic Floobot X1: Performance

• Automatic carpet/hard floor detection
• Average 45-minute runtime
• Not very smart at navigation

In auto mode the Proscenic Floobot X1 trundles up and down in rows, eventually creating a map of where it’s been and any partial roomscapes its single LiDAR camera spies along the way [it spotted the beginning of our lean-to conservatory, for example, although the hard stop of the metal threshold prevented it from investigating further. 

Having first vacuumed the area we wanted cleaning, I put the Floobot X1 into mopping mode. This involved attaching its Velcro mopping pad and filling its water tank. Mopping was efficient and gave the floor a noticeable sheen. Slick stripes showed which bits had been mopped without being wet enough to slip up on. 

Charging takes several hours, with the progress indicated by two flashing green icons on the top of the Floobot X1; the white Wi-Fi indicator icon nestles between these. To connect your robovac to the home Wi-Fi network you need to open the Proscenic app (iOS or Android), select your model from the prefilled options, then press and hold the two green icons on the vacuum for several seconds. The Wi-Fi icon should light up and the voice assistant announce that the Wi-Fi connection has been reset. At this point you need to select the correct network from those that appear in the app and enter your Wi-Fi password. 

Once the vac is charged, you press the left button underneath the rocker pad on the remote control to initiate smart cleaning. With no indication of how much charge the Floobot X1 had before it claimed to be ready for use, it was hard to judge whether it was close to a full battery. In any case, we were surprised to find it managed only a five-minute burst of activity on our short-pile carpet before needing to orientate itself and head back to the charging pod. The charging dock dustbin has a generous 2.5l capacity, into which the Floobot X1 can discharge its collected contents for as much as a month before it needs to be emptied. Subsequent assays lasted up to 50 minutes after just 30 minutes to recharge, so we put that brief initial run down to a glitch. 

Having not previously provided any details of the room shape or obstacles, on resuming cleaning duties we noted that the Floobot X1 began vacuuming sections of carpet it hadn’t previously tackled, living up to its ‘smart’ label. The LiDAR function thus plays its part in ensuring the room is covered in a methodical fashion, without too much overlap or gaps in coverage. 

The first few times we tried the Proscenic Floobot X1 it seemed to go over the same couple of metres of carpet in a fairly erratic manner (our bumpy, ill-fitting carpet can’t have helped its navigation), abruptly changing direction 10cm or more from the edges. Subsequent forays were more successful, with the robovac deftly navigating along the skirting boards and around radiator pipes, chair legs and so on. We expected the metal door threshold to fox it, but it cleaned along its length and jauntily set off to the next room with challenges such as the stair edge to avoid tipping over. The long length of the open-plan landing suited the X1 better, efficiently vacuuming adjacent strips of carpet. I also noted that it began to consistently sweep along the carpet edges. Presumably having gained confidence about the room dimensions from its LiDAR camera it then judged it safer to nudge closer to its boundaries. 

During this session the Proscenic Floobot X1 began to judder and shake, and I assumed it was getting full. A few minutes later, however, a compact fur ball of hair and grot was emitted from the underside of the robovac, after which it resumed its smooth traverse of our obviously filthy carpets. This sensible approach to expelling chunks of detritus then leaves more space for smaller debris. 

Challenged with a carpet laden with crumbs, oats and sundry grot, the Floobot X1 performed well, first brushing aside many of these larger items before flicking them into its dust chamber.  The four-way control pad on the handheld controller can be used to pause and turn the X1 on the spot. I found this handy when I wanted to get it to brush the edges of a kitchen cabinet where a strip of dirt had accrued. It’s also a good alternative to the spot-cleaning function, which successfully and efficiently brushed aside peanuts, biscuit crumbs and oats before sweeping them into its internal dustbin, but also distributed some of them over a broad area. In total, the Proscenic Floobot X1 dispensed with 87% of the oat mix we challenged it to vacuum up, but left to run on auto came back later and collected all but 3% of the remainder as it worked successive furrows across the room. 

Progress around a narrower, more cluttered room was a little erratic, but the floor ended up much cleaner, and the Floobot X1 dealt with every obstacle, from trailing cables to rogue slippers and tricky desk undersides. 

Having left the Floobot X1 to charge overnight, vacuuming time was approximately 45 minutes, with three minutes of residual power used to seek out and return to the docking station. In this instance the robovac had traversed from its original location out onto the landing and ended up vacuuming half of the neighbouring bedroom, which meant that it ran out of power before locating the charging station. A point to note is that when it comes time for the Floobot X1 to return to base to recharge or empty its internal bin, it will get hopelessly lost if you’ve switched off the charging dock at the wall for any reason – it needs this beacon to find its way back. 

The Proscenic Floobot X1 will undoubtedly leave your home cleaner, neatly mopped and scrubbed. It operates reasonably quietly with an average decibel rating of 54dB (46dB in mopping mode) except when rumbling and shaking before expelling a pellet of debris, or for the few seconds when it returns to base and very loudly dumps performs its self-emptying routine. A brief 86dB interruption more than compensates for trudging round your house vacuuming by hand, of course. 

This robot vacuum seemingly works better in more open-plan spaces where it can execute neat rows of cleaning and exhibits less blind man’s buff behaviour while navigating awkward corners. There is little time advantage to the promised smart functions once the Floobot X1 has mapped out your rooms but the option section off or prioritise rooms is useful. Edges are generally tackled fairly well, but we recommend using the remote control to get up close to areas that need a dedicated scrub. This wouldn’t be our first choice of robot vacuum for mopping remotely but it works well for scheduled vacuuming if you’ve first decluttered (and remembered to move the tray containing the cat’s food and bowls – yes, you can imagine what happened there!).

• Performance score: 3.5 / 5  

Proscenic Floobot X1: App

• Needs dual-band or 2.4GHz router
• Cannot initiate mopping remotely if Floobot X1 is docked
• Strong scheduling, partitioning and power setting options

We had a few issues getting the Floobot X1 to maintain a Wi-Fi connection. When trying this in the older of the two houses in which we tested the vacuum we assumed it may have been down to an older Wi-Fi router, but at home we have a four-month-old Community Fibre gigabit broadband router and needed a few attempts to set it up, and after a few days between vacuuming bouts we also needed to reconnect to the home network. 

Arguably, if you’re at home anyway and have already let the Floobot X1 go through the process of mapping out the rooms on that floor you could just as well use the remote control to start it.

The app can be used to schedule particular days, times and rooms once you’ve partitioned off areas. Mopping as well as vacuuming can be scheduled, but it’s worth noting that the Floobot X1 sees the landing pad it sits on while docked as a carpet, and will not commence mopping from there. Instead, you get an in-app message stating that it needs to be moved off the carpet in order to mop. You therefore need to charge it ahead of time, then fit the mopping pad and place the vacuum on the bare floor if you want to schedule a mopping session while you’re out. 

Using the app you can define rooms and areas to be cleaned or avoided, partition areas, and set the power level, or the amount of water the mop should use. The app will also show up errors such as the Floobot X1 being offline, or detecting a carpet when the mop mode has been selected. There’s a handy ‘find’ option too, should your robot vacuum have got lost or stuck under the couch. It’s also helpful that the app shows the charging status, but we were less impressed at having to manually reconnect to the network a day after last using the Floobot X1, leading us to revert to the remote control for most uses. 

• App score: 3.5 / 5 

Should I buy the Proscenic Floobot X1?

Buy it if...

Don't buy if...

Proscenic Floobot X1: Also consider

If a robot vacuum isn't for you, why not consider these other vacuum options?

First reviewed December 2023