Square Robot Vacuum Cleaner Keeps My Floors Mud-Free This Summer

ZDNET Key Points

• The Ecovacs Deebot X2 Omni retails for $1,500.
• This square vacuum and mop robot has a charging station that can do all the work: empty the robot’s dust bin, wash and dry the robot’s mop pads.
• While this robot vacuum does a great job of vacuuming, it doesn’t have the best obstacle avoidance, making its roller brush prone to getting stuck on items scattered on the floor.

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You know that feeling of satisfaction when you come home to a clean house? As a family of five, that’s not a feeling I get very often, if ever. Come in. Ecovacs Deebot X2 Omni.

Also: Forget Dyson: I Tried the Roborock Wet-Dry Handheld Vacuum and It Cleaned My Floors

I have experimented quite a bit vacuum cleaner and mop combinationso i quite appreciate the experience of having a robot go around the house picking up crumbs, dust, and everything in between. but Deebot X2 Multi-Purpose is one of the highest performing vacuum and mop combination robots I’ve ever tried.

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Ecovacs debuted the Deebot X2 Omni as a new top-of-the-line robot vacuum and mop with a clean edge. After testing it for months, I found room for improvement in a few tasks — most of which were overshadowed by its long list of strengths.

The X2 Omni checks all the spec boxes for a premium robot vacuum and mop. It has 8,000Pa of suction, which is higher than the 6,000Pa of the top product Roborock S8 Pro Super. Use artificial intelligence (AI), the robot can detect and avoid objects scattered on the floor, such as socks and charging cords, and has a mopping pad that automatically lifts up 15mm when it detects carpets or rugs.

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The Omni Station charges the robot vacuum and mop and acts as a base for emptying the dust bin and automatically rinsing and drying the mop pad. This feature means you only have to worry about keeping the base station’s clean water tank full and the dirty water tank empty, which you’ll need to do every few cleaning cycles.

Designed to be a hands-free experience, the base station also features a self-cleaning function. Running the self-cleaning option in the Ecovacs app will clean the base of the station—where your mop usually cleans, where water and dirt often accumulate. This is a step up from competitors that require users to periodically empty the dirty water from the bottom of the base station.

The dust bag can hold everything the Deebot X2 sweeps up on your floors and only needs to be replaced about every six weeks, though your mileage may vary.

My only complaint is that the fresh water tank feels awkward to hold when full — almost like it’s not built to last. While I was initially skeptical about the engineering of the tank, it’s proven to be a good performer, as it’s lasted for months of heavy use. It’s a four-liter water tank with a carrying handle on the lid, which is held in place with a plastic clip. I used to feel like carrying the full tank around would cause the lid to break and four liters of water to spill everywhere, but that’s not the case.

About square

The Deebot X2 Omni has a few superpowers, starting with its compact package. The squared-off edges stood out to me as a feature when I unboxed the device, along with how narrow and short it is. At just 12.6 inches wide, it’s about 0.3 inches narrower than the Eufy X9 Pro robot vacuum mop, which was my go-to mop until the X2 Omni came along.

While 0.3 inches may seem like a small size difference, it has proven to be significant when a robot has to navigate over furniture legs. Case in point: The Eufy X9 Pro uses AI to avoid objects, but whenever I sent it to clean the first floor, it would get stuck between the legs of the bar stools in my kitchen. These stools are quite light, so the robot would drag them around instead of signaling that it was stuck. I would see the bar stools in my kitchen glide across the floor or randomly find one dangling next to the shoe bench.

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This isn’t a huge issue and is highly subjective, so it’s not something I included in my Eufy review; it’s not the robot’s fault that it’s exactly the width of the gap between my stool legs. But the narrower Deebot X2 Omni can clean under the stool and find its way back, which means no more ‘guess where the stool is today’ games.

The Deebot X2 is also nearly an inch shorter than my Eufy robot vacuum, at 3.7 inches tall. The lower size and narrow design allows the Deebot X2 to clean in places other robots typically can’t reach or get under.

Some AI-enabled features

The Deebot X2 leverages Ecovacs’ AIVI 3D 2.0 and combines an AI processor with a 3D structured light sensor with dual lasers LiDAR Technology. The result is an efficient map that allows the robot to intelligently detect objects as it navigates and cleans around them. This suite of features means you won’t have to make sure your floors are clear of charging cables, toys, or shoes before sending the X2 off.

AI-powered navigation and obstacle avoidance system, powered by Ecovacs’ proprietary AINA Model, uses image recognition and reinforcement learning technology based on sensor information.

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The Deebot X2’s smart technology also creates custom cleaning routines if that’s your preference. The device’s AI-powered image recognition, floor type detection, and historical cleaning logs allow the robot to deduce which room it’s cleaning, such as the kitchen, living room, or bedroom, and adjust its suction power and mopping mode accordingly.

This is where the downsides of the X2 Omni become apparent after months of consistent use. The Deebot X2 is prone to navigation issues after a while; I’m not sure why. It seems to be a software issue, but sometimes it goes out to clean and comes back a few minutes later, saying the job is done. It’s like it’s lost the recorded map. I found that remapping fixed this issue, but it happened again after a few weeks, so this is an issue that won’t be fixed until a firmware update fixes it.

A new level of voice control

Voice control makes everything in my house easier. Countless robot vacuums let you use third-party virtual assistants for voice control, such as Amazon Alexa, Google Assistantor SiriSaying “Alexa, mop the floors” in my house will dispatch the Eufy X9 Pro to mop my bedroom and hallway. However, these assistants are limited in what they can do to get the robot to perform.

Sure, you can control your robot with Alexa or Google, but have you ever been able to tell it to “turn right, move forward three meters, turn left and clean there”?

Also: This robot vacuum connects to your home’s water supply for complete automation.

The Ecovacs robot vacuum has a built-in voice assistant called YIKO that users can talk to to control the robot directly — and it works very well. Saying “OK, YIKO” will wake up the voice assistant. If your robot is out cleaning, you can ask it to come back and clean the dining room again, or give it multiple commands in one sentence without opening the app.

ZDNET Buying Advice

The Ecovacs Deebot X2 Omni is the company’s new flagship robot with full smart features and a corresponding price tag of $1,500.

The great thing about this self-emptying, self-cleaning, and self-vacuum robot vacuum and mop is that it’s not best for some situations — it’s best for all. Some mid-range models may mop very well but lack strong suction or efficiency, making them best for homes with hard floors. Others may boast strong suction, okay mopping, and short battery life, making them best for mostly carpeted apartments or small homes.

The Deebot X2 Omni does all of these things well. The biggest challenge in our house is downstairs, which is mostly hardwood and tile with some carpeting — that’s where the dogs come in and out of the yard, where we cook, and where the toddler drops most of his crumbs.

Also: Skip the Dyson: This $150 Handheld Vacuum Is Just as Powerful (And Can Mop, Too)

The X2 Omni’s suggested retail price is $1,500 compared to $1,600 for the Roborock S8 Pro Super (Right now, it’s $200 off.) Let’s say I’m looking for a hands-free robot vacuum and mop that fits the complex needs of my home. In that case, I’d have to choose the Deebot X2 Omni over Roborock’s flagship because the extra features, like the self-cleaning station and stronger suction, set it apart.