The CyberShack deep-dive Ecovacs Deebot X1 Omni review is the culmination of 21 cleans over four weeks. We have tried every imaginable test (some diabolical), and we are pleased to say that it meets the challenge.

We will not repeat too much of our First Look, where we likened it to the world’s best pizza and how you can never go back to store-bought again. Our update 1 was based on preliminary use, and we concluded it was not entirely perfect but damned close. We then set out to test every aspect – this review.

The Ecovacs Deebot X1 Omni review reveals its many strengths and very few weaknesses that, if you are aware of, are not deal-breakers.

The famous investor Warren Buffet once said, “Price is what you pay; value is what you get.”

To use an analogy, millions of prestige cars are sold compared to hundreds of millions of entry-level and mid-market cars.

Q: Why buy a Mercedes, BMW, Lexus, Maserati, Ferrari, or Roller? After all, they all have four wheels and an engine?

A: Because you can, it makes you happy, and you want something special.

That describes the Ecovacs Deebot X1 Omni to a T. You will be part of a select group that enjoys nearly automated vacuuming and mopping and consequently has more leisure time for other pursuits.

In part two of Buffet’s saying, he talks about value. The Ecovacs Deebot X1 Omni has more features and does a better job than every other robovac/mop we have tested. The value here lies in hassle-free cleaning, a long-term investment (it is a keeper) and a cleaner home than you could possibly expect from other dedicated or hybrid robovacs or robomops.

But, for Joe and Jane Average, it is overkill.

The X1 is a Generation 4 AI navigation robot vacuum and motorised spinning mop – it can do both simultaneously. You need to know that it is well ahead of any Gen 3 or earlier in mapping and obstacle avoidance technology. And its spinning mop pads add that elbow grease to give a vastly better result than static mop plates or hand mopping.

The $2499 Omni has a cleaning station (it is large at 430 x 448 x 578mm) that has clean and wastewater tanks for cleaning and drying the mop pads and a dust bag for emptying the X1’s internal dust bin.

The self-emptying/cleaning functionality is excellent. It raises the issue – would you rather have the best robovacs/mop at a higher price and manually empty its dustbin or a typical robovac/mop and occasionally empty the docking bin? Don’t worry – it uses a 4L disposable bag good for a couple of months’ cleaning.

The answer may be the $2099 Ecovacs Deeboit X1 Turbo, which has a smaller cleaning station with clean and wastewater tanks but does not dry the mop pads and empty the X1 internal dustbin.

First, its sill climbing ability is limited with and without mop pads. We have 20mm sills from a floating hardwood floor, and it gets stuck. The solution is in two parts. Get a floor laying supplier to reduce the sill approach angle. We hope Ecovacs may release firmware that gives it that added boost to get over higher sills.

Second, it has a carpet sensor that will not let it onto the carpet if the mop pads are in place. That means you can’t automatically mop, say, bathroom tiles when the ensuite is off a carpeted bedroom. Nor can you tell it to room clean bathroom 1 if mop pads are attached.

That is all we can find, so as long as you are aware of these minor issues, we have done our job.

The Jacob Jensen design cleaning station is large but mainly because it needs to house two x 4L water tanks, a 2.5L dust bag and the X1 docks inside so it can clean/dry the mop pads. The X1 Turbo Cleaning station is not as high.

The X1 is the usual round shape. Unlike most robovacs, its edge cleaning ability is enhanced by the left and right whisker brushes, and AI allows it to get closer to edges without bumping into them.

That lack of bumping is a significant feat using its Gen 4 TrueMapping ToF LiDAR, TrueDetect obstacle sensor and an AIVI 3D forward-camera live video (RGB/HDR) and mapping. It will edge up to, but not touch, obstacles.

Like all smart robovacs, you need to download the App. Fortunately, Ecovacs has been making these for a long time, and the app is bullet-proof.

To put your mind at ease, we have read the Privacy Policy, and it complies with the Australian Privacy Principles. Most robovacs have a more Asian-centric privacy policy. Don’t forget that if you enable OK Google or Alexa, their privacy policies apply.

This has a camera for obstacle avoidance, Home Patrol (it takes photos as it cleans) or even remote security. In all, privacy is a minimal risk.

You will find its default settings are fine – it is like driving that Maserati using an automatic gearbox.

It builds on the initial map each time it cleans. As it progressively identifies beds, tables, chairs etc., it adds them to the map. A neat trick is to display the map in 3D – it has no effective use except to show where it has identified obstacles. Once you name rooms, you can then area clean.

Another issue is that the carpet sensor almost obviates the need to build virtual barriers. But if you do, you can set go-and-no-go zones for vacuum, mop or both.

In our Five tips for choosing a robovac/mop, we talk about house prep and the need to do it with almost all robovacs. This Gen 4 needs the least amount of house prep yet.

We test with various obstacles, including Lego bricks, sports shoes with long laces, and a child’s stuffed toy. It managed to avoid the obstacles, albeit the lighter Lego bricks were flicked out of the way. It can get caught in shoelaces and cables – these must be out of harm’s way.

It navigates closely around the obstacle and notes it in the cleaning log.

It advertises 5000Pa (Pascals) suction power – two to three times the average robovac. The vacuum can either be set to Quiet, Standard, or Max, which means it is around 2000Pa and can auto range as necessary as it encounters longer carpet.

We use 100g of test detritus ranging from sand to Uncle Toby Cheerios. All settings are at default. As only one other robovac, the Neato D7 managed to suck up Cheerios because they are too big; we have normalised the results, with the largest size being rice grains and rolled oats.

You will still need a stick vac for edges and any stairs.

We include a parcel of 50mm and 150mm hair in the test. The former is sucked up completely, but much of the latter will wind around the rotating brush. With a fully automatic base station, you can forget to remove long hair from the brush. It is easy with a lift-out rotating brush.

The X1 shines, literally, on hardwood and ceramic tiles. Unlike most robomops that drag an increasingly dirty static micro-fibre cloth over the floor, X1 has two rotating microfibre pads that rotate at 180rpm and have a downwards force of 6N (Newtons).

The result is like the Power Drive Mop head on the LG CordZero – far more than a maintenance mop and better than a hand mop.

The X1, however, beats the LG Power Drive Mop as it returns to the base station every 15-minutes for a mop pad cleaning.

We have mentioned this is one of two minor issues. It is fine to 18mm (not 20 as advertised) without the mop pads, but it sticks past 15mm with mop pads.

But as the key feature is a combined vacuum and mop, you need to be aware of sill issues.

The X1 ranges from 40dB on hard floors (quiet mode) to 70dB on the carpet (Max). Most of the time, it is below 60dB.

The station has a bin emptying noise of about 76dB and a washing noise of 67dB.

Like all robovacs, it has a Lithium-ion battery. This is 5200mAh and runs for about 120-170 minutes (depends on power level and mop mode). The recharge time is about 6 hours.

The station sits idle at .05W and can go up to 1000W in washing and drying. In all, it is power efficient. We understand that the battery is replaceable.

Yiko voice assistant is still an AI work in progress. For example, ‘Follow my voice’ should be continuous to take it to a room, but it requires you to stand still until it finds you – no more than 2 metres away.

But it has way more commands than OK Google or Alexa, and with each firmware update becomes more accurate.

Apart from that, you need to fill/empty, clean/wastewater and use the provided cleaning brush every 30-hours to clean the docking garage. The App reminds you about these.

The App mentions an Ecovacs cleaning solution that can be used for hard floors, but it is not on the Australian website. Ecovacs FAQ says to use water only.

However, if you can afford $2.5K for the unit, haggling over ongoing maintenance costs is like shopping for discount petrol for the Maserati.

We test a lot of robovacs/mops, and without a doubt, this is the most automatic yet. So, on that criteria:

If you consider Ecovacs local support and terrific reputation, then the X1 Omni is on my shopping list.

But the question is not about me but you. My sister-in-law uses a very dumb $300 Aldi special, and she was rapt until I gave her the Neato D7 (now superseded by the D10 at $1499), which is one of the best dedicated robovacs. It has shown her the difference between Gen 1 and Gen 3 robots, and she cannot go back. I suspect that you will be in the same boat once you experience this robovac/mop.

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