Looking for a robotic vacuum cleaner to take care of your household chores? We recently tried out the new ECOVACS DEEBOT X1 Omni, which promises a whole new level of smart home tech alongside a variety of intriguing features. If you’re considering this vacuum cleaner for your own home, read on for an overview of its features—and find out whether it lives up to the hype.

Powerful performance

The DEEBOT X1 Omni comes with a suction power of 5,000Pa, which is 230% more powerful than the previous model—a significant improvement that perhaps justifies the vacuum cleaner’s steep price point at $3,999. It also has a high-speed OZMO Turbo 2.0 Rotary Pressure Mopping System, which promises to effectively clean solidified stains after as long as three days.

We can testify to the vacuum cleaner’s powerful performance, having left our floors sparkling clean with just water—a good thing too considering that we’re told not to add detergent to the water tank. Thankfully, the speed and pressure applied during the mopping process make it an effective cleaning tool across most flooring types without the need to add anything else.

The only time we ignored this indication was after an intensive cooking session, which left the kitchen floors especially greasy. To avoid damaging the vacuum cleaner, we simply sprayed diluted detergent onto the floor instead of adding it to the water tank, which worked like a charm.

One more plus point? The DEEBOT X1 Omni is relatively quiet compared to other robotic vacuum cleaners, allowing you to watch TV in peace while it’s in action.

Next-level AI

One feature that ECOVACS seems to be particularly proud of is the new and improved smart technology imbued into the DEEBOT X1 Omni. For the first time, the vacuum cleaner comes with built-in AIVI 3D artificial intelligence and visual recognition technology, allowing it to avoid obstacles more accurately and to even work in total darkness.

The tech-lovers out there will be happy to know that the DEEBOT X1 Omni runs on Horizon GAI chips, which are high-efficiency, low-power chips that achieve stronger spatial perception while generating a more accurate 3D map of your home. It additionally uses the latest AI advancements in natural voice recognition and sound source localisation to enable you to navigate and highlight new cleaning tasks using your voice.

Need us to unpack all that info? Essentially, the vacuum cleaner promises to map your home to a T, recognising obstacles and finding all of the nooks and crannies with ease. It supposedly responds to voice commands more intelligently as well.

From our experience testing it, it did a phenomenal job of mapping out the unit, perceiving details that were missed by other robotic vacuum cleaners. The sensors are indeed sensitive to obstacles—the vacuum cleaner didn’t bump into a single item around the house. It even managed to climb over the small curb separating the living area from the kitchen with no assistance, something that truly impressed us.

All-in-one base station

A special highlight of the DEEBOT X1 Omni is the all-in-one base station, the first one to integrate automated cleaning, water refilling, drying and dust emptying. Beyond those handy features, the base station also comes with a four-litre clean and dirty water tank and a hot air-drying feature.

We found the design of the tank to be particularly clever, separating the clean and dirty water with no effort on our part. Both sides of the tank can be fully opened up for a thorough clean as well, which is much appreciated by the hygiene-conscious among us. When you’re done cleaning, simply lock them in place again with ease.

The one aspect of the base station that may be somewhat off-putting to some homeowners is its size. With a truly generous tank, the base station occupies a significant amount of floor area, especially if your home is rather small. Consider placing it in the service yard or a corner you don’t mind sparing, as it does require quite some square footage!

Verdict

As you can probably tell, we are highly impressed with the new DEEBOT X1 Omni. From the cleaning performance to the 3D mapping and automated water refilling, everything worked just as promised.

If you’re in need of an automated vacuum cleaner that truly takes care of things on its own, we’d definitely recommend it—assuming you have the space for the generous base station and can muster the $3,999 price tag, that is!

Check out the ECOVACS DEEBOT X1 Omni at ecovacs.com/sg.