This robot lawn mower is so impressive my neighbors come to watch it mow

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The Husqvarna Automower 430X is available for $2,500.
• This robot mower can handle up to 0.8 acres effortlessly without manual intervention, gas, or oil. It’s quiet enough to run overnight and consistent enough to ensure the lawn is mowed evenly.
• Installing the boundary wire can be time-consuming and may require professional help. Its blades need replacing every four to six weeks (though that’s easy enough with a screwdriver), and it is a significant initial investment.

A robot that mows the lawn for you sounds like technology from an early 2000s sci-fi movie, but it’s a real thing today. I’ve been testing the Husqvarna Automower 430X over the past year, and it still amazes me how every time I run the robot, my neighbors come to watch it cut my grass without me lifting a finger.

Also: This robot mower looks like a racecar, but it mows a gorgeous lawn

Sometimes, I’ll even sit on my front porch, sip some lemonade, and admire the job I’m not doing. When I tell you technology is incredible, I mean it.

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My family lives on an acre of mostly flat land with an incline in one spot, so the 430X’s ability to handle 0.8 acres and slopes up to 45% was a near-perfect fit for me. The setup process took time, so my husband and I decided to manually set up the boundary and guide some wire along our property. 

Also: The best electric mowers

If you’re willing to pay an $800 installation fee, a Husqvarna rep can help you with all of that instead, which I would recommend if you have a larger plot of land.

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The guide wire can be placed above or below ground, and since I was using a temporary test model, I opted for the former. The only problem with the above-ground wiring is that it can break when weed-eating, causing the robot lawn mower to stall until you splice the wire back together. If the 430X were a permanent addition to our home, I would bury the wire to prevent this from happening.

At first, I was skeptical of the Husqvarna Automower 430X, given how it navigated in random paths compared to my husband’s more consistent riding lawn mower. Upon returning, however, I always found my entire lawn cleanly mowed. We never once had to manually mow our lawn over this past year.

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The robot achieves this by using the built-in GPS and boundary wire to understand where it has been and where it still needs to go. I scheduled the 430X to mow for three consecutive evenings each week, keeping our yard looking great all season long. More impressively, the robot lawn mower was quiet enough that I could run it overnight without disturbing us or our neighbors.

Maintaining the Husqvarna Automower 430X is simple; you don’t have to worry about gas, oil, or anything else that a typical lawn mower requires. The 430X knows to dock itself once the battery reaches 20% and resumes its mowing job once it charges. On average, the robot mows for about two hours before recharging its battery, which takes about an hour.

Also: Best robot mowers: Smart hands-free lawn care

Husqvarna recommends replacing the blades every four to six weeks for maintenance. I replaced the blades in minutes with a screwdriver.

ZDNET’s buying advice

Overall, I’ve been thoroughly impressed with the Husqvarna Automower 430X<!–>. It maintained a mowing schedule that kept my grass at the height I set it to, required very little interference, and saved me a lot of time and energy. I highly recommend opting for the paid installation service if this is your first robot lawn mower and choosing the trenched boundary wire option to avoid your weed-eater accidentally breaking the cabling. 

For $2,500, you’re shelling out the same amount of cash as you would for a decent riding mower, so if you hate mowing, don’t have the time for it, or are looking for an alternative to help your elderly parents/grandparents maintain their yard, the 430X is well worth the investment.