The square-shaped robot vacuum that kept my floors free of muddy paw prints this summer

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The Ecovacs Deebot X2 Omni is available for the $1,500 retail price.
• This square-shaped robot vacuum and mop features a charging station that does it all: empties the robot’s dustbin and washes and dries the robot’s mop pads.
• Though this robot vacuum cleans beautifully, it doesn’t feature the best obstacle avoidance, making it prone to getting its roller brush stuck on items littered on the floor. 

You know that gratifying feeling of coming home to a clean house? With a family of five, that’s not a feeling I often get, if at all. Enter the Ecovacs Deebot X2 Omni.

Also: Forget Dyson: I tested Roborock’s wet-dry hand vacuum and it left my floors spotless

I’ve tested a fair share of robot vacuum and mop combinations, so I quite appreciate the experience of having a robot roaming around my home that picks up crumbs, dust, and everything in between. But the Deebot X2 Omni<!–> is one of the top-performing robot vacuum and mop combos I’ve tried.

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Ecovacs launched the Deebot X2 Omni as a new flagship robot vacuum and mop combo with a clear edge. After testing it out for several months, I’ve found room for improvement in some tasks — largely outweighed by its long list of strengths.

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The X2 Omni checks all the specs boxes for a high-end robot vacuum and mop. It has 8,000Pa of suction power, higher than the 6,000Pa of the flagship Roborock S8 Pro Ultra–>. Using artificial intelligence (AI), the robot can detect and avoid objects strewn about the floor, such as socks and charging cables, and has a mopping pad that automatically lifts 15mm when carpets or rugs are detected.

Also: The best robot mops you can buy

The Omni station charges the robot vacuum and mop and works as a base where it empties its dustbin and self-washes and dries its mop pads. This feature means you only have to worry about keeping the base station’s clean water tank filled and its dirty water tank empty, which you must complete every few cleaning cycles. 

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Designed to be a hands-free experience, the base station is also self-cleaning. Running the self-cleaning option in the Ecovacs app will clean the base plate in the station – the spot where your mops are cleaned that typically sees water and dirt accumulation. This feature is a level above competitors that require users to periodically clean dirty water at the bottom of the docking station. 

The dust bag holds everything the Deebot X2 sweeps from your floors and only needs replacing about once every six weeks, although your mileage may vary.

One of my only gripes is that the clean water tank feels awkward to hold when filled — it almost feels like it’s not built to last. While I initially doubted the tank’s engineering, it’s proven to work, as it’s lasted over months of heavy use. It’s a four-liter water tank with a handle to carry it on the lid, held shut by a plastic clip. I used to feel carrying the full tank around would result in the closure failing and four liters of water going everywhere, but this hasn’t been the case.

About the square shape

The Deebot X2 Omni has several superpowers, starting with its compact package. The squared edges stood out to me as a feature when I unpacked the device, along with how narrow and short it was. At only 12.6 inches wide, it’s about 0.3 inches narrower than the Eufy X9 Pro robot vacuum mop, which had been my super mop until the X2 Omni arrived.

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Although 0.3 inches sounds like a small difference in size, it’s proven to be considerable when a robot has to navigate through 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’d get stuck between the kitchen barstools legs. The stools are fairly lightweight, so the robot would drag them around instead of signaling it was stuck. I’d see my kitchen barstools gliding around my floor or randomly find one hanging out by the shoe bench.

Also: The best iRobot vacuums

This isn’t a big deal 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 the exact size as the width of the distance between my barstool’s legs. But the narrower Deebot X2 Omni can clean under the barstools and figure its way back out, which means no more ‘guess where the barstools are today’ games. 

The Deebot X2 is also almost an inch shorter than my Eufy robot vacuum, at 3.7 inches in height. The lower dimensions and narrow build allow the Deebot X2 to clean in places other robots typically can’t reach or navigate under. 

Some AI-powered features

The Deebot X2 leverages Ecovacs’ AIVI 3D 2.0 and combines an AI processor with 3D-structured light sensors with dual-laser LiDAR technology. The result is efficient maps that allow the robot to intelligently detect objects during navigation and clean around them. This feature set means you won’t have to ensure your floors are free of charging cables, toys, or shoes before sending out the X2.

The AI-powered navigation and obstacle avoidance, backed by Ecovacs’ proprietary AINA Model, uses visual recognition and reinforcement learning based on sensor information. 

Also: 6 things to know about robot vacuums before you buy one

The Deebot X2’s clever technology also makes for a customized cleaning process if that’s your thing. The device’s AI-powered visual recognition, ability to detect floor type, and historical cleaning logs let the robot infer which room it’s cleaning, such as the kitchen, living room, or bedroom, and adjust its suction power and mopping mode. 

This is where a downside for the X2 Omni became apparent after several consecutive months of use. The Deebot X2 is prone to navigation issues after a while; I’m not sure why. It appears to be a software issue, but it sometimes goes out to clean and returns home a few minutes later, announcing the job is complete. It’s like it loses its recorded map. I’ve found remapping fixes this problem, but it happens again weeks later, so it’s a problem that won’t be fixed until a firmware update corrects it. 

A new level of voice control

Voice control makes everything in my home easier. Countless robot vacuums let you use a third-party virtual assistant for voice control, such as Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri. Saying, “Alexa, clean the floors” in my house dispatches the Eufy X9 Pro to clean my bedroom and hallway. However, these assistants are limited in the functions they can make the robot perform.

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

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

Ecovacs robot vacuums have a built-in voice assistant named YIKO that users can talk with to control the robot directly — and it works swimmingly. Saying “OK, YIKO” wakes up the voice assistant. If your robot is out cleaning, you can ask it to return and clean the dining room again or give it multiple commands in one sentence without pulling up the app.

ZDNET’s buying advice

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The Ecovacs Deebot X2 Omni–> is the company’s new flagship robot with all the smart features and a price to match, at $1,500.

The great thing about this all-in-one, self-emptying, and self-cleaning robot vacuum and mop is that it’s not best suited for some circumstances — it’s suited for all. Some mid-range models might be great at mopping but suffer from not having strong or effective suction, making them best suited for homes with hard floors. Others might boast great suction power, okay mopping, and short battery life, making them best for mostly carpeted apartments or small homes.

The Deebot X2 Omni is good at all of these things. The biggest challenge in our home is downstairs because it’s mostly hardwood and tile with some area rugs — it’s where the dog comes in and out from the yard, where we cook, and where the toddler drops most of the crumbs. 

Also: Skip the Dyson: This $150 stick vacuum is just as powerful (and can mop, too)

The X2 Omni’s MSRP of $1,500 compares to $1,600 for the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra<!–> (discounted right now at $200 off). Suppose I were looking for a hands-free robot vacuum and mop suitable for my home’s complex needs. In that case, I’d have to choose the Deebot X2 Omni over the Roborock’s flagship because the extra features, like the self-cleaning station and stronger suction, set it apart. 

Source: Robotics - zdnet.com