Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni: The next step in robot cleaning?

The evolution of robot vacuum cleaners is happening at an incredible pace. My first unit in the early 2000s was more of a battery-powered dodgem that sometimes picked stuff up off the floor but, more often than not, got into serious trouble when it encountered a sock or any other object small enough to get tangled up in its innards. Since then, I’ve seen a steady and impressive improvement in these robotic wonders’ cleaning performance and sheer smarts.

Until recently, it was quite a big deal when robot vacuums managed to do both vacuuming and mopping, clean their mop pads, refill their water and empty their dustbags. So, when I was allowed to check out the Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni, I was more than a little curious to see what the next big thing would be.

Along with all the usual bells and whistles, the big news with the X8 Pro Omni includes a roller mop instead of the normal spinning mop pads and the ability to lift itself over bumps. The roller should, in theory, mop the floor with more even coverage and pressure to deliver a better clean, while the climbing capabilities should, in theory, result in less likelihood of getting stuck.

Design-wise, the Deebot X8 Pro Omni looks similar to other robotic vacuums. It sports a rounded hubcap-sized form factor, and at the same time, its docking station has been lightly trimmed, making it a tad more compact than most others (which is good news for anyone where free space is at a premium). The docking station also has clean and dirty water tanks and a dustbag for it to empty into when vacuuming. After a vacuum/mop session, its roller mop is treated with a hot wash and dry, which keeps everything hygienic. Removing the clean and dirty water tanks/dust bin is also a complete doddle.

Plonking the dock and bot into a spare space in our hallway, I let it charge and then went through the set-up process. Ecovacs has put a lot of work into refining and streamlining the setup, making it both easy and sufficiently fail-proof that even I got it right the first time. This is largely thanks to the inclusion of Bluetooth, which made pairing my phone with the robot much less of a hit-and-miss effort than with earlier Wi-Fi-only models. Once it was connected to my home Wi-Fi, it started to map my home by driving around all the rooms in my house and using its LIDAR (laser radar) to create an accurate 3D map of its layout. In the past, mapping sometimes took several attempts to get right, followed by map edits. This time, however, after a quick scoot around my house, I had an accurate map, and the X8 Pro Omni had correctly guessed which room was the bathroom and which was the hallway. Pretty impressive stuff.

Setting up and driving the robot requires the Ecovacs app (iOS/Android), which I downloaded onto my phone once I scanned a QR code on the robot. The app has steadily improved and offers many customisation options. In the app, I could choose how the X8 Pro Omni was cleaned, whether it was vacuumed, mopped, or vacuumed and mopped. Cleanings could be scheduled at a preset time, and loads of other useful options can be easily accessed.

Ecovacs has also future-proofed the X8 Pro Omni by making it one of the first matter-compatible robotic vacuums, meaning it should be able to slot into most smart home setups without a hitch, regardless of your home being Google, Apple or Alexa-driven. Cassa Pilch is an Amazon Alexa-powered home, so I installed the Deebot Alexa skill, and like magic, I was then able to direct the robot to clean and mop using a voice command. Even better still, I can also ask it to clean specific rooms, freeing me up to concentrate on other housecleaning chores. If you don’t have Apple, Google or Amazon voice assistants in your home, don’t worry; the X8 Pro Omni also has Yiko, a voice assistant, baked in. It isn’t as responsive as most other voice assistants, but it does work.

That said, a whole-house cleaning is not a big ask. This is largely thanks to a solid battery life, which saw the vacuum clean all the rooms on the ground floor of our large old villa without crying for charging time. The only breaks it took happened when it needed to empty itself and clean the mop. After a typical whole-house clean, its battery reported a 20% charge level, which isn’t too shabby.

Regarding actual cleaning, the X8 Pro Omni acquitted itself with flying colours. The roller mop did a great job, easily cleaning our hardwood floors while lifting to avoid the many rugs scattered around our house. As well as being able to mop more evenly (and leave less residue), the mop and spinning brush telescope in and out of the X8 to reach tricky edges and corners. This handily meant there was no need to go around afterwards and do manual vacuum tidy-ups. In short, its cleaning was close to what a human could achieve, but with none of the sweat and time usually involved. My inner lazy bastard thinks this is perfect.

Its suction really sucked (in a good way), and the X8 Pro Omni managed to do a solid job of cleaning rugs thanks to its excellent suction power and brush system combo. That said, I noticed that the roller brush needs to be cleaned often, as it picks up hair that will eventually tangle around it. This isn’t a biggie, as regular maintenance is part and parcel of owning a robot.

Ecovacs has put much effort into bumping up the its AI smarts. With most earlier Ecovacs robot vacs, I’d typically allow a week or two of constant use before I could rely on it not to get stuck. The X8 Pro Omni successfully navigated several phone charging cables, socks, and other obstacles deliberately left on the floor right after mapping.

The combination of tiled and hardwood floors also means that our bathroom has a metal strip to protect the edge of the floor tiles where they meet our wooden floor. In the past, this strip has presented an insurmountable challenge for robot vacuums. Most simply registered the strip as an obstacle and refused to enter the bathroom, while others got stuck on the strip and cried for help. The X8 Pro Omni has a really nifty trick. It can lift itself over the metal strip, making for effortless and seamless access to our bathroom, which was then vacuumed and mopped within an inch of its life.

The other nice feature I’d come to enjoy on earlier Ecovacs robots was also present: a wireless camera, which allowed me to remotely patrol my home and see what was happening by driving the X8 around via the Ecovacs app. In the past, I’ve found this super handy for remotely checking the house when away from home, even using it to see if I’d left the living room lights on. While not a cleaning feature, it is insanely handy.

The Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni is a definite evolution in robot vacuums. It might command a price premium, but its cleaning chops are a big step up from earlier models, and its mapping and object avoidance capabilities are a quantum leap over previous generations. Add to this plenty of nifty extra features and a near-seamless set-up experience, and the X8 Omni is easily one of the best robotic vacuums available.

https://www.ecovacs.com/nz/deebot-robotic-vacuum-cleaner