If you're reading our review due to the title, chances are you are having this thought: "to budget or not to budget?" While it'll always come to how comfortable you are with your spending, you'd also want to make sure your purchase was worth the hassle.
As the reviewer, I had the privilege of regularly experiencing two robot vacuums at my family's home, and both happened to belong to one of the many small home appliance brands under Xiaomi's belt. The budget variant costs under RM800 and is used for the living room (downstairs) while the high-end one costs over RM2000 and takes care of the floor upstairs.
So when we were asked to try the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum-Mop 2 Pro, a mid-tier robot vacuum costing under RM1,500 (that's a very good price), I was definitely intrigued to test it and see the difference.
Here is our Xiaomi Robot Vacuum-Mop 2 Pro review, with thoughts recorded after about a week of testing.
Table of Contents
1. What's In The Box?
Fortunately for this model, Xiaomi has packed all the necessities you'll need to last you at least two years' worth of use before you need to buy any spare parts. The Robot Vacuum-Mop 2 Pro comes assembled with the side brush and roller brush as well as the dust compartment inside.
Other items that come in the box are the mop and water tank attachment, the charging dock, warranty and manual, a spare side brush, a spare microfibre cloth for the mop and a brush for cleaning the robot.
Unfortunately, you don't get a spare HEPA filter. But that's a small thing to forgive.
2. Specifications
- Tank Capacity: Dust - 450ml; Water - 250ml
- Suction Power: 3000Pa
- Battery: 5200mAh
- Climbing ability: 20mm
- Path Planning: LDS Technology (Lidar); x1 proximity sensor, x1 collision sensor, x1 cliff sensor
- App Function: Real-time status monitoring, remote control, customize cleaning mode, customize & schedule cleaning zone, etc
- Google Assistant & Alexa: Yes
- Dimensions: 353×350×81 mm (the highest point is the LIDAR dome)
- Weight: 3.6 kg
3. Setting it up
As a standard, the manual suggests that the charging dock is spaced with nothing surrounding it on its left and right within 5 metres.
Once you've connected the charging dock to a nearby power outlet, turn it on, then place your robot vacuum accordingly and let it charge at least an hour before you start operations.
After app pairing (see below), let the robot run a course to map the room area.
App:
Here's where you should be able to start your Xiaomi Home App pairing, which I highly recommend. All it takes is to download the app and register. Then, open the top hood of your robot vacuum which has instructions to pair. The app would also show simplified steps to pairing the robot.
By using the app, you can have full-on App Control without needing to manually operate your robot (unless it's for cleaning. Please listen to your robot...).
Unfortunately, at the stint of my review, I had problems with my house's connection and couldn't establish a stable pairing at all.
However, from my personal experiences with my other 'Xiaomi' & robot vacuums, Xiaomi's Home App has always been easy to use, allowing you to do acute mapping such as setting up no-go zones, handling cleanup schedules and activating the robot whenever you want.
4. Cleaning Performance
To recap, the Dust Tank has a capacity of 450ml while the Intelligent Water Tank is at 250ml.
Meanwhile, suction power is rated at 3000Pa whereas the battery life is at 5200mAh which provides about 213 mins on a single charge - double that of the original Robot Vacuum-Mop 2 at 3200mAh (up to 110 mins runtime).
Aside from the good battery life, another feature to be thankful for in this model is its Updated LDS Navigation System compared to the Robot Vacuum-Mop 2. And in terms of functionality, you can even use Google Assistant & Alexa voice function on the robot provided you have the update (I don't, unfortunately).
In short; the robot vacuum did well to map the room with hardly any bumps happening. Everything was done in a jiffy with suction and mopping accuracy being satisfactory.
On its mapping sensors (LDS Dome); If I could simply put it, 2/10 times it would lightly bump into something; something that would differ on budget models (3 or 4/10 times bumps) and high-end models (0 to 1/10 times). I did notice that this had to do more with its system inaccurately detecting the height of a given space whereas it would not try to cross narrow spaces (width). It also did not accurately sense my feet.
I did find that the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum-Mop 2 Pro does well in dim spaces; something that was apparently amiss on the original Robot Vacuum-Mop 2 according to other reviewers.
- Vacuuming:
I wasn't expecting the robot to perform with an almost spotless suction accuracy. In my household, while we do not have pets, we do have lots of hair falls happening every day. After cleaning up, you shouldn't be able to feel anything even if you have pet fur.
Moreover, if you have heavy carpets, you probably do not need to move them as the robot vacuum had no problem getting onto my floor carpet. This is not recommended for the opposite (easy-to-move carpets).
- Mopping:
Before I start, note that you should not add any detergent into the water tank. If anything, most robot vacuums are meant for daily "basic mopping" with water only.
Back to the robot; attaching the mopping tool (which consists of the Intelligent tank and a microfiber cloth) was easy and does not need any complicated steps at all to activate.
Once you fill in water (careful not to immerse or wet the entire tank), simply mount/slot the tank in (horizontally) and the robot vacuum will automatically detect the addition, prompting a vacuum + mop operation the next time it operates.
In my experience, immediately after mopping, about 95% of the surface has completely dried. That's fast in my books and I consider it well done on Xiaomi's part.
5. Maintenance
As the robot has been set up for you when it comes in the box, you can start using it right off the bat. Just plug the charging dock into a power socket, charge it for a bit, and then turn it on for auto-mapping, whether you have activated app-pairing or not.
So while using it has been a breeze, I did find some minor issues which might or might not be annoyances for you.
Colour and material of the vacuum:
While the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum-Mop 2 Pro is made of a strong plastic/ABS material, my white-coloured unit seemed to attract dust easily. Not only that, but remember what I mentioned about it bumping into short spaces? Because it is white, it can graze against surfaces and this would cause discolouration/stains on the vacuum's surface.
Dust Tank Capacity:
I found that although the Intelligent water tank uses water wisely, the Dust Tank just seemed to fill up fast.
In just two cleaning sessions, about 30-40% of the capacity has been filled up for our living room that's about 432sqft. Say if it were to clean that size of a floor daily, it would be almost twice a week needed for you to empty the bin.
Small HEPA Filter:
As mentioned earlier, there is no spare HEPA filter. And to me, the HEPA filter is seemingly small on the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum-Mop 2 Pro.
So once its durability has been worn down to 0%, you'll have to replace it. Luckily, on marketplaces, a pair of Xiaomi robot vacuum HEPA filters should not cost you more than RM50.
Conclusion + Buy:
- Our rating: 8/10
- Pros: Minimalist design; Easy to use (plug and play); Sufficiently good detecting sensors; operates on the quiet side (not exceeding 60db); a good amount of features for the price
- Cons: No spare HEPA filter; Dust Tank capacity doesn't feel big enough; Material 'bruises' easily
- Who is it for? Small families or those who wish to clean up specific spaces that aren't too big will find the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum-Mop 2 Pro to be of a big help due to its good performance and value. Even those looking for a good value will find this product an easy pick.
My journey with the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum-Mop 2 Pro has been more pleasant than faulty. Overall, I found it to be easy to use and install.
Especially with that price and its good mapping + sensors, the robot vacuum and its features are worth the price tag. Whether you have the money to blow or are new to robot vacuums, the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum-Mop 2 Pro is worth looking into.