Expert’s Rating
Pros
- Compact design
- High suction power
- Smart cleaning modes
- Good app
Cons
- Obstacle detection has occasional weaknesses
- Expensive
Our Verdict
The flagship Deebot X2 Omni from Ecovacs definitely improves on its predecessor. In our test, it cleaned carpets thoroughly and reliably thanks to its high, 8,000Pa suction. Its mopping is also good, although not flawless. Its carpet detection means that carpets will get a thorough clean while being protected from damp mop pads. Bear in mind that the Ecovacs app will give you plenty of options for scheduling and settings, so you should take the time to decide what works best for you.
Price When Reviewed
$1,499.99
Best Prices Today: Ecovacs Deebot X2 Omni
$1,139.99
$1499.99
For years, the round form factor has been the standard for vacuuming and mopping robots – but now Ecovacs has come in with a square design for its new top-of-the-line Deebot X2 Omni. The idea is that it’ll enable thorough cleaning along edges.
Competitor Dreamebot solves this problem differently with the L20 Ultra’s MopExtend technology, which lets it clean right up to walls. You can read our review to find out more.
Having also tested the Ecovacs T20 Omni – a robot vacuum we’d wholeheartedly recommend – we were curious to see how its big brother, the Deebot X2 Omni would perform.
The Ecovacs X2 Omni (left) compared to the T20 Omni
Christoph Hoffmann
Design & Build
As expected, the Deebot X2 Omni comes in a large box (47×47×63cm). The combination of docking station and robot vacuum weighs around 16kg together. Admittedly, the base station is somewhat more compact than other models at 42×41×52 cm.
Nevertheless, you’ll still need to find the right spot for it in your home. It’ll need to be relatively near a plug point and the base station must be easily accessible from above so that the lid can swing up about another 30cm, so you can access and remove the clean and dirty water tanks. The tanks, by the way, have a capacity of four litres each.
The docking station of the X2 Omni is more compact than that of the T20 Omni.
Christoph Hoffmann
We tested the black model but the X2 Omni is also available in white for the same price. We think this will be the preferred colour option for most buyers.
The unpacking and assembly were swift and all components were high quality.
Setup & Room Mapping
The illustrated quick start guide under the lid of the docking station shows you how to get the X2 up and running. In contrast to the T20 Omni, the mops are already mounted on the robot, so only the side brush needs to be engaged. Then you connect the docking station to the mains and fill the fresh water tank. The dust bag behind the front flap of the docking station is already mounted.
Christoph Hoffmann
We continued setting up the X2 Omni using the Ecovacs app. We’d already installed this for the T20 Omni. Pairing is simple. There’s an On/Off switch and a QR code under the lid of the robot. All you need to do is switch on the robot, scan the QR code with the Ecovacs app and follow the instructions. Less than five minutes later, the robot is logged onto the Wi-Fi and ready to go.
You should note that the X2 Omni can only connect to the Wi-Fi router via a 2.4 GHz frequency band.
The app itself is by and large easy and intuitive to use. For the first run, we used the app’s default settings and began automatic mapping. To do this, the X2 Omni scans the rooms and the TrueMapping 3.0 laser system detects walls, edges and obstacles.
Incidentally, there’s a significant change here compared to the X1 Omni and the T20 Omni: these two models have a 3cm high tower that houses the laser. The X2 Omni, on the other hand, is completely flat – the laser is now installed at the front behind the shock absorbers.
The advantage to this is that its lower height means that the robot can get under beds and sofas more easily. The disadvantage is that the field of vision shrinks to 210 degrees: there’s no longer an all-round view as with a laser tower. Still, the robot is equipped with 3D sensors and a camera as well as lateral distance sensors.
The Deebot X2 Omni will recognise a downwards staircase and keeps its distance accordingly. It can also easily climb door thresholds up to 22mm high.
Don’t let the first (quick) map concern you too much. The Deebot X2 Omni will learn and expand the map of the home accordingly.
App & Settings
The Ecovacs Home app makes it easy to manage cleaning preferences and maps.
Michael Ansaldo/IDG
In the app, maps can be displayed either as a simple 2D model or as a more innovative 3D model. Rooms can be named, no-go zones defined and objects drawn in on the map. Once the rooms have been named, cleaning can be started specifically by voice command.
The app is quite complex and you’ll need to take time to find the right settings and adapt them to the conditions in your home. For example, you can adjust suction power and water volume and specify a cleaning route. The app also offers the option of making these settings AI-based. In this way, the robot decides independently how deeply a room needs to be cleaned.
Schedules can be used to set regular cleaning cycles, or time intervals for cleaning the robot vacuum via the docking station.
Another nice touch is that you’ll receive status messages on your smartphone or via voice output so that you can respond immediately.
Performance & Features
Before the X2 Omni sets off on its cleaning run, it fetches fresh water from the docking station and dampens the mops with water heated to 55°C. This isn’t a new feature for Ecovacs and was one of the most important innovations in the T20 Omni. it makes the mops much cleaner. You can see this when you look at the dirty water tank in the base station.
In addition, hot air drying prevents mould growth and prevents unpleasant odours. However, unlike the Dreamebot L20 Ultra, there’s no tank for cleaning agents, which can be added to provide more shine and a pleasant scent.
Ecovacs specifies the volume during vacuuming and mopping at 65.5 dB. This is pretty reasonable: it’s about the same as a conventional vacuum or hair dryer. Rivals are louder.
The X2 Omni is a powerful and effective vacuum. On parquet and tiles, the main brush reliably picks up dog hair, dust and other dirt thanks to its high suction power of 8,000Pa (T20 Omni: 6,000 Pa). The rotating side brush is rather short compared to other models. In practice, however, the robot’s squared-off shape compensates for this shortcoming.
On carpets, the mops are raised by up to 15mm to keep them clear of the pile and ensure that carpets don’t get wet or dirty. There’s another clever feature that kicks in when the X2 encounters a different surface: it increases its suction power as soon as its sensors register a carpet or heavy soiling.
The X2 Omni uses Ecovacs’ OZMO Turbo technology for mopping. In the app, you can set the mopping mode and even choose to scrub the floor thoroughly. As the robot no longer has a water tank (like the T20 Omni), it returns to the station every few minutes for the mops to be cleaned and re-moistened.
During our test, we found that X2 Omni drove close to edges and walls, leaving no visible dirt. Obstacles were safely detected and avoided, which meant there was no need to worry about furniture, children or pets.
Ecovacs has its own cleaning agent for all products from the Deebot series. Add 20ml to a full fresh water tank. It’ll improve the quality of the floor mopping and leave a pleasant scent behind.
Should you buy the Ecovacs X2 Omni?
Overall, the Deebot X2 Omni leaves a very good impression. We had some issues with unreliable obstacle detection but the current firmware 1.56.0 update seems to have fixed these problems. As for cleaning, after a few days with the new Ecovacs model, we can confirm that dog hair and dirt on slate flooring and parquet were thoroughly removed by the X2 Omni and the floors were then wiped visibly clean. The results can also be seen in the dirty water in the base station.
Christoph Hoffmann
The robot gets close to edges and walls, leaving no visible dirt. Obstacles are safely detected and avoided. There’s no need to worry about furniture, children or pets, although for best results, you should activate pet mode in the app.
Not the perfect robot vacuum for you? Have a look at our round-up of the best robot vacuums we’ve tested.
This review was originally published on PC-Welt and has been translated to appear here.
Deebot X2 Omni specifications
- Cleaning modes: Vacuum and mop
- Charging dock type: Auto-clean station
- Mapping: LiDAR
- Suction: up to 8,000 Pa
- AI obstacle avoidance: Yes
- Dustbin capacity: 420ml onboard, 3L in the base station
- Mopping type: Rotating mop ×2
- Water tank capacity: 180ml onboard, 4L (clean) and 3.5L (dirty) in the base station
- Carpet detection: Yes
- App control: Android and iOS
- Voice control: Alexa, Google Assistant, YIKO Voice Assistant
