Rant about Cleaning Robots

LLexar ANZ Chris on 07/04/2022 - 11:06
Last edited 07/04/2022 - 12:04

I was in the market for some cleaning robots for 2-3 years.
After extensive research, the conclcusion is either Ecovacs or Roborock.
(not trying to argue with anyone on brands, it's just the conclusion of my research)
Both are the market leaders in China. They are both Chinese brand.

So I refer back to Chinese forums and video platforms to check the reviews. (I'm native Chinese)
I realize one thing:

European, US and Australia markets are paying a signifcantly higher price for robots that is about 2 generations behind.

You can argue that we are paying for reliable, mature technology with outstanding local services and warranties.
But in 2022, we are still paying 1300-1800 AUDs for robots that can unload dusts into the base station. Whereas with that money you can get robots cleaning the mops by themselves in China that is at least 1 generations ahead for about same price if not cheaper. (Ecovacs N9+ or upcoming X1 is around 1000 AUD ish depending on the rate, Roborock upcoming G10S is around 1400AUD)

So logically, I'm decided to buy these robots from China and ship it here.
No…can't do that.

They do not ship directly via Taobao, well, I can bypass that by using a freight agent.
But even if I get the unit here, I can't use it.

Because I need to use an apple account from China to download the Chinese version of the app.
And then I have to use VPN everytime I try to use that app and there is also a location problems reported by few.
For few models I will have to hack the firmware. Only after all these hurdles, plus the potential warranty issues.
I can then use those newer models from China.

I can't believe how hard they tried to prevent people from buying these robots from China.
So eventually after all the research, I gave up.

went to local JB and Harvey, bought a Ecovacs T9+ and few months later bought a Roborock S7+

They are both fantasic robots, as a user I have lots of good things to say about how these cleaning robots changed my life. How happy I am to see a shinny floor every day when i come home from work.

But everytime when I'm washing those mops, it hurts me to think that I paid more for these little guys then the robots that can wash the mops themselves.

And for those of want to know which one is better. (between T9+ and S9+)
I don't think there is a clear winner and both are fantastic and will change your life especially you have young kids who drops all sorts of sxxxt on the floor.

T9+ is cheaper and does the job. S9+ is slightly better and software is much better than Ecovacs, but depends on how you view the 600 dollar price gap, I wouldn't say it's a "win". it's not 33% better.

anyways, thanks for reading…

if you think about getting a cleanning robot, go get one, you won't regret.

but I just want to rant about the fact it feels like I paid for a porsche 911 and bought a Macan just because I'm not in German.

Electrical & Electronics Robotic Vacuum Cleaner

Comments

  • wswgin on 07/04/2022 - 11:10
    +2

    Why did you not consider dreame w10?

    • Lexar ANZ Chris on 07/04/2022 - 11:22

      Xiaomi owns great part of roborock and dreame from Xiaomi is widely considered as the budget cut down version of roborock. (not a fact just an opinion).

      While I was doing research, Roborock are always ranked No.1 or 2 in China, Ecovacs have lots of compalints on software, but it's LiDar sensor were widely prasied, dreame is not usually found in top 3 rankings in Chinese reviews.

      So I decided to go with Roborocks and Ecovacs.
      Plus, I have a harvery norman and Jbhifi very close to where I live, but I don't have anyone who sells dreame near by, I can't be bothered buying online.

      Now based on my experience with both brands, I would say one should absolutely try dreame, it also comes from a very competitive market and I believe the tech has been proven to be matured enough to come overseas.

  • Morien on 07/04/2022 - 11:31

    Do you mean the Roomba S9+ or the Roborock S7+ ? There is no Roborock S9+

    • Lexar ANZ Chris on 07/04/2022 - 12:03
      +1

      T9+ and S7+, I really can't remember the model names….my bad and thanks for pointing out…

  • andresampras on 07/04/2022 - 11:31
    +12

    clicked on this post, expecting to see something like "robot vacs are not as good as I'd hoped"

    now I've read the post, i want to buy one

    • Morien on 07/04/2022 - 11:31

      They're good, hey. Just annoying with cables.

      • andresampras on 07/04/2022 - 11:33
        +1

        eh? cables? you mean from the powerpoint to the charging dock?

        • Morien on 07/04/2022 - 11:34
          +1

          I mean if you leave your cabling everywhere (phone cables, etc) then it might run over them and might get tangled.

          • andresampras on 07/04/2022 - 11:39
            +8

            @Morien: ah lol i see.

            I suppose the irony is that in order to use a robot vac, you have to be a certain level of neat to begin with

            • Chandler on 07/04/2022 - 11:56

              @andresampras:

              in order to use a robot vac, you have to be a certain level of neat to begin with

              This is precisely why not everyone should get one.

            • Lexar ANZ Chris on 07/04/2022 - 12:07
              +3

              @andresampras: Yes and no…
              I would say cable is a big problem for robots no matter what, but you don't need to be a neat freak to have the robots do it's job.

              if you have some stuff you didn't pick up, worse case is your robots get stuck and ask you to help unstuck and give you instruction on what to do.

              It actually push you to be more neat on one hand.

              on the other hand, i yell at my kids to pick up food they droped on the floor, they often does that without me telling them.

              But after I got 2 robots, they just don't care anymore.
              "robot will clean it anyways"

              so on the flip side, people do get lazier with robots does lot of things.

              • andresampras on 07/04/2022 - 12:47

                @Lexar ANZ Chris:

                But after I got 2 robots, they just don't care anymore.

                LOL. It's like a tamagotchi, you have to feed the pet

              • jallen89 on 07/04/2022 - 13:55
                +1

                @Lexar ANZ Chris: My T9 had issues with cables. I ended up purchasing a couple of those cable storage boxes from Amazon. A lot neater now :)

              • Clear on 07/04/2022 - 15:19

                @Lexar ANZ Chris: The 360 S10 seems to have good cable avoidance if you check out the video at the 10:00 mark. I'm sure we will see it more in the newer generations.

            • Quantumcat on 07/04/2022 - 14:50
              +1

              @andresampras: I think that's a good thing, I pick up all the random objects off the floor at least once a week so the vacuum can get around without trouble. If I didn't have to I wouldn't and my house would get messier and messier and it would be so much trouble to clean it up I just wouldn't.

              • andresampras on 07/04/2022 - 15:43

                @Quantumcat: "Robot vacs have turned my life around and made me a happier person", you say?

                That should help me convince the other household stakeholders we need one, thanks.

  • Drakesy on 07/04/2022 - 11:43
    +1

    I have a Roidmi Eve Plus, best $550 i ever spent and comes with a dust bin.

    The roborocks are aiming for the premium market while the rest of the market has caught up.

  • jallen89 on 07/04/2022 - 12:09
    +1

    I have the T9+ and when it works, it’s bloody brilliant. It’s good at navigating obstacles, it cleans well and mops well. But the bloody app is so buggy. Error messages all the time, map resetting, rooms disappearing.
    The next robot I purchase will be a Roborock as reviews say it’s app and firmware is a lot more polished and stable.
    I paid $1000 for my T9+ through Good Guys Commerial. The Roborock equivalent with auto empty bin would of cost over $2000.
    Next time I’ll be able to justify the higher cost as I rarely even use my $800 LG stick vac anymore so I’ll be able to replace that with a budget stick.

    • Lexar ANZ Chris on 07/04/2022 - 12:12
      +2

      just a thought on that…

      When we bought the T9+, it's completely fine for me, but my wife's app crushs all the time.

      And then I upgrade my phone from iphone 11 to 13 pro, so does my wife, upgraded from iphone 6+ to 13 pro max.

      we never encountered any software issues.

      Maybe we are lucky, maybe the phone processing power is a major factor.

      But what you said is in line with a lot of people's experience, but so far after changing to a new phone, I never encountered any issues.

      • jallen89 on 07/04/2022 - 12:20

        Interesting. When I purchased the T9+ I had an XS but I upgraded to a 13 Pro and the issues still persist. Overall I’m still happy with it, especially for the price. I just wish Ecovacs would spend more time on the app.

    • Morien on 07/04/2022 - 12:25

      The Roborock equivalent is the S7+, which is $1700 normally and has been under $1500 multiple times since December. You aren't looking at over $2k unless you go the (yet to be released) MaxV.

      • jallen89 on 07/04/2022 - 12:35

        I was including the auto empty station in the price. The T9+ comes with the auto empty station. As I recall the Roborock station is $700 by itself.

        • Morien on 07/04/2022 - 12:45
          +2

          Here you are, friend.
          https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/678035

          That's the deal I bought from.

          I don't think it is on sale at the moment (last time was a couple of weeks ago), but I'm talking about the S7+, the package that includes the dock. The S7 is robot only, S7+ is both.

          Edit: It is currently on sale at HN, but not a good price. I'm sure you can wait for sub $1500. Seems to go down to that almost monthly.

          • jallen89 on 07/04/2022 - 13:49
            +1

            @Morien: Wow! That’s a fantastic price! At the time I purchased the T9+, the Roborock dock wasn’t even out.

  • donbot on 07/04/2022 - 12:24

    $2k for a auto vacuum, auto mop robot? Just how good is the automop function? In my mind, it would want to be pretty swish.

    Current user of a Roborock S6 from a few years back, so familiar with limitations (still need a stick vacuum for nooks/crannies/etc). Its going strong, but thinking I could redeploy it upstairs to do just carpeted rooms, and a auto-mop downstairs which is predominantly floorboards - again, knowing it will have limitations, but just how do the automops perform?

    • Morien on 07/04/2022 - 12:27
      +2

      Varies. Generally speaking the vacuums all do a pretty good job of the vacuuming, but the difference between a cheaper mop and more expensive is the cheaper just drags a wet cloth along the floor while the more expensive actually scrubs and avoids carpet.

    • Lexar ANZ Chris on 07/04/2022 - 12:33
      +1

      I recently renovated my house and I have no carpets, only floor mats and rugs here and there.
      The robot actually knows what to mop what not to.
      It perform brilliantly, my wooden floor, no exaggeration: is shinning after each clean.
      You can also swap the mop with flagrance tablet on ecovacs.

      The mop is definately not a gimmick, it works, it does what you expect.
      However, if you use that function, you will have to wash the mop afterwards everytime you clean the house, and you will need to fill the water.
      Plus, make sure you have no pet poops in the house, I heard bad stories as you could imagine.

      and every 10 - 15 cleans, the mop pads will be literally wear out, like…it will have broken edges and bad wear and tears all over, so you will need to replace it.
      Normally your machine will come with like a pack of 10 mop pads.
      but in a year or so you definately looking to buy more.
      mop will increase the running cost by a bit and also because you have to clean the mop, it makes it somewhat less automatic.

      • Morien on 07/04/2022 - 12:36

        Every 10-15 cleans, that must be for the replaceable disposable Evovac ones, right?

        I can't imagine needing to replace the mop pad on my Roborock that often.

      • donbot on 07/04/2022 - 13:07

        Yeah cool! Thanks for the detailed response.

        I have pets, so we never have the robot on daily/auto functions as that meme video has broken me, so manually filling/emptying doesnt phase me.

        So you have the Ecovac T9+ and the Roborock S9? Any recommendation of which vacs/mops better, taking aside the auto-empty function that I dont really care about?

    • jallen89 on 07/04/2022 - 12:38
      +1

      I have the T9+ and the mopping pad actually scrubs back and forth. It works great. When the dogs bring in some mud on their paws at night, the T9 will easily mop it up.

      • donbot on 07/04/2022 - 14:03
        +1

        Ecovacs T9+ for $1016 on good guys commercial… pretty appealing as god I hate mopping.

        I think some youtube reviews are in order to see what the mop does before I pull the trigger as I cant see how the roborock is worth so so so much more.

        • jallen89 on 07/04/2022 - 15:35

          It’s great value for that price. If you do get it, make sure you sticky tape one of the flaps closed. Hair clumps together and both holes suck it both ways and it just doesn’t work.

  • Pcosmic on 07/04/2022 - 13:12
    -7

    Why is your name Chris Xia if you're native chinese?

    • Morien on 07/04/2022 - 13:57
      +6

      Why is your name Cosmic P if you're from Earth?

      Or are you?

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 07/04/2022 - 13:38
    +1

    I spend less than what your robo vac cost getting an actual human cleaner in to mop and clean.

    • Morien on 07/04/2022 - 14:02

      I've cleaned my house about 17 times since setting up the vacuum 3 weeks ago. That's worked out to be just over $85 each time, and gets less with every passing day.

      Pay your cleaner more!

      • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 07/04/2022 - 15:09
        +1

        Um, what on earth are you doing that is making your house so dirty?

        Also as far as I'm aware robo vacs can't do surfaces, appliances etc that a human can :)

        • Morien on 07/04/2022 - 15:57
          +2

          Nothing. That’s the point of these. They are to clean 3 or more times a week. They keep your house clean effortlessly. You don’t wait for it to get to a state and hire someone to scrub it.

          • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 07/04/2022 - 16:42

            @Morien: …except it cannot move furniture, navigate tight spots, cables, and do anything else but the floor. Think you missed my original point.

  • Jumpingmanjim on 07/04/2022 - 14:11
    -1

    I thought this was about Rosey from the Jetsons.

  • GourmetFoodie on 08/04/2022 - 09:08

    Damn, you make me need a robot now! I thought they were a gimmick. Arghhh!!!

    • Morien on 08/04/2022 - 11:41
      +1

      Some are. Do a bit of research before you buy. The cheap ones tend to just randomly bump into walls and hopefully cover the whole area. The better ones use lidar or other sensors to map out rooms and ensure they are covering everywhere.

  • lainey13 on 08/04/2022 - 10:59

    When I have some time to research I will definitely buy one myself. Thanks for the review. You have encountered the Australia tax. It's on most things. Supposedly your Australian pay makes up for it but… does it really?

    • Lexar ANZ Chris on 08/04/2022 - 14:52
      +1

      I'm ok with paying more for the samething, but with local warranty and service.

      I am not happy with buying older generation technology and paying more at the same time.

      • popsiee on 08/04/2022 - 14:56

        Maybe OP research in 15 yrs when they might finally have some decent models .
        Seriously all are fit for the bin unless there is a nice unknown prototype going around .

        • Morien on 08/04/2022 - 16:25

          Hard disagree. I have tried only two models before. Roborock S5 Max and Roborock S7+. Both are great and met my expectations.

  • fishing on 08/04/2022 - 22:04

    I’m3 months into owning the super cheap Kmart $179 Robovac- absolutely brilliant

    I’ve owned a neat botvac for years but live in the red dust of the Desert in the Pilbara now. My notices still resides in the east coast

    Bought this cheap vac from Kmart expecting very little

    So impressed

    Highly recommended

    No app just a remote control but $2k cheaper than market leaders.

    Very very happy

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