The Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum is a bit of an OzBargain favourite. It's less than half the price of comparable units.

The vacuum punches above its weight in vacuuming, comparing well against robot vacuums that are more than twice the price. The app is great to see how the vacuuming is going and to control it, but is only necessary to change the voice language to English. The app, at least on Android, requires far too many permissions to be considered safe. Use an old phone if you can.

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The vacuuming algorithm seems quite good, but this is the first robot vacuum I've owned, so I don't have a reference point. The reviews are positive. The suction seems adequate for doing regular light vacuuming. Vacuum will get caught on rug tassels which get tangled in the spinning brush.

The worst issue about the Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum is the extensive permissions the app requires, at least on Android. There's no need for them to need access to your contacts, call history, images and so on, just to vacuum your room. The app is the same one used for many Xiaomi home-oriented products, but still it is unjustified.

You don't need the app to operate the vacuum, but you do if you want to change the language pack to English. You will also need to give it your WiFi password, which is a security issue also. Without the English language, you just need to know what buttons to push to start it off, and guess what it's saying to you.

I repurposed an old phone just to install the app.

The app can show in real time and over history the path the vacuum has taken, and the map of the room it has scanned. It's quite fun to watch.