20 Nov
Blog

Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo N8 Pro+ Review: Quietly Loud and Smart

Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo N8 Pro + on hardwood floor.

Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo N8 Pro +

RRP $ 700.00

"With the Deebot N8 Pro + you spend less time babysitting and can concentrate more on other things than vacuuming."

advantages

  • Very low noise when vacuuming

  • Mop floors very well

  • Avoid most obstacles

disadvantage

  • Mopping plate is difficult to remove

If you haven't dealt with the robot vacuum cleaner for a long time, you may notice a special trend over the last year: self-emptying bots that do the job without any interaction from us humans. Sure, you still have to empty the bag at some point when it's full, but this iterative feature makes it more autonomous.

Most of the big brands offer some sort of self-draining robot hoover, including Ecovacs with its latest model, the Deebot Ozmo N8 Pro +. You may be wondering what's so special about this one that we've never seen before, but the convenience of a self-draining vacuum cleaner is only part of the bigger equation. Can he also clean intelligently without being hindered by obstacles? Here is what I found out.

draft

One look at the Deebot Ozmo N8 Pro + and there's no denying that it's built like every other robotic vacuum cleaner I've seen. Even if the aesthetics are so extraordinary, the only distinguishable aspect here is the bluish paintwork. It's worth noting, however, that it has two side sweeping brushes that help funnel debris into the underside brush and work at a slower speed to keep small bits of debris from being flung in all directions.

Top view of the Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo N8 Pro +.John Velasco / Digital Trends

The Ozmo N8 Pro + also has a wipe function that makes it a double-duty model. The microfiber pad in particular is not like the skimpy pad other robotic vacuums use – it actually has substance to make contact with the floor! Unfortunately, removing the mopping plate from the water tank isn't as intuitive as I'd like it to be because you really need to use some force on it.

navigation

Lidar technology enables the Deebot N8 Pro + to clean efficiently, reducing time and maximizing its cleaning schedule. From the start of the first cleaning, he managed to map the different rooms in my apartment because he is actively vacuuming. On the second go-around, I could tell that it knew exactly what to do from the start, as it would move in a zigzag pattern in free space.

Close-up of the sensors of the Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo N8 Pro +.John Velasco / Digital Trends

Corners are also handled very well, but it's worth noting that it's also fairly gentle when cleaning around furniture and other obstacles it encounters while vacuuming. Similar to other vacuums with lidar technology, there is the option to set up no-go zones or virtual walls to prevent the bot from entering certain rooms, which is handy when you have places that you don't want to disturb.

Obstacle avoidance

The Deebot N8 Pro + uses laser-based 3D technology, which Ecovacs calls TrueDetect, which gives it the vision of seeing what is in front of it and figuring out the best way to get around it. For the most part, it does the job, but it's still not without its flaws.

Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo N8 Pro + on hardwood floor.John Velasco / Digital Trends

For example, it intelligently sucked around a lonely sock that was lying on the floor – and it was good also to avoid water bowls that I left on the floor for my cats. However, it can still be tripped over by those pesky cable wires on the floor, especially the thinner ones I use for my smartphones. It seems to distinguish thicker cable wires better, like those found on power strips or other large devices, but the thinner ones are a hit-or-miss.

But I have to admit that the Deebot N8 Pro + is not as stuck as other vacuum robots. Sure, it can get under some furniture, like an entertainment center, but it does a good job of telling whether or not it has the required passage.

Cleaning performance

Thanks to its two side brushes, the Deebot N8 Pro + treats hard floors like a champion. Pet hair and other smaller particles of dirt will be eaten up with no problem, but the same deep cleaning that I get from traditional upright vacuums when it comes to carpets and rugs still cannot be achieved. Its suction power increases when it touches carpets, but only ensures superficial cleaning.

Since it is a 2-in-1 combination, adding a wiping function offers enormous added value here. Although it relies only on water to mop floors, my feet can tell how much cleaner my hardwood floors feel than if I just vacuumed them. I also like how you can use the app to set how much water the Deebot N8 Pro + emits during cleaning. More stubborn buildups, however, required several passes to be completely removed. But you are still unbeatable to have a bot that can mop and vacuum at the same time.

An often overlooked aspect of robotic vacuums is how loud they sound when vacuuming. I was surprised at how quietly the Deebot N8 Pro + runs, low enough that it never distracted me while I was working. Compared to other vacuum robots, such as the iRobot Roomba i7 +, it is significantly quieter in operation. Only when it empties its contents into the self-emptying charging station is it loud and distracting. It sounds like a jet engine, but that's what most of them sound like.

Our opinion

Ecovacs is undoubtedly up to something good with the $ 700 Deebot N8 Pro +. It's a reliable bot that cleans well, doubles as a mop and even empties itself. All of these factors definitely add incredible value – especially when it is able to tackle most obstacles without major intervention.

Is there a better alternative?

The Samsung Jet Bot AI + would be the only other superior vacuum robot to consider. It offers exceptional obstacle avoidance, has a self-draining bin and even has a neat security camera patrol mode that can monitor movement. For this, however, you pay significantly more.

The only other model that corresponds to the Deebot N8 Pro + in terms of price and performance is the iRobot Roomba j7 +, which is faster in cleaning performance and handles obstacles just as well.

How long it will take?

Proper maintenance will extend the life of the Deebot N8 Pro +, so it is important to keep the brushes free from tangles and to remove any dust that collects over the sensors. There is a one-year limited warranty that comes with the product and covers defects.

Should you buy it?

Yes sir. Why pay for two different robots when you can get a single one that can vacuum, mop, self-drain, and confidently navigate your home without tripping too many times.

Editor's recommendations



16 May
Blog

Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 AIVI Review: Features Over Cleaning

Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 AIVI

"This robotic vacuum cleaner has almost all the functions you can imagine on its small body."

  • Has security camera function

  • Allocates rooms quickly

  • Avoids objects well

  • Doesn't wipe well

  • Carpet cannot be wiped and vacuumed at the same time

  • Missing spots and corners

  • App breakdowns out

The Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 AIVI is an innovative robot vacuum cleaner that not only sucks in dust and fluff, but also wipes it. It also uses Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) to map multiple rooms, avoid obstacles, and ensure better cleaning. It is compatible with Google Assistant and Alexa. Even more interesting is that the camera can even be used as a surveillance camera. At first glance, the T8 has a lot to offer. I found the following when I tried it.

DEEBOT T8 AIVI in a bedroomEcovacs

To install

After connecting the app to the bot, you need to let the bot map your entire house. TrueMapping technology is designed to map your home with a 2x range and 4x accuracy compared to the company's previous models. If you have a house with a second floor, the T8 can also create a separate map for each floor.

However, reaching the end of the mapping process can be difficult. If it gets caught on something and you move it, it has to start over. If the juice runs out before mapping, it has to start over. If it fails, it has to start over. Fortunately, I haven't encountered these problems more than once.

DEEBOT T8 AIVI tiresAlina Bradford / Digital Trends

In addition to using A.I. To avoid objects, the T8 has large wheels. You can drive over obstacles up to 20mm high, which means they won't get caught on door sills or small items and speed up the mapping process. Other robotic vacuum cleaners tend to get caught in these obstacles. So it's wonderful that their powerful wheels handle them like a champion – I didn't have to run to prevent them from getting stuck while mapping!

It was also mapped incredibly quickly. Within a minute it had two whole rooms and then some on the app. The catch is that it has to clean the entire house and scan the rooms and then return to its charging station, otherwise the mapping will not be saved. This is a problem I had when I tried the Deebot 960. So it seems that Ecovacs still hasn't found a solution to this problem.

DEEBOT T8 AIVI App

You can use the app to name different rooms. Then you can touch the card and the T8 will drive into the area to start cleaning. This is a super smart feature that gives you more control than other vacuum cleaner systems. However, the problem is that you have to switch the app to advanced mode and then reassign it. I'm not sure why the map I've already created cannot be used, but the reallocation is impractical.

Sweeping and wiping

According to Ecovacs, the improved AIVI technology (Artificial Intelligence and Visual Interpretation) of the T8 offers a 200% faster detection speed for objects and obstacles in the area, as well as a 60% reduction in the entanglement rate compared to other robot vacuum cleaners with LDS navigation technology. This basically means that it runs less often on and over objects. I found that true. It did a good job of avoiding objects and got stuck only once.

It also detects when your floors need more suction to get better cleaning and adjusts accordingly. Although it maps quickly and avoids most objects, I am not impressed with how well it vacuums. It seems to overlook many spots, runs in random patterns and doesn't get any edges or furniture very clean. It also does not notify you when the container is full. It runs around thinking about its cleaning, but it really isn't.

DEEBOT T8 AIVI container and power switchAlina Bradford / Digital Trends

After cleaning, the app shows where the bot has not cleaned because it has encountered obstacles. The app suggests that you move the objects so the T8 can go back and clean the area. This is great, but some of the objects that should be moved were furniture. That gave me a big Facepalm moment.

The T8 kills 99.26% of the bacteria on your floors.

The moping function is simply to attach a mop pad to the bottom of the bot and fill the reservoir with water. Yes, only water according to the instructions. Can you use cleaning solutions? Probably, but the manual doesn't say you can. Even so, a study by the Hygiene and Microbiology Research Center in Japan claims that the T8 kills 99.26% of the bacteria in your floors. How can this be possible? I'm not a scientist, so I guess I have to take your word for it.

DEEBOT T8 AIVI water tankAlina Bradford / Digital Trends

The T8 does not absorb a lot of water from its reservoir while wiping. However, it does not leave much moisture and the floors dry quickly with medium water flow. You can adjust the water setting with the app, but the higher setting didn't seem to leave much more water on the floor.

Overall, the moping function didn't do much on my floors. My kitchen floor was still dirty when the bot pointed it out to me, even after I tried again and increased the water flow to ultra high.

The T8 "sucks and wipes in one pass." I thought that was wrong.

The T8 can recognize carpets to avoid them and stick to surfaces such as linoleum and tiles. The T8 ran up to my carpet, but never let it touch the wiping pad.

The cleaning function that I was most happy about was that T8 AIVI can vacuum and wipe at the same time. According to the Ecovac website, the T8 sucks and wipes simultaneously in one pass. I somehow thought that was wrong. You have to remove the wiping pad so that the bot can suck according to the manual. It does sweep the floor before the mopping pad moves over the surface. However, since it doesn't approach the carpets while the mop pad is installed, you shouldn't expect it to vacuum up carpets or rugs.

Camera shots

DEEBOT T8 AIVI camera on security

In addition to vacuuming and wiping, you can use the T8's camera to take photos, record videos, talk to people in other rooms, and conduct a security patrol of your home. It has a remote control function that allows you to drive it around your home like a toy robot. That was actually pretty cool. I could drive it into my daughter's room and tell her to do her chores without leaving my home office. It is a lazy person's dream.

As a surveillance camera? It is not awesome. For starters, the view is like that of a toddler crawling on the floor, and the video isn't very clear. It can tell you if someone was in your house just because you could see their feet walking around. You can see faces as long as they are the perfect distance from the camera.

There is a patrol mode that you can either turn on manually or schedule when the T8 will patrol your home. If your T8 is not in patrol mode, you can control it with the remote control on the video manager screen of the app in your house. When not in active use, the camera is turned towards the charging station so that it cannot see anything unless you rotate it using the app or by hand.

This feature can be useful in so many ways other than just security. For example, you can use it to check your pets at work or to spy on your children while the babysitter is watching them to make sure they are not behaving.

Keys

The T8 is cleaning a carpet.Ecovacs

I don't like that this robotic vacuum cleaner has only one power switch on top. Sometimes you don't want to open your phone and search for an app. Pressing a button on the vacuum is simply easier. For example, the Eufy RoboVac G30 has a return button, an on / off switch and a stain removal button. I found it super helpful when I was doing other tasks. I could just tap a button and then do my other tasks.

App

The Ecovacs app is not great. It tends to be flawed. It also has a habit of disconnecting from the bot, which is particularly annoying as there is no button on the top to send back to the charger. So you either have to pick up the bot and carry it to the charger or try to reconnect the bot to the app. Restarting the app seemed to fix most of the problems, but it's an inconvenience.

Battery life

DEEBOT T8 AIVI on the chargerAlina Bradford / Digital Trends

Ecovacs claims that the T8 AIVI with its 5,200 mAh battery can clean more than 3 hours or up to 200 minutes on one charge. I found that this was not very accurate. It ran for about 119 minutes on one charge. Even though it missed the mark, it's still a much longer life than many Vac-Bots on the market. Of course, cleaning conditions can vary how long a bot can clean. When the battery is almost empty, it automatically returns to the charging station, but is not yet finished. Once charged, it continues and completes its cleaning routine exactly where it left off.

Our opinion

Partly spy, part mop, part vacuum – the Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 AIVI is innovative, but in many areas it lacks tracking. I wish it was vacuumed better and the mop would inspire me a little more. The price of just under $ 800 would probably be worth it if these features were better, since the camera capabilities are fantastic.

Is there a better alternative?

There aren't many robotic vacuum cleaners that can wipe and have the surveillance camera, so probably not. The European Mayan robotic vacuum cleaner has similar features, a nicer app, and a longer warranty, but is not widely available.

The only other thing that fits exactly is the Roborock S6 MaxV, which is equipped with two cameras to avoid obstacles, vacuum cleaners and pugs at the same time. It offers better cleaning performance and costs a little less ($ 750). However, if you need a great mop, I recommend the iRobot Braava Jet 240 or the iRobot Braava Jet m6.

Will it take?

The T8 is well built and looks very robust. The metal door that covers the container is a good choice to protect the bot from falling objects. There is also a one year limited warranty.

Should you buy it

No. This is a difficult question as I would almost say that it is worth buying the T8 only for the security patrol and other camera skills. However, it's a lot of money for a cleaning bot that doesn't clean as well as it could. I have to say "passed".

Editor's recommendations




16 Feb
Blog

Ecovacs Deebot 960 Review: So Much Wasted Potential

Deebot 960 absorbs chips

"While the Deebot 960 has impressive AI and a mop function, its potential is not being exploited."

  • Great pull

  • Don't eat socks

  • App is not reliable

  • Connecting to the app is difficult

  • Dust container is small

  • Features don't work well

We love many of the other intelligent robotic vacuum cleaners that Ecovacs has released. A few even made our best robot vacuum on the annual list. So I was pretty excited to try it out Deebot 960, It comes with advanced AI and it even wipes, so it sounded like a vacuum that our best-of list could do with the others. After trying it out, I was deeply disappointed.

The app

First, let's talk about the app. The Ecovacs Home app was the most aggravating app I've ever dealt with. As with most smart devices, you need to connect them to an app before you can use them with the app. Typically, this is a quick process that takes a few minutes at most. Not with the Ecovacs Home app.

It tends not to find your Deebot. Therefore, you need to go through a number of troubleshooting steps for it to work. Some of these steps include accessing the Wi-Fi settings on your phone and selecting the Deebot from the list.

If that doesn't work, you will need to try turning off the data on your phone, at least 5 feet from your router (or getting closer depending on the direction) and turning the bot on and off at the charging station. Pressing different buttons on the Deebot and so on.

After trying the various troubleshooting tips for the app and support pages on the website for hours, a customer service representative gave me an eleven-step process to try to get the app up and running. Yes, it didn't work either.

The app tends to stop working for no reason.

If you get the bot to connect to the app, you won't get too excited. The app tends to stop working for no reason. Then you have to delete the app from your phone and start over.

I thought I might have a problematic deebot right now, but a look at the app's reviews on the Google Play Store shows that these issues are common. (I contacted Ecovac to check for an update to fix the app issues, but I haven't received a response yet.)

mapping

This intelligent robotic vacuum cleaner offers many great functions. They just don't seem to work very well. The main feature is the ability to map your entire home using AIVI technology. The problem with this is that you have to scan your whole house. There is no way to create separate maps for each room.

If you choose to create just a map of your bedroom (like me), the vacuum cleaner won't clean any other room. While mapping your house, you need to have plenty of light in each room and leave the house with all of your pets so that the Deebot can create an accurate map. I just jumped on the bed and stayed there while it was pictured, but most people don't have that luxury.

However, it avoided the sock I threw in front of it, so that's something.

AIVI is supposed to scan the room so the Deebot can avoid objects that are too large to absorb, but the little bot didn't seem to know at times that it had this technology. It would ram into furniture legs with a force that set my teeth on the edge. It got caught on cords and I had to keep pulling things out of my grip. Deebot even came across its own charging station. However, it avoided the sock I threw in front of it, so that's something. It also didn't try to get under furniture where it would get stuck.

Ecovac Deebot 960 scanning

It has a feature that you can use the app to block certain areas on the cleaning card to tell the bot where to stop cleaning. Unfortunately, it didn't work that well. Sure, the Deebot won't go where you set up the non-clean area, but the app doesn't let me set up a non-clean area within 10 feet of the charging station. We have found that the Neato Botvac D6 works much better when it comes to restricted areas and avoiding obstacles.

You can also instruct the Deebot to clean only certain areas to get good stain cleaning. Like the other features, this was frustrating. I often tapped the screen to set up a spot cleaning area and nothing happened. After about a dozen taps on the screen, the square would finally appear on the screen and I could adjust its size and position.

Ecovacs Deebot 960 cleaning cards

In the following screenshots you can see how the Deebot maps areas. The green box is a spot clean. The red boxes are not clean areas. The lines are the paths that the vacuum has taken to clean the room. As you can see, the bot can be unpredictable and even miss spots.

vacuum

While Deebot does a great job at corners, backing it up and vacuuming it several times to make sure the area is clean, it still seems silly to an intelligent vacuum cleaner. However, the suction power is great. It actually sucks enough to fluff the carpet fibers over time, giving the floor the satisfactory vacuum lines like a post. When it comes to noise, the carpet is a bit noisy. It distracts quite a bit on hardwood and linoleum.

Alina Bradford / Digital Trends

My biggest complaint about the functionality of the vacuum cleaner is that the bot doesn't tell you when its dust container is full. It just keeps going throughout the cleaning cycle and fluffing lint around on the floor until it finds it's done and returns to the charger.

In addition, the dust container is tiny because it takes up space for the wiping equipment, so you have to empty it several times during a cleaning cycle. It is not very practical. The Deebot really needs to be able to dispose of its own container like the iRobot Roomba s9 Plus. The s9 Plus can empty its own container up to 30 times in a special waste container without having to touch anything.

One feature I really like is that there is a small tool next to the dust container that you can use to clean and unravel the roller. When you're done, the tool snaps back into a small slot so it won't get lost.

Wipe

While wiping seems to be an obvious and necessary function for an intelligent robotic vacuum cleaner, I feel that it didn't save me any time. Instead of filling a bucket, I had to fill the Deebot's reservoir and attach his little wipe. It also took ages to do a job that I would have done with a manual mop in less than 5 minutes.

Then I had to drain the dirty water out of the bot and clean and dry the wipe pad. In my opinion, this feature is not useful for any robotic vacuum cleaner unless it can self-clean like the new Narwal T10 that we saw at CES 2020.

Our opinion

The Ecovacs Deebot 960 seems to be a great idea that just didn't work. Though annoying like a champion, its features simply have too many problems to make it a good choice over so many other great intelligent robot vacuum cleaners on the market. While the wipe function appears to be a great addition, it doesn't save you time. Overall, the Deebot 960 is a missed opportunity to be something very special.

Are there any better alternatives?

Although it has good suction power, it quickly fills up with dirt and then doesn't tell you that it needs to be emptied. For this reason alone, I would probably use the Neato Botvac D6 or the iRobot Roomba s9 Plus. $ 1,150 is also far too high for what the 960 has to offer.

Will it take?

Ecovac generally makes well-designed robotic vacuum cleaners, and the Deebot 960 is no exception. It is made of very thick plastic with a metal plate that spans the top of the device. It seems like it will take a long time. It comes with a 1 year limited warranty.

Should I buy it?

The Deevac 960 has a lot of potential, but is insufficient in many ways. I would not recommend buying one. Even if you overlook the crazy problems connecting to the app, the features don't work as well as they should.

Editor's recommendations