It was officially launched on 6 March 2018 and we reported on it in detail on 8 March. Now, a month and a half later, Xiaomi's latest robotic vacuum cleaner has arrived in Hungary. A Xiaowa Youth Edition was the cheapest of the manufacturer's range when it was announced, but the webshop prices were slightly higher than expected.
The Xiaomi Smart Home news, reviews and tests have been well above the international average, but now you can read/see even more written and video tests on our news portal and YouTube channel, with the addition of a new editor.
Our third editor has previously helped out with an article, and then published his very first standalone test in the MiJia Bedside lamp you may also have read.
Let's see how Sylvester rated the Xiaowa vacuum cleaner, which he was able to compare with his own first-generation MiJia.
The day came when the test product arrived. We were looking forward to seeing it in the post, hoping that you would be the first to see it in action. The youngest member of the Roborock family, the Xiaowa Youth Edition robot vacuum cleaner. As you know, Roborock really put together the S50 and MiJia the robot vacuum, so we expect the same quality from this product. We compare its capabilities to the Xiaomi Mi Robot, aka its cousin known to many as FirstGen. Let's get started...
Let's open...
The box arrived intact, having survived the 8-day journey without a scratch.
The packaging is as discreet as usual, free of product photos and heavy scribbling, just the store name and a small advertisement, in Chinese of course. It's a clever idea to use a carton without any frills, less likely to get stuck in customs with a package that has no information written on it. Made from recycled paper, the protection is tightly taped over with wide adhesive tape, lest anyone should bother. For me, the wallpaper knife did the trick. After unpacking the shipping box, the normal packaging is revealed, it's not conspicuous either, the subdued brown-brown design remains. Here we get a taste of what's under the lid. An almost life-size picture of our vacuum cleaner on a line drawing and a wealth of other obligatory information on the side, in Mandarin of course. The box is similar to the others, but the space is better used, so everything fits in a much smaller package. When you open the lid, only the instruction manual is visible, adding to the excitement. I quickly put that to one side, thought I wouldn't bother, let's get to the point! After removing the cover, my new acquisition, the vacuum cleaner, appeared. I think the presentation is a bit puritanical, it looks like a crappy product in a plastic bag, but knowing the manufacturer we know it won't be. There's not much in the box, the vacuum, the dock, the charging cable that comes with it, the brush and knife combo for cleaning the bottom rotary brush, and an EU standard converter (you should throw this in the bin on first use and use a quality converter instead). The dock is surprisingly small very similar to the s50 and I noticed that the charging space is not there like on the gen 1, but like on the big brother at the bottom, but more on that in a bit.
Freeing everything from the suffocating bag, assemble...
Test plant...
Removing all the unnecessary junk, including the description in the powder tank(!!), you can assemble the whole thing with a flick of the wrist. Precisely, you just plug the power cable into the dock, nothing else to do, it comes to you ready to go! All you need is an unused plug and a place to put the dock. It's best to mount it against the wall, because your pet might push you when docking and push the charger away! Looking further, you will notice that the "laser tower" (LDS) is missing, and instead there is a protruding "turret" resembling a crystal. Its purpose is to collect and interpret the infrared light reflected from objects and use it to calculate where it has been (and what material the obstacle is made of. - the editor.) The usual lid remains on top, and when opened a blue LED lights up, indicating the wifi signal. There's nothing else lurking here but a stash of dust bunnies! :-D Looking around a bit more, you'll notice a much bigger tank, similar to the ones you've seen in other vacuum cleaners (the biggest within the brand, as you may have read in the review article). We also have a HEPA filter and the essential vents for operation. It's very confusing at first, but once you take it out, you can see that it comes with a really larger "dust bag". It has a capacity of 640ml, while the s50 has a 500ml capacity and the first has a 420ml capacity. This larger container may be due to fewer electronics, so more space is freed up! However, don't despair, there is no shortage of electronics either, with 4 bottom sensors in the semi-circle, pressure sensitive switches and infrared, the housewife does a great job without a laser turret! It can detect objects larger than 2cm, curtains, blankets, and with the lower sensors it can distinguish between parquet or carpet. On top, there are 3 micro-switch buttons to control your new housewife. The first one (a symbol showing a quarter of a square) is for the as yet unknown local cleaning, while the middle one, the "on/off" pictogram, activates the normal cleaning function. The third is a plug, so you can return it to the charger at any time. These buttons give you full manual control of your vacuum cleaner, so grandma will be happy! The charger is very similar to the s50, but here you only need to pump power into a 2600mAh battery. With the right battery charge it can clean for 60 minutes, but I think this "low" power is perfect for an average apartment. In principle, 100m2 may be enough time to clean up! We left it alone several times during our test, wondering what it would do. It can easily do the one-hour interval, so you can be sure it will pick up dirt and dust everywhere. This long run time is also thanks to the lightweight machine, which is the lightest of the three. It weighs exactly 3kg, the first gen. almost 4kg!! In suction power it is a bit underpowered, but unnoticeable compared to the first gen. The 1600 Pa power is the envy of some lowbudget vacuum cleaners! The sound is the same as Mi Robot, not any quieter, when in normal mode!
Then go to....
The first time you switch on, you should start with MiHome integration, but of course it works without it. If it can be part of the ecosystem, then by all means do so, so that it can be controlled from your mobile phone. The app recognised it straight away and you just had to guide it through the usual settings. Give it the WiFi network and it was installed in about 20 seconds. After that it is controllable from the app. The app might look familiar, but here instead of a map you just get an animation.
There's also an animated display when loading, while the middle brother shows the map you last visited. At the bottom you have 3 options to choose from. Docking, cleaning and suction setting. When you click dock, it will start looking for the charger and as soon as the infra sensor finds it, it will jog back the shortest way and then climb up to the sockets. With the Clean function, you can start vacuuming, now with digital instructions - even remotely via the internet! Click on the icon on the right to control the suction power silent, normal, strong, max Between. Many changes in the normal and strong I did not notice. Digging deeper into the App, we find a carpet modewhich can be activated in the settings menu.
During our test, we also put it on a deep pile and a long pile carpet, so if it's a test, it should be on a test basis. Once on the carpet, the suction power picks up, audibly getting to work in earnest. Judging by the sound, the bottom brush is working harder too. As soon as it gets off the carpet, it starts to cut back. You're not wrong. It handles long-haired carpet smoothly, doesn't curl the fibres, but doesn't increase the power there. It doesn't meet the 2cm threshold jump either, nor does the first gen. The 1cm is still climbable, but the sharp, true commie threshold is no match. The floor shifter, on the other hand, is 2 cm, no problem! The threshold is handy for me, at least they don't fight...
In the app, you can also find for this type remote control, so your phone becomes the remote control and you steer it like a little RC car to the area you want to clean. This is where the "spot cleaning" button comes into play, pressing it will start cleaning the spot in a circular pattern, with increasingly larger radius and then smaller radius in reverse. When you're done, it stops at the starting point, then the dock, button, i.e. back to the charger. In terms of practicality, this function is designed for lazier people than me, who, if the edge of the sponge crumbles off, call the robot over and have it clean it up with a press of a button, then send it back to its place. The "stool dodger", and next to the wall but I couldn't find a cleaner option, it might come with a later update. Unfortunately, the area selection function is also missing as the technology doesn't allow it. The good news is that it can also synchronise the time with your mobile phone, so no more 3am start-ups! So far, the voice is the usual Far Eastern, pleasant black female voice in a language we can't understand, but we've been promised English. I would definitely like to have it! :-)
DND mode, i.e. you can set when NOT to do something unless we ask you to. The timer function allows you to set when to start cleaning. A in the general setting menu you'll find the software update, network information and a few other supposedly trivial things. I don't browse unless I have to install an update! Cleaning logs-saves the cleaning times, but as many people have written wrongly in their article, it does not calculate the area, it only counts the time and the clean cleaning method! There is a way to monitor the condition of the sensors or brushes, but the machine will tell you if something needs cleaning or replacement! My favourite, however, was not to be left out of this find my robot. I find it funny when he shouts "I'm here!" from under the cupboard. :-D
When I first turned it on, I didn't know what I didn't understand, and I realised that they were jamboreeing in reverse to the others. Moving forward with a tower. It seemed funny at first...
I also tried to give the sensors a bit of a workout, so I tried to test them with blankets and long hanging curtains. I don't know how to calculate from the reflected infra rays whether it's a curtain or a concrete block, but the fact is that it can sneak in behind the curtain but doesn't want to go through the wall, ergo it can tell the difference between them. It also recognises a hanging blanket, it can walk through that too, of course it brakes to almost zero before it does (collision mode)!
I didn't do a drop test, the more I like the gadgets, I'm not a barbarian! It is supposed to monitor the stairs, but the description says not to let it near! In several places you could read that the sensors on the glass, mirrors may not react well, well for me, not a vase has fallen over, slowly crawling and sweeping around! So the vase can stay! :D
Changing the brushes, emptying the tank and all that technical stuff is exactly the same as the big brothers, so everything is interchangeable. You also have to change the brushes at certain intervals. The sensors work perfectly again after a cleaning. The app warns us about everything!
As we come to the end of our test, we can say that we've made the most of it. We've pushed it on parquet, carpet, tile. Some features are missing, but we got everything we could out of a $240 machine.
It can be said to be a random I go vacuum cleaner, does not make a map, but tries to clean up everywhere in an hour. It moves quietly and relatively quickly between objects, slowing down when something gets in its way. It is fully connected to the ecosystem, so the term SMART fits! I would recommend it to people who don't want to look at a map, but just want to clean up their home on the way to work in the morning or while they are at work. Perfect choice, it picks up dirt, crumbs and small pebbles without fail! Since it can't mop, we'll have to do it ourselves, but it's a big help! I'm not sure I'd replace a first gen. with the Xiaowa, but it's definitely worth investing in, it's a hardworking little machine. It delivers the quality you're used to, no rattles, no clatter. It's made of quality materials too!
Video presentation
Thanks to gearbest.com for giving the Xiaowa robot vacuum cleaner a quick test!
It scored 9 points for me, but only because of the software shortcomings!
Currently available, I would put the price between 220 and 250 US dollars, which is still worth it!
Available for pre-order here, which is not yet the final price!
Thanks to our colleague Szilveszter Avar for the exhaustive test and we hope he will add many more tests of similar content in the future.
If you liked the test or have any questions, feel free to leave a comment. And don't forget to share the page so that it reaches as many Xiaomi fans as possible :)
