Ecovacs Deebot X5 Pro Omni review: X5-eptional

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One thing I’ve noticed reviewing robot vacuums over the past couple of years is that as they get better, their inadequacies stand out more.

With better suction, improved obstacle avoidance and anti-tangling technology, the Deebot X5 Pro Omni is arguably the best robot vacuum I’ve ever tested. Over the past few weeks of testing, it has kept my house clean without me needing to do much of anything.

But for all its improvements, the X5 Pro Omni is still a far way from perfect. Ecovacs’ mapping still has a long way to go, and I’m still not convinced the mop is actually cleaning the floors.

But right now, the X5 has become my pick for the best robot vacuum to buy in Australia. And that’s saying something.

What is the Deebot X5 Pro Omni offering?

For some reason, Ecovacs decided to completely skip the X3 and X4 models of its flagship robot vacuum lineup. Building on 2023’s exceptional X2 Pro Omni, the X5 offers a big step-up in power.

While the X2 offered 8,000Pa of suction power, the X5 Pro Omni boosts that up to 12,800 Pa.

You don’t experience the full suction power often – but it does manage to pick up a whole heap of dust and debris from your floors and carpets.

Ecovacs has also updated the main brush to its improved “tangle-free” design, that helps minimise hair being caught around the roller.

There’s been a reworking of the internal configuration, which moves the main sensors to the front of the vacuum for better navigation and obstacle avoidance.

The D-shaped design helps the X5 get into corners, while the "TruEdge" mopping technology extends out the rotating mop pad to ensure the entirety of your floor gets washed.

There have been several software improvements too, particularly around object detection and obstacle avoidance. It’s not foolproof – the X5 got stuck more than once – but it’s still better than the other, cheaper models from Ecovacs I tested last year.

The base station of the X5 Pro Omni houses clean and dirty water tanks, as well as a bag for all the dust the vacuum sucks up.

One of the key features here is that the station will wash the mop pads of the vacuum after every use in 70ºC hot water, ensuring that it properly kills bacteria and bad smells.

It then dries the mop pads with hot air, ensuring that they are kept sanitised and clean. You do still need to get in and clean the mop pads and the main brush regularly, though – it’s not a fully automated system yet.

On the mopping front, the X5 uses the oscillating round mop pads. There’s no cleaning liquid in there, though, so it’s more just scrubbing your floors with water. The mop pads lift to 15 mm from the ground, which helps avoid smearing wet mop pads on your carpet.

There are a few other features, which honestly I don’t think add too much on the value front, but I feel I should include.

First, you can record short video clips of the X5 cleaning. Why? No idea. They are grainy and limited to just a few seconds.

You could also do a voice call, for some reason? Even if it’s for pets, I don’t think it’s something that needs to be a focus here.

There’s “AI Instant Remop”, which uses AI to detect a really dirty floor that needs a second mopping. It’s fine, I guess, but shouldn’t it just mop it properly in the first place?

And finally, there’s the Yiko voice assistant. Since I first tested the Yiko voice assistant, I have come to the conclusion that any form of bespoke voice control will be frustrating and unnecessary, and that holds true here.

What does the Deebot X5 Pro Omni do well?

The X5 Pro Omni seems to do a better job than most other vacuums I’ve tested of actually cleaning in a structured, orderly fashion.

Too many robot vacuums get lost. They go over the same spot again and again. And then again. The X5 will do its thing, and then go back to try to cover off areas it couldn’t get to, like closed rooms or blocked off areas. But it does it in a timely fashion.

The suction of the X5 Pro Omni is awesome. It doesn’t suck at full power all the time, but it doesn’t need to. On a regular cleaning cycle, my home felt cleaner than it ever had before, thanks to the X5’s intelligent routing and powerful suction.

It’s also simple to use. The app is fine for controlling when you clean (though maps are still an issue, more on that in the next section), but ideally, you want to set a schedule and forget all about it, leaving the X5 to do its thing.

Mopping does a reasonable job. The expandable arm works well — it’s good to watch the mopping arm stretch out to get right into the corner of a room to clean. I do wish the mop pads removed fully when you only want the robotic to vacuum, though, like the Dreame L20.

What could the Deebot X5 Pro Omni improve?

The greatest challenge I face with most robot vacuums today is mapping.

Despite the addition of AI and better sensors, I really feel like the automatic mapping features of robot vacuums have gotten worse in the past 12 months.

The X5 Pro Omni isn’t the worst robot vacuum in this regard, but it’s still not great. On its first attempt, it combined two separate carpeted bedrooms with the family/dining room that both rooms open onto, as well as the kitchen.

Or, put another way, somehow the software isn’t intelligent enough to notice either a doorway or a change in floor type to identify separate rooms.

You can adjust this stuff in the app, and unlike SmartThings for the Samsung Jet Bot AI, making room adjustments is relatively easy. But it’s a pain.

Like the T30S Combo and the Deebot N20 Pro Plus I reviewed last year, the X5 boasts Ecovacs’ ZeroTangle brush. I’m not going to say that it does nothing because at the very least the main brush isn’t destroyed in a week’s worth of cleaning like the Dreame L10s, but the brush still gets tangled. A lot.

You should expect to have to clean it out every couple of weeks at least, with particular focus on the very ends of the brush.

Finally, I would love for a better notification system around the water tanks. You only find out that the clean water tank is empty when it’s empty, or when the dirty water tank is full.

If you happen to be out, with your robot vacuum doing a scheduled clean, then you’re not coming home to the cleaner home you wanted to. It seems like something that could be easily fixed, and should be for the price.

Verdict

There were plenty of exciting announcements around robot vacuums at CES this year. From robotic arms to improved roller mops, things are going to make a pretty big step change when these newer models hit shelves.

With that imminent influx on the horizon, the Deebot X5 Pro Omni feels dated, despite not even being a year old.

But it’s still one of – if not “the” – best robot vacuum you can buy right now. It has incredible suction, solid obstacle avoidance, and is easy to use, despite its mapping challenges.

Buy the Ecovacs Deebot X5 Pro Omni online

Ecovacs Deebot X5 Pro Omni

RRP: $2,499

Check Price @ Amazon