TechRadar Verdict
Ecovacs is making automated cleaning affordable and, with the Deebot 900, is finally providing a robovac that’s suited to dwellings with wall-to-wall carpets or pets. It may take a couple of passes, but those tough jobs can finally get done with just the lift of a single finger.
Pros
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Max setting for extra suction power
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Perfect app control
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Google Assistant and Alexa enabled
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Near-perfect mapping
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Relatively quiet
Cons
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90-minute battery life for standard cleans
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45-minute battery life on Max setting
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Unable to climb over thresholds
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UPDATE: Ecovacs Robotics now has a brand-new app to control its autonomous vacuums cleaners. Called EcovacsHome, it's available for download from both the App Store and the Google Play Store. If you are an existing Ecovacs user, the original app will display a pop-up asking you to update to the new one. Head to page 3 of our review to find out more.
We might be living in the midst of the digital age, where you can switch on your lights with a voice command and keep tabs on your home from basically anywhere in the world, but when it comes to household cleaning, getting the best results often still require you to get your hands dirty and go elbow deep.
Robot vacuums have offered to make that job easier for over a decade – with varying success – but by-and-large they have improved (or at least gotten a bit cheaper) over the last few years. The technology powering these newer robot vacuum cleaners is smarter and more efficient, and the best models can genuinely make easy work of keeping your floors clean, even if you’re not actually at home.
While they still can’t compete with the likes of a good upright or canister vacuum cleaner – corded or otherwise – robovac manufacturers are trying to figure out ways to make the little droids powerful enough to pick up even heavier dust and dirt.
To date, robot vacuums were best used on hard floors as most of them don’t have the power to produce sufficient suction to clean homes with wall-to-wall carpets. That’s where Ecovacs Robotics latest robot vacuum cleaner comes in.
Officially launched in July this year, the Deebot 900 comes with a setting specifically for households with small children, pets or carpet floors – in other words, something to tackle the tough jobs with. But can a robot vacuum truly get hair off a carpet floor?
Price and availability
The Ecovacs Deebot 900 isn’t available in the UK yet, but it’s already on shelves in the US and Australia for $400 and AU$799 respectively. In Singapore, this helpful droid is priced at SG$599.
While it’s by no means cheap, the Deebot 900 is, perhaps, one of the cheaper Ecovacs robot vacuums available today. The Deebot Ozmo 930, on the other hand, costs $599 / £549 / AU$1,299 but comes with a mopping functionality built in.
Compared to the competition, the Deebot 900 sits at a more affordable price point. iRobot’s flagship Roomba 980, which is currently the best single-function droid for homes with wall-to-wall carpets, will set you back $900 / £800 / AU$1,499, while the premium Electrolux PUREi9 costs a whopping AU$1,699 (about $1,325 / £954) for something that’s a tad erratic on carpet floors and doesn’t mop either.
