Ecovacs Deebot X5 Pro Omni review: Handsfree freshness

The last time I tested a robot vacuum was over three years ago. That doesn’t sound like a long time, but technology moves fast, and today’s robovacs are to yesterday’s robovacs what the iPhone 16 is to the Nokia 1100. They’re quieter, the sensors are better, the suction is more powerful, and they require little to no supervision. The Ecovacs Deebot X5 Pro Omni is the culmination of all those leaps in technology—a cleaning device that I can actually trust to do just as good a job as myself. Well, most of the time.

Any flagship robot vacuum is going to set you back a big chunk of change, and the Ecovacs Deebot X5 Pro Omni is no different, with an asking price of $2,499. Although that’s a big ask, it is on par with comparable models from brands like Roborock, Eufy and Samsung.

The Ecovacs Deebot X5 Pro Omni auto-empty station isn’t the most subtle thing in the world, but considering what it houses, it doesn’t need to be. Under the monolithic exterior lies two water tanks (one for clean water and one for dirty water), as well as a massive dust bag and a heated mop washing system. For all that, I can forgive a bit of bulk, especially since the water tanks and dust bag are so easy to empty and replace.

The vacuum itself retains the same half-circle, half-square design found on the Ecovacs Deebot X2 Omni, which allows it to get into just about every nook and cranny.

The X5 Pro Omni takes things a step further with its own onboard AI assistant, Yiko, who allows you to control the robot without even opening the app. It’s not my thing, personally (Yiko is chatty, let me tell you), but for those who aren’t quite as savvy with smartphone apps, it does offer an alternative.

The camera is kind of a weird feature. It’s not something that you’d rely on in favour of a proper security camera, especially given how low-quality and jittery the video output is. That said, it might be a decent option for checking in on pets while you’re out and about—if they aren’t spooked by it, of course.

The Ecovacs Deebot X5 Pro Omni boasts 12,800Pa of suction power. To put that into perspective, that’s one of the most powerful robot vacuums on the market, if not the most powerful you can get right now. But on-paper numbers mean nothing if the vacuum can’t do the job in practice. Fortunately, the X5 Pro Omni lives up to its spec sheet, sucking up every little speck of dust and debris that my partner, my dog and I could throw at it. Unlike other robot vacuums I’ve tested in the past, for the first time, I didn’t feel the need to grab my stick vac and go over any areas that were missed—simply because, 95% of the time, nothing did get missed.

Mopping is great, but using water alone and no cleaning solution, it still struggles with more stubborn stains—despite the aforementioned AI stain detection and re-mopping. Still, it’s a significant improvement from the first robovacs that offered mopping as a feature. The mopping pads lift as soon as the X5 Pro Omni detects carpet, so you never have to worry about your carpet or rugs getting wet.

The best part, however, is that the mopping pads are self-cleaning (in 70-degree water, no less) and self-drying. My biggest issue with robovacs in the past is that the mopping function always felt like an afterthought. I mean, how clean are your floors really going to be if a damp rag is dragging the dirt from one room to another, especially if you’re not washing those pads between each use? The X5 Pro Omni has effectively solved this problem by ensuring every new clean (or every new room, if you so desire) gets a freshly cleaned set of pads.

In terms of battery life, the X5 Pro Omni is an absolute beast. Set to dual vac and mop mode, it took around 90 minutes to two hours to clean my whole house, with many trips back to the auto-empty station to jettison some dust and clean the mopping pads. After all that, the battery was still at about 42%. Impressive.

We’re still not quite at the point where robot vacuums can fully replace you, your regular vacuum or mop and some elbow grease, but the Ecovacs Deebot X5 Pro Omni is about as close as we’ve gotten so far. It’s a capable and intelligent cleaning assistant that will significantly cut down on your weekly chore time, and for that, I think it’s absolutely worth it—enormous price notwithstanding.