Proscenic X1 robot vacuum review

The appearance of the sensible residence has been an extended one and few devices have had fairly as lengthy an on-ramp into the house because the robotic vacuum. Because the first Roomba machine over 20 years in the past, they haven’t grow to be fairly as ubiquitous as initially anticipated.

That isn’t to say that the market isn’t scorching – actually, fairly the other, with loads of gamers attempting to enter the sport. Amongst these is Proscenic and the X1 is its new top-of-the-line mannequin. It comes with an auto-empty dock, a mopping operate and a number of different options. However is it pretty much as good on carpet as it’s on paper?

Learn on for our full overview.

Design and construct

• Fairly trendy auto-empty dock
• Comes with distant management
• Contact controls on robotic

One of many points with self emptying robotic vacuums are the big charging bases, which may be ugly and exhausting to discover a house for.

The bottom itself is the primary win for the Proscenic X1. Although it isn’t small by any stretch, it manages to deal with the required parts right into a bundle that’s discreet and considerably trendy. It is a base that may match into quite a few completely different residence set ups with relative ease, and with out attracting an excessive amount of consideration.

On the bottom may be discovered a standing gentle and a compartment housing the bag, into which the X1 is emptied on the end of every cleansing cycle.

As for the X1 itself, it’s the typical robotic hoover, which is to say it seems to be like an enormous and barely malevolent hockey puck. It has a strong construct, with shock absorbing plates positioned round its physique, and a collection of contact controls on its floor.

There’s additionally a distant management included, which may activate the machine and which permits for direct management of the cleansing course of.

There are alternatives on the market which are a bit extra trendy or compact, however for its worth level the Proscenic X1 affords a very good stability of favor and practicality.

Efficiency

• Convoluted arrange
• Efficient mop
• Clunky app

After all, it doesn’t matter how good a robotic vacuum seems to be if it doesn’t make the method of cleansing simpler. So, how does the X1 measure up?

On first activation, the setup course of was a bit convoluted. The cellular app refused to keep up a connection to the machine at a number of factors, together with throughout a compulsory replace.

Following this, the X1 went off to map for the primary time and confirmed off a key benefit it has over a number of the competitors: its LiDAR sensor. The identical sensor sported on 3D scanners, newer iPhones and extra, it permits for the creation of a extra complicated 3D map of its environment, which means – theoretically no less than – higher navigation total.

It was put via its paces by a hyperactive toddler working literal circles round it throughout this course of, and it nonetheless carried out nicely.

Sean Cameron / Foundry

For cleansing there are two sweeping arms which pull in particles to be sucked up beneath, and it proved to be greater than sufficient to take away mud and filth from laminate flooring in our testing. Carpets additionally proved to be little problem because of the inbuilt ‘increase’ mode which will increase energy on this sort of floor. 

An added bonus may be discovered within the means of the X1 to mop. It was in a position to deal with quite a lot of stains and surfaces with relative ease, although once more required some supervision to take action successfully.

As for common navigation, the X1 has some points with the perimeters of rugs, drops and any step greater than 1.5cm excessive, however then these are issues frequent to many robotic vacuums. As is often the case, for greatest outcomes it’ll want an obstacle-free space to work with.

It can additionally imply that, relying on your private home, this can be a vacuum that might want to rescued at times. This implies it’s greatest activated whenever you’re in, which is a little bit of a limitation.

The app for the Proscenic is uncommon. Although it’s attractively offered, it’s a bit gradual and isn’t fairly as dependable because it must be, displaying a bit bugginess at instances. It could retailer as much as 5 family maps, and it’s potential to arrange cleansing for particular rooms inside the app.

There are different choices too, however delving deep reveals one other problem: dangerous translation and localisation. Whereas we might guess that ‘Vibrationsmodus’ is its vibrating mopping mode, it might be good to not must look that up on-line.

Though the app is definitely a internet plus, its considerably clunky execution will result in you utilizing the distant in lots of conditions.

The battery life labored out to round half-hour of cleansing time in any explicit occasion earlier than a cost was required.

All in all, whereas the sensible components of the Proscenic X1 aren’t at all times as much as snuff, it really works nicely as an automated vacuum cleaner.

Worth and availability

For its worth level, the X1 has so much to supply. It’s one of many extra inexpensive robotic vacuums to come back with an auto empty station. These cleaners can price nicely over £1,000.

That being stated, in case you can afford to spend a bit extra, Ecovacs’ T10+ has an analogous function set (learn our overview to seek out out extra) however beats the X1 by way of high quality in each division. It’s at present discounted on Amazon to £599.

The Proscenic X1 isn’t obtainable within the US. Within the UK, there are two shopping for choices. It’s obtainable from Amazon and direct from Proscenic. On the time of writing, Amazon has the higher worth by a cushty margin.

Verdict

There are loads of variables that go right into a profitable robotic vacuum. On a number of the most vital ones – cleansing means and design – the Proscenic X1 scores clear wins. It was in a position to deal with the final detritus left by a canine and a three-year-old with aplomb, and blends into the background whereas not in use.

That it affords a LiDAR sensor and mopping capabilities at its worth level solely serves to sweeten the deal. Nonetheless, issues start to fall down with regards to the app, an important device to work together with the X1. The app proved to be a bit complicated and infrequently buggy, making the expertise of utilizing the machine extra irritating than it wanted to be.

In case you are available in the market for a feature-filed mid tier sensible vacuum, the Proscenic X1 may very well be a good selection – however it’s removed from a flawless expertise. 

For extra choices and to see our most really useful robotic vacuums, take a look at our round-up of the most effective robotic vacuums we’ve examined.