Once upon a time, the stated aim of technology was to improve the lot of the housewife. This was around the time the term ‘soap opera’ was coined. In 2023, there are still efforts to make cleaning a house simpler. Only now, instead of vacuum cleaners, we’ve moved onto the robot vacuum.
Specifically, the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum E10 or variants like the S10, S10+, or the monster X10+. Sure, you can pick up a manual vacuum from a store for a couple of grand but that involves things like ‘labour’ and ‘remembering to use it’, and… it’s a far better idea to just automate the whole process.
No time like the present
The main reason to own a Xiaomi robot vacuum cleaner? Installing one in your home means no longer worrying about floor-based mess. Obviously, there are limits. Anything you couldn’t clean with a human-operated appliance (while retaining the ability to use said appliance) will also require human intervention. For everything else? Maybe let those crumbs fall on the floor. They’ll be tidied up soon enough.
That’s not permission to drop everything on the floor. The Xiaomi Robot Vacuum E10 may be powerful enough to suck up most dirt and packed with the features needed to perform some light mopping but there’s no call to go making a robot’s life harder. They’ll remember that treatment, come the Robot Uprising.
Feature rich
Seriously though, the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum E10 is a dream to use. It’ll automatically map out the area it’s cleaning, including new obstacles, hoover up (heh) anything that happens to be in its area of operation thanks to its powerful 4000Pa suction capability, navigate hard-to-reach locations, and it’ll spray particularly dirty areas so it can get a little mopping in. All you have to do is top up the water thank and empty it out when it demands some attention.
Opt for the S10 and you’ll get a larger battery capacity, meaning more cleaning time before your Xiaomi robot vacuum returns to its charging station. Ditto the water and dirt reservoirs, meaning human intervention can be more widely spaced. Scale up to the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum S10+ and you’ll score even larger battery, water, and dirt capacity, plus more advanced 3D object navigation.
The top of the range is the X10+ model, which features a similar spec (in the robot vacuum) to the S10+ but also has the ability to empty its own dust, refill its own water, and clean its own mop-pads. That’s the kind of service you can’t pay for (except that you totally can). All of the other cleaning functions have been similarly upskilled.
Better than the rest
Comparable suction performance to hand-operated vacuum cleaners and better performance than competing robo-vacs make Xiaomi’s lineup the one you should start with. Enhanced battery life, navigation, features, the ability to spray and mop – these are functions that aren’t found in competitors at similar price points. And those that do match the price lineup always leave out at least one important function.
So check out Xiaomi’s various offerings from Takealot, Yuppiechef, Incredible Connection, Tafelberg, FNB, and Vodacom. The Xiaomi E10 starts at R4,499, the S10 will cost R5,999, and the Xiaomi S10+ is a solid R9,999. Finally, for the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum X10+, expect to pay R19,999. But it’ll be worth it.