Robot vacuum cleaners are a surprisingly trendy segment of tech right now. Ecovacs’ new Deebot X12 OmniCyclone is just the latest entry into an increasingly crowded market. Right now, though, South Africans will have to admire it from afar.
Ecovacs has unveiled its newest contender for your favourite floor assistant and put it on sale, but it’s confined to the European market for now. The company does have a local presence, so it’ll likely turn up once the marketing plan makes it as far as South Africa.
Deebot X12 you’re looking for?
What can you expect from a (likely) R30,000 robot vacuum? There are iterative upgrades to the previous model, including an updated mop and detangling brush system. But the major drawcard, apparently, is the FocusJet tech Ecovacs is stuffing into this new headliner. It can ” automatically detect dried-on stains and spray and wipe them in a targeted manner.”
That’s more hassle taken care of, but in case you don’t have enough AI in your life, the Deebot X12 also has an onboard assistant. You shouldn’t have to instruct the function, either. Agent YIKO 2.0 will automatically adjust operations for more efficient cleaning. Whether it’s more useful than an automated system remains to be seen.
If it’s more tangible features that grab your attention, Ecovacs reckons the X12, plus its OmniCyclone station, will run for up to 48 days unattended. How the 1.6-litre tank, which seems to be part of the charging station, manages this is something we’d love to test. It could be incredibly water-efficient. Or the company might not have factored in periodic liquid refills.
The Deebot X12 isn’t locally available yet, but its direct ancestor, the Deebot X11 (which you’ll find in the current issue of Stuff), is listed. Odds are very good that the newer, better version will make its way to South Africa in time.
