Is the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum 5 Pro the best-specced robot vacuum in SA?

R18k – that is how much the premium Xiaomi Robot Vacuum 5 Pro costs. Well, R17 999 depending on the retailer, but when you’re dropping that kind of money on a smart home appliance, the R1 won’t make a huge difference.

We have been covering Xiaomi smart home products on Hypertext for some time now, and in recent years, the brand has established itself as the leader in this segment, offering a wide array of devices for those who are keen on automating as many aspects of their home as possible.

While devices like speakers, trackers, helmets, cameras, and more are easy to justify, when you start talking about R18k for a robot vacuum cleaner, it becomes a harder sell.

So, we are left with one question – what does the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum 5 Pro offer at R17 999?

The Xiaomi Robot Vacuum 5 Pro and smart mapping tool.

We start, as most would when it comes to vacuum cleaners, with suction power. Here, the 5 Pro boasts the best that Xiaomi currently offers at 20 000Pa.

This is four times that of the entry-level Xiaomi S40 C, and as such, is capable of picking up dirt and debris on a variety of surfaces. It is therefore not limited to tackling tiled and wood floors alone, and can handle thicker carpets and rugs. If you are going to automate your floor cleaning, the last thing you want to do is fiddle with your robot vacuum all the time. The 5 Pro can simply be turned out and left to do the cleaning, no questions asked.

The other key element of the 5 Pro is the battery capacity. It features a massive 5 200mAh battery that yields up to 140 minutes of use from a full charge. The two-plus hours operation means quite a lot of square meterage can be covered. While other robot vacuum cleaners would need multiple visits to charging stations during the day to complete a task, the 5 Pro suffers from none of those issues.

As this robot vacuum cleaner will be operating for long stints in-between charges, you need to ensure that it has enough physical capacity to house all the dirt, debris, pet hair, and more that it picks up. On this front, Xiaomi has integrated a 2.5kg capacity dust bag. This is paired with a 4-litre capacity tank for clean water and a similarly sized one for dirty water via its dedicated Omni Station (pictured above).

When it comes to a do-it-all performance of vacuuming and mopping, the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum 5 Pro is well appointed.

It also addresses one of the biggest issues for round robot vacuums needing to clean spaces with corners – extendable arms to help sweep dirt into its path. As such, every inch of your home’s floor can be tackled by this deluxe Xiaomi product.

It is worth highlighting the peace of mind that is afforded to consumers too, as the 5 Pro utilises a combination of onboard AI and Binocular 3D scanning in order to recognise and avoid objects and obstacles while cleaning. It can negotiate changes in height of up to 2cm, so if there is a lip or skirting it needs to get over, it can do so without your intervention.

The Omni Station clean and dirty water tanks.

Did we mention that this robot vacuum is pretty smart as well? Outside of the AI-powered obstacle avoidance, it supports Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant for voice commands. And when you’re not home, the onboard HD camera can be called, allowing users to view what the robot vacuum can do, so if you want to check how the cleaning is going, you can do exactly that.

Sold alongside the aforementioned all-in-one Omni Station, the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum 5 Pro ticks every box one could have of a robot vacuum.

Until Rolls-Royce starts making its own robot vacuum cleaners, this high-end model from Xiaomi could have that moniker – the Rolls-Royce of robot vacuums.

Is the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum 5 Pro an expensive smart home appliance? Yes, no doubt. Can any other robot vacuum on the market do what it can? We have not encountered one that can yet.

To find out more about the Xiaomi robot vacuum cleaner range, as well as the other smart home products that the company sells locally, you can visit Takealot, Incredible, or HiFi Corp.

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