Haier TH27U1 review

It’s a pretty basic operation here. The robot looks like the thousand others you’ve seen before and has a silver top plate that looks great. One of the biggest issues I’ve had with cleaning robots is the act of cleaning the dust that settles on the robot itself. Thoughtfully so, the Haier doesn’t have any silly grooves or other design embellishments on top that allow dust to settle. It’s a plain flat finish that allows me to just wipe the dust off with a cloth in one swipe. 

Another thing that I absolutely love about the design is the fact that there are no sensor modules jutting out at the top. This allows the robot to fit under most of the furniture thanks to its 76mm height.

Like most of the robot dust eliminators in the market, the Haier robot comes with dual functionality. You can swap out the dry bin at the back for a tank with a microfibre cloth attached that functions as a mop. You will obviously have to keep filling the tank almost every cleaning session because it isn’t very high capacity and if you have a huge area to cover, it will need a refill in the middle of a session as well. 

You don’t get any fancy mapping technology here (sorry nerds) like you get with something more expensive like the Deebot N8 Plus or the iRobot variants. You get basic settings via the app that are focused on simplicity and getting the job done. You get to set the suction power, water tank dispersion rate, and work mode that includes setting a timer. No mapping functionality means you can’t direct the robot to a specific room or area and you have to watch it roam around like a little nomad that’s lost in the Sahara. On the bright side, it ends up cleaning a lot more than you’d imagine. The Haier comes with cliff detection though, so it doesn’t fall to its death.

What I really admire about Haier is that they have thought of all the generations of users. You can get this for your parents and have them use it via a handy remote that comes with it! No need for the app at all! This is brilliant and to think of it, if I didn’t have to write this review and test the features and app usage, I wouldn’t download the app either. Not to say, the app isn’t good, but the remote control just makes it super duper easy. 

Since there’s no extra sophisticated sensors and tech on board, the robot does suck in shoe laces and fluffy carpets are its nemesis. So you'll need to keep that in mind before you set it out into the wilderness that is your home. If you live with pets, you will fall in love at first sight and so will your pets. Incredibly, this robot doesn’t make a very high whining fan noise that scares them.

The back to basics, no frills approach is the selling point here! It’s simple and it does the job. At this price, there’s nothing I can think of complaining about. The battery life on Eco mode lasts for a cool 1.5 hours and that’s plenty of cleaning! Sure it doesn’t come with mapping or a self empty feature and all that jazz, but at Rs. 13,999 what you do get is clean floors with ease of use and it’s worth every bit you spend on it.