Xiaomi Robot Vacuum Cleaner X10 review

Robot vacuum cleaners tend to look the same, and have similar hardware and design elements such as flexible bumpers to handle the frequent soft collisions, a sweeping brush, a roller brush in the main vacuum area, and a stabilisation wheel at the front. The Xiaomi RVC X10 largely sticks to this formula, but appears a bit slimmer than the rest on the whole. It has a rated suction power of 4000Pa, LDS laser navigation, and three different power modes for flexible cleaning requirements.

The back of the device has space and mechanisms to let you clip on the mop fixture, which consists of a tank and a removable and washable mop cloth. The top of the RVC X10 has the laser navigation system’s emitter and receiver, which are used to help the device detect floor plans, obstacles, drop-offs, and more. Finally, there is a lid at the top which gives you easy access to the on-device dust bin.

The dock of the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum Cleaner X10 isn’t just a standard charging station. Its primary function is, of course, to charge the robot vacuum cleaner, but it’s a fair bit bigger and taller for an important reason. The dock has a suction system which can pull out all dust from the on-device dustbin and store it in a disposable dust bag inside the docking station. A vent at the bottom of the X10 device lines up with the suction system, to work as needed.

Perhaps the only annoying thing about the docking station of the Xiaomi RVC X10 is that it needs to plug into a 16A power socket, which can complicate installation and positioning a bit. The suction mechanism arguably needs this additional power to function. However, I have seen robot vacuum cleaners with self-cleaning mechanisms from other brands work with the more convenient 6A plug, given that the suction system only needs to draw high power for a few seconds at a time and not continuously.

Xiaomi’s smart home app for Android and iOS devices - conveniently called Xiaomi Home - is the unified control centre for most smart home and IoT products from the brand. Devices such as air purifiers, smart cameras, and smart lights can all be controlled from the app, as can the Xiaomi RVC X10, which is great from a convenience point of view.

The app itself is conveniently and mindfully designed to give you quick access to the controls, map, battery level, and cleaning information. More detailed menus for controlling the self-cleaning dock settings, cleaning history, consumables management, and firmware updates can also be found through the app.

The first run of the Xiaomi RVC X10 helped to create the map of my home, which it got largely right. Of course, I did need to modify this a bit, by way of creating invisible walls to avoid it going into bathrooms or balconies, or no-mop zones to avoid dropping water on rugs and carpets. You can also create no-go zones for areas that you to keep out of bounds for the X10, and set up detailed cleaning plans for different rooms, among other things.

Navigation on the Xiaomi RVC X10 relies on an LDS laser-based navigation system, which is seen on most devices in this product segment right now, across price ranges. I didn’t have any trouble with navigation, with few bumps and no incidents of driving off cliffs or into areas where the device wasn’t supposed to go. The X10 is quick to move around, can find its way around the map even when Internet connectivity is cut off, and manages to find its way back to the dock after most cleaning tasks.

The Xiaomi RVC X10 is fairly powerful, with a peak suction power of 4000Pa. Naturally, it only goes to full power under certain circumstances, or if you switch to the Turbo mode; ordinarily, you’ll get a reasonable amount of suction power and cleaning capability even with the lower power settings.

Usefully, you can set the X10 to operate at different power levels in different rooms, by using the custom cleaning mode. If you prefer a simple and hands-off approach, the standard mode will stick to a single power setting for all rooms. Mopping functionality can also be customised this way, with water flow levels that can be set differently for different rooms of the house. 

While the Turbo mode is expectedly loud, the Standard and Strong modes give you a decent balance between power, loudness, and battery consumption. If you find even the standard mode a bit too loud, there’s a Silent mode that gets even softer, but at the cost of suction power. It’s enough to lift small dust particles, but you’ll need stronger modes for everyday cleaning in India, especially if you open up your windows.

The Xiaomi Robot Vacuum Cleaner X10 has a 5200mAh battery, which is a fair bit larger than on some of the earlier models; the original Robot Vacuum Mop-P from the brand had a 3200mAh battery. Naturally, this helps run the device for a lot longer on a single charge. Even with the Turbo mode running, I was able to clean my 900-square-foot home with well around 60 percent battery to spare. The Standard mode can obviously go a lot longer, potentially letting you clean even a 3000-square-foot space with battery to spare.

The self-cleaning docking station makes quite a racket when it’s running, but this is just for a few seconds at a time. You can set it to clean out the on-device dustbin of the X10 after every clean, or even turn off automatic self-cleaning and operate it through the app manually as needed. Do remember to keep an eye on the disposable dust bag, and replace it when you need to.

The Xiaomi Robot Vacuum Cleaner X10 is a considerable step up from the earlier models, not just in power and capabilities, but also in the features on offer. Impressively, Xiaomi has managed to keep pricing low, making this one of the most well-equipped and feature-filled robot vacuum cleaners at under Rs. 30,000 right now. 

It also helps that the app is excellent, and a fair bit better than the apps for competing robot vacuum cleaners. While the replaceable dust bags are a bit expensive, the overall ease of use and competitive price of the X10 itself make this a worthwhile robot vacuum cleaner to consider.