INTRODUCTION

   People who happen to be workaholics just like myself don't have nearly enough free time for home chores like brooming and mopping and that has been a problem for me for the past 10 years or so. Some years back when i first started testing/reviewing robot vacuums i thought they were just a gimmick, a way for manufacturers to make more money from consumers by selling something that didn't quite deliver. Remember, robot vacuums have been around for roughly 3 decades now and they never did get popular enough to become a household must (there must have been a reason for this, right?). Well as it turns out the reason was no other than the lack of needed technological advancements something which we have now and that's what's made it possible for robot vacuums to earn their place in countless households all over the world. Today with me i have one such robot vacuum and specifically one of the most popular models released by ECOVACS to date, the DEEBOT N8 PRO+.

   ECOVACS is singularly focused on making daily lives easier and more efficient with intelligent and connected home service robotics. With a deep, 22-year history in smart home development and 100% ownership of its R&D and manufacturing, the company leads the market in patents and innovative product development in home service robotics. ECOVACS first premiered in the U.S. with its DEEBOT robotic vacuum cleaners, today a top 3 market leader, along with its WINBOT robotic window cleaner. For more information, please visit: http://www.ecovacs.com.

   The DEEBOT N8 PRO+ by ECOVACS consists by a robot vacuum and an auto-empty station (the 2.5l bag inside allows for up 30 days’ worth of dust and hair). Just like most high-end robot vacuum models in the market today the N8 PRO+ uses laser to measure distance but unlike most ECOVACS has installed the more accurate/advanced dToF (direct time of flight) 3D depth sensor (TrueMapping 3D). In terms of cleaning power, the N8 PRO+ sports a motor with 2600Pa suction power (67dBA max noise according to ECOVACS) and as for other features there are numerous secondary laser sensors positioned around the vacuum (these include the already mentioned dToF depth/mapping sensor along with several anti-collision, anti-fall and edge cleaning ones), dual side brushes, 3200mAh lithium-ion rechargeable battery pack (ECOVACS rates this for up to 110 minutes of running time), 420ml dust bin, 240ml electric water tank (can control the volume of water via the app), smart home integration (can control all of its functions vocally via either Amazon Alexa and/or Google Assistant) and of course WiFi 2.4GHz connectivity. As expected via the ECOVACS HOME Android/iOS App allows the end user to fully control the DEEBOT N8 PRO+ via several functions/commands such as selective and custom areas, continuous cleaning, auto-boost function, virtual boundary, no-mop zones and scheduling.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

A few words about the OZMO feature of the DEEBOT N8 PRO+ are placed at the front in 6 languages right next to a product picture.

On the left side we find some words about the auto-empty station again in 6 languages located right next to a product picture.

The TrueDetect 3D feature is mentioned on the right side of the box, yes again in 6 languages placed next to a product picture.

All the previous features are printed once again at the rear of the box, again in 6 languages and again next to yet another product picture.

Both the robot vacuum and the bundle are placed inside cardboard boxes whereas the auto-empty station is wrapped inside two pieces of cloth and placed between 2 pieces of cardboard.

After you take everything out of the box you should have the N8 PRO robot vacuum, mop add-on with microfiber cloth, two side brushes, auto-empty station, power cord, 10 disposable microfiber cloths, some 2.5l bags for the auto-empty station (3 i think), warning information paper, certification of conformity paper and the user instructions.

THE DEEBOT N8 PRO+

Measuring 353mm in diameter and 93mm in height the DEEBOT N8 PRO+ is almost identical to most LDS models out there.

As with most models the laser mapping sensor is located in the highest level of the robot vacuum.

The secondary on/off button is located just next to the sensor.

Opening the top reveals the dust bin, primary on/off slider, reset button and the WiFi activity LED.

The dust bin opens from the front, has a HEPA like filter and can be filled with up to 420ml of dirt.

More sensors are located right past the fascia of the DEEBOT N8 PRO+.

The water tank is located at the rear of the robot vacuum and as you can see ECOVACS recommends just using water (i like to use cleaning solutions with models that don't feature electric volume control).

Unfortunately, the water tank can only accommodate up to 240ml of water and even though that's fine when compared to other robot vacuums i would had liked a larger one.

Turning the DEEBOT N8 PRO+ you can see that ECOVACS has learned over the years so this robot vacuum looks like a tank (in terms of quality).

Here we see the two large side wheels (not rubberized but i had no issue with them during tests), main wheel, main roller brush, two openings used by the auto-empty station, charging contacts and the side brushes.

The quality of the brush is very good and aside micro fibres it also has pieces of rubber which help with dirt collection.

Here you can see the DEEBOT N8 PRO+ with the mop addon installed.

The auto-empty station measures roughly 45cm in height, 31cm in width and 44cm in depth.

At the front we find an activity LED, two charging contacts and two large holes which connect to the top (this is where the robot vacuum unloads all dirt from the dust bin).

Turning the auto-empty station around we see the power cord port and two plastic holders which can be used to route it.

The top opens by just pushing at the front and as you can see removing and installing the bag is very easy.

ECOVACS HOME APP

Once you start the ECOVACS HOME app you will be asked to select your region and language.

After that the app will take you step by step on how to pair the DEEBOT N8 PRO+ with your local network and your smartphone.

Naming the robot vacuum, selecting voice language and enabling some of its features come next.

From the main app tab, you can command the DEEBOT N8 PRO+ to start cleaning or return to the dock for recharging and check its current battery level.

Once you enter the smart cleaning tab you will see the map of the floor, last auto cleaning log, empty dust button (the vacuum empties its dust bin into the auto-empty station), area/auto/custom cleaning modes, recharge command (lower right), floor change (lower left) and the cleaning preference command.

Inside the cleaning preference tab, you can adjust the suction power of the motor (the DEEBOT N8 PRO+ has 4 different levels) and the water amount/volume you'd like the water tank to drop/use.

You can also add virtual boundaries and no-mop zones from within the app.

The DEEBOT N8 PRO+ can also store separate floor maps if you'd like.

From inside the basic and advanced settings tabs you can enable scheduling, enable/disable several features, reset the map, check the cleaning logs and accessories usage, rename the robot and check for potential firmware updates.

TEST RESULTS

Robot Vacuums may be home appliances but they are very advanced ones so I thought about running some tests like I do with most electronic devices. So here you can see the maximum cleaned area during all tests (single pass, start to finish), total battery life (in quiet - standard/balanced - strong/max modes) and noise levels again in quiet - standard/balanced - strong/max suction modes.

CONCLUSION

   ECOVACS is a name I've known for years but i just now managed to test their devices and so far, i have to say that I'm impressed. To be more specific even though the DEEBOT N8 PRO+ is not quite perfect it does extremely well and certainly trades blows with both the S6 by Roborock and the M7 Pro by Proscenic. Of course, the DEEBOT N8 PRO+ is a far more complete solution but for some strange reason the first 2-3 times i used it, well it just wouldn't cover the entire house (it would just go to 2 out of the 6 rooms and return to recharge). With that out of the way however (it only happened the first 2-3 times) the DEEBOT N8 PRO+ did extremely well in everything i threw at it. Unfortunately, just like with the M7 Pro by Proscenic the auto-empty station sometimes will not be able to suck everything inside the dust bin (large/heavy things and concentrated dust for example) and i expect that to disappoint some people (not me since i prefer emptying the dust bin itself) especially since a considerable piece of the DEEBOT N8 PRO+ price is because of that. As for battery life at 15% the DEEBOT N8 PRO+ starts its return trip to the auto-empty station for recharging (and no you can't override that so basically the usable amount of battery for cleaning is 85%) regardless of its position to it.

   Right now, the DEEBOT N8 PRO+ robot vacuum by ECOVACS retails for USD699.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 669.99Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) a price tag which is relatively good. Still seeing that the auto-empty station doesn’t perform well with heavy/large things sucked by the vacuum getting the standalone DEEBOT T9 (review soon) for roughly the same amount or even the DEEBOT N8 PRO could be a better choice. Overall, I didn’t have any other issues with the N8 PRO+, performance is very good, it’s less audible than many other models, battery life is very good and in terms of build quality it does feel like a premium product and for all those it deserves the Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Suction Power (2600Pa)
- Battery Life (3200mAh / Up To Almost 2.4 Hours)
- Noise Levels (Compared To Both Similar Models & A Regular Vacuum)
- LDS/dToF Laser Navigation (Mapping Accuracy)
- Mopping Feature
- Auto Empty Station
- ECOVACS HOME App

CONS

- Auto Empty Station (Can't Suck Large Debris)
- Price (For Some)