We have previously looked at robotic vacuum cleaners with prices of 500… 800 and even more for this lovely home helper. It’s nice when someone does something at home for you, but is it worth the hundreds and almost a thousand euros?
This time we have for review Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite budget-class robotic vacuum cleaner, which can be purchased right here in Latvia at a price well below 200 euros. In the Xiaomi Mop 2 series, you will also find the regular Xiaomi Mop 2, which differs from the Lite version with a larger battery and slightly more powerful suction. There is also the Xiaomi Mop 2 Pro, which already comes with significant improvements, for example, it has a Lidar sensor and even a vibrating floor mop. And then comes the Xiaomi Mop 2 Ultra with laser sensors and even a docking station that empties and cleans the robot itself.
Why did I choose Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite? Because it’s relatively cheap, it can do wet cleaning, and I wanted to see how exactly the robot copes with navigation when the Lidar sensor (that little pancake that is highlighted on the top of more expensive robot models) is not used. The Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite relies on its conventional front-mounted proximity sensors, as well as an upward-facing wide-angle camera that provides the robot with spatial orientation. I also don’t need huge suction power or a very long run time because the area to be vacuumed is relatively small. Other super smart robots have previously measured for me that the area to be vacuumed (this is when you count out all the closets, beds and other objects in the rooms that the robots cannot crawl under) is under 65 square meters.
Since the Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite is not equipped with the already mentioned Lidar sensor pancake on its roof, this robot is able to touch where the more expensive models cannot. In my case, it would be under the radiators and under a supposedly standard-height cabinet on legs, but in front of it, a very high soft carpet has been placed in front of it.
Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite is not the first budget robotic vacuum cleaner that I wanted to buy for myself. I researched the Eufy offer (specifically the G10 and G20 models), but for some reason they are sold here in Latvia for almost 300 and more euros. They are much cheaper on the German Amazon, but unfortunately they are not sent to Latvia. I also looked at Midea, which is supposedly a well-known brand, but there were a lot of negative reviews about Midea. iRobot is noticeably more expensive, and Lidar sensors make all robots relatively expensive.
Technical data of the robot:
Sizes: 353 x 353 x 81.3 mm
Weight: 3.1 kg
Battery: 2600 mAh (up to 120 min)
Dust container: 450 ml
Pure water container: 270 ml
Max suction power: 2200 Pa Included: extra side brush, extra wet floor cleaning cloth, charging dock, robot cleaning tool
Cena: around or even under 200 euros
As you can clearly see, the battery capacity of the Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite is about half of what is usually offered by very expensive robots, and the suction power is also about half of what is offered by robots priced above 500… 600 euros. This does not worry me too much, because the Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite will mostly clean wooden floors, vacuuming carpets is not the basic task of the Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite in my home. The battery capacity doesn’t worry me either, because usually expensive robots finish when they have more than 80% battery left. However, this robot’s battery charges at a rate of about 40% per hour.
Appearance and structure
In terms of construction and materials, Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite can hardly be distinguished from more expensive and even very expensive robots. This is a major advantage of Xiaomi – the very cheap models, at least in terms of construction, almost always surpass their competitors and even surprise users with their quality. Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite weighs a little over 3 kilograms, which is also only slightly behind the expensive models, which come with significantly more capacious and therefore heavier batteries. The lid of the robot swings pleasantly, the dust and water tanks also seem solid, not lagging behind more expensive models. This even applies to brushes and wheel mechanisms.
The Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite has the usual range of cleaning tools – one whiskered brush on the conventional side, a rotating brush on the bottom and a mop on the back. The charging dock is also simple, but quite high-quality, there is nothing unique here. I would have liked the Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite to have a plastic pad next to the dock that would protect the floor from the wet mop.
It is nice that Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite comes with additional accessories that are not always included with more expensive robot models.
Setup and App
Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite is very easy to set up. I used the Xiaomi Home app for this, I already had it installed on my smartphone. All you have to do is open the protective cover of the robot itself, under it there is a QR code that takes you to the Xiaomi Home app. You don’t have to press any buttons, the app finds the robot, you just have to select the appropriate 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi and you’re done. After that, just update the Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite software and the robot is ready to work.
The app offers the usual options to choose both suction and washing modes, you can also set when the robot will start cleaning by itself, you can set it to clean the room twice in one go, which is useful if something has spilled and stuck to the floor.
Of course, the Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite model will have fewer options than expensive robots equipped with Lidar sensors and front cameras. But here is everything needed for the robot to successfully complete its cleaning tasks.
I think the only thing that might really be missed is the Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite’s inability to work on multiple floors. Of course, vacuuming will happen, but the robot will not understand that it is being used on another floor of the house and will wander around the rooms. It should be noted here that more expensive robots have this option, some even try to determine whether they are on another floor of the house, but it does not always work perfectly.
Cleaning
In my opinion, Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite is perfect for those who have smooth wooden, laminate or tiled floors in their home. Then with the power of Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite, everything is in the best order, you can use Standard mode (Silent < Standard < Medium < Turbo) without unnecessary worries. Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite makes friends with soft floor coverings, it even knows how to increase the suction power when it hits the carpet. But the power available to the robot will not always be enough to thoroughly clean the carpets.
Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite chooses a zigzag route in the rooms, in this respect the robot is very similar to the expensive models equipped with Lidar and other capable sensors. The bad news is that sometimes the Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite will hit objects in the room more precisely because of these missing, more expensive sensors. It has been seen in the most expensive robots that it is possible to choose in the app between better perimeter cleaning or between running less on objects and walls, but Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite does not offer anything like that.
Unfortunately, I don’t have any other robot to compare the Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite with to compare the volume. Xiaomi also does not list the noise of the robot in any data sheet, but this robot is not very loud, nor is it powerful.
Does Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite tend to get lost? Yes, it sometimes has a tendency to catch and uncoil in low places, such as under stairs. Then it messes up the location. Another nuance is that the Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite immediately starts cleaning the house in a zigzag pattern, without going around the perimeter, as expensive Lidar-equipped models do. Thus, the robot does not always clean logically, which can prolong the cleaning process.
Wet cleaning is acceptable, but nowhere near great. I have seen robots that have two rotating cloths at the bottom, then you can really get rid of even slightly stuck clogs. In any case, the Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite does its job with wet cleaning to slightly reduce the fine dust in the rooms.
The dust container has a very large capacity, if the robot will clean the house every or every other day, it will probably be necessary to empty the container even less often than once a week. The wet cleaning water tank will have to be filled at least 2 times a week in the same scenario. I must say that I removed the water tank every time so that the wet cloth does not splash on the wooden floors.
Battery
Three words about the Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite battery. On a single charge, it will work for about 30… 40 minutes at maximum suction power, which can be on the limit if the house is larger and has a more complex layout. At lower power settings, the robot will run for 70 to 90 minutes. The promised 120 minutes is unlikely to be achieved unless you drive all the way down the mountain. At 20% charge, the robot announces that it is returning to the docking station for charging.
In my opinion, in the case of smooth hard floors, you can safely use the Standard mode (Silent < Standard < Medium < Turbo), then there is no stress that the robot may not be able to vacuum the entire home. In Turbo mode, the battery visibly loses power, and you also get the feeling that Turbo mode is louder, but not noticeably more powerful.
In conclusion
In my opinion, Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite is a pretty decent home cleaning robot, which of course lags behind more expensive competitors in terms of technical data and self-cleaning docking stations, but at the same time, Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite does almost the same thing. Yes, Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite does not know how to clean itself and wash the wet cleaning cloth, you will have to do it yourself.
The suction power of the Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite is sufficient, as I had also noticed that I did not use the expensive robot models at their full capacity. Full suction power will be required if there are animals at home that bring sand indoors.
On a daily basis, it proved that Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite’s indoor navigation capabilities are sufficient, but far from ideal. Nicely, the Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite doesn’t just rely on distance traveled and direction, but also has a camera on top, which allows the robot to understand more precisely where it is. I have read that the very simple robots tend to get confused if their drive wheels slip, they try to return to the dock to start cleaning from scratch at best. At worst, they don’t find the dock or they don’t know how to start cleaning again on their own.
In general, I would like to say that the Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite is perfectly suited for smaller and even not so small homes. Sometimes it seems that expensive robots with 5000+ mAh batteries are designed for at least 180 square meters to be cleaned or even more. The standard 60 to 85 square meters, where you actually need to clean 35 to 55 square meters, can be entrusted to such a significantly cheaper robot without worries. I think that Xiaomi Mop 2 Lite will not be able to clean 100 square meters of houses with one charge.
2023-08-07 09:30:00
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