Robot vacuum cleaners for smart home cleaning continue to arrive from China, all equipped with advanced features, and with a price accessible to most people. On test this time Viomi V2, which shares many of the typical features with its competitors, but which immediately seemed slightly more powerful and intelligent. Here because.
Aesthetics
On an aesthetic level, smart robots all resemble each other, and now they differ in a few respects, especially in coloring. Also this Viomi V2 proposes a circular shape, with a gray but shiny upper part at the same time, with a very particular pattern, refined and minimal at the same time.
On the front there is a large button, which fits well into the upper plastics, and which has the function of turning the robot on and off, as well as starting the cleaning and returning the robot to the base.
On the upper part, as in many other exponents, there is a small rise, which does not allow it to clean under the lower furniture, such as a container bed or other rather low furniture. too high off the ground.
On the front there is the laser, while the 600 ml waste bin is housed under the central compartment, which is reduced to 560 when the water container is inserted to start the washing mode.
The two containers, we anticipate immediately, are alternative: either one fits in, or the other. This means that you will have to choose the mode, between washing or vacuuming, in advance.
On the lower part there are two rather large rubber wheels and a single main brush. From an aesthetic point of view, there is nothing original compared to other competitors, but overall the glossy upper front part, with this particular pattern, makes it appreciable and well recognizable within the panorama.
The recharging base is one of the most minimal: it does not offer any rail to house the robot, which, moreover, will recharge “in reverse” having the sensors placed on the back. The charging base is black, and allows you to hide the power cord under a special compartment, so as to make the charging station more tidy and less intrusive to the eye.
Technical features
The vacuum cleaner is made, of course, in ABS, features a rubber roller brush and is equipped with 360-degree laser scanning technology, LDS radar, SLAM algorithm which, we anticipate right now, works really well, and allows you to map the home environment in real time. It is able to keep the map in memory, as well as being able to memorize more rooms throughout the house, so as to improve cleaning efficiency.
Viomi V2 offers 3 different suction modes, from the mildest to the maximum speed, passing through the medium. In this regard, we would like to say that the low mode already seems to be stronger and more efficient than many other competitors.
In fact, from the first start-up, we had the impression that Viomi V2 was able to aspire better than other competitors in a lower price range. Normal and full power modes confirmed these impressions.
The wheels placed on the lower part allow the robot to overcome obstacles up to 2 cm high, while the motors offer a suction power from 2000 to 2150Pa. Of course, Viomi V2 does not propose major limitations when it comes to surfaces to be cleaned. It can be used on carpets, ceramic tiles, marble, stoneware, wooden floors and so on and so forth.
As for recharging times, Viomi V2 takes about 180-240min, while it allows you to vacuum for about 80-120 consecutive minutes, for a cleaning coverage that varies between 100 and 150 square meters.
The dimensions and weight are absolutely in line with those of the other competitors: 35.00 x 35.00 x 9.45 cm, with a weight of about 3.3 kg.
There are many cleaning functions, including the one that allows you to limit the suction to a particular area of the house, without the robot continuing to wander through other rooms.
The vacuum cleaner does not include any remote control for remote control, which instead occurs only on the basis of the application for iPhone and Android, which is localized only in English, but which can be used by anyone for the extreme ease of identification. of the various functions proposed.
It is possible to turn on the robot and start cleaning, or recharging, also using the two buttons on the top, thus allowing cleaning even without a smartphone.
Daily use
On the upper part, as already mentioned, a small control tower, where the LDS laser is housed, which scans the cleaning area to create a map of the room on the basis of which the robot can navigate independently.
Since the first start we have appreciated the functioning of Viomi V2. Not only for the suction power mentioned above, but also for the way you move and extricate yourself among the obstacles.
For example, we noticed fewer collisions between the robot and the obstacles present in the various rooms, and the ones that did occur had an absolutely negligible entity, which did not damage the furniture in the house in any way.
Even in the case of threads or shoelaces, we have noticed that the vacuum cleaner tends to do well: while some competitors have even stopped the race, turning off, Viomi V2 seems to have overcome the obstacles, disconnecting the motors, releasing the laces, and continuing on his way. Obviously, it is always better to remove these obstacles to let the vacuum cleaner work at its best.
How it cleans
Obviously, the main concern of those who buy a robot vacuum cleaner is always the same: does it clean well? We respond absolutely positively. As far as the suction department is concerned, we are absolutely satisfied with the result.
Already at a first pass the robot seems to remove 90% of the dirt present on the ground, and also the container compartment at the end of cleaning shows the efficiency of the vacuum cleaner.
During our tests we noticed that the cleaning took place completely autonomously, and the robot never required our intervention. On all occasions he has always completed the work in total autonomy.
As already mentioned, Viomi V2 is able not only to vacuum, but also to wash. To start this mode, however, it is necessary to replace the inner basket, removing the one for the dust, and inserting the special one with water.
It is not enough, because this mode also presupposes the presence of the cloth on the lower part. This attaches to the vacuum cleaner tails, through a quick coupling and release system. It is therefore very easy to switch from one mode to the other, but in this case manual intervention by the user is certainly required.
Washing, as often happens with smart robots, is not the most successful feature. Viomi V2, also in this, does better than other low cost competitors, but certainly will never be able to completely replace traditional methods.
This is because the robot is certainly not able to scrape off the most rooted stains, but only to perform the passage of the damp cloth without applying too much force. On the one hand, after the passage of Viomi V2 you will notice a certain sheen on the floor, but on the other hand the thicker stains will not be completely eliminated.
Viomi Robot Application
The application that controls the robot, available for free on iOS and Android, is in English. Don't be afraid, it's intuitive, easy to use, but it has everything you need for a complete smart cleaning.
The app is very similar to that of other vacuum cleaners, such as the S6 series tested a few weeks ago. Cleaning can be started immediately by choosing between the different suction powers, between light, standard and maximum, as well as allowing the robot to be recharged with a simple tap.
If these are the immediate cleaning functions, by accessing the other menu, instead, it will be possible to choose the areas in which to limit cleaning, reset the saved maps, use a virtual remote control on the screen to manage the robot, carry out maintenance, or program the cleaning times.
Smart, but not 100%. Too bad that Viomi V2 does not offer support, at least at the moment, to voice assistants such as Alexa and Google Assistant. At the moment, in fact, there is no way to control them via voice controls.
Conclusions
The cost of Viomi V2 is higher than many other low cost competitors, but if we have to have our say, the 50 or 70 euros more can be seen and are well spent. 360 euros are not few, and at this figure there is really a lot of choice. Viomi V2 works really well, and the price + also justified by the floor cleaning mode.
It is well built, has brushless motors, is quite quiet and does its job. Right from the start it seemed more powerful than many others, and even the navigation system with anti-collision sensors works better than on other exponents.
On the other hand, there is no support for digital assistants such as Alexa and Google Home, not being able to start cleaning via voice commands, nor deep automations.
PRO
VERSUS
The Viomi V2 vacuum cleaner is for sale at the price of about 360 euros by clicking on this direct link . The offer is valid while stocks last; for more information on shipping costs and times, any charges and order management, you can consult the seller's website.
