Key Takeaways

• The Eufy X8 Pro is an AI-powered robot vacuum that offers convenience and efficiency in tackling daily cleaning tasks.
• It has excellent pathfinding skills, and can adapt to constantly changing environments.
• While the vacuuming function is impressive, the mopping feature requires more effort and is not as effective in handling heavy-duty messes. The auto-detangling feature is a major time-saver for maintenance.

Modern life is a little hectic, so anything that can help with one of the boring, repetitive, tasks we’re all expected to perform will likely be welcome in most households. Robot vacuums attempt to do just that. They tackle what should be a daily cleaning task and allow us to get on with other things.

Eufy, one of Anker’s brands, has released the Eufy X8 Pro, an upgraded version of its X8 robot vacuum. The new sucker has “AI-powered” mapping and pathfinding, self-cleaning features, and enough power to thoroughly deal with stubborn messes like pet hair. Or that’s what Anker claims anyway.

To test this particular option out, I managed to take the Eufy X8 Pro into a hectic situation. My sister has a toddler, two dogs, and another one on the way. Her house, underneath the dog toys and general nephew-related debris, is a mixture of tile flooring, wood, and carpet.

Thanks to the garden and the English climate, the kitchen regularly ends up with a thin veneer of mud. So the mop has been thoroughly tested with both light and extremely heavy levels of mess. In terms of vacuuming, Eufy’s claims about pet hair have been assessed about as thoroughly as it’s possible to assess them. Here’s how the AI-powered vacuum did.

Setup Isn’t Complex, but Can Take Some Time

In terms of physical prep, you need to plug a base station in somewhere convenient. It should be far enough out of the way that the vacuum doesn’t become a tripping hazard when it’s charging while allowing a fair amount of maneuvering room on each side. Then you need to peel some plastic and remove a couple of small foam buffers from the X8 Pro’s bumper. If you’ve set up a robot vacuum before, this process is similar for all of them.

To finish setting up the robot, you’ll need the Eufy Clean app which is free to download from the Google Play store or Apple's App Store. Once that’s installed, you can connect your X8 Pro to the house’s Wi-Fi network, link an account, and perform all of the little tasks that make the vacuum work how you want it to. It’s these tasks that take a lot of time.

The vacuum will spend its initial cleans mapping out the areas it’s in. As a result, things can take a lot longer as it finds its way around and works out its best route. These maps then need to be labeled, no-go and no-mop zones should be marked, and automated schedules can be added. Depending on how much you like to micromanage things, it can take hours to fully set up the system. Then again, if you’re happy hitting a button and working things out, setup will take about 10 minutes.

It’s a Hybrid, and They Have Limitations

There are limitations to the X8 Pro, just as there are limitations to all robot vacuums. The bot does a good job getting into the corners, but there are areas where it simply won’t fit. Similarly, the mopping step involves it dragging a damp, textured, cloth attachment across the floor. This will clean some but don’t expect miracles.

That previously mentioned heavy-duty mess that was caused by muddy dog paws was still there after the X8 Pro made a few passes, but it’s the sort of thing that needs cleaning chemicals and some elbow grease.

Some robot vacuums with mop attachments have a "lift" function, which moves the mopping attachment upwards when the vacuum hits a "no mop zone" or mopping mode hasn't been selected. That is missing here and is an area where the X8 Pro could have been made a little better.

In terms of cleaning chemicals, Eufy recommends either using water or its own solution. Anything else could potentially damage something inside the machine, or cause other issues. I didn’t have any of Eufy’s cleaner, so we had to do all of our testing with water to swerve the risk of recommending something that could damage a new $600 cleaner and likely impact the warranty.

So overall, this will clean your house, just not as well as you can by yourself. It is hugely convenient, but like other robot vacuums, it should be a supplement to a cleaning routine—not a replacement. In comparison to other mid-range electric vacuums, its performance was very good. It was noticeably powerful, especially on the carpets, and mopping did make a visible impact even if it couldn’t deal with the worst messes possible.

The Eufy Can be Controlled in Several Ways

You’ll have to download the Eufy Clean app to get things set up, which is arguably the best way to control your vacuum from that moment on. You can control the vacuum with it from anywhere, provided you have some kind of internet connection. So if you’re out of the house it’s possible to start cleaning remotely from the app and come back to clean floors.

The app can also be used to view the maps your X8 Pro has compiled of your home, edit them with things like labels, no-go zones, and no-mop zones, set schedules, follow the location of the vacuum, monitor it for errors, and more.

Controlling the vacuum with voice commands is less featured than using the app, but can it be convenient in certain circumstances. The bot works with both Alexa and Google Assistant, so you are able to fully integrate it with your smart home. The bot is connected to your Wi-Fi, so ensuring it’s on the same network as your smart home and downloading the Alexa “skill” for it should be enough to get it all working.

Simple commands like “start cleaning,” and “find my vacuum” worked well with home assistants. You can also rename the robot if you have more than one or just really like the idea of “Chuck Norris” mopping your kitchen.

Buttons on the top can be used to start the vacuum in a pinch but are a major pain compared to other input methods. If you want an easy life, use the app, or better yet schedule cleanings and forget the X8 Pro even exists until it’s time to empty the bag.

Its Laser-Mapping System and AI are Superb

The X8 Pro uses a combination of “AI,” LiDAR, and good old-fashioned bumpers to map your home. So it will bounce into a lot of things, without damaging itself or the object it is hitting, while working out how your home is laid out. This map makes future runs more efficient, but isn’t the be-all and end-all of cleaning operations.

If a new area within a room opens up, like if the position of a dining table’s chairs occasionally allows access underneath it, the bot will happily head into this new area—provided it hasn’t been marked as a no-go zone. So, the initial map of a home won’t lead to a bunch of areas that will never be cleaned if they’re initially blocked off.

I saw the X8 Pro work itself into some tight gaps, like the underside of chairs and stools, and then find its way out. If a person or a pet is in the way, it will clean other parts and skip the area where the obstacle is.

Overall, the AI powering navigation and mapping was solid. You can trust the bot to do its job with very little input on your part. However, if something does go wrong, the app will give you an alert and allow you to intervene when it’s convenient.

Mopping Takes a Bit of Effort

Mopping is less autonomous than vacuuming, taking some effort on the owner’s part. The X8 Pro comes with a water tank that needs to be filled every now and then. The tank can be used to tackle a few rooms before it needs refilling.

The detachable “mop” must be fitted to enable mopping mode, then detached and cleaned after every session. Attaching and detaching the mop isn’t difficult at all, though it is still an extra task and something that takes away from the machine’s autonomy. It’s also a part that will need replacing somewhat regularly, though cleaning it after every session will extend that lifespan.

In terms of mopping performance, can it tackle a kitchen floor full of muddy floor prints while armed with nothing but a tank of tap water? No, of course not. It can make a bit of a dent in said mud, but you need more than cold water to shift that level of grime.

As with all robot vacuums really, it’s great for keeping an okay-looking floor in very good shape. It will stop things from getting bad if used every day and can reduce your workload significantly, but you’ll need to get an actual mop and some detergent out occasionally. In Eufy’s defense, I’ve yet to encounter a hybrid system that mops exceptionally well. Even the aforementioned units with a mop-lift function tend to be less than brilliant.

Vacuuming Works Very Well

While mopping can be a bit intense when it comes to user input, vacuuming works brilliantly on the X8 Pro. The “twin-turbine” design produces a surprising amount of suction and can rip through embedded pet hair without a lot of hassle.

On a smooth surface, the rotating brush does a good job of flicking dirt from the corners and edges, whilst the vacuum takes care of essentially everything it runs across. However, the rotating brush can be a bit enthusiastic in some cases. I spotted it flicking a crumb several feet across the floor and onto a previously cleaned spot. This usually means the crumb will be missed unless the vacuum is set to do multiple passes.

If your home has mixed surfaces, you don’t need to worry when it comes to vacuuming. The X8 Pro can detect carpet and adjust its suction levels appropriately. This also applies to rugs and mats strewn throughout the house.

Obviously, there are areas the bot won’t be able to get to, despite its best efforts. So you’ll still need to do a more intense clean around once a week. But it can get the majority of your floors noticeably cleaner in that time.

Its Detangling Feature is a Major Time-Saver

What sets the Eufy X8 Pro apart is its auto-detangling feature. Usually, you have to do a little maintenance on a robot vacuum at least once per week. This involves pulling tangled hair out of the vacuum’s brushes, which is not the most pleasant thing in the world. Although it’s a pretty quick task, it can still leave your hands coated in grime and reduce the effectiveness of your vacuum if you forget to do it.

Eufy’s new vacuum just takes care of it for you. It will automatically detangle itself, though you can also force the action by tapping a button on the app. Any tangles then end up deposited in the vacuum bag with anything else the vacuum picked up on its run.

The Eufy X8 Pro isn’t a bagless machine, so you will need to buy extra bags and replace them in the charging tower every once in a while. Exactly how often depends on your house and its inhabitants, but Anker suggests that a 2.5-liter bag will last around 45 days on average for a couple with a pet. You'll never need to empty the vacuum itself, as it will jettison its contents into the tower at the end of every cleaning session.

More humans and animals means more filth on the floor, so said bag will need replacing more often. If you live alone, it will last a lot longer. Floor space covered by the vacuum also plays a part, obviously.

A system with bags has its pros and cons. It’s easier to remove a bag and toss it away than it is to empty out the dust chamber of a bagless system. But bags are an extra expense and have an environmental impact. There’s a reason regular vacuums moved away from bags, so the fact the X8 Pro uses them is a bit of a negative.

Parts like brushes will eventually wear out but should last a long time. You’ll be replacing your mopping components more regularly, though exactly how regularly depends on what you keep putting them through and how well you maintain them. Anker estimates a mop pad should last around a month on average.

Should You Buy the Eufy X8 Pro?

At $600 (sans discount) the Eufy X8 Pro is firmly in the mid-range when it comes to robot vacuums. Despite the price point, you get a powerful machine capable of easily tackling multiple surfaces. It’s also armed with arguably one of the best navigation systems on the robot vacuum market at the moment.

The auto-detangle feature, and general lack of expected maintenance, really makes it stand out against its peers and could be enough to make this an obvious choice if you want to spend less than four figures on your cleaning robot.

In terms of downsides, like all hybrid systems, mopping is a bit of a pain. That pain would be eased slightly by a “mop lift” feature, but those don’t tend to work brilliantly anyway. A bagless filth chamber would also be a bonus and could have been another area where the “Pro” stands out against the regular X8. Still, Eufy has produced what could well be described as a leading machine at this price point.

Beyond my opinion, you may be interested in hearing what the homeowner with one toddler, two dogs, and a baby on the way thinks about it. My sister found the Eufy X8 Pro easy to use, and thinks it’s a great way to keep on top of housework. Apparently, it also keeps the toddler entertained, which is an unexpected bonus.