Imagine this: you had a great party at home, all your guests had a great time and now it’s time to clean up. When you turn off all the lights, you see drink and food stains on the floor. Can anything be worse than that? Yes, there is. It’s the dreaded call from your housekeeper the next morning, saying they won’t be coming to work. Cleaning is probably one of the hardest parts of adulthood. But thankfully, we’re also living in 2024, where a lot of fancy technology is now affordable – including robot vacuum cleaners.

At its annual Smarter Living event this year, Xiaomi launched the Robot Vacuum Cleaner S10 in India, and we have been using it for almost a month now. The Xiaomi Robot Vacuum Cleaner S10 glides across the floor of the house, vacuuming and mopping your floors. Man, does it make adulthood a little easier! But the question always remains, should you spend Rs 20,999 on this robot vacuum cleaner? Read on to find out.

Xiaomi Robot Vacuum Cleaner S10 review: Design and build

The Xiaomi Robot Vacuum Cleaner S10 looks like your typical smart vacuum that is circular in shape. When you hold the device from a distance, it looks like a giant disc that can be placed in the corner of your room when not in use. Xiaomi has launched a single colour for the device- black and it looks quite elegant. The matte finish design gives it a premium look and appeal.

The device isn’t too heavy, but it’s not exactly light either. But I don’t think that matters much since you rarely have to pick it up and move it around. It mostly does all the moving and sliding on its own.

There is a mounted circle on top of the vacuum cleaner that houses the LDS laser navigation, which guides the device’s movements. That’s also where you see the Xiaomi branding, which is subtle but noticeable. The device also has a Start and Home button for accessibility. You can use these buttons to turn the device on and begin cleaning, or instruct it to return to the dock station.

Flipping the device over, you will see two large wheels on the sides and a small wheel in the middle which provides balance to the device. The right half of the device is covered with a mop and the left side has a circular brush to tackle dust.

If you have used or seen other robot vacuum cleaners, you will notice that this one has a standard design. It also comes in a single black colour. Perhaps a white colour variant would have been a good option to cater to more tidy people. Still, a little more innovation in terms of design would have been welcome but it is certainly not a deal-breaker.

Robot Vacuum Cleaner S10 review: What’s in the box and how to setup

The robot vacuum cleaner S10 arrived at my home in a compact but bulky box. I had to ask my husband to carry the box to the living room to start unpacking the device. Inside, there was the vacuum cleaner, some documents, a mop accessory, a brush accessory, a water tank, and a charging station.

Setup is easy with the Mi Home app. Just download the app and follow the instructions to pair the device and start cleaning. I used the device with the mop accessory and brush all the time.

Robot Vacuum Cleaner S10 review: Performance

In terms of performance, the Robot Vacuum Cleaner S10 cleans quite well. (Funny, isn’t it?) There are four performance modes – low, medium, high and turbo. The suction power is great on high and turbo modes. However, on low and medium modes, there is some room for improvement. I scattered small pieces of cornflakes on the floor and the smart vacuum was able to clean them on both high and turbo modes. But on low and medium modes, there were some pieces that didn’t pick up. The mop also works great and does a fantastic job keeping the floor clean and dust-free. However, the water tank is small and needs to be refilled after 3-4 rooms (average 40 sqm for each room).

Talking about the Turbo and High modes, they consume comparatively more battery and are quite noisy too. There have been many instances when I woke up from a sound sleep due to the noise made by the device during a pre-scheduled cleaning session.

That’s right, you can schedule cleaning sessions in advance using the Mi Home app. The app really takes the user experience up a notch by providing several useful features. In my opinion, one of the most useful features is that you can specify areas where the vacuum should clean, mop or avoid altogether.

This is useful when you have carpets in your home and you want the device not to bump into the carpets. This device works great on stable carpets, but if your carpets are not stable on the surface, it may get stuck at times and you will have to lift it manually.

Along with this, it is also worth noting that the S10 is equipped with sensors that help it detect empty areas and maneuver around obstacles. However, it may take 2-3 minutes to navigate around some obstacles. Apart from this, the vacuum cleaner can also store multiple maps. So, you can choose which map to follow as per your convenience.

You can also choose from two cleaning modes- Normal and Custom. In the Normal cleaning mode, the vacuum scans the environment and cleans randomly.

In custom cleaning mode, it scans every corner of your house and you can choose the cleaning order. This mode also allows you to schedule cleaning jobs. I usually schedule cleaning jobs in the evening when my domestic help is gone, to add an extra layer of cleanliness to the entire house.

Robot Vacuum Cleaner S10 Review: Battery and Charging

The battery life of the Robot Vacuum Cleaner S10 is good enough to clean a good-sized 3BHK apartment, but may not be enough for larger homes. In Turbo mode, the S10 can clean a 3BHK apartment (about 120 sqm) using full mop intensity on a single charge.

However, if you have a large home, you may find that the S10 sometimes heads towards the charging station while cleaning. The best part about this is that the vacuum automatically returns to the charging dock when needed. You can also tell it to rest and charge itself using the app. The dock itself is not bulky at all and is quite easy to place in a room. You can place it in any corner of your home and you might not even know it is there, unless the vacuum cleaner is attached to it.

Robot Vacuum Cleaner S10 review: Should you buy it?

Now let’s come to the question you might be wondering- should you buy the Robot Vacuum Cleaner S10? Can it replace your traditional mopping and sweeping?

I would say the smart vacuum is a solid choice for those looking for a convenient and efficient cleaning solution. Although it has drawbacks like noise and a small water tank, its strong suction power and effective mopping functions make it a worthwhile investment for maintaining a clean home.

If you are not short on budget, then at Rs 20,999, it seems like a good investment. While the S10 may not allow you to fire your housekeeper with confidence, it can ensure that your home looks neat and tidy at all times.