Ecovacs’ new robovac spots and pretreats dried stains using powerful jets

Andrew Liszewski is a senior reporter who’s been covering and reviewing the latest gadgets and tech since 2006, but has loved all things electronic since he was a kid.Ecovacs announced a new addition to its Deebot line of autonomous cleaners with a new feature that could make the robovac better at cleaning floors in a single pass. The Deebot X12 OmniCyclone uses cameras and AI to identify dried stains on floors, such as muddy paw prints or spilled soda. Before cleaning the stain with its roller mop, the X12 blasts a mixture of water and cleaning solution in the bot’s path to soften tricky messes, making them easier to scrub away.The Deebot X12 OmniCyclone is available starting today for $1,499 through the company’s online store and Amazon. That price includes the robovac’s OMNI Station dock, which empties its dirt bin into a bagless canister, washes its rolling mop with heated, pressurized water, and refills its reservoirs.As with the Deebot X11 OmniCyclone that debuted in September, the dock can also fast-charge the new X12 and replenish 13 percent of its battery’s life in just three minutes. Every time the robovac returns to the dock for a cleaning, its battery also gets a top-up, allowing the X12 to clean up to 1,000 square meters before needing to stop for a longer charge.Other upgrades over last year’s model include a wider 10.6-inch roller mop that’s continually rinsed with a 32-channel clean water pressurized spray system, and a new Mop Roller Smart Cover that deploys when the X12 transitions from hard floors to carpet to prevent drips. The X12’s suction power has been increased to up to 22,000Pa (the X11 maxed out 19,500Pa), and its ZeroTangle technology has been upgraded to reduce the amount of long hair that gets wrapped up around its spinning brush, so there’s less manual maintenance needed.Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Andrew Liszewski