Proscenic M8 PRO: A flagship with lidar, self-cleaning, and Y-shaped wet mopping

This review will examine yet another robot vacuum cleaner with self-cleaning and wet mopping. In 2021, more new models hit the market than ever before. The Proscenic M8 Pro is the company's flagship model at the time of writing. Priced at around $360, this robot vacuum cleaner not only self-cleans but also performs both dry and wet mopping, as well as cleaning large areas. Thanks to lidar, the robot creates an accurate map of the room and unlocks all the useful features in the app, though a remote control is included for simplified operation. Below, I'll take a detailed look at and test the Proscenic M8 Pro, after which I'll express my opinion on whether this robot vacuum is worth buying. So, let's get started!

Equipment

Let's start with a review of the package contents. The robot vacuum cleaner arrived in this branded box:

In addition to the robot itself and the waste unloading station, it contains:

1. Power adapter.
2. Wet cleaning nozzle with a microfiber cloth installed.
3. Spare napkin.
4. Remote control with power supply elements.
5. The operating instructions are translated into several languages. Russian is not listed.
6. Quick Start Guide.
7. Two spare bags for the station.
8. Spare side brush.
9. Spare filters (foam and HEPA).
10. Robot maintenance tool.

The kit is complete, including all the necessary accessories for operating the robot vacuum cleaner. That's a plus.

Appearance

Let's take a look at the Proscenic M8 Pro's design. First, I'll show you the robot vacuum itself. It's round, dark gray, and has a glossy lid. The body is about 10 cm tall.

The lidar cover is spring-loaded, preventing the robot from getting stuck under furniture. The control panel features two mechanical buttons: start/pause and forced return to the charging base. Between them is a robot status indicator.

The combined water and waste container is located at the rear, like Viomi S9 And Roidmi Eve PlusIt's even identical in design. A curtain is installed inside to prevent accidental spillage when the container is removed. The triple filtration system, using foam, HEPA, and mesh filters, is a plus.

By the way, the dust container itself holds up to 280 ml of dry waste, while the water tank holds 300 ml of water. Inside, you'll find a pump for electronically adjusting the cloth's wetting level. The charging terminals are located on the back of the container. Below them is a flap for emptying the dust container into the self-cleaning station's waste chute. Water flows to the cloth through three holes in the bottom of the container.

Let's take a look at the Proscenic M8 Pro's underside. It has four fall protection sensors. It has a single, three-beam, quick-release side brush. It's worth noting that the previous model Proscenic M7 Pro Two side brushes were installed. Below, we also see the charging terminals for the robot vacuum cleaner on a standard base. The problem is that there's also a version of the Proscenic M8 available, without self-cleaning.

The central brush is made of high-quality bristles and petals. The bristles are very dense, and the brush can be removed from hair and fur on both sides. This is a plus. The turbo brush module itself, by the way, is floating, which is also a plus.

Here's what the attachment with the cloth looks like. The cloth's structure is slightly different from the standard version. It's divided into two sections. The idea is that this type of cloth should clean better than a regular one, as it soaks dirt with the wet section and wipes dry with the dry section! We'll see how this works in real life during testing. The cloth is attached to the attachment with Velcro and pockets.

Now that I've covered all the details about the robot, let's move on to the self-cleaning station. Here's what it looks like:

The bag is installed in the usual way from above. It's worth noting the bag's increased capacity compared to similar devices. This bag holds up to 4.3 liters of dry waste, while other stations typically hold up to 3 liters. Another important feature is the self-cleaning station's control panel with indicators. You can not only visually check the battery status but also return the robot vacuum to the station or start/pause the cleaning cycle as needed. This is another advantage of the Proscenic M8 Pro over its competitors, albeit a minor one.

The docking area between the station and the robot is poorly designed, as it takes up a lot of space for the robot on the base. With Roidmi, for example, the robot slides deeper into the station, preventing the cleaning cloth from making contact with the floor. The rear of the base has a ventilation hole with a filter that needs to be removed and cleaned periodically.

Overall, the Proscenic M8 Pro's build quality is average to slightly above average. There are no real complaints.

Technical specifications

The main characteristics of the Proscenic M8 Pro, as declared by the manufacturer:

• Li-Ion battery 5200 mAh.
• Suction power up to 3000 Pa.
• The power of the self-cleaning station is 1050 W.
• Operating time up to 250 min.
• Cleaning area up to 320 sq.m.
• Dust collector capacity is 280 ml.
• The water tank capacity is 300 ml.
• Obstacle clearance up to 20 mm.
• Dimensions: 350*98 mm.

The only thing worth noting here is the slightly increased suction power compared to the previous model. 3000 Pa is a good figure, but we need to verify how well the stated value matches the actual performance. We'll confirm this in our tests.

Functional capabilities

The Proscenic M8 Pro can be controlled via both a mobile app and a remote control. Let's start by looking at the features of the proprietary mobile app. The robot vacuum cleaner connects to the network without any issues, but please note that the app interface is in English.

On the main control panel, the robot vacuum cleaner creates a room map and automatically divides it into rooms. Above the map are the main operating modes:

• Auto Clean is automatic cleaning;
• PowerMop – Y-shaped wet cleaning mode;
• Room Clean – selection of the required rooms for cleaning;
• Area Clean – setting up cleaning zones on the map (it is important to note that you can set up not only rectangular but also polygonal cleaning zones, and also select the number of robot passes: 1 or 2);
• Spot Clean – local cleaning mode at a selected point on the map.

When working with the map, you can set no-go zones, not just rectangular ones, but also polygonal ones. There are even separate no-go zones for wet cleaning mode, which is a plus.

Additional features include a sound signal to locate the robot vacuum cleaner, forced self-cleaning, adjustable voice alert volume, turning on and off indicator lights on the robot, and adjustable suction power and cloth wetting levels.

Let's go to the settings. The first section is the map editor. Here you can edit room boundaries and set the number of times the robot will pass through each room. You can also change the room names for easier scheduled cleaning.

In the Area Manager section, you can set cleaning zones on the map. When setting up a scheduled cleaning, you can choose not only the time, days of the week, and rooms, but also cleaning parameters (suction power and cloth wetting level).

You can also enable do not disturb mode, view the cleaning log, share control with other users, monitor the status of consumables, select one of six voice notification languages ​​(Russian is not included), adjust the self-cleaning frequency, and choose manual control of the robot.

Basically, all the basic functionality is included. It's also worth noting that the Proscenic M8 Pro supports storing multiple maps in its memory, automatically increases suction power when entering carpets, and continues cleaning after recharging at the base.

As for the remote control, it has duplicated features such as forced return to the charging base, manual button control, start/pause, local cleaning mode, Y-shaped wet cleaning, voice alert disabling, suction power adjustment, and maximum power mode activation.

Testing

Navigation

First, let's test the Proscenic M8 Pro's navigation in a room with obstacles. After leaving the base, the robot vacuum cleaner begins its perimeter sweep. The legs of the dryer proved to be a trap, but the robot was able to navigate them independently and continue cleaning. After sweeping the perimeter, the Proscenic M8 Pro begins cleaning the entire accessible area in a serpentine pattern. It was able to clean around all the legs of the chair and the box separately, before returning to the base. Test successful!

There are no complaints about navigation within the house either. The robot vacuum cleans room by room in a serpentine pattern, and then along the perimeter. There are no uncleaned areas, and the cleaning speed is high. So, this model has good navigation.

Suction power

The suction power is average, despite the claimed 3000 Pa. The Proscenic M8 Pro was only able to suck up debris from a 2 mm gap, but this power is sufficient for automatically maintaining cleanliness in the home.

Dry cleaning of laminate flooring

Dry cleaning performance on laminate floors is quite decent. The robot vacuum picked up all the debris from the floor. It also cleaned corners well, compared to most other round robots. The side and center brushes bore the brunt of the hair removal, but the bulk of the debris still ended up in the dust bin.

Cleaning the carpet

The cleaning quality on the carpet is high, the robot was able to collect all the debris, I have no complaints.

Self-cleaning quality

As for self-cleaning performance, it's average. Some debris remains after emptying a full container, but most of it is still removed.

For those interested, check out the recently releasedComparative test of self-cleaning stations for robotic vacuum cleaners from different brands. The Proscenic M8 Pro also took part in this comparison. There were many more tests.

Wet cleaning

The cleaning performance of dried-on dirt on laminate flooring was also above average. The robot removed all shoe marks, leaving only minor streaks and a stripe along the baseboard that robot vacuums currently can't remove due to their design. At least compared to all the other robot vacuums we tested. As for the cloth, I didn't notice any significant difference in wet cleaning performance compared to a regular microfiber cloth.

Overall, the wet cleaning performance is good, and a big plus is that the Proscenic M8 Pro can vacuum and mop simultaneously, as well as move in a Y-shaped pattern.

Obstacle clearance

This robot can easily handle 2-centimeter thresholds, so it has good cross-country ability.

Driving on dark surfaces

However, the Proscenic M8 Pro is sensitive to black surfaces, detecting them by differences in height. This is important to keep in mind.

Noise level

Finally, we measured the robot's noise level in different modes. In Eco mode, the noise level is around 60-61 dB, in Standard mode it jumps to 66 dB, and at maximum power, the noise level reaches 73 dB. Yes, this model has a higher noise level, despite its standard suction power.

Let's sum it up

The Proscenic M8 Pro has been thoroughly reviewed and tested. our evaluation system he managed to gain 75 out of 100 points, which is a good result considering the price. It scores slightly lower than its main competitors, the Viomi S9, Dreame Bot Z10 Pro, and Roidmi Eve Plus, but has its own strengths compared to these robots.

Overall rating of robot vacuum cleaners tested on robovac.washerhouse.com: https://robovac.washerhouse.com/en/rejtingi/robovac-obshhij-rejting-robotov-pylesosov-robo.html.

Among the advantages of this model I would like to highlight:

1. Good navigation.
2. Simultaneous dry and wet cleaning.
3. Control via remote control and mobile app.
4. All the basic functionality is included.
5. A self-cleaning station is provided.
6. The quality of dry and wet cleaning is above average.
7. Advanced wet cleaning using a Y-pattern.
8. Good equipment.
9. Ability to overcome 2cm thresholds.

However, there are also disadvantages. The main ones are:

1. The application interface and voice notifications are in English.
2. The robot vacuum cleaner is afraid of dark surfaces.
3. Increased noise level during operation.
4. Average self-cleaning quality.

Overall, as you can see, the comments aren't all that critical, so there's no particular reason not to recommend this model. At the same time, the robot vacuum cleaner didn't have anything particularly special to boast about. So, it's a matter of taste – if you liked the Proscenic M8 Pro or if you get a good discount on it, then by all means consider this option. But in my opinion, it's the same. Dreame Bot Z10 Pro more interesting in this price segment, because it has higher suction power and an obstacle detection system.

I'd like to end this review on that note. If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments. Happy shopping, everyone!