Hobot LEGEE 7: The Best Robotic Floor Cleaner of 2021

Hello, everyone! We've received a new product from Taiwanese company Hobot for review: the updated Legee 7 lidar-equipped floor cleaning robot. This model has received several important improvements, in addition to navigation, compared to its predecessor. 688 modelSales in Russia are planned to begin in May 2021. The robot is expected to cost between $400 and $450. Below, I'll detail all the changes and test the Hobot Legee 7 in various conditions. After reading this review, I'd be grateful if you'd appreciate my efforts by subscribing to [link missing]. So, let's get started!

Equipment

The Legee 7 arrived in this bright, branded box. All the information is in English, as I received a test sample straight from the factory. A fully Russian-language version, including a Russian-translated manual, will be available in Russia.

The box contains:

1. The robot itself with two microfiber cloths installed.
2. Charging base with power adapter.
3. Spare set of napkins.
4. Operating instructions.
5. Bottle for filling the tank with water.
6. Two spare side brushes.
7. Spare HEPA filter.
8. Set of spare injectors.

The box also includes a special plastic base pad that will protect the floor from getting too wet after the robot returns to the charging station.

Appearance

Let's take a look at how the robot itself is designed. It's D-shaped, with a soft-touch mechanical bumper at the front. A lidar for navigation and a control panel are located on top.

In addition to the start/pause button and forced return to the base, the manufacturer has added features such as a power mode and a floor polishing mode. The body is 99 mm high.

The dust container and water tank are located under the top cover. The water tank has a capacity of 340 ml, while the dust container holds 500 ml of dry waste. It features a dual filtration system with a mesh filter and a HEPA filter. Incidentally, the HEPA filter on this model is washable. The on/off button is located next to the dust container.

At the bottom of the Legee 7 we see one side brush, 4 anti-fall sensors, a suction hole in the center, and an important difference – 4 nozzles for wetting the floor.

The previous ones had two of them. Installing two additional nozzles allowed for a more even and abundant spray of water onto the surface.

The mop pads are mobile, and the drive mechanism, with a reciprocating motion of both pads and oscillations up to 900 times per minute, mimics the motion of human hands to remove dried stains and dirt from the floor. This unique cleaning system distinguishes the Hobot Legee from other robotic vacuum cleaners and floor washers.

The robotic floor cleaner itself moves using rubberized tracks, which prevents slipping when working on smooth floor surfaces.

Overall, the Hobot Legee 7 has a high build quality. The manufacturer has been constantly improving its unique robotic vacuum cleaner based on customer feedback, and this model is no exception.

Technical specifications

Below are the main specifications of the Hobot Legee 7. I've included the specifications of its predecessor, the Legee 688, in parentheses so you can immediately see the differences:

• Battery Li-Ion 4500 mAh (2750 mAh).
• Suction power 2700 Pa (2100 Pa).
• Cleaning area up to 240 sq.m. (up to 150 sq.m.).
• The speed of movement of napkins is 900 times/min (600 times/min).
• Battery life up to 140 min (90 min).
• Dust collector 500 ml (500 ml).
• Water tank 340ml (320ml).
• Dimensions 340*330*99 mm (340*330*95 mm).

As you can see, Hobot engineers have also done a great job in terms of performance. A big plus is the increased battery capacity and suction power.

Functional capabilities

All the core functionality of the Hobot Legee 7 is available in the proprietary mobile app. I'd like to point out right away that the app is new, specifically designed for this model. It's much faster. The interface is in Russian. A few sections aren't translated, but the manufacturer will fix this in the next update.

The app features a help mode with all the necessary electronic manuals and a cleaning log where you can review data on completed cleanings, including viewing maps. You can also set up a cleaning schedule by selecting the desired days of the week, start times, rooms, and even a cleaning mode for each room. There's also a "Care and Management" section where you can monitor the robot's status, select the voice notification language and volume, enable do not disturb mode, and manually update the firmware. Incidentally, the Hobot Legee 7 speaks Russian.

Additionally, the Legee 7 now features the ability to voice its own commands. The robot responds to commands not with the factory voice, but with a voice recorded by the owner. This is a very interesting improvement from the manufacturer. You can hear how it works in the video review below.

This robotic floor cleaner has eight cleaning modes. In Custom mode, you can manually adjust the spray level, suction power, wiper speed, and robot speed.

It's important to note that the Hobot Legee 7 stores up to five unique cleaning maps, which is a major advantage. When using a map, you can select rooms to clean, set virtual walls and no-go zones on the map, combine several rooms into one, or divide rooms into separate zones, and even name rooms for easier customization later.

The control panel displays the selected map. Below it, information about the last cleaning is displayed. Below that, a row of buttons controls the robot's forced return to the base, pause the cleaning cycle, start the robot, map mode, and manual control. In manual control mode, you can manually activate floor wetting, completely shut off the water supply if needed, manually direct the robot to the desired cleaning location, enable sound-based robot search, force it to return to the base, start and pause the cleaning process, and enable perimeter walk mode.

It's also worth noting that the Ligi 7 can continue cleaning from where it left off after recharging at the base. Additionally, the Ligi 7 features intelligent water supply based on floor temperature. The warmer the floor, the more intense the water flow.

And finally, the Legee 7 supports voice control from iPhone, and in the future, it will also be able to be controlled via Google Assistant, Yandex.Alice, and even the voice assistant Marusya.

Testing

You can watch a detailed video review and test of the Hobot LEGEE 7 in our video:

Navigation

First, let's test the Hobot Legee 7's navigation in a room with obstacles. It navigated the entire accessible area, first along the perimeter and then in a zigzag pattern. It didn't get stuck anywhere. It didn't leave any debris around the box and was able to thoroughly clean around one of the chair legs, indicating that this algorithm is built into it. After completing the cleaning cycle, it returned to its base without any problems.

Incidentally, it moved the base while cleaning because I didn't secure it to the mat. The base and mat have adhesive backings that allow you to securely attach the docking station so the robot doesn't move it while cleaning. A big plus is that it thoroughly cleans right next to the base, rather than circling it by a few dozen centimeters, like many other robots.

It took about 10 minutes to clean 10.5 square meters. Cleaning speed is high at the highest settings.

Now let's check how this robot vacuum cleaner can navigate the entire area of ​​the house.

And you can see that Hobot Legee 7 creates a precise map of the room, dividing it into zones, which it then traverses alternately, first along the perimeter, and then in a serpentine pattern within. No navigation issues were detected. The robot cleaned 32 square meters in 36 minutes. The navigation test was successfully completed.

Working hours and cleaning area

Additionally, I decided to test how long the battery would actually last in user mode if all the sliders were set to maximum, i.e., so that the robot would use the maximum battery charge.

The test was conducted in a room of approximately 10.5 square meters. The robot completed eight full cleaning cycles and returned to the base. On the 9th run, the battery charge reached 17% and the robot returned to the base. However, after just three hours, the robot resumed cleaning and cleaned the remaining area. The battery lasted for a total of 74 minutes of cleaning in maximum mode. During this time, it covered almost 96 square meters in total. And I think this is a good result. In Eco or Standard mode, it can cover over 100 square meters and, after recharging, clean another 100 square meters.

Suction power

Now let's test this robot's suction power in maximum mode during dry cleaning. It was able to effectively vacuum debris from a 2 mm-deep crevice, but it struggled with other gaps.

The suction power is higher than some similar products, but not as powerful as others. However, this power is more than sufficient for keeping your home clean, considering it's a robotic wet/dry vacuum cleaner, not a mopping robot.

Dry cleaning of laminate flooring

Now let's test how the Hobot Legee 7 picks up debris from hard floors. In our case, this includes fur, hair, grains, and ground coffee in corners to simulate dust.

And as you can see, this robot did an excellent job, leaving no debris behind. I was especially pleased with how well it sweeps out corners thanks to its D-shaped body. The test was a success.

Removing dried stains

Since this is primarily a floor cleaning robot, it's important to test how well it removes tough stains. Sauce and coffee were spilled on the stand, leaving the stains to dry for about a day. By the third pass, the robot was able to remove all the stains, leaving only minor traces. However, given the stand's initial condition, the test passes.

Additionally, the stand was stained with paint and greasy lipstick. The robot successfully dealt with these types of contaminants, leaving no streaks.

Wiping off dirt

However, if the floor is too dirty, the robot will not be able to clean it, as it is more suitable for real-life household conditions, where the dirt is not so significant.

Hobot Legee's floor cleaning technology isn't suitable for such tasks. It's worth noting that this robot doesn't clean about 3 cm along the baseboard, and that's the only criticism I have so far.

But if there is only a little dirt, for example, just footprints, the robot will be able to wipe them off without leaving streaks.

Simultaneous dry and wet cleaning

It's worth noting that the Hobot Legee 7 can vacuum and mop the floor simultaneously, as evidenced by another test. However, keep in mind, if there's a lot of dry debris, I recommend first running a dry cleaning cycle with dry wipes to allow the robot to collect all the debris in the dust bin, and then running a wet cleaning cycle when the floor is minimally dusted. Otherwise, the robot will wet the floor debris with the wipes, and instead of collecting it in the dust bin, it will stick to the wipes and end up smeared across the floor.

By the way, at the request of one of my subscribers, I'll also show you how the Legee 7 collects sand from tiles in floor cleaning mode.

As you can see, it was able to collect a significant portion of the sand, but it still didn't suck it out of the seams, as the wipes had wetted the sand, making it more firmly lodged there. Therefore, in such cases, it's best to separate dry and wet cleaning into two cycles.

Obstacle course

The Hobot Legee 7's maneuverability is limited to just 5 mm due to its cleaning module design. While it can navigate interior thresholds of this height, it won't be able to handle even a 10 mm threshold.

Driving on dark surfaces

Since it can no longer climb onto a dark rug that's just over 5mm high, I had to stick black tape on the floor to check whether the Hobot Legee 7 recognizes dark surfaces as height differences.

No, he doesn’t have any problems with this; the robot can work on black surfaces.

Noise level

Finally, let's check the Hobot Legee 7's noise level in different modes. At minimum settings, the noise level reaches 59 dB, while at maximum settings, it reaches 72.5 dB.

Let's sum it up

Hobot Legee 7 has been thoroughly reviewed and tested. our evaluation system he was able to dial 71 out of 100 points, and considering that this is a washing robot vacuum cleaner, and not a universal model, it lost quite a few points for poor maneuverability, the inability to work on carpets, etc. But even when compared with the only competitor on the market iLIFE W450, which scored 49 out of 100 points, the difference is clear. And it becomes clear who is the best robotic floor cleaner of 2021! It even managed to complete the top 5 robotic vacuum cleaners in our overall rating.

What can I say after testing and getting to know the Hobot Legee 7 in-depth? It's certainly made significant improvements over the 688, and it's worth the extra money. Among its advantages, I'd like to highlight:

1. Good navigation.
2. Storing multiple maps in memory.
3. All advanced functionality in the application.
4. Powerful battery.
5. High-quality removal of dirt.
6. Possibility to fully wash and vacuum at the same time.
7. Good quality of sweeping out debris in corners.
8. High build quality.
9. Support for creative voice notifications
10. Availability of a warranty and full service support.
11. And just as importantly, the Hobot Legee 7 won't damage wood floors while cleaning. You can adjust the water flow so the spray isn't too intense, but still sufficient to remove stains.

Among the shortcomings and comments I would highlight:

1. The robot does not clean along walls/baseboards.
2. The Hobot Legee 7 isn't capable of handling heavy dirt; the wipes will smear the dirt if there's a lot of it. My only recommendation is to run it more frequently to prevent dirt from accumulating and ensure the robot maintains a consistent clean.
3. Poor cross-country ability.

Some criticisms may be more related to the limited operating conditions, given the cleaning technology. However, this model's advantages far outweigh its shortcomings, and this robotic floor cleaner can certainly be considered one of the best in the world in the first half of 2021.

I hope you found this review helpful and interesting. If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments below. Happy shopping, everyone. Bye!