Abir X8: Lidar for navigation, advanced wet cleaning, and a UV lamp

Hello, everyone! I've received the popular Chinese Abir X8 robot vacuum cleaner for review. It retails for $250 to $300 on AliExpress. This is a premium robot, but its features and functionality fully justify the price. Below, I'll thoroughly review and test the Abir X8, after which I'll share my opinion on whether this robot vacuum is worth buying, as well as its advantages and disadvantages. So, let's get started!

Equipment

The robot vacuum cleaner is packaged in a branded box like this:

In addition to the robot itself, it contains:

1. Charging base.
2. Power adapter.
3. Separate water tank with built-in microfiber cloth.
4. Spare napkin.
5. Operating instructions and a guide for connecting the robot to the app. It's important to note that the documentation is in English. You can download the Russian version by following this link: Abir X8 manual.
6. Remote control.
7. Two spare side brushes.
8. Spare HEPA filter.
9. Brush for cleaning the dust collector and central brush.

The kit is complete and includes all the necessary accessories to operate the robot vacuum cleaner for at least six months after purchase.

Appearance

Now let's take a look at the robot vacuum cleaner itself. The Abir X8 is round and glossy black. A lidar sensor for navigation is mounted on the top of the body. Next to it are two control buttons: start/pause and return to the charging base. Incidentally, the lidar sensor itself is equipped with a mechanical button that prevents the robot from getting stuck under furniture.

It's important to note that the body is approximately 96 mm high. A soft-touch mechanical bumper is installed at the front. A wall detection sensor, also known as a ToF sensor, is located on the right side of the bumper. This helps the robot move as close to walls as possible for a more thorough cleaning.

The dust container is located at the rear. It holds up to 600 ml of dry waste, a generous capacity. The motor is located inside, so rinsing the container with water is prohibited. A filtration system consisting of a mesh and HEPA filter is located on top.

Instead of a dust collector, the robot vacuum cleaner can be equipped with a water tank, which, according to the manufacturer, holds up to 360 ml. It has a small compartment for collecting debris.

In wet cleaning mode, the Abir X8 can't vacuum, but it can sweep the floor with its side and center brushes. Inside, you'll find a pump for electronically controlling the water supply. The cleaning cloth is attached with Velcro, and water flows through two openings at the bottom.

Let's take a look at the Abir X8's underside. It has two side brushes. They are three-pronged, quick-release, and have bristle tassels. They also feature additional protection against hair getting tangled on the sides. Three fall protection sensors are located underneath.

In the center, we see the turbo brush, which has bristles and petals. It can be removed from both sides to remove hair and pet hair, which is a plus.

And there's an ultraviolet lamp installed in front of the brush to disinfect the surface. It's not that I believe it's effective, I'm just showing that it exists.

Overall, the robot is well-made, with slightly above-average build quality. There are no major design complaints.

Technical specifications

The main characteristics of the Abir X8, as declared by the manufacturer:

• Li-Ion battery 3200 mAh.
• Suction power 2500-5000 Pa.
• Cleaning area >100 sq.m.
• Battery life up to 120 min.
• Dust collector 600 ml.
• Water tank 360 ml.
• Obstacle clearance up to 2 cm.
• Dimensions 330*96 mm.
• Weight 3.3 kg.

The specifications are quite standard for this price range. Some product listings on AliExpress claim suction power of up to 5000 Pa, but I can't personally confirm this. On a fully charged battery, the Abir X8 can clean up to 100 square meters, and it can continue cleaning after recharging in the base station. So it's capable of cleaning larger areas.

Functional capabilities

Let's move on to an overview of the robot vacuum's features. The Abir X8 is controlled via the Weback mobile app, which is used by many Chinese robots. Installation was straightforward. When I first logged into Weback, I was prompted to update the software, which I did.

After the introductory drive, the map appears on the main dashboard. The robot automatically zoned it into rooms, which is a plus.

The first option in the settings is to clear the current map if needed and adjust the volume of voice alerts. Incidentally, the Abir X8 speaks Russian, which is a plus. You can also enable threshold crossing mode, cleaning with recharging at the base, change the robot's name, and set up a cleaning schedule. The schedule settings only allow you to select the time and day of the week, which is a bit limited.

There's a cleaning log, the ability to select a language for voice alerts, as well as a choice of units of area measurement and the ability to share control with other family members.

That covers the basic settings. Now let's talk about the features. On the main control panel, you can select the rooms you want to clean and edit the map, combining several rooms into one or dividing a specific room into zones. The robot also stores multiple cleaning maps. You can direct the Abir X8 to a specific area on the map for spot cleaning, draw a rectangle to select a cleaning zone, and set virtual walls and no-go zones on the map. These are all the map-based features you can use.

The bottom row of buttons controls starting and stopping the cleaning process, adjusting the suction power, water flow rate when the water tank is installed, and forcing the robot to return to the charging base. Pressing the "More" button unlocks additional features, including searching for the robot by sound, local cleaning mode, and manual control.

As you can see, the Abir X8's capabilities are well worth its price. It also features control via the included remote control.

Using the remote control, you can turn the robot vacuum on and off, activate automatic cleaning mode, force the robot to return to the charging base, manually direct it to the desired cleaning area, and activate the robot using the center button. Below the joystick are buttons for adjusting suction power, as well as local cleaning and perimeter cleaning modes.

In addition, the robot vacuum cleaner supports control via the Yandex.Alice voice assistant, which is a plus.

Now that we've sorted out the functions, let's move on to the tests.

Testing

Don't want to read? Watch the detailed video review and test:

Navigation

First, we tested the Abir X8's navigation in a room with obstacles. The robot vacuum first sweeps the perimeter of the accessible area, then switches to a serpentine pattern. It was able to clean around each chair leg and a box without getting stuck on the dryer. There were no uncleaned areas, and it took 12 minutes to clean approximately 11 square meters. The cleaning speed is good, and the test was passed successfully.

Regarding cleaning the entire house, even during its first encounter with the space, the robot was able to identify the room boundaries and cleaned each room one by one, first sweeping the perimeter, then the available space in a serpentine pattern. It also painted the rooms a different color accordingly, indicating that it had separated them.

On its first pass, the robot cleaned the entire area in 32 minutes. On its second pass, it cleaned even faster, reducing the cleaning cycle to 27 minutes. This model's navigation is very good, even for a lidar robot vacuum. The test was successful.

Suction power

In terms of suction power, the Abir X8 can effectively vacuum debris from a 2 mm deep gap. It even managed to remove some debris from a 4 mm deep gap. Its suction power is on par with premium competitors. This power is sufficient for automatically maintaining a clean home.

Dry cleaning of laminate flooring

The dry cleaning performance was also impressive. The robot vacuum was able to pick up all the small debris from the stand, including pet hair and fur. Even cleaning performance in corners was above average, considering the robot's round shape. Hair got tangled in the brushes, but most of the debris ended up in the dust bin.

Cleaning the carpet

The Abir X8 also performed well on carpet, picking up hair, fur, and small debris found in the previous test.

Wet cleaning

When it comes to wet cleaning, this robot vacuum cleaner mops the floor in a Y-shaped pattern, like a floor polisher. This allows the robot to more effectively remove dirt from the floor, and this test confirms this. Even with this amount of dirt, the robot was able to clean everything. There were no stains left, and there were minimal streaks, but this is due to the cloth itself being clogged with dirt.

The Abir X8 is perfect for delicate wet cleaning. The water tank lasts the entire cleaning cycle, and the floor is adequately wetted at the maximum water level. As a result, there are no complaints about wet cleaning.

Obstacle clearance

According to the manufacturer, the Abir X8 can handle thresholds up to 20 mm high, but in our tests, it only managed to overcome a 15 mm threshold, and a 2 cm threshold proved too much for it. This model's off-road capability isn't the best.

Driving on dark surfaces

There are also problems with driving over dark surfaces. The robot vacuum cleaner detects a black rug as a height difference. This is a drawback.

Noise level

Finally, we measured the Abir X8's noise level in different modes. In floor polishing mode, with the suction off, the noise level is around 55 dB, which is quite quiet. At minimum power, the noise level is around 58 dB, at medium power, it reaches 61 dB, and at maximum power, the peak was 64 dB. Overall, the robot vacuum is quite quiet given its suction power.

Let's sum it up

The Abir X8 has been thoroughly reviewed and tested. our evaluation system he was able to dial 66 out of 100 points and confidently placed itself between the other premium robot vacuum cleaners in the table (Overall rating of robot vacuum cleaners tested on robovac.washerhouse.com). The result is good, considering the cost.

As for my personal opinion about this robot, I definitely liked it:

1. High level of navigation.
2. Automatic zoning of premises into rooms.
3. Saving multiple cleaning maps in memory.
4. All advanced functionality in the application.
5. Good quality dry and wet cleaning.
6. Moving in a serpentine motion while mopping the floor.
7. Support for voice notifications in Russian.
8. Good equipment.
9. And the ability to control not only through the app, but also with the remote control, as well as via Alice.

Among the disadvantages I would like to highlight:

1. The robot cannot vacuum and wash the floor at the same time.
2. The robot's cross-country ability is not very good.
3. Fear of dark surfaces, which the Abir X8 recognizes as elevation changes.

But overall, this robot vacuum cleaner left a positive impression after reviewing it. If these comments aren't too critical for you, I recommend taking a closer look at this model. Especially since it might be on sale right now and is one of the best deals. The best robot vacuum cleaners on AliExpress in 2021.

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