Consumers are benefiting greatly when more manufacturers are joining the market of robot vacuum cleaners. We’ve seen prices of robot vacuums with LiDAR sensors drop dramatically in the last year and now you can get a self-emptying robot for less than $400. The Lydsto R1 has the original price tag of $399 but at the moment, you can find it on sale for $359 or even cheaper. I’ve tested the vacuum for a few weeks and I’m really impressed with it.
Disclosure: We received the product in exchange for the review but we spent time testing it to make sure the review is honest and unbiased.
Unboxing & Testing
Features & Performance
Lydsto is a subsidiary brand of Xiaomi, however, the Lydsto R1 doesn’t belong to the Mi Home’s ecosystem. Instead, it works with the Lydsto app which offers pretty much the same features. Unfortunately, the robot won’t work with smart assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Home. This is a little inconvenient since I can’t use voice commands to start the robot. When I need to clean a specific room, I will need to open the app and select that room.
Inside the box, you can find the robot, a dust collection station, 30 disposable mop pads, a mop holder with attached washable pad, and 7 dust bags. I didn’t expect much when receiving this product for review because this is among the lowest-priced self-emptying robot vacuum on the market. As soon as I took the robot out of the box and ran it for the first time, I was so satisfied because it even has better design and features that more expensive products. Many small details are well thought, such as the cable management system on the back of the dock or the mop holder design. I love the sliding slot on the mop holder as it helps attach or remove the mop pad easily.
The maximum suction power of this vacuum is 2,700Pa but it is quite weak at the default setting. There are 4 levels of suction and you can change that in the app. I often set it up at the 3rd level and the suction is boosted to maximum only when cleaning carpets.
The mopping function works well just like any other robot on the market. However, the R1 just drags the mopping pad around, so sometimes it can’t remove stubborn stains on the floor. Another problem is that the water tank often leaks some water when I remove the mop for cleaning. And since the robot is charged from the back, I need to get the robot out first to remove the mop holder.
The most interesting feature of the Lydsto vacuum is, of course, the self-emptying dock. Unlike some other cheap robots, this one doesn’t suck the dirt out from the bottom. Instead, the dustbin has an opening on the side and this is connected directly to the dock. As a result, the length of the dust-collecting duct decreases dramatically from more than 700mm to just 430mm.
The dock features a 50,000 rounds/min motor and 30 kpa suction power. I often check the dustbin after the dust collection process completes, and it is clean most of the time. There might be some dirt left on the filter but it is insignificant. Each dust bag has a capacity of 3 liters, that means most of us just need to replace the dust bag once per month. And since they include 7 dust bags in the box, you won’t need to buy extra ones after half a year. This is so convenient for elderlies or busy people who don’t want to empty the dustbin after each cleaning session.
The robot is equipped with a 5,200mAh battery with up to 150-minute runtime. The battery life is good enough for most of us. A cleaning session of my 1st floor takes just about 20 minutes and the battery level often stays above 70% once cleaning is finished.
The R1 uses the LiDAR sensor on top and many other sensors on the side for navigation. It works pretty well in mapping out my house and divide the rooms clearly within the app. It also supports multiple maps, so I can move it to the 2nd floor and it will create another map automatically. The only limitation is that the robot still can’t avoid small objects and power cords. However, this is common for most budget robot vacuums on the market.
Conclusion
Pros
- Amazingly low price
- Good suction power
- Long battery runtime
- Great design & build
- Dust collection dock works well
Cons
- Incompatible with voice assistants
- Limited cord detection
Overall, there is nothing to complain about the Lydsto R1, considering the fact that it is among the cheapest self-emptying robot vacuums on the market. We at TechWalls highly recommend the product. You can use the promo code LYDSTOMC1 during checkout to save extra $40.
Buy Lydsto R1 Self-Emptying Robot Vacuum on Amazon
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Weimin Zhang says
Hi, thanks for the review. I bought the R1 a few days ago, like the features it provides. I am still looking at how to save multiple maps from the app ‘Lydsto’. Seems from the app, you only have one map, if you need the second map for other floor, it just replace the existing one with the new one. Please elt me know how to create a second maps and multiple maps. Thanks,
Weimin Zhang