In my last robot vacuum review, I let on a little about how I test these products. I let them run in a clean house, sure—but with a kid in my home, things get messy fast. After I get through a few tests, I schedule it up and let it go off on its own, to navigate a floor that’s often littered with the detritus of youth. I did all of that with the Ecovacs Deebot X12 OmniCyclone , and when it came time to go off on its own, I was left with a lot of disappointment.

The $1,500 X12 is essentially the same as the X11 OmniCyclone that Ecovacs released in late 2025, except this time it has a shield that covers the mop roller to prevent a dirty mop from dragging across your carpet.…