Latest news with #robotlawnmower
CNET
5 days ago
- Automotive
- CNET
I Spent Weeks Testing Robot Lawn Mowers. Here Are 6 Things That Surprised Me
I spent the end of my spring and the beginning of my summer turning my backyard into a parking lot to test the best robot lawn mowers. In the process of doing that, I learned a lot about their benefits and their shortfalls. One of the biggest lessons was that, like most forms of automation, they can be a real pain to set up initially, but once they're ready to go, they save you a ton of effort and time compared with regular electric lawn mowers. I didn't expect that initial annoyance going into that project, but I think it's important to document those pains so you can avoid them in the future. Here are some of the lessons I learned about the obstacles you'll have to overcome if you decide to pull the trigger on a robot lawnmower. Way more wires than I expected The wires running through my yard for the robot lawn mower. It's not the most attractive sight. Adam Doud The 800-pound gorilla in the room for robot mowers comes in the instructions that every mower company sends along with the robot. First, there are a ton of wires. You might need to run power to the base station or to the RTK beacon or both. If you're unfamiliar, RTK stands for Real-Time Kinematic, a beacon that corrects a mower's coordinates to improve accuracy. The mower companies tell you not to place the mower within 7 feet of a building or under a tree. They also tell you not to run wires through the grass. But if you're not supposed to place the base station under a tree or within 7 feet of a wall, where exactly are these wires supposed to go? I also ran into an issue where an animal chewed through a wire to an RTK station, and I had to drive 70 minutes (one way) to a service center to get it repaired. You'll want to protect your wires where you can. Burying them is one way of doing this. Since I had to run them around a garden, I ran them through pool noodles. It's crude, but effective. I had to use a pool noodle to hide the wires. It's not attractive, but it works. Adam Doud Not all yards will work well My backyard is almost entirely covered by a large tree, so it was difficult to find an appropriate installation space. Ultimately, despite instructions to the contrary, I had to line the mowers up next to my house. Only the Yarbo Lawn Mower and Airseekers Tron couldn't handle that; the rest were all fine. My yard isn't the simplest one for a robot lawn mower to navigate, with a large tree, trampoline and other obstacles. Adam Doud Yard boundaries are another thing to consider. Do you have a fence? Will the gate need to be opened to let the mower through? Do you have an insane neighbor who will set your yard on fire if a robot dares tread upon his property? Is there a boundary between your and your neighbor's property, like a fence, sidewalk or driveway? These are all important things to consider before taking a four-figure plunge into the world of robot mowers. I hope you have power outlets outdoors If you don't have an outdoor power outlet, you'll need to install one to set up your robot lawn mowers. I had to jerry-rig this one out of my outdoor light. Adam Doud One other important factor to consider: Do you have outdoor power? These mowers all need to be plugged in. In my case, I converted an outdoor lighting fixture into an outdoor plug; that may or may not be an option for you. The cords that mower companies provide you may not be long enough to get from the power to where the base station or RTK beacon needs to be, so you might have to buy extra cables, or you may need an electrician to come out and install a new outdoor outlet. Staying in bounds can be hit or miss The Eufy E15 was one of the easiest robot mowers to get working out of the box. I really liked its simpliciy. Adam Doud/CNET All the mowers I tested handle boundaries using GPS and an RTK beacon. The only exception to that is the Eufy E15 mower, which uses GPS and vision systems to navigate. Boundaries are typically set by manually controlling the mower around the property and saving a map. Obstacles are a different issue, though. Various mowers handle obstacles differently. Most robot mowers handle obstacles using vision sensors, and those that don't are not my favorites. The Sunseeker X3 has a bump sensor, like what you'd find on a robot vacuum, but I found it to be too sensitive and it would prevent good mower coverage. Others use a radar module, which I also came away less than impressed with -- or at least my toes did, since it wouldn't always stop before hitting my foot. The Sunseeker X3 was one of the best robot lawn mowers I tested. Adam Doud All the mowers allow you to set no-go zones for areas where additional sensors don't quite do the job. If a mower consistently gets stuck or otherwise has problems, you can set a no-go zone and the mower will ignore that particular patch. The common theme is that the more sensors you have working for you, the better off you'll be, but my favorites in order are: GPS, vision sensors, radar sensors and bump sensors. Maintenance wasn't demanding, aside from blades The mowers will need their blades replaced periodically as they wear down, but that's not too difficult to do. Adam Doud Robot lawn mowers are generally easy to maintain because they're designed to be outside. The most maintenance you'll have to worry about is blades and winterizing. Blades are fairly easy -- every mower I tested included a set of replacement blades. Keep in mind, these are small razor blades, so they may start to get dull a lot more quickly than a traditional push mower. They also might be more prone to breakage, so be sure you pick up any sticks or other debris in your yard, especially after a bad storm. Speaking of blades, these tiny razors that ship with the mowers make the mower more efficient by drastically reducing the weight the motor has to spin, but it comes with the trade-off that the blades may not last long. Upon concluding my first round of testing, I noted that most of the blades were starting to show signs of rust, which is not encouraging after only two months of use. That said, summer in Chicago is only about four to five months long, so one set of blades might make it, but if you live in an area where you're cutting the grass year-round, your blade budget will need to be higher. One of the blades of the robot lawn mower started picking up rust already after just a month or two of use. Adam Doud Beyond that, the main thing you have to do is bring the mower in for the winter. Preferably, before the first frost, you'll want to pack up the mower's components and bring them out of the elements. Each mower has its own set of steps and recommendations, but in general, you will want to store the mower in an environment that won't get frost. Your garage or shed may work. If possible, you may also want to remove the battery and store it inside your home at room temperature. You can also take this opportunity to clean the mower and the base station and even change blades. Your work is not done, most robot mowers will miss spots Just remember that a mower won't do all the work for you. If you have any narrow paths of grass in your lawn, the robot won't handle those well. You'll also still need to go out and trim the grass around the edges. You might also find some area the mower decided to skip for some reason -- maybe a sensor was tripped and the mower skipped an area. You'll still need to stay on top of things to make sure your lawn stays the best it can be. Our best overall, the Segway Navimow X390, is the most expensive robot mower you can get, but it offers the best performance too. Adam Doud/CNET Are robot lawn mowers worth it? Overall, the main thing I learned from my experience is that robot lawn mowers are ultimately worth it despite their foibles, an opinion I share with other CNET reviewers who've taken them for a spin. They eliminate a task that many homeowners don't like in the first place. Plus, they're easy to adjust. When the summer started getting too hot, I adjusted the cutting height higher to help the grass thrive. One day, when we were hosting a party, I just shifted the automatic mow time to a different day. Once you power through those initial steps, the mower takes care of itself. Just make sure other people in the family have access to the mower, so if you're in London, and the mower gets stuck, they can go help it out — and yes, that's based on a true story. But other than that, kick back and enjoy your perpetually shorn grass and your neighbor's envious glances.
CNET
18-07-2025
- Automotive
- CNET
Are Robot Lawn Mowers Worth the Splurge? Here's What You Need to Know Before Buying One
You're probably familiar with robot vacuums, the smart devices used to clean carpets and other indoor flooring, but what about a robot lawn mower? If you're tired of pushing around your lawnmower in the summer heat, investing in a robot lawn mower can save you time and energy on mowing the grass. It's an appealing idea, but with the price of robot lawn mowers ranging from anywhere between $1,000 to $3,000, depending on the make, model and features, many people still think of them as an expensive novelty. Robots can make life easier, but you're more likely to find the one on the left taking care of your yard than the one on the right. Honda As with any serious investment, you'll want to be well educated before you go dropping thousands of dollars. Don't worry, though -- CNET experts have done all the homework for you in our robot lawn mower buying guide. In this article, we'll look at some key things you should know before shelling out your hard-earned money on robot lawn mowers. What are robot lawn mowers and how do they work? It's possible you've only recently been introduced to the concept of robot lawn mowers and you're wondering what exactly they are, and how they manage to provide a hands-free lawn mowing experience. Put simply, robot lawn mowers are small, autonomous lawn-care units that map out and mow your lawn entirely on their own, with no labor required on your part. They typically rely on mapping technology, GPS, or limiting systems like perimeter wires to determine the extent of your property, and then they pass over your lawn in patterns, mowing as they go. New innovations have made them more accurate, more efficient and more likely to negotiate the obstacles of your unique lawn without getting into trouble. And though they've hardly entered the realm of impulse purchase, prices have inevitably started to come down as manufacturers begin to produce them at greater scale. The Lymow One has tank treads to traverse uneven yards and mulching blades to turn leaves into lawn fuel. Lymow New navigation tech means its easier to use Recent advancements have made robot mowers even more precise and useful. According to Chris Price, senior manager of robotics engineering at Husqvarna (a leading robot mower manufacturer), the newest models no longer need to rely so heavily on older navigation tools like buried perimeter wires. "Precision satellite navigation with RTK technology, such as Husqvarna's EPOS system, revolutionized the robotic mower space by eliminating the need for physical boundary wires," Price told CNET. This new nav tech has unlocked advantages beyond just more-precise mowing and mapping. According to Price, the new tech, available in Husqvarna's latest iQ series of mowers, enables "incredibly efficient mowing patterns that can double the area capacity, reduce the installation time and maintenance" and leave your lawn looking perfectly striped in a way only traditional mowers have previously been capable of. Husqvarna/CNET Robot lawn mowers vs. traditional lawn mowers Most robot lawn mowers are battery powered, meaning you don't need to worry about refueling them the way you do many traditional push or riding mowers. After they've completed a mowing cycle, they'll return to a charging dock, much the way robot vacuums do, and refill their battery while waiting for the next call to action. Many models, particularly on the high end, include sophisticated apps that let you modify the mower's behavior, including manually altering the coverage area or indicating that the mower should return to the dock automatically if it detects rainfall. Aside from the freedom from fossil fuels, robot mowers have a number of advantages over traditional mowing. The most obvious is that they save you time: Instead of spending hours yourself each week, pushing or driving a traditional mower around your yard, you can lounge around in the sunshine deckside or attend to other chores while your robot buddy does your landscaping for you. They're also significantly quieter than traditional mowers, especially the gas-powered variety with their deafening engines (though they're also quieter than even electric push mowers, which have larger, noisier blades and other components). And because of their size, robot mowers can get into smaller areas than some larger traditional mowers can. That said, they're not without their weaknesses. With the properly sized robot lawn mower for your yard, your grass cutting days are behind you. Chris Wedel/CNET Pros and cons of robot lawn mowers We've contrasted robot mowers with traditional mowers above, but they have some other advantages that may not be immediately evident. Pros of robot lawn mowers Environmentally friendly Because robot lawn mowers almost universally are electric, they don't put out all those emissions you find with gas-powered lawn-care devices. Not only is this better for the environment as a whole, it can also make your personal environment a lot more pleasant. Your house and yard won't be suffused with the lingering stench of the exhaust belched out of a gas-powered mower, and you won't have to change out of gassy-smelling clothes to avoid repelling people. Can improve your lawn's health and appearance Robot lawn mowers aren't just convenient, they can actually be better for your lawn. Because you can mow more frequently with a robot than you're likely to do yourself, you won't have those days when your lawn starts to look shaggy or unkempt. More importantly, frequent mowing can encourage lateral grass growth, which results in a denser, healthier lawn. The same effect can choke out weeds, leading to a more uniform and appealing-looking lawn. Lawn maintenance even while you're away With a robot mower, you also won't need to worry about hiring landscapers or paying a neighborhood kid to mow your lawn while you're on vacation. Just set a regular schedule, or manually trigger a mowing cycle through the app, and your grass will look as meticulously tended as if you'd never left. No annoying grass clippings to deal with Robot mowers don't collect grass clippings, so you won't have to worry about disposing of giant bags of yard waste. And because they can mow more frequently, clippings are smaller and should decompose quickly, so they shouldn't be littering your lawn and you won't have to spend extra time raking them up. Savings over time Though robot mowers represent a fairly steep initial investment, they can save you money over time because you never have to worry about buying gas to fuel them up, paying for oil changes, or shelling out to a landscaping company for lawn maintenance. Chris Wedel/CNET Cons of robot lawn mowers There are some downsides to robot mowers. High up-front cost You may ultimately save money over time, but you'll still need to put together a tidy sum to buy a robot mower in the first place. Though cheaper models can be had for $1,000 or less, a high-quality option will run you between $4,000 and $6,000 (or more). Can struggle with mowing complicated lawns Navigation tech has certainly improved, but it isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination. A robot mower can still struggle with complex lawn structures that involve a lot of slopes, oddly shaped obstacles or other impediments. Maintenance costs You may not be buying gas or paying for oil changes, but robot mowers still require maintenance. This can include everything from replacing the blades to installing a new battery, and some of those replacement costs can be fairly steep. That said, new adaptive mowing technologies may reduce overall maintenance costs, with many new robot mowers able to change speed and mowing height on the fly to reduce wear on the unit. May struggle with fine edge cutting Another consequence of imperfect mapping is that a robot lawn mower may struggle to get close to edges, especially if the edge in question is irregularly shaped. This means you may need to do a cleanup pass after your mower is finished to get a uniform, sharp edge around your property. Are robot lawn mowers worth the money? Tyler Lizenby/CNET With all that in mind, is a modern robot lawn mower worth the money? The answer is a qualified yes. A robot mower will be more valuable to some homeowners (or renters required to maintain a yard) than others. Of course if you're the type who genuinely enjoys yard work, you're likely in a need-not-apply position in regard to smart lawn tech, especially if you already own a push or riding mower you're happy with. Robot mowers also aren't an ideal fit for anyone with a complicated lawn that has lots of uneven surfaces, changes in elevation or large obstacles. This applies if you're someone with kids who often leave toys in the yard or if you have portable play structures regularly set up behind your house -- you may spend as much time clearing the way for a robot mower and making sure its mapping is still correct as you would mowing the lawn yourself. Also, if you have a really small yard that takes only a few minutes to mow, spending thousands on a robot to do the work for you probably isn't a great investment. iGarden But if you have a large yard, and particularly if it's got lots of broad, flat spaces without many obstacles, a robot lawn mower can be a time saver. This is especially true for small businesses with large grassy areas -- they'll appreciate the savings-over-time aspect of a robot mower that sees lots of regular use. If you're constantly pumping ever-pricier fossil fuels into a traditional mower, the cost savings will make an immediate impact. A robot mower is also a no-brainer for anyone who's extremely busy during the week and doesn't want to burn their precious weekend hours doing boring manual labor. In the same vein, anyone who's not often home during daylight hours -- like folks with an especially long commute or who typically work longer daytime shifts -- can reclaim some of those precious sunny hours with a robot mower purchase. Segway/CNET The future of robot lawn mowers We're finally hitting the point where broad adoption of robot mowers looks more likely. Improvements in communication between mower units and GPS systems; better and more accurate boundary marking; and better built-in lidar or camera systems mean mapping improvements and more-accurate mowing. At the same time, more-efficient drive and power units mean that even smaller robot mowers may soon match the power of some of the current push and riding options. So though some people might decide now's the time for a robot mower, others may choose to wait for lower prices and improved tech. Ultimately, the decision to invest in a robot lawn mower comes down to your individual needs, so consider carefully whether the up-front cost is worth the convenience, time-savings and potential long term savings a high-tech lawn buddy can provide. FAQ: Robot lawn mowers What is the best robot lawnmower? At this time, we're still testing a variety of robot lawnmowers, including the Lithely, Eufy mower and Husqvarna iQ series, so we can't rule on the best one just yet, but we'll have an update soon. Where does the grass go in a robot lawnmower? For most robot lawnmowers, grass clippings aren't collected. Just like a regular electric lawnmower, the grass lays where it is cut. That's not really a problem, since the grass will simply decompose and act as natural fertilizer for your lawn. How much do robot lawn mowers cost compared with traditional mowers? Prices of robot lawn mowers can vary, with some mowers as affordable as $700, like the Husqvarna Automower 115H, and others running as much as $1,299, like the Segway Navimow Robot Mower i110N. That's still quite a bit more expensive than electric lawn mowers, which cost as little as $99 for a very basic Black and Decker push model to $250 (or less on sale) for a Litheli U20.
Android Authority
04-07-2025
- Android Authority
The Lymow One robot lawn mower can do it all, and this Prime Day is the best time to get one
Now that summer is here, it's the perfect time to enjoy the outdoors before the cooler fall and winter months arrive. If you love hosting backyard gatherings, you know how much work it takes to prepare your yard for these parties. And while the warm weather is perfect for relaxing, it can be challenging when you're pushing a heavy lawnmower around for hours. That's exactly where Lymow can help make things easier and more enjoyable. The Lymow One is a high-performance robot lawn mower that completely takes the manual labor out of lawn care. By addressing a lot of the pain points you'd come across with other standard robot mowers, Lymow ensures that you get to make the most of your backyard and outdoors, instead of wasting time taking care of it. Here's what you need to know. Enjoy precise, professional-grade cutting with the LYCUT System A robot lawn mower may be packed with features, but ultimately, what truly matters is the quality of the cut. If you want a precise, clean, and even trim, the Lymow One's LYCUT system is more than capable. At the heart of this system is dual mulching blades spinning at 6,000 RPM, combined with a high-speed fan that helps deliver clean cuts and prevents thatch buildup by evenly spreading clippings. This not only promotes a healthy lawn but virtually eliminates the need for manual cleanup afterward. Whether you prefer a short, neat look, lush greenery, or stylish stripes, the floating deck adjusts automatically, allowing you to set the cutting height from 1.2 to 4 inches. With a cutting width of 16 inches — much wider than standard robot mowers — the Lymow One can also cover ground more quickly and efficiently. Speaking of coverage, this mower can take care of up to 1.73 acres per day on a single charge, even on rough terrain, making it perfect for large yards and multi-zone properties. The grass type isn't an issue either, with the Lymow One easily handling thick grasses like St. Augustine, Bermuda, and Zoysia. It can even manage cutting twigs, weeds, pinecones, and fallen fruit without getting stuck, thanks to its powerful 300W motor, which peaks at 1200W and keeps the blades spinning at 6,000 RPM. Whether you're giving your lawn its first cut of the season or maintaining that beautifully manicured look, the Lymow One is ready to make lawn care a breeze. Incredible performance, no matter the terrain Think of your backyard lawn — it's probably not a perfectly smooth and even surface. Slopes, rocks, dips, patches, and soft spots are pretty common, and they can often cause trouble for many robotic mowers. Luckily, that's not a problem with the Lymow One, equipped with a specialized tracked drive system that's ready to take on all kinds of terrain. This incredible mower can handle slopes up to a stunning 45 degrees (100%), which far surpasses what most robotic mowers can manage. Plus, with 2 inches of ground clearance, it smoothly glides over twigs, bumpy patches, and uneven soft spots without getting stuck or needing your help. Say goodbye to chasing after your mower or rescuing it from tricky spots—that's what makes the Lymow One such a game-changer, giving you a hassle-free mowing experience. Smart, reliable navigation – no boundary wires needed If you've ever tried a robot lawn mower before, you may recall how the initial setup can be a bit frustrating, especially when installing boundary wires. It can be tedious, time-consuming, and wires can sometimes get damaged. But with the Lymow One, there's good news—you won't have to worry about any of that because it doesn't require boundary wires at all. Forget about digging up your yard or redoing your setup after storms or heavy rain. That's also one of the reasons why the Lymow One works so well on multi-zone properties, whether you have a front yard or a lawn around your driveway. Instead, it relies on innovative RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) and VSLAM (Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) technology. This means it can accurately map your yard without boundaries, even in areas where GPS signals are weak. Thanks to AI-powered obstacle avoidance, the Lymow One can easily detect objects such as toys, sprinklers, garden furniture, and yes, even your pet. It navigates around them safely, avoiding stops or the need for manual intervention. Of course, you can still have some manual control if you prefer. Using the Lymow app, you can set mowing schedules, create no-go zones like your flower beds, manage different zones, adjust the cutting height, and keep an eye on a mowing cycle, all from your phone. Strong and durable, ideal for any weather condition Lawn mowers can take a bit of a beating, especially if you're frequently working across tough, uneven terrain. Taking care of the motor and blades can be quite a task by itself, but the Lymow One reduces the pain as much as possible. It features a FEM-optimized chassis and a sturdy die-cast aluminum alloy frame, helping it stay stable and resist damage over time. Inside, the brushless motor smartly adjusts performance to reduce wear and tear, giving you a reliable mower that lasts even with daily use. While you're not going to be running the mower in the rain, the Lymow One's IPX6 rating ensures that it stays safe in case the charging station is uncovered. When it comes to power, the Lymow One runs on a LiFePO4 battery—a safer, longer-lasting option compared to traditional batteries. You'll enjoy up to 2,000 charge cycles with no battery degradation. And a single charge can cover up to 1.73 acres of heavy-duty mowing or run for as long as 12 hours a day. You certainly won't have to worry about whether it will keep going when you need it most. Packed with advanced safety features The Lymow One is built with thoughtful safety features to give you peace of mind while mowing. It uses AI-powered object recognition to detect obstacles like your kids, pets, or lawn ornaments, helping it safely navigate around them. The front bumper has sensors that instantly stop the blades if they hit something, and the off-ground detection system notices if the deck is lifted, preventing the blades from spinning. There's also a handy emergency stop button that shuts everything down in less than a second for added safety. Safety isn't just about operation; it's designed to protect your mower, too. The Lymow One includes several anti-theft features, such as a geo-fence alarm that alerts you if the mower is moved off your property. It also won't start without owner authentication through the Lymow app, ensuring it's secure. And you can easily keep track of its location with GPS. This Prime Day is a great time to buy the Lymow One If you're tired of fighting with your lawn mower every weekend and are looking for an all-in-one solution that can handle everything for you, it doesn't get much better than the Lymow One. Its capabilities in handling rough terrain, slopes, and obstacle avoidance make it stand out compared to the competition, and the impressive LYCUT system ensures a pristine lawn. And if you were waiting to make your purchase, this Prime Day is a great time to buy the Lymow One. Lymow is having a Summer Sale on their website and offering a $100 coupon after buying the robot mower, which you can use to buy any additional accessories you might need.
The Independent
18-06-2025
- The Independent
I've finally tested a robot lawnmower that hasn't annoyed me
Design and setup If anything screams don't judge a book by its cover, it's the Eufy E15. This thing is kind of ugly. It gives Robot Wars more than Tesla Bot. It's chunky and awkward with a grey and black body that looks like a toy tank. There's a handle on the front for lifting it, a small LED display and a few physical buttons on the top as well as that big emergency stop button. I love that its charging base is like a little garage with a roof, so your lawnmower is protected from the rain (it is waterproof, IPX6 rated), and sun, which is bad for batteries in general. But while it won't be winning any design awards anytime soon, the Eufy E15 is by far and away the easiest robot lawnmower I've ever set up. You don't have to lay a perimeter wire around the garden, and there's no GPS RTK satellite antenna to faff around with. Some robot lawnmowers have such tall antenna, that it looked like I was trying to communicate with aliens. The bit that probably took the longest was securing the charging station to the ground. It comes with some chunky screws and an Allen key, and you just need to push them through the holes to keep the base in place. It's simple enough. Once that's all done, you turn the robot on using the switch underneath, and continue setup in the app. The robot needs access to wifi, so hopefully you've got a router close to your garden (or a wifi extender). If you're out of coverage, the Eufy E15 also comes fitted with a 4G SIM, but you have to pay an extra fee to activate it. I recommend placing the charging base on a solid surface like concrete or paving, mainly because it can't mow underneath itself. Leave it on the lawn like I did and you'll end up with a scruffy patch of grass growing up around it. That said, the included screws are meant for soil, so you can't fix it in the usual way. If you're placing it on concrete, you could either drill in some anchors or screw it into a bit of treated wood or decking first, though I doubt it would not budge if you just propped it up with some bricks. Once it's all turned on, you just tap the auto map button in the Eufy app and watch as the E15 use its camera system to scan the lawn and figure out what's grass and what's not, driving around your lawn like a controlled car. It generates a map exactly like a robot vacuum cleaner, all without ugly antennae or perimeter wires. It's the most seamless setup process I've ever experienced. It felt like a relief after testing such time-consuming models. Performance and features Before you get going, ensure your lawn is freshly-mown first. After that and it's all set up, the Eufy E15 will just roll out of its dock, do its job and head back home when it's done. It's fitted with a rain sensor, so if it starts raining at any point, it'll abandon the job and return home automatically. You can set a delay in the app so it waits a few hours before heading back out. Most of the controls live inside the app. You can adjust the cutting height (from 25mm to 75mm), tweak how close it gets to the edges, set the overlap between each pass and even change the mowing direction by rotating the angle on the map. There's also a setting for travel speed and blade speed. It's much more detail than most people will ever need, but great if you like to tinker with how your lawn looks and want total control. As a lazy person who still wants the lawn to look good, I set mine to 8cm path spacing, -15cm edge spacing and 25mm cutting height. The tighter path spacing means it overlaps more with each pass, so there's less chance of missing patches. The –15cm edge setting helps it get closer to borders, and the lowest cutting height keeps everything looking trim for longer. Basically, I wanted to do as little as possible if I ever had to get the big boy lawnmower out – I wanted the robot to do most of the hard yards. In terms of cut quality, I've been really impressed. It moves in straight, clean lines, never lost signal and never spun in confused circles like some others I've tested. It often looks like someone's professionally mown your lawn, with faint wheel stripes that make it look super neat. The mulching blades also chop the grass finely enough that there's nothing left to collect. But while the general cutting quality is good, it misses patches. One thing I would say is that even with the edge setting pushed to the max, it still doesn't do a great job at trimming some of the sides of the garden. There are huge patches of grass that it hasn't touched, despite not being super close to a fence. While, sure, it doesn't happily bounce off skirting boards like a robot vacuum, the Eufy E15 just misses patches near the fence entirely. That means I still have to go around with a strimmer to tidy up the areas it misses, such as near the patio door and the fence. It also seems deathly afraid of long grass, so it won't go near the patches it keeps on missing. Mowing aside, there are lots of features inside the app. You can also set up no-go zones by drawing squares or lines directly on the map, great if you want it to avoid specific flowerbeds or kids toys. Scheduling is equally straightforward. You just pick the days and times you want it to run, and once that's locked in, the mower handles the rest, rolling out, trimming the lawn and going back to sleep in its garage without needing any help. It's also nearly silent. There's a low hum at most, so it didn't annoy the neighbours. It's even got a satisfying blade-cutting noise, so you can actually hear it working. The app includes a remote control mode that lets you steer the mower around like an RC car, complete with a live camera feed. Annoyingly though, you can't actually control it while it's mid-mow, so if you spot a patch it's missed, you can't just drive it over there. The remote's really just for helping it out of tight spots, though mine never got stuck once, so I just ended up playing with it like a toy. Also, big props to Eufy for including some really decent anti-theft technology in its mower, too. The mower is linked to your Eufy account, so if someone tries to nick it, they won't be able to pair it with a new device or app. It also locks itself and can sound a loud alarm if it's taken outside its mapped area. There's built-in GPS tracking, and if you activate the optional 4G SIM (which requires a subscription), you'll still be able to locate it even if it's out of range. Sure, someone can still pick it up and take it away from your garden, but it'll turn into a brick if they try and use it. The other that lets it down slightly is zone management. Unlike robot vacuums that let you save maps for different floors, the E15 can't create multiple lawn maps. If you want to mow both your front and back garden, you'll need to buy a second charging dock, and I couldn't find an obvious way to do that through the app or on Eufy's website. For the price, it feels like users should be given that flexibility. Because it relies on cameras to navigate, it can't mow in the dark. I don't think that's a deal-breaker. Personally, I'd rather only be able to mow in daylight than have to line my garden with boundary wire or bolt a huge antenna to the top of the thing. Plus, in summer, when it's light until 9pm, it's barely an issue. I wouldn't be surprised if Eufy adds a headlight in a future update, but for now, daylight mowing is the trade-off.
CNET
28-05-2025
- Business
- CNET
This Ecovacs Robot Lawn Mower Could Be Yours for a Massive $500 Off
Summer will be here soon, and the warm weather can make gardening, yard work and lawn care uncomfortable. If you have a lawn that requires care, a robot lawn mower might be beneficial. These handy devices can reduce the time spent on yard work, so more hours can be spent relaxing, enjoying family time or completing other tasks. Right now, you can save $500 on the Ecovacs Goat A2500 RTK lawn mower at Amazon, reducing the $2,000 price to $1,500. To nab this Amazon deal, make sure to clip the on-page coupon. Ecovacs is also matching the discount with the EVGAT5 coupon code until June 2. Regardless of which retailer you choose, this price reduces the Ecovacs Goat to its record-low price. The Ecovacs Goat A2500 RTK lawn mower has LiDAR to accurately navigate your lawn and provide proper upkeep. It also has a 32V motor that can mow up to 4305ft² per hour and only takes 45 minutes to fully charge, so it can be used quickly. This lawn mower even has several AI-enhanced features, like obstacle detection that can avoid up to 200 common objects. And thanks to this lawn mower's adjustable cutting height, your lawn will end up with a customized, even cut for picture-perfect results. To take full advantage of this lawn mower's features, make sure to download the Ecovacs app. Looking for a new lawn mower but aren't sure if this deal is for you? We have a list of the best electric lawn mowers and an article on how to choose a new lawn mower to help you find the right option. Why this deal matters The Ecovacs Goat is a great robot lawn mower for those looking to reduce the time spent on yard work. It includes AI enhancements and a charge time of as little as 45 minutes. The best part? It's now on sale for $500 off at Amazon and Ecovacs. Keep in mind that Ecovacs' deal ends on June 2, so we suggest acting fast.
