Xiaomi has released its first budget 2-in-1 robot vacuum, Mijia 1C 2-in-1 Sweeping Mopping Robot Vacuum Cleaner. It not only comes with a budget price (only about RM879), but it also comes with strong suction power and advanced visual navigation technology. Now, let’s show you my hand-on experience and review of this new Xiaomi robot vacuum.
Design
Mijia 1C robot vacuum has only 8.1cm height body, which is the slimmest robot vacuum among the Xiaomi robot vacuums. It is well-built and looks minimalist. The net weight of the whole machine is 3.6 kg, which is also quite heavy when picked up.
Two of its main wheels are suspended, so it can easily across obstacles within 2cm, such as thresold, slide rail, carpet, etc. The main brush adopt detachable design, so you can easily remove the main brush for replacement or cleaning purpose. It can lower the cost of maintenance and replacement.
1C doesn’t have a Lidar on top make it able to fit under most furniture where other robot vacuum can’t go. There are one power button and reset button on the top of 1C as well. After lift the hatch cover, we can see the dust box and just gently press the buckle according to the arrow direction on the dust box in order to take it out. Then we can continue to follow the arrow prompt to easily open the dust box and dump the dust.
Sensors
Mijia 1C replace LDS laser with a visual sensor which make it slimmer and cheaper. Unlike other camera-guided robots, it can be tracked in real-time through the app. The body is equipped with 15 kinds of high precision sensors, which has stronger ability to adapt to the environment, such as anti-fall, anti-collision, etc.
More expensive robot vacuum cleaners use lidar that scans your house to build a map. However, the Xiaomi Mijia 1C uses other types of sensors for navigation: dual-gyroscope, TOF sensor (time-of-flight sensor) on the top of the robot, and LED motion tracking sensor underneath.
All the data received from these sensors is being processed with a powerful 4-core ARM Cortex-A7 processor inside the robot that uses VSLAM algorithms to create a map of your house and build the most efficient path for cleaning.
Dustbox, Water Tank and Mop
Mijia 1C has a 600ml dustbox, which is relatively big for a robot vacuum. In addition, it has a 20ml fully automatic intelligent electronic control water tank and precision electronic pump, which can automatically control the amount of water output and prevent the water leakage.
Mijia 1C can be sweep and mop in the same time. To use the mopping feature, you can attach the mopping pad underneath. In addition, it has a washable HEPA filter, so you can wash the filter once a month. HEPA filtering standards makes this filter suitable for allergy and asthma sufferers. With the large caliber suspension suction, strong main brush, high precision filtration, it will clean up every debris and dust on the floor.
The mopping function is great for everyday cleaning, but the robot will not be able to handle a stubborn stain, so keep in mind that you need to mop your floors by hand from time to time. Basically, the Xiaomi Mijia 1C drags the mop around leaving hard floor wet but it will not replace manual mopping. Considering the price, this device is equipped with a relatively large water tank so the mopping feature is nice to have, it will definitely reduce the amount of time spent on manual mopping.
2500Pa large suction power
Mijia 1C robot vacuum cleaner is equipped with a strong brushless motor, which can continuously promote the super suction of 2500Pa, the instant of start-up can remove the floor gap dust, dirt, sweep all kinds of dirt on the ground.
Moreover, it offers 4 kinds of suction modes: silent, standard, mid-range, turbo, which can meet the needs of all kinds of clean environment. Couple with 600ml large capacity dust box, it can meet the multiple cleaning operations of large rooms.
Mijia 1C produces about 50 dB of noise on low suction settings (silent mode) and around 65 dB on its max settings (turbo mode). Not too loud but you will notice it on turbo mode if it is working in the same room. However, it will not bother you at all in silent mode.
Battery Life
Xiaomi does not specify for how long the Xiaomi can work tho considering its 2,400mAh battery and 2,500 Pa suction. So I tested it on max power mode, and it was able to clean ~40 minutes on one charge. In silent mode, it would definitely last at least twice longer which lasts up to 113 minutes on one charge.
I would say this robot vacuum is suitable for small houses, or maybe for medium houses with some limitations.
Besides that, Mijia 1C has a small and minimalist charging dock. And it has resumption which means when the cleaner still needs some work to be done, the robot docks itself, recharges, and gets back to resume cleaning from the spot it left off.
Using experience
First of all, with the help of several sets of infrared deceleration sensors (each set of real-time detection 50 times per second), so when it encounters an obstacle, it will start slowing down at the distance of 20cm from the obstacle.
However, when it detects the obstacle, it will not directly bypass, but will first gently touch with the frontal collision sensor, if it is furniture, then it will bypass, if it is curtains, sheets and other soft suspended objects, it will continue cleaning.
Mijia 1C robot is also equipped with a LED motion tracker, so it will continue to take ground images for dynamic path planning. Accurately calculate the direction and displacement of the robot movement, even in a complex home environment can distinguish between cleaned and uncleaned areas, reducing repetition and leakage.
Mobile app remote control
Mijia 1C robot can be remotely controlled with Mijia APP. The Mijia APP allows users to conveniently control the Mijia 1C robot vacuum cleaner including firmware upgrade, remote control, mode adjustment, scheduled cleaning, fault reminder, real-time presentation, etc.
The latest update brings the new cool features such as virtual wall and zoned cleaning. Keep in mind, the virtual walls and zoned cleaning is still in beta and might not work as accurate.
Summary
- 2-in-1 sweeping and mopping function
- Mijia APP control with advanced features : more smart and convenient
- Advanced visual navigation system
- 2500Pa large suction power
- The map memory and overall planning cleaning functions are not supported for the time being. But it will be achieve via firmware and software update later
- There is only one side brush
- Small water tank capacity
Is it worth to buy?
Xiaomi Mijia 1C 2-in-1 Sweeping Mopping Robot Vacuum Cleaner is only priced at RM748. At this price range, the Mijia 1C robot offers excellent cleaning performance thanks to the 2500Pa large suction power and advanced visual navigation system. Therefore, the Mijia 1C robot vacuum cleaner is a budget alternative to Xiaomi Roborock S6 and other high-end robot vacuum cleaners.
