Xiaomi Robot Vacuum 5 Pro review: does this robot vacuum make housework easier?

Xiaomi Robot Vacuum 5 Pro review

If you go looking for a robot hoover, you end up in a huge range where it is difficult to find the right one. The range is so huge from different manufacturers that it is hard to make the right choice. Xiaomi thought there wasn't enough choice yet, and comes up with the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum 5 Pro. The hoover was announced in late September. This robot vacuum is equipped with all the necessary things and should keep the floors at home clean. Does it manage that well? We test that for you in the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum 5 Pro review.

Unboxing and setup

In the Xiaomi robot vacuum's packaging, we find the charging station (including a bin bag), several brushes and the essentials such as filters and mop. Setting it up is done via the Xiaomi Home app. This is actually quite easy and self-explanatory. Once set up, you can adjust a few things, such as the language in which the robot talks to you. The Dutch language is also supported. The robot tells you exactly what it is going to do. When emptying the robot's bin, the Xiaomi counts down from three to one.

Features

As mentioned, the range of robot hoovers is huge. One thing that makes the Xiaomi stand out is the finish of the charging station. There is a flap over the bins for the dirty and clean water. This makes the bins not immediately noticeable. The unit is quite large, but then it offers a lot of options. After all, it is a self-cleaning base station. For instance, the mop cloths are washed and heated to 80 degrees Celsius to remove dirt and bacteria. There is also hot-air drying of the mops. The Robot Vacuum 5 Pro further offers an option that can 'watch' the waste water. If it is too dirty, the mops are rewashed. The Xiaomi's base station offers a four-litre water tank.

The robot itself is also equipped. The 5200 mAh battery is average for in the market. The device feels sturdy and looks solid. To get under even low furniture, there is a dToF radar that can slide in. There is an HD camera on it that allows you to watch live too. This is an RGB camera, although there are also two infrared cameras and a 3D infrared point projector in the hoover. Through numerous AI features, it is also a smart device that can recognise and dodge objects. There are also two night vision lights (LED) on the front and these are activated when it gets too dark. It is fair to say that there is some much-needed light coming from it. Cleaning in the dark hours should therefore not be a big problem.

On the side, the Xiaomi Vacuum 5 Pro features an extendable arm with side brush, and a mop cloth that also has an extendable arm. The idea with this is that corners are better reached. The brushes have anti-clit technology. Xiaomi promises a suction power of 20,000 Pa, which is as hard as an average stick hoover. Even stubborn dirt should be able to be cleaned up with this.

The app

Controlling the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum 5 Pro is via the Xiaomi Home app. In the application, Xiaomi's smart products are bundled, so you will find, for example, the smart drinking bowl or feeding bowl for your dog or cat, or other smart products from the Chinese brand. In the application, you will find the robot hoover's map with the last route taken. Bitches will find various settings, you can perform station tasks such as mop cleaning or dust extraction, should this not have gone automatically to your liking.

Via the Xiaomi Home app, you can also watch the robot live as it makes its rounds, for example. You can schedule cleaning runs, but also start them manually. You then choose, for instance, whether to vacuum or mop, or both. You further choose the degree of thoroughness and the suction power used. Of course, it is possible to choose not to clean the whole house, but only a certain area or room. Operating the Xiaomi Home app is self-explanatory. The app is in Dutch.

In practice

So plenty of options with the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum 5 Pro. We have had the robot in use for a few weeks and so were able to test it properly in home-garden and kitchen use. Clearly, the robot vacuum is self-learning. For the first week, it drove around the house like a stray zombie. From the living room to the hallway, through the kitchen back to the hallway, only to take some in the living room again. In the days that followed, the device got a little better and better. Now we can still occasionally catch him going the odd route. Anyway, as long as it cleans. With a duration of over an hour and a half, the Xiaomi does take ample time to vacuum and mop. The Roborock driving here does the same trick, but takes 20-30 minutes less time for this. We are talking about a space of 48 m2, after which the battery is still half full with normal vacuuming.

On slightly higher rugs, the Xiaomi seems to have more trouble. Parts are skipped and with regularity, the device seems disoriented and drives illogical routes there. It then drives in circles and occasionally gives up, driving itself against a table leg. Then we notice that there is little suction on rugs, but also on the doormat. Only on the very highest suction function does it do a little better, but our Roborock shows clearly better results here. In addition, Roborock has an option to increase suction on such surfaces, but this is not an option with the Xiaomi.

Table legs, oddly enough, still cause some problems anyway. Not infrequently, the device will drive itself stuck without much cause. A thick slightly angled table leg on a PVC floor, or a thin straight table leg on the rug will make it get stuck. This while other robot vacuums have no problems with this. Incidentally, with all the technology and AI applications, surely you can expect that this should not be an obstacle for such a product anno 2025. In the evening hours, the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum 5 Pro manages quite well. There are two hefty 'headlights' on the front of the device, which provide quite a bit of light.

Mopping

When it comes to mopping, the robot vacuum does not do a whole lot worse or better than most other robot vacuums. If you've just walked on the floor with dirty shoes, the robot will only get rid of it if it's 'still fresh'. Once it has dried, don't expect the robot to scrub. Incidentally, almost no robot hoover does that. We still see it as a refresher for around the house, but deep stains won't go away with it. Pay attention, though, to the settings when the robot washes the mops. Because the Vacuum 5 Pro is happy to drive a long way with very dry mops.

Once done, then the task is completed and the robot drives to the base station. Here, we can't catch the robot making any mistakes. We do notice that sometimes sucked-up pieces of cat litter fall out of the robot as it drives into the station. Not handy, when you just got a robot vacuum to keep the floor clean.

Review

At the beginning of the review period, we had already come up with the title: "lost zombie drives itself without effort". Clearly, it helps if you give the Xiaomi some more time. Then it is quite a fine robot hoover, which may also be more interesting in terms of price with its specifications than more expensive competitors. Generally, the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum 5 Pro delivers fine cleaning tasks, yet the robot drives itself too much for our liking. You wouldn't expect that for the 800 euros this vacuum costs. If you don't have a high rug or angled table legs at home, then the Vacuum 5 Pro may well be worth considering.

You can buy the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum 5 Pro at Bol.com.