The Neato D8 is the cheapest of Neato’s current robot vacuums, with a 100-minute battery life that is ideal for modest houses. It maps your space using lidar, and easy-to-use software allows you to define no-go zones and schedule cleaning at a time that works for you.
However, it lacks the capacity to map more than one floor and occasionally attempts to climb onto low furniture and ledges. But Before have a look on
Quick review
Neato Robotics, based in California, has been producing robot vacuums for over 10 years and is a well-known robot vacuum brand. It has introduced numerous robot vacuum advancements to the market, including the unique D shape that has become synonymous with the brand.
It recently released the D8, D9, and D10 models, all of which feature increased dirt pick up over prior versions such as the D3 and D5, as well as an enhanced app to go with them. We reviewed the Neato D8, which is now marketed as the entry-level model, in this article. It’s the least expensive of the three, so you’d anticipate it to miss some of the features you’d get if you upgraded to the more expensive D9 or D10.
The D8 has a 100-minute run time, which is one of the main reasons Neato recommends it for smaller houses. In comparison, the D9 has a run length of 200 minutes, and the D10 can vacuum for a whooping 300 minutes before needing to be recharged.
Despite being the entry-level model, it includes the majority of the features you’d expect from a robot vacuum, such as a high-performance filter, a lidar for room mapping, and a simple interface for scheduling cleans and switching between eco and boost power modes.
It’s easy to set up, but we were frustrated that we couldn’t map all of our floors, and while general pick up was decent, it didn’t always cover the entire floor space or pick up as efficiently from corners and edges as we would have liked.
Neato D8 price and availability
- List price: $599.99 / £624.93
The Neato D8 will set you back $599.99 / £624.93 and is available through Amazon. Or in the US direct from Neato as well.
As previously stated, this is the entry-level model and thus the most economical in the lineup. Because of the lower price, it has a shorter run life, less suction than the D9 ($699.99 / £749.99) and D10 ($799.99 / £949.99), and a lesser grade filter.
Design
- Flat front
- 24.6 oz / 0.7-liter dirt bin
- Lidar mapping and navigation
The Neato robots all have a D shape design with a flat front, making this robot wider than some other round robot vacuums. It has dimensions of 3.99 x 13.22 x 12.71 inches/10.1 x 33.6 x 32.3cm (h x w x d). It weighs 8.07 pounds/3.7kg, making it light enough to take up and down the stairs when relocating it to another floor.
Two extra filters, a replacement spiral combination brush, and a brush cleaning tool are included in the box. The filter should be replaced every one to two months, and the spiral combination brush every 6-8 months. The charging dock is small and discreet, but it must be placed in an area with enough of room.
The dirt bin (24.06 oz / 0.7-liter) is conveniently accessible from the top of the vacuum and has a high-performance filter that collects up to 99 percent of allergens and dust particles.
It has two cleaning modes: eco, which is designed for hard floors, and turbo, which is more powerful for carpet cleaning. Both modes are accessible via the app. There’s a side brush to collect debris from the room’s boundaries; it attaches with a magnet and is simple to remove and replace. Underneath is an 11-inch/28-cm spiral combination brush to cover as much floor space as possible with each pass.
Performance
- Easy to use
- Navigates hard floor and carpet with ease
- Tries to mount some furniture
In use, the Neato D8 produced mixed results; in general, pick-up is adequate from the majority of the areas it covers. Despite the lidar and a relatively regular cleaning pattern, its general cleaning path appeared sloppy and a little unclear at times. It wasn’t uncommon for it to miss portions of the floor, but if used on a regular basis, this shouldn’t be too much of an issue. We noted that it covered pretty much all and collected the majority of visible material on two consecutive runs across the same floor.
Neato claims that its trademark D shape lets it to reach regions that circular robots cannot, yet cleaning into corners and around edges was no better than with circular robovacs in our tests. In fact, on several occasions, the corner cleaning was really disappointing since it would begin spinning before it reached the corner.
During a couple successive carpet cleaning runs, the side brush stopped spinning, and the app did not notify us that something was wrong. On one occasion, it got tangled with hair, but there didn’t appear to be a cause for this, and as soon as we withdrew it from its magnet and replaced it, it began working again. It would also repeatedly slam into items before recognising what was going on.
This robot has the unusual capacity to slightly lift itself at the front or rear, which aids in its escape if it becomes stuck or trapped. However, this means that it occasionally tries to climb things, such as our fire hearth, which sits an inch above the main floor. It also attempted to scale the legs of a stool and a clothing drying rack. This would happen on the charging dock from time to time as well, lifting the dock into the air. We also noticed that a large quantity of air rushes out of the back of the robot while vacuuming, enough to feel like a cool breeze if it vacuums near you.
We recommend taking the charger while relocating it to vacuum a different floor. We attempted to vacuum upstairs while leaving the charger downstairs. After cleaning, the vacuum turned off and repeatedly slammed into our closet door, apparently hunting for the charger because this is where we had started it. It didn’t stop until we paused it and returned it to the charger downstairs. On the bright side, it avoids falling downstairs.
The dirt bin easily pulls out of the top of the robot, but in order to empty it, the filter must be removed, which can be a messy procedure. Some dirt may become caught within as well.
It’s quiet in eco mode on hard floors, at 64dB, but louder in turbo mode on carpet, at 70dB – but this is still the same noise as background talk in an office, which is more than tolerable.
App
- Create no-go zones
- Can only save one map
- Schedule cleans
The software is simple to use; it walks you through the setup process and easily connects to the robot. It makes a map of your floorplan during the initial clean, after which you can use a sketching tool to define virtual no-go zones for areas you don’t want the robot to clean. One major disadvantage is that you can’t save numerous maps, thus you can only draw no-go zones on a map of one floor of your property.
The app lets you pick between eco and turbo cleaning modes, and it’s simple to set up cleaning plans for automatic regular cleans at any time of day or night. It also notifies you if there is a problem with the robot, and if you can’t find it, there is a locate button on the app that will trigger an audible signal to help you determine where the robot is hidden.
Battery life
- Automatically returns to charger
- 100 minutes battery life
- Eco mode offers a longer run time
The D8 has the shortest run duration among the robovacs in this range, according to Neato. However, the 100-minute run duration is plenty for modest floor plans, and even if your home is larger, the robot will automatically return to the charger when the battery runs low, and it will begin cleaning from where it left off. As a result, it’s not just for modest houses.
When we let the battery run out, it took about two hours to charge it back up to 100 percent. The battery symbol on top of the vacuum is illuminated green, however as the battery runs low, it changes to yellow.
In the app, you can also see the battery percentage. The battery lasted 55 to 65 minutes in turbo mode during our tests, while eco mode provides a longer run time, closer to the 100 minutes claimed by Neato.