Dazzling features, disappointing performance

Yujin Robot’s iClebo Arte robot vacuum is impressive at first glance. At $499.95 (£469.99, $455 AU), it’s not more expensive than several competing Neato robot vacuums, yet it offers a lot more features. In addition to a standard cleaning mode, the Arte comes with other options like random, climb, self-steer, max, and even wet mop. It also has two side brushes and a remote control for enhanced usability. No other $500 bots I’ve come across offer that wide range of options.

Get it working, though, and you won’t be so pleased. Even with all those features, the iClebo Arte performed poorly against its rivals. That’s why, if you’re looking for a robot vacuum in the $400-to-$500 range, I’d recommend the Neato XV Signature Pro or the Neato Botvac 75 instead. They don’t have nearly as many features, but make up for it with excellent performance. And if you want a robot vacuum with a similar mop feature, the Moneual Rydis H67 is a more reasonably priced option.

Cleaning house with Yujin Robot’s iClebo Arte (pictures)
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Design and features

The iClebo Arte has a black finish with orange accents. The overall design is simple and understated; it won’t stand out in a room like Neato’s white and blue BotVac 85. It’s on the lighter side for robot vacuums, too; just 6.1 pounds compared to the heavy BotVac 85’s 9 pounds.

The touchscreen-style display is equipped with all kinds of helpful options, including power on/off, cleaning cycle start/stop, timer status, battery status, and a digital clock that also notes the time it takes to run a cleaning cycle. There are also several modes — auto, random, mopping, climb, max, and self-steer, which means you can use the directional arrows on the remote to “drive” your Arte around your house.

Yujin Robot’s Arte comes with a lithium ion battery, a smaller brush that detangles things from the main brush, one magnetic strip to mark off sections of a room, three filters, two reusable microfiber cloths, and a mop plate for attaching the cloths in mop mode. The robot also comes with a camera that uses “vision mapping” and a specific algorithm to navigate around room. And, like the Moneual Rydis H67, the Arte has two side brushes for sweeping errant debris into its path.

Usability

The iClebo Arte was very simple to operate. It’s relatively lightweight compared to other robot vacuums we’ve reviewed, and the remote control adds to its overall ease of use. Each run time lasted a brief 2-to-4 minutes, and it dutifully returned to its dock without any issues — even the Neato and Roomba-brand bots we’ve reviewed occasionally struggled to return to their charging stations. Not so with the Arte.

A full charge lasted about two hours, and it took just under two hours to recharge. The extra features and accessories, like the detangling brush and climb mode, make it easier to customize each cleaning cycle as needed. I was extremely impressed with the Arte in this category, unfortunately that didn’t translate to top performance.

Performance

I tested the $499.95 iClebo Arte on mid-pile carpet, low-pile carpet, and hardwood. In addition to the different floor types, I wanted to test it with a variety of debris. So, I scattered rice, pet hair, and sand on all three surfaces, comparing the starting debris weight (2.5 ounces for rice, 0.2-ounce for pet hair, and 1.25 ounces for sand) to what was collected in the bin after each cleaning cycle. I compared the Arte’s results to the $699.99 iRobot Roomba 880, the $599.99 Neato BotVac 85 (£449.99), the $449.99 Neato XV Signature Pro (£389.17), and the $239 Infinuvo Hovo 510. (Note: Pricing and availability were not available for the UK and Australia except for those items shown.)