Even though robotic vacuums are still a long way from replacing upright and canister vacuums in the US and Canada, the truth is that they’re gaining ground. Our industry contacts tell us one out of every four vacuums sold this year will be automated, and this figure is only projected to increase next year. To put it simply, sometimes convenience trumps power, especially when you’re simply looking for a second vacuum to clean hardwood floors and low-pile carpets and area rugs for you.

We’ve reviewed dozens of robotic vacuums and are happy note that the cheaper machines coming out of Chinese factories these days are significantly more reliable than those that were hitting the market just a year or two ago. The Deebot N79, for example, is one of our favorite dark horses right now, and today we’re going to review one if its siblings, the ECOVACS DEEBOT M82 Robotic Vacuum Cleaner, and compare the two. Our ten second summary is to buy the M82 for more battery life and to stick with the N79 if smart phone compatibility is a top priority. Our full review is below, and you can buy the M82 here on Amazon.

Pros, Cons, and Key Features of the Ecovacs Deebot M82 Robotic Vacuum

The Deebot M82 Robotic Vacuum is one of a seemingly endless number of robotic vacuums released lately by ECOVACS. It shares most of the same parts with the N79, N78, M80 Pro, M81 Pro, M88, R95, Slim Neo, and Slim2. Frankly, we wish they’d stop releasing so many and spend more time working out the bugs on existing models, as when companies try to grow too quickly, they often end up compromising quality throughout the range instead of perfecting products that build brand trust. But we’re cleaners, not CEOs, so we have a hard time getting manufacturers of the machines we rely on to take us seriously.

At any rate, key features for the M82 include easy programmability, automatic scheduling, an included remote control, and the ability to clean bare floors and low-pile carpeting and rugs. It requires 4-5 hours to charge a Lithium-ion battery that can deliver up to 150 minutes of cleaning time per charge. The M82 features auto-return home and recharge functionality as well as steering ability with the remote. It weighs a shockingly light 5.8 pounds, is 2.5 inches tall, and has a 12 inch cleaning radius.

In the box, you get the M82 itself, an installed and partially charged battery, a charging dock and power adapter, a remote control with a pre-installed battery, 4 side brushes, one cleaning tool, a high efficiency filter, and an instruction manual. You also get the same shoddy one year warranty found throughout the robotic vacuum industry, despite the fact that most of the good machines will last for several years beyond it (including the M82, based on a look at its internal and external construction).

What’s the difference between the Deebot M82 and the Deebot N79?

In the budget robot vacuum space, certain models are going to end up being compared to each other repeatedly. With Deebot, given the fact that their best-selling model has consistently been the N79, we’re going to see how it stacks up vs. the M82, which has a much shorter and less established track record. The main differences between the M82 and the N79 have to do with battery life and controlling options. Simply put, the M82 wins on runtime while the N79 wins on technology. Let’s look at both in detail.

Regarding battery life, the M82 offers an eye-opening 150 minute runtime, a 50% boost compared to the already-impressive 100 minute runtime offered by the N79. For comparison, the Roomba 960, an intelligent and highly capable vacuum that costs 2-3 times as much as the M82, has a 75 minute runtime. This battery time naturally decreases on anything besides hardwood floors, but we’d estimate 75 minutes to be a realistic time for continuous use on low-pile carpeting, which still beats our estimate of 50 minutes on carpet for the N79 handily.

As noted above, the N79 is the winner in technology compatibility. Specifically, you can control the N79 directly from the vacuum itself, through a remote control, or through an Apple or Android smart phone or tablet via Wi-Fi. The M82 can be controlled through the first two options but not through the third. Functionally speaking, you can do just about everything through the remote on the M82 that you could do through the app available for the N79, but if you’re wanting to just use your smart phone and keep the remote in the box, you’ll want the N79 instead of the M82.

Cleaning-wise, both appear to have about the same amount of power on bare and carpeted flooring. Brain-wise, they seem equally smart, which makes sense when you examine both in person; they look more or less like the same machines inside and out. Considering they come from the same overseas factories, none of these facts surprise us. As a result, the main differences to keep in mind involve battery life and Wi-Fi compatibility (or the lack thereof).

How well does the Deebot M82 actually clean carpets and hardwood floors?

When buying a robotic vacuum, you need to have realistic expectations. With very few exceptions (e.g., the Botvac Connected), you’re not going to get a machine capable of cleaning medium or high-pile carpets; you’ll need to bite the bullet and buy a canister like the Miele Electro+ instead for such functionality. More broadly, your robot isn’t going to replace your full-sized vacuum for all tasks.

However, a good robo-vacuum will reduce the amount of daily or weekly vacuuming you need to do on hardwood floors and low-pile carpets and area rugs. It should have at least 50 minutes of functional battery life on any surface and be able to be trusted to navigate around your home without falling off stairs, getting stuck beneath furniture, or spinning in circles while “cleaning” the same section of flooring until it runs out of charge. It should also be programmable, ideally, and be able to follow that schedule without being reprogrammed on a daily or weekly basis. Finally, it should last for more than a couple of years without giving significant problems such as battery depletion or computer malfunctioning.

While we can’t definitively say how the M82 will fare in the last two requirements, as it’s relatively new to the market, we can say that it will do a more than functional job cleaning carpets and bare floors in most homes. It cleans well enough to keep up with the copious amounts of shedding by our golden retrievers and three long-haired cats, and it almost always makes it back to its charging base (as long as we don’t accidentally close a door between it and the base while it’s in a different room). Programming it with the remote was painless and the battery life more than lived up to our expectations. Overall, we were more than satisfied with its performance as a budget-level robotic vacuum.

Why Buy the Deebot M82?

The M82 is one of a growing number of affordable, yet highly functional, robotic vacuums coming out of China these days. While it’s not as smart as a Botvac or potentially as reliable as a Roomba, it’s smart, strong, and reliable enough (at least in the short term) to work as a secondary vacuum for a family or working professional who’d rather spend free time doing things besides vacuuming after work and other responsibilities. The battery life is very impressive and the vacuum is capable of getting around without bumping into a range of objects in our home or getting tangled in cords. Our main recommendation would be to consider the N79 instead if you want smart phone compatibility at the expense battery life, and to stick with the M82 if you’re fine with the remote.

You can buy the Deebot M82 here on Amazon. Alternatively, you can buy the Deebot N79 here if you want smart phone compatibility.

Canadians can buy the Deebot M82 here on Amazon or buy the Deebot N79 here if you want to be able to steer it with your smart phone.

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