Who would’ve thought that at a time when the general public seems to have accepted robotic vacuums and mops, we’d also see window-cleaning robots emerge as well? The Winbot W1 Pro is one such bot, and it fits a specific niche perfectly.
Build
At its core, the Winbot W1 Pro is a cleaning robot that traverses windows instead of carpet or hard flooring.
Using 2,800Pa suction created by a powerful little fan, the Winbot W1 Pro is able to tread glass windows, cleaning them in the same way a robot vacuum would make its rounds on the floor. Two treaded tire arrays sit at each side, which utilize exceptionally grippy tracks to slide around.
Rather than a mopping pad, the bottom of the W1 Pro is fitted with a cleaning cloth, which comes off easily. To be effective, that cloth needs to be wet. That’s where the two spray nozzles come into play at the front of the W1 Pro supplied by a 60ml reservoir. During a cleaning route, the W1 Pro will spray the glass as it traverses a vertical terrain.
The W1 Pro could have taken up a utilitarian look, with the concept being as cool as it is. Of course, Ecovacs went for an appealing look with white casing and leather strap for easy pickup and placement. Even though the W1 Pro looks incredibly out of place attached to a window and roaming, it looks great doing it.
In practice, the W1 Pro works great. Once it’s connected to your home network and ready to go, it simply needs to be plugged and tethered off. The bot itself does have a battery, but it’s more insurance than anything else. If the W1 Pro loses power completely, it falls off the wall and tumbles to the floor. With the backup battery, the only way that happens is if the power supply comes loose and it sits on a window screaming for help for too long – 30 minutes, to be exact. The power cord and corded tether are safety mechanisms, which is more than welcome.
Performance
The neatest feature, in my opinion, is the starting mechanism for the Winbot W1 Pro. Without using the app, you can start a quick clean by pressing the bot to the wall. Once it senses you’ve done so, the suction fan starts up and it starts the cleaning procedure. It’s simple.
Of course, Ecovacs has loaded the app with tons of features and modes if you’re looking to get technical. There are three cleaning modes: fast cleaning, deep cleaning, and spot cleaning. The former two utilize a U-shaped path while the spot cleaning mode makes a familiar back-and-forth motion.
Just like a traditional robot vacuum, the W1 Pro makes its rounds effectively and will clean each window you slap it to with ease. With just water, the microfiber cloth takes care of tough window prints with a little more effort than it takes to stick to a 90-degree surface.
My one complaint is the volume at which the W1 Pro runs. It’s much louder than Ecovac’s Deebot X1 Omni or T20 Omni, which aren’t exactly quiet. Of course, it also only runs for a few minutes, max.
One more lacking feature is Google Home integration. It would be nice to see pause/start commands available via Google Assistant after placing it on a window, but that functionality just isn’t there. Otherwise, the Ecovacs app has the same user-friendly experience available once the W1 Pro is powered on and placed on the wall. You can even use a remote control function to manually drive the bot and spray certain spots.
Who is the W1 Pro for?
The W1 Pro solves a problem that a certain niche of people have, which is having windows so large that cleaning them is a pain. For those with windows no taller than a single floor, the W1 Pro likely won’t be necessary. Of course, if you have larger windows that don’t get much attention due to limited ease, the W1 Pro might just be your best friend.
To check its limits compared to larger windows, I tested the W1 Pro on standard panels with a width of about three feet. At that size, the W1 Pro does a fine job, but the process of putting the bot on, watching it find boundaries, and making its rounds is so much more effort than simply spraying a cloth and wiping it down.
In reality, the W1 Pro is meant for larger windows that allow just enough access to place the W1 Pro and let it do its thing. If that fits your situation, I truly think the W1 Pro is a great product that shines in the right spots. It cleans well and looks good – but also terrifying – doing it.
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