The first Alfawise I tested was a disappointment to be honest. Navigation was so-so and it did not clean as well as I’d hope it would.
So when they asked me to test their new robot I wasn’t really sure if I’d want to but I accepted because I wanted to see if they’ve improved their product.
Now here I am with the new Alfawise X5.
It’s their latest robotic vacuum and now has WiFi Connectivity, a smartphone app and Alexa compatibility.
Latest GearBest Promotions: Smart Gear Promo (Ships within 5 Days!)
Another improvement would be the gyroscope navigation that’s supposedly more efficient.
Are the upgrades enough? Or are these just smokescreens to another inferior product?
Let’s find out in this review.
A quick look at the features
- Twin side brush system helps it pick up dirt along the edges and corners
- 1,000Pa suction will clean bare floors and low pile carpet
- 2-in-1 functionality of a robot vacuum and mop
- Compatible with Alexa
- Has WiFi connectivity with a smartphone app that allows remote access to the robot
- Three cleaning modes – zigzag, edge and spot cleaning mode
- 2,600 mAh lithium ion battery will run for 100 to 12 minutes
- 3 hour charging time
- 600 ml dust box capacity
- 600 ml water tank capacity
- Only produces 60 decibels
- 1 year warranty
Pros
- Smartphone app is very stable and has a scheduling system that allows multiple cleanups in a day just like the Xiaomi app
- Versatile functionality – can vacuum and mop
- Decent sized 600 ml dust bin and water tank will cover a lot of ground
- Pick up is decent on bare floor
- Side brushes work well cleaning dirt from edges and corners
Cons
- Navigation isn’t as efficient as I had hoped from a Gyroscopic system
- Does not clean edges as well and often as other brands such as ILIFE A4S or Dibea D900
- During my test it bumped into the charging dock several times
- Poor filtration (does not have HEPA)
What to expect from this new Alfawise robot?
I must admit, I was not happy with the performance of the first generation Alfawise A6. So I was not expecting too much from this new X5 but build quality is a notch above the previous generation.
Please watch this video to see what comes inside the box and to see how it performs…
First improvement would be design. Instead of using a vanilla plain white and pink color scheme, the new X5 has a predominantly black design with gray accents.
On top you’ll see three touch screen buttons.
At the bottom, there are 2 side brushes flanking two motorized brushes. It is a similar design to the Roomba 650 but Alfawise comes with 2 side brushes instead of one from Roomba.
A twin side brush system makes a robot vacuum clean better at the edges and corners because it has more reach.
This robot also comes with a mop bracket/water tank that transforms this into a robotic mop.
To turn this into a robot mop, you’ll need to remove the dirt bin and slide the water tank in its place.
Water Tanks and Dirt Bin
Having dual functionality requires this robot to have separate containers to hold water and dry dirt. To use this as a vacuum, you’ll need to insert the dirt bin that slides at the back.
If you want use it as a mop, replace the dirt bin with the mop. Both will hold 600 ml of dry dirt and water respectively so it’s pretty substantial. The water hold will double as a bracket and there’s no need to flip the robot upside down which is a plus for me.
Lithium Ion Battery
The X5 comes with a 2,600 mAh lithium ion battery that will take 3 hours to recharge and will run for up to 120 minutes.
Since it’s a lithium battery there will be minimal power fade and the power is linear.
Remote
Out of the box, you’ll get a remote that gives you access to all of the functionality of the robot from the different cleaning modes to the power settings.
It also has directional buttons just in case you want to control where the robot goes and cleans. But for me I never use this feature and just press the auto button instead.
While the remote is nice, the X5 has another feature that may make the remote obsolete…
Smartphone App
Alfawise also comes with a smartphone app they call the TuyaSmart app.
The app itself is pretty simple in terms of functionality. It’s has the basically the same function as the remote but here’s the cool part – you’ll have access to the robot even if you’re not present at home.
Since the app is simple, it is fast and responsive. Not one time did it crash or flashed an error code.
Connecting it to the robot is simple and only requires a few steps. But you’ll need to have a router for the connection to take place.
My favorite feature would be the scheduling. This app will allow you to schedule this robot to clean as many times as you want per day.
Let’s say you’re O.C. about keep your home dust free. You can set the schedule once in the morning, once at noon and another during the evening. It’s that flexible. I’d argue that you may not even need the remote unless you don’t have a smartphone which is a rarity.
Navigation
Alfawise says that this robot uses a gyroscope navigation system that will go in a back and forth pattern. I was expecting it to be like the Dibea D900 but it’s not the same.
Please watch the latter part of the video above to see how this robot navigates.
If you did, you’ll notice that it starts off in a back and forth pattern then something strange happens, it’ll go in a random direction and cycle between it.
It only went edge cleaning a few times but out of the few times it did a pretty decent job picking up dirt at the edges.
Cleaning Performance
Before my commentary let me show you some before and after shots…
For the most part this robot really did a decent job of cleaning all the dirt I on bare floor. It cleaned the large mess in the middle of the room and edges.
Even though it only did edge cleaning a few times, it did manage to dislodge dirt on those areas.
The biggest weak point would be cleaning areas around furniture.
If you have a piece of office chair inside the room, I suggest removing it because this robot won’t be able to navigate around it.
This robot is pretty furniture averse if that’s the right term.
Out of the 50 grams of dirt, this robot was able to clean roughly 44 grams which is a pretty good ratio. Almost the same level as the ILIFE robots I’ve tested so far.
What’s in the Box?
Out of the box you’ll get the following:
- Charging dock and charger
- Alfawise X5 robot with the dry dirt bin and two side brushes attached
- English manual
- Water tank and mop
- Magnetic tape
- Cleaning brush
- Two extra side brushes
- 2 double sided tape
- Extra microfiber towel
Product Specification
| Battery type | Lithium ion |
| Charger type | Charging dock |
| Charge time | N/A |
| Water tank capacity | 600 ml |
| Dirt capacity (dry) | 600 ml |
Run Time  | 100 to 120 mins |
| Net weight (with battery) | 5.51 lbs |
| Shipping weight | 12.26 pounds |
| Width | 12.6 inches |
| Height | 3.46 inches |
| Vacuuming |  |
| Dry Mopping | |
| Wet Mopping | |
| Multi Room | |
| Self docking | |
| Remote control | |
| Hepa filtration | |
| Cliff detection | |
| Self adjusting | |
| Side brush | |
| Full bin indicator |  |
| Stair Cleaning | |
| Cleaning sessions per week | 7 |
| Extra Filter | 1 |
| Containment | None |
| Brush cleaning tools | 1 |
| Accessories included | Charging dock and charger English manual 600ml dirt bin 600ml water tank Magnetic tape Cleaning brush Two extra side brushes 2 double sided tape Extra microfiber towel |
| Voltage | auto volt |
| Manufactured in | China |
| Warranty | 1 year (learn more) |
Where Can I Buy This?
This robot is available in Amazon for just under $295 which is a lot of dough if you ask me. But for the best price you might want to shop at GearBest where this will cost well below $200 with a coupon code.
To get the latest price please click this link and check coupon codes below to get more savings…
- AlFWX5 (China warehouse) – $179.99
To Wrap Up
The Alfawise X5 comes with the same brush configuration as the Roomba 650 but it’s more than $100 cheaper! With one extra side brush expect this robot to do better cleaning the edges.
It performed way better than the first Alfawise robot I tested but I still feel that the navigation is way too complicated. This robot will start off with a back and forth motion then go in a random direction and then go back to a back and forth motion.
Edge cleaning is decent but it does not go to that mode often enough. You’ll have to use the edge cleaning mode to clean all of the edges.
I was hoping that this robot would have at least the same navigation as the Dibea D900 but it did not.
In terms of cleaning performance, it did pretty well cleaning 44 out of the possible 50 grams of dirt. This is almost the same level as ILIFE robots. But please remove any chairs (especially office chairs) as this robot will struggle cleaning areas around it.
Overall this is a good performing robot for the price.
I would strongly suggest to stay away from X5 vacuum cleaner, made by Alfawise, it’s piece of junk. I bought mine, it only worked two (2) times and electronically failed. If you don’t want to lose the money like I did, don’t buy it!
Joe
Does anyone know how to reset the X5 ? I used it for two weeks now. Already stopped functioning as it should .
The X5 is a terrible vacuum cleaner. It broke down after two days of use. Don’t waste your money.