If ECOVACS doesn’t bring this hybrid handheld/robovac to Australia, I will cry

I’ve long had a complex relationship with robot vacuums. They always sound amazing on paper, and while most of the time they live up to those high expectations, there’s one problem: no matter how good a robovac may be, I am better. That’s not hubris, it’s fact. I’ve never met a robovac that made me completely do away with my stick vac.

The ECOVACS DEEBOT X5 Hybrid is trying to change that.

Debuting at CES in Las Vegas, the X5 Hybrid is, as the name suggests, a hybrid vacuum that can run on its own (like any other robovac) and can switch to a handheld mode, allowing you to take over and take another pass at a particularly stubborn bit of carpet or do a speedy clean—after all, robotic vacuum cleaners tend to take their time.

I was lucky enough to give the X5 Hybrid a go, and it was surprisingly maneuverable given its form factor, which is admittedly quite a lot chunkier than your usual stick vac.

The X5 Hybrid lacks the mopping features you’ll find on most of the ECOVACS DEEBOT range, but personally, it’s a trade-off I’m happy to make for what is essentially a two-in-one vacuum.

Unfortunately, there’s no word on when (and even if) the X5 Hybrid will make its way down under, but if it doesn’t, it will make me very sad. Please, ECOVACS, I’m begging you.

What will definitely be coming to Australia, however, is the new DEEBOT X8 Pro Omni, which boasts a completely redesigned rolling mop pad that cleans itself as it goes, and the ultra-slim DEEBOT T50 Omni, ECOVACS’ thinnest robot vacuum ever. Both products are set to hit Aussie stores “very soon”, so watch this space.