Review of Xiaomi Robot Vacuum 6 Max: Xiaomi's best mop with legs for high thresholds

Robotic vacuum cleaners long competed mainly in Pascals. While the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum 6 Max offers a record-breaking 35,000 Pa, other features are more interesting: a roller instead of rotating mops, three extendable arms for corners, and a pair of mechanical legs that allow it to climb over thresholds up to 6 centimeters high. On paper, it’s a flagship without compromises. In practice, it turned out to have compromises, just in different areas than I expected.

Nightstand-sized station

Before the robot makes its first run, you need to find a spot for it. The station measures 47 × 36 × 58 cm including the ramp, and you can’t just hide it in a corner behind a door. Fortunately, the silver finish looks good, so it doesn’t have to stay hidden.

Inside, you’ll find a 4-liter clean water tank, a 3.8-liter dirty water container, and a 2.5-liter dust bag. Xiaomi promises the bag will last up to 75 days, and I believe that for a typical household. The station washes the roller mop with water up to 85 °C in four stages and then dries it with 50 °C air. During washing, the station draws up to 1,200 W from the socket.

What’s missing is a detergent dispenser. And Xiaomi explicitly advises against manually adding it to the tank in its support, as it can clog the water lines. So, the 6 Max mops only with clean water. For a vacuum cleaner costing almost 28 thousand, this is a strange omission, as even significantly cheaper competitors now automatically dispense detergent. Furthermore, you won’t find any spare brushes or bags in the package.

Legs that aren’t just for show

The main innovation is the bionic legs. When the robot encounters a threshold, it extends them, lifts itself, and climbs over it. It can handle a single step or a threshold up to 6 cm high, which will be especially appreciated by owners of older apartments and houses where various strips and ramps alternate between rooms. A typical robot usually stops at around two centimeters.

However, the legs sometimes work where they don’t need to. At our home, the robot extended them several times on a flat floor between rooms without a threshold, as if it was just unsure. It helps if you manually mark the thresholds in the app. Then it climbs over them reliably and doesn’t lift unnecessarily.

It also cleverly gets under furniture. The laser tower can retract into the body, so the robot is only 9 cm tall and can enter anywhere there’s a gap of at least 9.3 cm. This means it can finally clean under sofas with low legs, a spot you can’t reach with a classic vacuum cleaner.

A roller that doesn’t turn parquet into a pond

Mopping is the 6 Max’s strongest discipline. Instead of two rotating mops, it uses a roller powered by 16 nozzles that continuously moisten it with clean water during operation. Dirty water is immediately wiped off the roller, so the robot doesn’t spread dirt throughout the apartment. In my experience, the result is even and streak-free, and the floor dries quickly afterward. For wooden floors that don’t like water, this is a big difference; I can finally let the robot into my study, where I have laminate flooring.

It can handle spilled lemonade or ketchup on the first pass, but sometimes it goes over dried stains on tiles twice and you still end up needing a cloth. Edges are handled by a roller that extends 4 cm towards the wall, and a side brush that sweeps dirt from corners. A small round mop on an extendable arm then goes into the corner itself. The one at the bottom, as you can see in the photo. It helps, but it has less pressure, so it’s not enough for ingrained stains.

You have to set up carpets yourself

Xiaomi measured the record 35,000 Pa directly on the fan with external power, not on the floor. On hard floors, the performance is more than sufficient; crumbs, sand, and flakes disappear on the first pass. The main brush with blades cuts hair, and I didn’t have to untangle it throughout the entire test period.

On carpets, it’s worse. The robot doesn’t increase suction on its own, because carpet boost needs to be enabled in the app. Without it, it collects about two-thirds of the dirt from the carpet. If you mark carpets on the map and set them to maximum suction, the result improves. The roller lifts 10 mm above the carpet, but it doesn’t have a cover, so it might get slightly damp on a thicker carpet. I do not recommend the 6 Max for an apartment full of high-pile carpets.

Three cameras and 327 things to avoid

Navigation is handled by LiDAR and three AI cameras. According to Xiaomi, the robot recognizes 327 types of obstacles, furniture, and stains, including cables with a diameter of 3 mm. However, recognition is turned off out of the box and must be enabled in the app. Once enabled, it reliably avoids slippers, chargers, and table legs not on the map. However, it doesn’t always cope with small children’s toys and sometimes circles around furniture instead of going straight along it.

The Xiaomi Home app is clear and in Czech. You can adjust the map in detail, and after the first jam, the robot itself will suggest a forbidden zone. You can also use the camera for home surveillance or a one-way video call.

Three hours of operation and quiet running

The 6,400 mAh battery lasts for about three hours of cleaning on a single charge, which is enough for more than 100 m². If that’s not enough, the robot recharges and continues where it left off. However, a full charge takes 4.5 hours.

In normal mode, the robot is quiet, so you can work in the next room. In Turbo mode, it jumps to 58 dB. The station is the noisiest, especially when emptying dust into the bag.

For 28 thousand, I expect more. For 22, it makes sense

The recommended price is 27,999 CZK. However, stores quickly dropped it, and on Heureka, the 6 Max can be purchased for around 22,000 CZK. Only at this price does it start to make sense.

For similar money, around 24,500 CZK, the Roborock Saros 20 offers the same suction. Those who want automatic detergent dispensing and don’t mind classic rotating mops can get the Dreame L40 Ultra AE for about 10 thousand. And if you don’t need to climb over high thresholds or a corner mop, the cheaper Robot Vacuum 6 Pro, starting from around 18,000 CZK, with weaker 30,000 Pa suction and a smaller battery, will suffice. Moreover, the successor, 7 Max, with 45,000 Pa suction, is already being sold in China, but Xiaomi is currently silent about its European launch.

Verdict: Xiaomi’s best mop, not the best vacuum cleaner

The Xiaomi Robot Vacuum 6 Max is the best-equipped robot Xiaomi has sold in Europe. It mops excellently, isn’t afraid of high thresholds, fits under low furniture, and cleans thoroughly around walls and in corners. For an apartment with wooden floors, tiles, and a few low-pile carpets, it’s an excellent choice.

However, the weaknesses are unexpected for a flagship: there’s no detergent dispensing, carpets require manual adjustment, and the legs sometimes lift unnecessarily. Therefore, I would hesitate at the recommended price. But for around 22 thousand, I can recommend it to anyone who primarily has hard floors at home.

Editor’s rating: 86 / 100

Do you prefer mopping with a roller, or are classic rotating mops sufficient for you?