I’ve just finished testing a device that makes me feel like I’ve stepped into a time machine from the future. The Winbot W2 Omni
There’s a battery inside the portable station, so you can bring the robot outside to clean exterior windows. Ecovacs estimates that the battery lasts up to 110 minutes, translating into a 592-square-foot coverage area.
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For reference, an average house in the US has 22 windows and 440 sq ft of window area (indoors). The Winbot W2 Omni is thus designed to clean the inside of all the windows in an average home on a single charge.
What the Winbot W2 Omni looks like from the other side.
Maria Diaz/ZDNET
I gave my Winbot the ultimate test: my sunroom’s sliding glass door. My dog likes to nap in the sunroom when the weather’s nice, and we put him in there while the kids are eating so he can have a cool place to relax with access to the yard. My one-year-old dog also likes to jump, especially when the kids try to play with him through the door.
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The combination of a muddy yard, an energetic dog, and messy kids regularly results in layers of dry mud outside the glass door and tiny sticky handprints inside. It takes me at least two passes with a window-cleaning solution to clean just the dog’s muddy side of the sliding door, with the first pass mostly smearing dirt around and leaving a cloudy mess.
When I opened the app, I was told, “Remote cleaning is recommended for the current window.” My husband and I took turns driving the robot around the window with the Ecovacs app, and it sprayed while cleaning. The result was just as effective as autonomous cleaning.
ZDNET’s buying advice
The Winbot W2 Omni
The recent US tariffs on imports from countries like China, Vietnam, and India aim to boost domestic manufacturing but are likely to drive up prices on consumer electronics. Products like smartphones, laptops, and TVs may become more expensive as companies rethink global supply chains and weigh the cost of shifting production.
CNET: Tariff Pricing Tracker: We’re Watching 11 Products You Might Need to Buy
Consumers may also experience notable price increases on robot vacuums and smart home products. Manufacturers are exploring options such as relocating production to countries with lower tariffs, but such transitions are complex and may not provide immediate relief. In the short term, shoppers should anticipate higher costs for robot vacuums due to these trade policies.
Source : ZDNet