Eufy E18 Robot Mower review: Is this AI-powered, wire-free tech the future?
The Eufy E18 robot mower uses AI technology, advanced cameras and a wire-free setup to automate lawn maintenance. Picture: Eufy
I’ve spent the last fortnight letting the Eufy E18 take over my garden chores. It’s insane how far robot mowers have come in the last few years, from slow bump-and-go systems with boundary wires to the latest and greatest in AI tech.
Although the E18 weighs 12.5kg, it doesn’t feel too heavy for one person to lift. You may never need to move it unless it gets stuck or you need to take it from one zone to another, but a solid handle at the back makes it feel much more manageable.
Underneath, the cutting system prevents wet grass from clinging or clogging, making regular cleaning much easier. On the circular base are three small, razor-sharp blades for cutting the grass. While spares are included, they are consumable parts that will need to be replaced at intervals depending on the area you are mowing. Replacing all three blades takes only a few minutes, but you must handle them with care since even worn blades remain incredibly sharp.
A practical feature is the ability to adjust the cutting height via the Eufy app. You can set specific heights for various zones of your lawn without ever needing to touch the mower itself.
It has a large, passive, single swivel wheel at the front for turning, paired with much larger, more rugged tractor-style tyres at the back to help it grip. At the top, there’s a large, prominent red stop button — great for peace of mind — alongside simple buttons for power, play/pause, and returning home. This allows for manual operation without the necessity for the app.
Eufy offers two variants, the E18 and the E15, which share similar battery capacity and physical dimensions. The key difference lies in the E18's internal memory, which allows it to manage much larger maps for gardens up to 1,200 sq m, whereas the E15 is limited to 800 sq m.
One of the real reasons to get the E18 is its lack of wires, ease of setup, and automatic modes. In older robot mowers, you’d have to spend a whole afternoon burying a perimeter cable around your entire garden. It’s a massive headache. The E18 avoids all that by using the latest in AI and camera tech. And there are also no RTK-GPS transmitters to configure, which further simplifies and speeds up the process.
It has a built-in rain sensor, so as soon as it detects moisture, it will return directly to the base station. It’s also got a little headlamp that kicks in when it's working in low light, although it can’t mow in total darkness.
The E18 uses a binocular camera system, much like the vision systems you see in robot vacuums. It looks at the ground to distinguish between actual grass and just a patch of brown or a flower bed.
After adding the E18 to the Eufy app, I set it off to auto-map my rear garden with the press of a button. I can’t stress how impressed I was by how skilfully the mower went about its business with no input from me.
During my initial testing, I let it run until dusk, but before it could finish, it said it had to return to the dock because there wasn’t enough light and would resume the following day 30 minutes after sunrise.
For a camera-led system, the accuracy is quite amazing, though it does require decent lighting to stay on track.
Under the bonnet, it sports brushless motors and relies heavily on modern tech like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to stay connected to your phone. The base station handles charging and serves as the mower's garage. It even comes with a cover that protects most of the mower from the elements.
I found that despite the small blades, the 203mm deck does a great job on standard lawns. That said, if you are dealing with very long grass after heavy rain, the motor can struggle with the extra bulk. I recommend trimming any grass to below 9cm before starting, then setting a schedule to mow every couple of days during the summer. Because the cutting range is 25mm to 75mm (5mm increments), frequent sessions mean the mower is only ever handling small amounts of grass. This leaves behind a layer of mulch that naturally nourishes the soil.
While some tidying is required around walls and obstacles that the mower cannot reach, the quality of the cut itself was excellent. It managed to map my garden without any issues, but of course, your mileage may vary, as every garden is different.
It can handle small slopes, but unlike more powerful mowers with four-wheel drive, it has limitations and isn’t recommended for slopes steeper than 18 degrees (approximately a 40% grade). Also, if you have holes or areas that get waterlogged during heavy periods of rain, the two-wheel drive might get stuck. If it does get stuck, it will send a notification to your phone asking for help.
The E18 is incredibly quiet. You can barely hear the blades spinning. It’s almost as silent as the mower just driving across the grass.
Unlike some mowers, the E18 can’t cut a name or logo into the grass. Instead, it can customise the spacing between cutting lines and their direction. This makes for a very professional-looking lawn when freshly cut.
You can set the mower to manage tall grass at the edges or avoid cutting yellowed areas entirely. I noticed that when I had reseeded some brown patches, the mower treated them as non-grass and worked around them. It’s also excellent at navigating around obstacles like poles, garden furniture, and even toys.
In the app, you can stream a live view of what the camera sees while it’s cutting or even manually control it in live view mode. This is a cool feature and a way to check in on your property while you’re not at home. You can’t cut the grass in manual mode, and you should be cautious because the automatic detection modes don't function, putting you at risk of bumping into obstacles or even people.
The base station and blades have a time-of-use indicator that shows when the base needs cleaning, or the blades need replacing. The app will send a notification, and you can check how many hours remain.
You can create different areas and zones within the map, as well as passageways between areas. However, if the robot doesn’t have a clear way between areas, you can’t simply lift and move it to a new area and map it; the workaround is to install a second base station.
The most obvious safety feature is the big red stop button on the top of the mower. The mower will stop when this is pushed and only resume when you press the play and okay buttons or use the app. The mower will also stop automatically as soon as it detects it’s being lifted, and you can prevent little ones from playing with the buttons by enabling a child lock.
When the anti-theft alert is enabled, you’ll receive a notification whenever the robot leaves its work area. The mower is also protected by a four-digit code, and there’s a special compartment in the base designed to fit an AirTag or similar-sized trackers.
The battery life is decent, with charge and run times of 90 to 110 minutes each.
The Eufy E18 is a highly capable and user-friendly robot mower that brings modern AI precision to your garden. It is a near-perfect choice for standard lawns, provided your garden isn't too steep or larger than 1,200 sq m. If you’re looking for a mower that doesn’t require a complicated setup and is ready to go as soon as you put it in its garage, this is the one for you.
€1,800 soundstore.ie
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