Note: This review was first published on 15 August 2025.
This may be a strange thing to write for an opening of a review, but there’s a special place in my heart for this little guy. The Xiaomi X20 Max does not have the highest specifications for robot vacuums in 2025; it doesn’t have advanced AI object recognition, the strongest suction power rating, and isn’t fille to the brim with experimental bells-and-whistles like solid-state LiDAR, roller brushes, step-climbing wheels or an actual robotic arm to pick up your stuff.
On paper, when compared with other flagship robot vacuums, the X20 Max is quite frankly, rather pedestrian. However, as it turns out, the X20 Max needed none of these things to be competent.
To me, Xiaomi is the consumer electronics equivalent of Muji; the brand you go to when you need a utilitarian product that just works, has a good enough track record for quality that you don’t feel like you’re gambling on the unknown, and are confident of getting great bang-for-buck value.
The Xiaomi X20 Max is a simple robot vacuum that doesn’t like to scream for attention.
Underside of the Xiaomi X20 Max
The X20 Max robot vacuum is all-of-the-above. The design is a nondescript matte black; even the Xiaomi logo is muted. The only embellishment is a line of silver on the docking station and the orange circle of the LiDAR. And speaking of the docking station, it is slim and tall, a complete opposite of the Samsung Bespoke Jet, which was stout, wide, and took up more space than necessary. The X20 Max fits into the nice little cubbyhole I’ve carved out between my kitchen sink and coffee counter.
The whole station fits neatly into this little recess.
The X20 Max is thinner than the Ecovacs X8 Pro, but don’t forget the LiDAR protrusion.
Specs-wise, the X20 Max reviewed here is the flagship of the series, but there are three more models in the series—X20, X20+ and X20 Pro—all with slightly improved suction power as the main differentiator. The X20 has 5,000Pa of suction, X20+ has 6,000Pa, X20 Pro has 7,000Pa and the X20 Max has 8,000Pa. The X20 Pro and Max also have extra laser sensors on the side for a wider 120-degree field-of-view and more precise obstacle avoidance. The X20 Max is the only model with an extending mopping pad on the robot and hot water washing on the docking station.
Yes, 8,000Pa sounds woefully underpowered when this year’s flagships like the Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni, Mova Z50 Ultra, and Dreame X50 Ultra are pushing 18,000Pa to 20,000Pa, but I’d venture to say that you’re unlikely to notice this performance difference just for daily cleaning, especially on hard floors. If you have carpets thought, that’s a different story and heavily spillage will require a second pass.
What’s interesting though—and a first for me—is that the X20 Max came with two different brush heads. I swapped the default all-purpose brush for the hair cutting brush immediately since that’s the most practical function to have on any vacuum. Regardless of suction performance or fancy AI features, if a vacuum does not have a reliable method to deal with hair, it will eventually clog up the works.
All-purpose brush (top) and hair-cutting brush (bottom) are included.
Mopping performance on the X20 Max is quite basic. Yes, it does have an extendable pad on the right that lets it reach closer to edges, but I’m referring about the actual mopping itself. The pads that comes with the X20 Max is on the thinner side of what I remember compared to the other robot vacuums we’ve reviewed, and as such, doesn’t seem to get wet enough to give my floor the same level of scrubbing down.
Brush pads of the X20 Max
What I am most impressed with is the navigation algorithm. Even for its very first cleaning cycle after the initial mapping, the X20 Max hardly bumped into anything at all. It even managed to successfully clean around a particularly troublesome corner with cables on the ground. And it loves to get up-close and personal with objects and corners. The robot literally tried to kiss and hug every crevice it could fit into and furniture leg it came across.
X20 Max cleaning as close to objects as it can without hard bumps.
Another example of close contact cleaning.
The X20 Max successfully cleaned this corner without getting tangled in the cables.
Why is this impressive? Well, Ecovacs for example, claims to have a database of objects that its robots can recognise, such as a dog food bowl, shoes, or throw rugs on the floor. It can use AI to optimise how to approach them. The Xiaomi X20 Max just relies on general obstacle avoidance through its combination of LiDAR, laser and edge sensors, which seems to work equally well. It also passed the same water cup test I gave the Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni. It doesn’t need to know what the object is, just that there is an object to avoid and navigate around. Another comparison is the Samsung Bespoke Jet, which is also equally bare-bones in terms of navigational features, but that robot bumped into everything in my home.
Of course, this also means the X20 Max doesn’t have any particle or dirt detection as well. It will clean based on a preset navigational pattern and return to base once it’s covered the selected map even if there is still dirt present. If you have a heavily soiled floor from a spill, the best option is to setup a custom area cleaning routine and have the robot make 2 sweeps.
While we’re on the app, the X20 Max will connect to the English version of the Mi Home app. You can adjust the map once the initial mapping is done, set schedules, and cleaning modes. There are some additional options you can set for carpet cleaning and mop pad maintenance, but otherwise, it is pretty straightforward.
X20 Max settings for general cleaning and map editing.
X20 Max advanced options.
Now, I know many of the other Chinese brands like Ecovacs and Dreame are perpetually on some sale or another, and it’s hard to lock down a proper fixed price, but at an asking price of S$679, the Xiaomi X20 Max is anywhere between S$300 – S$600 cheaper than its competitors.
The quiet, subtle floor cleaner than can.
It may not be the most feature-packed or the most powerful, but the X20 Max will clean your floor adequately, has excellent navigation, and a price that’s hard to argue against.
You can buy the Xiaomi X20 Max directly from Xiaomi’s online store, Shopee, and Lazada.