TechRadar Verdict
The Yeedi C12 Pro Plus is pretty darn good for a mid-tier robot vacuum. The vacuuming and mopping performance is good, the mapping can handle all sorts of situations, and it comes at a decent price. You just have to live with not being able to get the edges of your room, louder operation, and the lack of smart features like voice control.
Surprisingly high suction power
Good mopping performance
Mapping in app works very well
Decent mid-range price
Copes well with hair
Not great on edges
Unreliable object avoidance
Louder operation
No voice assistant support
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Yeedi C12 Pro Plus: two-minute review
The Yeedi C12 Pro Plus is great for what it is – a mid-tier robot vacuum that will help keep your floors clear between more intensive deep cleans. If your budget is limited to around $600, it might even be among thebest robot vacuumsfor you. Of course, robot vacuums have come a long way so, if you’re able to splurge, it might pale in comparison to some of the competition, though you’ll have to pay much more for those other options.
It can’t get right up to the edges of rooms, it’s limited in the smart home department, and it’s a little louder than other options. However, its vacuuming and mopping is good otherwise, and Yeedi seems to finally have cracked the code on mapping open-floor spaces, something I’ve been harping on since I first reviewed the Yeedi Cube and have continued to have issues with just about every other manufacturer since.
While the eye-catching design of the Yeedi C12 Pro Plus' base station is certainly a plus, the more important factor here is the affordability of this robot vacuum. Even disregarding the fact that it’s going to see plenty of deals – as is the nature of Yeedi and Ecovacs products – this is a relatively affordable model. While I consider it mid-tier, it’s among the most affordable options out there that include mopping functionality.
So, if you’re on a budget but still want that mopping ability and can live with some compromises, then this could be the robovac for you. Read on for my full Yeedi C12 Pro Plus review, where I’ll dive deeper into its design and how it performs, so that you can decide for yourself.
Yeedi C12 Pro Plus review: price & availability
Even though Yeedi is owned by Ecovacs, this brand (or sub-brand, rather) seems to only be available in the US. At least this model is slightly more accessible than theYeedi Cube, not to mention much cheaper than many of the Ecovacs robot vacuums out there.
You will have to make a few concessions for that lower price point. There’s no clean and dirty water reservoirs in the base station, and the mopping pad is a flat semicircle rather than spinning discs (which are generally more effective).
You’ll also live without quality of life features like mop pad washing and drying – although youcaneasily remove the mop pad and clean it yourself. So, if you’re on a little bit of a budget, you might forgo some conveniences, but this robot vacuum is still a strong contender.
TheShark AI Ultra 2-in-1 Robot Vacuum and Mop, which has a similar form factor, will set you back just a little more at $699 (about £559 / AU$1,054). Having reviewed thatSharkrobot vacuum, I do have to say that it runs a little quieter than the Yeedi C12 Pro Plus. But, it doesn’t look quite as cool.
If you want to put the Yeedi C12 Pro Plus' value in context, consider theEcovacs Deebot T30S Combo, a robot vacuum I gave a nearly perfect score to for its great performance, feature set, and wonderful mapping, not to mention the fact that it comes with a handheld vacuum. While the Yeedi is missing a lot of the features, and isn’t quite as good when it comes to performance, it’s also about double in price at $1,199.99 (about £9500 / AU$1,800).
Yeedi C12 Pro Plus specs
Yeedi C12 Pro Plus review: design
Since the Yeedi C12 Pro Plus is mid-tier, it’s a bit more stripped down and a little less automated than many brands' newest, flagship models. Despite that, this robot vacuum has some aesthetic appeal.
Available in black or white colorways, the base station’s dust bin is actually transparent, showcasing the red metal filter inside that just demands attention. Instead of trying to be discreet, the base station is bold, and that’s something I appreciate.
Since it doesn’t have water reservoirs, it also doesn’t take up a ton of space. There’s just a dustbin into which the (small) onboard dust cup self-empties after every use. At 1.5 liters, the dock bin is smaller than many competitors', but should still hold a decent amount of dust and debris. It pops right out with a push of a button, making it easy to empty out every few weeks.
As far as the robot vacuum itself, it has the usual round shape with the protruding center. There’s a bumper on the front for when it runs into stuff – I’ll talk about object avoidance below, but let’s just say it needs the bumper. And there are three buttons on top for basic controls.
There’s just one side brush here, but at least the roller underneath is of the anti-tangling variety. There are actually two backplates that come with the Yeedi C12 Pro Plus – one if you just want to vacuum and one to add mopping functionality. The latter adds a 0.4 liter water reservoir and a flat mopping pad that will vibrate and apply downward pressure on the floor as it goes about its business. Since it can’t retract this mopping pad, unlike more expensive models that have the spinning mop pads, it will just avoid carpeting when in mopping mode.
Yeedi C12 Pro Plus review: performance
While I did test the Yeedi C12 Pro Plus with various debris to see how it would do, I was surprised to see it pick up a bunch of dust, dander, and pet hair on its first couple runs on what I thought were already clean floors. That’s a testament to how well it vacuums up (it boasts 8,000Pa of suction, which is actually higher than you’d usually find on a robovac at this price point).
Beyond that, it did well vacuuming up larger pieces of debris. Just to test that, I threw a bunch of cereal in front of it (a Lucky Charms knock-off, if that’s important to you) and it sucked it all right up.
On top of that, the brushroll, even after a good number of cleaning runs, was mostly tangle-free. Keeping in mind that this is a full household with a few people with long hair and a couple of dogs, along with a cat, that’s impressive.
It only has one side brush – not unusual, although you will find some robovacs double up here. Also worth noting is that it’s a bit louder than some other robot vacuums, with a volume of around 62db if you’re a foot or two away.
The mop pad is a wide semicircle that vibrates, as opposed to the spinning disc variety (which tends to perform better). However, on test I was quite impressed. I found this robovac delivered a nice, even mop that dries quickly and it quickly cleans up small spills – I threw a bit of Diet Coke right in front of it to test, and it was wiped up in one pass.
Mopping the edges of rooms is a common issue with robovacs. A handful of premium models feature extra side mops or pads that can shift outwards to get close to the edges of rooms; unsurprisingly there’s nothing like that here. That means the mopping can’t get right up to the edges of rooms.
Also unsurprising at this price point is the fact that there are no mop pad washing and drying capabilities built into the dock. That means you’ll have to manually clean the mop pad if it gets dirty, or you risk tracking soy sauce or, worse, mold, across your floors. There is an extra mop pad supplied, so you can swap it in as you leave a dirty one to dry out.
It’s worth noting that, as long as you’re not trying to vacuum carpets, you can leave the mopping backplate on and still do a great job vacuuming. As mentioned before, when in mopping mode, it will avoid carpets. I threw a bath mat in front of the Yeedi C12 Pro Plus, and it cleaned right up to the edge and then backed off.
One area where the Yeedi C12 Pro Plus fell down a little was its object avoidance. Now, it didn’t get stuck on anything despite there being plenty of dog toys sitting around, though it did bump into them. But, when placing a squirt bottle in front of it, instead of going around, the robot vacuum just pushed it out of the way.
In terms of battery life, this robot vacuum has 300 minutes of use on a single charge on anything but the most basic of vacuuming operations, you’ll still get a lot of use out of this before it needs to charge. On test, I found it could manage 170 minutes when mopping as well as vacuuming, which is pretty impressive. However, like most robot vacuums, it seems to return the base station somewhat frequently (to self-empty usually, so I never saw its battery life dip particularly low.
Yeedi C12 Pro Plus review: app
Getting the robot vacuum set up in the companion app for testing was clean and straightforward. As with most apps these days, I found the app easy to use and navigate, although it did take a minute of poking around to figure out where everything is – some of the functionality, particularly anything map-related, is tucked behind picture icons in the top right.
There are a number of noteworthy things in the app. Of course, there’s the basic ability to set up a schedule and adjust some settings, such as a child lock and ‘do not disturb’ modes. But what really stands out is the fact that not only does it automatically section off the different rooms when mapping, but it allows you to partition each room into smaller areas as well. Many companion apps that use a line tool can get stuck on this, but even though Yeedi’s app uses the same approach, here I had no issues cutting off half or a quarter of a space into a new ‘room’.
As great as that is, anyone hoping for smart home features will be sorely disappointed to see that there’s no voice assistant or voice assistant support. You’ll either need to use the app or the physical buttons on the robot vacuum itself.
Should you buy the Yeedi C12 Pro Plus?
Buy it if…
You want a combo robovac without breaking the bank
Even though it’s about $600 / £500, you can’t really go much cheaper and still get quality mopping performance to go along with good vacuuming in a robot vacuum.
You have pets
This robovac packs a surprising amount of power for the price, and I found it handled pet hair well. The anti-tangle brushroll worked as advertised, too. However, do note my comment below regarding object avoidance.
You have an open-plan space
The mapping ability here fixes many of the frustrations I’ve experienced with other models – namely, it has no issues separating open plan rooms into smaller spaces. It’s easy to use and manipulate so that you can more easily spot clean.
Don’t buy it if…
You want voice control
Since this is a more budget model (when compared to other models with the mopping feature), it doesn’t have voice assistant support. If you want to use Alexa, Siri, etc. to control your robot vacuum, you’ll have to look elsewhere.
You want the very best cleaning performance
Though the Yeedi C12 Pro Plus gets 90 per cent of the way there compared to more expensive models, it struggles with things like getting up to the edges of rooms.
Good object avoidance is important
The Yeedi C12 Pro Plus didn’t always identify or avoid objects in its way, which might be an issue if you have a pet that isn’t reliably house trained, for instance.
Yeedi C12 Pro Plus review: also consider
Not sold on the Yeedi C12 Pro Plus? Here are some alternatives to consider.
Narwal Freo X Ultra
The Narwal Freo X Ultra is expensive (very expensive) but has, like the C12 Pro Plus, a more striking base station design, looking like it came out of a sci-fi movie. It also is filled to the brim with features, such as the ability to use the robot vacuum as a mobile security cam, not to mention it can reach the corners of a room, though it’s strangely not quite as good with the edges.
Read our fullNarwal Freo X Ultra review
Yeedi Cube
The Yeedi Cube may be a bit longer in the tooth, but it comes with some features that the C12 Pro Plus doesn’t, such as mop pad drying, which helps avoid mold and bacteria. Just be aware that the Cube is going to cost you a little more for the extra features, which does include a voice assistant.
Read our fullYeedi Cube review
How I tested the Yeedi C12 Pro Plus
To test the Yeedi C12 Pro Plus, I used it for a week to vacuum and mop the hardwood floors and carpeting in my house. I focused on how well the vacuum cleaned the edges of a room as well as around obstacles. I also tested the features listed in the app, most notably the mapping.
Read more abouthow we test
James Holland loves checking out gadgets of all sorts, whether it’s audio equipment, laptops, or vacuums (especially of the robot variety), and does so for a number of Future Publications including TechRadar, Top Ten Reviews, Homes & Gardens, and T3. He’s built up an expertise for in-depth reviewing over the last four years. When he’s not putting in the work on the latest tech, he loves to travel, play music, and eat questionable food.
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