Most robomops drag a fixed mop plate over the hard floor. They are only for ‘maintenance’ mopping to pick up remaining dust. The Hobot LEGEE 7 scrubs, yes scrubs (well vibrates back and forward) 900 times a minute with up to 1.8kg downwards pressure to add that much needed deeper cleaning that, until now, only hand mopping with a lot of elbow grease can reach.
Our reviews are usually over four weeks – this is at the halfway mark, and we will revisit the review if we discover any more interesting nuggets. All we can say now is wow – May your next robomop be a Hobot LEGEE 7!
| Global Hobot LEGEE 7 site | here |
| From | Robot My Life – Distributed by an Australian company based in Victoria that provides excellent support. Australian Warranty is from authorised resellers only so start here first. |
| Price: | RRP is $845, but there is a special introductory price of $670 (current at review time). Price includes Australian delivery |
| Warranty: | 12-months ACL |
| Company | Hobot (Est 2010) is a Taiwanese company focused on home robot development. It holds patents for the Hobot design and several innovations |
| More | GadgetGuy Hobot reviews and news here |
What is the Hobot LEGEE 7
To put it in perspective, it is a D-shaped robot (means much wider coverage and edge coverage than a round one)
- 2700Pa suction robovac ( a typical robot is about 1500-2000PA although some get to 4000Pa)
- A forward dry mop (polishing cloth) that vibrates up to 900 times a minute
- A rear wet mop and intelligent water spray – ditto
- Downwards pressure of up to 1.8kg to help remove stubborn stains
- A LiDAR guided device (sample rate 3000Hz) that builds a map to allow for no-go zones (carpet), schedules and more
- And the secret sauce – a liquid floor cleaner concentrate that won’t clog the water spray and helps to cut grease
What is it best at?
There is a line of thought that any combo device is either good at one thing, lousy at one thing or lousy at both. Seldom are they good at both.
Hobot LEGEE 7 is for cleaning – vacuum and mopping hard floors – timber, ceramic, polished cement. Carpets – nada!
It is the best robomop we have tested – by a long shot. Look at the pads, and you will see far more dirt and detritus than other robovacs. Impressed!
It is not the best robovac despite its suction power as it lacks a motorised roller brush. But it is not bad either. Look at the image below to see what it picked up and what the Dyson V15 Detect with its laser light head found afterwards. I venture that most of the Dysons 221,793,467 <10um particles (just being nerdy because it gives me a readout) were from edges where no robovac can reach.
Dyson V15 top and Hopbot Legee 7 bottom 
Dysons interesting readout
Setup
Download the Hobot LEGEE 7 app for Android (tested) and iOS.
It is all pretty self-explanatory and involves setting up an account (email and password) and providing the app with location (necessary to build a map, locate the device and connect to 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz Wi-Fi), Phone (required for notifications), and storage (to store maps). I read the privacy agreement, and it only collects what it needs to do the job – it does not ask for your firstborn like some others.
A waterproof plastic mat goes under the base station and adheres to the floor (it will not mark it), and the base station adheres to that. It protects the floor from the wet mop pad sitting there between uses.
It will create a map on its first run and store up to 5 of them. If you have a bathroom off a carpeted bedroom – move the base station there and create a map. Or if that is too much, you can lock it in the bathroom, and it will logically robovac/mop it.
After the map is complete, it will use a more efficient algorithm to cover the defined area faster. Oh, and you can use a voice assistant too – cool.
Navigation
Once the map is complete, you can select a cleaning area (it allocates these logically, and you can rename them), add no-go lines or boxes, and set schedules with areas and cleaning modes.
Good quality map with zones 
Up to five maps 
No go zones
Speed
In standard mode, it covers about 1m2 a minute. A 46m2 area, it used about 30% battery and 150ml of mopping fluid (the tank is about 340ml and suitable for 240m2). In strong mode, it took 67 minutes and if you are not in a hurry this does an even better mopping job.
Speed depends on the cleaning mode called ‘Talent Clean’ (good reference here)
- Standard for any generic use
- Strong deep cleaning
- Eco saves energy and works quieter
- Pet cleans hair and pawprints more efficiently (we don’t have a pet but I am assured it cleans grimy pawprints and picks up pet hair better as it does not have a rotating brush to clog!)
- Custom adjusts the parameters to suit your special needs
- Dry is for vacuum only
- Polish works on increasing shine
- Stain cleans everyday spills, splash and stains and works on a 1.5m square using more cleaning solution
- We are also playing with a customised mode. For example, if you have a heavily textured tile that needs slower speed or more mop power. Here you can adjust spray, vacuum power, mopping frequency and cleaning speed. Frankly, standard mode is fine.
Customised mode could be good for things like deeply paterned tiles Good reporting
Sill and furniture clearance
As it has dual mopping pads, the sill clearance (difference in floor heights) is barely 20mm, so you may need to check and, if necessary, build a small ramp. The wheels are rubber caterpillar tracks and have significant pulling power. Overall height is 120mm, and that limits under cupboard overhang cleaning.
Mop results
The four intelligent spray heads have more granular control than a gravity-or-pump-fed water reservoir. While I could see water mist on the floor, it evaporated a metre or so after cleaning. I like that there is a front dry mop and a rear wet one – they work well together.
We tested dried spilt milk (well, iced coffee), tea, soft drink, and cooking oil. It managed to clean all quite well.
Of all the robomops we have tested, this is the best so far by a country mile. It did remove stains and left a clean, dust-free floor.
Error handling
This does require site prep. Read our guide, Robot vacuums and mops – is the effort you save worth it? to see what you need to do.
It did not get tangled in hanging wires, and only once did it encounter a sill that caused it to repeatedly but successfully negotiate it. The app has a real-time readout of its location if it gets lost under things.
Battery – big
It uses a Samsung made Lithium-ion 14.6V/4.5A(4500mAh)/65.7W battery (50% larger than its predecessor) that will clean over 200m2.
Recharge time via the 19V/1.05A/19.5W charger is 6 hours. Samsung batteries have higher charge cycles than no-name batteries, so expect 3-5 years of frequent use. We would expect a replacement to sell for under $100.
Maintenance – low
The washable microfibre front and rear mop cloths (2 sets supplied) are $12 inc delivery.
The floor cleaning solution is $12.00 for 220ml (or a 5-bottle pack for $55). It dilutes 50:1, so that is a lot of mopping. The device has a water reservoir sensor.
It includes a spare set of four spray nozzles. Provided you use the approved cleaner, these should wear well.
The dustbin has a screen filter, and a HEF filter – both washable and one spare HEF is in the box.
Apart from the whiskers (three supplied), that is it.
GadgetGuy’s take
The Hobot LEGEE 7 meets or exceeds every test paradigm as a robomop – superb. And it is not a bad robovac as well.
But let’s face it (isn’t there always one but) it is not for carpets, and there are better robovacs out there as well. I recommend using this in conjunction with a stick vac (I love the Dyson V15 Detect laser head) to do carpet areas, under cupboard overhangs, stairwells etc.
Rating
It claims to be a four-stage vacuum and mop. It passes all tests on the vacuum front, but it is an 8+/10 because there are better robovacs available. No one has invented a perfect combo robovac yet.
But if all you need is hard floor use, it is better than all comers on the mop front, and its secret sauce floor cleaner liquid gives it an edge. Here it is in the 9+/10 range. So as a combo, it averages out.
Would I buy it?
Yes, if all I wanted was a better robomop. The vacuum is a bonus! But I repeat, it is not a single solution for the average Aussie home. However, if you have all hard floors, then this is perfect.
If you are keen why not have a look at the how-to-videos here.
I found the interface connection very glitchy and turns it into dumb robovac with 4 buttons if it can’t work with app
Bought one and using now for 8 weeks. It sometimes get stuck in-between the two chairs (narrow alley). But she does the job on our hard floors. Shall I buy another one YES !!
An insanely stupid piece of equipment. The navigation part couldn’t be worse. Misses the walls by a mile, misinteprets anything with a little bit of glare as an area it cannot get to. I can write an essay about how crappy and worthless it is, but I’ll stop.