A Robot and Manual Vacuum, All In One

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Summary

• The Eufy 3-in-1 E20 cleans well for the price, but doesn’t include any mopping features.
• The integrated handheld stick-vac and simplified design is most convenient for smaller households.
• The E20 will best suit those already accepting that their home layout will require some manual cleaning to catch areas the robot cannot reach.

The Eufy 3-in-1 E20 robot vacuum addresses the category’s inherent tension between autonomy and thoroughness with manual tools to help people reach places a robot can’t. The solution is worthwhile and convenient, but best suited to smaller living areas.

Price and Availability

The Eufy 3-in-1 E20 robot vacuum will be available on February 10th, 2025, and retails for $549.99. The box includes a dust-collecting docking station, a vacuuming stick attachment, and two other smaller attachments for hand-held vacuuming. A wall mount for the accessories is sold separately.

Is Modularity the Future of Robot Vacuums?

Robot vacuums are rapidly improving when it comes to doing robot things but, generally speaking, they haven’t evolved much. The design and thinking about how they should work has only changed marginally. I love that the E20 brings a new approach to cleaning, even if it’s not perfect. Eufy is turning its latest robot into a multipurpose cleaner, without adding a lot of bulk or expense.

The 3-in-1 E20 features a removable handheld vac in addition to its robot functionality. Its main motor with a dust collection bin separates from the robot’s body to handle double duty. A full-sized roller brush attachment and crevice tool come in the box and clip onto the hand vac. Reusing the dust collection part for both cleaners is one reason the total retail cost is nearly half that of other premium vacuums which usually come in at over $1,000.

Other companies like Ecovacs have tried a similar tactic—it’s a good idea. The problem with the Deebot T30S Combo, however, is its reliance on a massive dock to house a separate, dedicated handheld vac. The T30S Combo worked well and had a hefty feel, but the whole unit took up too much space and cost too much.

Eufy’s approach has a much smaller footprint and, after testing both, I think I prefer the simplicity of the 3-in-1 E20 (even if it’s not as robust).

The 3-in-1 E20 doesn’t mop. It’s only a vacuum. That may be a deterrent for some people, but I’ve still been satisfied enough with the E20’s cleaning capabilities. I haven’t missed the unit not mopping. There is a place for wetting and scrubbing floors, but I don’t think everyone needs it, especially those with mostly carpet around the house.

If you don’t really need a robot mop, you should probably try to avoid it because the water often leads to a lot more maintenance.

A Solid Handheld and Robot Vacuum

Before using the E20, I was slightly skeptical of the cleaning abilities of a comparatively mid-range-priced robot. But it didn’t take too many trips around my kitchen and living room to convince me it could hang with the more expensive cleaning assistants.

The robot element of the E20 has an 8,000Pa suction level, side brushes, and LiDAR. It’s a fully capable machine. The robot has four levels of suction available—each noisier than the last. I generally used the E20 on its default, second level, and it picked up most crumbs without being too disruptive.

I watched it clear up almost 100% of the crumbs I had sprinkled on my kitchen floor. I use bits of cereal and rice to simulate small and larger debris and then inspect a taped-off area to see how well it does. I have yet to find a robot that’s passed this test without fault, but the E20 did well.

I found myself satisfied with the look of the floors each morning after the robot had done its scheduled cleaning the night before. My kids give the cleaner plenty to take care of each day, and it still stops the floors from being overrun with crumbs.

The E20 managed to maneuver under a small kitchen table, weaving around chair legs. It wasn’t able to fully reach under the toe-kick areas of the lower cabinets, but I haven’t tested a robot that has been able to fully clean those spots.

Another common trap in my home is a high pile rug. Nearly all robot vacuums have gotten stuck on it in some fashion. The E20 was no exception. It didn’t fall victim to it every time, but enough times that I had to make adjustments to its map to avoid certain areas of the large rug. However, it did well at avoiding a thin metal end table and other furniture.

The handheld vac is good, but I ultimately feel like it’s the weaker link of the two parts. I enjoyed having its abilities and thought it cleaned well enough, but the pole attachment felt less substantial than a dedicated Dyson or Samsung stick vac.

The most important aspect of the handheld vac, however, is its ease of access. Pushing the big red button releases it from the robot portion. I never had an issue grabbing it out of its resting place.

The attachment pieces were tricky to secure the first couple of times I tried. The crevice tool gave me the most problems, however, as I could never remember which orientation it was supposed to be connected to.

Eufy lists the handheld vac as having a 30,000pa suction level at the top end. The higher levels of suction worked fine with all the attachment tools. I vacuumed rugs and got to the hidden crumbs along the baseboards. I tended to avoid the lower suction levels as they didn’t feel powerful enough to get the embedded crumbs.

The Docking Station Is Compact and That’s Great

The docking station is small and compact but still holds an advertised 75 days’ worth of dirt. You’ll want to empty it sooner than that if you have a furry pet, but otherwise a full two months of dust collection tracks with my experience.

The minimal size shouldn’t be overlooked. As I try more cleaning robots, the docking stations seem to be getting bigger and more cumbersome. I enjoyed the relatively petite E20 charging station as it wasn’t immediately visible when walking into the room.

The docking station comes with a clear plastic piece to help it secure itself if you are using it on a carpet. A nicety that not all robots include in the box.

The Mobile App Shouldn’t Let You Down

The 3-in-1 E20 uses the Eufy Clean mobile app, available for iPhone and Android. It’s the same app its other vacuums and cleaning products use, so it will be familiar for loyal customers.

A home’s map is front and center in the app along with cleaning based on rooms, zones, or an entire house. Nearly all of the other settings are tucked into a secondary menu. Although I like the design of Eufy Clean and don’t think it’s hard to become acquainted with, it’s still not quite as easy to use as the Roomba one. But don’t let the app stop you from seriously considering this unit.

Multipurpose Devices Have Compromises

The vacuum offers a lot of versatility, which is its number one strength. There are also fewer compromises than I was expecting, but there are a few minor ones I can’t ignore.

For one thing, the hand vac is most of the weight of the entire robot and so when you remove it, the rest of the unit lifts up. It sits unevenly and can then detach from the docking station.

Additionally, there’s a good chance you’ll shift the vacuum away from its charging contacts when removing the crevice tool. These aren’t dealbreakers, but it means you’ll be constantly nudging it back into place with your foot so it’s fully making contact.

It’s a bit of a curiosity, but the dustbin empties on the other side of the charging pins. That means that the vacuum needs to reposition itself each time it needs to empty its dirt into the station. The vacuum handles this automatically when it’s out patrolling on its own, but when you pop the handheld portion back in you’ll need to trigger this action with a button press.

Should You Buy the Eufy 3-in-1 E20 Vacuum?

The Eufy 3-in-1 E20 robot vacuum is the perfect product for people who have complicated floor plans with stairs or unique pieces of furniture. Anyone accepting that they’ll still need to do a little manual vacuuming, even with a robot on the premises, will be able to appreciate what the E20 is offering with its multi-modal approach.

On the other end of the spectrum, I don’t think people who need an advanced stick vac will be satisfied with the attachment parts of the E20. They aren’t bad, but they don’t feel like the workhorse that dedicated handheld vacuums can be.

Even though I can already imagine a better revision of this product, I think Eufy has struck a good balance between manual and automated cleaning in its first attempt.