Review: Hobot S6 Pro

Solenco South Africa, the company behind a range of smart and efficient lifestyle products like air purifiers, dehumidifiers and robot vacuums have released a new robot window cleaner.

It is from the Hobot brand that you may be familiar with through its line-up of Legee robot vacuums. The new robot window cleaner is just like a robot vacuum, but self explanatory – for clearing your windows.

Hobot S6 Pro Quick Look

• Hobot S6 Pro weighs 1.65kgs
• Dimensions of 24x24x10 cm
• 3 automatic cleaning modes
• 50ml water tank capacity
• 20 minute UPS
• 100W of power; 64 dB loud
• Smartphone app, remote control

Inside the box

The Hobot S6 Pro comes with the window cleaner unit, an AC power cord, a safety rope, and a DC extension cord. Then it also has window detergent, 6x microfibre cleaning cloths, 2 ultrasonic nozzles, a remote control and user manual.

Solenco products are big on sustainability, and as such its eco-friendly design includes microfibre cleaning cloths that you can wash and a replaceable water tank.

Safety features

As a robotic window cleaner that does not operate on the ground like a robovac, it needs additional safety features and reinforcements, which explains the 4.5-meter safety rope included. The rope has a pulling force of up to 230kgs so the cleaner stays in place while cleaning. The window cleaner only cleans vertically. 

It also has what Hobot calls an “anti-falling control algorithm” and a 20 minute uninterruptible power system (UPS) for backup power, in case there is a power outage.

The S6 Pro is also equipped with Hobot’s Edge-Leakage-Bumper Sensors to help navigate framed and frameless windows and detect edges, it says, making it through various types of thickness.

Using the Hobot S6 Pro

I found it a bit daunting to set-up initially because of all the safety aspects to it. I wanted to make sure I am not going to break it, and as such, I had to actually read the instructions. I followed the info with images supplied on how to set it up and was hoping for the best.

I paired to the Hobot Legee app, which I use with my robovac. It was easy to set-up and pair. However, the rope situation was a bit confusing as you had to tie it to something nearby to make sure the unit won’t just accidentally fall when it is done cleaning.

The Hobot S6 Pro can be controlled with the Hobot app or with the supplied remote control, which includes batteries.

I used the detergent supplied to clean my windows and it did a good job. It also neutralises static electricity. You simply fill the container on both sides ahead of cleaning, and it has mop pads on each side.

The S6 Pro has three automatic cleaning modes and it will stop once the cycle is complete but for my own peace of mind as mentioned, I was monitoring the clean up and made sure it didn’t fall when it stopped.

I have a lot of sliding doors/windows but they are not one large piece of glass, which meant I had to wait for it to finish each section and move it to the next. This can be a bit time consuming for this set-up, but if you have big pieces of glass, then it would probably work better.

Also important to note, I used it on my sliding doors as they kind of double up as a large windows, but it has the capability of climbing on windows, which won’t work on my doors.

The one thing that is obvious is it does not leave a stain, thanks to its “Ultrasonic Water Spray”. The fine mist is sprayed onto the window from both sides in the direction it is cleaning, which helps with not leaving any stains as it cleans, which you can see in real-time.

I also used it to clean my shower, as you can already see from some of my photos. I think it does a good job for a basic wipe down, but it won’t “deep” clean a shower build up.

Hobot claims it is 64 decibels loud, but I used an app to test and it reached 80 decibels at most, so it is a loud cleaner. It uses 100W of power, which can work on some portable power stations if you don’t have electricity.

Final thoughts

The Hobot S6 Pro window cleaner is a very niche product and costs R7 999. You need to have a lot of large windows to justify purchasing it because that’s where it really shines. You can also clean your shower doors with it.

It will clean streak-free, and it does come with some extras in the box. I love that you can also wash the pads, which will give you a lot of use.

However, you will have to buy Hobot detergent bottles, as recommended with their products, you can’t just use your own. That said, when I first used the Legee robovac, I used to put my own detergent in it and nothing happened to it.

I’d also say it requires you to pay attention when setting it up, you don’t want it to accidentally fall. And if you’re paranoid, it’s best to watch it clean. It is recommended you use it on sunny days, so not windy or rainy ones.