It Doesn’t Get Any Smarter Than This

In a nutshell

Let’s get things in order first: The Ecovacs Goat G1-800 is not available in the US. Ecovacs only offers the Goat GX-600 Stateside, making this purely a robotic lawn mower for the Old World.

Still, it impressed us in the review with a great mowing result and an almost infinite range of smart features. Setting up the smart robotic lawn mower was a straightforward affair and, similar to the Ecovacs Goat G1 (review), it works without the need for boundary wires.

We have not identified any real weaknesses in this particular Ecovacs robotic lawn mower. Apart from the garden appliance being clearly audible during operation, that might not even be a minus point for some. 

Besides that, the Ecovacs Goat G1-800, as its name suggests, is capable of mowing lawns up to 800 m2 in size with a maximum gradient of 45 percent. Based on what is offered, the price is also perfectly acceptable: the Ecovacs Goat G1-800 will cost you $1,299.99.

This review is part of a collaboration between Ecovacs and nextpit. This collaboration has had no influence on nextpit’s editorial opinion.

Unboxing and setup

The Goat G1-800 is a smart robotic lawn mower that is quick and easy to set up. The best news? You don’t have to bury a boundary wire for navigation purposes, but have to set up navigation beacons in lieu.

Pros:

• Simple, well-explained setup.
• Stylish robotic lawn mower and base station.

Cons:

GOAT – Greatest of all Time. A term used in sporting parlance for legends such as Michael Jordan or Tom Brady. From the echolons of sporting greats, Michael Ballack grins at you from the oversized packaging of the Ecovacs Goat G1-800. This brings us to the biggest hurdle in setting up the Goat G1-800 — emptying the huge box.

When you open the box which is roughly the size of an oversized moving box, a large manual awaits you to guide you step by step through the entire setup process. What will you find inside?

• Goat G1-800 robotic lawnmower.
• Two navigation beacons (without the required batteries).
• A two-part base station.

The grey color variant was available to us for the review. Before you add the robotic lawn mower in the Ecovacs Home app, you will need to find a location for the navigation beacons (the included instructions will help here!) and place the 76 × 46 × 44.5 cm base station within reach of a power socket. Needless to say, you will need to plug it in.

The base station is IPX4-certified while the Goat G1 robotic lawn mower and the beacons feature IPX6 certification. If you want the Goat G1 garage for the robotic lawn mower instead of the standard base station, you’ll have to fork out another €149. However, the garage was unavailable for our review.

There is a camera with a 150° viewing angle and a ToF sensor on top of the robot. Here is another cool extra: The base station has a movable brush that cleans the cameras of the Ecovacs Goat G1-800 each time it leaves the base station. Under the hinged hood, which is also located at the top of the robot, you will find a tiny control panel.

It is through this control panel where you are able to perform tasks like creating a four-digit security PIN and enter it occasionally if you want to control the robotic lawn mower outside of its mowing schedule. The PIN code doubles up as theft protection.

It should be noted that the buttons are only one way to control the robot. The other and probably more convenient method is to do so via the app, of which we will look at in more detail in the next section. Below the control buttons, you will also find a rotary control for the cutting height and the all-important red stop button for emergencies.

Last but not least, the QR code to setup the Ecovacs Home app is located under the hood. A Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connection are required for the setup. Before you familiarize the robotic lawn mower with its new environment, scan the QR codes on the beacons to add them to the app.

Overall, we like how detailed Ecovacs’ guide is for the entire setup process. If you’re still unfamiliar with robotic lawn mowers, you don’t need to worry about getting lost when setting up the Goat G1-800.

• You won’t despair with the new Ecovacs robot vacuum cleaner, either: The T30 Pro Omni

Smart features and programming

Ecovacs offers a huge range of programmable options for the robotic lawn mower in the app. You can not only send the robotic lawn mower out to mow the lawn as scheduled but also use the patrol function.

Pros:

• Many settings available in the app.
• Patrolling is possible.
• Mowing directions are adjustable.

Cons:

The next step is to familiarize the Goat G1-800 with its new working environment. To do this, drive the robotic lawn mower once around the area you want to mow. Before you get down to business and race the Goat through the garden like Bowser in Mario Kart, you need to ensure the robotic lawn mower has located at least two navigation beacons.

The navigation beacons are small posts with UWB direction finders that help the robotic lawn mower find its way. Only then can you drive the Ecovacs robotic lawn mower around your garden using virtual arrow keys to define the outer boundaries. You don’t have to be accurate right to the millimeter, as the Goat G1-800 refines the scanned map over time.

Once you have completed this step, the full range of the detailed Ecovacs Home app is at your disposal. To say the app is brimming with setting options is an understatement. Let’s begin with the main menu. Here, you can send the robotic lawn mower off to mow with just a click and of course, pause or cancel the mowing process.

During the entire mowing process, you can view the live location of the robotic lawn mower and receive continuous updates on how much lawn area has already been mowed. In the other settings, you can create mowing schedules and even have the robotic lawnmower patrol the garden as a guard. You can schedule fixed days and times for the Goat G1-800 to take care of the lawn or just drive around as a surveillance camera.

The function for setting the mowing direction is particularly useful, as it prevents the robot from crisscrossing your garden and creating an uneven lawn. Another practical feature is Ecovacs patrol function, which allows you to have the robotic lawn mower remain in certain places for a set time.

If you are on vacation, this is a practical way to check that everything is in order. Finally, you will receive a push notification on your smartphone whenever the Goat G1-800 detects people. Whether this will send potential burglars on the run is another question, but you’ll know for sure. You can then take a photo or video using the same menu.

Ecovacs has also thought about theft protection. As described at the beginning, you enter a four-digit PIN during setup, which your Goat G1-800 actually asks for occasionally as a security measure. Of course, security comes first, and you must always be prepared to enter the PIN on the robotic lawn mower every time you want to set something up.

Mowing performance & obstacle detection

The Ecovacs Goat G1-800 left an excellent impression in the review. Navigation and obstacle detection work wonderfully. However, there is one minor flaw.

Pros:

• Excellent mowing performance.
• Flawless navigation and obstacle detection.
• Rain sensor is included.

Cons:

• Wheels are clearly audible during operation

When you send the Goat G1-800 out to mow, the robotic lawn mower beeps to alert you that the blades are now in operation. As with the Segway Navimow i105, a trio of razor blade-like knives mounted on a rotating disc is located on the underside of the robot, doing all the hard work. The result is impressive. The Ecovacs Goat G1-800 left a beautiful mowed lawn.

You can set the cutting height in 0.25 cm increments from 3 to 6 cm using the rotary knob. Ecovacs promises the Goat G1-800 can cope with inclines of up to 45 percent. On a positive note, the mowing process is completed quickly. In other words, the Goat G1-800 is a really fast mover.

Admittedly, there were certain situations when we were a little worried due to the high speed it zipped around. The only real complaint we have is how the robotic lawn mower’s wheels are extremely loud during operation. While it is not likely the Goat G1-800 will be a cause of concern as a noise hazard for your neighbors, we highly recommend you let the robotic lawn mower work during the day.

Another reason on why you should only let the robotic lawn mower operate while there is still natural light is to avoid endangering nocturnal animals, especially hedgehogs. The rain sensor on board the robot is a positive feature. This stops the robotic lawn mower from mowing if the weather changes unexpectedly.

Navigation worked wonderfully, as does the robotic lawn mower’s obstacle detection thanks to 3D obstacle detection technology. In addition, a virtual sensor and a ToF sensor helped the robot detect obstacles early enough. To put this ability to the test, we placed numerous obstacles of different sizes in front of the robotic lawn mower’s lens.

We were unable to discover any weak points from the Goat G1-800—the robotic lawn mower recognized all obstacles early on and moved around them without any contact.

Final verdict