This robotic mower seems like a racecar, but it surely mows a stunning garden

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The Mammotion Luba 2 3000H is on the market for $2,499.
• Constructed to deal with uneven terrain, the Luba 2 is an all-wheel-drive (AWD) robotic mower with a GPS-powered perimeter that’s surprisingly simple to arrange. 
• Regardless of its mostly-consistent efficiency, the Luba 2 veered off the map a number of instances throughout testing. Additionally, the Mammotion app is just not very user-friendly.

Mowing the garden is one in every of my favourite chores. It lets me give attention to an uninterrupted job that satisfies my OCD, with the bonus of finishing my train ring on my Apple Watch. However despite the fact that it is a chore I take pleasure in, it nonetheless steals a few hours away from my all-too-short weekend.

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That is the place the Mammotion Luba 2 is available in. Think about the scene: you are taking the canine out for a stroll and are available house to a perfectly-mowed garden, regardless of it being an overgrown mess simply an hour earlier than. Whilst you had been gone, the robotic mower not solely took care of the unruly grass however left a lovely checkered sample in its wake. I am pleased to say that this dream grew to become a actuality with the Luba 2, and though it has its quirks, it handles the chore of garden mowing with effectivity and ease. 

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After I obtained the Mammotion Luba 2 for overview, the one wire-free GPS robotic mower I might beforehand used was the EcoFlow Blade. As you’ll be able to learn in that overview, establishing the Blade was dreadful, occupying hours of my Sunday afternoon that resulted in bickering between my husband and I, and repeated explanations to the children that no, we cannot be driving the robotic across the yard. 

This time, establishing the mower fell to my husband on a day after I wasn’t house. I used to be planning on serving to him with the setup upon my return, however I used to be pleasantly stunned to seek out all of it executed by the point I bought again. The truth is, he had nothing however reward for the Mammotion’s simple setup, because it was accomplished in beneath two hours — from unboxing to up and working within the yard.

In distinction, establishing the previous robotic mower, the EcoFlow Blade had been a tedious, two-person job as a result of it could not get a adequate sign irrespective of the place we positioned the GNSS antenna in our yard. For the Mammotion Luba 2, we hadn’t even put the antenna within the yard — it was nonetheless on the deck — but it was already related to the mower and dealing wonderful.

We had been so cautious about the place we put the EcoFlow antenna due to the sign points in the course of the set up course of, and right here, the Luba 2’s antenna seamlessly related by itself from a random place on the deck. If that does not let you know it is a extra superior RTK-GNSS system, I do not know what does. I am going to replace my overview of the Luba 2 as soon as I set up the pole completely, add the Storage (out there in pre-orders), and a month’s price of testing. 

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Mapping is simple and fairly enjoyable, as you simply stroll behind it, steering it round your yard utilizing your smartphone with the Mammotion app as a distant management. After you full the mapping course of, the Luba 2 then mows the route independently. The app additionally allows you to give a reputation to the mower, so naturally, I named it Andretti because it resembles a System 1 automobile (and likewise so I can ask my husband whether or not Andretti has executed its runs at the moment).  

We have been getting a number of rain recently, which has made the grass develop like loopy. This quick progress has ensured Andretti’s work is cutout for it, and helped me collect about 20 hours of testing divided into three completely different areas over the previous two weeks. 

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All through testing, I’ve discovered the Mammotion Luba 2 able to navigating uneven terrain with out affecting its map. For instance, when different robotic mowers slide down a slope sideways, it usually disrupts their mapping, and as a substitute of correcting their place, they proceed from an incorrect spot. This ends in missed patches and the mower winding up exterior the protection space. In my testing, the Luba 2 by no means fell sufferer to this glitch. Though it did slide down a couple of instances, it all the time righted its positioning and maintained the identical map. 

Sadly, the Mammotion app is not very intuitive; altering settings would require some menu searching and trial and error. Nonetheless, it’s loaded with options. You should use the app to vary the mowing sample, from stripes to checkered and extra, arrange completely different zones, together with no-go zones for swimming pools or backyard beds, organize the trail order, and regulate the mowing peak. 

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When mapping, the perimeter you stroll with the Luba 2 is similar that will probably be adopted when the robotic is out mowing. It’s kind of difficult to stroll and steer the robotic in a wonderfully straight line alongside the perimeter of your property, so I want you would straighten boundary strains within the app after creating the map. 

That mentioned, I really like that the Luba 2 proved irreverently constant when mowing alongside the perimeter. I can see the robotic mowing alongside curved strains that I mistakenly made throughout mapping, but it surely does it the identical method nearly each time.

Although the Mammotion Luba 2 seems just like the Ferrari of mowers, it does the laps across the garden at its personal tempo. It isn’t sluggish in comparison with different robotic mowers, however do not count on it to dwell as much as its seems and develop into a turbo turf-tamer. 

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My Luba 2 drifted from its path six instances throughout testing. A type of instances, it ended up in my neighbor’s yard, which is far lower than ideally suited as they’re very specific about how they mow it, however this seems to have occurred throughout positioning and never when the blades had been engaged, fortunately. One other time, it failed by going beneath the deck and shedding its sign. It wasn’t ever presupposed to go beneath the deck, however I assume it was taking a shortcut to the pole place (actually sorry for that one). 

You can even steer the robotic within the app to manually mow over powerful areas the place you suppose it might drift away – that is additionally an excellent characteristic for touching up areas that want it. The Mammotion app additionally provides first-person view (FPV), so you’ll be able to examine the place your robotic is at any time if it will get stranded and you are not there to see it. 

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

I am conscious these GPS-powered robots make errors as this new know-how continues to be being perfected for accuracy, so I typically do not thoughts them. However I do discover the Mammotion Luba 2 is far much less susceptible to errors than the EcoFlow Blade. I can depend a lot on Andretti following its map that I really feel okay letting it mow the unfenced entrance garden, even the choosy neighbors’ facet, one thing I’d by no means let the Blade do. 

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Lastly, I really like how quiet the Luba 2 is. One of many strangest issues about having a robotic mower is that not solely does it care for the garden by itself, however does it so quietly that may escape your personal discover. All in all, I positively suggest the Mammotion Luba 2 for anybody that desires reclaim a couple of hours from the garden on their weekends.