Vactidy Nimble T6 robot vacuum review: Limited smarts, budget price

The latest automated robot vacuums are mostly pushing the limits of mapping rooms with computer vision to win over consumers. The Vactidy Nimble T6 goes the other way and sells hands-free cleaning at a budget price.

In the world of robot vacuums, paying $300 to $500 for a mediocre experience is hard to stomach.

Spending $1,000 on a robot vacuum and mop might be expensive, but those products have become nearly self-sufficient with self-cleaning docking stations and the ability to avoid most obstacles. Cleaning is truly hands-off in those cases.

Here, on the opposite side of the spectrum, the Vactidy Nimble T6 is cheap at $189, and relatively dumb. But it did provide enough value for its cost.

It did a good enough job at sucking crumbs off the ground that people with uncluttered spaces should consider it to relieve some basic cleaning tasks.

The good parts of the Vactidy Nimble T6

The crux of a vacuum is its suction power and ability to lift dirt off the ground as it rolls past. The Nimble T6's 2000Pa suction level isn't an impressive number on its own but should be sufficient for general usage.

In our first couple of test runs, the vacuum filled its dustbin with crumbs and dust. It showed that it was able to collect something.

Nimble T6 charging

In our dedicated test where we crushed chips and sprinkled them across the wood floor, it also managed to pick up nearly all the pieces.

We've tested more than 10 robot vacuums in the last two years and none of them have been flawless at picking up every piece of debris. The Nimble T6 fell in line with performance that was good for a robot, but not up to the level of a human with a stick vac.

The Vactidy Nimble T6 offers four cleaning modes. The chip test was done on auto. We let it roam for a little over an hour in a confined space wherever it felt compelled to go.

It can be controlled with Alexa, using a mobile app, or using an included remote control. The other modes include spot, edge, and manual.

If we weren't going to let the robot roam, then we found spot cleaning to be the second most useful mode. Basically, it will clean around a place where it is put down.

Spilled some (dry) cereal pieces in the kitchen? Bring the vacuum over and hit the spot clean button on the remote. It was handy and worked well.

The manual mode allows you to press the arrow buttons on the remote and change the vacuum's direction.

It might be useful to manually use the remote in certain situations, but beyond the first time, we didn't care to spend our time guiding it around the room. Even though using the remote wasn't how we wanted to spend our time, we were able to get our kids to drive it around the house like a remote-controlled car.

Included remote control

Through the mobile app we set up schedules, which was convenient as we could get it to run during times we weren't home. There was nothing fancy here, simply the ability to make it run at set times.

One pleasant surprise was the vacuum's good edge detection. Placed in an area with a step on each side, it never fell off once or had problems with the ledge.

We recommend this Nimble T6 vacuum for people with uncluttered, simple, spaces that need vacuuming. In areas like that, we found the vacuum thrived.

The least compelling parts

Within five minutes of turning the vacuum on and letting it free to clean, it got wedged between the ground and the bottom of a couch. Several minutes later it had gotten tangled on cords.

These things happen to all robot vacuums, but they happened to the Nimble T6 a lot.

The company recommends tidying up rooms first, before letting it run. To us, that defeats a lot of the purpose of having a vacuum that can operate independently of human oversight.

Because the vacuum operates by feel and needs to bump into everything, there is a chance it could damage antique or aging furniture. We didn't see any scratches on our furniture, but we did see and hear it thumping into furniture with plenty of force.

The dustbin removed from the Nimble T6

The lack of vision and proper positioning also means random lines in the carpet. This is a minor concern for us, but we've heard from some people that it does bother them.

In terms of vacuuming, the Nimble T6 performed solidly with dry dirt and debris. It didn't, however, perform as well with soggy mud pieces from shoes or wet cereal pieces.

More than the vacuum lacking a lot of autonomous technology, or rather, because it lacked the higher-end tech, it got tiresome to constantly manage a vacuum without a handle.

Is the Vactidy Nimble T6 your next vacuum?

The Vactidy Nimble T6 is not a set it and forget it' type of robot vacuum. After our testing, we've come to see it more as a secondary cleaning tool, much like a hand vac would be.

At $150, we think it performed well enough to justify its somewhat limited functions. In the right environment, without lots of random clutter, it could genuinely save someone time otherwise spent cleaning.

As long as your expectations are in line with what the Nimble T6 can offer, most people should be satisfied with its limited cleaning performance.

Vactidy Nimble T6 - Pros

• Respectable suction and cleaning performance
• Remote and cleaning modes are handy

Vactidy Nimble T6 - Cons

• Slow to clean all parts of a large room
• Didn't avoid socks, cables, and other common objects
• Pretty dumb, but it's not priced like a smart vac

Rating: 3 out of 5

Where to buy the Vactidy Nimble T6

This robot vacuum is available for purchase at Amazon for $189 retail. Coupons and sales are prevalent, though, so keep an eye out for those.