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Now for the rest of the review...
I originally was going to get the iRobot i3 based on the reviews and having had a Roomba before. However, the price jumped by a hundred bucks on that in the week between picking a model and actually going to buy it. That put it firmly outside of my price range. After some searching around and reading, I chose the Eufy G30 Edge as my backup and let me tell you, I am so happy with it!
Of all the backup options I had, I chose this one specifically because it is shorter than similar models. The one complaint I had about our old Roomba is that it was too tall to fit under the sofa or coffee table. That this one can slide under the sofa (and other low furniture) is a huge selling point for me. Under the sofa is where all the cat toys end up and I get sick of moving it to retrieve a gallon of plastic springs. On its maiden voyage, the Eufy pushed all of them out from under the sofa for me to pick up at my leisure. It was absolutely fantastic!
Speaking of pet toys, the Eufy didn't try to crawl over the toys, just pushed them around. The only exception was toys that had long feathers on them, which would get caught in the rollers. I pick up all the toys before it runs a cleaning cycle, but I like knowing that it won't be an issue if a cat bats one to the floor while the Eufy is running.
The lower price and reviews I read on Amazon for the Eufy also helped my decision to pick this over the others. I know one of the big selling points of Roombas is they are long-lasting and easy to repair, while this one is not as DIY friendly. However, for the price, it was worth the risk. Other reviewers mentioned it has a removable battery, which I thought was a plus. That might never be an issue for me, but I like the option to replace the battery if it came to that.
Speaking of battery life, I haven't had an issue with it running out of juice. In fact, I will often run it twice in a row, especially if I've been doing a lot of yard work over the weekend and tracked in a bunch of debris. Though caveat to that, it only cleans my kitchen and living room, which takes 45 minutes to an hour each session, so I get 1.5-2 hours of use out of it easily.
(My house is a 1950s 3-level-split. If I wanted to use the Eufy on the whole house, I would have to carry it to each floor or buy one for each level. The middle level with the kitchen and living room is the only part of the house that is a big rectangle suitable for robo vacs).
But the important thing for me is it takes care of all the high traffic areas for me so my floors are no longer embarrassing. In spring and summer, I work 60+ hours a week and do not have time to vacuum as much as I need. The floors got hideous last year from neglect and I bought the Eufy specifically to address that. The little rotating brush helps a lot to pick up stuff near the baseboards and in corners, but I still have to take a damp cloth or other vacuum to those spots now and then. Thanks to the Eufy doing the bulk of the work, I can actually deal with the remainder of the floors within my work schedule.
I can't say how well it works on carpet, as we don't have so much as a single throw rug. Our floors are a mix of hardwood and vinyl. I have the Eufy set to auto suction in the app and let it do it's thing. I can say that it is fantastic at picking up pet hair. We have two cats who think shedding is a competitive sport. I have the Eufy scheduled to run at lunch every MWF and there's enough to make a small kitten in the dust bin each time. It picks up the usual kind of dirt really well and its suction is good enough to get a lot of fine particle dust. Though that dust gets all static clingy to the inside of the bin, so wiping it out now and then helps.
The Eufy does not like leaves or pine needles at all. It will push them around or they get caught in the wheels and dragged around. Threads of sisal rope from the cat tree wound around the brush, roller, and wheels but didn't stop them from operating. Though we had the same issue with our old Roomba.
I'm impressed at how well it can go over rough terrain. We have a cat tree sitting on a piece of scrap sheet vinyl and when we first had our rescue cat, I caulked a thick rim around the edge of the vinyl to prevent her various accidents from getting onto the wood floors. The Eufy can get over the rim fairly easily. It can even climb up onto the base of the cat tree (also covered with a scrap of vinyl that also has a rim of caulk) but has more trouble getting down from there. Only once have I had to rescue it. I finally put a couple barrier strips down so it only has to go over the first caulk rim.
Barrier strips are the reason I chose the G30 Edge over the regular G30. The aforementioned split level means stairs and I'd rather it not go tumbling down them. On the first run, I had not yet put down the strips and I watched it as it negotiated the landing. It did detect the edge and didn't go over, but I put the barrier down anyway just in case.
As far as noise levels, it hasn't been an issue for me. My office is open to the rest of the house, so I hear it running, but it isn't distracting or noticeable in conference calls. It might be annoying if I was trying to nap on the sofa, but only because it occasionally makes clunking noises as it bumps into things or rolls over the floor vents.
I do wish the brushes lasted longer. They tend to warp after a month or two of regular use but I'm sure there's a way to straighten them out. I am glad the Eufy comes with a spare brush and filter and that replacements are inexpensive. The shiny top shows dust and fingerprints like crazy (though at least that reminds me to dust now and then, I guess?).
Navigation-wise, the Eufy seems to do pretty decently. It's a little dumb and occasionally forgets how to extricate itself from under the folding TV tray I'm using as a plant stand. I like that the app has the map feature. It's a good tool to see where there might be trouble areas. I included a screenshot of the map from today's cleaning. It did it's usual lunchtime run, then I did some maintenance on it, swapped out the brush and filter, and ran it a second time, hence the lower battery level. It also picked up way more dust once I did that. The first run gets cat hair and some debris, the second run gets the dust. Again, doesn't clean as well as our full size vacuum but it keeps the high traffic areas swept. And as others have said, it also helps me to keep the house overall more tidy, as I have to keep clutter off the floor.
All in all, I'm very pleased with the Eufy G30 Edge. It functions well, was inexpensive, and looks amazing with googly eyes on it. The only thing that disappoints me is I can't convince any of the cats to take a ride on it. Probably for the best.
