DJI Romo P2 Review: A step up to the next level

After launching their entry into the robot vacuum space in February, DJI announced their second generation during IFA last month with the DJI Romo P2 which is on-sale in Australia. 

Priced at $2,899, a jump over the original DJI Romo P’s $2,299 price tag, the Romo P2 adds in a larger and more powerful suction motor, an improved dock with hot mop washing and drying, with a 365 Days of Maintenance-Free design.

There’s also been improvements to design with the introduction of an extended reach LiDAR guided robotic arm with a mopping pad on the end and dual side brushes. 

The ROMO P2 is also better at navigating around your home with improved threshold crossing and AI-powered object avoidance and path building, as well as spill detection and cleaning. 

There’s been a few changes from generation to generation, with improvements to the suction motor, side-brushes and more. 

I plugged in the DJI Romo P2 a few weeks ago, and here’s how it went. 

Design and Specs

The DJI Romo P2 has much in common with the original, with the slack transparent design making a return, though with a few refinements. 

The dock unit now has a more consistent look and feel, with white components throughout. The main user-accessible door remains the place for your dust bag, and fluids to be installed, with a small detachable ramp included. 

The robot vacuum itself has also seen some visual improvements, though DJI have still opted to not include a sensor tower – instead relying on the front-facing camera for navigation and obstacle avoidance. 

The rest of the vacuum remains pretty much the same. The vacuum retains that low-profile design thanks to no sensor tower, with the robot measuring the same 9.8cm height as the original, making it easily able to navigate under low-profile furniture and low benches.

Underneath, the brushes, rollers and mop pads come pre-installed and there’s not a lot of difference between the older P1 design and the newer Romo P2 beyond the change of brushes, which now have only dual ‘blades’. 

What’s in the box?

The DJI ROMO P2 is ready to go straight out of the box. Everything you need from mopping pads, to cleaning solution and floor deodoriser is included. 

The dock itself is fairly well put together, with a dust bag already installed. Simply add the base plate ramp to the front, then fill the Clean Water tank, pop the Cleaning and Floor Deodoriser bottles into their designated place and you’re good to plug it in and get started. 

Consumables and Maintenance

While we’re looking at setup, it’s also good to look at the ongoing maintenance and consumables. Thankfully DJI has made it easy to filter for accessories on their site when searching.

The main replacement items will be your cleaning and deodorising fluid, which DJI sell through their site. 

• ROMO Cleaning Solution (White Bottle) – 400ml –
• ROMO Floor Deodorizer (White Bottle) – 200ml –

The manual includes a component maintenance schedule, listing out the due date for all the replaceable parts in the DJI ROMO P2:

• Rubber Roller Brush – Replace the brush every 300 hours
  • – with Bristles
  • – without brushes (These are installed by default).
• High-Efficiency Filter – filter can be washed and dried, but recommended to be replaced every 180 operating hours. – – ROMO 2 Series High Efficiency Filter.
• Side Brush – Replace the brush every 180 operating hours. – – ROMO 2 Series Side Brush (pair).
• Mop Pad – Replace the pad every 120 operating hours – AUD – set of 2
• Dust Bag –  replace the base station dust bag every 60 operating

Hours. – AUD – set of 3

Or you can buy the basic ROMO 2 Series Cleaning Accessory Kit for 9 which includes the ROMO 2 side brushes, or the ROMO Accessory Kit including the series 1 brushes, as well as dustbags and more mop pads for 9.

Setup

To get the unit up and running, plug it in and then install the DJI Home app.

The app is available for iOS through the iOS app store – but frustratingly for Android users you will have to download the APK and side-load it. For Android users you can visit the DJI website and choose the Android tab for a direct link to the APK. 

Once installed, the installation process is simple. You’ll need both Bluetooth and Wifi activated, then hit the button on the vacuum dock and you’re ready to go.

Once connected, the onboarding process will check for and install firmware updates, as well as guide you through to starting off your first mapping run. 

The DJI Home app offers a lot of editing functionality for their maps, with the ability to rename, merge, split rooms and more. 

Setting the DJI Romo P2 off is a pretty straightforward affair. You can set a daily schedule, or just set it off on a one-time clean. You can even set the intensity of the clean – even going so far as to set preferences by room, so you can get the best results for your floors each time.

Base Station

One of the things I like to see on a robot vacuum these days is controls for the base station, and the DJI Romo P2 is no different. 

The Base station options let you see the levels of your fluids, as well as see the settings for collection and cleaning. From the settings though you can select the Mop Washing and Drying options, as well as setting the dust collection frequency. 

Cleaning and Navigation

The upgraded vacuum engine with improved suction, the hotter mopping temperature and the new swing arm all add up to a much improved cleaning experience with the  DJI Romo P2.

The vacuum does an excellent job at mapping and navigating around the house. The ROMO P2 can automatically detect thresholds and mark them on the map, and it easily navigates over them with the ability to cross double thresholds up to 8.5cm (4cm+4.5cm), so my 2.5cm tall thresholds presented no issues. 

On the cleaning side the quality of mopping and vacuuming on the Romo P2 is up there with other flagship level robot vacuums we’ve reviewed.

As we saw with the Romo P, the vacuum options let you run through The app lets you set the Vacuum level from Quiet mode through to Max mode – with Max mode really unleashing all 36,000pa of suction power. 

The DJI Romo P does an excellent job at mapping and navigation around the house, and on the cleaning side the mopping and vacuuming are up there with other flagship level robot vacuums.

The app lets you set the cleaning level from Quiet mode through to Max mode, and how well it cleans depends on how much of the potential 36,000pa of suction power you choose to bring to bear on your floors.

The original Romo P was pretty quiet, but gen 2 is quieter. DJI says the newer materials ‘reduces noise energy by up to 85%’. It can use a ‘Quiet Mode’ when cleaning, which DJI says is as low as 38dB and it’s very quiet, so quiet you barely hear it coming down the hall. 

There is still a bit of a blast when the robot empties the dust bag into the base station, but in the grand scheme of things it’s pretty good – and delightfully brief. 

Final Thoughts

At a more expensive price point, the DJI ROMO P2 also has a lot more to offer. The new model includes a much improved suction motor for vacuuming, an updated dock design adding in hot mop washing and drying, and the robot itself has improved with the introduction of the extended reach LiDAR guided robotic arm to get into all the places it couldn’t before. 

It also still looks pretty futuristing in the transparent design – there’s just something about seeing the inner workings that excites the inner kid in me. 

DJI’s software is still excellent, though having to download the Android app separately is still a pain point. 

When it’s setup and running though, the DJI ROMO P2 offers excellent coverage and cleaning around the house. Set it, forget it and your floors remain clean.