Stay in control in 2020

Whether you have a tiny lawn or a sprawling estate, dock one of these Roomba-esque robots outside and let them do the work while you sit inside.

By Team Commerce2020-07-02 04:00:00 UTC

For some, mowing the lawn is a pleasant experience. For others, it absolutely sucks.

If you’re an enthusiastic member of the latter category, a robot lawn mower may be an investment to consider. Once set up, they’ll allow you to step back from lawn maintenance pretty much entirely. Think of robot mowers as Roombas for lawns, just way more expensive and definitely for outdoor use only.

How do robot lawn mowers work?

Robot mowers are battery-powered and, for the most part, run automatically based on a schedule, which the user sets using a companion app. When they’re not running, they sit safely docked in a charging port plugged into an outdoor outlet. 

When it’s time to mow, they head out into the world, cutting the grass to a predetermined height and generating grass clippings so fine that they essentially become mulch. “Unlike traditional mowers that you use when the grass starts getting tall, a robotic mower typically will run daily or nightly cutting off just the tips of the grass to keep it at a set level,” says Gary Pitts, a customer service expert at the tech insurance company Asurion. The range of cut heights a mower is capable of varies by product. 

How does it know where to mow?

Robot mowers learn where to mow based on a perimeter wire, which you’ll lay around the edges of your lawn to form a boundary. Pitts compares it to an Invisible Fence for dogs. “The mower detects the signal from the boundary wire and knows to turn around,” he explains.

Setting up your perimeter wire can be a bit of a headache. In fact, the majority of negative user reviews we read for this story involved the perimeter wire in some way. The companies featured in this roundup offer fairly comprehensive installation guides on YouTube in addition to the instructions in the package.

How should you choose a mower?

When selecting a robot mower, you’ll want to consider at least three basic categories: garden size, hills, and budget. 

The mowers on this list are generally better suited to gardens under one acre. Each mower also lists the maximum slope it’s able to climb while still achieving a successful cut. In general, you’ll pay more if you want more ground covered and higher hills climbed, though there are exceptions. A few other things to keep in mind include integrated rain sensors, companion app quality, weather resistance, and GPS, which are addressed in the recommendations below.

Robot mowers are an example of fairly new technology in the grand scheme of things, so the category still has a few kinks to work out. It’s possible, for instance, that the mower will miss a spot or two and you’ll need to go back over it with some clippers.

Make no mistake, though: These little robots are still extremely cool. If you are interested in purchasing a device of your own, we recommend checking out this selection of impressive models from top brands like Flymo and Bosch.

These are the best robot lawn mowers in 2020.