Dibea D960 – a simple robot vacuum which does what it says

If you think Neato is the only company that makes D-shaped robot vacuums, then think again. The Dibea D960 uses the same design language we have come to expect from Neato. With humble specs yet great usability features, the D960 from Dibea can prove to be a formidable contender in the “under $200” category. This robot vacuum review digs deep and finds out everything there is to know about this new bot.

The Design

Check out my video review:

The Specs

Suction Power

Chinese brands such as Xshuai and Xiaomi are pretty open about revealing their products’ suction figures. Dibea is no different. Dibea D960 is powered by a 30 watt motor that generates a suction power of 1200 Pa. To put things into prospective, a 1200 Pa suction power is excellent for hard floors and adequate for medium pile carpets. When compared to other similarly-priced Chinese bots, it may seem, at least on paper, that the Dibea under-performs by a margin of 300 Pa. However, check out the video. The Dibea manages to out-suck the likes of iLife V7s and Haier. Short of cleaning thick, high-pile carpeting, the 1200 Pa suction power of the Dibea D960 should always deliver more than decent cleaning performance.

Battery Life

The Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum has set the bar pretty high for all other robot vacuums with its mammoth 5200 mAh battery pack. The Dibea D960 has a 2600 mAh battery, which is exactly half the capacity of the Xiaomi Mi Robot. However, judging solely by the mAh figure can be misleading. The Dibea D960 is considerably lighter and it lacks the battery-draining laser scanner that the Xiaomi Mi Robot comes with. This means even though the Dibea D960 has half the battery capacity, it comes close to the runtime performance of the Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum. The Dibea delivers an impressive autonomy of 120 minutes as opposed to the 150 minutes of continuous cleaning time of the Mi robot vac. The Dibea does, however, fall short when it comes to charging time. It takes a patience-draining 5 hours to charge completely. For reference, Roomba 980, which delivers the same runtime takes only 2 hours to charge fully.

Dust Capacity

The Dibea D960 comes with almost 12 oz (350 ml) dust tank, which is just about average. Considering most Chinese brands try and outshine the western competition on the spec sheet, this is an aspect where Dibea could have certainly done better. The dust tank is good for storing a couple of days’ worth of dust. However, if you have multiple pets at home, you would probably need to empty the tank on a daily basis. While it doesn’t match the 27 oz (800 ml) dust tank capacity of the Bobsweep Bobi Pet vacuum, the D960’s tank should be adequate for most households.

Another point which I wanted to cover is the process of emptying the dirt. I find it more difficult than what I saw while using the Xiaomi.

Filtration Efficiency

Dibea is well aware of the fact that consumers look for the HEPA badge when buying a vacuum cleaner. The D960 thus proudly touts its HEPA filtration prowess. However, unknown to most customers, HEPA filters have different grades. The HEPA 14 or H14 is the highest grade of HEPA filtration available in the market, which has a filtration efficiency of 99.995%. Unfortunately, Dibea D960 is not fitted with an H14 filter. It instead comes with an H11 HEPA filter, which has a poorer filtration capability. The H11 HEPA filter fitted in the D960 traps 95% of all dust particles measuring 0.3 microns. The plastic container which hold the HEPA also stores a secondary filtration layer.

Weight and Dimensions

One of the advantages of the Dibea D960 is that it has a pretty low profile. Measuring just 3 inches in height, it can go underneath low hanging obstacles without getting stuck. The unit measures 12 inches at its widest point, which makes it a pretty compact bot. For reference, the Roomba 980 measures 13.9 inches across. Its compact design should help the Dibea reach narrow spaces and deliver a thorough clean. The Dibea D960 is also lighter than most robot vacuums weighing just 6.61 lbs. This means it puts a lot less stress on your delicate hardwood and laminate floors.

Accessories

For the full list of accessories, check out the specifications section above. Dibea does not pack any extras in the box. However, they do sell a consumable accessories kit separately for $24.99, which includes a brush roll, 3 HEPA filters, and 2 pairs of side brushes. To save the hassle of reordering, it makes sense to stock up on the consumable parts when buying the Dibea D960. We also noticed that the Dibea doesn’t come with boundary markers.

Special Features

• 4 Cleaning Modes: The Dibea does not come with smart sensors to intelligently scan the room. It instead sets off in one of four pre-programmed cleaning routes. You get to choose between a traditional zigzag mode, a V-line mode, a spiral spot cleaning mode, and an auto mode.
• Dusting and Mopping: The Dibea D960 delivers a combined cleaning effect of dusting and mopping. This simply means that the D960 cleans more in a single pass than a regular vacuum-only robot cleaner. This feature is excellent for sealed hard floors (tiles, marble, sealed wood and so on).
• Anti-Collision Infrared Sensors: To save itself from colliding with furniture and other obstacles, this Dibea unit comes with infrared sensors. The speed diminishes as soon as the vacuum senses an obstacle. The bump is soft.
• Remote Control: You get the option to schedule, start, stop, and change the setting using a remote control. While it would have been nice if Dibea offered app based controls, we cannot really complain considering the D960 is a budget unit (you also need to buy separately batteries for the remote control).

Usability

The Dibea D960 has no ability to map the room it’s in. It simple moves around in a set pattern and reacts to obstacles as and when it encounters them. The zigzag cleaning route has worked well for most veteran cleaning bots and should keep the spirit for the D960. Overall, this Dibea banks on a dated yet well-tested algorithm that works instead of offering something ‘revolutionary’ that doesn’t. As for the sound it produces, it’s less than 58 db, which means it is among the most quiet bots I’ve tested.

Warranty

When you buy the Dibea D960 you get a pretty standard 1-year limited warranty. However, you should keep in mind that is a limited warranty, which means there are terms and conditions applied. For example, all the consumable parts such as the brushes and filters are not covered under the warranty.

Price

This budget robot vacuum costs around $200. Check out this page for the exact discounted price.

Final words and VGMrv

Although this unit doesn’t come with boundary markers to cordon off specific areas, it covers all the basics, but does fail to offer anything new. It’s D-shaped design and low profile allows it to go in and out of tight spots. Overall, the Dibea D960 is worth a consideration if you are scouting for a budget bot to clean hard floors and low-pile carpeting, as the cleaning efficiency is quite unbelievable. Here’s the VGMrv:

VGMrv table for Dibea D960

What do you think about Dibea D960?