DJI entering the robot vacuum market initially sounds like a category error. The company is best known for drones, action cameras and imaging hardware, not floor care. Yet the Romo P makes more sense once you look at how much of premium robot cleaning now depends on sensors, navigation and automation. In those areas, DJI has real credibility.
That credibility shows up immediately in the Romo P. It looks expensive, maps quickly, avoids obstacles with confidence and arrives with a huge wash station that handles much of the daily maintenance burden. The question is whether those strengths are enough to justify a launch price of EUR 1,899 in a category where buyers also expect raw cleaning force.
Overview
The Romo P is not a cautious first attempt. DJI has gone straight for the premium segment with a robot that vacuums and mops in one pass, uses rotating mop pads, and relies on a dense mix of sensors including LiDAR, cameras and collision detection. This is clearly meant to be a flagship product rather than a proof of concept.
That ambition is visible in both the robot and the station. The Romo P does not look like a stripped-back cleaner with one standout feature. It looks like a full premium ecosystem, with the dock washing pads, emptying the dustbin and handling routine upkeep so the user has to interfere less often.
Design and first impressions
Visually, DJI has tried to make the Romo P feel different from the sea of anonymous white robot vacuums. The top section uses transparent elements that reveal some of the internal ducting and mechanics, which makes the whole product feel slightly theatrical in a way that suits the brand. The station follows the same idea, showing off hoses, tanks and structural elements rather than hiding everything behind plain plastic.
That design will not be to everyone's taste, but it does at least give the Romo P an identity. More importantly, it also hints at the practical logic of the system. Access points are visible, labels are clear and the overall architecture feels engineered rather than merely styled.
App and day-to-day usability
Related Articles
DJI has done well with the software side. Pairing is straightforward, and the app is easy to understand without feeling stripped down. That matters because robot vacuum apps often fall into one of two traps: either they are simplistic and inflexible, or they are so overdesigned that routine actions become annoying.
Here, the mapping process is quick, and the resulting map is detailed enough to support meaningful customisation. Rooms can be split or merged, no-go areas can be defined, carpets can be marked and pet-specific zones can be managed without the app becoming confusing. It still takes a little exploration to find every deep setting for the robot and dock, but the overall experience is cleaner than many rivals.
Maintenance and noise
The station does a lot of the hard work. It washes the mop pads automatically and empties the onboard dust collector into a disposable dust bag, which reduces manual intervention and makes the Romo P feel genuinely high end in day-to-day ownership.
Physical access is well thought out too. The base uses stickers and obvious access points to guide routine upkeep, and on the robot itself the dustbin and filter are easy to remove. Underneath, most key components are straightforward to clean or replace, though some smaller elements remain a bit fiddly.
Noise levels are controlled rather than disruptive. The robot itself stays relatively civilised in normal operation, and even the station remains tolerable while emptying or cleaning. That makes the Romo P easier to live with than some premium competitors that perform well but announce every maintenance cycle like a shop vacuum.
Navigation: the star of the show
Related Articles
Navigation is the clearest reason to take the Romo P seriously. DJI's sensor experience seems to translate well to this category, because the robot moves with confidence and rarely looks confused. It maps accurately, reacts well to furniture and loose objects, and manages to cover awkward spaces without the hesitant wandering that still plagues many rivals.
Obstacle avoidance is particularly strong. The Romo P handles shoes, cables and furniture legs well, and it generally avoids getting itself trapped in situations that cheaper robots often misread. It is not perfect, especially with very flat clutter, but the overall impression is of a machine that understands the room rather than just bouncing through it.
That competence matters because it makes every other part of the robot feel better. A powerful vacuum that navigates badly is exhausting. A well-mapped, reliable robot can make even slightly imperfect cleaning performance easier to forgive.
Vacuuming performance
On hard floors and thinner carpets, the Romo P performs well. It picks up debris thoroughly, behaves consistently and covers accessible areas with confidence. The broad story is that it is a good cleaner when the surface suits its hardware.
Its main weakness appears on long-pile rugs and in more demanding extraction tests. The rubber brush and suction system are not quite strong enough to turn the Romo P into a class leader on those surfaces, and its groove performance also shows that raw suction power is not where DJI has tried to dominate the category.
That does not make the Romo P weak. It simply means it is best described as a well-rounded premium robot rather than a brute-force dirt extractor. If your home is mostly hard flooring or low-pile surfaces, that distinction matters less. If you have lots of thick rugs, it matters a great deal.
Mopping performance
DJI uses rotating mop pads rather than a roller-style wash system. That setup works well enough on lighter daily grime and can deal with simpler kitchen-style spills such as soft drinks or ketchup. It is not as convincing with more stubborn stains or deep corner cleaning.
Corners remain a structural limitation, and the mop system cannot quite match the best roller-based implementations when dealing with ingrained marks, grease-heavy residue or especially awkward edges. The Romo P is therefore most convincing as a maintenance cleaner rather than as a miracle worker for neglected floors.
Verdict
The Romo P is an impressive first robot vacuum from DJI because it gets the hard smart-home parts right straight away. Navigation is excellent, the app is polished, maintenance is well handled and the overall hardware package feels premium.
It falls short of outright category leadership because suction is not exceptional on tougher surfaces and the mopping system is better at everyday upkeep than at serious stain removal. At EUR 1,899, that matters. The Romo P is a premium robot with premium automation, but not quite premium cleaning power across every scenario.
If you value intelligent navigation, a sophisticated dock and a refined ownership experience, DJI's debut is easy to respect. If your priority is maximum suction or the best stain-busting mop system available, some rivals remain better buys.
