ECOVACS WINBOT MINI vs MINI 2

WINBOT MINI vs WINBOT MINI 2 at a glance

Head to head

The best result in each row is marked, based on my testing and the manufacturer specs. Where the robots tie, both are marked.

The tally is a guide, not my verdict. How much you care about corners matters more than any single row.

What changed from MINI to MINI 2

On the outside, the two robots are twins. Both are about 8.46 inches square, both plug into the wall, both carry a small battery that holds them on the glass if the power is cut, and both tie to a safety rope.

The MINI 2 changes how the robot meets the edges. It adds four spinning corner brushes at up to 84 RPM and side wings that guide the pad to within about 1 mm of the frame, which ECOVACS says gives up to 90% edge coverage✕Edge coverageHow much of the strip along the frame the robot actually cleans. A square pad on a square robot usually leaves small squares in each corner..

It also raises suction from about 7,500 to 8,000 Pa✕Pa, or pascalsThe unit for suction. A higher number means the robot presses itself to the glass harder., sprays an ultrasonic mist✕Ultrasonic mistA spray made by vibrating the water into tiny droplets. The MINI 2’s droplets are as small as 10 microns, so the glass wets evenly without drips. with droplets as small as 10 microns and navigates with WIN-SLAM 4.0.

Our tip: If you only ever clean small windows that you wipe weekly, the original MINI can be enough, so check how much the corners bother you before upgrading.

Design, size and build

Both robots are small enough to slip into a kitchen drawer. The MINI 2 weighs about 2.8 lb and is about 2 inches thick, and the MINI is about 2.17 inches thick.

The MINI drives on two tracks with four side rollers and spherical corner sensors, and its pad has no bumper so it can reach a little closer to the frame. The MINI 2 adds the four corner brushes and side wings around the pad.

The MINI 2 cleans windows as small as about 8.66 by 9.84 inches. Both are happy on tilt-and-turn windows, and the MINI is rated for tilts up to about 45°.

The original WINBOT MINI is the same compact size as the MINI 2.

Setup and the first week

Both robots were ready in about 1 to 2 minutes per session: fit a damp pad, fill the small tank, tie the rope, plug in and press start.

The MINI took about 2 minutes, plus a minute or two watching the cable on large windows and a minute of finishing wipe. The MINI 2 took 1 to 2 minutes, and a mirror was done in a few minutes.

In week one, the MINI scored 7.4, with the parking mark as my only complaint on regularly cleaned inside glass. The MINI 2 scored 8.0 on mirrors and small windows.

Our tip: Fit the MINI’s pad the right way round every time, because a misaligned pad left stripes across the glass.

Suction and safety

Neither robot came off the glass in four weeks. The MINI 2 scored 8.7 for safety and the MINI 8.4.

Both are corded and both carry a small battery for safety only. When I pulled the plug, the MINI held on and beeped loudly, and the MINI 2 held on and sent an alert to my phone within seconds.

The MINI 2 has a 10-tier protection system and a nylon rope rated to 1,600 N. The MINI has a 9-stage system and a rope with a carabiner. On both, the rope is only as good as what you tie it to.

My safety scores

Scores out of 10 for grip, alerts and the rope.

Corners and edges: the big difference

This is the reason to buy the MINI 2. The original MINI cleans the middle of the glass well, at 8.6, but its square pad cannot reach into the corners and leaves small square patches.

I scored the MINI 5.0 in the corners and 7.4 along the frames. The MINI 2 scored 7.4 in the corners and 8.4 along the frames, with 9.0 in the center.

On a bathroom mirror that difference is obvious. With the MINI, I wiped all four corners by hand after every run. With the MINI 2, I usually only wiped the little mark where it parked.

Corners

My scores out of 10.

The MINI 2’s four corner brushes reach into the corners the MINI misses.

Our tip: Finish mirrors and glass doors with the MINI 2’s Edge Clean mode, because it gave the frames a cleaner line than a normal run.

How well they clean

Both robots are maintenance tools, and both did best on glass that was cleaned regularly. On the MINI, a window cleaned within the last month scored 8.4 after one Deep run, a window cleaned last season 7.0 and one left for a year only 5.2.

The MINI 2 was stronger on everyday indoor dirt. It scored 9.2 on a mirror with toothpaste spots, 9.0 on fingerprints on glass doors and 7.4 on shower-glass soap film.

On very dirty outside glass, both struggled. The MINI 2 scored 5.8 on years of grime and 5.6 on neglected street-side glass, and the MINI 5.4 on road film.

WINBOT MINI: one Deep run, by how recently it was cleaned

My scores out of 10.

Our tip: Clean neglected windows by hand once, then keep them up with a quick robot run every week or two, because both MINIs are maintenance tools, not restorers.

Spray, tank and pads

The MINI sprays from four ultrasonic nozzles, two front and two rear, and holds about 60 ml. About 0.7 fl oz cleaned two large glass doors, each over 21.5 sq ft, so one full tank covers about 215 sq ft in Quick mode and about 160 sq ft in heavier modes.

The MINI 2’s ultrasonic mist is finer, with droplets as small as 10 microns. I scored its wetting 9.2 for evenness with no drips, and its pad presses with about 14 N and holds up to 15 g of moisture.

On both, the pad matters most. Damp, not wet, gave the best results, and a soaking pad smeared and dripped.

WINBOT MINI: estimated coverage per full tank

Estimated from my solution use on two large glass doors.

Our tip: Top up the MINI’s small tank before every large window, because about 60 ml goes quickly on big glass.

Modes, speed and controls

The MINI offers Quick, Intensive, Deep and Spot. ECOVACS rates Quick at about 1.1 sq ft a minute, and in my timing Intensive took about 1.4 times as long and Deep about twice as long.

The MINI 2 offers Fast, Thorough, Deep, Spot, which covers about a 17.7-inch area, and Edge Clean. You can also steer it by Bluetooth from the app at close range.

The MINI includes a physical remote, but I found it fiddly and used the automatic modes instead.

WINBOT MINI: relative time per window

Relative timings from my sessions.

Living with the cord and rope

Both robots are corded, so every window starts with an outlet check. On small windows and mirrors that is easy. On a tall sliding door, it decided the result.

I tested the MINI on my tallest door three ways. With the cable and rope run down opposite sides, it reached the top. With them loose together, it left a dirty strip along the top. With the cable snagged on the frame, it stopped early.

The MINI 2 behaved the same way. Keeping cord and rope apart stopped it being pulled off its route.

Our tip: Run the power cord and rope down opposite sides of the window, because that one habit fixed the MINI’s early stops on tall doors.

Which windows and glass suit each

Both robots are at their best on regularly cleaned small, narrow and medium windows, and on mirrors. Both are slower than full-size robots on big glass.

The MINI 2 was the stronger choice for bathrooms: mirrors, shower glass once descaled and narrow panes beside handles. The MINI was very good on narrow and small windows and good on tilt-and-turn windows up to about 45°.

Neither suits tiled walls or sloped skylights. Neither is the right tool for glass walls far from an outlet.

Noise, pets and family life

The MINI was loud for its size. I measured it at 67 to 69 dB at about 3.3 feet, and I turned its voice alerts up so I could hear them over the fan from the next room.

The MINI 2 was a little quieter, at about 65 dB. Both sit between normal conversation at about 60 dB and a vacuum at about 75 to 80 dB.

With pets and children, keep the cord and rope out of the way. Two lines on the floor are easy to trip over.

How loud is it?

My readings for the robots; others are typical reference levels.

A weekly routine with each

By week four, both robots had settled into a weekly job: the bathroom mirror, the shower glass and the narrow pane next to the front door.

With the MINI 2, that routine took about 2 minutes of my effort a week and about 10 minutes in total. I wiped the steam away first, ran Thorough, finished with Edge Clean and rinsed the pad in about 2 minutes.

With the WINBOT MINI, the same jobs took a little longer, mostly because I wiped all four corners by hand and wiped the tracks, rollers and sensors after each session.

Cleaning and maintaining them

Upkeep is light on both. Rinse the pad after every session, wipe the tracks, rollers and sensors after outside glass and check the rope from time to time.

The MINI 2 adds four corner brushes, which I checked weekly for hair and grit. The MINI has an app program for cleaning its tracks.

Neither has a storage case. A small lidded box kept the robot, pads, rope and cord together.

Our tip: Check the MINI 2’s corner brushes weekly, because a hair caught in one was enough to leave a faint line along the frame.

Mistakes to avoid

Most weak results came from the same few habits on both robots.

Hard water is worth knowing about too. The U.S. Geological Survey classes water above 120 mg/L of calcium carbonate as hard, and those minerals dry into spots on glass and can clog fine ultrasonic nozzles.

My four weeks, week by week

Week one: regularly cleaned inside glass. The MINI scored 7.4, with the parking mark as my only complaint, and the MINI 2 scored 8.0 on mirrors and small windows.

Week two: the MINI dropped to 6.2 on dirty outside windows, and I learned to treat it as a maintenance tool. The MINI 2 reached 8.4 on a shower screen and narrow side pane.

Week three: the MINI recovered to 7.6 once I separated cable and rope on tall doors. The MINI 2 dipped to 8.2 on outside patio doors.

Week four: routine. The MINI finished at 8.0 with a cloth for finishing, and the MINI 2 at 8.8 in a weekly bathroom routine.

Week four satisfaction

My weekly scores out of 10.

Real-life scenarios

These are the moments during testing where one robot clearly pulled ahead.

For mirrors and small windows, the MINI 2 is the compact Winbot to get.

My scorecard

These are my own scores out of 10, from my single reviews of each robot after four weeks of daily use.

Overall scores

My overall editorial scores out of 10.

The MINI 2 wins on every score, but the biggest gap is the corners. The original MINI is still a light, capable robot for regularly cleaned small windows if you keep a cloth handy.

Which one should you buy?

Start with the corners.

If you clean mirrors, shower glass or small windows where the corners show, buy the MINI 2. Its brushes made the biggest difference I saw between two generations of the same robot. If you only maintain small windows and keep a cloth handy, the WINBOT MINI still does the job.

For everything I found, see my WINBOT MINI review and MINI 2 review, or compare the MINI with a station robot in my WINBOT MINI vs W2 PRO Omni comparison.

Living with them long term

Both need a pad rinse after each session and an occasional rope check. The MINI adds track wiping, and the MINI 2 a weekly corner-brush check.

What I would change: a finishing routine without a parking mark and a quieter fan on the MINI, and an optional battery pack on the MINI 2 for glass far from outlets.

For regularly cleaned small windows, the original MINI still does the job.

WINBOT MINI vs WINBOT MINI 2 specifications

From manufacturer specifications and my own testing.

How I tested and compared them

I used each robot as my main small-glass cleaner for four weeks, on bathroom mirrors, shower glass, narrow panes, tilt-and-turn windows, glass doors and outside windows. A second HouseholdMe tester shared the robots, and we wrote the notes together.

I scored both on the same glass with the same solution, pulled the plug mid-run to test the backup, and timed every setup, session and cleanup.

I then checked my notes against ECOVACS’ specifications and owner documentation.

• Cleaning: dust, fingerprints, rain spots and months of outside grime.
• Edges: frames, inside corners and frameless edges.
• Safety: suction hold, power-loss behavior and the safety rope.
• Ownership: setup, pads, refills, storage and noise.