Today we are going to take an in-depth look at the ILIFE A4 and X5.
For those who are not in the know, ILIFE is a Chinese manufacturer of robotic vacuums. They have set up their first R&D facility in Shenzhen and are slowly gaining momentum with their high quality products at affordable prices.
They have 7 new variants in their product line ranging from the most versatile floor cleaner – A4 to 4 mop/vacuum hybrids – X5, V5 Pro, V7 and V7S Pro.
These vacuums are sold by GearBest.com which has warehouses in both the US and Europe apart from their main base in China.
Before anything else, watch this video I made about the main differences between these two robotic vacuums…
Table of Contents
Facade (top view)
Both of these products are polar opposites. The A4 you’ll see first uses a simpler design with only one button at the top.
Update (April 5, 2017): ILIFE has revealed a new robot vacuum cleaner – A4S and A6. Both types come with upgraded motors and beater bars that they claim improve performance. I’ve written about both but please prepare for the video reviews in my YouTube channel.
A4 top view
This button also doubles as an indicator that tells you the status of the battery.
green = full
amber = half empty
red = empty
Red may also mean an error code.
I like the design – it’s simple, elegant and easy to use. You will need the remote control to access the other features.
X5 Top View
There is a digital screen on top and four buttons below – clean, layout, home and place.
The Clean button turns the bot on and activates the default automatic cleaning mode.
The plan allows you to schedule when the bot will appear and read on the digital screen at the top. Now the X5’s screen isn’t particularly high tech, it reminds me of mid-90s cell phones that had a single-line screen.
The house tells the robot to stop cleaning and dock.
Spot activates the in-place cleaning mode but before you can use this you will have to press the Clean button first to use this function.
You will also notice that there is a door in the middle that allows you to access the dirt bin and change it to a water tank.
Yes, the X5 has dual functions as a mop and a vacuum cleaner, three in fact because you can use it as a vacuum cleaner and a dry mop.
Dirt Box (Visual Comparison)
Just by eye test, the A4 has a much larger dirt box compared to the X5 and the numbers confirm that. A4 can hold about 0.45L of dry dirt while the X5 can only hold 0.3L so A4 can hold about 33% more!
This means that you don’t have to empty it as often as you would in a smaller container.
The container is at different location points. The A4 has a drawer-like pull-out bin sticking out from the back (similar to the Roomba 650). The X5 chest drops through a door on top of the robot.
Dimensions and height
Among the 7 ILIFE robot vacuums, the X5 is the smallest at around 11.81 inches in diameter, while the A4 is a bit larger at 12.2 inches.
But the X5 is slightly longer at 3.03 inches and the A4 is just 2.99 inches.
This allows it to fit most furniture less than 3″ high and cabinet parts overhang.
View from the bottom
As different as these two bots are on the top, these two bots are also different on the bottom.
A4 view from the bottom
Combine a motorized brush with a wider cleaning path and two side brushes, and you have a dedicated robotic vacuum cleaner capable of cleaning bare floors and carpets.
The side brushes on the access side help pick up dirt scattered on the edges.
While having two side brushes has its fair share of critics, it has at least some benefits in my experience with this robot.
Cleaning tests show that a side brush tends to scatter large dirt around. But it does a good job of guiding them into the void as these messes get smaller.
In the real world, you wouldn’t clean up a big mess every day, and chances are if you run this robot at least once a day, your floors will be cleaner and there will be less dirt to worry about. The key here is to prevent dirt from accumulating.
In the middle of it all is the motorized bristle brush that helps in terms of excitement when cleaning carpet floors. If at home there is only a bare floor, I’d go through this and buy an X5 because you don’t really need a motorized brush on a bare floor (I’ll explain that in a bit).
Having a motorized brush means the hair will get wrapped around it and you will have to clean it regularly to maintain efficiency.
X5 down
With the included mop…
While the A4 has a motorized brush, the X5 does not have this feature and relies only on suction to clean your floors.
ILIFE engineers have added something clever – rubber plates that create a seal so dirt doesn’t get in and don’t get past it.
Don’t worry about the bottom suction power, it doesn’t really matter on your bare floor. I seldom participate in the A4 max function because it works fine even in default and I don’t like the noise.
You will also notice that it has a microfiber squeegee chip that you can stick there. This holder does not cover the vacuum so it can be used to dry the mop and vacuum at the same time.
Dry wiping with a microfiber towel helps capture statically charged dust. You can even spray some cleaning solution on the mop.
power and noise
In terms of pure suction power even in default mode, A4 produces more suction than X5.
According to information shared on the GearBest website, the A4 produces 700Pa suction in normal mode compared to the X5’s 550Pa, if the math is right, that’s a 20% difference.
Of course with more power comes more noise and A4 sounds can get louder especially when Max is turned on which increases suction to around 1000Pa.
The X5 also has a maximum feature that increases power to 850Pa, again with a difference of 150Pa.
This won’t be important when cleaning a bare floor but on hard surfaces with cracks, strong suction helps suck dirt out of those cracks.
On the carpet, more suction helps and the A4 will fit better here because of the motorized brush.
remote control
This is another area in which these two robots differ greatly.
Let’s first take a look at the control of the X5
You’ll notice that the X5’s controller doesn’t have any screen, but all the buttons.
So what if you need to schedule?
Point the remote control at the robot and press the button with the time symbol right next to the “max” button.
You will notice that this brings out a digital clock on the Android screen. Use the up and down arrows to set the schedule for the hour and minute settings but note that the scheduling feature is odd.
To give you an example, setting it at 09:30 won’t mean it will clean at 9:30 AM. It will be cleaned 9 hours 30 minutes after it is set.
The other buttons in the controls are straight forward. Like all ILIFE vacuums to access features like edge cleaning and spot cleaning, you’ll have to hit the clean button first.
A4 remote
The A4 has a completely different remote control compared to the X5. The first thing you’ll notice is the digital display at the top that shows you the clock and the scheduled cleaning time.
The icons on the A4 controller are very clear – the top has the arrow buttons and the “maximum” that increases suction. This also doubles as a down button when setting the time and schedule.
In the second row you will see the plan and the clock that allows you to schedule the bot and set the time respectively.
The last row of buttons is spot cleaning, docking (or home) and edge cleaning.
motorized brush
A4 only comes with a motorized brush. In terms of cranking, it works well on floors and carpets. But don’t expect this carpet to clean deeply because it lacks strength.
But when you compare the brush to older vertical brooms like the Hoover’s broom, it has more bristles, so the cranking is still fine.
Mobility
In the comparison between the A4 and the V7S, I mentioned that there are differences between the navigation style but because I’ve used the A4 and X5 for the past few weeks.
It’s more similar than different when you talk about navigation.
Let’s look at how A4 navigates…
Then let’s take a look at how the X5 navigates…
As you can see with the two videos above, both robots have the same cleaning pattern which alternates from random cross pattern and edge and back cleaning.
Each of these robots is fully capable of cleaning multiple rooms but to increase efficiency and the chance of returning to the docking station.
I would suggest letting her clean one or two rooms at a time or if you’ve watched the videos above, let her clean one room and a hallway and then move on to another.
It will simply run until the battery runs out and return to the home base to recharge.
Here’s another video that shows you how the X5 navigates with the included mop and water tank…
With the mop installed and the vacuum cleaner turned off, it behaves a little differently.
You can also use it to clean and dry the mop at the same time.
Dust and filter box
These two robots have different style dirt bins.
Let’s look at the A4 trash can…
The A4 bin has a larger capacity capable of holding about 0.45 liters of dry dirt but you need to be careful when emptying it because the entrance is in the middle so dirt can fall inside.
Make sure to tilt this part up a little while removing it from the robot.
It contains three filters – a mesh primary filter, a secondary foam filter that provides additional protection to the HEPA filter and is the third filter.
A cleaning brush is also provided to help empty the filter.
Both the primary mesh and secondary foam filter are washable, and the HEPA filter is not.
X5’s box
The X5 container is very different from the A4 in terms of design.
It has the same primary mesh filter as the A4 but does not have the secondary foam filter. However, it contains a secondary HEPA filter that is not washable.
The container can be accessed as I said through an overhead door and can be replaced with a water tank.
containment
One feature that the X5 has over the A4 is the virtual wall feature that literally acts as a wall.
Once you turn this on, it sends a signal telling the robot not to enter any area you don’t want it to go to, eg you don’t want it to go to the washing area and it doesn’t have the door, just put the virtual wall on the path and the X5 won’t enter it.
A4 does not have this feature. In fact, the X5 only has the virtual wall and you cannot use it on other ILIFE bots.
product specification
| Model name | A4 | X5 |
| Battery Type | Li-Ion | Li-Ion |
| Shipping time | 5 hours | 5 hours |
| the show length | 180 minutes | 90 minutes |
| dry dirt capacity | 0.45 liters | 0.3 liters |
| Water tank | Nobody | 0.3 liters |
| net weight (with battery) | 4.85 lbs. | 4.4 lbs. |
| Diameter | 12.2 inches | 11.81 inches |
| Height | 2.99 inches | 3.03 inch |
multi room  |
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| self docking |
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| remote control |
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| HEPA filtration/brush cleaning tool |
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| Detecting cliff |
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| side brush | 2 | 2 |
| Cleaning sessions per week |
7 | 7 |
| Extra filter | 1 | 1 |
| containment |
Nobody | virtual wall |
| Price | Check Price |
Where can I buy this?
The A4 and X5 are available in different online stores all over the world especially Amazon (A4 is only available on Amazon).
Conclusion
Both brooms are great options depending on the type of floors you have in the house.
A4 is great for homes with a mix of carpet and bare floors thanks to its superior suction and motorized brushing. It has a larger dirt box that can store more dirt than the X5.
In my opinion, it has the better remote control of the two, and the slightly lower profile allows it to navigate under furniture better (although the difference is really small).
The X5 will only accommodate open-floor homes thanks to the wet wipe feature. It does not have a whisk bar which is a good thing as this is part less to clean up. You save time.
Rubber flaps at the bottom of the funnel direct dirt toward the box.
In addition to the vacuuming and wet mopping function, you can use the dry mop and the vacuum cleaner at the same time because it doesn’t use the vacuum, so this can also come in handy for dusting floors.