The great thing about tech is that it’s always pushing the envelope of where that tech is useful. If you’d have asked me a year ago if Anker would release a new robotic mower series, I’d have told you I didn’t see that happening. Despite my reservations, the company did reveal such a device under the eufy sub-brand, introducing the E15 Robot Lawn Mower, which caught many by surprise in the industry. This innovative mower aims to simplify lawn care for homeowners and bring automation into an area of household maintenance that has traditionally required significant time and effort.
I’ve been testing the E15 Robot Mower for about a month now, and I have a ton of thoughts regarding its performance, ease of use, and the advanced features it offers that set it apart from other robotic mowers on the market, all of which will be detailed in our full review.
Design
The green and gray mower has a familiar feel in some ways when you take it out of the box while looking like a foreign object at the same time. Much of the basic industrial design and features will seem similar to any robotic vacuum you’ve ever seen. The front-facing camera and LiDAR sensors bring that familiarity to focus.
The size and more beefy surround of the eufy E15 is when it starts setting it apart from its vacuum brethren. The lines and curves of the E15 are smooth and looks very premium. There’s a bumper system around the edges to ensure you have protection from objects in the yard. There’s also rubber wheels with a deep tread to keep traction while servicing your yard.
The sensor array kinda gives the eufy mower personality. I can’t explain it well enough, but the entire fit reminds me of a turtle, and I’ve named mine Michelangelo, like any child of the 80s would of course. Just above the sensor strip, is a large red button that functions as an emergency stop that shuts down the mowing system. Finally, right behind this area is a large carrying handle.
Flipping the E15 over on its back not only lends to the turtle shell vibes I keep getting about the look of the mower, but also reveals the real business going on the underside. Here, you’ll see that the system is powered by a revolving ring of razor blades. Yep, razor blades on a robo-vac on steroids is the basic feel of the E15. That’s not a knock on what eufy has done here. Some of the best way to accentuate a tech-filled device is to keep the underlying functions simple.
One surprise in the manual and the bottom of the eufy E15 is the inclusion of a small compartment behind a door secured by the few Phillips head screws. This hidden area is for housing an Apple AirTag. It’s a unique feature that eufy has included to ensure that in the off instance that someone picked up this 45lbs mower and bolts while you aren’t around, you have the tracker in place to hopefully help recover your property.
Setup
Not to keep bringing up the vacuum comparisons, but the shared DNA of how the eufy E15 shares with that heritage is hard to ignore. In that vain, the app and setup process if pretty similar. After getting the mower fully charged, you add the system to your home network and add it to the eufy app. From here, you’ll be prompted to initialize the first mapping of your yard.
During this process, your eufy E15 mower will take a long stroll around your property. This requires it to move back and forth in the space to establish the lawn space it will work to cut later. The automated scanning will add the landscape it can cover using the built in sensors, taking into account for obstacles and objects it needs to avoid.
You may still have to do some manual zoning before your first mowing experience. I had to use the eufy app to manual set two things. I have two neighbors with no fencing, so I had to draw “no-go” virtual lines to show the E15 the general area to stop in my yard on each side. The final thing I had to tweak is my yard is fully segmented by my concrete driveway and I had to set a “cross-zone” pathway. This setting allows it to know when to stop cutting and simply transport itself to the other section of the yard to continue cutting.
The overall setup process is pretty painless, and other apps could take notes on how well eufy’s app walks you through this. Even the little things like showing you where the e-stop button and AirTag compartment are located is well communicated. From out of the box and charged, you can be up and running in less than 15 minutes of using the app wizard.
“The eufy E15 Robot Lawn Mower simplifies lawn care with smart mapping, powerful cutting, and a sleek, premium design. Quiet, efficient, and easy to set up, it delivers a polished yard with minimal effort — and plenty of curb appeal.”
Mowing and Monitoring
All that is for nothing if the actual mowing of the eufy E15 sucks. Thankfully, that’s not the case. After a successful mapping session that took a little over three hours for my large yard, cutting went much faster. Not having to fully “feel out” the yard again and just cutting in a back and forth motion was a smooth experience… for the most part.
There are a few caveats here that need consideration. One is the thickness and height of the grass. My yard is a mixture of fescue and Bermuda, which makes for a very, lush think yard. The first cutting is always the hardest on any mower, and I did have spots attempting this with the eufy E15 in a few spots that were just randomly taller than the rest of the grass. Hitting these sections with my weed eater and then allowing the E15 to clean them up afterward went fine on subsequent mowings.
The second issue is general terrain. I have a fenced in backyard where we run dogs year around. This has led to some smaller holes and uneven areas where they like to play. These areas make for a few times per mowing that the eufy mower just couldn’t navigate the potholes or dips in the yard without getting stuck. It’s not a dealbreaker but could be annoying if your expectation is for the eufy E15 to maintain the lawn while you’re away at work.
Lastly, this same situation is kinda true for if you have a segmented portion of your property fenced. I only have a fence around my backyard, which also was the location that made sense for the eufy E15 charging station to be placed. I also have dogs, as I mentioned. This makes for a bit of a conflict, I have to leave the main side gate open to allow the mower to transition for the backyard into the front yard.
It still takes around two hours to complete this entire process and one return to the station to recharge each session. Again, not a dealbreaker, but it’s a conflict that I can’t close the gate just in case it needs to return, and I also can’t let my dog out with the fence now wide open. The same is true for our maintain the yard while at work scenario. I would be limited to having the gate open all day or only cutting my backyard.
All that aside, the results are pretty solid. I had my reservations on how well the blade setup would perform, but it’s very comparable to my Greenworks electric push mower in cut. It just takes longer with the smaller 15-inch footprint. The E15 does a fantastic job of edging and just knowing where it can and can’t mow. It’s natural stopping and sensor turns are very similar to where you’d stop a normal manual mower in areas like around landscaping or patios.
Speaking of, this thing has curb appeal, for sure. I’ve had multiple neighbors either stop me while I was monitoring it or give me a text on the eufy E15. They usually start with how it works, how quiet it runs, and their surprise on how well manicured the lawn looks from something automated. It will get noticed.
Battery
My runtime of around two hours with a charge break seems to match the estimates eufy had in their labs. The 4200mAh battery pack is rated for up to 110 minutes per charge in the manual. This seems very similar to my real world endurance.
You can’t have a full autonomous yard tool without power. The eufy E15 has a dedicated charging station with a hooded design. eufy refers to this as the base station Garage in the app and manual. It comes with a long power adapter and yard stakes for you to find the best spot in your yard near power to secure your charging needs.
The manual makes note of both the eufy E15 and Garage charging statin are IPX6 water-resistant. This should allow it to stay in any elements during normal Spring and Summer temperatures. It’s worth mentioning that during the Winter months, it’s recommended you bring the setup indoors to avoid the battery pack and contacts from freezing.
Final thoughts
Awarded to products with an average rating of 3.75 stars or higher, the AndroidGuys Smart Pick recognizes a balance of quality, performance, and value.
Products with this distinction deserve to be on your short list of purchase candidates.
I really didn’t know what I expected from the eufy E15 robotic mower. Part of me was very cynical, but I was quickly impressed by the automated mapping and cutting quality. Does it have some considerations? Sure, but that’s the same for any mower. Sometimes you need a large zero turn and others can get away with 18-inch manual push mower.
The eufy E15 is no different. I think the ideal cutting area is somewhere between 800 and 1200 square meters. This is just under a half acre of coverage. I’d also recommend someone with a fairly level yard and possibly no fencing to really get the full benefit of the unmanned maintenance mowing aspect of the E15.
Pricing is reasonable for anyone in the brand-new lawn mower market as well. The full retail of the eufy E15 is $1,600. The slightly larger E18 sibling mower is an additional $400.
