Dreame is one of the leading robovac manufacturers, offering market-leading products like the innovative Dreame X40 Ultra. These feature advanced navigation and obstacle detection technology, which Dreame has put to use to design its first autonomous lawnmower, the Dreame Roboticmower A1.

Unlike traditional autonomous mowers, the Dreame Roboticmower A1’s setup is entirely wire-free and doesn’t require any boundary wires or antennas. Instead, it uses an OmniSense 3D wide-angle LiDAR to position itself, but also to sense obstacles. This makes it easy to set up, while also offering plenty of customization options to map your yard the way you want.

In this detailed review, let’s see how the Dreame Roboticmower A1 performs and whether it’s on par with competing mowers from leading brands.

At Smart Home Critic, we help you find the right smart home product for your needs. To ensure fairness and depth, we test every product rigorously for at least a week by a minimum of two reviewers, who have to agree on the final rating. Please refer to our review policy for more information.

Award-winning design

Although Dreame is new to the lawnmower market, it hasn’t neglected the A1’s design. It boasts a sleek and futuristic design that makes it look like an aerodynamic spaceship. Despite this, it comes in a compact form factor, measuring 643 x 437 x 261mm.

At the front, the charging pins are integrated into the frame, making them look like a car’s headlights. The backside boasts a slotted grille and a taillight, adding to the overall dynamic appearance.

There’s a LiDAR dome on top for navigation and obstacle detection. Also, just like any robotic mower, there’s a large stop button, which interrupts mowing in case of emergency. More importantly, a flap conceals the control panel. The latter features a color screen, a rotating wheel, and a few buttons, making the mower easy to control without the need for a phone.

As for the underside, the A1 features three blades that are easy to replace thanks to their quick-release mechanism. Extra ones are also provided in the box, which is a nice addition. Besides these, there are two small wheels to help the robot direct itself, and a compartment for the optional 4G communication module.

The dock is very basic. It’s essentially a plastic plate, which is anchored using the provided screws. The top part doesn’t cover the mower entirely, but comes with a built-in brush to clean the LiDAR. As for the charging cable, it’s thin and long, making it easy to place the dock wherever you want in your yard, even if you don’t have an external socket.

Sadly, the station’s plastics seem cheap, but the robot’s build quality is good, feeling and looking sturdy and premium. Nevertheless, the plastics can be easily scratched, especially if you have sharp rocks in your garden.

Seamless setup process

Setting up mowers is usually a painstaking task. Thankfully, the process is remarkably seamless with the Dreame A1. Since the A1 is fully wireless, you don’t need to install a boundary wire. Similarly, it doesn’t need a positioning antenna, making it very easy to set up.

Once the mower is paired with your phone, it invites you to map your yard by remotely controlling it. You can create different work zones by defining virtual boundaries. The Dreame A1 doesn’t require you to place the dock next to or on the lawn, and therefore allows you to create paths where it can only pass through without mowing. Similarly, you can create no-go zones, which are useful if you have a pond in your garden, for example.

Depending on the size of your yard, the mapping process can take a while. However, the robot’s navigation is precise and the connection remains steady throughout the process. Unfortunately, unlike Husqvarna mowers, you can’t manually drag points and move them by a specific distance to edit zones.

Intuitive app

Once set up, the app also lets you control various settings. For instance, you can adjust the mowing height directly from the app, and even define a different one for each working zone. Similarly, you can adjust the mowing direction, or let the robot automatically change it after each cycle, for better mowing results and better lawn health. Unfortunately, this setting applies to all zones and can’t be differentiated.

In addition, you can adjust the obstacle detection height, as well as disable rain or frost protection. However, it’s best to keep them on as the robot won’t mow if it’s raining or freezing, to avoid damaging your lawn.

Lastly, you can set a mowing schedule, which can vary between spring/summer and fall/winter. Similarly, a schedule can be for the whole area, or specific zones.

However, the approach is not very intuitive, as you have to define specific mowing days, but can’t ask the robot to mow the lawn every two days, for instance. Also, you have to indicate start and end times for your schedule, which means the robot will continuously mow during that time period, even if it means performing several passes. On the contrary, if your time slot is too short, it will stop mowing even if it’s not done.

To control the robot, you can use the app, the built-in screen or Google Assistant and Alexa. You can send it to mow a specific zone, your entire yard, or just the edges. To prevent accidents, it sends a notification before mowing, ensuring you’re aware it’s about to start working. It also shows an estimate of how long it thinks it’ll take it to mow, avoiding unwanted surprises.

Mowing performance

When mowing, the A1 works meticulously. It follows a U-shape path for each zone, which creates clear and perfectly parallel lanes, resulting in a nice aesthetic result. It finishes its task by mowing the edges, ensuring it’s covered the whole area.

There are two mowing speeds you can choose from: a standard one, which covers about 120 square meters per hour, and an efficient one for a quick mow, which can cover around 200 square meters per hour.

In both modes, the results are good, and the grass is evenly cut, with no missed spots along the path. However, the Dreame Roboticmower A1 struggles with corners and edges. Indeed, it takes a curved path when there’s a straight angle, which means a relatively important area remains unmowed. Similarly, although it follows the path you outline when mowing the edges, there’s a small area of about 2cm that remains unmowed if you have a fence or a wall next to your lawn.

The blades are sharp and durable. This results in neatly and evenly cut grass. The cutting height is also adjustable, ranging from 3cm to 7cm. This is actually better than some other mowers, which don’t offer heights above 6cm.

The A1 handles various types of grass well. The mower can automatically detect rain and stop working. In my tests, the robot didn’t sense light rain, since it uses its LiDAR to identify it. However, it automatically returned to the dock under slightly stronger showers.

Under wet conditions, the big wheels can damage the soil, especially when it is raining heavily, leaving tracks and causing potential harm to the lawn’s surface.

Remarkable navigation and obstacle detection

The Dreame Roboticmower A1 leverages LiDAR technology to navigate and sense obstacles. Unlike other robot mowers, it doesn’t need any boundary wires, antennas, or RTK/EPOS stations to locate itself. Such an innovative take on localization can be risky, and may seem less precise. However, Dreame has done an excellent job with the Roboticmower A1. Indeed, it can navigate seamlessly and even detect obstacles like trees, toys, and tools and avoid them automatically.

During my tests, the A1 has followed predefined paths and work zones meticulously. It stayed within designated boundaries and covered the entire area without losing its way. It has also consistently been able to return to the station after each mowing session without issues, except once in about a month of testing. The A1 is also designed to handle slopes up to 45%, thanks to its all-terrain wheels, although steep slopes aren’t ideal as the robot doesn’t come with brakes. It can sometimes slip but then returns to properly mow the whole area.

The robot’s obstacle detection is reliable and effective. It can identify obstacles and navigate around them. You can adjust the system’s sensitivity to detect objects above 5, 10, 15, or 20 cm. In most cases, the A1 sometimes errs on the side of caution. It avoids a relatively large area of a few centimeters around obstacles. This conservative approach means that a few centimeters of grass around the obstacle remains uncut. I’ve quickly changed the settings to avoid obstacles that are above 20cm, as the mower would otherwise avoid flowers hanging low.

Robust battery life and quiet operation

When mowing, the Dreame Roboticmower A1 is barely audible, allowing you to run it at night when you’re sleeping and admire the result in the morning. Of course, you can also use it during the day, without any of your neighbors knowing the robot is mowing the lawn.

As for the battery life, the Dreame Roboticmower A1 can mow about 180 square meters on a single charge, taking about 100 minutes. It can then automatically return to the station to recharge and resume where it left off.

For larger gardens, it’s advisable to create several working zones and distribute the mowing tasks over several days or nights to ensure comprehensive coverage.

Effortless maintenance

Maintaining the Dreame Roboticmower A1 is straightforward and hassle-free. Thanks to its IPX6 rating, the mower is weather and water resistant. This means you only need to hose down the unit, including the wheels and the blades, to remove grass clippings, dirt, and debris.

Purchasing the optional garage can also be a good idea to keep the upper part of the mower clean. Otherwise, a quick wipe with a wet cloth is more than enough to make the A1 shine. Additionally, the A1’s dock features an integrated brush to clean the LiDAR each time the mower docks itself.

The blades are quick and easy to replace, as there’s no need for tools. This allows you to change them in seconds, ensuring you’re using sharp blades for optimal results. In fact, you don’t even need to worry about checking if you need to replace your blades. Indeed, the app automatically lets you know when it’s time to replace the blades or cleaning brush. Similarly, it notifies you when you should hose down the blades and wipe down the LiDAR manually.

Is the Dreame Roboticmower A1 the right robot lawnmower for you?

The Dreame Roboticmower A1 stands out thanks to its wire-free setup. It uses its OmniSense 3D wide-angle LiDAR for navigation and obstacle detection, eliminating the need for boundary wires or antennas.

It’s a reliable mower, which boasts a nice design while being easy to set up. It works using a comprehensive app that offers plenty of customization options, without being too complicated. The A1 is quiet and comes with a decent battery life, allowing it to tackle large areas.

The integration of LiDAR technology ensures precise path-following and effective obstacle avoidance. The dock includes a brush to clean the LiDAR sensor, enhancing maintenance ease. However, the A1’s conservative approach to obstacle avoidance means small areas around obstacles might remain uncut. Similarly, the robot isn’t very good at handling corners and edges, especially when the grass is close to a fence. This is something you should be aware of, depending on your garden’s shape.

Overall, the Dreame Roboticmower A1 is a strong contender in the robotic lawnmower market, especially if you’ve never used one. It’s easy to install and doesn’t require knowledge or fiddling. It’s ideal if you prefer a mower without the hassle of boundary wires or antennas. If you value advanced features and convenience and are willing to accept a few minor quirks, the A1 could be the companion to look after your garden.

Pros	Cons
Easy and wire-free setup	Struggles with edges and straight corners
Good obstacle detection and avoidance	Mapping can be time-consuming for large gardens
Customization options in the app	Obstacle avoidance is a bit too conservative

Q&A