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NPR asks Dennis Ross, a former U.S. ambassador and Middle East Special Envoy, about hostage release deadlines set by President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as other risks to the Gaza ceasefire.

Top Trump administration officials are in Europe this week, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attending his first NATO meeting and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Paris to discuss Ukraine.

The spread of misinformation presents a significant challenge in the civic space, and this last global “year of elections” has illustrated just how easily bad actors can slip through the cracks of social media platforms. Misleading claims fed to young TikTok users in the form of video montages proved to be endemic in the run-up to the UK election, with fictional, seemingly automated accounts behind them. Real or not, the content and subsequent comments may still succeed in convincing impressionable users with alternative facts.

In the U.S. 38% of adults used social media to seek information about the 2024 presidential election. With sweeping content moderation changes on Meta platforms imminent—leaving it up to users to comment on posts they deem to be inaccurate—manipulative information is increasingly likely to reach a broader segment of the population, and illegitimate social media campaigns will have the potential to mislead millions of people.

One way of avoiding further escalation means tackling the issue at the source. One way of doing this is through the use of graph database technology. This form of database structures and analyses information as entities and relationships and can help to untangle patterns and covert threads within them, ones which may seem legitimate but could be hiding scams or misinformation. By revealing these connections and delivering otherwise hidden insights, graphs can unleash the power of contextual data to fight all kinds of deception.

Here are three key qualities of graph technology that make it a powerful tool for investigating misinformation, fraud, and scams:

Recognizing relationships in data

Graph databases store data as a network of interconnected facts. This type of data model is useful for researchers to easily and quickly map and analyse complex connections. In the context of election misinformation, for example, it’s the relationships between social media ads, funders, and candidates that would hold insights.

By organizing the data as “nodes” and “relationships,” graph databases can enable researchers to surface hidden patterns and relationships between the ads and account credentials and then analyze those patterns and anomalies within the weakly connected components to discern malicious accounts.

Traverses relationships natively at scale and speed

Graph databases enable investigators to store detailed patterns of problematic actors. Then, they can query the data to uncover intricate connections between the suspicious actor and other entities.

By easily extending across data at scale and quickly identifying shared credentials between multiple accounts, analysts are able to spot areas for further investigation. Graphs easily encompass historical data, so users can uncover associations between different entities, like flagged and deleted social media accounts, for example, to build a more comprehensive analysis of how such networks can operate undetected on these social media platforms.

Uncovering massive financial fraud

It wasn’t just misinformation that was untangled by graph technology during this past crucial election year – it also uncovered previously hidden financial scams.

More than 3,000 entities that funded political advertisements on Facebook and Instagram, seemingly to influence voters, were identified by Syracuse University’s IDJC ElectionGraph Project. Most concerning was that the Institute found two entities connected to a complex network of bad actors who had disguised themselves as election campaigns to scam engaged voters out of money by promising merchandise like hats, flags, or coins in exchange for their credit card information.

Although these networks took steps to go undetected as they proliferated ads across Facebook, researchers used graph database technology to analyze the coordinated problematic content. They found some ads attempted to scam victims out of as much as $80 USD per month – and none of it directly supported any candidates’ campaign.

Keeping one step ahead with graph databases

Every year, organizations and consumers alike lose billions of dollars to online scams. Busting fraud and protecting users is all about finding and investigating the connections between various online entities, and modern technologies are helping to do so. Operating like a master detective, graph technology is capable of mapping patterns and relationships across huge amounts of data, enabling users to expose digitally savvy bad actors and helping them keep one step ahead of a complex challenge facing society.

Get yourself the best identity theft protection.

This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

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Bannon pleaded guilty in a Manhattan court to one count of scheme to defraud, a low-level felony. The case involved We Build the Wall, a non-profit that Bannon himself once suspected was a scam.

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Monty's competition included a bichon frisé called Neal, a Skye terrier named Archer, a whippet and repeat runner-up known as Bourbon and a shih tzu called Comet who's been a finalist before.

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In a letter to a US senator, a Florida-based data broker says it obtained sensitive data on US military members in Germany from a Lithuanian firm, revealing the global nature of online ad surveillance.

Some affected employees of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau were notified with an email that addressed them as [EmployeeFirstName][EmployeeLastName], [Job Title], [Division].

• Apple has reportedly partnered with Alibaba to bring AI features to the iPhone in China
• iPhone sales have slipped in China due to a lack of AI features
• Alibaba’s vast consumer data and AI expertise make it an ideal partner for Apple's plans for China

DeepSeek has been at the center of frenzied interest in Chinese AI developers; even so, Apple is reportedly teaming up with Chinese tech giant Alibaba to produce new AI features for iPhones sold in China, according to The Information.

Apple has been keen to carve out a bigger piece of the smartphone market in China after a decline in recent years and is placing a bet on AI as the solution, and Alibaba might just be the partner to help produce appealing AI tools for its devices.

The potential decision to work with a Chinese company rather than simply deploying Apple Intelligence as it stands is not a complete surprise. Apple didn’t have much choice about finding a Chinese partner to get its AI tools approved by regulators. However, Alibaba isn't the expected partner, according to the report. Apple had apparently planned to work with Baidu before deciding that Baidu's AI models weren't quite what they wanted.

The company reportedly considered offerings from other Chinese AI developers, including e-commerce giant Tencent and TikTok owner ByteDance. Apple even considered teaming up with DeepSeek before its explosive debut in the U.S. However, according to the report, Apple ultimately ruled out DeepSeek because it simply didn’t have the workforce or experience to handle a deal of this scale.

Ultimately, Alibaba emerged as Apple's choice for a few reasons, according to the report. By far, the biggest is that Alibaba has access to a staggering amount of data on Chinese consumers. With insights into shopping, payments, and general digital behavior, Alibaba’s AI could help Apple offer more personalized and localized features to iPhone users in China. Beyond the regulatory demands, Alibaba could also help Apple stand out from its Chinese competitors. Huawei, in particular, has been ramping up its AI-enhanced smartphone sales for nearly a year, enticing those who might previously have bought iPhones.

iPhone Alibaba

Alibaba's involvement might speed up the approval process for AI features with Chinese regulators. Based on the report, Apple device owners in China might see some smarter Siri responses, improved search capabilities, and better personalization options appear on their devices as a result of the deal.

Apple has long been known for tightly controlling its ecosystem. This partnership would force Apple to open up a little and relinquish some of that control to embed Alibaba’s AI. It’s a necessary compromise to stay in the Chinese market, but it also raises questions about how regional differences will change Apple products.

For now, Apple’s immediate goal is simple: make iPhones in China feel as cutting-edge as their local competitors. With AI increasingly becoming a deciding factor for consumers, a potential partnership with Alibaba might be Apple’s best shot at staying relevant in one of the largest markets in the world.

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Ecovacs Deebot T30 Omni: Two-minute review

If you’re after an all-in-one robot vacuum cleaner – one that vacuums, mops, and then cleans itself by also washing and drying its mop pads – you’re typically looking at a rather premium price point. The Ecovacs Deebot T30 Omni offers you all of that, but without that high cost. And it doesn’t necessarily make too many sacrifices on features either, which really highlights how much bang for your hard-earned buck it can offer.

Depending on where you live, there might be two versions of the T30 Omni available – a white Pro model and the black non-Pro edition that’s reviewed here and is available in the UK and Australia. Strangely, neither model is currently listed on the US Ecovacs website. The only difference between the two, other than their color, is the Pro model gets three additional features: Ecovacs’ Yiko voice assistant, a dirt-detection deep-mopping mode and an onboard camera. I missed none of these during my time testing the standard T30 Omni, although some users might find the deep-mop function useful.

The first thing that got my attention was just how compact – or rather squat – it is compared to other all-in-one robot vacuums that come with two water tanks in the cleaning station. Ecovacs says the T30 Omni (and its Pro version) will fit under any kitchen or bathroom counter – while my under-counter cabinets weren't designed for such a scenario, measurements indicate that if I were to make small changes to how they're structured, it would take minimal carpentry to get the robot vacuum and its dock stowed away neatly. The rest of the design is also very well considered and I think it’s one of the better-looking full-featured robot vacuums I’ve seen.

(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

It doesn’t disappoint in its performance either. With four suction levels and four water-flow rates, there are a lot of custom routines you can set up for the T30 Omni. What I appreciate even more is that even at its highest suction setting, the robot isn’t as loud as I’ve previously encountered with other similar models, even those from Ecovacs. The maximum suction here is 11,000Pa, which isn’t as much as other premium models available on the market, but it’s more than enough for most homes. However, if you have carpets that are particularly dirty with tangled hair or fur, it will have trouble sucking those up in their entirety. What hair and fur it manages to clean thankfully doesn’t get entangled around the main bar brush, making ongoing maintenance easy.

Also aiding in making the user lazy is how well it washes its mop pads after each cleaning session. You can choose how often you want the pads to be washed and how long you want to set the hot-air drying for. And that’s a good thing because those mops can get dirty – during my testing, I found the mopping to be so effective that the pads would get brown within minutes! I had no idea how much dust my hard floors could pick up! Better yet, the extendable mop pads ensure even the edges of my rooms were cleaned well, although the occasional corner can be missed.

The tanks are remarkably easy to refill or clean out, and so is the base tray that the mop pads are washed on. And while you can always bend down to press a button in a pinch to start or stop the T30 Omni, it will also respond to a light kick to the bumper.

All in all, I think this is a really good all-in-one robot vacuum cleaner, able to give even more expensive models a run for their money, making this a really great-value investment if you want to stop spending time on vacuuming and mopping your floors. Where there’s scope for improvement is with the Ecovacs Home smartphone app, but only marginally.

(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) Ecovacs Deebot T30 Omni review: Price & availability

• Available since 2024 in UK and Australia; not sold in the US
• List price: £799 / AU$1,749
• Often discounted during major sales

Announced in May 2024 for most major markets, the Ecovacs Deebot T30 Omni is now listed for purchase in European countries, including the UK, and in Australia. Strangely, it’s no longer listed on the official Ecovacs website in the US, although it was announced for the American market.

At full price, the T30 Omni will set you back £799 / AU$1,749 but it’s often discounted to a much lower price, which makes this a truly worthwhile investment given its power and feature set. For instance, at the time of writing, it’s available for £699 directly from Ecovacs UK, while it’s dropped as low as AU$1,199 in Australia.

Other similar models can cost you around the £1,000 / AU$2,200 mark: for example, the Dreame L40 Ultra available in the US and the UK with the same 11,000Pa suction has a list price of $1,499.99 / £999 (unavailable in Australia), but take it up a notch and the 12,000Pa Dreame X40 Ultra with detachable mop pads will set you back a whopping $1,899 / £1,299 / AU$2,799. Similarly, the Eufy Omni S1 Pro, with its interesting slimline design but with a maximum of 8,000Pa of suction costs $1,499 / £1,499 / AU$2,699.

There are, of course, cheaper robot vacuums but, given how well the T30 Omni balances power, performance and price, it represents very good value for money even at full price.

• Value score: 4.5 / 5

(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) Ecovacs Deebot T30 Omni review: Specs Ecovacs Deebot T30 Omni review: Design

• Standard T30 Omni model only available in black; white is the Pro model
• Not as tall and heavy as other all-in-one robot vacuums
• Extendable mop pads that automatically rise to avoid carpets

Whether you opt for the standard T30 Omni in black or the white T30 Pro Omni version, the only physical difference between the two is the color – everything else is identical from a design perspective. Neither, however, come with any additional replacement parts, which is a glaring omission on Ecovacs’ part as you are immediately faced with having to purchase additional dust bags at the very least. Thankfully you won’t find the need to replace the mop pads too soon as the washing mechanism is fantastic, although keep an eye on them as, like any fabric, they will begin to show signs of wear and tear.

(Image credit: Amanda Westberg)

Lack of some replacement parts aside, the entire appliance, despite its plastic build, is quite solidly made. You’ll find no need for the user manual to set up the various parts of the robot vacuum’s dock – it’s all very intuitive and just slots into place. Once assembled, it doesn’t look like most other all-in-one robovacs – it’s shorter and looks more compact, although it has a similar footprint to other models. This compactness in height is what allows the T30 Omni to slot under a counter if you are able to fit it in.

Unlike other such all-in-one robot vacuums, the water tanks – clean and dirty – aren’t placed inside the clean station, but are an essential part of the dock, sitting atop the enclosure housing the 3.5L replaceable dust bag. From an aesthetic standpoint, I like that the translucent clean-water tank sits in the front, and it means you can see when a refill is needed. Both tanks have a 4L capacity, meaning they’ll last a few cleaning sessions before you need to manually do anything… although I don’t like having any dirty water in the tank for more than a day, so I’ve always just cleaned it out, but that’s just me. And I’m also appreciative of the fact that the dirty water tank is opaque and sits at the back of the machine.

Ecovacs has even put some serious thought into the design of the washing tray that the actual robot sits on to charge and have its mop pads washed. It reminds me of old ribbed washboards from the 1800s, with raised ridges that ensure the mop pads get a good scrubbing after (or during) each mop run. The tray is also very easy to remove and clean out.

Overall, I’m a big fan of the slightly voluptuous-looking clean station and how easy it is to get to any part of it to refill, clean or replace, although I can also see why some people may not like the look compared to the straight lines of other models.

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The robot itself isn’t very different from the familiar round droid we see from most brands. There’s the usual lidar turret on the top to house Ecovacs’ proprietary TrueMapping 2.0 technology, while the top panel has three function buttons: zone cleaning, start/pause and exit/return to base. Combination presses of these three buttons can also be used but, from my experience, the only time you’ll really need any of them is at the initial setup process.

The top panel of the robot also simply lifts off to reveal the 300ml rectangular dust bin inside. You won’t, however, see the water reservoir, which is hidden under the opaque plastic.

On the front of the robot you can clearly see the obstacle avoidance system – called TrueDetect 3D 3.0 – on either side of which are distance sensors. Two contact points for charging are also visible on the rear of the robot, as well as the water inlet for filling the reservoir and the hatch to self-empty its dust bin. The front bumper is also sensitive to a light kick, which tells it to either start or pause wherever it is.

The underside of the robot has four anti-fall sensors along the rim, and there’s also a sensor that detects carpets. There’s one side brush, while the main bar brush has been redesigned to offer zero tangles when hair and fur is being vacuumed. I have to admit, I was rather skeptical about the ZeroTangle brush, but I’m quite impressed with how well it manages to remain free of all entanglements. The two rotating mop pads are affixed to the removable plastic supports via some seriously strong Velcro but, unlike more premium machines from Samsung and Dreame, the mop pads don’t automatically drop if you set the robot up for just a vacuum run. They do, however, extend outward to wash room edges and can rise up to 9mm to avoid carpets and rugs.

• Design score: 4.5 / 5

(Image credit: Amanda Westberg) Ecovacs Deebot T30 Omni review: Features

• Up to 80% more suction power compared to the T20 Omni
• Spot cleaning improvements based on user feedback
• Foot-touch start/pause functionality

You’d think that, to keep costs down, the T30 Omni would be missing key features, but Ecovacs has managed to pack it full of the things you really need and left out anything that you wouldn’t necessarily miss – like voice control. The one thing that I do wish I could have tried is the deep-clean mopping mode that the Pro model has but, honestly, I didn’t necessarily feel any FOMO while testing the standard T30 Omni.

One feature I’m a massive fan of, and it’s actually a rather superfluous one, is the foot-touch start/stop functionality. What that means is giving the robot a light kick on the bumper makes it start or, if it’s already moving, stop where it is. I admit to being lazy and this makes my need to bend or reach for my phone unnecessary when I just need it to stop for a minute or two when I have to step in its path for whatever reason. I hands-down agree that it’s a novelty, but it’s the kind of fun feature I love.

Importantly for a robot vacuum, Ecovacs has upped the ante where suction is concerned. Compared to the Ecovacs Deebot T20 Omni’s 6,000Pa suction power, the T30 Omni now boasts a much better 11,000Pa. For its price point, this is a fantastic upgrade.

(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

Another feature worth mentioning here is the reimagined spot-clean functionality that is now also available on other top-tier Ecovacs robovacs. At the press of the spot-clean button on the top of the robot, the T30 Omni will know to clean a 1.5m x 1.5m square area around wherever it’s located at the time. If it’s at the dock, it will clean around the dock; you can pick it up and place it anywhere in your home and it will begin the spot clean there. It’s a handy feature to have for those quick spills that need immediate attention.

One useful feature that’s not quite unique to the T30 Omni, but is effective nonetheless, is extendable mopping. This allows the mop pads to either remain extended at all times or automatically pull out when the robot senses a wall or furniture close by. This works so well that even thin furniture legs are identified and the mops can clean right alongside them and, where possible, move a full circle around them.

Other features include Bluetooth connectivity for easier setup and the Ecovacs Home app widget for iPhones and Apple Watches for getting a whole-house clean going instantly.

• Features score: 4.5 / 5

(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) Ecovacs Deebot T30 Omni review: App control

• Cleaner app than before but still scope for improvement
• A number of custom ‘Scenarios’ can be set up
• Editable map, but adding furniture is fiddly

I’ve reviewed quite a few Deebots over the last few years, some of which have been discontinued. So it’s fair to say I’ve seen the evolution of the Ecovacs Home app to its current form, which is arguably the best it’s ever been. It’s a lot cleaner and easier to use, although I still see scope for improvement. That said, in the few months that I’ve been testing the T30 Omni, I’ve not had a single app-related problem.

The Ecovacs Home app has everything you need to set up the T30 Omni if it’s your first Deebot, including giving it a name. In my case, I called the robot vacuum Dirt Vader. To get started, you can set the robot to do a mapping run which doesn’t take too long. It quite literally rolls through your home in a slightly random manner and picks up where the walls and doors are to create a basic map. This you can then edit in the app, adding names to the various rooms and even furniture. While it’s really easy to partition rooms, adding furniture is annoying as placements are not necessarily going to work on a flat 2D space.

(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

The app displays all the cleaning options clearly, including the various combinations of vacuum and mopping, and how often of both you want the bot to do. You can choose the suction power and the water-flow rate.

You can set up what Ecovacs calls Scenarios – different cleaning runs to suit different needs. For example, I have one called Daily Clean, which is a single vacuum run throughout my home at the highest suction. Another one that I call Deep Clean is two vacuum runs in the carpeted bedroom, followed by two mop-after-vacuum sessions in the rest of the house with hard floors. I have another called Quick Clean, which is a single vacuum-and-mop run on only the hard floors (so it skips the bedroom). The options are plenty, giving you a lot of control over your floor-cleaning routine.

The app also lets you change the volume of the voice prompts of the robot which, by default, is really rather loud. You get the usual cleaning logs and you can also keep track of when you need to replace parts like brushes, mops or the dust bag. Setting up schedules is also there.

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You’ll get voice prompts and an app notification if the wash tray needs cleaning in the middle of a session – that’s because the mop can be set to be cleaned at regular intervals. I had mine set to every 15 minutes, so Dirt Vader would go back to the dock a couple of times during most cleaning sessions to wash the mops. I really do not like brown streaks on my light-grey tiles.

My only issue with the app is with the Scenarios tab: only two Scenarios are visible on most phone screens, but the Manage option gets in the way of the second listing. It’s also not immediately clear that you just need to slide to view all the different Scenarios. I’d also like the map to be a bit more detailed, but that’s not really a complaint, but an observation.

• App control score: 4.5 / 5

(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) Ecovacs Deebot T30 Omni review: Performance

• Hardly ever misses mopping a room edge or along furniture legs
• Excellent vacuuming prowess on hard floors
• Can struggle on excessively dirty carpets

We have quite a few Deebot reviews on TechRadar, and one thing they all have in common is their good performance. And that’s again the case here. In fact, I was rather impressed by how quickly, and accurately, the T30 Omni mapped out my apartment – it took just six minutes to do so and all walls, doors and floor types were correct even though it seemed to move rather randomly. It doesn’t account for furniture, but you can see the vague shapes in the basic map. Subsequently, I didn’t have a single issue with navigation either – Dirt Vader always moved in a clear pattern within each zone, hardly ever missing a spot.

Whether it’s just vacuuming, just mopping or both together, the T30 Omni does a very fine job indeed. During testing, I sprinkled some talcum powder on the floor to see how it would cope with such fine particles and, set to do a spot clean with vacuum and mop together, I was pleased that I couldn’t see white powder when I ran my fingers over the area.

(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

While the side brush did scatter some grains of rice while vacuuming, a second run cleared those up as well. A few scattered grains that went into a corner did get left behind though, but I can’t blame Dirt Vader for a shoddy job – even my Dyson V15s Detect Submarine would have a hard time getting at those grains with the Fluffy Optic or the Digital Motorbar. I’d have to use the Crevice Tool for that. Perhaps the Dyson 360 Vis Nav, with its protruding tongue, might have picked up the stray grains… Or for situations like that, Ecovacs has another solution in the form of the Deebot T30S Combo, which packs a handheld cordless vacuum along with the robot.

Dirt Vader’s vacuum prowess is also quite good on carpets and rugs… provided the carpets aren’t already too dirty. Only the bedroom in my apartment has wall-to-wall carpeting and, over the duration of a week, my hair gets all over it. If there’s too much hair, I found that the T30 Omni set at max suction over two consecutive runs can struggle to do a deep clean. There were always some strands still visible, but it was along edges where it truly struggled to gather tangled hair. However, my medium-pile rug in the living room, which doesn’t get too dirty, always looked refreshed after a single vacuum run at max suction. On hard floors, reducing the suction to Standard or Strong is more than enough for a good clean.

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The brand-new ZeroTangle bar brush on the Deebot T30 Omni... (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)Image 2 of 2

..and the same brush after three months of use. (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

Mopping is where the T30 Omni shines. When Ecovacs says ‘edge mopping’, it’s truly the case here. The extendable mop pads are effective at cleaning right along the 90º angle of a wall and where furniture legs meet the floor. No matter how thick or thin a leg might be, I saw Dirt Vader go a full 360º around the vertical axis where the height under furniture allowed it to go.

During my testing, I tried various water-flow rates and, for the kind of tiles I have in my apartment, the High setting was the best for a regular clean, so that is what I set it to for every Scenario. This saw all dusty footprints disappear in one mop session, as did a splatter of hot sauce on the kitchen floor. However, a thick, dried-up blob of mayonnaise took a couple of goes before it was cleaned up.

Getting the bin to auto-empty at the Extra setting meant that it was fully emptied, with only the barest film of dust along the plastic sides still visible, which can be washed out if you prefer, but I found no need to do so. The self-washing of the mop pads is also fantastic. After nearly three months of using Dirt Vader, the mop pads didn't look too worse for wear.

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The brand-new mop pads under the Deebot T30 Omni... (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)Image 2 of 2

..and the same mop pads after three months of use (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

What I love even more than its ability to clean is how quietly it goes about its business of cleaning. Given I’ve regularly used it at its maximum suction, I’ve never really needed to increase the volume on my TV while it was doing its thing. And my TV is in the bedroom where it’s cleaning only carpets, so the suction is always on. Ecovacs says it hits a maximum sound level of 65dB, but that’s only when it’s auto-emptying. That’s still relatively quiet compared to other self-emptying models. While vacuuming at maximum suction, it’s only ever hit 57dB for me, measured using a smartphone app, so do take that number with a pinch of salt. Still, it’s one of the quieter robot vacuums I’ve tested.

• Performance score: 4.5 / 5

(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) Ecovacs Deebot T30 Omni review: Battery life

• Uses a 5,200mAh capacity lithium-ion battery
• Rated for up to 290 minutes on a single charge
• Can take up to 6.5 hours to top up an empty battery

Ecovacs has always endeavored to provide good battery life for its robot vacuums and, again, the T30 Omni delivers. Even with max suction and high water-flow rates set up for two mop-after-vacuum runs, Dirt Vader always had an average of 35% battery life still left after covering an area 74sqm. That isn’t bad at all.

It’s also intelligent enough to know how much battery it needs to finish an incomplete cleaning session if it does ever run out of power. This happened during one session, when I started my Deep Clean scenario (two vacuum sessions in the bedroom, plus two mop-after-vacuum runs in the rest of the apartment) when the battery was at 82% when it began. Instead of waiting till it was a full 100%, Dirt Vader charged till about 55% and finished the job it was meant to.

That meant I didn’t have to wait the full six hours for it to top up to 100%, which is how long Ecovacs says it can take the T30 Omni to fully charge up from empty. However, I can’t really vouch for that as I’ve not had an opportunity to see it fully drained after completing a cleaning run (even the one time mentioned above, where it charged just enough to finish an incomplete Scenario).

• Battery score: 5 / 5

(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) Should I buy the Ecovacs Deebot T30 Omni? Buy it if...

You want a relatively inexpensive all-in-one robot vacuum

I won’t call it ‘cheap’ but it’s definitely more affordable than some of its competitors. And given how well it balances its performance, features and price, I’d say this really is good value, especially when discounted.

You’re keen on getting room edges cleaned well

While the side brush helps a little to clean along the edges of a room, it’s the extendable mop pads that do the actual cleaning along skirting boards and furniture. And the software running the T30 Omni knows when it needs to do a full 360º too.

You want an all-in-one robot vacuum that can be hidden away

If you have the open under-counter space, the T30 Omni is short enough to be tucked away under your kitchen bench or island, or even under the bathroom sink – depending on how your home is set up. Your cabinets, of course, shouldn't be raised.

Don't buy it if...

You have wall-to-wall carpets that can get dirty quickly

Not only will the T30 Omni struggle to clean overly dirty carpets, it also won’t be good value as you won’t be taking advantage of its mopping capabilities.

You’re on a tight budget

While it might offer good value for money, the T30 Omni isn’t exactly cheap. If you want a more affordable option, you will have to consider foregoing some features that you'll find in most all-in-one models.

You don’t want any ongoing costs

All self-emptying robot vacuums will incur an ongoing cost of at least the dust bags, if nothing else. If that’s a deterrent, you could consider a self-emptying cordless vacuum cleaner like the Shark Cordless Detect Pro with Auto-empty System, which empties into a box rather than a dust bag, but then you will have to do the vacuuming yourself and it doesn’t come with a mop attachment.

Also consider

Eufy X10 Pro Omni

Currently sitting at the top of our best robot vacuum list, the Eufy X10 Pro Omni has 8,000Pa suction power and manages to deliver good vacuuming and mopping performance on hard floors. The app is intuitive, with good mapping and navigation too. However, the docking station is quite large.
Read our full Eufy X10 Pro Omni review

Dreame L40 Ultra/X40 Ultra

If you have the money to spare and want one of the best premium robot vacuums that can handle pretty much anything, then consider the top-of-the-range Dreame L40/X40 Ultra. The L model is available in the US and the UK, but the X is available in Australia. Both offer excellent suction and mopping capabilities, with plenty of smart features that make them the most hands-off robovacs we’ve tested. The app is arguably the biggest disappointment here and they’re both large too.
Read our full Dreame L40 Ultra review
Read our full Dreame X40 Ultra review

Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo

For a higher price than the Deebot T30 Omni, you can get an Ecovacs robot vacuum that also packs a handheld cordless unit alongside it. It’s arguably the epitome of an all-in-one, taking care of stairs, the quick clean-ups and the regular big jobs too thanks to that extra cordless vacuum. Housing the handheld unit, though, means the docking station has a larger footprint than most other robot vacuums.
Read our full Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo review

How I tested the Ecovacs Deebot T30 Omni

• Used in my own home for about three months
• Tried various settings and created different cleaning routines
• Scattered various common grains, powders and liquids to test cleaning

(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

While I've had the Ecovacs Deebot T30 Omni for a few months for testing, there was a period of 4 weeks where it was switched off from the mains while I was overseas. Unlike some other connected devices that may need repairing to your smartphone after such a long time of inactivity, the T30 Omni remained paired and started up as if it wasn't lying dormant at all.

During the three months of actual testing, I used the T30 Omni in my one-bedroom inner-city apartment at least once a week, trying out various permutations and combinations of vacuum and mop. Given I have a mix of both carpets (in the bedroom) and tiles (rest of the apartment), it was easy to test the T30 Omni's cleaning prowess. I scattered powders, grains and sauces on the floor to see how it performed, plus I made a note of dusty footprints on the living room floor that came from a rather dirty balcony.

I kept tabs on how well the mop pads were washed and dried after each clean, and checked the dust box inside the robot to ascertain the docking station's suction. Practically every feature of the robot vacuum was tested for this review, including the foot-touch start/pause function.

I have previously tested several other Ecovacs Deebot models, as well as robot vacuums from other brands, putting me in a great position to compare the T30 Omni's performance and features.

Read more about how we test

[First published February 2025]

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