Anthbot N8

What the tests say

The two independent tests available on the Anthbot N8, both German (home&smart, an overall 75/100 "Befriedigend" grade -- grade 3 on the German school scale of 1 to 6, where 1 is best and 6 worst, exactly the midpoint -- and Tristans Smartes Heim, tested in June 2026), agree on two positive points. First, collecting cut grass works well for both: no residue left on the lawn per home&smart, a "genuine advantage" on large lawns per Tristan. Second, detection of good-sized objects is reliable in both tests, which both specifically cite a garden hose being cleanly detected and avoided; swapping the cutting disc between collection and mulching is still a manual job (three screws) per home&smart, though, which likely explains why the app's mode selectors for it have no effect. On cutting quality the two tests diverge: Tristan traces lines he finds clean and orderly, while home&smart reports frequent disorientation on turns -- the cutting deck and blower shut off every time, sometimes skipping whole passes. Fitted with the bin or deflector, the machine becomes noticeably less at ease in small or tight gardens either way: home&smart measures it at nearly one meter/3.3 ft long (versus 610 mm/24 in for the bare chassis per the manufacturer) and sees it get stuck in narrow passages, while Tristan blames the same friction on the rear bin without giving a length figure. Everything else comes from a single tester at a time. home&smart, which gives the most quantified detail, reports 15 cm/6 in of grass left uncut in places along edges, a blower measured at close to 69 dB in collection mode -- consistent with the up to 68 dB the manufacturer itself states for that mode, versus 58 dB for plain mowing/mulching -- broken speed and mowing-direction settings in mulching mode, and collecting/sweeping/mulching selectors shown in the app with no real effect, only cutting height staying adjustable; it also reports detecting every object on its course, tennis balls (about 7 cm/2.75 in) and a garden hose included, a 100% rate that appears to contradict Tristan's finding that objects under 10 cm/4 in get missed, without either test settling which is right. On the plus side, it praises flawless automatic bin emptying at up to five app-defined points, plus a choice between automatic and manual mapping that worked without trouble during its test, in July. Tristan, whose test predates that by about a month, only describes manual joystick mapping that takes patience -- a difference that may reflect an app update between the two tests rather than a real disagreement -- and otherwise finds the mower generally solid on slopes; it also notes that collection mode needs the lawn already mowed under 7 cm/2.75 in. Bottom line: the N8 suits a large, open lawn with a heavy mowing load, with the leaf-collection use case still unproven since the only test that tried it didn't pick everything up; small, intricate gardens are a poor fit per both tests, while spotless edges and quiet operation are additional expectations home&smart alone advises against.