Can DJI Become a Top Three Robot Vacuum Brand?

At the industry meetup on August 9th, as a top KOL leveraging industry buzz, I immediately included DJI in our discussion topics.

Firstly, I added DJI's logo to the future world of cleaning appliances brands, making it appear that I had great foresight.

Then, during the roundtable discussion, I posed an impactful question to three guests:

"Can DJI's robot vacuum become a top-three player within five years?"

After in-depth discussions, everyone agreed that becoming a top-three player for DJI's robot vacuum would be extremely challenging.

Firstly, let’s look at the current top-five players in the robot vacuum market: Roborock, Ecovacs, Dreame, Narwal, and iLife. If DJI wants to become a top-three player, which three companies will it need to displace?

The Shenzhen industry partners have already received the devices for testing, and initial feedback highlights several issues:

1. Weak threshold-crossing capability. Often gets stuck at thresholds on Xiaohongshu, unable to proceed or retreat. The official explanation is that it should be able to cross thresholds no higher than 2.5 cm. It seems they anticipated problems here, as the official store offers optional threshold-crossing accessories.

1. Some friends reported that during large-scale cleaning tests with ROMO, there were issues with map loss and difficulty finding the charging station. This is uncertain whether it’s an isolated incident or a widespread problem.

1. Some stains on the floor are not being cleaned effectively, and there have been reports of leakage. It's unclear if this is an isolated issue or a common occurrence.

1. DJI ROMO can detect pet feces but has long side brushes that still pick up pet waste. This will likely require software updates to increase the distance between detection and pickup.

1. There are numerous unrefined aspects in the app interface.

These are the initial evaluations from the first batch of tests. Once the first wave of real users receive their devices, a large number of genuine user reviews will emerge.

Based on current information, we can analyze whether DJI can become a top-three player in the future:

1. First, some issues like map loss and app functionality are software-related problems that can be resolved through subsequent over-the-air (OTA) updates. If DJI addresses these within a month, it should not pose significant challenges.

1. Leakage issues seem to be isolated cases as there have been no particularly negative reviews on Xiaohongshu.

1. Threshold-crossing is an early design issue; users who are concerned might opt out due to the need for threshold accessories.

1. Currently, most online orders choose the fully transparent ROMO P version, which costs over $6000. Changing a few plastic molds to achieve this price point seems somewhat exploitative. If the transparent version’s price were reduced to match the white ROMO S model, user reviews might be more positive.

Overall, if another company had produced this product, it would indeed have been a good one. However, as a DJI product, there are unrealistic expectations from users.

Previously, any product from DJI was automatically assumed to be top-tier. The release of ROMO shattered that perception; from a product standpoint, it might only rank in the Top 10. Since the release of ROMO, many people no longer view DJI as a myth and can now more realistically evaluate its products.

Previously, some often said that if DJI entered other industries, it would perform a 'vertical strike' on those sectors. In reality, compared to other companies, DJI’s investment in this project and talent pool are significantly smaller, and the gap is widening.

Robot vacuum cleaning is just one of DJI's projects; for industry giants, however, it is their lifeline. The disparity between the two teams’ morale is substantial. Considering all factors, it seems unlikely that DJI will become a top-three player in this market.

The only potential turning point might be DJI CEO Wang Tao’s level of commitment to this project—whether he views it as an ordinary product or something he must secure?

A key milestone could be the Double Eleven event. If sales are good, Wang Tao is likely to increase investment. Conversely, if sales are poor, self-elimination is a possibility.

But will other competitors sit idly by while DJI rises?