EBO Max
3 independent reviewsRead the findings →Enabot's mid-range rolling family robot, with a sharp camera and a chatty assistant. It's good for checking on pets or relatives while you're out. It can't climb stairs, though, and sometimes misses its dock.
Updated
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Where it sits in Enabot’s range
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What reviewers found
Three reviewers lived with EBO Max. Android Central tested it with a cat, The Irish Times in a family home with children and a cat, and Irish Examiner with a dog on the ground floor of his home. All three liked the sharp camera, patrols and remote check-ins, and all three found faults: the assistant can lag or glitch, it can't climb stairs, and two had docking trouble. Android Central and The Irish Times both gave it 4 out of 5. They disagree on how natural it feels to talk to.
Android Central, hands-on, Jul 2026 · The Irish Times, hands-on, Jun 2026 · Irish Examiner, hands-on, Jul 2026
What it really does
Mixed resultsRemote check-ins and patrols work: The Irish Times used patrols while on holiday and Irish Examiner's staged fall set off an alert. But it stays on one floor, and the AI assistant lagged or hung for Android Central and Irish Examiner.
Staying engaging
Mixed resultsThe Irish Times's children went from finding it creepy to chatting with it face to face, though the novelty of its call button wore off. Irish Examiner wondered whether it's essential once the novelty goes, while Android Central expects it to get more useful as it learns.
Who it suits
Mixed resultsPets react differently: Android Central's cat cuddled it straight away, while The Irish Times's cat hated being chased in pet mode. Irish Examiner sees fall detection as useful for families with older relatives, but homes with stairs need a second robot.
App, subscription and running costs
Reviewers rate it highlyAndroid Central found the app well laid out, with a helpful walkthrough and smooth remote control, and Irish Examiner mapped his ground floor in about 15 minutes. Cloud storage is optional, and The Irish Times didn't need it day to day.
Privacy
Mixed resultsThe Irish Times notes that face data stays on the robot and its memory can be cleared, but found its watching eyes unsettling. Android Central calls the lack of a physical camera shutter or microphone switch an oversight.
Build quality and battery life
Mixed resultsIts self-righting shape survived being carried onto a slide and windowsills in The Irish Times's home. But Irish Examiner found patrols drain the battery quickly, The Irish Times found it stranded off its dock with a dying battery, and Android Central saw it run hot.
Support and longevity
Not enough evidenceOnly Android Central commented, saying Enabot is good with updates and delivered one at setup. No other review we use judged support or long-term use.
Value
Mixed resultsAndroid Central calls it a bargain next to Enabot's pricier EBO X. The Irish Times found it a fun but pricey security toy and an expensive addition to home security.
Verdicts come from independent, hands-on, finished reviews. An area needs at least two of them before we say more than “Not enough evidence”. We don't score robots ourselves. How this works
Handy for checking in while away
Before a family holiday, The Irish Times set up patrol routes and used them to check nothing had been left on and nothing was moving. Irish Examiner scheduled patrols and pet-tracking sessions, video-called through the robot to reach someone who'd left their phone in the car, and found scheduled reminders worked well. When he faked a fall, the robot came over and sent an emergency alert to his phone. That one staged test is encouraging, but it doesn't prove it'll catch every fall.
Stuck on one floor
It stays on one floor. The Irish Times and Irish Examiner both say it can't tackle stairs, so covering upstairs means buying a second robot. Irish Examiner also had to fit ramps over the saddle boards between rooms because it struggled to cross them, and points out that a camera at floor level can't see anything high up. Enabot quotes a 12mm limit for bumps the specifications, so check your door thresholds before you buy.
Docking isn't foolproof
The Irish Times often found it stranded away from the dock with a dwindling battery, even though the dock hadn't moved. For Irish Examiner, the light dock got knocked out of line during docking until he pushed it firmly against a wall, and after that it docked every evening. He also needed about two metres of clear space around the dock. Android Central describes it going back to charge on its own and reports no trouble.
Clever assistant, patchy delivery
It answers questions, sets reminders, follows commands and remembers family members. Irish Examiner found it described objects accurately, but it lagged in longer chats, needed near silence to hear him and ignored him when two people spoke at once. Android Central saw it run hot and hang when asked several questions together. The Irish Times found some interactions less than natural, and was startled when it howled like a wolf while she was home alone. Treat the assistant as a bonus.
Privacy depends on what you share
The more you tell it, the more useful it gets, The Irish Times notes, and you can switch off and clear its memory. She read Enabot's privacy pledge, which says face data stays on the robot, not in the cloud. There's no physical camera shutter or microphone switch, which Android Central calls an oversight; scheduled do-not-disturb hours are the workaround. Recordings go to built-in storage or a memory card, and cloud storage is an optional subscription the specifications.
Pets: fans and sceptics
Android Central's cat sniffed the robot and then started cuddling it straight away, and the reviewer enjoyed queuing up cat and dog sounds and dance moves. The Irish Times's cat was less keen. In pet mode the robot chases any animal it spots, copying animal noises and filming, though that did help her find where the cat was hiding. Irish Examiner found tracking his dog near the dock worked well. Introduce it to your pets slowly.
All three reviews cover EBO Max itself. Android Central and The Irish Times gave it 4 out of 5, and the Irish Examiner didn't score it.
Our take
Should you buy the EBO Max?
Best for: Families wanting a moving camera for check-ins and video calls. Skip it if: Stairs, thick rugs or raised thresholds separate the rooms you want to reach.
buy it if you want a camera that moves between downstairs rooms to check on a pet or an older relative, and you like a robot with some personality. If you want a physical privacy shutter or smart-home control, the pricier EBO X has both.
EBO Max is a ball-shaped robot on rubber tracks that trundles round one floor of your home. You drive it from your phone to check on pets or relatives, let it patrol on a schedule and send alerts, or ask it questions after saying 'EBO EBO'. It maps the house, finds its own dock and recognises registered faces. It sits below the EBO X, which adds Alexa and physical privacy switches.
Three reviewers lived with it, and all three liked the sharp camera, the patrols and the remote check-ins. The Irish Times used patrols to check the house during a holiday, and when Irish Examiner faked a fall the robot came over and sent an alert to his phone. The faults are shared too. Android Central and Irish Examiner found the assistant lagged or hung, The Irish Times often found it stranded off its dock with a dying battery, and it can't climb stairs, so a two-storey home needs a second robot. There's no physical camera shutter, which Android Central calls an oversight. Pets differ: Android Central's cat cuddled it straight away, while The Irish Times's cat hated being chased in pet mode.
Before you buy
The questions people ask about this one
Does it need a subscription to keep working?
No. Recordings save to built-in storage, with about 47GB usable, and to the 32GB memory card in the box; Enabot sells cloud storage as an optional subscription the specifications. The Irish Times says you don't need the cloud service day to day, only if you want to reach stored footage while the robot is switched off.
What does it record, and where does that go?
It has a 4K camera and four microphones, can record patrols and events, and learns up to ten faces and one voice the specifications. Footage stays on the robot unless you pay for cloud storage. The Irish Times says Enabot's privacy pledge keeps face data on the robot, and you can clear its memory. As Android Central points out, there's no physical shutter.
Can it get around my whole home?
Only one floor of it. The Irish Times and Irish Examiner both found it can't climb stairs. Enabot rates it for bumps up to 12mm the specifications, but Irish Examiner still needed ramps over the saddle boards between rooms. Raised thresholds, or a dock without clear space around it, will cause trouble.
How long does the battery last?
Enabot claims 4–6 hours on standby or recording and up to 3 hours of continuous driving, with 3–4 hours to recharge the specifications. Irish Examiner found frequent patrols and bright eyes drain it much faster than sitting idle. It heads back to its dock when low, but The Irish Times sometimes found it stranded with a dying battery.
Is it suitable for young children?
Enabot's page gives no age guidance the specifications. In The Irish Times's house, the children found it a bit creepy at first, then chatted to it face to face and kept pressing its call button until the novelty wore off. They also carried it onto a slide and windowsills. Irish Examiner says its self-righting shape copes with bumps from children and pets.
Alternatives
Other companion robots to compare.
EBO X
Why consider it: Enabot's flagship, with a stabilised 4K camera, Alexa support and physical privacy switches.
The compromise: An early review struggled with its software, and it costs more.
Astro
Why consider it: A bigger mobile home robot with Alexa built in, which CNET found personable and good at getting around once set up.
The compromise: Its testers wondered how useful it really was, and the first attempts to map the home were a struggle.
ROLA Mini
Why consider it: A small tracked pet camera you drive around to peer into spots a fixed camera misses.
The compromise: Floor obstacles and how your pet takes to it are the practical limits.
Specs
Full specifications
Each specification names its source. Manufacturer claims are not independent test results; unconfirmed figures are labelled.
Owner reviews
Do you own the EBO Max?
Tell people how it’s held up: cleaning, maintenance, faults and support. Owner accounts are shown separately from independent reviews.
Sources
Where this page’s findings come from
Editorial reviews
- Android Central: EBO Max review: The AI-powered family robot that gets smarter over time (and my cat adores) ↗4 / 5Hands-on
- The Irish Times: Enabot Ebo Max review: part companion, part security guard for your home ↗4 / 5Hands-on
- Irish Examiner: Enabot EBO Max review: Is this AI companion robot the future of smart home security? ↗Hands-on
Sources
- Enabot: EBO Max product page ↗Manufacturer
- Enabot Store: EBO Max FamilyBot specifications ↗Manufacturer
Videos
- NoodleNick: This Robot Is Actually Really Cool - Enabot EBO Max Review ↗
- TechMagnet: Enabot EBO Max Review – Your Future Robotic Family Member? ↗
- Search YouTube for Enabot EBO Max ↗Search results may include company demonstrations or similar models. Check the source and model name; a demonstration is not an independent performance test.