Technologies

New Ecovacs Cleaning Bot Uses Water Jets to Blast Stains Away

The Deebot X12 OmniCyclone uses pressurized water sprayers to pretreat dried-on stains and to clean its roller mop scrubber.

Mopping up dried-on coffee spills and muddy footprints takes a little elbow grease. Ecovacs’ new Deebot X12 OmniCyclone robot vacuum doesn’t have elbows, so it substitutes firepower, blasting stubborn dried-on floor stains away with pressurized water jets before making its mopping pass.

The Deebot X12 OmniCyclone is, naturally, the successor to Ecovacs’ Deebot X11 OmniCyclone flagship robot vacuum and mop. The new model features boosted suction that’s now 22,000 Pa versus the X11’s 19,500 — suction power is measured in Pascals — and a 50% longer mopping roller that lets it cover more floor with each pass. Ecovacs also says that it’s updated the X12’s hardware and software to allow the robot to clean closer to walls and baseboards, reach deeper into corners and better pick up hair without tangling. However, the coolest new party trick is the addition of high-pressure water jets.

Ecovacs calls the new feature its FocusJet Stain Pre-Dissolving Technology. When mopping hard surfaces, the robot uses cameras and infrared sensors to detect dried-on messes — such as coffee stains, dried juice, mud and footprints. Upon approaching, dual 46,000 Pa water jets blast the stain, soaking and pretreating the mess. The vac then scrubs the softened mess with its updated Ozmo Roller Mop 3.0, lifting the dirt away.

The X12 also uses an array of 16 pressurized nozzles to rinse the mop roller, preventing dirt from spreading. When it’s time to transition to carpet cleaning, the X12 can lift its mop 15mm and deploy a new Mop Roller Smart Cover to prevent dripping.

Backing up the water-blasting brawn are upgraded brains. The X12 should boast smarter AI-powered navigation that Ecovacs says will allow the cleaner to get closer to fixed obstacles, like furniture or walls, while steering clearer of pets, toys and loose wires. The robot vacuum will also feature version 2.0 of Ecovacs’ Agent Yiko AI voice assistant, which can guide you through setup and intelligent scheduling, as well as suggesting adaptive cleaning plans that adjust based on a home’s floor plan and the vac’s detection of high-use, extra-dirty areas.

The X12 OmniCyclone will ship with the latest version of Ecovacs’ Omni Station, where the robot vacuum can automatically empty its dust bins, wash its mop roller and refill its water reserves. The new flagship base station adds a new fast-charging feature (PowerBoost Charging Plus), which can quickly add around 13% charge to the battery in just 3 minutes, allowing the bot to finish up longer cleaning missions with just a quick top-up.

Despite its hardware and software upgrades and the addition of water-powered blasters, the Ecovacs Deebot X12 OmniCyclone’s price hasn’t gone up. The robot vacuum retails for $1,499 at Ecovacs.com and on Amazon.

Technologies

SharkNinja’s New $499 Vacuum Flexes Under Furniture and Can Auto-Empty

The vacuum bends around furniture, and SharkNinja says its dock can hold debris for 45 days.

SharkNinja unveiled a new vacuum on Tuesday that has the ability to flex underneath furniture, along with an auto-empty dock. The $499 Shark PowerDetect Speed Clean and Empty System is lightweight and can store dust and debris for up to 45 days before you have to empty it.

The stick vacuum’s flexible headline feature, which SharkNinja refers to as MultiFlex Technology, appears in photos like a bendable straw to clean in tight spaces. The vacuum can also adjust its suction based on the surface it’s on, including boosting power when carpet and dirt are detected. Its intelligence system can also detect edges and use higher suction along walls and corners.

The inclusion of this vacuum’s auto-emptying dock could make it a particularly good value: CNET Home editor and vacuum expert Ajay Kumar told me that self-emptying stations are a big quality-of-life feature for cordless vacuums, allowing for quick cleanup while the vacuum charges.

While Kumar said that we will need to test this vacuum, Shark’s $500 Stratos vacuum was one of the top cordless vacuums he’s seen recently, even though it doesn’t self-empty. The addition of that feature for the same price makes it a promising upgrade for those looking to replace their vacuum.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for April 15, #1039

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for April 15, No. 1,039.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

I found today’s NYT Connections puzzle a bit tough. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Pomp and circumstance.

Green group hint: What a bore.

Blue group hint: Too easy.

Purple group hint: Checkmate!

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Graduation gear.

Green group: Tedious undertaking.

Blue group: Oversimplistic.

Purple group: Shapes of chess pieces.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is graduation gear. The four answers are cap, diploma, gown and tassel.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is tedious undertaking. The four answers are chore, grind, hassle and trial.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is oversimplistic. The four answers are facile, clip, shallow and trite.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is shapes of chess pieces. The four answers are castle, crown, horse and miter.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for April 15 #773

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for April 15, No. 773.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a fun one. Some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Gift of the month.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: September is sapphire.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

POST, POET, POETS, TONED, NAPE, STONE, STONED, TONE

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers: