Mammotion LUBA mini AWD 1500 Robot Lawn Mower with 4G for 0.37 Acre, All-Wheel-Drive for 80% Slope, No Perimeter Wire, UltraSense AI Vision+RTK Auto-Mapping, Cutting Height 0.8"-2.6"

Why it's worth it

A wire-free robot that maps your yard with LiDAR and cameras instead of a buried perimeter wire, so setup happens on your phone. All-wheel drive and 80% climbing ability make it the pick for terraced lots and steep banks that stop other robots cold.

You'll never bury a boundary wire. Older robots ask for a few hours on your knees, stapling wire around every bed, tree, and downspout before the thing will run. The Luba mini 2 uses a 360-degree LiDAR and two cameras instead, and you draw the boundaries from your phone. There's even a DropMow mode that skips mapping entirely: set it on the grass, press the button, and it works the area out as it goes.

Hills are its party trick. Two independent 88-watt drive motors give it all-wheel traction on grades up to 80%, and an adaptive suspension lets it step over roots, curbs, and the lip between lawn and patio. If your yard is terraced, or there's one bank by the driveway that you dread every week, this is the machine that deals with it.

From our review of 5 lawn mowers, by Genevieve Dubois, Home & Living Expert

What we like

• +You'll never bury a boundary wire
• +Hills are its party trick
• +It's quiet enough for a neighborhood with opinions
• +The app is where your setup time goes

What to know

• –It doesn't really mulch
• –Coverage tops out around 0.37 acres, so larger lots need a bigger model in the same family