Dreame A2 3000 — Garden & Outdoor

Setting up the A2 3000 was remarkably simple. No boundary wire to bury, no RTK base station to install. The 360 degree 3D LiDAR maps the entire garden in a single pass and the dual fusion mapping automatically defines the mowing boundaries. My 2,500 sq m lawn is mowed to perfection. The 4G Dreame Link module lets me track it via Google Maps from anywhere, and three years of free data is a generous inclusion.

Before the A2 3000, I spent every Sunday afternoon with the strimmer doing edges after the robot finished. The EdgeMaster system gets within 5 cm of walls and borders, which means I barely need to touch the strimmer at all now. The OmniSense 2.0 LiDAR is incredibly precise and the robot never clips my flower beds. At under 55 dB, it is quieter than my dishwasher. Absolutely worth every penny.

The A2 3000 is technically outstanding. The 3D LiDAR mapping is centimetre-accurate and the AI obstacle avoidance detects hedgehogs, hoses and garden toys with ease. The 4G module means it works even when my Wi-Fi signal does not reach the far end of the garden. EdgeMaster leaves less than 5 cm at the edges, the best result I have seen on any robot mower. Knocking one star off because the DreameHome app can be sluggish when loading mowing maps.

Beyond mowing, the 1080p HDR AI camera on the A2 3000 doubles as a garden security feature. I have set up evening surveillance patrols and I receive alerts if it detects unusual activity. Image quality is decent for a mower camera. Mowing performance is excellent on our 1,800 sq m garden. Slopes up to 20 degrees are handled without hesitation. The sub-55 dB noise level means we never hear it from indoors.

The A2 3000 is a very capable robot mower for large gardens. The OmniSense 2.0 LiDAR works well and the wire-free setup is a significant improvement over older models. The EdgeMaster delivers great results on straight borders. However, in my garden with many narrow passages between trees and hedge arches, the mapping takes multiple sessions to optimise. The 4G module is handy but adds to the overall cost. For open, straightforward gardens, this is outstanding.