Expert’s Rating
Pros
- Excellent navigation and obstacle avoidance, day or night
- Automatically alternates its cutting direction
- Capable of handling very large yards
Cons
- Exhibits a tendency for unpredictable behavior on slopes
- No onboard rain sensor
Our Verdict
Segway’s all-new Navimow X350 robot lawn mower is a big step up from its earlier Navimow I- and H-series, which remain available. But the manufacturer still doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.
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Best Prices Today: Segway Navimow X350
Segway’s all-new Navimow X3 series of robot lawn mowers boasts enhanced navigation savvy and onboard AI. The Navimow X350 reviewed here is a big step up from the Navimow i110n mower I reviewed in 2024.
The Navimow i110n’s navigation was the best in its class at the time, and its cutting performance is fantastic. That said, I found the older mower—which will continue to be available for sale—to be underpowered, and it had an uncanny ability to find its way onto the street during my review period due to its poor cliff detection.
Segway has since improved its mowers’ obstruction and hazard detection with firmware updates, but software alone can’t make up for a shortage of power. The Navimow i110n is great for simple yards, but sloped and uneven yards will present it with all but insurmountable problems.
The Navimow X350’s ample 10-inch wheelbase and proprietary traction control system help it climb slopes that other mowers, including other Segway models, cannot.
The Navimow X3 series changes that equation with far more power. Segway sent us the next-to-the-top-of-the-line model X350, a 1.5-acre mower that retails for $3,499. The entry-level model Navimow X315 has a capacity of 0.5 acres and retails for $2,299, while the model X330 ($2,700) can handle 1.0 acre. The most expensive model, the X390, retails for $4,999 and has a maximum capacity of 2.5 acres.
Putting the price in perspective
The Segway Navimow X350’s cut quality as good, if not better, than that of the Navimow I- and H-series mowers.
Ed Oswald/Foundry
Segway’s X3 series of mowers isn’t the successor to its I-series; rather, it’s closer to the H series, which was Segway’s first line of robot mowers launched in Europe back in 2023. Pricing is similar to that line, although with far more capacity and a larger wheelbase.
While the X3 series is three times the price of the I series models, it’s just a few hundred dollars more than the H series, with much faster charging times. Depending on the model, the mower can be fully charged from a dead battery in just 60- to 90 minutes; that’s a third of the time it takes to charge H-series mowers.
There are also improvements in slope capabilities. Where the I series handles slopes up to 30 percent, the H series can tackle inclines up to 45 percent, the X3s series has a maximum slope ability of 50 percent combined with a traction control feature, which should make slope climbs a little less anxiety-inducing.
Navigation has also improved. Segway is sufficiently confident in its AI to enable assisted mapping, and the X3 series detects more than 50 additional obstructions compared to its previous models.
One thing that remains missing is all-wheel drive. The X3 doesn’t have that, but its ample wheelbase (10 inches); plus, a proprietary traction control system helps it climb slopes that others, including other Segway models, cannot.
Installation and setup
The Navimow X-series’ large pixel art-like display seemed like a gimmick at first, but I’ve since discovered how useful it can be.
Ed Oswald/Foundry
Most RTK/VSLAM-based mowers require a considerable amount of time to assemble the antenna and base station, as those components play a critical role. That’s not the case with the Navimow X350. While there are screws to ensure everything stays together, many parts simply snap into place, and it’s obvious which part goes with which. Thank you, Segway, for making each part a unique shape!
Even at 10:00 p.m. (my neighborhood experienced daytime temperatures of 95- to 100 degrees Fahrenheit during this review period), I was able to get everything running in just 30 minutes. In my experience, that’s an exceptionally fast setup time for an antenna-based mower.
Mapping should, of course, happen during daylight hours for optimal results. This experience has improved since our last test. With the Navimow i110n, the app controls at the time were far too sensitive, causing the mower to lurch in unexpected directions.
We did try the AI-assisted mowing, with mixed results. While it worked perfectly in mapping a boundary on a flat surface, on our sloped yard, it didn’t detect that the slope was far too steep for the mower, causing it to get stuck. We’d recommend using this only in situations where the entire section of yard you’re mowing is generally flat and free of significant obstructions.
Performance
The Navimow X350 doesn’t waste time mowing your yard. At the standard mowing setting, the mower (at least to me) appeared to move significantly faster across the grass than others I’ve tested.
The mower’s large 10-inch cutting radius (two inches wider than the I series, and one inch wider than the H series), delivers a quicker mow without any sacrifice in cut quality that I could see. Robot mowers are notoriously slow and methodical, so this is a welcome improvement. Segway’s latest navigation platform can detect and identify obstructions more quickly than previous versions, thereby enabling it to operate more efficiently.
The Navimow X350’s large wheels give it a little more slope capability than your average rear-wheel drive robot mower.
Ed Oswald/Foundry
The X3 series alternates the direction of cut to prevent tire tracks from appearing in your yard, just as previous models do. Over time, it also optimizes the map it creates, making note of new obstructions and ensuring each section is mowed in the most efficient way possible.
You’ll notice this in how the mower behaves. During the first few mowing sessions, you might see the mower stop in its tracks occasionally in the middle of the yard. While it might seem like something’s wrong, it’s taking measurements and making observations of its surroundings.
The next time it’s in that area, the mower should operate more smoothly, since it now has better data to by—and it did, in all but the most challenging situations. Its nighttime mowing capabilities were just as impressive as those of the Navimow i110n, which also performed well in low-light conditions.
The mower lacks a rain sensor, which allowed it to continue operating even during a heavy thunderstorm. Instead, Segway provides this data via the cloud, which is a disappointment for a mower in this price range.
The X350 is extremely quiet –it’s one of the quietest mowers I’ve tested to date. You can mow in the middle of the night without anyone knowing, although the large Cybertruck-like headlight in front and the large LCD display on the top of the mower will give away its location in the dark.
Unfortunately, the Navimow X350’s large size made it difficult to find a path down to the lower parts of my yard without the robot drifting down slopes. Many rear-wheel drive mowers have gotten stuck here, so it’s definitely not the first to exhibit this foible.
Ed Oswald/Foundry
The display, which I initially thought was completely unnecessary, has grown on me over time. The screen resembles a pixel art display, featuring animated icons that indicate the mower’s current status.
While charging, it displays a plug with the current battery charge level. During firmware updates, an animated cloud indicates that the robot is updating. While it mows, a progress bar appears on the top of the mower. And if an error occurs, the error code is displayed here.
Now for the bad news. The mower’s large size makes it somewhat difficult to maneuver through tight spots, and to keep it moving in a straight line on any kind of slope. I had to try several different paths to get it to the lower sections of my yard, as the mower would slide down the hill unexpectedly.
Segway’s traction control works remarkably well when the mower is traveling perpendicular to a slope, but it does not provide much assistance when the mower travels parallel to it. Gravity takes over, and the front end slides down the hill, taking the mower with it.
We have a small path that mowers must traverse to get to the lower parts of our yard. The X350 was too big for this path, and we couldn’t find a route that the X350 could take without encountering trouble.
It was one of the few issues we encountered with this mower, and our yard is especially challenging, with only a few of the mowers we’ve tested able to handle the slopes; all of these have been all-wheel-drive models.
The Segway app
I won’t write a full review of Segway’s app here. I didn’t spot many differences between this version and the one I used when I wrote my Navimow i110n review last year. Most of the changes are specific to the Navimow X3, which I’ve discussed throughout the rest of this review.
Should you buy the Segway Navimow X350?
Segway has stepped up its robot lawn mower game in nearly every way, from its AI-assisted mapping and improved controls to significant upgrades in obstacle avoidance. The absence of all-wheel-drive, however, is a bummer. The mower’s traction control system helps, but only when the robot is traveling directly up or down a slope, not while traversing it.
But don’t let that dissuade you from buying an X3-series robot lawn mower—unless your yard has significant inclines or is oddly shaped. The $2,799 Navimow X350 is a strong value for yards up to 1.5 acres; and for less than $5,000, you can get the Navimow S390 for yards up to 2.5 acres. Few robot mowers off that kind of capacity, and they all cost significantly more.
This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart robot lawn mowers.
