Oto (2026) Smart Sprinkler Review: Solar powered and easy to use

Once configured, setup is similar to the Aiper and more expensive Irrigreen apps: you create a zone, then use the app to define its boundaries. Like the aforementioned systems, the Oto sprinkler is designed for precise watering, shooting water in a beam in one direction instead of a wide spray. However, the Oto’s jet is relatively narrow, hitting only one, defined spot, rather than producing a two-dimensional curtain of water like Irrigreen’s « water print » system. You get a nice overview of this as you set the boundaries of your yard.

Like its competitors, Oto lets you set each zone as a spot (for watering a single tree, perhaps), a line (for a flower bed), or a 2-D zone (for a yard). I tested all of these modes, but spent most of my time working with area zones, which are the most complex option. When defining an area zone, I found Oto’s system to be almost identical to Irrigreen’s and Aiper’s, albeit a bit slower to respond to commands. However, it is very easy to use: a simple interface allows you to place points around the sprinkler to define the boundaries of the area. When you make a full circle around the sprinkler, the area is complete.

Once configured, you can schedule each zone with numerous options for watering days (odd days, even days, select days of the week, every day) and specify a start time (although there is no time to tie to sunset or sunrise). Each schedule also gets a weekly watering limit (in inches deep), which you’ll then analyze for each week. Weather intelligence features let you choose to skip watering if your ZIP code receives measurable precipitation or if the wind is strong (both based on Internet reports); the user can set both the amount of rain and wind speed required to trigger a skip. The app logs the 20 most recent performances and includes a calendar detailing upcoming events.

When watering an area, Oto takes a new approach to covering the lawn, first moving in circular arcs directly around the sprinkler, then slowly increasing the range with each successive sweep. When finished, it does additional « cleanup » jobs to hit any areas that the initial watering arcs didn’t reach. The velocity is low enough and the water jet size is large enough that the resulting coating is stable. After trial runs, I found the yard to be very wet throughout the area, with no dry spots.

As with all sprinklers, changes in water pressure can cause areas to be accidentally over- or under-watered, but I’ve found this to be a minimal problem when using the Oto. However, when watering at the end of the Oto’s range, the force required to throw the water that far can result in a heavy spray, which can cause some soil erosion or damage to more sensitive plants.

Oto also has a « game mode » option that lets you use the sprinkler for a water game of chase, or a more random « splash tag » mode, aka « try to avoid getting hit by the water. » Pro tip: It’s impossible not to get hit.