I have a HE machine. It does look odd not having an agitator, but haven’t used it enough to assess how well it cleans. Couldn’t find the right soap for it at the store, though, and ended up getting from Amazon. They say whatever you do, never used regular soap in one.
we have an LG washer and dryer, no agitator either.
I am on my 2nd front load HE machine and always use regular detergent in it. I have never bought HE detergent.
I just bought all new appliances and replaced the washer and dryer simply so everything would match. It still worked fine.