It’s quick to map out the home and easy to create no-go zones or select specific rooms to clean. This model also comes with a self-emptying base, which makes it low maintenance, but it is just as noisy as other vacuums when it empties. In terms of cleaning, it’s very careful to navigate shark cordless its way around furniture, but the overall pickup could be better, particularly on pet hair. It’s not a cheap investment either, but it’s good-looking and we can’t complain about the range of features. The Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra will certainly make a statement in any home.
Still, you’re paying for the added convenience of not having to do the vacuuming yourself and worry about how often you should vacuum. Robot vacuums are an excellent solution for busy people who don’t have time to put the vacuum around. Still, they offer a good alternative for those with mobility issues because all you need to do is switch them on. We rate each robot vacuum on how easy it was to empty, how loud it was in use, and how long the battery lasted between charges. The Ecovas Deebot X1 Omni is a mop and vacuum in one, but rather than slosh water over your hard floors, it can also scrub them.
They include an automatic mode for general cleanup tasks, a scheduled mode that allows you to program cleaning cycles for specific times, and a turbo mode for those tougher tasks. There are also different options available to clean a specific spot or area, but as mention these vary between vacuums. Some customers weren’t happy about the lack of mobile app or voice controls, although the omission of these features is common at this price. There were also several that weren’t happy with the relatively short battery life and how often it needs to be recharged. While the scheduling feature is nice, setting it up is akin to texting on a flip-phone with repetitive button pushing.
Other basic Eufy models have slightly stronger suction and can be a couple decibels louder, but they are still quieter than most competitors. The main thing that makes the Roomba 600 series stand out from other affordable robot vacuums is that it’s more durable and easier to repair . They generally don’t break, spare parts are always in stock, and you can swap in everything from a new filter to a new transmission with nothing more than a screwdriver. You’ll usually pay more for the Roomba 694 than you would for our other budget pick, the Eufy 11S, or other super-cheap bots with random navigation. But the Roomba can easily pay off in the long run because it’ll last longer. If you only need to vacuum a few rooms at a time, and you’re looking to save a few bucks, consider the Roomba 694, or really any model from the 600 series.
We’re more uneasy about what companies may do with collected information in the future, like selling it to third parties. The makers of our current picks don’t sell data for now, but privacy policies are always changing. Otherwise, our main concern is that the little amount of sensitive data on a vacuum, like your Wi-Fi network password, is stored securely (if it’s stored online at all), in case there are data leaks or breaches in the future.
We test each model on both carpet and hardwood floors, assessing how well it picks up everyday debris, such as pet hair, kitty litter and Cheerios. Design is another important factor — we take into account the overall ease of use and effectiveness of the app. We found the robot vacuum became stuck a few times and repeatedly banged into pet food bowls, as it doesn’t have the same level of sensors as found on Ecovac’s more expensive models. However, it’s a good buy for large homes with plenty of hard floors and, thanks to app control and voice integration, busy families, too. We found it sucked up fine dust and larger debris on hard floors on the lowest power setting but required the highest suction setting to remove the most visible traces of flour from medium pile carpets. As with other Roomba vacuums on this list, the dust pick-up on the carpet and hard floors were excellent.
The design is compact with some welcome aesthetic touches, such as ribbed matte black plastic casing and a leather pull tab to access the bin area, so it doesn’t look too alien in your home. While there are a few models capable of tackling thick carpeting, some are better than others. We readily recommend shark cordless the iRobot Roomba s9+, which excels at cleaning even deep carpeting. Some customers with pets that tend to shed heavily found that the suction nozzle easily clogged with hair which ultimately inhibited performance. Some also wished it had less of a random pattern and better cleaning coverage.
More advanced models require you to set up a map and define the zones of your house you’ll want them to clean or stay away from, and even the best vacuum can get stuck and need human intervention. If you’re pressed for time or have a pet who sheds, a good robot vacuum is a worthwhile investment. Like the Eufy 11s, this vacuum uses random, or bump and run navigation, so while it does take time to clean the house, it covers every room.
The Roborock couldn’t match the Roomba S9 Plus’ impressive ability to clean up pet hair, but it fared better than most. The S7 wiped hardwood floors completely free of hair and left only a few stray tufts on carpeting. On hardwood floors this Roomba picked up an average of 93% of our test sand, the second-highest amount in our test group.
The first robot vacuum that ranked high in our testing has standard features such as iRobot’s three-stage cleaning system and dirt detector sensors paired with advanced suction power and smart navigation. Compared with earlier models, such as the 600 series, the i7+ has 10 times the suction power and it can hold up to 60 days’ worth of contents. Once it’s empty and charged, it will head out to clean some more until the job is done.