And for even more efficiency, Roomba runs for up to 90 minutes before automatically docking and recharging. We didn’t expect to love the affordable Shark AI Ultra 2-in-1 as much as we did, but this hybrid vacuum outperforms other robot vacuums in key ways. First, this two-in-one is the rare robot vacuum that’s equally good at mopping and vacuuming. Instead of simply using water and a mop pad to clean your floors, the AI Ultra uses a Shark cleaning solution and sonic scrubbing, and as a result, it offers a deeper clean than similarly-priced robot vacuums. First introduced in 2022, the new Q series from Roborock features improved suction compared to the previous generation.
It works better on hard floors compared to carpets, but even on carpets the performance was decent, scoring an average of just over 90. It also has niceties such as multi-floor mapping, no-go zones, and scheduling. If you’re looking for a robot vacuum that can also mop, the Roborock S7 is worth a look. IRobot’s Roomba s9+ is one of the smartest and most thorough robot vacuums we’ve tested, which is why for us, it’s the best robot vacuum overall. It has advanced mapping, so it can record and remember a blueprint of multiple floors of your house after just a few trips; you can then specify individual rooms, and tell the s9+ to clean specific rooms on specific days. We suggest scheduling it for when you’re out of the house, as this is admittedly a noisy robot vacuum, particularly on hardwood floors.
Unlike most hybrid vacuums and mops, the S7+ uses sonic mopping and cleaning solution to keep your floors squeaky clean, while the powerful suction lifts up pet hair, debris and dust. Thanks to its HEPA-quality filters and self-emptying, it’s also the best robot vacuum for people with allergies who want to avoid dust in the air. We’ve spent no end of days testing robot vacuum cleaners to see which models offer the best performance of the bunch. Each robot vacuum cleaner had to collect measured amounts of kitty litter, Cheerios and pet hair from hard floors as well as carpet, to see how it handled varying sizes of debris. After that, we considered the accessibility of the design, the overall ease of use and, of course, the effectiveness of the navigation. If the robot vacuum came with a mopping function, we trialed that too, checking the quality of the performance on our hardwood floors.
Of the three, we’ve tested only the AI+, and we wouldn’t recommend it based on its cleaning abilities. We’re confident that the Shark model and the lower-end Samsung bot will work similarly to all the other laser-nav robots described in the previous few paragraphs. Their “everyday” prices are a bit high, but we’ve seen some pretty good deals on the version of the Shark that comes with a self-emptying dock. Since we know that irobot vacuum cleaner laser-nav bots are all fairly similar to one another, this Shark model could be a good choice if you see it on sale. As for cleaning, we’ve found over and over again that basic Eufy bots are capable of picking up all the most common types of debris off bare floors and low-pile rugs. It’s actually kind of surprising how effective they are, since the advertised suction is so modest, and the single brush roll is small.
In our testing, we found that laser mapping was slightly more effective overall (the j7+ needs good lighting to navigate), but the ability to review pictures of obstacles in the app is pretty nifty. And for pet owners, the j7+ can proactively identify pet waste to avoid vacuuming over dog poo and making a bad situation so much worse. IRobot will even replace your Roomba if it fails to avoid pet waste, a common issue with robot vacuums, which seem unable to identify pet poop and tend to run right through it. At 0.6 liters, this Roomba doesn’t have a particularly large canister, so it’s better suited for smaller homes or quick cleanup jobs. It also doesn’t have extra fancy features like object avoidance or a self-emptying canister. However, for the price, it’s an excellent pick for anyone who craves the convenience of a robot vacuum without the hefty price tag.
“This vacuum is a lifesaver in sucking up dog hair, especially under the bed where it’s hard to reach with a traditional vacuum,” our long-term tester said. The Roomba 694 uses WiFi connectivity and an easy-to-use app on your phone to complete cleaning jobs. You’ll be able to name your vacuum, start a timed cleaning job, locate the vacuum, and tell it to return to the charging station from within the app, allowing you to run the vacuum irobot vacuum cleaner even when you aren’t at home. Our top choice is the iRobot Roomba 694, which sucks up debris on hardwood floors, carpets, and tile alike. Only the j7+ Roomba works with the company’s subscription service, iRobot Select. It self-empties, can map your home, and pairs with voice assistants.The iRobot Select add-on automatically sends you a refresh of supplies, makes it seamless to swap out bags, filters, and brushes when needed.
These bins and filters work together to form the efficient dirt storage that has come to define iRobot’s product. While the images shared with us did not come from iRobot customers, consumers regularly consent to having our data monitored to varying degrees on devices ranging from iPhones to washing machines. It’s a practice that has only grown more common over the past decade, as data-hungry artificial intelligence has been increasingly integrated into a whole new array of products and services. Much of this technology is based on machine learning, a technique that uses large troves of data—including our voices, faces, homes, and other personal information—to train algorithms to recognize patterns. The most useful data sets are the most realistic, making data sourced from real environments, like homes, especially valuable. Often, we opt in simply by using the product, as noted in privacy policies with vague language that gives companies broad discretion in how they disseminate and analyze consumer information.