Some cheap, dead-simple bots are especially nimble, while certain high-end models struggle constantly. But for the most part, modern robots are pretty good at navigation, and many models now give you the option to draw invisible boundaries around problematic irobot vacuum cleaner areas using a smartphone app. We will also continue to monitor reports and how and why robot vacs are using your data, but when it comes to object-recognition robots, we just don’t think they are worth your time, money, and possible privacy tradeoffs—yet.
When it comes to cleaning performance, the Roborock S7+ did a great job sucking up dirt around my home. This isn’t the robot vacuum to get if you want the most polished experience – and you may very well want that if you’re dropping $1,000 on one – but it remains a powerful vac-and-mop machine with a handful of extra perks. Wyze is known for selling good-enough and implausibly affordable smart-home gear such as security cameras, locks, and thermostats, in addition to the laser-nav Wyze Robot Vacuum. It has consistently been one of the lowest-priced models of its ilk (around $100 cheaper than the Roborock Q5). We tested one, and it worked a lot like all the other laser-nav models. The robot itself felt relatively flimsy, but we have no clue what to expect in terms of durability, and our analysis of owner reviews didn’t turn up any unusual complaints.
We found that the Q5 could clean our downstairs living space in half the time the Roomba i3 EVO took—although the i3 EVO did a more thorough job. The bigger your home, the more valuable that speed may be, as long as you’re willing to trade some cleaning performance. The Roborock app offers the most accurate smart mapping of any robot vac we tested. To test the obstacle-recognition feature on some new high-end robots, we use a variety of objects, including shoes, pet bowls, cat toys, and cords. We’ve even put a fake dog turd in the path of a robot vac to see if it can avoid smearing the mess all over the floor. An article in the MIT Technology Review revealed that images captured by a camera-enabled iRobot vacuum were leaked publicly by a third-party data company.
The top-end Braava m6 provides more adjustments, custom mapping and can even integrate with certain Roomba models so the two can clean in tandem. They’ve received some good reviews, despite being less popular than their vacuum cousins, and now iRobot is offering the mops with a Roomba vacuum in a bundle offer. How to shop for a robot vacuumEveryone’s needs are different, which means a robovac is not a one-size-fits-all. When shopping for one, it’s important to think about your individual circumstances.
A couple of manufacturers now also work with Siri Shortcuts, so you can use Apple’s Siri voice assistant to command your bot. If you want this, look for robots from iRobot or higher-end models from Roborock and Ecovacs. The standard model has a large, 600ml dustbin, which can handle five or six runs’ worth of debris in a small space before you need to empty it. If you’re taking care of hardwood floors, the G20 Hybrid model swaps the 600ml debris bin for a 450ml bin and has a 130ml mopping reservoir.
During several of our tests, the Q5 produced good visual results, but the results for the i3 EVO were a little better when we weighed the dustbins. Also, the Q5 would regularly say that it had completed a job, when a quick look told us otherwise and we knew that we would have to restart the cleaning cycle. The Roborock Q5+ performs exactly the same as the Q5 but comes with a charging station that can empty debris from the robot right into a disposable bag.
And while it is well-designed — easy to fill the fresh water and empty the dirty water tank — it does get a bit smelly. The i3 has an attractive woven plastic gray top — a nice change from most of the shiny black plastic you find in this category . It still gets stuck on common robot traps such as phone charging cables, cat toys, and, in my house, the skinny feet of a lounger chair.
That’s a great feature, but I found the best thing about the base to be its bagless design. Shark’s device is unlike most other robot vacuum clean bases because you don’t have to keep buying proprietary garbage bags to outfit the interior of the base. When you want to empty the base, part of it snaps off and opens to eject debris, and it easily locks back in place when you return it. Not only is this quite convenient, but it also brings the lifetime cost of ownership down since you won’t be buying special bags every few months.