While the s9+ doesn’t have the Precision Navigation feature that the newer j7 does, it has something called “Careful Driver” that uses a 3D sensor to detect and clean around objects. It seems that the main difference is that the s9+ isn’t specifically wired to avoid pet poop, so keep that in mind if you have furry friends around the house. However, with 40x the suction power of a standard Roomba, shark cordless the s9+ does a great job cleaning up pet hair. Shark’s RV2502AE AI robot vacuum with Base ticks all of the boxes that a mid-range machine should. It offers reliable cleaning performance, its mobile app is easy to use and it produces accurate home maps. On top of that, its base is bagless, which means you won’t have to spend money every few months on garbage bags for your robotic vacuum.
You should only have to interact with it to turn it on, empty its dustbin and untangle it if it were to get stuck somewhere. Then there are the top-of-the-line Roomba s9 and self-emptying Roomba s9+, which we do not recommend. Instead of the classic puck shape, the s9 has a D-shaped body and extra-wide brushes intended to improve its edge-cleaning and corner-cleaning abilities. It also has four times more raw suction than the already-strong Roomba i3 EVO, i7, and j7. That helps it consistently pick up larger debris such as cat litter or yard waste better than most robots, though it still doesn’t come close to deep-cleaning dust from a rug like a traditional vacuum does. But when we tried the s9 in 2020, it was one of the clumsiest navigators we’d ever tested.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Sign up for Verge Deals to get deals on products we’ve tested sent to your inbox daily. The Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra is a new breed of bot that can do more for you, for a lot more money. Barbara Booth is a former CNBC reporter whose work spans a wide range of business and social topics, including work/life issues, international business and personal finance.
If your main struggle is keeping up with pet hair and small pieces of debris like cat litter, you don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars to get a well-performing robot vacuum. In our testing, the iLife V3S Pro did the best job on cat hair and cat litter on my hardwood floors. The Eufy does a superb job picking up dirt, excelling on hardwood floors, tile and low-pile carpets. It filled its dustbin with pet hair and cat litter, though it wasn’t able to get up all the litter on a higher-pile carpet.
It also struggles with tight furniture footprints as it’s quite wide. The Roborock S7 works with Alexa Routines and can be set to run when you leave home, or you can use the app’s scheduling feature. Over the years, we’ve consistently noted that robot vacuums that use laser-guided lidar navigation tend to be very shark cordless good at mapping their environment and finding their way around. Meanwhile, 3D-mapping cameras with object recognition smarts can give robot vacuums an extra ability to identify and adapt to obstacles in their path. The Roborock S7 MaxV uses both technologies, which helps explain why it performs so well here.