Compatible with your smartphone through the iRobot HOME app, you can conveniently control and schedule your Roomba e5’s cleaning sessions. Thanks to its intelligent sensors, including a cliff sensor, the Roomba e5 is capable of making up to 60 decisions per second to sufficiently bissell crosswave cordless navigate your home. Through the app, you can even set no-go areas for the Roomba to avoid. However, we find that the battery is the shortest-lived part of a robot vacuum. Both nickel and lithium batteries have hard limits on the number of times they can recharge.
When once this didn’t solve the problem, they sent me a shipping carton to send the robot in for service, eventually replacing the robot. Keep a can of compressed air handy in case you need to blow dust out of gears or other hard-to-reach nooks in the bot. Wipe the sensors clean as needed, according to the manufacturer’s guidelines—usually with a microfiber cloth or cotton swab with a little water or rubbing alcohol. The Shark AI VacMop did not avoid any obstacles, nor did it even acknowledge in the app that it encountered any obstacles.
By our count, more than 100 robot vacuums are available as of November 2021, and we’ve tested more than 30 of the most noteworthy ones. Since iRobot’s first Roomba came out in the early 2000s, robot vacuum technology has improved dramatically. You can now find better mapping technology, stronger suction, longer battery runtimes, home surveillance, and self-emptying charging docks. In testing, the Roomba s9+ performed the best of any robot vac on hardwood flooring.
The iLife A9 robot vacuum cleans hard floors and low-pile carpet with aplomb, supports app and voice control, and won’t break the bank. After testing dozens and dozens of robot vacuums, we think the name is a bit of a misnomer. A robot vacuum’s ability to pick up dirt pales in comparison to that of a full-sized vacuum and can only really compete over the course of a week.
They’re more than a toy or a novelty item, and can be a valuable floor-care tool in most homes. If you’re short on time or just hate vacuuming, a robot vacuum will probably make your life easier. Many robot vacuums are now smart, letting you start a cleaning session from an app or by asking a smart speaker. Some, like the iRobot Roomba s9+ Robot Vacuum, let you block off entire rooms in an app, so you don’t have to worry about them getting stuck on your kid’s clothing piles.
We watched it stubbornly try to shove itself into spaces where it obviously couldn’t fit, roughing up some furniture in the process. This would be annoying in a $400 robot, but it’s especially frustrating in a robot that costs more than our favorite dishwasher. Hooman Shahidi, iRobot’s vice president of product development, told Wirecutter that it’s more difficult to get a D-shaped robot like the Roomba s9 to navigate smoothly.
In general, the more power, the better, especially if you have carpet, but battery life and obstacle avoidance capabilities are also a factor. The Roomba e5 can effectively clean up dirt, dust, hair and your cat’s fur trail — all without its brushes getting tangled. This robot vacuum cleaner was designed with pet owners in mind, especially those who can’t get a handle on their beloved fur babies’ constant shedding. Tested against other popular brands such as Ecovacs, iLife and Neato , this model has been proven to pick up more pet hair than any other robot vacuum.
But if you can live without that level of control, the Roomba i3 is clever enough to get the job done in almost any home. However, the biggest drawback for a robot vacuum cleaner is its price tag. While there are some available under the $500 threshold, you’ll find that they lack adequate suction and the smart technology that higher-end models feature. For instance, expensive models can be programmed to stop and start to any schedule you set, mop your floors and do a better job sucking up dirt from carpets.
The Roomba Open Interface allows programmers and roboticists to create their own enhancements. We’ve tested most of the auto-empty docks out there, including multiple versions from iRobot and Shark, and one each from EcoVacs, Roborock, and a generic-brand dock that came with a generic-brand Roborock knockoff . The Trifo Max worked fine in our tests, nothing impressive or obviously bad. User reviews suggest it gets lost pretty easily, isn’t built to last, and has poor customer service. We haven’t tested Trifo’s other models, but we’d expect similar results. It may end up cleaning more of your home than other bots just because it fits beneath more stuff.
There are many good robot vacuums available to help you dispose of dust, pet hair, and other debris in your home—without needing to lift a finger. We’ve rounded up our highest-rated robot vacuums, and provided a few pointers to help you find just the bot you’re looking for. The Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 AIVI is a pricey 2-in-1 robot vacuum and mop with shark cordless excellent battery life, the ability to identify and avoid obstacles, and a unique home monitoring feature. Along with the software updates, the Roomba i3 EVO and i3+ EVOrobot vacuums see a price cut of $50. The plus in the model name indicates the model includes an auto-empty charging base that sucks the dirt out of the robot’s bin for you.