Even Shark and Samsung have recently joined the laser-nav bonanza, with the Shark AI Robot Vacuum RV2000, and Samsung Jet Bot and Jet Bot AI+, respectively (after previously releasing robots that use camera-based smart navigation). We weren’t able to test any of them before the 2021 holiday season, but we’re confident that the Shark and lower-end Samsung will work similarly to all the other laser-nav robots described in the previous few paragraphs. The “everyday” prices are a bit high, but we’ve seen some pretty good deals on the version of the Shark that comes with the self-emptying dock. Since we know laser-nav bots are all pretty similar to one another, this Shark could be a good choice if you see it on sale. The Eufy RoboVac X8 seems to be a fine laser-nav robot vacuum based on our testing, but it’s relatively expensive and doesn’t offer meaningful improvements over the cheaper models. Its defining feature is supposed to be its strong suction, with two turbines pulling 2,000 pascals each (whereas most laser-nav bots have a single turbine and less than 2,500 pascals of suction total).
Connected bots also typically generate statistics and maps of the areas they’ve cleaned. Many even create personalized floor plans, allowing for targeted room cleanings and eliminating the need for you to use physical “virtual walls” to cordon off sections of your home. In most homes, we think a bot will stay in good shape if you do about 15 minutes of maintenance per month, maybe a little more if the bot has a heavy workload. For irobot vacuum cleaner bump-and-run bots, it’s a good strategy to keep the dock near the middle of your home so that the bot will cross its path more often, increasing the chance that it finds and successfully re-docks when the battery runs low. If the dock is in a cluttered area or under a piece of furniture, there’s a good chance the bot will not re-dock. But we’ve put the current AI bots to the test in the real world, and they aren’t that good yet.
Its three-stage cleaning system, loosens, lifts, and sucks away debris of all sizes , thanks to its two main cleaning brushes. Its dirt detection sensors ensure that particularly dirty, high-traffic areas don’t go overlooked, while the Edge-Sweeping Brush tackles dust and crumbs along baseboards and in corners. And the Roomba 614’s cleaning head automatically adjusts when it moves between different floor surfaces.
If you have plush carpets and a lot of hair to deal with, though, you’ll want a robot with better brush action and possibly stronger suction. The Roborock S4 Max has the most clever, controllable navigation you’ll find in any robot vacuum. Its smart-map feature is as robust as any that we’ve used, letting you tell the bot which specific rooms to clean, shark cordless places to avoid, and when to do it all through a smartphone app and Wi-Fi connection. It also moves faster and bonks into fewer things than other robots at this price, particularly the Roomba i3. It won’t clean carpets or hair as well as the Roomba i3 and may not last as long, but owners generally seem satisfied with this bot’s performance.
When it does, it will sit there until it has enough energy to go back out and continue to bust dust from where it left off. You can also set schedules for most bots to wake up and start a cleaning job, so it can take place while you’re out of the house. That means you can potentially avoid all physical interaction until the vacuum needs to be emptied. Unlike more traditional canister or stick models, robot vacuums are autonomous and intelligent. The vacuums we’ve tested are equipped with lasers, motherboards, sensors, and even Wi-Fi to navigate around your home without assistance.