The bots might even (semi-randomly) miss a patch of ground or even an entire room in any given session. But if you run the bot at least a irobot vacuum cleaner few days per week, your floors should stay pretty tidy. And again, we’ve found over and over again that it works well in smaller spaces.
All Roomba bots, including the i3, also have a dirt-detection system—another unique feature you can’t find in other brands’ bots. When the Roomba senses that it’s passing over an area with a lot of debris, it’ll stop and make a few passes shark cordless back and forth to pick up as much as possible. If you don’t mind picking up toys and lamp cords and anything else that might get in the way or get snarled in the roller brush, then you can get one of the more affordable robot vacuums.
But the dream is possible—and even if it isn’t fully realized in your home, it’s still super-convenient to not deal with a messy dustbin every time you use your robot vacuum. Shark’s non-laser robots are reasonably priced and look great on paper, but are just okay in the real world. We’ve tested a couple iterations of the Shark IQ RV1000 series since 2019 (with self-emptying docks), as well as the new Shark AI VacMop hybrid, and found they’re much more prone to app glitches and stupid navigation than the best brands. They’re also pretty loud on bare floors, sort of like a two-stroke lawn mower puttering in the distance.
I know, but for whatever reason, this particular fact of life about robot vacuums caught me off guard, even though I’ve emptied the dust bag in my dumb vacuum more times than I care to remember. While using a robot vacuum to clean your floors is still far easier than sweeping them yourself, they still require a fair amount of care and handling, and you’ll almost certainly need to iron out some kinks during the first few cleanings. Newer and more advanced Roombas come with such bells and whistles as home mapping, adaptive technology, and app and smart home device integrations. These features will provide you with a better idea of how your Roomba cleans your home as well as a more sophisticated, empowered user experience. If all you want is a device that will clean your floors while you tackle other tasks, these features may be less of a priority. The bottom line is that this budget Roomba will require more hands-on interaction for tasks like emptying the somewhat small dust bin and removing hair that becomes caught.
Samsung’s JetBot+ is a high-end, feature-rich machine that has LiDAR navigation and a self-emptying base. At 21 inches tall and 9 inches deep, the base is just so big and noticeable; we much prefer the smaller, less obtrusive base of the iRobot j7+. The vacuum has a forward camera and obstacle detection, but our testing found it not to be as precise as the iRobot j7+. Luckily the Eufy has a recharge and resume feature, so if it runs low on bissell crosswave cordless battery, it makes its way back to the base to recharge itself and when ready resumes the cleaning job. In our testing this worked well, except for the fact that it resumed right in the middle of a dinner with friends, but it was easy enough to stop the cleaning run by pressing the button on the vacuum. We provide a detailed analysis of each of these vacuums in our reviews, and you can see our vacuum product guide for the latest models.
A self-emptying (or auto-emptying) robot vacuum comes with a big charging dock, which sucks debris out of the robot through a trapdoor in the dustbin, and stores it in a disposable bag or bagless bin . Instead of emptying your bot’s bin after every cleaning session, you only have to empty the dock every month or two. Robot vacuums are rightly famous for their ability to find their way around your home, avoiding obstacles like furniture, loose shoes, and the like. But even with their optical sensors and ability to map your home’s floor plan, even the best robot vacuums can find their way into situations that they can’t get out of.
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. You could save some money by using third-party filters, which are extremely unlikely to harm the bot, but you may void your warranty if you happen to send in your bot for repairs with one of them in the filter slot. The Shark AI VacMop did not avoid any obstacles, nor did it even acknowledge in the app that it encountered any obstacles. We’ve also discovered that, as of late 2021, several other brands are selling near-copies of the Eufy bots. Personally, I used an old Roomba 650 at home for four years and found that it held up very well.
At some point, you might have to erase your old maps and re-train the robot. The main thing that makes the Roomba 600 series stand out from other affordable robot vacuums is that it’s more durable and easier to repair . They generally don’t break, spare parts are always in stock, and you can swap in everything from a new filter to a new transmission with nothing more than a screwdriver.
Our expert industry analysis and practical solutions help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology. For a dependable, versatile, and affordable cleaner, we prefer a bagless upright, but we have recommendations for other types of vacuums as well. If you understand that you’ll probably be disappointed but want to try an AI bot anyway, consider the iRobot Roomba j7 (or j7+) or the Roborock S6 MaxV (both are higher-end versions of our top picks, and each cost a few hundred dollars extra). 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.