WIRED has taken the risk of a premature robot uprising and tested these smart vacuum cleaners, reaping the spotless benefits they bring. You might think all robot vacuums cleaners are pretty much the same, in both features and looks, but they differ quite a lot. You’ll find robovacs ideal for tackling pet hairs or mopping up your floors as well as cheaper options that focus on getting the job done with no frills. It’s also worth taking a peek at our top picks for the best cordless vacuums around, as a robot and a cordless can make for top cleaning pals. Dyson has top-of-the-range options and it has reasonably sized options but, if all you want is one vacuum cleaner that isn’t too high-priced and does everything you require of it, there’s a £300 all-rounder for you too. The Dyson V8 Animal (£300) offers up to 40 minutes of charge and uses Dyson’s Direct Drive technology to pick up dirt across both carpets and hard floors.
Over two dozen test runs later and the 360 Eye ended up scoring well compared to many of the non-smart robot vacuums we’ve reviewed, but not as well as either the Roomba 980 or the Neato Botvac Connected overall. The 350dia x H91mm lozenge can get right under all but the lowest furniture, and when it moves from hardwood floors to rugs and carpet it boosts the motor speed for better cleaning results. The twin rubber brush bar is easy to untangle and exceedingly good at picking up pet hair. This bar doesn’t extend right to the edge of the vacuum like they do on the Dyson, but two spinning brushes sweep dust into its path, so it can clean right up to the skirting boards.
The Dyson 360 Eye is unsurprisingly a terrific vacuum, but it does have room for improvement for a robot – which isn’t saying anything new for the category. For instance, the 360 Eye can weave in and out of table and chair legs better than competitors so you don’t have to stack chairs on top of tables on scheduled-clean mornings. The 360 Eye picked up a lot of the pet hair, but the rest was stuck along the side of the test pen.
Alternatively, command it ad hoc to pick up crumbs after mealtimes. Selecting a zone gives you a rough cleaning time and the estimated number of charges that it will take, with the 360 Heurist able to return to its dock and top up its battery if needed. In my house , there’s enough battery to clean every floor on Max if needed.
The mapping technology can store multiple maps, meaning you can set it down in your bedroom or kitchen, select the room and let it get to work. David Ludlow is a Freelance Journalist and Home Technology Editor. Starting life on the consumer shark cordless PC press back in 1998, David has been writing about the forefront of technology for the past 20 years. David has edited Computer Shopper and launched Expert Reviews. He has written a number of books on PC building and maintenance.
If accurate, that’s pricey compared with iRobot’s Roomba and competing products. Dyson’s website says the 360 Eye has, “Twice the suction of any robot vacuum” with the caveat that, “Suction testing based on ASTM F558, dust-loaded against robot market.” I was impressed with the 360 Eye’s tread-like wheels, though; they raise up when needed so the vacuum could travel over large power cords and transitions between hardwood floors and carpet.
Keep up basic maintenance to make sure you’re not accused of mistreating the thing should something go wrong. Get the location of the dock wrong, or have a door at the wrong angle so that there’s only a small gap between it and furniture, and the 360 Heurist can miss out entire areas of your home. For me, the initial position of the dock meant that the 360 irobot vacuum cleaner Heurist became confused and wouldn’t venture outside of the lounge. The live chat button will appear on the bottom right corner of your screen as soon as a Dyson Expert becomes available. You can also find helpful troubleshooting advice and get more information by clicking on the automated chat icon in the bottom right corner of your screen at any time.