These are the best robot vacuums based on our testing of the top models from multiple brands. Suction power and cleaning featuresObviously, a vacuum’s bissell crosswave cordless cleaning ability is its most important attribute. While some vacuums provide numerical measurements for their suction power, iRobot does not.
So the first order of business for any successful robot vacuum is to avoid or at least escape from potential bot traps and hazards. As for the Roborock S6 MaxV, it failed the crucial dog-turd avoidance test multiple times when we first tested it in 2020, and was just okay at avoiding other kinds of obstacles. We tested it again in late 2021, and it either improved due to a software update (they’ve issued several since our last round of testing) or some other variable in our testing changed. We’re not confident that you can count on the bot’s AI to avoid a doo-doo catastrophe but if you were thinking about getting a Roborock anyway and are curious about the AI, it’s not a bad option.
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, 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 EVO. It won’t clean carpets or hair as well as the Roomba i3 EVO and may not last as long, but owners generally seem satisfied with this bot’s performance.
We design and build innovative home robots, including the Roomba® robot vacuum and the Braava® family of mopping robots. IRobot has announced two new vacuuming robots today, the iRobot Roomba 630 and the Roomba 650. The Dyson 360 Eye robot is an intelligent robot that has the most powerful suction of any robot on the market, capturing more dirt than any other robot in one pass. It combines the latest Dyson digital motor and Root Cyclone technology to separate dust and dirt, capturing particles down to 0.5 microns – that’s 600 times smaller than the dot at the end of this sentence.
It’s a similar robot, with semi-random navigation, plus some extra suction and nubbed “extractor” rolls that are great at getting debris out of rugs . It’s a semi-discontinued model, and at this point may cost less than the weaker Roomba 694, so keep an eye out for deals. If you somehow stumble across a good deal for an old Roomba 800 Series model, that’s also very similar to the Roomba e5, but may not have Wi-Fi. The Roomba 694, like most affordable robots, is what we call a bump-and-run navigator. Basically, it bloops around semi-randomly until its battery runs low, and then it tries to get back to its dock before it completely runs out of juice (and doesn’t always succeed). It looks dumb, but it’s basically effective, especially in smaller spaces.
That is, the i3 EVO couldn’t remember your home’s floor plan from session to session, and you couldn’t designate no-go zones or ask the bot to clean rooms in a specific order while ignoring others. In March 2022, iRobot announced a new software update that remedies this shortcoming. According to the press release, the i3 EVO and the i3+ EVO can now use a feature called Imprint Smart Mapping to follow courses and maps created via the iRobot app.
When we put it to the test, it picked up 100% of pet fur and cereal — it just missed a perfect score, as it collected roughly 97% of kitty litter. It was better on bare floors than our overall winner, dyson robot vacuum the Roborock S4 Max. Brian Bennett is a senior writer for the home and outdoor section at CNET. These include everything from cordless and robot vacuum cleaners to fire pits, grills and coffee makers.
The 981 Roomba vacuum cleans with pet-friendly features, including multisurface brushes and power-lifting suction with five times the air power of traditional vacuums. It will run for about 75 minutes before returning to the charging bissell crosswave cordless dock to power up and then resume cleaning. It will also link up with a Braava Jet M6 robot mop and tell it to go mop once it’s done vacuuming. The best robot vacuum under $300 that we’ve tested is the Wyze Robot Vacuum.