The Best Robot Vacuum 2023
Robot vacuums can make cleaning your floors easier. The best robot vacuums can remove dirt, pet hair, crumbs and more.
While they can't perform as well as an ordinary vacuum cleaner, they've made significant progress in the last few years. They're smarter, more powerful and (marginally) better at avoiding chairs.
Smart Mapping
Robot vacuum cleaners use instruments for navigation like lasers and sensors to navigate around your home. They collect pet hair, crumbs, and dirt from hard floors like tile, wood and laminate, as well as low-pile area rugs and carpets. The most sophisticated robots map your home, to help them keep track of where they've been and avoid bumping into obstacles like sofas, chairs and bookshelves you might want to keep out of the way. You can make use of your smartphone app to create no-go zones that tell your robot to stay out of rooms you don't want it to clean.
Robots with advanced mapping capabilities, such as the Roomba J7, make use of an onboard cameras and processor-powered intelligent to see and avoid obstructions. This means that you can leave it alone to get a thorough cleaning without having to continually monitor the state of your floorplan, or manually remove obstacles from the robot's path. The TP Link Tapo RV30 Plus is a robot that combines mopping with vacuuming. It's a one-stop solution to keep your home spotless. It has a great suction, and it works with Alexa and Google Assistant. It also has a convenient self-emptying feature and can be used as an alarm camera.
Roborock Q Revo, a cheaper robot that vacuums, mop and is also an automated trashcan, is a good option for homes that do not require for more advanced features. However, it has a few disadvantages when compared to Roomba S8 and j7. It has one rubber brush instead of the dual roller brushes that the other models have, so it might not be as effective in cleaning up larger particles such as shoes and socks. It also doesn't have any AI obstacle avoidance, so you might need to get rid of any clutter prior to running it.
The iLife A4s Pro robot is an easy-to-use reliable robot for those who value simplicity and competence. It's less than $200, and offers consistent, solid suction on hardwood and carpets with low pile, while avoiding tangles with rug threads. It's not very advanced however it's a good choice. It also works with voice commands. You can set it to run on a schedule or create zones of no-go zones with the app.
Object Detection
Object-avoidance technology can be the difference between the robot's ability to navigate around your home. Certain models on our list contain sensors (or even cameras) which help your robo-cleaner avoid common robot traps like cords, toys for kids and pet messes. iRobot Roomba J7 is among the most impressive examples of intelligent technology in motion, is an excellent example. It also comes with a stylish base that automatically empty the garbage bin, so you don't have to.
During testing the robot, we set the cleaner up in a big house and were impressed by how quickly and thoroughly it cleared floors without getting sluggish. It has impressive maneuverability and can reach places most standup vacs never go, including under sofas and under beds. It has a 500 ml dustbin, a powerful suction system and a running time of more than two hours. It's just not equipped with the ability to set zones that are not allowed to be used and its detection of objects is a little hit-or-miss which means that we saw it occasionally bump into objects during our tests (resulting in a few toppled vase tops).
It's important to keep in mind that no matter how clever a robot vacuum may be, it won't completely replace your regular canister or upright vacuum. It can't deal with heavily dirty carpets, it can't get into every crevice and it's not able to reach your ceilings or other difficult-to-access areas. It's a great addition to your routine cleaning for getting rid of hair, pet dander and other hair.
Most robot vacuums come with sensors that aid them to navigate around obstacles and stairs. They are able to tell the moment when they're going to fall down a staircase for instance, and they also recognize cluttered areas and maneuver around them. If you're not careful, your robot-cleaner could get stuck on a shoe, cord or another object.
Some smarter robot vacuums have mapping capabilities that allow them to create an outline of your house and locate themselves within it. They can then identify which areas they have cleaned, and save time by not having to go over the same spots. This allows them to continue where they left off, if they have to return to the charging dock.
Self-Emptying
A robot vacuum that automatically empty its dust bin once it is full is a wonderful convenience. Some models even have a window so you can see when the bin needs to be emptied. This is a great feature for those who have pets or children, who tend to make a lot more mess than adults.
Most robot vacuums allow you to choose whether the machine is operated with the use of a remote, an app on your phone or via voice commands. They have a number of digital features, including maintenance and scheduling tips. You can program your robot to clean your house on a weekly or regular basis using the correct settings. You can also program it to map and clean certain areas of your house.
Some of the most advanced robot vacuums we've tested come with built-in cameras and smart sensor technology that allows them to create maps of your home. You can save these maps in the robot's app to quickly navigate around your home. Some of these systems even keep track of furniture placement and even note the transitions between hard floors and carpet.
Smart vacuums can save you time by mapping and cleaning entire houses automatically and keeping detailed records of the previous cleaning sessions. You can access these records via an app that you can install on your phone or tablet. They can also be connected to your smart speaker, so you can control them using voice commands.
TP-Link's Tapo RV30 Plus is an inexpensive, self-emptying robot vacuum that provides excellent performance for the price. It can clean hardwood floors as well as low-pile carpets, and remove pet hair and other particles. It's not as sophisticated as other robots we've reviewed however, it does what does efficiently.
The model's tanks-like wheels allow it to glide over obstacles such as cords that get caught up and high transitions in between rooms. It also has a large dust bin that doesn't have to be emptied manually, and it's able to recharge and continue cleaning when it's power-depleted. It's more expensive compared to other robotic vacuums that we've tested however it has powerful suction and simple controls to deliver an excellent value.
Voice Control
The majority of robot vacuums are controlled using a remote or an app that you can install on your smartphone. Some also connect to smart speakers such as Amazon Echo or Google Home, allowing you to operate them with voice commands. This is a great option if your robot needs to be cleaned and you have pets or children that could interfere.
Most models have an automatic mode that works without your input. You can start the robot by pressing a button on the app or on the robot. The robots can be programmed to clean according to a schedule, making them ideal for those who simply need to make a plan and forget.
Certain models that are more expensive come with an advanced feature that makes use of artificial intelligence to scan and detect obstacles in your home. These models can detect things like stairs, furniture power cords, and even different kinds of flooring. This can help to avoid the dangers, which is especially useful in larger homes with lots of carpets and flooring coverings that are difficult for robots to navigate.
Other robots are less sophisticated in their object detection abilities however they can still get the job done. One example is the TP-Link Tapo RV30 plus, which has the clean and easy-to-use appearance of a WiFi hub but boasts a lot of the performance of a top-notch robot. It has a strong suction and can clean dirt and debris from medium-pile rugs and hardwood floors. Its squat, short side brushes are less likely to get stuck in stray shoes or cords and its hybrid roller brush utilizes bristles and plastic, rather than bristles in traditional form for better cleaning.
The model is more expensive than other robots in the middle-end however, it can do everything you would expect from a robot mop vacuum robot and vacuum. It can create the cleaning schedule and then create one. It also has virtual zones to stay out of. It doesn't offer the same room-scanning and obstacles-avoiding features as the j7 or the s8.