For starters, let’s consider what a robot vacuum gives you and what features actually matter. With nearly a dozen Roomba robot vacuums to choose from, it’s tough to decide which one best suits your needs. Instead of relying on cameras or lasers to map out its environment, the machine bumps around the floor like a slow-motion ping-pong ball, changing direction when it encounters an object or obstacle. As a result, it took an excessive 91 minutes to finish its cleaning cycle in our test room, so don’t expect it to cover your house in anything close to efficient fashion. Still, that’s more than a fair tradeoff at this bargain-bin price, especially considering what a surprisingly competitive cleaner the thing is. Roombas are powered by a user-replaceable rechargeable battery; older models used NiMH batteries, while newer models use lithium-ion batteries, and a few models support both.
Plenty of models can reliably clean homes, both small and large, by moving in an orderly path throughout the home and making a map of where they have or haven’t been. Bots rarely miss patches or waste time recleaning areas that they’ve already visited. If their batteries run low before they can finish cleaning an entire level of a home, they’re smart enough to drive back to their dock, recharge for a few hours, and then pick up where they left off. So the first order of business for any successful robot vacuum is to avoid or at least escape from potential bot traps and hazards. This is important because if you set your bot to clean while you’re out of the house, but it gets stuck, say, under the dining room table within the first 10 minutes, you’ll still have dirty floors when you get home. Even if you’re home to babysit your robot and rescue it from trouble, that kind of defeats the purpose of having an automatic vacuum.
On the robot vac itself, you’ll find a power button and a home button; the latter can send the device back to the dock or tell it to spot-clean if you hold it for a few seconds. We found that all three responded to voice commands very well; this was most evident in how the robot always reacted after our first request, no repeat commands necessary. And like the Roomba i3 EVO, the Q5 does allow you to ask Siri to clean specific rooms.
The top-end Braava m6 provides more adjustments, custom mapping and can even integrate with certain Roomba models so the two can clean in tandem. They’ve received some good reviews, despite being less popular than their vacuum cousins, and now iRobot is bissell crosswave cordless offering the mops with a Roomba vacuum in a bundle offer. How to shop for a robot vacuumEveryone’s needs are different, which means a robovac is not a one-size-fits-all. When shopping for one, it’s important to think about your individual circumstances.
Although robot vacuums are weaker than traditional vacuums, they can reliably pick up most kinds of floor debris, and they work on most bare floors and carpets. Shark’s non-laser robots are reasonably priced and look great on paper but are just okay in the real world. They’re also pretty loud on bare floors, sounding sort of like a two-stroke lawn mower puttering in the distance.
Replaced Roborock S7 with Ecovacs DEEBOT OZMO T8 AIVI as ‘Best Upper Mid-Range Robot Vacuum’. Replaced Wyze Robot Vacuum with Roborock S5 Max as ‘Best Mid-Range Robot Vacuum Cleaner’ pick. Removed less bissell crosswave cordless relevant product picks from Notable Mentions and added Neato D8 to Notable Mentions. Replaced Roborock S5 Max with Roborock Q5 as ‘Best Mid-Range Robot Vacuum Cleaner’ due to current availability.