Dyson’s latest high-end robot vacuum, the Dyson 360 Vis Nav, has reached the shores of North America after spending more than eight months lingering in the UK and Australia.
You can think of it as the successor to the old Dyson 360 Eye model from all the way back in 2017. At the center of the Vis Nav is a camera with a fisheye lens capable of seeing in 360 degrees, giving the machine a full panoramic view of your home. All of the visual information it takes in is then processed through its on-board system, creating a map. It’ll know the layout of your house, including where the furniture is located, and even make note of areas where dust frequently accumulates.
Of course, you do have the option to make adjustments on the fly via the MyDyson app. With a mobile device, owners can create cleaning schedules for the robot vacuum and even instruct it to avoid certain areas of their home. The Vis Nav is compatible with both Google Home and Alexa, allowing you to control it with simple voice commands.
Notable features
One of the things the company boasts about for this robo-vacuum is its power. The model houses a motor capable of spinning at 11,000rpm, delivering a suction of 65 air watts (AW). If you check out our review of the Vis Nav from last year, you’ll learn it was able to completely fill up its trash bin while in the default Auto mode.
There are four separate modes in total, all of which can be activated through the aforementioned mobile app. Auto, as the name suggests, is your standard “set it and forget it” setting. The device will clean your floors without direct input. On the side is an extending nozzle that can reach those tough spots up against the wall. As it’s sweeping, the Vis Nav can dynamically adjust its suction power to the side duct so it can clean deep into those missed spots.
(Image credit: Dyson)
Next is Boost mode to greatly increase the vacuum’s performance when scrubbing your house. It knows when to magnify power thanks to the internal “piezo sensor”. This piece of hardware informs the model how much dust is on the floor currently. Third is Quiet mode, which is supposed to silence the Vis Nav. However, if you read our review, it’s really not that quiet. The last one is Quick mode. According to The Verge, this mode has the vacuum clean up open areas while avoiding the dirt stuck inside corners.
Availability
As much as we harp about the review, it’s important to go back to it because it seems Dyson made very few changes. The Vis Nav over here in the Western Hemisphere will have all the positives as well as all the negatives.
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It appears Dyson improved the battery on the North American release as it can now last up to 65 minutes on a single charge instead of 50 minutes. Recharging will take 1.55 hours instead of 2.5 hours. The one thing that hasn’t changed is how expensive it is.
The 360 Vis Nav is on sale right now in the United States and Canada for $1,200 USD/$1,500 CAD. So yeah, he’s a pricey fella. Fortunately, there are other options out there.
Robot vacuums are one of the great modern conveniences. They can check one time-sapping chore off your daily to-do list and if you can find a self-emptying model for a decent price, that’s one fewer thing for you to worry about. As it happens, the is a self-emptying option and it’s 46 percent off for the Amazon Big Spring Sale. That means it’s currently $350, which is $300 off the regular price and not too far away from its record low.
Shark
This self-emptying robot vacuum is $300 off it’s regular price.
This is a variant of one of our and Shark devices are by and large nearly as good as the ones Roomba makes.
A self-emptying robot vacuum is generally preferable to one without that feature, as you won’t need to keep buying garbage bags for it. This one’s base holds up to 60 days of muck, so you may only need to empty it every couple of months. It has a HEPA filtration system that Shark claims can capture and trap up to 99.97 percent of dust and allergens.
The AV2501AE will run for up to 120 minutes on a single charge. If that’s not enough to cover your home, it will return to its base, recharge and then continue from where it left off. The vacuum uses a matrix grid approach and it makes multiple passes over debris and dirt to pick up as much of it as possible. The device uses LiDAR vision to map your home and steer clear of objects in its path. You’ll be able to set up a cleaning schedule or start an ad hoc clean through the app or by Alexa or Google Assistant voice command.
The price of this model has dropped as part of . Meanwhile, the .
The vacuum world has gone cordless, untethering us from outlets and saving us fights with pesky wires. Cordless vacuums can be great alternatives to traditional corded models since they’re lightweight and easier to maneuver around your home. They’ve also gotten much more powerful in recent years. Some even come with extra features like app connectivity, self-emptying bases and more. But just like the robot vacuum space, there are dozens of cordless vacuums to choose from now (no, Dyson isn’t your only option). Before you upgrade to a cordless vacuum it’s important to do your research. We at Engadget can help make your decision a bit easier. After testing a bunch of the most popular cordless vacuum cleaners available today, we’ve come up with our top picks, plus loads of buying advice to help you figure out which cordless stick vacuum is right for you.
Factors to consider before buying a cordless vacuum
Design and bin volume
Most of the cordless vacuums you’ll find today have stick designs, with a handle at the top attached to a debris bin, which has a space to connect different attachments at one end. These designs are more versatile than old school vacuums of yesteryear because, while you may use the long stick attachment most of the time to clean your floors, many cordless vacuums come with other attachments as well. Some allow you to clean hard to reach spaces like the interior of your car, while others make it easier to vacuum furniture and clean inside crevices.
Bin volume is worth keeping in mind when you’re choosing a cordless vacuum. The larger the bin, the more debris it can hold, but it might also mean a heavier machine. All of the cordless vacuums we tested had a bin size between 0.1 and 0.8 gallons and all were able to handle cleaning an entire one-pet home (roughly 2,000 square feet) in a single run without needing to be emptied.
Some cordless vacuums also have removable, replaceable battery packs, which is super handy. That means you can buy a replacement battery and install it easily, without needing to seek out professional assistance. Also, these extra batteries cost around $150-$200 a pop — expensive, yes, but nowhere near as costly as buying a whole new cordless vacuum.
Suction and power modes
Cordless vacuum suction power is typically measured in air wattage (AW), but you’ll see some that list the power of the motor in wattage (W) instead. Typically the higher the air or motor wattage the stronger the suction power, and often strength is proportional to price — more expensive cordless vacuums tend to have stronger suction power. A general rule of thumb is that those with precocious pets or mess-making children would benefit from a cordless vacuum cleaner with stronger-than-average suction power.
Most cordless stick vacuums will have two different power modes: a “normal” or default power mode that balances suction power with battery life, as well as a “max” or stronger mode that kicks suction strength up a notch. Some vacuums, like those from Dyson, also have an “eco” mode, or one that prioritizes run time over strength.
Separate from power modes you can select yourself, some cordless vacuums will automatically adjust motor strength depending on the detected floor type or the amount of mess in its wake. Not only is this convenient, but it also ensures that the machine is working its hardest only when you need it.
Battery life
Obviously, battery life is important since you’ll probably want to clean more than one room in a shot. All of the cordless vacuums we tested had a battery life of at least 40 minutes in standard cleaning mode. I tested each by cleaning all three floors of my home (upstairs, downstairs and basement) on a single charge with the machine running in its standard (“auto”) mode and none of them ran out of juice before I could finish the third floor. That said, extra battery life can come in handy if you’re switching between power modes since “max” or high-power programs use more energy.
Base style
Most cordless stick vacuums come with some sort of base or mount where the machine lives when you’re not using it. Wall mounts are the most common, but some have free-standing bases where you dock and charge the vacuum. Consider the space in your home where you want the cordless vacuum to live, since it will have to have an outlet or another power source nearby.
Some high-end cordless vacuums come with self-emptying bases that act much like those included with expensive robot vacuums. After cleaning and returning the vacuum to the base, it will automatically empty the dustbin into a larger dustbin that you can then detach from the base when you need to empty it. This kind of base adds an extra layer of convenience into the mix, since you typically will only have to empty the larger dustbin every month or two.
“Smart” features
Yes, some cordless vacuums have “smart” features like Wi-Fi and app connectivity. But before we get into those, let’s talk about the extra perks scattered among these devices. Some models, like the latest from Dyson, include particle sensors that show you how many different sized pieces of debris it’s sucking up in real time. Dyson’s, for example, is a piezo acoustic sensor that detects particle size and frequency and displays that information on the vac’s LCD screen. Tineco’s iLoop sensor is similar, controlling its vacuums’ automatic suction power adjustment and changing a circle on the display from red to blue as you fully clean an area.
Higher-end cordless vacuums may also have companion apps that show things like battery level, filter status and cleaning logs. It’s an added level of convenience, but by no means necessary. Unlike robot vacuums, which rely on their apps to set cleaning schedules, manually control the machines and more, cordless vacuums that you operate yourself really don’t need Wi-Fi or an app connectivity.
Price
Cordless stick vacuums range in price from $150 all the way up to over $1,000. The best ones for most people lie in the middle, in the $400 to $700 range. You’ll notice most of our picks land in the higher end of that range, but for good reason: More expensive machines tend to have more sucking power, which means less time wasted going over the same spots over and over. But does that mean everyone needs the most premium cordless vacuum? Definitely not. We’ve come up with top picks at various price points that should work well for people with different budgets, lifestyles, home sizes and more.
How we test cordless vacuums
Engadget doesn’t have a dedicated lab in which we can test cordless vacuums, but I used each model in my home for weeks. I ran them over hardwood and tile flooring, as well as low-pile carpet. And my first runthrough consisted of cleaning all three floors of my home on a single battery charge. I performed the same cleaning job as many times as possible, but also intermittently cleaned a single floor as needed, or sucked up isolated messes like crumbs, cat litter spills and tufts of pet fur. Over the course of many cleanings with each model, I made note of how loud the machine was, how easy it was to maneuver around my home, how easily it sucked up pieces of large debris (or if it pushed it around my floor instead) and if they got warm or hot.
Photo by Valentina Palladino / Engadget
Suction power: 240AW | Bin volume: 0.2 gallon | Battery life: 60 min | Weight: 6.83 pounds
The Dyson V15 Detect is just as impressive now as it was when it first came out in 2021. It’s our top pick because it provides the best mix of features and its suction power is remarkable.
One thing that was immediately apparent during my testing was that Dyson machines just have superior suction, period. That’s not to say a cordless vacuum from another brand can’t get the job done, because they absolutely can. But even in auto mode, all of Dyson’s vacuums did a better job trapping even the smallest dust and debris.
The “Detect” in this model’s name refers in part to the laser “blade” on the Fluffy Optic cleaner head. It does a great job of illuminating floors to clearly show you where the mess really is, and that goes for large debris like food and granules of cat litter, as well as much smaller stuff like layers of dust on an untouched part of the floor. But it’s worth noting that this light is only present on the Fluffy Optic head, which is designed to work best on hard floors. The V15 Detect comes with a few other head attachments, including a Digital Motorbar head that automatically detangles hair from the brush bar as you clean. That’ll be better for all floor types, including carpet, but you won’t get the same illumination effect.
The V15 Detect also has a piezo acoustic sensor that recognizes the size and frequency of the particles it’s sucking up. It’ll show that information on the machine’s LCD display in a neat little bar graph. Is this information useful? Not particularly, but it’s satisfying to clock this while cleaning and see the bars increase and decrease as you move throughout your home. However, this is more of a neat perk than a killer feature; it’s not going to change the way you vacuum your home. But the piezo sensor is also involved in automatically adjusting the V15 Detect’s cyclone engine to better clean particularly dirty floors.
That automatic adjustment is separate from the machine’s three cleaning modes: Auto, Eco and Boost. I spent most of my time in Auto mode, every so often switching to Boost in rooms where I knew I needed a more thorough cleaning. Eco mode is convenient to have if you need to conserve battery life.
But the V15 Detect, like all of the other Dyson machines I tested, really stands out for its suction power. I rarely, if ever, had to go over the same spot twice because the V15 Detect captured all of the dust and debris the first time. In my one-cat household, it’s easy to see tufts of fur on our hardwood floors and tile, but they’re basically invisible on our upstairs carpet. But it didn’t matter if I could see fur or not — the V15 Detect collected all of it. After every cleaning the bin was full and I was consistently shocked by how much cat hair was hiding in my carpet.
As with most cordless vacuums, you get a number of attachments with the V15 Detect. In addition to the Fluffy Optic and Digital Motorbar cleaner heads, hair screw, combination and crevice tools are included in the box. I particularly like the hair screw tool, which is great for vacuuming chairs and couches, and the crevice tool is handy for cleaning car interiors and other tight spaces. The docking station must be mounted to a wall, but it’s separate from the vacuum’s charger, which means you can power up and use the V15 Detect before picking a permanent place for it in your home.
My biggest gripe with the V15 Detect is that it doesn’t have a single-button start like the newer and more advanced Dyson Gen 5 Detect and Dyson V15 Detect Submarine do. You must press and hold down the trigger to vacuum, which requires constant effort. However, that’s a small price to pay considering the complete package you’re getting. At $750, the V15 Detect is a machine on the higher-end of the price spectrum that’s well worth the money if you want an easy to use cordless vacuum that will provide a truly thorough clean every time.
Pros
Fantastic suction power
Includes Fluffy Optic cleaner head with illuminating blade light
Relatively lightweight
Good battery life
Cons
No single-button start
Headlight laser only on the Fluffy Optic cleaner head
Suction power: 500W | Bin volume: 0.12 gallon | Battery life: 40 min | Weight: 6.8 pounds
I reached for the Tineco Pure One S15 almost as much as I did for the Dyson V15 Detect. It’s slightly less powerful than our top pick, but it’s otherwise very similar and it even has Wi-Fi and app connectivity as well. It handled all kinds of dry messes well and didn’t choke at the first sign of pet hair. It includes Tineco’s iLoop smart sensor, which detects the amount of dirt and auto-adjusts suction power. I also appreciate that its LED display has a big ring that changes from red to blue as it sucks up all the debris in its way, and it has a battery indicator on it as well.
The Pure One S15 Pet has an unfussy design and comes with attachments that are easy to pop on and off. The main cleaning head has a headlight which does a great job of showing you exactly where the worst pockets of dirt are. And, despite its bin being a bit smaller than that on the Dyson, I never had to pause mid-cleaning to empty it.
Unlike the Dyson, though, the Pure One S15 Pet has Wi-Fi connectivity and a companion app, which is about as “smart” as any cordless vacuum gets. It’s a totally unnecessary feature, but Wi-Fi setup is pretty painless, and Tineco’s mobile app will show you things like battery level, filter status and a cleaning log. Filter status is arguably the most useful of them all, since it takes the guesswork out of figuring out when to replace it.
The $500 Tineco machine beat out the $450 Shark Detect Pro for our runner-up spot by only a hair. The Shark is a solid vacuum with a self-emptying base,in the same price range. But the Pure One S15 Pet has stronger suction and did a better job cleaning up big messes. It’s also worth noting that, while Tineco’s vacuum typically costs $500, you can often find it on sale for as low as $350 — a killer bargain.
Pros
Great suction power
Single-button start
iLoop smart sensor auto-adjusts suction power as you clean
Suction power: 450W | Bin volume: 0.15 gallon | Battery life: 40 min | Weight: 5.7 pounds
Tineco makes a number of cordless vacuums at various price points, but the Pure One S11 provides a lot for $300 and it’s often on sale for less. While it was the clunkiest of the Tineco vacuums I tested, it’s still relatively lightweight. It also includes Tineco’s iLoop smart sensor, although it doesn’t have the single-button start that the Pure One S15 Pet does.
The Pure One S11 did a decent job of collecting all kinds of messes, including pet hair, but I did have to go over some spots more than once for the most thorough clean. In addition to the main cleaner head that has built-in headlights, it comes with three extra attachments that make it easy to get into small spaces.
Tineco estimates a run time of 40 minutes for this machine, and I found that to be accurate. That was just about enough time for me to clean all three floors of my house, but if you have a particularly large home, you may need to recharge at some point. Its bin size is also on the smaller side like the Pure One S15 Pet, so there’s a chance you may have to pause to empty it if you’re cleaning up big messes or you have a lot of ground to cover.
But for $300, the Pure One S11 offers a lot of value. It’s arguably best for those who live in apartments or small- to medium-sized homes, or those who just want a no-frills, easy-to-use cordless vacuum without dropping an excessive amount of money. It holds its own against pet hair as well, but that’s coming from a person who only has one cat; you’d be better off getting a stronger vacuum with a larger bin if you have a small menagerie in your home.
Pros
Affordable
Good suction for the price
iLoop smart sensor auto-adjusts suction power as you clean
Suction power: 240AW | Bin volume: 0.2 gallon | Battery life: 60 min | Weight: 8.3 pounds
Overkill for most, the Dyson V15 Detect Submarine will be exactly what some are looking for: a vacuum with all of Dyson’s signatures along with the ability to wash hard floors. It’s similar to the V15 Detect in power and design, but it comes with Dyson’s “submarine” wet cleaner head that has two water reservoirs (one for clean water and one for dirty) and a brush bar that does all the scrubbing. To wash tile and other hard floors, you fill the clean reservoir with water, reattach it to the head and turn on the machine as if you were just vacuuming. The built-in motor ever so slightly propels the machine in this mop mode, and as you move it around, it sucks up spills and other wet messes into the dirty reservoir while also washing the floor.
In my testing, the V15 Detect Submarine did a great job sucking up spills and a pretty good job cleaning my hardwood and tile, even in spots where there were more persistent stains (although it did take a few passes to fully suss them out). I typically use a corded steamer to wash the hard floors in my home, and while the V15 Detect Submarine doesn’t use heat and can’t quite match up to a device that does, it’s impressive nonetheless for its abilities and convenience.
After my first go-around with the machine, I was excited to use it again primarily because the process is so easy. Instead of getting my steamer out, plugging it in and fighting with its cord as I moved around, I popped the Submarine cleaning head on the Dyson, filled the tank and off I went. It’s worth mentioning, though, that I did have to fill the clean-water reservoir twice to wash the main floor of my home (roughly 800 square feet), which added a few minutes to the process. After each session, you’ll want to empty both reservoirs, clean the brush head and let the whole attachment dry. After that, I found it was ready to go again the next day.
The V15 Detect is a solid vacuum and an above-average mop, but more than anything, it’s convenient. It’s one relatively thin and lightweight device that can clean all of the floors in your home without a ton of extra effort needed on your part and with few, if any, frustrations. But as with anything, convenience comes at a cost: you’ll pay $950 for this model, and no, you can’t just buy the Submarine head separately and use it with a standard Dyson stick vac. If you only have a little bit of tile or hard flooring in your home, it’ll be difficult to justify the cost of the Submarine — but if convenience is of utmost importance and you want one cordless vac-and-mop to rule them all, Dyson’s machine is a great option.
Pros
Great suction power
Includes Submarine cleaning head for mopping and cleaning up wet messes
Suction power: 230W | Bin volume: 0.8 gallon | Battery life: 60 min | Weight: 5.29 pounds
Tineco’s high-end Pure One Station FurFree deserves a nod here because it was one of the cordless vacuums I tested that I wanted to use the most, and it’s arguably the most convenient option on the list. Not only does it have strong suction power and the company’s iLoop smart sensor, but it docks and charges in a self-emptying base that cleans all parts of the machine — brush, tube and dustbin — after each use.
The freestanding base is a little intimidating when you unbox it, purely because it has more parts than that of any vacuum cleaner I tested (including the Shark Detect Pro). The whole thing, vacuum included, remains relatively svelte; it was easy for me to tuck it into a corner of a room near an outlet. The vacuum itself has a single-button start and, while not quite as strong as the Dyson V15 Detect, did a good job cleaning up all kinds of messes, pet hair included. Run time comes in at 60 minutes, more than enough to clean my whole home, and it supports Auto and Max modes along with the auto-adjusting feature provided by the iLoop sensor.
The Pure One Station FurFree also supports Wi-Fi connectivity, with its mobile app showing you battery life, dustbin capacity and self-cleaning settings. But since the small screen on the docking station gives you most of that data as well, the app is just a bonus.
The biggest selling point of this cordless vacuum is its self-emptying base, which has its own large dustbin that can hold up to 60 days worth of dirt. It’s a plastic canister that takes no garbage bags, so there’s nothing to add to the cost of ownership — simply remove the base’s dustbin to empty into your own garbage can every couple of weeks and then snap it back into place. You can customize self-cleaning settings to do a quick clean (30 seconds long) or a deep clean (60 seconds), or keep it to the auto mode (45 seconds). The machine will clean itself whenever you return the vacuum to its dock, unless you manually disable this feature. I appreciate that the base automatically empties the vacuum’s dustbin during self-cleaning, but it’s also great that it uses gusts of air to clean the vacuum’s brush and tube. Lots of little particles and hair can get stuck in those parts, and with other vacuums, you’re left to clear those out yourself.
The “FurFree” in the Pure One Station’s name refers to the extra attachments that come with the machine that basically turn it into a pet-grooming tool. This will likely be more useful for dog owners, or maybe folks with more amenable cats than mine (she hates all vacuums — cordless, robot, you name it). If you’re not a pet owner, there’s a standard Tineco Pure One Station that’s otherwise an identical machine with the same self-cleaning base, but only comes with regular vacuum attachments, and costs $200 less. FurFree or regular, though, the Pure One Station is a great cordless vacuum that’s made better by its clever and convenient self-emptying base.
Pros
Great suction power
Includes self-emptying base
Base empties bin and also cleans the vacuum’s brush and tube simultaneously
The Dyson Gen 5 Detect has a single-button start and stronger suction power than our top pick, but it’s otherwise quite similar. However, since the Gen 5 Detect is more expensive at $950 (although it does receive discounts at Dyson online), the V15 Detect still provides greater value for your money. The Gen 5 Detect is arguably best for those who want the latest Dyson, or care about getting a more future-proof machine, since it came out just last year.
Shark Detect Pro
The Shark Detect Pro provides a lot of value for the money, but it was ultimately beat by the Tineco Pure One S15 Pet for our runner-up slot thanks to the Tineco’s stronger suction power. The kicker for the Detect Pro is that it includes a self-emptying base in its $450 price, which is super handy. It’ll automatically dump the contents of the vacuum into the larger bin in the base after every cleaning, and you only need to empty the base’s container every month or so. The Detect Pro did a good job cleaning up messes across different types of flooring, and it’ll auto-adjust suction power depending on the amount of debris and whether you’re cleaning hard or carpeted floors. However, it’s not as smooth to use as any of our top picks and its main cleaner head is a bit tall, making it difficult to use to clean under low furniture.
FAQs
How long does the battery last on a cordless vacuum?
Most cordless vacuums will run for at least 30-40 minutes on a single charge, but you can find cordless vacuums with battery lives of up to 60 or 70 minutes. Manufacturers will outline an estimated battery life for each model, and they’re usually based on using the vacuum’s standard power mode for the entire runtime; if you switch between modes or prefer to use a higher-powered program for improved suction, you’ll drain the battery faster.
Can cordless vacuums be as powerful as corded ones?
Cordless vacuums do sacrifice a bit in overall power when compared to corded models, but that doesn’t mean they can’t handle everyday messes just as well. If suction power is your biggest concern, we recommend springing for a high-powered, high-end cordless vacuum since, typically, the more expensive a cordless vacuum is, the stronger the suction. Also, cordless vacuums have the edge over corded models when it comes to weight and convenience: cordless vacuums are much lighter than their corded counterparts, and you’ll never have to worry about placement or picking a fight with a cord while cleaning your living room.
Are cordless vacuums effective on pet hair?
Yes, cordless vacuums can handle pet hair well, but we recommend getting a model with strong suction power to get the best results. It’s also wise to get one with a larger bin, since pet hair can quickly fill up smaller bins, which may force you to stop cleaning to empty the vacuum before finishing.
Whether you have kids tracking in dirt on a daily basis or a few fur-shedding pets (or both), a robot vacuum can help make it easier to keep your floors clean. Vacuuming doesn’t have to be a daily chore for which you alone are responsible — these smart machines have gotten even better in recent years, to the point where some of them can even mop your hard floors in addition to sucking up debris. Yes, they are on the expensive side of the smart home gadget spectrum, but there are more midrange and affordable options today than ever before. But if you’re unclear where to start in your search for the best robot vacuum, we’re here to help. We’ve tested dozens of these machines over the years to find our top picks mentioned below, and lay out some advice that will hopefully help you decide which robo-vac is right for you.
Editor’s Note (3/14/24): We’re constantly testing new robot vacuums and updating this guide accordingly when we find new favorites. One model that’s on our radar is the Dyson 360 Vis Nav robot vacuum cleaner, which has been announced and will be available soon. Although it’s been available in other markets for some time, the 360 Vis Nav has yet to launch in the US — when it does, we’ll be eager to test it out and see if it’s worthy of a spot on our list.
What to look for in a robot vacuum
Wi-Fi connectivity
As we explained in our budget guide, Wi-Fi connectivity is a key feature for most robot vacuums. Some of the affordable devices aren’t Wi-Fi connected, though, so it’s best to double check before you buy cheap. Wi-Fi lets a robot vacuum cleaner do things like communicate with a mobile app, which then allows you to control the device from your phone.
Vacuum suction
Suction power is another important factor to consider. Unfortunately, there isn’t a standard power scale that all robo-vacs adhere to, so it’s difficult to compare among a bunch of devices. Some companies provide Pascal (Pa) levels and generally the higher the Pa, the stronger the vacuum cleaner will be. But other companies don’t rely on Pa and simply say their robots have X-times more suction than other robots.
Floor type
Ultimately, we recommend thinking first about the floors in your home: Do you have carpet throughout, or tile and hardwood floors, or a mix? Robots with stronger suction power will do a better job cleaning carpets as they can get into the nooks and crannies more easily. Some machines have “max” modes as well, which ups the suction power but also typically eats at battery life faster than the “normal” cleaning mode.
Mapping features and object detection
Past a certain price threshold, you’ll find advanced perks like home mapping features, improved object detection and automatic dustbin disposal. Home mapping is exactly what it sounds like: The vacuum uses sensors to map your home’s layout as it cleans, allowing you to send it to particular rooms or areas. Most robo-vacs have object detection, but some will be better than others at actually avoiding things like chair legs and children’s toys. Higher-end models like iRobot’s j7 series even go so far as to promise obstacle avoidance to steer clear of things like pet poop that can potentially ruin your machine.
Robot vacuums with mopping capabilities
We’re also now starting to see more robot vacuums with mopping capabilities. Machines with this feature have a water reservoir either built into the robot’s chassis or as a separate piece that you swap in for the dustbin when you want to mop your floors. It makes the robo-vac more useful if you have hard floors in your home that you like to keep squeaky clean, but it does require more work on your part. Filling and emptying the reservoir remains a human’s job.
Auto-empty station
Finally, for peak convenience, consider a robot vacuum that comes with a self-cleaning base. These are basically garbage bins attached to the machine’s docking station. At the end of each job, the robo-vac automatically empties its small dustbin into the large clean base – that means you won’t have to empty the dustbin yourself and you’ll only have to tend to the base once every few weeks. Just keep in mind that most self-emptying bins require proprietary garbage bags – another long-term expense you’ll have to factor in. Also, any vac-and-mop robot with a water tank will not dump its dirty water into the clean base, so you’ll still have to clean up that yourself.
Shark
Wi-Fi connectivity: Yes | Floor type: All floor types | Features: Obstacle avoidance, home mapping, LiDAR navigation, Alexa/Google Assistant voice control | Mopping capabilities: No | Self-empty: Yes
Shark’s RV2502AE AI robot vacuum with self-emptying base ticks all of the boxes that a mid-range machine should. It offers reliable cleaning performance, its mobile app is easy to use and it produces accurate home maps. On top of that, its base is bagless, which means you won’t have to spend money on extra bags every few months.
Setting up the Shark is as simple as taking it and its base out of the box, plugging the base in and downloading the companion mobile app to finish things up. The machine connects to Wi-Fi, allowing you to control it via the app when you’re not at home, or using Google Assistant and Alexa voice control. The first journey the Shark makes is an “Explore Run,” during which it produces a map of your home that you can then edit from the mobile app.
The Shark produced a pretty accurate floorplan of my two-bedroom apartment, and I was happy to see a “re-explore” option that I could use if the map wasn’t up to my standards. With a completed map, you’re then asked to label rooms in your home. That way, you can send the Shark to only the bedroom for more direct cleaning jobs, select “no-go” zones and more.
The first few times I ran the Shark robot, I had it clean my whole apartment. I was impressed by how quiet it was – or rather, how much quieter it was compared to other robo-vacs I’ve tried. You’ll have to turn up the volume on your TV if it’s cleaning in the same room, but it’ll be hard to hear when it’s sucking up debris down the hallway. It also did a decent job maneuvering its way around the cat toys I left out on the floor. The device’s object detection feature claims it can avoid things as small as four inches, but I found that it was much better at sensing and moving around the three-foot-long cat tunnel on my floor than the many tiny mouse toys.
But even if Mr. Mouse caught the edge of the Shark’s wheels now and then, the robo-vac took it all in stride. One thing I look for when testing robot vacuums is how much attention they need from me during cleanings. The best ones are hands-free and require no extra attention at all – once they start a job, they’re smart enough to putter around your home, move around objects and return to their base when they’re finished. With Shark’s robo-vac, I never had to tend to it when it was cleaning. Now, I did my due diligence and picked up pieces of clothing and charging cables off the ground before running the Shark (ditto for every other robot vacuum I tested), so those things were never in the way. Most companion apps will actually remind you to do this before starting a cleaning job.
This Shark machine comes with an auto-empty station, so it will empty its dustbin after every cleaning run – and also during a job if its bin gets full before it’s done. In the latter situation, the Shark will go back to cleaning automatically after it’s freed up its bin. That’s a great feature, but I found the best thing about the base to be its bagless design. Shark’s device is unlike most other robot vacuum clean bases because you don’t have to keep buying proprietary garbage bags to outfit the interior of the base. When you want to empty the base, part of it snaps off and opens to eject debris, and it easily locks back in place when you return it. Not only is this quite convenient, but it also brings the lifetime cost of ownership down since you won’t be buying special bags every few months.
Its worth noting that Shark has a couple of models that are similar to the RV2502AE that just have a different color scheme, a 30- versus 60-day self-cleaning base capacity and other minor differences. The biggest feature that would impact how you use the machine is the clean base capacity: we recommend springing for the 60-day models if you want to interact as little as possible with your robo-vac.
Wi-Fi connectivity: Yes | Floor type: All floor types | Features: Advanced obstacle avoidance, home mapping, Alexa/Google Assistant voice control | Mopping capabilities: No | Self-empty: No
Not much has changed since Amazon bought iRobot a little while back – the Roomba j7 remains a great option if you want the latest obstacle avoidance technology from the company in an attractive package. The $600 j7 doesn’t come with a clean base, but you can get the same vacuum with one for $200 extra.
The biggest selling point of the Roomba j7 series is its upgraded AI-driven computer vision which helps it detect and move around objects. This includes pet poop – a robot vacuum’s arch nemesis – and iRobot even promises pet owners that it will replace their j7 machine if it runs into pet poop within the first year of ownership.
That’s one feature I was happy I never got to test while reviewing this Roomba, as my cat kept all of her activity to her litter box. Otherwise, the Roomba j7 did a good job sucking up dirt and debris around my apartment and it didn’t make too much noise while doing so. All of the robo-vacs I tested at this mid-range level had roughly the same level of suction, so there wasn’t a big difference between them when it came to cleaning power.
Like other robot vacuums, you can set cleaning schedules in the iRobot mobile app so you never have to start a cleaning job on the fly. The app also has a “favorites” section, which lets you create profiles that you’ll use all the time like “clean the living room and the entryway.” And if you prefer to use voice commands, the robot supports Amazon’s Alexa and the Google Assistant.
The Roomba j7 has Imprint Smart Mapping, but unlike the Shark, it took more than one runthrough of my home for it to create a complete map. iRobot’s app distinguishes between a regular cleaning job and a “mapping run,” so make sure you’re choosing the latter the first few times you run the machine.
I tested the j7+, which means I was treated to the roaring sounds of the machine emptying its dustbin into its base. The emptying process isn’t as simple as an automatically opening flat that shakes dirt from one garbage can to another – the base actually sucks the dirt from vacuum. This was the case for all of the machines I tried that came with self-emptying bases; they’re all quite loud, but the Roomba j7+ was the loudest of them all. The whooshing sounds last for only five to 10 seconds, but it was shocking the first time it happened. Just keep that in mind if you ever decide to run your self emptying robot vacuum at night when others are sleeping.
Wi-Fi connectivity: Yes | Floor type: All floor types | Features: Obstacle avoidance, home mapping, laser navigation | Mopping capabilities: Yes | Self-empty: No
You may be unfamiliar with Anker’s robot vacuums, but they’re often more affordable alternatives to the iRobots and Sharks of the world. The Eufy RoboVac X8 Hybrid isn’t a budget machine by any means, but it’s a solid robot vacuum that offers a few key features that many competitors don’t have. Plus, you can often find it on sale for $549 or even $449.
Unlike our other midrange picks, the X8 Hybrid doesn’t come with a self-emptying bin, nor is there one you can purchase separately. It’s just a standalone robo-vac, but the “hybrid” indicates that it’s also a robot mop. It has both a dustbin for collecting debris and a 250-milliliter water tank that you can fill whenever you want to run a mopping cycle. Plenty of other robot vacuums have this feature, and it could be even more useful than a self-cleaning bin if you have lots of tile or hardwood floors throughout your home.
Besides that, I was impressed with how easy it was to set up the X8 Hybrid, how accurate its mapping capabilities were and how many extra features it supports. It has four cleaning modes – auto, room, zone and spot – and four suction levels starting with Pure at the low end and topping out at Max. These features give you a lot of control over where the machine cleans and how powerfully it will do so. The X8 Hybrid was in Pure mode the first time I ran it, and I was surprised by not only how quiet it was but also how thoroughly it cleaned considering it was on the lowest suction setting.
There’s also a “tap and go” feature that lets you pinpoint any spot on your home map in the EufyHome app, sending the robot there to clean. Manual controls are also available, which isn’t something you see on a ton of robo-vacs. This option lets you control the machine almost like a slow and slightly clumsy RC car, giving you more control over where it cleans.
It may not have the name recognition that iRobot or Shark do, but the Eufy RoboVac X8 Hybrid is a solid choice nonetheless, especially if you don’t care to add a clean base into the mix. It’s an even more tempting choice if you can snag it at a lower price when it’s discounted.
The Roomba Combo j9+ has everything we want in a combination robotic vacuum and mop. It offers incredibly powerful suction, deep floor scrubbing and a slew of smarts to avoid obstacles (including cat and dog poop!). It’s a better vacuum than its predecessor, the Roomba Combo j7+, and it also features a new Clean Base that can automatically refill its liquid tank. More than any Roomba before it, the Combo j9+ can make your floors sparkly clean with very little intervention on your part.
While it’s expensive, the Roomba Combo j9+ certainly beats paying for a professional cleaning service. It’s also an excellent accessory for busy parents who just want to keep their floors looking tidy. It’s one of the best robotic vacuums and mops for pet owners, especially for its ability to avoid pet waste. In fact, if the j9+ ends up making a poopy mess due to cat or dog droppings, iRobot will send you a replacement unit for free. (That offer only works for the first year, and it only applies to solid waste from cats and dogs, but it’s still a helpful guarantee for pet owners afraid of the havoc that a robo-vac might wreak.)
The Roomba Combo j9+ features home mapping and can accurately map your home far faster than any previous Roomba, and you can also use the iRobot app to specify room borders. You can also create cleaning routines and label objects to help it clean exactly where you’d like. The j9+ works with smart assistants from Amazon and Google as well, so you can just shout out cleaning requests to your smart speaker. While it’s not a completely magical cleaning robot – you’ll still need to clear up your floors to help it run well – it’s certainly the closest we’ve seen yet to the ideal robotic vacuum and mop. — Devindra Hardawar, Senior Reporter
Wi-Fi connectivity: Yes | Floor type: All floor types | Features: Obstacle avoidance, home mapping, LiDAR navigation, Alexa/Google Assistant voice control | Mopping capabilities: Yes | Self-empty: Yes
The main reason why Shark’s machine is our runner-up pick is its more manual nature. It comes with two dustbins, one for vacuuming only and one for vacuuming and mopping that has a water reservoir and a detachable mop pad. You have to switch to the appropriate dustbin when you want to mop your floors, and after each job, the dustbin will not automatically empty into the clean base since it has the reservoir in it. You’ll have to manually empty it instead, but you would have to do that anyway to clean and refill the water tank in preparation for the next job.
Despite being a more hands-on machine, Shark’s robotic vac and mop was a pleasure to review. Setting it up was as quick and simple as one of the company’s standard robot vacuums, and its first run will create a map of your home, which you can then label with room names, edit with no-go zones and carpeted areas and more. You can even choose to have the robot do a dry run first before doing any actual mopping, so you can make sure it doesn’t enter into the carpeted areas you’ve indicated in your home map. In my testing, the robot accurately stayed away from these zones that I set and I actually like having that little bit of extra control over where the machine goes. But of course, that’s just another thing you have to do manually that iRobot’s vac and mop takes care of using built-in tech.
The Shark’s water–and-solution based cleaning abilities are basic but much better than having to schlep out an old-school mop and bucket yourself. My mix of hardwood and tile floors appeared noticeably cleaner after the Shark passed over them with its mopping pad. I know I’ll have to whip out my floor steamer every once in a while to really get a deep clean, but the Shark’s capabilities are more than enough for biweekly runs – and it’s hard to beat the convenience of not having to do it yourself.
Shark’s machine has a few other things going for it, too: the auto-empty station is bagless, which means you won’t have to shell out more money over time for extra bags like you will have to with iRobot machines; its mobile app remains easy to use and one that newbies will be able to pick up quickly; and, maybe most importantly, this device comes in at $700. That’s still a good chunk of change, but it’s a far-cry cheaper than the Roomba j7+ Combo.
Pros
Vacuum and mopping capabilities
Included bagless self-emptying base
Easy to use mobile app
Cons
Must manually switch dustbins when you want to mop
Wi-Fi connectivity: Yes | Floor type: All floor types | Features: Obstacle avoidance, home mapping, LiDAR navigation, Alexa/Google Assistant/Siri voice control | Mopping capabilities: Yes | Self-empty: Yes
Roborock’s high-end S7+ deserves a mention for its cleaning power and number of advanced features. First, the S7+ is a vac-and-mop combo, and its mopping pad automatically lifts itself out of the way when the machine reaches the carpet. That means you can have it clean your whole home, vacuuming and mopping in the right spots, without you giving it any extra attention (besides filling its 300ml water tank at the start).
The expensive machine has a longer setup process because its self-emptying base comes in two pieces. You must attach the bottom of the base, where the robo-vac charges, to the garbage-bin upper portion using a few screws and a tool that attaches to the bottom of the base. Roborock provides everything you need to do this in the box, so while it takes a bit more time, it’s still an easy process.
What wasn’t so easy for me at first was connecting the S7+ to the Roborock app. The vacuum had trouble connecting to my home’s Wi-Fi network, but I was able to connect it to the Mi Home app, which is Xiaomi’s main smart home companion app (Xiaomi is an investor in Roborock). There aren’t a ton of differences between the two apps when it comes to robo-vac controls, but the S7+ is designed to work with Roborock’s program. After troubleshooting with a Roborock representative, I was able to fix the problem by factory resetting the vacuum and that allowed me to connect it to the Roborock app properly.
That said, the Roborock app isn’t nearly as polished as those from iRobot, Shark and others. The main page shows your home’s map along with the battery level, cleaning time, cleaning area in feet, and buttons that let you quickly start a cleaning job and empty the dustbin. You’re also able to select specific rooms or zones to clean, but the rest of the control options live in the menu accessible by the three-dot icon at the top-right corner of the app. Things are a little buried, and that might make the S7+ harder for robot-vacuum newbies to use.
When it comes to cleaning performance, the Roborock S7+ did a great job sucking up dirt around my home. In addition to the usual features like cleaning schedules, zone targeting and others, the vacuum also has things like child lock, which will disable the physical buttons on the machine; different auto-emptying settings to choose from; “pin and go,” which lets you tap on your home map to send the robot to a specific location; and manual direction controls so you can move the machine like a toy car. This isn’t the robot vacuum to get if you want the most polished experience – and you may very well want that if you’re dropping $1,000 on one – but it remains a powerful vac-and-mop machine with a handful of extra perks.
Pros
Vacuum and mopping capabilities
Senses floor type to automatically mop certain surfaces
iRobot’s $279 Roomba 694 is a good affordable robot vaccum option for most people thanks to its good cleaning power and easy-to-use mobile app. We won’t get too deep into it here since we have a whole guide to cheap robot vacuums with additional recommendations. But suffice to say, the 694 gives you all the essentials you’d expect from a robot vacuum, along with all of the convenience that comes with iRobot’s mobile app.
We tackled this question when we reviewed budget robot vacuums and the answer is yes, especially if vacuuming is one of your least favorite chores. Robots take the hard work out of cleaning your floors – just turn the thing on and watch it go. Any robot vacuum cleaner worth buying is semi-autonomous in that it will suck up dirt around your home until its battery is low and then make its way back to its charging dock. Unlike a regular vacuum, you should only have to interact with it to turn it on, empty its dustbin and untangle it if it were to get stuck somewhere.
That’s not to say robot vacuums are perfect. They’re almost always less powerful and less flexible than traditional vacuums. Since most robo-vacs are much smaller than traditional models, they often don’t have the same level of suction you’ll get in an upright machine. Plus, their dustbins are smaller, so they will need to be emptied more frequently. While Wi-Fi-connected robot vacuums give you the flexibility to start a cleaning job from anywhere using an app, targeting a small area of your home can be more complicated. Some robo-vacs have spot-cleaning features that focus the machine’s attention on a specific area, which almost – but not quite – mimics the spot-cleaning you’d be able to do yourself with a regular or cordless vacuum.
Robot vacuum maintenance tips
First and foremost, always empty your robot vacuum’s dustbin after every cleaning job. If you have a model with a self-emptying base, there’s less work for you to do yourself. If not, simply detach and empty the dustbin as soon as the robot is done cleaning. It’s also a good idea to take a dry cloth to the inside of the dustbin every once in a while to remove any small dust and dirt particles clinging to its insides.
In addition, you’ll want to regularly examine the machine’s brushes to see if any hair has wrapped around them, or if any large debris is preventing them from working properly. Some brushes are better than others at not succumbing to tangled hair, but it’s a good idea to check your robot’s brushes regardless — both their main brush and any smaller, corner brushes they have. These parts are often easy to pop off of the machine (because they do require replacements eventually) so we recommend removing each brush entirely, getting rid of any tangled hair or other debris attached to them and reinstalling them afterwards.
Robot vacuums also have filters that need replacing every couple of months. Check your machine’s user manual or the manufacturer’s website to see how long they recommend going in between filter replacements. Most of the time, these filters cannot be washed, so you will need to buy new ones either directly from the manufacturer or from other retailers like Amazon or Walmart.
I miss having clean floors. I’ve been using a variety of Roombas over the years to help out with vacuuming, but ever since my wife and I had our second child in 2022, mopping has become an afterthought. And really, vacuuming can only clean your floor so much. I missed the shimmer of a mopped hardwood floor and the smell of Murphy Oil cleaner lingering in the air. Instead, I’ve been living with even more toys, crumbs and an assortment of bodily waste (which three cats contribute to) on my flooring and carpets. Don’t judge me (or any parent!), I’m tired.
When Engadget’s own Daniel Cooper extolled the virtues of iRobot’s first combination robot vacuum and mop, I was intrigued. I’d already grown to love my Roombas, especially after they gained the ability to dump their own waste into their charging docks. But for them to mop as well? That just sounded like an impossible dream. So when iRobot announced its second combination flagship, the Roomba Combo j9+, I leapt at the chance to test it. (Sorry, Dan.)
iRobot
The Roomba Combo j9+ is the ideal robotic vacuum and mop. It can easily suck up dirt while also wiping down your floors, and now it’s smart enough to refill its own water tank.
I’ve tested iRobot’s Braava Jet m6 mopping robot, which was announced in 2019 and was notable for being able to work alongside the Roomba s9+. But it would have cost me $499 and required clunky setup and maintenance. Plus, it was yet another device that needed to live somewhere in my home. It was ultimately easier for me to just run the Roomba and mop by hand whenever I needed to.
Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
The Roomba Combo j9+ (and the j7+ before it) promises a far smoother experience: It can simultaneously vacuum and mop without much additional effort on your part. All you need to do is add some water and cleaning solution to its large reservoir (stored neatly in the redesigned Clean Base) and attach a mop pad. The company developed a unique mop arm that can automatically move up and down when needed, which helps to avoid leaving your carpets wet with residue.
Maintenance is fairly simple too: Wash the mop pads after a few runs, add more water when necessary, and make sure the Roomba’s bristles aren’t getting tangled with hair. Once the Clean Base is full, swapping its custom waste bags takes only a few seconds.
While we liked the Roomba Combo j7+ well enough, the new model solves some of the issues we encountered. It can automatically refill its water tank from the Clean Base, whereas the j7+ required you to manually add liquid to the robot. The Combo j9+ also offers stronger vacuum suctioning, which allows it to pick up smaller debris and complete jobs with fewer cleaning passes. Its new Clean Base also looks like a piece of furniture, with a wood top that you can use like a regular table. Its door swings open from the front and offers space for additional waste bags, accessories and a large reservoir for cleaning liquid.
Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
iRobot claims the j9+ Clean Base allows for 30 days of hands-free mopping and 60-days of hands-free vacuuming, figures that seem exceedingly ambitious for most users. In my testing, I needed to look at the Roomba’s bristles at least once a week to deal with extraneous hair and random toys. And I definitely had to change the mop pad after two or three runs — after all, there’s no such thing as clean floors with a dirty mop.
Like the Roomba j7+ and s9 before it, as well as just about every Roomba ever made, you’ll want to clear your floors of small debris and potential hazards before starting a run. As a Roomba user since 2005, I’ve grown to accept that they’re not magical cleaning devices. You will need to put in a bit of work to help them run best. But the key is it’s still easier than manually vacuuming and sweeping your floors and it’s significantly cheaper than a cleaning service.
Thanks to iRobot’s OS 7, along with its camera and wide array of sensors, the Roomba Combo j9+ is far better at automatically mapping your home than previous models. After two runs, it tagged my kitchen, dining area and living room correctly, though I had to hop into the iRobot app to differentiate between my living room and family room. The mapping might seem unnecessary if you’re using a Roomba for the first time (you can also disable it entirely), but it is the heart of the vacuum’s routines. Instead of cleaning your entire home, you can program it to just clean the kitchen and dining room. If you connect your app to Alexa, Siri or Google Assistant, you can also use voice commands to direct your robot to specific locations.
After getting in hot water over its earlier plans to sell home mapping data, iRobot made an about face, gave up on that idea and started emphasizing privacy. The company says your mapping data is stored in the iRobot Cloud for processing (something you can also disable), which is a “secure” environment with “strict access controls, data encryption at rest and in transit, and periodic audits to ensure access is only given to those who require it.”
In 2020, MIT Technology Review reported that development versions of the Roomba J7 captured images of a woman sitting on a toilet and a child playing on the floor, which made their way to a library used by the labeling service Scale AI. iRobot said that the people using those devices had agreed to have their data captured — they weren’t regular consumers. One downside of using any cloud-connected device, especially one that aims to learn about your home, is that it’ll require sharing some data. It’s up to you to determine if that’s a worthwhile tradeoff for more convenience.
Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
When it comes to cleaning, the Roomba Combo j9+ practically mesmerized me as it balanced vacuuming and mopping duties. At the start of every mopping job, the robot emerged from the Clean Base, turned around and studiously refilled its liquid tank. It’s like watching R2D2 go to the bathroom in reverse. Since it was starting every job on my wood floor, the Roomba then lowered its mopping pad from its top (it has a ‘lil mop hat!) and spun up its vacuum. Then, it proceeded to move forward, sucking up dirt while the scrubbing pad cleaned right behind, a virtuoso show of autonomous cleaning acrobatics.
If you don’t need a full cleaning, you could also use the iRobot app to have the j9+ just vacuum or mop (useful if you’ve just gone to town on your floors with a manual vac). The iRobot app lets you control the number of cleaning passes per job (one, two or “room-size”, which tackles large rooms once and smaller spaces two to three times), as well as the amount of water for every mopping job (eco, standard or ultra). You can also choose between low, medium and high suction options (which get progressively louder, as you’d expect).
Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
The iRobot app also lets you turn the Roomba’s obstacle detection on and off, though you’ll likely never want to disable it. In my testing, the Roomba Combo j9+ managed to avoid shoes, toys and other objects in its path. It also quietly came to a halt whenever my kids or cats stepped in front of it. iRobot’s promise to avoid pet poop (the aptly named Pet Owner Official Promise) also applies to the j9+. If the company’s poop-optimized computer vision algorithms somehow miss a dog or cat mess in your home, iRobot says it will send you a new Roomba at no charge within the first year of purchase. The company will only send out one replacement, though, and the guarantee doesn’t apply to non-solid waste (including diarrhea) or poop from another animal.
Before you ask, yes, I tested this. I placed a bit of cat poop in front of the j9+ and watched with worry as it approached the stinker. Thankfully, it stopped about six inches away and immediately backed off, as if it was terrified of the horrors it was about to inflict on itself. My floors were grateful, as was I.
The Roomba Combo j9+ performed admirably as a mop. It wasn’t always perfect, and I could occasionally make out streaks, but it still looked a lot better than when relying on mere vacuuming. After my first cleaning session, my floors beamed in the sunlight with a glow I hadn’t seen in months. And best of all, it required very little effort on my part, aside from a bit of tidying up. Even my notoriously picky mom noticed my floors sparkled more when they visited right after the Roomba worked its magic.
According to iRobot, the j9+ features twice the scrubbing performance of the j7+. While I couldn’t test the difference directly, I can confirm it’s a stubborn little bot when it comes to tough situations like dried litter paw prints and caked-in dirt. It managed to fully clean up those messes, but I’d be wary of letting it tackle anything worse, at least not without changing the mopping pad right afterwards. The j9+ may be able to avoid streaking poop around your house, but having your floors painted with a muddy mop can also be awful.
Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
A rogue j9+ could do plenty of damage around your home, since its battery life has also been improved. It typically cleared my first floor in around two hours without needing a charging break. At one point, it ran for two and a half hours without a sweat. That should make this Roomba pretty capable even if you have a large home. A full floor cleaning took between 30 minutes and an hour longer than the j7+, but that makes sense since it’s also mopping and being more diligent about vacuuming.
At $1,400, the Roomba Combo J9+ is too expensive for most people looking to buy their first robovac. Even when iRobot is running a sale (we’ve seen it drop the price down to $999), the Combo j9+ is pretty pricey, but that cut does make the j9+ more palatable for longtime Roomba owners who’ve learned how to fit the bot into their cleaning routines. iRobot isn’t completely out of line with its pricing: The competing Roborock S7 Max Ultra offers similar vacuum and mopping features and typically sells for $1,299 (it’s also on sale for $999 at the moment).
There’s still no robot vacuum equivalent to the Jetson’s Rosie the Robot, but the Roomba Combo j9+ is the closest we’ve got so far. iRobot has built upon its excellent robot vacuum platform to deliver something that can finally mop your floors without a sweat. And while it may seem a tad exorbitant, the cost may be worth it for parents who, like me, forgot what truly clean floors looked like.
Dyson’s higher-end vacuums might normally feel like a bit too much of a splurge, but a deal for today only brings the V15 Detect down to a more manageable price. The is $180 off in a deal from QVC. Normally $750, the V15 Detect is going for just $570 right now — almost as low as we saw it go during , when it dropped to $550. But the deal will only last until the end of the day, so don’t take too long mulling it over. Dyson’s V15 Detect is a cordless, stick vacuum with an LED light on its head to expose all the unseen dirt hanging around your floors.
Dyson
Save $180 on the Dyson V15 Detect in this one-day-only sale.
$570 at QVC
The Dyson V15 Detect doesn’t just suck up the dirt in your home, but it analyzes it to give you a report on what it cleaned, too. It has a LCD display on the back end that will show you a particle count and a breakdown of the different particle size groupings. The display will also let you know how much run time it has left before it needs to be recharged. Dyson says it runs on average for up to 60 minutes, and optimizes the suction and run time based on the level of mess it’s tasked with cleaning.
Fancy extra features aside, it’s a real powerhouse when it comes down to the cleaning. Engadget’s Mat Smith and said it was the most powerful vacuum he’d ever used, even rivaling heavier plug-in vacuums. It has three cleaning modes to choose from: Eco, Auto and Boost. The vacuum’s brush bar has an anti-tangling design to better cope with things like hair that tend to get caught up. There’s also a separate hair screw tool that’s included with the V15’s accessories for those households that need to tackle the problem with more muscle.
The Dyson V15 Detect comes with a crevice tool to help you get into hard-to-reach areas, and it can be converted to a handheld vacuum for smaller jobs. In the box, it also comes with a wall dock, combination tool and charging adapter.
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Dyson released its Dyson V15s Detect Submarine in the UK this week (March 6), following its rollouts in Australia and later the US last year. It’s the company’s first-ever wet and dry vacuum cleaner (so it doubles as a mop, thanks to its eponymous Submarine head), and I was offered the chance to test it out.
As it happens, I’ve been moving into a new apartment this week, so how better to test the Dyson V15s Detect Submarine than seeing how it stacks up as a deep-cleaning tool for getting my new home ready before I move all my furniture in?
TL;DR: this cleaning gadget is almost everything I want. It’s powerful, and it does a fantastic job of cleaning carpets and hard floors, though the battery life and small dirt bin can mean it takes longer to do the job than other vacuums, especially as it doesn’t recharge quickly.
A lean cleaning machine
As a traditional vacuum the Dyson V15s Submarine has all the same bells and whistles as the non-mop equipped version. It comes with all the attachments, including the Motorbar cleaner head (my favorite for carpets), the Fluffy Optic head, and tools for sucking the dust from corners and crevices.
Most importantly, it also comes with the same supreme suction that all Dyson vacs are known for.
I loved cleaning with this thing (Image credit: Future)
The home had been cleaned before we arrived, but you might not know it if you saw the dust this machine ripped from the carpets. In the four carpeted rooms – the bedroom, office, living room and hallway – I managed to fill the canister two-and-a-half times, and I could swear the floors looked a shade lighter when I was finished.
The only downside was the vacuum’s aforementioned battery life. Because of all the dirt it was taking up the V15’s auto power setting must have mostly been running on high, and while this did deliver an amazing clean it meant I needed to recharge the vacuum after around 25 minutes of cleaning, when I was only about two-thirds finished.
To make matters worse, the vacuum is fairly slow to recharge. However, for a cordless vacuum these trade-offs in terms of charging and power are to be expected if you want to keep the device portable and easy to manoeuvre – which the V15s Detect Submarine certainly is.
Mop to it
Okay, but we already know how good a Dyson is at vacuuming – it’s kinda what they’re known for. But how does its first-ever mop compare?
At first glance I was worried that it wasn’t actually doing anything. That’s because the mopped floor is left with only a thin film of water on it after you’ve gone over it – the head is designed to not drench your floors in the first place, and excess dirty liquid is deposited in the Submarine’s dirty-water container.
After feeling that the mop head and floor were indeed damp – and checking that the water supply was fitted properly twice more – I carried on, and saw that the Dyson Submarine mop was indeed mopping up a lot of the messes I’d made while cleaning the kitchen counter and my bathroom earlier in the day.
The Submarine head can be stored in its drip tray when not in use (Image credit: Future)
This was especially true when I slowed down and let the mop head scrub each surface for longer, rather than manually moving it back and forth. The experience is a lot like transitioning from manual toothbrushes to electric ones; you have to learn to let the head do the work rather than your mechanical movement.
I was also glad to see that, because the pipe is completely blocked off, there’s no chance of any water being sucked up into the main bin and causing damage (which, in fairness would have been a massive oversight on Dyson’s part).
However, because of this I found that the mop head wasn’t as good at capturing debris chunks as the other attachments. Once the floor was dry (it dried fairly speedily) I had to go back over it with the fluffy head to pick up any remaining dirt.
The only thing I can’t speak to is how long it can mop for. I went over my modestly sized kitchen and bathroom, with the readout on the V15s Submarine’s screen saying I’d only used about 10% of the water tank. If your home has more hard floors that need mopping I expect that you’ll need to refill the water tank at least once.
A new best of the best?
(Image credit: Dyson)
If you already have a Dyson V15 Detect Absolute then I wouldn’t recommend upgrading to the V15s Detect Submarine. Apart from the Submarine mop attachment you won’t get anything extra out of your machine – which is why I’m a little surprised that Dyson doesn’t sell the mop attachment separately (unless there’s a hardware upgrade or two under the hood that’s required for the V15s to function).
But if you have an older Dyson vacuum that’s in need of a refresh, or you’re looking to transition from a rival brand, this is a model I’d seriously recommend considering over Dyson’s more traditional vacuums if you mop a lot (or want to mop more).
Alternatively, picking up one of the other best vacuum cleaners from our recommended guide and one of the best robot vacuums that can mop for you could be the way to go.
If you love wine, you know how quickly an open bottle can lose its special taste. The ZOENOX Vacuum Seal Wine Preservation System is here to solve that problem. It’s a smart way to keep your wine tasting like it was just opened, even days or weeks later. This system uses a special technology to take out all the air from the bottle, which is what usually makes wine go bad. It’s like putting a stopper on time, keeping your wine fresh and delicious.
The ZOENOX system is different from other wine savers you might have seen. It has a special piston that creates a very tight seal. This stops the air from getting back into the bottle and spoiling the wine. Plus, it’s designed so you can store your bottles on their side without worrying about leaks. This is great for wine lovers who don’t have a lot of space but still want to keep their wine in perfect condition.
Limited early bird offers are now available for the imaginative project from roughly $95 or £75 (depending on current exchange rates), offering a considerable discount of approximately 20% off the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, while the Indiegogo crowd funding is under way.
Using the ZOENOX system is a breeze. It’s much easier to handle than other methods that can be complicated or need a lot of cleaning. With ZOENOX, you don’t have to be a tech whiz or a wine expert to keep your wine fresh. It’s made for anyone who enjoys a good glass of wine and wants to keep it that way.
How to keep wine fresh
But that’s not all. The ZOENOX system comes with a digital helper – an app that’s like having a wine cellar in your pocket. This app does more than just keep track of what you have. It lets you save notes about each wine, like what it tastes like or when it’s best to drink it. You can even set reminders so you don’t forget about that perfect bottle waiting for you.
For anyone who’s serious about their wine, the ZOENOX Wine Preservation System is a smart investment. It uses top-notch technology to make sure your wine stays as good as when you first opened it. And with the handy app, you’ll always be on top of your wine game. Now you can relax and enjoy your wine collection without feeling rushed to finish every bottle. The ZOENOX system makes sure that every sip is as good as the first.
If the ZOENOX campaign successfully raises its required pledge goal and the project progresses smoothly, worldwide shipping is expected to take place sometime around March 2024. To learn more about the ZOENOX keeps wine fresh for days project survey the promotional video below.
For a complete list of all available campaign pledges, stretch goals, extra media and device specifications for the keeps wine fresh for days, jump over to the official ZOENOX crowd funding campaign page by going to the link below.
Source : Indiegogo
Disclaimer: Participating in Kickstarter campaigns involves inherent risks. While many projects successfully meet their goals, others may fail to deliver due to numerous challenges. Always conduct thorough research and exercise caution when pledging your hard-earned money.
Filed Under: Gadgets News, Top News
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Imagine having the power to create detailed molds right at your fingertips, with a device that fits neatly on your desk. The FORMART S is a sophisticated vacuum former that caters to a wide range of users, from designers and educators to hobbyists and small business owners. Despite its modest size, this machine packs a punch, offering capabilities that rival industrial equipment.
The heart of the FORMART S is a strong vacuum pump that can apply up to 90KPA of pressure. This feature is crucial for achieving high-quality molds with sharp details. No matter if you’re working on complex prototypes or straightforward art pieces, the FORMART S is designed to deliver with remarkable precision.
Limited early bird offers are now available for the out-of-the-box project from roughly $719 or £566 (depending on current exchange rates), offering a considerable discount of approximately 25% off the retail rate, while the Kickstarter crowd funding is under way.
In today’s fast-paced world, efficiency is key. The FORMART S is engineered to keep up with your workflow. It boasts an advanced carbon fiber quartz heater that heats materials faster than many other machines on the market. Combined with a well-crafted wooden CNC base plate, this machine ensures that your projects are not only completed swiftly but also meet high-quality standards.
FORMART S portable desktop vacuum former
Ease of use is a standout feature of the FORMART S. It comes equipped with a 3.5-inch color LCD screen that provides animated instructions, making the molding process straightforward. Users have the option to select between an “Advanced Mode” for experienced users and a “Simple Mode” for those just starting out. This flexibility makes the machine accessible to everyone, allowing users to focus on their creativity rather than getting bogged down by complicated equipment.
The FORMART S also shines when it comes to working with different materials. It supports a variety of 17 plastic types, each with specific heating parameters that can be easily selected from the machine’s library. The compatibility with A4 size materials gives users the freedom to experiment with different plastics, customizing their work to suit the unique demands of each project.
If the FORMART S campaign successfully raises its required pledge goal and the project completion progresses smoothly, worldwide shipping is expected to take place sometime around March 2024. To learn more about the FORMART S desktop vacuum former project glimpse the promotional video below.
FORMART S comes with a built-in database of 17 different plastic sheets for automatic parameter setting with materials as below:
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET): A highly transparent material commonly used to make chocolate molds or product packaging.
High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS): A versatile, general-purpose white plastic commonly used for interior signage, storage trays and modeling parts.
Thermoplastic Polyurethanes (TPU): A highly flexible and durable transparent material, and can be used to make everything from electronic device cases to handmade soap molds.
Low-density polyethylene (LDPE): Durable, non-stick material, translucent food-grade plastic with fine molding details, ideal for use in turnover molds for a variety of materials such as epoxy resin, cement, and plaster.
Safety is a critical consideration in any tool, and the FORMART S vacuum former takes it seriously. It features a patented dual-lock frame and magnetic clamps that hold materials securely in place, minimizing the chance of mishaps. These safety features allow users to concentrate on their craft with peace of mind, knowing that the machine is designed with their well-being in mind.
Despite its extensive capabilities, the FORMART S is surprisingly compact, measuring just 502mm by 312mm. This small footprint means it can fit into a variety of spaces, from cramped apartments to bustling workshops, without taking up too much room.
The FORMART S is more than just a vacuum former; it’s a comprehensive tool that brings professional-grade mold making to the convenience of your desktop. With its powerful vacuum, quick heating, user-friendly interface, wide range of compatible materials, rigorous safety features, and compact design, the FORMART S stands out as an essential device for anyone serious about mold making. It’s a machine that promises to transform your creative projects with a level of precision and quality that was once only possible with larger, more expensive equipment.
FORMART S application inspiration
Develop unique molds for specialty gift crafts
Form intricate components for architects’ display models
Create props, costumes, and special effects prostheses
Make molds for eye-catching, replicable chocolates and desserts
Mold detailed parts for board games and RPGs
Weatherproof outdoor ornaments
Produce distinctive packaging for store products
For a complete list of all available project pledges, stretch goals, extra media and product capabilities for the desktop vacuum former, jump over to the official FORMART S crowd funding campaign page by checking out the link below.
Source : Kickstarter
Disclaimer: Participating in crowdfunding campaigns on sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo involves inherent risks. While many projects successfully meet their goals, others may fail to deliver due to numerous challenges. Always conduct thorough research and exercise caution when pledging your hard-earned money as you might lose it all if the project fails.
Filed Under: Design News, Top News
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Samsung has announced that it will unveil a new range of AI-enhanced vacuum cleaners at CES 2024 this month, this will include the new Bespoke Jey Bot Combo which is a robot vacuum and mop cleaner in one.
“I am thrilled to introduce our innovative vacuum cleaner lineup for 2024, the Bespoke Jet Bot Combo™, which leverages our latest AI technology to meaningfully improve its usability,” said Moohyung Lee, EVP and Head of the Customer Experience Team of Digital Appliances Business at Samsung Electronics. “With powerful cleaning as a baseline, the new robot cleaner moves the consumer cleaning experience forward through innovative features. We firmly believe it will make cleaning more enjoyable for our customers.”
The Bespoke Jet Bot Combo™ is an AI-applied vacuum and mop robot cleaner that improves the user experience both during and after cleaning. The upgraded AI Object Recognition applied to the Bespoke Jet Bot Combo™ evolves from the technology previously introduced in the Bespoke Jet Bot™ AI+. It expands the number of objects it can distinguish, enabling more precise driving thanks to the 3D sensor applied.
You can find out more information on Samsung’s new range of AI-enhanced robot vacuum cleaners over at Samsung’s website at the link below, as soon as we have more information on pricing and availability, we will let you know.
Source Samsung
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