Comparison Roborock Q7 Max vs Roborock S7

The suction force provided by the vacuum cleaner. It is indicated by the maximum vacuum (negative pressure) that the unit can create at the working nozzle.

Note that this parameter is sometimes confused with the suction power described above, which is indicated in watts. Yes, suction force to some extent determines the efficiency of the unit. However, this efficiency also depends on the performance (airflow). And the suction power, indicated in watts, takes into account both of these parameters — it is determined by multiplying the suction force by the performance (see above for more details). For this reason, there is no strict relationship between this force and suction power: for example, a vacuum of 25,000 Pa can be found in models with 250 W, 200 W and even 150 W of power.

As for the practical significance of this spec, in general, a higher suction force allows you to work more efficiently with high resistance. For example, when processing carpets with a long pile. On the other hand, more pascals (with the same number of watts) means less airflow and, accordingly, less efficiency for large amounts of work at low resistance (for example, cleaning large rooms with parquet floors). Thus, it makes sense to pay attention to this indicator mainly in cases where high suction force is fundamental for you. In other cases, it is worth evaluating the capabilities of the vacuum cleaner in terms of suction power in watts.

Note that for a number of...reasons, the suction power is most often specified for robot vacuum cleaners (see “Produc type”). For such models, a value of 1500 Pa and below is considered very small, 1500 – 2000 Pa — medium, 2000 – 2500 Pa — high, more than 2500 Pa — very high.

It is also worth mentioning that the indication of suction force is often used as a publicity trick — to improve the impression of the product. For example, the suction power of 150 watts in itself is quite modest. But at the same time, the suction force of such a vacuum cleaner can be 25,000 Pa — a very impressive figure, especially for an inexperienced buyer, but having a very indirect relation to real efficiency. Especially often, such tricks are used among upright models and the already mentioned robots — these varieties initially do not differ in high power in watts. For many of these units, the characteristics only indicate the vacuum in pascals without specifying the suction power. It further enhances the impression: for example, in the specs of a modest robot, the figure "3000 Pa" looks much more impressive than "40 W". However, such figures have a very weak relation to the real capabilities of the unit and if they are not supplemented by data on suction power in watts, they should be considered solely as bait for a not particularly sophisticated buyer.

The presence of a HEPA fine filter in the vacuum cleaner; also in this paragraph, the specific class of this filter is often specified.

HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Absorbing) filters are designed to purify the air from the smallest mechanical contaminants — up to tenths of a micron in size. It allows you to trap not only fine dust but even bacteria. For comparison: the size of most bacteria starts at 0.5 microns, and the effectiveness of HEPA filters is evaluated by the ability to retain particles with a size of 0.1 – 0.3 microns. The most advanced such filters ( class 13 and above) are able to remove more than 99.9% of these particles from the air. Here is a more detailed description of the different classes:

— HEPA 10 – traps at least 85% of particles with a size of 0.1 – 0.3 microns;
— HEPA 11 – at least 95% of such particles;
— HEPA 12 – not less than 99.5%;
— HEPA 13 – not less than 99.95%;
— HEPA 14 – not less than 99.995%;

Note that pollution with a size of 0.1 – 0.3 microns is the worst-kept by HEPA filters, so with particles of other sizes (both larger and smaller), the efficiency of such elements will be even higher.

Regarding the choice for this parameter, it is worth noting that, in fact, it does not always make sense to pursue a high filtration class. For example, during wet cleaning with a washing vacuum cleaner (se...e above), the HEPA filter, in fact, is not needed at all (in many models, it is recommended to remove it altogether for such cases). So if you plan to use such a vacuum cleaner mainly for washing, you can ignore this parameter. Another specific case is industrial units (see "Type"): they are often used for rough cleaning of large debris, where thorough air filtration is not required.

Additional modes of operation provided by the robot cleaner (see "Product type").

First of all, let us clarify that the standard modes, in this case, include two formats of cleaning at standard power — continuous, in which the vacuum cleaner carefully cleans the entire room (or its specified area), and chaotic, in which it moves randomly within the working area. Other ways of working are considered additional; their list is given in this paragraph. Among the most common additional modes are spot cleaning (Spot), perimeter cleaning (Edge), and turbo mode. In addition, a fairly popular function is the Zigzag. Here is a detailed description of the different options:

— Spot cleaning (Spot). A mode that allows you to use the vacuum cleaner for targeted cleaning of a relatively small area of the room — for example, when spilling a small amount of debris. Most often, this programme works as follows: the robot moves to the centre of a user-defined zone, and then starts moving from this point in an expanding spiral and stops at a given distance from the starting position.

— Perimeter cleaning (Edge). A mode that allows you to start the vacuum cleaner around the perimeter of a given zone. By the name, it is mainly used for cleaning along the walls of the room: a lot of dirt accumulates in these places, which...are difficult to remove when using standard cleaning modes.

— Turbo mode. Power mode for more suction force. Usually, the movement of the vacuum cleaner, in this case, can be carried out according to any programme available in the settings — both standard (combing, random movement) and additional (Spot, Edge, Zigzag). Anyway, the turbo mode is useful primarily for cleaning carpets and other floor coverings with pile, for which the standard power of the vacuum cleaner is not enough. However, working at increased traction increases the load on the unit and increases its wear. Therefore, most models have restrictions on the maximum time of continuous operation in turbo mode and sometimes on the minimum duration of breaks between switching on this mode.

— Zigzag. Zigzag movement is a kind of transitional variant between the orderly combing of the room and the random choice of direction. Zigzag allows you to achieve greater efficiency than chaotic movements. In addition, with such a movement, it is easier to compensate for the presence of various obstacles and ensure thorough cleaning of the entire given area.

Types of voice assistants supported by the robot vacuum cleaner.

As the name implies, this function allows you to control the robot using voice commands. However, we emphasize that in this case, we are not talking about the voice recognition system built into the vacuum cleaner but about compatibility with an external device on which the corresponding voice assistant is installed — a smartphone, tablet, smart speaker, etc. Thus, to use voice control, an additional device will inevitably be required; on the other hand, there are no problems with the search for such a device nowadays. And in itself, such a control method often turns out to be more convenient than a command from the remote control or searching for the desired option in the control application.

As for specific assistants, the most popular nowadays are (in alphabetical order) Amazon Alexa, Apple Siri, Google Assistant. And in robot vacuum cleaners, compatibility can be provided both with one of them and with several at once. The specific control functionality available through the voice assistant should be specified separately for each model. It is also worth paying attention to the supported languages: for Siri, the language must be selected in the settings, for the Google Assistant, automatic language recognition is available (some adjustment may be required), and in Alexa (as of early 2021) support for the Russian language is not provided at all.

Cleaning area for which the robot vacuum cleaner is designed.

It is the maximum size of the room that the device can effectively process without the need to empty the dust container or charge the battery. It is worth choosing according to this parameter with a certain margin — this will give an additional guarantee in case of various emergencies. On the other hand, you should not take too much stock: after all, a large cleaning area requires more capacious batteries and capacious dust collectors, which significantly affects the dimensions, weight, and most importantly, the price of the vacuum cleaner.

As for specific figures, the most modest models nowadays are designed for 45 – 60 m2 — this corresponds to an average apartment with 1 – 2 rooms. And in the most advanced and heavy devices of this type, the cleaning area can be 300 m2 or even more.

The time required to charge the cordless vacuum cleaner fully (see "Power supply").

Larger batteries tend to take longer to charge. On the other hand, modern batteries can use various solutions that speed up the process, so there is no strict dependence here.

Separately, we note that the speed of charging batteries is usually uneven: at first, the process is fast, then it gradually slows down. So if, for example, the specifications indicate a charging time of 2 hours, then charging from 0 to 50% will take a little less than an hour, and from 50% to 100% the remaining time.

The noise level produced by the vacuum cleaner during operation. Usually, the value for normal operation at maximum engine power is indicated here. With less power, the loudness of the unit may be lower, but the key is precisely the maximum indicator.

Regarding specific numbers, keep in mind that the decibel used to measure the noise level is a non-linear quantity. Therefore, it is worth evaluating specific indicators using special comparative tables. In general, vacuum cleaners are quite noisy appliances; so in this case, models are considered quiet if this indicator does not exceed 65 dB — this is the level of a loud conversation between 2 – 3 people at a distance of 1 m. The quietest of these models give out only 40 dB — this is the average volume of a person’s speech in normal tones (and the minimum volume allowed for constant noise sources in living quarters during the day). For louder units, the comparison table looks like this:

— 66 – 70 dB — loud conversations between several groups of people at a distance of about 1 m;
— 71 – 75 dB — the volume of a cry or laughter in full voice at a distance of about 1 m;
— 76 – 80 dB — the volume of a mechanical alarm clock or the engine of an old truck;
— more than 80 dB — a very high noise level, exceeding the leve...l of a loud scream; when working with a vacuum cleaner having such specifications for a long time, it is highly desirable to use hearing protection.

Also note that the noise level largely depends on the engine power, as well as some other features (for example, it is strongly affected by the presence of an aquafilter — see "Dust collector"). At the same time, there is no hard connection here, and units with a similar set of specifications can differ markedly in actual loudness. In such cases, when choosing here, it is worth proceeding from the fact that a quieter vacuum cleaner will be more comfortable to use. However, it will most likely cost noticeably more.