The best powerful and functional robot vacuum cleaners

Xiaomi's product range (not to mention other manufacturers) has accumulated a large number of robotic vacuum cleaners, many of which are similar both in appearance and in characteristics. But there are models that stand out from the general background with their special features. Like, for example, Xiaomi Robot Vacuum S10 Plus - a robot of 2023 from the middle price category. Its strong point is wet cleaning. Instead of a standard microfiber cloth that passively drags behind the vacuum cleaner, it uses two round attachments made of woven material (80% polyester + 20% modified polypropylene fiber). They absorb water well and do not leave streaks behind. But the most important thing is that these nozzles rotate during operation, thus simulating a hand wash. And this gives results, since the vacuum cleaner really does a better job of cleaning floors than competitors with ordinary rags. It collects dust and can even clean up fresh stains and spilled drinks. However, you will still have to periodically carry out general cleaning with a good old mop - to wash off complex stains, wipe baseboards and hard-to-reach areas in corners and along walls (this is the weak point of almost all devices with a round body).

The reservoir holds 200 ml of water, which should be enough for 80 minutes of constant hydration or to clean 150 square meters. In the application, you can switch between three modes of humidification intensity, but remember that the higher this indicator, the faster the water will be consumed. Xiaomi has a special plus for adding the function of automatic carpet recognition. That is, the vacuum cleaner simply goes around the carpets so as not to leave wet marks on them. To clean carpets, remove the mop heads and switch to dry-only mode.

There are no complaints about dry cleaning either: a fairly high suction power of 4000 Pa, one side brush and a main turbo brush with silicone “petals” and several rows of bristles ensure fast and effective collection of debris, be it crumbs, hair, animal hair, fine dust or sand . The dust container capacity is 450 ml, so you won't have to empty it often.

A 5200 mAh battery is responsible for autonomous operation, one charge of which will last up to 120 minutes. But this takes into account the installation of more “economical” settings. In general, a vacuum cleaner completely cleans an apartment or even a house of about 200 square meters at a time. In the Mi Home application, you can change operating modes, adjust the cleaning time and frequency, and set virtual walls where the device will not enter. It is controlled remotely, so you can do all this even if you are away from home.

The robot vacuum cleaner also boasts improved navigation, for which it is equipped with a large number of different sensors. The main roles among them are played by the lidar, located in the classic “turret” on the body, and the 3D identification sensor with artificial intelligence in the front part. Its task is to recognize obstacles on the floor so that the robot does not crash into them, but goes around them. And this applies not only to furniture, but also to smaller items such as shoes, children's toys, boxes, etc. As a result, the vacuum cleaner perfectly navigates the room, maneuvers between furniture and interior items, does not fall down stairs, does not get stuck in narrow places and plans a route so as not to leave missed areas and not waste a lot of time on cleaning.

By the way, there is also a “younger brother” of this model on sale - Xiaomi Robot Vacuum S10. It lacks rotating mops for wet cleaning and an additional sensor for detecting obstacles, but at the same time it costs less.

The robot vacuum cleaner belongs to the middle price category, but thanks to its advanced capabilities, equipment and a large number of functions, it can compete with more expensive competitors. Perhaps it has everything that is needed for high-quality cleaning and for a demanding user who needs an advanced and easy-to-use assistant.

The robot is designed for dry and wet cleaning, and all this happens at the same time, and you do not need to limit the zones so that the vacuum cleaner does not carry a wet rag over the carpet. It automatically detects carpeted surfaces and, when driving onto them, automatically increases the power to maximum and raises the mop heads by 7 mm. In case the carpet has a long pile with a height of more than 7 mm, there is a mode for bypassing carpets during wet cleaning. By the way, when the device returns to the charging base, it also raises the mops so as not to stain the already clean floor with a dirty rag.

The suction power is an impressive 5300 Pa, so the vacuum cleaner instantly pulls up fine dust and larger debris from the floor, including pet hair, crumbs and hair. For dry cleaning, there is a silicone round brush and one side brush that sweeps debris out of corners and along walls. The manufacturer also took wet cleaning seriously, adding two round mops with microfiber attachments. During operation, they rotate at high speed, thanks to which they not only sweep away dust, but also rub off stains quite well - much better than the stationary wipes of most competitors. A dust collector with a volume of 450 ml is intended for collecting dry waste, and a small tank with a capacity of 190 ml is intended for clean water. In addition, there are 4 power levels and 3 water supply modes available, so you can choose the optimal settings depending on the complexity of the dirt and the type of floor covering.

To navigate in an apartment or house, the robot uses a combination of lidar, various sensors and a video camera(with which you can also spy on what is happening in the house). As a result, it takes him only 5 to 10 minutes to create an accurate map of the room. The vacuum cleaner can remember several maps, switch between them, intelligently build routes and recognize obstacles well, carefully avoiding furniture legs and other things scattered on the floor. That is, if you are lazy, you don’t have to remove socks, children’s toys and wires first. The smart assistant will not fall down the stairs, but it is not afraid of black surfaces, like many models with fall protection. It can even work and navigate quite well in complete darkness, although in this case it may still miss some small objects on the floor.

The battery capacity of 5200 mAh is enough to clean a large apartment or house at once. Moreover, the robot does not waste time and moves thoughtfully and not chaotically. When the charge is low, it automatically returns to the charging station. It takes him about 6 hours to fully restore his “strength.”

To control the Dreame L10s Pro, it offers standard buttons on the body, support for voice assistants Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and Apple Siri, as well as a proprietary mobile application. In it you can set up a cleaning schedule, define specific zones, set virtual boundaries and change the operating mode.

Sencor's robot vacuum cleaner can easily be called a universal model for dry and wet cleaning, and the equipment largely helps with this. The manufacturer was as generous as possible and put in the box almost everything you could expect from such devices. Thus, the delivery set includes a pair of side brushes (one of them is spare) for sweeping debris out of corners and other hard-to-reach places, microfiber for wet cleaning, a charging station, a main rotating brush, an additional rubber brush, which is recommended for use on floating floors made of wood or laminate, as well as two containers at once. The first is a 480 ml dust container, intended only for dry cleaning, the second is a combined tank for dry and wet cleaning, consisting of a 240 ml part for garbage and a 260 ml water tank.

In addition, the model is universal in terms of management. To do this, you can use the usual buttons on the case, the remote control included in the package, and the proprietary application. Of course, the application has broader functions, where you can create a cleaning schedule by day and individual rooms, configure various parameters and designate restricted areas where the vacuum cleaner cannot go. The robot uses Wi-Fi with a frequency range of 2.4 GHz, so you can control it from anywhere - for example, if you are in another room or not at home at all.

We already often talk about the versatility of the Sencor SRV 9550 BK, but you can’t take the words out of the song. The next item on the list is working with any floor coverings and rooms of different sizes. That is, the robot effectively performs its tasks both in a minimalist apartment and in a large house where there is laminate, linoleum, carpets, paths, people, animals and much more. Its suction power is 8000 Pa, meaning small particles and large debris will not be a problem. When entering the carpet, the vacuum cleaner automatically increases power to better clean the pile. There are three power settings and multiple cleaning modes, including single or multi-pass, along walls and in specific locations. A big advantage is the capacious 6.4 Ah battery, one charge of which is enough for continuous cleaning for 200 minutes. If the charge level is insufficient, the device will automatically return to the charging station, where it will take about 5 hours to fully restore energy.

Also, owners of large houses will appreciate the compilation of separate maps for up to 5 floors and the ability to set optimal settings for each room or floor. At the same time, the robot quite competently remembers the situation, draws up routes and navigates the premises. It’s not surprising, because for this he has a whole arsenal of a LIDAR laser system, a gyroscope, infrared sensors and all kinds of sensors. Therefore, you can safely leave the device in an empty house: it does not crash into or damage furniture, does not get tangled in wires, avoids obstacles and does not fall down stairs.

The Roborock robot vacuum cleaner belongs to the middle price segment and is a balanced model with advanced functions and high quality cleaning. The main advantage of the device is the self-cleaning station, which allows you to reduce user participation in maintenance to a minimum. Returning to the base, the vacuum cleaner independently unloads the collected garbage into a large 2.5-liter bag installed inside the station. All that is required of you is to periodically (approximately once every 7 weeks) change the filled bag for a new one. The station is quite large and takes up a lot of space, but it's worth it.

The robot is a universal assistant and is capable of simultaneously performing dry and wet cleaning. To collect dry debris, there is one side brush and a DuoRoller turbo brush, consisting of two rubber rollers rotating towards each other. They do not have bristles, so they are not as effective at picking up debris from long-pile carpets, but they are very easy to maintain as they prevent hair and pet fur from getting tangled. For wet cleaning there is a simple nozzle with microfiber, which is automatically wetted with water. The design includes special pressing buttons, thanks to which the napkin fits tightly to the floor and washes stains well. While most models have only a few microfiber wetting levels available, here there are as many as 30. You can set the required intensity in the mobile app.

The suction power of 5500 Pa ensures thorough cleaning on both hard floors and short to medium pile carpets. Moreover, the vacuum cleaner can recognize carpets and, when moving onto them, automatically increases power. Thanks to large wheels, the robot easily overcomes thresholds and obstacles up to 2 cm high. And a capacious 5200 mAh battery guarantees long battery life: one charge lasts up to 4 hours, during which time the device is able to clean an area of up to 300 square meters. Of course, it all depends on the chosen power, but, in general, Roborock Q8 Max+ will be a good assistant in large apartments and houses.

The PreciSense LiDAR navigation system helps the robot navigate indoors. Using a laser rangefinder and other sensors, the device accurately scans the space, builds detailed maps, creates energy-efficient routes, detects dangerous places (stairs and narrow spaces where you can get stuck) and is good at recognizing obstacles like furniture legs, shoes and not too small children's toys. The 3D Mapping function allows you to create three-dimensional maps of rooms with a clear depiction of interior items, which can be edited by rearranging furniture and adding carpeted areas. In addition, the vacuum cleaner can create and remember maps of different floors in the house.

For control, a proprietary mobile application with detailed settings is provided (cleaning schedule, restricted areas, adjustment of power and intensity of water supply) and voice assistants Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and Apple Siri. That is, the robot understands voice commands, which is much more convenient than searching for the required function in the application.

The ECOVACS robot vacuum cleaner looks and is expensive, but it fully justifies the price with its capabilities. This is not just a vacuum cleaner, but a real cleaning station for dry and wet cleaning. And while most devices simply carry a wet wipe along with them, here the manufacturer takes floor cleaning more seriously. Two round nozzles automatically wet with water and rotate at 180 rpm for more efficient cleaning. They are good at scrubbing away stains, spilled liquids and other contaminants, so you don’t have to periodically carry out general cleaning with a regular hand mop - the vacuum cleaner is capable of keeping the house clean on its own. For dry cleaning, there is a main turbo brush and two side brushes that collect debris along the walls and in the corners. The suction power is 5000 Pa, which is quite high and ensures effective cleaning of any floor coverings, including carpets.

The model comes with an All-in-One OMNI station, which is necessary not only for charging, but also for servicing the robot. After each cleaning cycle, it independently empties the dust container, and does this in just 10 seconds. In addition, the station washes wet cleaning attachments and dries them with hot air, preventing the formation of mold and unpleasant odors. But immediately keep in mind that the base takes up a lot of space, as it places inside a large 3-liter bag for dry waste and two tanks for clean and dirty water. All that is required of the owner is to change the bag approximately once every 2 months, add clean water if necessary and throw out dirty water. Conveniently, in the application you can select the frequency of cleaning the nozzles right during cleaning. That is, when heavily soiled, the vacuum cleaner will return to the station to clean the nozzles - essentially the same as what happens when manually washing floors. And if there is no water in the vacuum cleaner tank, the station will “share” its own.

Another feature of the ECOVACS Deebot Ozmo X1 Omni is the camera, which is primarily used for navigation and additionally for video surveillance. You can remotely contact the robot via video link, and it will broadcast the camera image in real time to your smartphone. This feature is especially relevant for pet owners who want to monitor their pets while away from home. In other cases, watching the device drive around the apartment is not such a fun experience. Before the broadcast starts, the vacuum cleaner warns about this with a voice to prevent hidden surveillance of household members.

In addition to the camera, a classic laser rangefinder is used for navigation. This pair provides good indoor navigation, accurate maps and obstacle recognition. Thanks to the camera, the robot is able to see and move around even small objects on the floor: wires, children's toys, socks and “surprises” left by animals. Therefore, you don't have to do a lot of preparation before cleaning by removing it all from the floor. For management there is a convenient mobile application and a proprietary YIKO virtual assistant. This is not the more familiar Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa or Siri, universal for various devices, but it understands and carries out voice commands.