The Miele Scout RX1 has its pros and cons. It has good cleaning abilities, it is quiet and has a good battery life. However, it is also worth mentioning that it is quite heavy, doesn’t have an app/WiFi and can’t perform equally well on all types of surfaces.
The iLife A4S is a budget robot vacuum that doesn’t have WiFi or an app. It isn’t the smartest robot vacuum out there, but it performs well on various surfaces, it is small and has all the basic features.
The Deebot Ozmo 930 from Ecovacs is a combo with both vacuuming and mopping functions. The robot has a great, complex and customizable app, accurate mapping abilities and a really good battery life. On the other hand, it is not the best cleaning robot in its price range and has a small dust bin that you need to empty quite often.
The Botvac Connected is the most expensive and premium robot vacuum in the Neato offer. It is the smartest model they have and one of the best we’ve tested in terms of volume of debris picked up and suction power. It has extremely intuitive and intelligent mapping and navigation abilities and a very user-friendly app. It does have its limitations when it comes to thick carpets or reflective furniture and it is among the most expensive robot vacuums you can find, but also one of the best on the market today.
The Ecovacs Deebot N75S is an affordable robot vacuum cleaner and a great value for the money. If you are an Amazon Alexa fan, you don’t mind returning the favor and cleaning the robot too at least once a week, you want something powerful, especially for your hardwood/laminate floors, but you don’t want to break the bank, give this little guy a chance.
The Powerbot R7070 from Samsung is one of the most powerful robot vacuums you can find and it proves to be a tough competitor for the popular Roomba 980 and the Neato Botvac Connected. It has premium features and the most powerful suction we’ve seen so far while still being more affordable than the aforementioned competitors. It cleans your home impeccably and does an impressive job on every type of surface. The control app does leave room for improvements, as it has some annoying bugs, but it is user-friendly and has a lot of useful features.
The Eufy RoboVac 11s is a great robot vacuum for its price. It is not the smartest robot on the market and you’ll appreciate it more for its cleaning abilities, versatility and ease of use, than for its smart features, as it doesn’t come with an app. But it is affordable, extremely user-friendly, powerful and silent.
The Dyson 360 Eye is a smart and highly efficient robot vacuum. It is powerful, it has a 360-degree camera and a dedicated app. On the downside, it is a bit tall and it is very expensive.
The Roomba 690 is one of the best models in the 600 series from iRobot. It is affordable and has some really impressive features: WiFi, an app, voice control capabilities and a useful virtual wall.
The Roomba 980 is the latest and smartest robot vacuum cleaner produced by iRobot, one of the most reputable companies on the market today. While it is one of the most expensive robot vacuum cleaners you can buy, it is also one of the best and most high-tech. It comes with WiFi connection, iOS and Android app control, a very sophisticated mapping technology and it practically works by itself, with minimal help and intervention from you.
Last updated April 13, 2024
Almost 25% of all the vacuum cleaners in the world today are robotic. Nowadays, robotic vacuums are more than just simple cleaning machines: they come packed with myriad of smart features: they have WiFi connection and can be controlled by your smartphone through an app, they have built in cameras that can also act as a security device, they can stream videos and more. Not to mention about the cleaning features they’re packed with: they know how to avoid obstacles in the room, they scan the room to calculate the best path to take in order to clean as efficiently and systematically as possible and they improve that path constantly, thanks to their memory, they can be programmed to clean at certain intervals, according to a set schedule and much more.
Believe it or not, the first robotic vacuum was produced a really long time ago, back in 1996, to be more precise. The first one to invent a robotic cleaner was James Dizon and his concept was bought by the Swedish company Electrolux, which manufactured the first functional model, Trilobite.
The first models of robotic cleaners weren’t nearly as efficient and smart as today’s vacuums, as you would imagine. They were controlled by a remote and they didn’t really know how to deal with the obstacles in their cleaning path. Those obstacles usually meant the end of their cleaning session, as the machines had a hard time to overcome them after they bumped into a piece of furniture, for instance.
Robot vacuums are computerized and they come with sensors. Some of them use lasers in order to navigate and detect obstacles, while others use cameras. They usually clean in a certain direction until they find an obstacle and then they change their path. The smarter ones scan the room and make an entire ‘map’ of it. They also know how to avoid obstacles and go around them. They can also insist on certain areas that seem dirtier, by registering how much dirt their cleaning brushes picked up. If they gather more dust or dirt in a specific area, they focus more on it, to make sure they clean it well.
No matter the field of technologic advancement, there are always going to be haters who are going to hate or be skeptical about it. This applies to robot vacuums, too. Aside from their steeper price, many people are still not 100% convinced that these smart machines can perform a good job and they are worth the money. There are plenty of people who still prefer their old, traditional, manually operated vacuum cleaners.
Here are some of the advantages of having a robot vacuum:
Of course there are also some drawbacks in robot vacuums: perhaps the biggest one is the steep cost, because robotic vacuums cleaners are way pricier than traditional ones. They are somewhere in the $200 -$1,000 price range.
Another disadvantage is that while they can maintain cleanliness and remove all the dust and small debris, they can’t cope with really messy surfaces and tight corners as well as traditional cleaners. The best thing to do if you can afford it is to own both a traditional vacuum cleaner and an additional robotic one that can ‘maintain order’ in your household.
Robot vacuum cleaners can be a valuable addition to your home. But before you spend money on one, make sure you do your homework.
Here are some factors to take into consideration when shopping for a robot vacuum:
