The Best Shark Robot Vacuum
Shark's robovac ticks most of the boxes that you would expect from a machine in this price range. It is reliable in cleaning as well as a mobile app that is easy to use and provides accurate home maps.
It also provides Matrix Clean navigation, a system that allows two passes going back and forth, before moving from side to side for total coverage. And its base is bagless, unlike many other robot vacuums.
1. Roborock S4
This is a fantastic robot vacuum for floors that are not bare that comes with a huge dirt container and can remove debris. The smart pathing feature works well, and the app lets you to manage cleaning and docking. The app also gives you an easy overview of your cleaning needs, which includes maps of the areas that the S4 has cleaned, cleaning duration, and battery life.
The S4's maximum suction is 2,000Pa which is similar to full-sized vacuums. The S4's side brush and combo brush are located closer to the front of the machine than other Roborock models. This could be to reduce the possibility of clogging.
The S4's advanced navigation system is able to digitally map your home up to four levels and will keep track of the areas it's cleaned, making it easy to create cleaning schedules without having to manually move the robot between rooms. You can even mark off areas as no-go zones, which will prevent the S4 from entering these areas during a cleaning cycle.
It was able to vacuum the entire floor of our house easily and was extremely efficient on floors that were not. However, it was not successful in cleaning up dog hair which is a typical problem for many robotic vacuums. It only 8.5 percent of the dog hair it picked up was kept in the dustbin and the majority was clumped in the suction inlet and brushes.
The S4 is lighter and smaller than other Shark vacuums. This makes it easier to maneuver. It can turn more quickly and avoid obstacles that slow down other robots. Its low profile design makes it easier to get under furniture. It has improved climbability for navigating flooring transitions as well as different flooring levels. It is able to reach the bottom of stairs and is a great option for larger homes with multiple floors. The app lets you set a schedule and also has an automatic control for vacuuming. It is also able to return to its charging station to recharge automatically between cleaning cycles. It is equipped with a large battery of 5200 mAh. It can last for up to 150 minutes in the standard mode, or 2691 square feet between charges.
2. Shark Easy Robot Self-Empty
This Shark robot vacuum is a fantastic choice for pet owners who want an easy-to-use, smart machine. The self-emptying bagless base of this model is a great convenience, especially compared to other vacuums that utilize disposable dirtbags for their bases. It is easy to remove the bin and empty it over a trash can; this may be messy, but it also saves you money on bags to replace.
The bin itself is quite large, which means the EZ Robot is capable of handling a good amount of debris. It also performs well on clean floors, but it struggles with dirt that has been embedded on carpets with a low pile. It also has decent navigation capabilities and a compact footprint for the dock.
The EZ Robot may not be as efficient as Roborock S4, but it is still a great choice for those looking for a robot that can perform well and is reasonably priced. It's built well, comes with a wide range of automation options, and offers outstanding cleaning performance on carpets with high pile and bare floors. However the maintenance requirements for this model are high and it has high costs that are recurring.
Another fantastic feature of the Shark robot is its capacity to recharge and resume automatically where it began when it returns to its docking station after an entire cleaning session. This is a fantastic option, especially when your home is big.
The IQ XL also comes with many other useful features. It is possible to schedule whole-home cleanings remotely and view cleaning reports using the SharkClean App. You can also start, stop and resumptuate cleaning sessions by speaking via Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. The row-by-row mode is also an advantage. It cleans your home in neat rows, not a back and forth snake pattern as many other robots do.
The IQXL's main drawback is its inability to climb over obstacles like power cords, which it may identify as solid barriers to avoid climbing over. It's also less effective or quick in navigating a space when it's full of pet hair. This can cause tangles to the brushes and slow it down.
3. Shark AI Robot
This is a fantastic robotic vacuum from Shark that provides a range of features. It comes with a base that can hold up to 30 days' worth of debris, and it blends the cleaning power of the robot vacuum cleaner and a mop. It offers a matrix grid cleaning mode, and is equipped with advanced smart home integration that works with Alexa and Google Assistant. It is possible to schedule it to clean, turn on it on demand or create virtual boundaries to stop the robot from entering rooms that contain fragile items or rugs.
The Shark AI Robot carries out an impressive job of cleaning floors, picking best affordable robot vacuum up dirt like rice with ease. It has a difficult time getting rid of bulky, large debris from low pile carpets and is unable to maneuver around furniture with large dimensions. It does have a do-not-disturb mode, which means you can use it while you're at home and it won't disrupt your routine.
Another advantage is that it makes use of LiDAR technology to map your home which allows it to detect and navigate obstacles more precisely than devices that rely on gyroscopes and infrared sensors. This allows it to avoid collisions with delicate objects as well as optimize dirt pickup on different types of surfaces. The LiDAR system is also faster than gyroscopes, which could cause robots to slow down or lose control when they encounter uneven surfaces.
It comes with a variety of other options, including a remote, automatic mopping, and multiple vacuum modes. It can also recharge and charge while working. The biggest issue is that it only maps out one floor. If you have two floors, it's required to be manually moved to those areas and then programmed to repeat.
It can also be quite loud, particularly when in mopping mode. It also has many parts which need to be cleaned or changed frequently, which adds to the cost of maintenance. The self-empty feature is a basic function that helps to reduce some of these costs. It's also compatible with bagless filter, which can further reduce the cost annually.
4. Shark ION Robot RV700 series
The Shark ION Robot RV700 Series is a complete package that meets all the criteria you would expect from a midrange robot vacuum, including solid cleaning capabilities and a fantastic mobile app that produces accurate home maps. The bagless base removes the need for new dust bags each year. In our test of cleaning it was able to remove 97.8% debris from low-pile and hardwood flooring, but it was not as effective on high-pile. Its maneuverability is solid, and it can easily move through furniture, climb onto carpets with high pile and climb over things like rug tassels and electrical cords without getting stuck.
Its helix-pattern high-tensile bristles are durable enough to manage and untangle long hair strings, as well as other fibers and the brushroll comes with an adjustable edge that can be used when it comes across obstacles. Its slim design lets it glide over furniture and proximity sensors detect and adjust to obstacles. It can be triggered to begin cleaning at the pressing of a button, or scheduled for a daily schedule by using the app. It is quiet at a moderate level, but it can be slowed down using the do-not disturb mode or the custom scheduling.
The RV700 is more manual than the Roborock S4 or iRobot Roomba j7+. This is to be expected from a model that does not self-empty. However, it still feels better-built and easier to maintain, charges faster and clears more debris on floors that are not bare and high-pile carpeting. Its navigation system can create virtual boundaries and detect and avoid obstacles which makes it the ideal choice for "set it and forget it" robotic cleaners.
The RV700 Series doesn't have a cliff sensor that prevents it from falling down stairs, which may be a concern for those living in homes with higher ceilings. It also can't vacuum and mop at the same time and requires users to switch between two modes available in the application. The RV700 Series offers a cheaper alternative to the more advanced Roborock and iRobot robots that come with self-emptying features and cliff detection. Its most appealing feature is the possibility of being recharged and empty while docked at its base. This makes it a great option for those who don't want to empty the onboard dust bin every time they use it.