While the s9+ doesn’t have the Precision Navigation feature that the newer j7 does, it has something called “Careful Driver” that uses a 3D sensor to detect and clean around objects. It seems that the main difference is that the s9+ isn’t specifically wired to avoid pet poop, so keep that in mind if you have furry friends around the house. However, with 40x the suction power of a standard Roomba, shark cordless the s9+ does a great job cleaning up pet hair. Shark’s RV2502AE AI robot vacuum with 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 every few months on garbage bags for your robotic 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. Then there are the top-of-the-line Roomba s9 and self-emptying Roomba s9+, which we do not recommend. Instead of the classic puck shape, the s9 has a D-shaped body and extra-wide brushes intended to improve its edge-cleaning and corner-cleaning abilities. It also has four times more raw suction than the already-strong Roomba i3 EVO, i7, and j7. That helps it consistently pick up larger debris such as cat litter or yard waste better than most robots, though it still doesn’t come close to deep-cleaning dust from a rug like a traditional vacuum does. But when we tried the s9 in 2020, it was one of the clumsiest navigators we’d ever tested.
The LG CordZero R9 is a very expensive vacuum with powerful cleaning specs, but owner reviews from Australia, where it had been available for a while at the time of our research, were not favorable. In one test, the basic Eufy RoboVac 11S spent an hour picking up enough debris to fill the palm of our hand. Next we ran the Neato Botvac D7 (usually $700 when it was a current model), and it picked up only enough hair to coat the filter and a bit of dust. Then we ran the iRobot Roomba s9+ (usually $1,100), and it came back with barely anything in the bin. We repeated the experiment a few days later and got the same results.
Infrared “cliff sensors” on the bottom of Roombas similarly prevent them from falling off ledges such as stairways. These slow down the Roomba when nearing obstacles, to reduce its force of impact. It’s also used to clean alongside walls without bumping into the wall repeatedly. This technology is also able to distinguish between hard and soft obstacles.
That’s enough to keep most homes tidy, and most owners seem happy with those results. If you have thicker rugs, or if you just feel like owning a stronger bot, go ahead and spend a little more on a bot shark cordless with better brushes or stronger suction. The i3+ EVO offers 10 times the suction power of the entry-level Roomba 600 series, and in testing did a good job of removing dirt from hard floors and carpet.
The yeedi also has a passive mopping system, though it isn’t especially effective in clearing stains. The mop cleaning and drying process is efficient, and, in theory, you don’t need to remove the pad after every run. But I would recommend throwing it in the washing machine every time you empty the dirty water tank. The biggest downside is that, instead of using the very good Roborock app, for some reason, you are stuck with Roborock’s parent company Xiaomi’s Mi Home app. But the app lets you add schedules, set a do-not-disturb period, and play with a few other features, which is all you need to get the job done. Stepping it up a notch, and for about $200 more, you can take away the chore of having to empty its decent-sized bin by investing in the j7 Plus, the robot vac with an auto-empty dock.
You can schedule cleaning sessions or use a voice assistant to start one, but even though it’s connected, you can’t map your home or target areas to be cleaned. We don’t think the extra connected features are worth the extra money, so for $50 less, we found the Eufy 11S to be a better vacuum. If you’re a pet parent who needs help keeping hardwood, tile or low-pile carpeting fur-free, the iLife V3S Pro is the right vacuum for you. That said, the bissell crosswave cordless 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.
“It works well in smaller spaces, like dorm rooms, studios and apartments where they tend to cover areas of the floor multiple times,” he said. Another type of navigation, which iRobot uses on most of its newer, smart-mapping Roomba vacuums, is called vision-based navigation, or visual simultaneous localization and mapping , said Williams. “These models are able to systematically navigate and clean in a corn row fashion,” he said.
Instead, it offers up more vague terms like “5x the cleaning power” or “40x the suction power.” Still, paying attention to how each model compares to the others can help you determine which one is right for your level of mess. For example, if you have pets that shed, you may want the stronger suction. Alongside suction power, other cleaning features to be aware of are brushless rollers or allergen filters, which trap pollen and mold allergens inside once they’re picked up, says iRobot.