The Best Shark Robot Vacuum
Shark's robo-vac ticks most of the criteria you'd expect from a mid-range machine. It has reliable cleaning performance, an easy-to-use mobile app and produces accurate home maps.
It also features Matrix Clean Navigation, a system which does two passes in a row, before moving to the side for full coverage. The base is also unbagged, which is different from other robot vacuums.
1. Roborock S4
This is an excellent robot vacuum for floors that are not clean that collects debris and has a massive dirt compartment. The app lets you control cleaning and docking. Its smart pathing feature is very effective. The app provides you with an overview of cleaning, which includes maps showing where the S4 was cleaned, cleaning time and battery life.
Its maximum suction of 2,000Pa is high enough to lift an AA battery off the floor and rivals the suction of larger vacuums. With 19CFM the S4's side as well as combo brush is located closer to the front of the unit than in other Roborock models, which could be a strategy to lessen clogging.
The S4's advanced navigation system is able to digitally map a home up to four levels and will recall the areas it's cleaned, making it easy to establish a cleaning schedule without the need to manually move the robot between rooms. You can mark certain areas as "no-go zones" to prevent the S4 from cleaning those areas.
It was able to vacuum an entire floor of our house easily, and was very efficient on floors with no carpets. However, it struggled with collecting hair from dogs, which is a common problem for robotic vacuums. Only 8.5 percent of the hair was collected in the dustbin. The rest was clumped up around the brushes and suction inlet.
The S4 is smaller and lighter than other Shark vacuums. This makes it easier to maneuver. It can make tighter turning and avoid obstacles which slow other robots. The low-profile design also makes it easier to place under furniture. It also has improved climbability to navigate flooring transitions as well as different heights of flooring. It can reach down to the bottom of the stairs, and is an excellent choice for homes with multiple levels. The app allows you to set a schedule, and also includes the ability to control your vacuum manually. It is also able to return to its charging station to recharge automatically between cleaning cycles. It has a large battery of 5200 mAh, which can last for up to 150 minutes in the standard mode or 2691 square foot between charges.
2. Shark Easy Robot Self Emptying
This Shark robot vacuum is a great choice for pet owners looking for a smart, easy-to-use machine. The self-emptying bagless base of this model is a great benefit, particularly when compared with other vacuums that have disposable dirt bags in their bases. You can empty the bin on top of the trashcan by removing it. It's messy, but you'll save money on replacement bags.
The bin is large, meaning that the EZ Robot can handle a huge amount of dirt. It's also a great performer on floors that are clean, although it struggles with embedded dirt on carpets with low pile. It also has good navigation capabilities and a small footprint for docks.
Although the EZ Robot isn't as good as the Roborock S4, it's still an excellent choice for those who want a good-performing, budget-friendly robot. It is well-built and offers many automation options. It also boasts outstanding cleaning capabilities on floors that are bare and carpets with high pile. Its maintenance requirements are very high, and its recurring expenses are very high.
The Shark robot has another excellent feature: it can automatically resume where it left off once it returns to the docking station. This is an excellent feature, particularly when your home is big.
The IQ XL also comes with many other useful features. These include the ability to schedule entire-home cleanings remotely and review cleaning reports via the SharkClean App. You can also use voice control through Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant to initiate and stop cleaning sessions. The row-by -row mode is a major plus. It makes your home clean in neat rows, rather than the back and forth snake pattern, as other robots do.
The biggest drawback of the IQ XL is its inability to get over obstacles like power cords, which it could detect as solid barriers and not climb over. It's also not as quick or efficient in navigating rooms that are stuffed with pet hair, which can tangle its brushes and slow it down.
3. Shark AI Robot
This is a fantastic robotic vacuum from Shark that provides a range of features. It has a self-emptying bottom that holds up to 30 days of debris. It combine the cleaning power of the robot vacuum and mop. It also has a precise grid-based cleaning mode and advanced smart home integration, with support for Alexa and Google Assistant. You can schedule it to clean, activate it on demand, or set virtual boundaries to block the robot from entering rooms with rug or other items that are fragile.
The Shark AI Robot does a excellent job of cleaning floors that are not bare. It is able to remove debris effortlessly, like rice. However it has a difficult time clearing larger bulky debris from low-pile carpet and is not capable of moving around furniture. It comes with a do not disturb mode which allows you to use it at home without it disrupting your daily routine.
Another advantage is that it utilizes LiDAR technology to map out your home which allows it to detect and navigate obstacles more precisely than units that rely solely on gyroscopes or infrared sensors. This allows it to avoid hitting fragile objects and to optimize dirt collection on different surfaces. The LiDAR system is also faster than gyroscopes that could cause robots to slow down or lose control when they come across uneven surfaces.
It comes with a variety of other features, such as the ability to control mopping with a remote, an automatic system and a variety of vacuum modes. It can also recharge and charge while working. Its biggest flaw is that it only maps only 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 a bit loud especially when in mopping mode. It also has a number of parts that need to be cleaned or replaced frequently, which adds to its recurring costs. The self-empty feature is a basic function that helps to reduce the cost of these items. It also works with a bagless filter that can further reduce the cost annually.
4. Shark ION Robot RV700 Series
The Shark ION Robot RV700 Series fulfills all the requirements you'd expect from a mid-range robot vacuum, with high-quality cleaning performance and a great mobile app that creates accurate maps of your home. It also comes with a bagless base that means no annual purchase of dust bags replacement. In our test of cleaning performance, it was able to remove 97.8 percent of dust from carpeting with low pile and hardwood floors although it wasn't as effective with high-pile carpeting. Its ability to maneuver makes it easy to navigate through furniture and even climb onto high-pile flooring. It can also easily traverse over objects like rug fringes and electrical cords without getting stuck.
Its high-tensile bristles in a helix pattern are strong enough to untangle and manage long hair, string and other fibers. The brushroll also features an adjustable side that can be used if it encounters obstacles. Its thin design allows it to slide under furniture, and proximity check here sensors allow it to adjust and evaluate obstacles. It can be set to start cleaning with a pressing of a button, or scheduled on a daily basis by using the app. It has a moderate sound level, but it can be quieted by using the do-not disturb mode or a custom scheduling.
The RV700 is more manual than the Roborock S4 and iRobot Roomba j7+, which is to be expected from a non-self-emptying model. It is more robust and easy to maintain, is faster in charging and removes more debris from floors that are not bare and carpets with high pile. Its navigation system can create virtual boundaries, recognize and avoid obstacles and can also create virtual boundaries. This makes it the best choice for robotic cleaners that you can "set and forget".
The RV700 Series doesn't have a the cliff sensor, which prevents it from falling down stairs, which may be a problem for people living in taller homes. It's also not able to mop and vacuum simultaneously and requires users to switch between two modes available in the app. However the RV700 Series is a less expensive alternative to the more advanced Roborock and iRobot models that offer self-emptying and cliff detection capabilities. Its most appealing feature is that it can be empty and recharged while docked at its base, making it an ideal option for those who don't want to deal with the hassle of emptying the onboard dustbin each time they use it.