The Best Shark Robot Vacuum
Shark's robot vacuum checks most of the features you'd expect from a mid-range machine. It offers a reliable cleaning capability and an easy to use mobile application. It also provides precise home maps.
It also provides Matrix Clean navigation, a system that performs two passes going back and forth before moving from side to side to provide complete coverage. Its base is unbagged, which is different from other robot vacuums.
1. Roborock S4
This is a top-quality robot vacuum for bare floors that collects debris and has a massive dirt storage compartment. Its smart pathing works very well and the app allows you to manage cleaning and docking. The app also gives you an easy overview of your cleaning needs, which includes an image of where the S4 has cleaned, cleaning duration, and battery life.
Its maximum suction of 2,000Pa is enough to lift an AA battery off the floor and rivals those of full-sized vacuums. The S4's side brush and combo brush are closer to the front of the machine than the other Roborock models. This may be to prevent the chance of clogging.
The S4's advanced mapping system can map a home up to four levels deep. It can also keep track of the areas it has already cleaned. This makes it easy to set up a schedule for cleaning and not have to manually move robots between rooms. You can also mark off zones as no-go zones which will block the S4 from entering these areas during a cleaning session.
It was able of cleaning the entire floor of our home easily and was very effective on bare flooring. However, it struggled with picking up hair from dogs, which is a common issue for robotic vacuums. Only 8.5% of the dog hair it picked up was actually captured in the dustbin, and much of the rest was clumped up around the suction intake and brushes.
In comparison to other Shark vacuums, in comparison to other Shark vacuums, the S4 is noticeably more compact and lighter, which improves maneuverability. It can turn more quickly and avoid obstacles that bog down other robots, and its low-profile design makes it easier to fit under furniture. It has improved climbing capabilities for navigating flooring transitions as well as different flooring heights. It is able to easily reach the bottom of stairs and is a good choice for homes with a lot of floors. The app lets you set a timer, and comes with a manual vacuum control. 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 150 minutes in normal mode or 2691 square foot between charges.
2. Shark Easy Robot Self-Emptying
This Shark robot vacuum is a great option for pet owners who want an efficient, user-friendly machine. The self-emptying bagless base is a major benefit, especially when compared to other vacuums that use disposable dirt bags for their bases. Simply detach the bin and empty it over the trash can. This can get messy, but it also saves you money on new bags.
The bin itself is quite large, which means the EZ Robot is capable of handling a large amount of debris. It's also a great performer on bare floors, though it has some issues with embedded dirt on low-pile carpet. It also has decent navigation capabilities and a compact footprint for docks.
While the EZ Robot isn't as good as the Roborock S4, it's still an excellent choice for those who are looking for a reliable affordable robot. It's built well, comes with many automation features, and has outstanding cleaning performance on bare floors and high-pile carpet. However the maintenance requirements for this model are high, and it has high recurring costs.
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 great feature particularly if you own a large house.
The IQ XL also comes with various other useful features. These include the ability to schedule entire-home cleanings remotely and also review cleaning reports through the SharkClean App. You can also start, stop and resumptuate cleaning sessions by speaking through Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. The row-by-row cleaning mode of the robot is a major benefit as it cleans your entire home in neat rows rather than the back-and-forth snake design of many other robots.
The IQ XL has a major drawback in that it cannot climb over obstacles such as power cords. It could mistake them for solid barriers and fail to climb over them. It is also less effective or fast at navigating a space if it's stuffed with pet hair. This can cause tangles on the brushes and slow it.
3. Shark AI Robot
This is a fantastic robotic vacuum from Shark that comes with a variety of features. It comes with a self-emptying base that can hold up to 30 days of debris and combines the cleaning capabilities of a robot vacuum and a mop. It comes with a matrix grid cleaning mode, and has advanced smart home integration that supports Alexa and Google Assistant. You can set it up to clean on a regular basis or on demand or create virtual boundaries to prevent it from entering rooms that have fragile items or rugs.
The Shark AI Robot does a excellent job of cleaning floors that are not bare. It picks up debris easily, such as rice. However, it has a hard time clearing larger bulky debris from carpets with low pile and isn't capable of maneuvering around furniture. It does have a do-not-disturb mode, which means you can set it to work while you're away from home and it won't interfere with your routine.
It also uses LiDAR to map your home. This lets it detect and navigate obstructions more precisely than devices that depend solely on gyroscopes or an infrared sensors. This lets it avoid hitting fragile objects and to optimize dirt collection on various surfaces. The LiDAR system is also faster than gyroscopes, which can cause robots to slow down or lose control when they encounter uneven surfaces.
Other features include remote control, automatic mopping and multiple vacuum modes. It can even charge and recharge while it's working. Its biggest disadvantage is that it can only draw out the floor of your home therefore if you have two stories it will be necessary to manually transport it to those areas during the first run, and then program it to repeat.
It can also be quite loud especially when it is in mopping mode. It also has many parts which need to be cleaned or replaced frequently, which adds to its cost per year. The self-empty feature is a basic function that helps to reduce the cost of these items. It is also compatible with bagless filter, which further lowers the cost per year.
4. Shark ION Robot RV700 Series
The Shark ION Robot best robot cleaner RV700 Series is a complete package that meets all the criteria you'd expect from a mid-range robotic vacuum, including solid cleaning performance and a great mobile app that creates precise home maps. It also comes with a bagless base that means no annual purchase of replacement dust bags. In our test of cleaning performance it was able remove 97.8 percent of the debris from carpeting with low pile and hardwood floors, though it wasn't as effective with high-pile carpeting. Its maneuverability is strong, and it can easily navigate through furniture, climb onto carpeting with high pile, and traverse objects such as electrical cords and rug tassels without getting stuck.
Its helix-pattern high-tensile bristles are sturdy enough to manage and untangle long hair, string and other fibers The brushroll also has a retractable edge that can be used when it comes across obstacles. Its slim design permits it to glide over furniture and proximity sensors enable it to adapt and assess the obstacles. The app lets you schedule cleanings and trigger the machine with the press of a button. Its sound levels are average, but it can be quieted down with a do-not-disturb feature or a custom scheduling.
The RV700 is a bit more manual than the Roborock S4 and iRobot Roomba J7+ and iRobot Roomba j7+, which is to be expected from a self-emptying model. It is more robust and easy to maintain, and charges faster and gets rid of more debris on the floors, including carpets with high pile. Its navigation system is able to create virtual boundaries and recognize obstacles, making it the best option for "set it and forget it" robotic cleaners.
The RV700 Series does not have a cliff-sensor that would prevent it from falling down the stairs. This could pose a problem for people who live in taller houses. It also can't mop and vacuum simultaneously and requires you to switch between two modes available in the application. 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 primary selling point is the fact that it can be recharged and empty while docked at its base. This makes it a great option for those who don't need to empty the dustbin each time they use it.