The Best Shark Robot Vacuum
Shark's robot vacuum checks most of the criteria you'd expect from a mid-range machine. It has dependable cleaning capability and an easy to use mobile app. It also creates precise maps of your home.
It also provides Matrix Clean navigation, a system that performs two passes back and forth before moving from side to side to provide complete coverage. Its base is not bagless like the majority of robot vacuums.
1. Roborock S4
This is an excellent robot vacuum for floors that are not bare that comes with a huge dirt container that can pick up debris. The app lets you control cleaning and docking. Its smart pathing feature is extremely efficient. The app provides you with an overview of cleaning, including maps showing where the S4 was cleaned, the cleaning time and battery life.
The S4's maximum suction is 2,000Pa which is similar to full-sized 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 may be an effort to reduce the amount 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 vacuumed. This makes it easy to design a cleaning schedule without the need to manually move robots from room to room. You can designate certain areas as "no-go zones" to stop the S4 from cleaning those areas.
It was able to vacuum the entire floor of our house easily, and was very efficient on floors that were not. However, it struggled with collecting dog hair which is a typical problem for many robotic vacuums. Only 8.5 percent was gathered in the dustbin. The rest was clumped together around the brushes and suction intake.
The S4 is lighter and smaller than other Shark vacuums. This makes it easier to maneuver. It can make tighter turning and avoid obstacles that slow down other robots. The low-profile design makes it easier to place under furniture. It also has improved climbing capabilities to traverse flooring transitions and various levels of flooring. It is able to easily reach the bottom of stairs and is a good choice for homes with a lot of floors. The app allows you to set a schedule, and includes a manual vacuum control. It can also automatically return to its charging base to recharge between cleaning cycles. It comes with a large battery of 5200 mAh that can last for up to 150 minutes in normal mode or 2691 square foot between charges.
2. Shark Easy Robot Self-Empty
This Shark robot vacuum is a great option for pet owners who need an efficient, user-friendly machine. Its self-emptying base that is bagless is a huge convenience in comparison to other vacuums that use disposable dirt bags in their bases. It is possible to empty the bin on top of a trashcan by simply removing it. It's messy, but it will save money on the replacement bags.
The bin itself is also quite large, which means the EZ Robot is capable of handling a large amount of debris. It's also a good performer on bare floors, though it has some issues with dirt that has been embedded on low-pile carpet. It has good navigational capabilities and a tiny footprint.
The EZ Robot may not be as effective as the Roborock S4, but it is still a great option for those looking for a robot that can perform well and is reasonably priced. It is well-built and offers various automation features. It also boasts an impressive cleaning capability, both on bare floors and carpets with high pile. However the maintenance requirements for this model are demanding and it has significant recurring costs.
Another fantastic feature of the Shark robot is its capacity to recharge and then resume where it left off when it returns to its docking station after a full cleaning session. This is a very handy feature, especially if you have a large home.
The IQ XL is also equipped with a number of other useful features, like the capability to remotely schedule entire-home cleans and review cleaning reports using the SharkClean app. You can also use voice control through Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant to begin or stop cleaning sessions. The row-by-row mode is also an advantage. It will clean your home in neat rows, not a back and forth snake pattern like other robots do.
The biggest drawback of the IQ XL is its inability to scale obstacles like power cords, which it might detect as solid barriers to avoid climbing over. It is also less effective or fast at navigating a space when it's full of pet hair. This can cause tangles on the brushes and slow it.
3. Shark AI Robot
This is a reliable robotic vacuum from Shark and offers a great combination of features. It has a self-emptying bottom that can store up to 30 days of debris. It combine the cleaning power of an automatic vacuum and a mop. It has a grid cleaning mode, and features advanced smart home integration that supports Alexa and Google Assistant. It can be set to clean on a set schedule or on demand or create virtual boundaries to block it from entering rooms that have fragile items or rugs.
The Shark AI Robot carries out a fairly thorough job of cleaning floors, picking up debris like rice with ease. It has a hard time getting rid of bulky, large particles from carpets with low pile and is not able to move around furniture that is large. It comes with a do not disturb mode which allows you to use it at home without it interrupting your daily routine.
Another benefit is that it utilizes LiDAR technology to map out your home, allowing it to detect and navigate around obstacles with greater precision than those that rely on gyroscopes and sensors. This lets it avoid hitting delicate objects, and optimize dirt collection on various surfaces. The LiDAR system is also more efficient than gyroscopes, which could cause robots to slow down or lose control when they encounter uneven surfaces.
Other features include the remote control, automated mopping, and various vacuum modes. It can charge and recharge itself while working. The biggest drawback is that it will only map out the floor of your home, so if you have two stories it will be necessary to manually transport it to the two floors on 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 a lot of parts that need to be cleaned or replaced regularly, which adds to the cost of maintenance. The self-empty function is the basic feature that assists in reducing the cost of these items. It's also compatible with a bagless filter that reduces the annual cost.
4. Shark ION Robot RV700 Series
The Shark ION Robot RV700 Series ticks all the boxes you'd expect from a midrange robot vacuum, with solid cleaning performance and a great mobile app that can create accurate home maps. It also comes with a bagless base that means no annual purchase of dust bags replacement. In our test mop robot vacuum of cleaning performance it was able to remove 97.8 percent of the debris from carpeting and hardwood floors however it was not as effective on carpets with high piles. Its maneuverability is strong and it can maneuver through furniture, climb onto carpeting with high pile, and traverse objects like electrical cords and rug tassels without getting stuck.
The bristles with high-tensile in a helix pattern are durable enough to untangle and manage long hair, string and other fibers. The brushroll has a retractable side that can be used when it comes across an obstacle. Its slim design permits it to glide under furniture and proximity sensors enable it to adjust and evaluate the presence of obstacles. It can be activated to begin cleaning at the click of a button or scheduled on a daily basis using the app. It has a moderate noise level, but can be slowed down using the do-not disturb mode or a custom scheduling.
The RV700 is more manual than the Roborock S4 or iRobot Roomba j7+. This is to be anticipated from an item that doesn't self-empty. It is better-built and easier to maintain, and charges faster and removes more debris from floors that are not bare and carpets with high pile. Its navigation system can also create virtual boundaries, and also detect obstacles which makes it the ideal pick for "set it and forget it" robotic cleaners.
The RV700 Series doesn't have a cliff sensor that prevents it from falling down the stairs, which could be a concern for those living in homes that are taller. It's not able to mop and vacuum at the same time, and you have to switch between modes within the app. However the RV700 Series is a less expensive alternative to the more advanced Roborock and iRobot models that come with self-emptying and cliff detection capabilities. Its most appealing feature is the fact that it can be recharged and empty while docked at its base. This makes it an excellent alternative for those who do not wish to empty the onboard dustbin each time they use it.