The Best Shark Robot Vacuum
Shark's robo vac checks off many of the boxes you'd expect from a product in this price range. It offers a reliable cleaning capability and an easy to use mobile app. It also produces precise maps of your home.
It also provides Matrix Clean navigation, a system that allows two passes that go back and forth before moving side to side for complete coverage. Its base is bagless unlike many other robot vacuums.
1. Roborock S4
This is an excellent robot vacuum for floors that are not bare with a large dirt container and is able to remove debris. The smart pathing system works well and the app allows users to control cleaning and docking. The app also gives you a convenient cleaning overview including an image of where the S4 has been cleaned, the cleaning duration and battery life.
The S4's maximum suction is 2,000Pa which is similar to larger vacuums. The side brush and combo brush are closer to the front of the machine than the other Roborock models. This may be to prevent the possibility 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 simple to design a cleaning schedule and not have to manually move robots from room to room. You can designate certain areas as "no-go zones" to prevent the S4 from cleaning those areas.
It was able of cleaning an entire level of our house with ease and was very efficient on flooring that was not clean. However, it had a difficult time cleaning up dog hair that is a typical problem for many robotic vacuums. The only 8.5 percent 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.
The S4 is smaller and lighter than other Shark vacuums. This improves its maneuverability. It allows for tighter turning and avoid obstacles which slow down other robots. The low-profile design also makes it easier to place under furniture. It also has improved climbability to navigate flooring transitions and different heights of flooring. It can reach the lowest point of the stairs and is a great option for homes with multiple levels. The app lets you set a schedule, and also includes an automatic vacuum control. 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 that can last for up to 150 minutes in normal mode or 2691 square foot between charges.
2. Shark EZ Robot Self Emptying
This Shark robot vacuum is a great choice for pet owners who want a smart, easy-to-use machine. The self-emptying bagless base is a huge convenience in comparison to competitors that use disposable dirt bags on their bases. It is easy to remove the bin and then empty it into a trash can; this could be messy, but it will save you money on bags to replace.
The bin itself is also quite large, which means the EZ Robot is capable of handling a good amount of debris. It also works very well on floors with no carpet. However, it is unable to deal with dirt embedded in low-pile carpet. It also has decent navigation capabilities and a compact footprint for the dock.
Although the EZ Robot isn't as good as the Roborock S4, it's still an excellent option for those who want a high-quality, budget-friendly robot. It's well-built, has an array of features for automation, and boasts impressive cleaning capabilities on carpets with high pile and bare floors. However its maintenance requirements are demanding and it comes with high recurring costs.
Another great feature of this Shark robot is its capability to recharge and automatically resume where it was when it returns to its docking station following the full cleaning. This is a great option, especially when your home is big.
The IQ XL is also equipped with a variety of useful features, including the ability to remotely schedule home cleaning sessions and review the results via the SharkClean app. You can also begin, stop and resumptuate cleaning sessions using voice control through Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. The row-by-row cleaning mode of the robot is a big plus and it also will clean your entire home in neat rows rather than the back-and-forth snake design of many other robots.
The IQ XL has a major disadvantage in that it is unable to climb over obstacles such as power cords. It may think they are solid barriers and therefore not try to climb over them. It's not as fast or efficient in navigating rooms that are stuffed with pet hair, which can cause brushes to get caught and slow it down.
3. Shark AI Robot
This is a great robot vacuum from Shark that comes with a variety of features. It has a self-emptying base that can store up to 30 days of debris and it combines the power of an automatic vacuum and a mop. It has a grid cleaning mode, and it features advanced smart home integration that supports Alexa and Google Assistant. You can set it to clean on a regular basis, activate on demand, or set virtual boundaries to keep it from entering rooms that may contain rugs or fragile items.
The Shark AI Robot carries out a fairly thorough job of cleaning floors, removing debris like rice with ease. It has a difficult time removing large, bulky debris from low pile carpets and isn't able to maneuver around furniture with large dimensions. It does come with a do-not-disturb mode, so you can program it to work when you're at home and it won't interfere with your routine.
It also makes use of LiDAR to map your home. This allows it to locate and navigate around obstructions more precisely than units that rely on gyroscopes alone or an infrared sensor. This allows it to avoid collisions with fragile objects and optimize dirt pickup on different types of surfaces. The LiDAR system also works faster than gyroscopes. This can cause the robot to slow down and lose control when it encounters uneven surfaces.
It comes with a variety of other options, including an automatic mopping feature, a remote and various vacuum modes. It is able to charge and recharge while it's working. The biggest flaw is that it only maps only one floor. If you have two floors, it will need to be manually moved to those areas and then programmed to repeat.
Another negative is that it can be a bit noisy, especially in mopping mode. It also has a number of parts that have to be cleaned or replaced regularly and this adds to the cost of maintenance. Fortunately, the self-empty feature helps cut down on the costs associated with these items and is compatible with bagless filters, which lowers its annual costs.
4. Shark ION Robot RV700 series
The Shark ION Robot RV700 Series ticks all the boxes you'd expect from a mid-range robot vacuum, including reliable cleaning performance and a superb mobile app that produces precise home maps. It also comes with a bagless base that means no annual purchase of dust bags replacement. In our test of cleaning it was able to remove 97.8 percent of debris from hardwood and low-pile flooring, but it was not as efficient with high-pile carpeting. Its maneuverability makes it simple to move through furniture and even climb onto flooring with high pile. It can also easily traverse over objects like electrical cords and rug fringes without getting stuck.
The bristles with high-tensile in a helix pattern are durable enough to manage and untangle long hair, string and other fibers. The brushroll has an adjustable side which can be used in the event that it encounters obstacles. Its thin design lets it coast underneath furniture, and proximity sensors assess and adjust to obstacles. It can be set to start cleaning with a pressing of a button, or scheduled for a daily schedule using the app. It has a moderate sound level, but it can be quieted by using the do-not-disturb mode or 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. But, it is more robust and easy to maintain, charges faster and gets rid of more debris on the read more floors, including carpets with high pile. Its navigation system can create virtual boundaries and detect and avoid obstacles making it the ideal option for "set it and forget it" robotic cleaners.
The RV700 Series doesn't have a the cliff sensor, which prevents it from falling down a flight of stairs, which can be a problem for people living in homes with higher ceilings. It's also not able to vacuum and mop simultaneously and requires you to switch between two modes available in the app. However the RV700 Series is a less expensive alternative to the more sophisticated Roborock and iRobot models that come with self-emptying and cliff-detection capabilities. The most attractive feature is that it can be used to empty and recharged while docked at its base, making it a good choice for those who do not want to go through the burden of emptying the dustbin each time they use it.