Whether you've got carpet that is high or low-pile there's a robotic vacuum for you. These machines are intelligent and can automatically navigate through your home, pick up dirt and clean under furniture.
A lot of them come with advanced features, like mapping, which allows them to navigate around your home and keep track of furniture place. They can also boost suction power to tackle dirtier areas.
iRobot Roomba 694"
The iRobot Roomba is a budget-friendly robot vacuum that performs well on both floors that are unfinished and low-pile floor carpet. It has a good suction, but struggles with larger debris like grains of rice or sand. It is effective in cleaning pet hair, but it isn't as resistant to tangling as the premium Roomba models like the I6 and j7.
The Roomba is easy to use. It has a trio of buttons on its cover: 'Clean' starts a cleaning cycle and 'Dock' places it back into its charging station, and 'Spot Clean' triggers an targeted clean. It can be controlled via a smartphone app that lets you schedule or stop/start cycles, as well as adjust settings. You can also connect it with smart home devices such as Alexa or Google Assistant for voice-controlled operation.
This vacuum cleaner is slower than some others, but it is able to get into the most crevices and corners. It has a huge dust bin, which is great for reducing the frequency with which you must empty it. It's compatible with digital maps and virtual barriers which let you set it to avoid specific areas or stop cleaning altogether when you want to stop it from getting stuck on something.
It's not the best for its price, but it's better than most other options. The Roborock E4 is more advanced than the Roomba 694 with superior cleaning performance on carpets with low and no pile. It also has a more durable battery and a cleaner path. It is also more robust, has fewer components that require regular maintenance, costs less over its life and charges faster than 694.
It's also worth taking a look at other models that are more expensive from the iRobot range, such as the 981 or the v7. The 981 and v7 are more expensive, but offer significant improvements in cleaning performance both on low and bare pile floors. They also have a larger dirt compartment, charge faster, move more easily and are easier to pair up with smart home devices.
Shark RV1001AE IQ
This self-emptying robot that is budget-friendly does an okay job on hard floors and low-pile carpet. Its combination brush reaches corners and edges, and it automatically boosts suction once it senses carpet. It also does a great job of cleaning embedded dirt on carpet in the middle. The IQ has a small footprint and also a self-emptying function. If you want to change the floor level or set zones that aren't allowed, you'll have to manually reset the map.
cool training provides advanced mapping and automated features, however it does not have no-go zones. These are available only on iRobot robots. Its smart-pathing navigation system provides greater maneuverability, and its high-pile carpet mode cleans well, although it tends to get caught up in rug tassels. Additionally, its iHome speaker lets you control the robot using voice commands.
During our tests, the IQ was able to handle pet hair well, clearing an impressive amount of debris from bare floors and moderate amounts from medium-pile carpet. It was less effective with shag carpets, where it had a hard time reaching dirt and dust buried within the fibers. It was capable of maneuvering around chair legs and tight spaces, as well as the base of a wooden IKEA step stool. It was slower on flooring that was not fully covered but it was able to recover speed and did better than other robots we tested.
The IQ is a better option for the majority of users than the iRobot Roomba. It has a bigger dustbin and a longer battery lifespan and is better at navigating obstacles. It also has mopping attachments that are able to tackle sticky mess. On the other hand the iRobot is more durable and has fewer parts that require maintenance or replacement and incurs lower costs for recurring maintenance, and can create virtual no-go zones through its companion app. It can even restart cleaning from the point it started if it has run out of battery before having completed the task. The iRobot can also be controlled via voice commands, which is a major benefit for many users.
Eufy 11S
The RoboVac 11S by eufy isn't exactly the most feature-rich robot vacuum on the market but it does provide great cleaning power for the price of. It's designed for budget-conscious buyers who don't require a complicated mapping system or an app to control the device. This robot will last for over an hour. It includes an remote control, a cleaning tool and AC power adapter.
The 11S is slim, sleek and has a tempered-glass upper deck that looks like the brushed appearance of aluminum. It's a nice departure from the industrial and utilitarian designs of Roomba, Samsung and Neato.
The eufy11S did well in our tests of removing larger debris and fine dust from hard floors. It was unable to thoroughly clean carpets with high and medium piles. The device has a tendency to bump into furniture and people in its route. However, it can detect obstacles using sensors. It ceases and emits a loud sound when it comes across an obstacle. Then, you can manually steer the device around the obstacle and get it to work again.
Another excellent aspect of the eufy 11S is its BoostIQ mode that lets you set the robot to automatically adjust its suction strength to match the type of floor and level of dirt. The remote control makes it easy to guide the 11S to the desired location.
Single Room Mode is a great option for those with small furniture in the area you'd like to vacuum. The eufy will spend 30 minutes intensely cleaning the space it's assigned.
Edge Cleaning is another option that can limit the time spent on each area to 20 minutes. This will maximize battery life. By selecting this option, the eufy will move in a spiral fashion to clean edges and corners to ensure a clean.
Miele Complete C1
The Miele Complete C1 canister robot is a fantastic mid-range vacuum cleaner that is a winner on carpet. Its performance on bare floors is also impressive. It can pick up small particles like rice easily, and it doesn't lose suction power even when its dirt bin gets full. Its design that is allergy-friendly and sealed with air traps allergens and keeps your family healthy. It comes with an onboard HEPA and self-emptying bin, so you don't need any additional filters or a vacuum bag.
It's not as powerful as pricier models, but it's still ideal for fighting dirt and deep cleaning. It has two cameras on the front that deliver a live feed to your smartphone. It also comes with one of the most advanced obstacle avoidance systems. It also has a big dustbin, a long running time and a quick clean-up that is free of bumps.
The Complete C1 is unlike most robots because it can switch between two heads, a standard and a turbo for different kinds of flooring. The turbo head is best on low-pile or high-pile carpeting, while the standard powerhead is good for bare floors and light carpets. It also comes with an automatic height adjustment system which allows it to easily adapt to various kinds of flooring, without manual adjustments.
This model comes with the SBD 285-3 Classic Combination Floorhead, which can be used on both hard floors and carpets of medium pile. The motor can also be easily maneuvered and can reach hard-to-reach areas. It has five different surface adjustments as well as a switch that stops the brushroll to prevent hairs from getting tangled.
The Classic C1 has a self cleaning brush roll, it has a UtraClean Mode that can clean the same area three times, and a self-emptying dustbin that you can empty by pressing a single button. Its noise level is a little higher than other models, but its powerful 1,200-watt motor and sturdy build make it worth the extra cost.
If you're willing to pay a little more it is the Miele Complete C3 canister robot vacuum is an excellent all-around robot vacuum. It is more effective on carpets than the Classic C1. It is more efficient on all floors and feels more sturdy and comes with an HEPA filter.
