The Best Shark Robot Vacuum
Shark's robo-vac ticks most of the criteria you'd expect from a mid-range machine. It provides reliable cleaning capability and an easy to use mobile app. It also provides accurate home maps.
It also comes with Matrix Clean Navigation, a system that performs two passes back and forth, before moving to the side for complete coverage. And its base is unbagged, which is different from other robot vacuums.
1. Roborock S4
This is a fantastic robot vacuum for flooring that is not in use that comes with a huge dirt container and is able to pick up debris. The smart pathing feature works well, and the app lets 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.
Its maximum suction of 2,000Pa is high enough to lift an AA battery off the floor, and is comparable to the suction of larger vacuums. With 19CFM, the S4's side and combo brush is located closer to the front of the unit than in other Roborock models, which could be a strategy to lessen the amount of clogging.
The S4's advanced mapping system can map a house up to four levels deep. It will also remember the areas that it has already vacuumed. This makes it simple to design a cleaning schedule without the need to manually move robots from room to room. You can even mark off areas as no-go zones, which will block the S4 from entering these areas during a cleaning session.
It was able to vacuum an entire level of our home with ease and was very efficient on floors that were not paved. However, it struggled with picking up dog hair, which is a common issue for a lot of robotic vacuums. The only 8.5% was captured in the dustbin. The remainder was clumped up around the brushes and the suction inlet.
The S4 is lighter and smaller than other Shark vacuums. This improves its maneuverability. It can turn more quickly and avoid obstacles that slow down other robots. Its low profile design makes it easier to squeeze under furniture. It has improved climbability for navigating flooring transitions as well as different flooring heights. It can reach the bottom of the stairs and is a great choice for homes with multiple levels. The app lets you set a timer, and includes an automatic vacuum control. It can also return to its charging base to charge between cleaning cycles. It comes with the largest battery, 5200 mAh that can last for up to 150 minutes in standard mode or 2691 square feet between charges.
2. Shark EZ Robot Self-Emptying
This Shark robot vacuum is a fantastic choice for pet owners looking for a machine that's easy to use and smart. Its self-emptying base that is bagless is a huge convenience particularly when compared to other models that utilize disposable dirt bags in their bases. It is easy to remove the bin and empty it over a trash container. This could be messy, but it also saves you money on replacement bags.
The bin is large, so the EZ Robot can handle a huge amount of debris. It also works well on floors that are unfinished. However, it struggles with dirt that is embedded in low-pile carpet. It also has decent 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's well-built and has a variety of automation features. It also boasts an impressive cleaning performance on floors that are bare as well as carpets with a lot of pile. However its maintenance requirements are high and it has high costs that are recurring.
This Shark robot has another excellent feature: it can instantly resume where it left off after it returns to the docking station. This is a great feature, especially if you have an extensive home.
The IQ XL is also equipped with robots that vacuum and mop a number of other useful features, including the capability to remotely schedule entire-home cleaning and review reports through the SharkClean app. You can also use voice control through Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant to start or stop cleaning sessions. Its row-by-row cleaning mode is a huge 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's biggest drawback is its inability to get over obstacles like power cords, which it may identify as solid barriers and avoid climbing over. It's also not as fast or efficient in navigating the room when it's stuffed with pet hair, which can cause brushes to get caught and slow it down.
3. Shark AI Robot
This is a solid robotic vacuum from Shark, offering a good combination of features. It has a base that can hold up to 30 days' worth of debris, and it combines the cleaning power of a robot vacuum cleaner and a mop. It has a grid cleaning mode, and it is equipped with advanced smart home integration that supports Alexa and Google Assistant. You can schedule it to clean, turn on it at any time or set virtual boundaries to block the robot from entering rooms with fragile items or rugs.
The Shark AI Robot does a great job cleaning floors with no carpet. It can pick up dirt effortlessly, like rice. It has a hard time getting rid of bulky, large debris from carpets with low pile and is unable to maneuver around furniture with large dimensions. It does have a quiet mode, which means you can program it to work when you're at home, and it won't interrupt your routine.
It also uses LiDAR to map your home. This allows it to detect and navigate obstructions more precisely than units which rely solely upon gyroscopes or infrared sensors. This helps it avoid collisions with delicate objects and also improve dirt pickup on various surface types. The LiDAR system also operates more quickly than gyroscopes, which can cause the robot slow down and lose control when it encounters uneven surfaces.
Other features include the remote control, automated mopping, and various vacuum modes. It is able to recharge and charge itself while it is working. The main drawback is that it will only draw out only one floor of your house therefore if you have two stories it will be necessary to manually transport it to the two floors at the beginning of the run, and then program it to repeat.
Another issue is that it can be a little loud, especially during mopping mode. It also has a lot of components that must be replaced or cleaned regularly and this adds to its recurring costs. Fortunately, the self-empty feature cuts down on some of these expenses and it's compatible with bags-free filters, which reduces the annual cost.
4. Shark ION Robot RV700 series
The Shark ION Robot RV700 Series is a complete package that you would expect of a mid-range robotic vacuum. It is reliable in its cleaning performance, a superb mobile application that produces precise maps of your home, as well as a excellent cleaning performance. The bagless base removes the need for dust bags to replace every year. In our cleaning performance test it was able to remove 97.8 percent of dust from carpeting with low pile and hardwood floors although it wasn't as effective on carpets with high piles. Its maneuverability makes it simple to maneuver around furniture and climb onto high-pile flooring. It can also traverse over objects like rug fringes and electrical cords without getting stuck.
The bristles with a helix-pattern pattern are sturdy enough to manage and untangle long hair, string and other fibers and the brushroll comes with an adjustable edge that can be used when it comes across obstacles. Its thin design allows it to glide over furniture and proximity sensors detect and adjust to the surrounding obstacles. The app allows you to schedule cleanings and trigger the machine with one button press. It has a moderate noise level, but can be reduced by using the do-not-disturb mode or custom scheduling.
The RV700 is more manual than the Roborock S4 or iRobot Roomba J7+. This is to be expected from an item that doesn't self-empty. It's still more durable and easier to maintain. It is faster in charging and removes more dirt from high pile and unfinished floors. Its navigation system can create virtual boundaries and detect and avoid obstacles which makes it the ideal option for "set it and forget it" robotic cleaners.
The RV700 Series doesn't have a safety cliff sensor to prevent it from falling down a flight of stairs, which can be a problem for those living in homes with higher ceilings. It's also not able to mop and vacuum simultaneously and requires you to switch between two modes of its app. The RV700 Series offers a cheaper alternative to more advanced Roborock and iRobot robots that have self-emptying features and cliff detection. Its primary selling point is the fact that it can be recharged and empty while docked at its base. This makes it a great alternative for those who do not wish to empty the onboard dustbin every time they use it.