Better than a Roomba in every way

While iRobot’s Roomba is the market leader in the US regarding the best robot vacuums, the brand faces fierce competition from Asian manufacturers. Roborock is one of these, as it became the world’s leader in the robovac market in 2023. With its new Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra and Roborock S8 Max Ultra, it’s poised to conquer the US market.

Both models pack the latest innovations in cleaning technology, making them the best autonomous robot vacuum and mop cleaner combos we’ve ever tested. Although we’ve tested both models, we will focus our review on the most capable S8 MaxV Ultra and mention the differences between the S8 Max Ultra where applicable.

Price and availability

One of the most expensive robovacs

The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra will start selling on April 22nd at Best Buy, Amazon, and Roborock’s web store. In addition, the slightly less capable S8 Max Ultra will be available for $1,600, with a special $200 launch discount on Amazon and the Roborock web store.

Design, hardware, what’s in the box

Mighty size for better cleaning

The S8 MaxV Ultra and the Max Ultra models are available with either water tanks or a self-draining and refilling option. While the tank versions are available in black and white, the self-draining and refilling ones are only available in white.

Regardless of the variant, all have a powerful dock designed to collect dust from the robovac and wash and dry the mop using hot water and hot air. To achieve this, the dock’s lowest part features a high-speed brush that rotates and moves sideways to scrub the mop. The station is also engineered to refill the robot with water and detergent and, therefore, features a dedicated refillable detergent tank. The latter is housed behind a glossy and expensive-looking front pane right next to the dust bag.

The device’s build quality is excellent, using sturdy plastics that feel solid and durable.

The dock with tanks is relatively bulky, as the two large water tanks are at the top. The clean one can hold up to 4L, while the dirty water one collects up to 3.5L. While these make the dock look massive, they provide peace of mind and avoid having to refill and empty them too often.

Roborock has also worked on a fully autonomous version that can refill and drain itself by connecting it to a water inlet and draining system. The process is relatively seamless but requires the proper piping to be available where you want to place the dock. This version is much more compact, eliminating the need for water tanks and making it about 6.7 inches shorter.

The robot’s design matches the dock’s, but differs slightly depending on the version. While both the S8 Max Ultra and S8 MaxV Ultra come with a top-mounted LiDAR dome, the MaxV Ultra features an illuminated Roborock logo on the dome, together with a removable glossy — and fingerprint-prone — panel that hides the HEPA filter and dustbin. The S8 Max Ultra doesn’t have a dome that lights up, but instead uses a flap to conceal the filter. Both models have three buttons at the top, although their design is slightly different depending on the variant.

The main difference is at the front of the robots, as the S8 MaxV Ultra comes with an RGB camera for better obstacle detection, while the S8 Max uses an infrared sensor, similar to the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra. On the bottom, both versions feature a liftable and vibrating mop, a small rotating mop pad to clean alongside baseboards, two bristleless brush rollers to capture dirt and dust, and a robotic side brush that can extend to clean corners.

Lastly, the device’s build quality is excellent, using sturdy plastics that feel solid and durable. Sadly, Roborock doesn’t include any consumables in the box, not even detergent. You have to purchase them separately, which is hard to accept considering the price.

Setup, software, and features

Intuitive and customizable

Roborock’s app is probably my favorite, as it’s easy to use despite offering many customizable options. When setting up the robot, the app takes you through a first setup process that considers your preferences, such as whether you’d like to enable Do Not Disturb mode or if you have pets.

The robot then maps your house and automatically creates a map with your different rooms. It even uses AI to recognize furniture and identify the type of rooms and floor types. You can then edit the map to merge or separate rooms, set up virtual walls, and change the floor types and furniture on the map. If your house has multiple floors, you can save up to four maps so the robot automatically positions itself.

The app also allows you to adjust the cleaning settings, such as the suction strength, the mop’s dampness, the water temperature, how often to wash the mop, and even during which hours to charge. Similarly, the robot’s behavior when dealing with carpets is adjustable, allowing it to avoid them, lift the mop, or keep it down if you have thin and moppable rugs.

Both variants can also detect and recognize obstacles and plot them on the map, with the S8 MaxV Ultra being able to take pictures. It can even double as an encrypted security camera, with a fun feature that can automatically look for your pet or take photos of your cat or dog while cleaning.

In terms of smart home integration, both robots work with Alexa and Google Assistant, while the MaxV Ultra model also comes with Matter support and a built-in Hello Rocky voice assistant. The latter allows the robovac to turn towards you while you summon it and shout commands at it without using the app or a smart speaker. I’ve found the feature reliable, as it understands commands properly and doesn’t get triggered inadvertently, making it a great option if you don’t have smart speakers at home.

Cleaning efficiency and battery life

Outstanding vacuuming and mopping

Both the new Roborock S8 models come with high suction power, with the Max Ultra featuring 8,000Pa and the MaxV Ultra 10,000Pa, allowing them to suck up dirt and dust on virtually any surface. More importantly, they rely on two liftable bristeless brush rollers and a FlexiArm side brush that extends to clean corners and sweep dirt effectively. These ensure a deep and effective cleaning across various surfaces.

Whether dealing with hard floors or carpets, the S8 MaxV Ultra remarkably removes dirt, dust, and small particles, leaving areas spotlessly clean. It can automatically adjust its suction power and boost it while navigating over carpets, while its FlexiArm side brush plays a crucial role in achieving comprehensive coverage, sweeping along baseboards and reaching into corners. However, I’ve found it might struggle with tight crevices, leaving hard-to-reach ones uncleaned.

The vacuum shines when cleaning after outdoor activities, especially after coming back from a walk in the forest with my dog, who happily brings in mud and dirt. It’s particularly effective at getting rid of the mess and can even reach within grouts between tiles.

The mopping results are also excellent, with the S8 MaxV Ultra setting itself apart thanks to its vibrating mop and a rotating side mop that cleans alongside baseboards. Unlike models with dual rotating mop pads, the vibrating mop effectively scrubs floors, easily handling spills and stubborn stains such as dried coffee, sauces, or dried mud.

The dock’s detergent tank allows the robot to mix cleaning solutions with water, significantly boosting stain removal capabilities. The dock also maintains hygiene by cleaning the mop before, during, and after each use with hot water, ensuring optimal cleanliness and performance.

Both models also have a Smart Plan AI feature, which automatically adjusts the cleaning parameters. Similarly, they can automatically re-mop dirty areas and re-wash the mop if they sense it’s soiled. In addition, the S8 MaxV Ultra comes with Roborock’s DirTect feature, which allows it to detect dirty areas, automatically adjust the suction power, and clean again using only the mop for spotless results.

The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra uses LiDAR and an AI RGB camera for flawless navigation and obstacle avoidance across different rooms. This allows it to detect and avoid common household obstacles like cables, shoes, and toys efficiently, preventing them from getting stuck. The S8 Max Ultra uses an infrared sensor instead, which also provides good results but isn’t as good at recognizing smaller objects like small cables.

Despite their powerful cleaning capabilities, the robots maintain a reasonable sound profile, ensuring they do not intrude excessively into daily life. Both come with decent battery life, offering up to 180 minutes of continuous cleaning on a single charge on low settings. This ensures they can cover large areas without needing a mid-session recharge, making them ideal for thoroughly cleaning approximately 900 square feet on high settings.

Maintenance and care

Almost maintenance-free daily

The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra is engineered to streamline and simplify your cleaning routine, minimizing the need for human intervention.

First, it minimizes the need to care for water tanks, thanks to their large capacity, which significantly reduces the frequency of manual intervention to about once every 1,650 square feet. This is even easier with the self-draining and refilling model, which virtually eliminates the need for human involvement daily. Additionally, the detergent tank can last for months without needing a refill, allowing for a set-and-forget-it experience.

Unlike competing brands’ models, Roborock uses a dedicated brush specifically for scrubbing the mop, ensuring a more thorough cleaning. It also uses hot water and hot air during the washing and drying process, effectively preventing mildew growth and eliminating unpleasant odors.

Despite its many advantages, the S8 MaxV Ultra is not without its maintenance challenges. The docking station can accumulate dirt over time and requires a good wipe about once a month. This involves wiping down the cradle, removing and cleaning the brush, and cleaning the filter — a process that, while only taking a few minutes, is inconvenient. Of course, it’s particularly true in my case since my dog brings in a lot of dirt, but it’s important to keep it in mind.

Similarly, while the robot requires minimal upkeep, thanks to its detachable mop and self-emptying feature, I’ve often found my dog’s hair entangled around the brush rollers and the side brush, forcing me to clean it every week manually. It’s not as problematic as bristled brushes, but long hair easily gets wrapped around the parts and needs to be cleared frequently.

Competition

Roborock’s new S8 MaxV Ultra directly competes with the DreameBot X30 Ultra, which is similarly priced at $1,800. The latter comes with hot water mop washing, hot air drying, AI features, and camera-based obstacle recognition. It uses an extendable side mop to clean corners, but doesn’t have a robotic side mop.

Also, I’ve personally found it doesn’t clean as well as the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra and isn’t as good at avoiding obstacles. While Dreame boasts the dock’s self-cleaning ability, I’ve found it still requires some manual cleaning, which doesn’t necessarily make it stand out from the competition.

Then, there’s the Ecovacs Deebot X2 Omni, which doesn’t have the same AI features, but also uses hot water mop washing. It uses a square design to clean corners, eschewing the need for robotic parts without being as good as reaching into tight spaces. Also, while it doesn’t have a LiDAR dome and can slide more easily under furniture, it sometimes navigates awkwardly. It’s a bit cheaper, though, as it’s officially sold for $1,500 but is often discounted for a few hundred less.

Should you buy it?

If you’re looking for the best robot vacuum cleaner, look no further, as this is the one to buy. It’s engineered to clean corners and baseboards, as well as to suck up dirt from carpets and hard floors alike. Its advanced self-cleaning features, including a dedicated brush, hot water mop washing, and hot air drying, minimize maintenance, making it a perfect option for cleaning large spaces.

Finally, Roborock has developed excellent dirt identification technology to provide spotless results. It automatically re-cleans dirty areas that need a second pass without cleaning the entire room again.

Being the best doesn’t mean it’s perfect, though, as it requires a bit too much human maintenance, in my opinion. Also, it’s very expensive, so you should only buy it if you have a large home since it’s really an investment that will save you plenty of time daily. I’ve found the S8 MaxV Ultra to offer better vacuuming results on carpets compared to the S8 Max Ultra, and it’s also more precise when it comes to mopping as it can identify stains thanks to its camera.

If you have a big home with pets or if your floors tend to be soiled often and require frequent and thorough cleaning, go for the S8 MaxV Ultra. Otherwise, you can consider the slightly cheaper S8 Max Ultra. However, it has inferior cleaning capabilities, lacks a built-in voice assistant, and doesn’t have an AI camera that can detect obstacles and dirt precisely.