Battle of the best robovacs (that iRobot doesn’t make)

We enactment the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra head-to-head against the DreameBot X30 Ultra to find retired which of these Roomba competitors’ flagship robot vacuums is the best.

There are an absurd fig of robot vacuums disposable today, but based connected my investigating of dozens of bots, conscionable a fistful of manufacturers are starring the battalion erstwhile it comes to innovation, choice, and truly bully cleaning machines. These see Roborock, iRobot, and Dreame. Each has precocious released caller flagship models: the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra, the DreameBot X30 Ultra, and iRobot’s Roomba Combo J9 Plus.

I’ve reviewed the Combo j9 Plus, and I inactive urge Roombas if you’re looking for either a high-end robovac oregon a fund bot, successful ample portion owed to their repairability, easiness of use, and reliability. But the contention is getting precise good, and with iRobot’s aboriginal looking shaky pursuing its break up with Amazon, I figured it was clip for a deeper dive into its strongest competitors.

The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra ($1,799.99) is simply a robot vacuum and mop with a charging dock that fills the robot’s onboard h2o tank, cleans and dries its mop pads, and empties its onboard dustbin. It features a whopping 10,000Pa of suction and a camera for obstacle detection and avoidance. Its mop vibrates up to 4,000 times a infinitesimal to scrub your floors and raises up to 20mm to debar carpet.

The S8 MaxV has a caller flexi limb that pushes its spinning broadside brushwood retired further to get into corners amended and a broadside mop that helps cleanable on edges. A caller on-device dependable adjunct tin instrumentality nonstop commands, truthful you don’t request to usage the app oregon a third-party talker to power the robot (although it works with Alexa, Google Home, and Siri Shortcuts). It’s besides one of the archetypal robot vacuums that volition enactment Matter, though that diagnostic hasn’t been turned connected yet.

The DreameBot X30 Ultra ($1,699.99) has galore of the aforesaid features arsenic the S8 MaxV Ultra, including a charging dock that auto-empties, washes the mops, and fills the robot’s h2o tank, positive a camera for obstacle detection. It has 8,300Pa suction and uses dual spinning mop pads that it tin automatically region erstwhile it vacuums — my favourite feature. It tin besides assistance the mops if needed (up to 10.5mm).

Uniquely, the Dreame tin widen its mops retired to scope baseboards and adjacent nether debased furniture, arsenic acold arsenic 4cm; this is amazingly effectual astatine getting up grime from edges.

I fto these 2 bots conflict it retired successful my location implicit 10 days, investigating their cleaning prowess, mopping chops, navigation skills, and unsocial features — specified arsenic an limb and mops that bash the splits. I besides evaluated the plan and usability of their multifunction charging docks and however good they conscionable their committedness of hands-free cleaning. I enactment their companion apps done their paces, diving into each the settings and features these machines connection successful their quest to cleanable your floors. Read connected to find retired which 1 came retired connected top.

Dock plan and function: bigger is beauteous unless you tin plumb it

Despite being bigger the Dreame’s dock (left) looks better.

While Roborock has redesigned its dock into thing smaller and much aesthetically pleasing (it was the archetypal to merchandise a multifunction dock, and those aboriginal days were characterized by hulking monstrosities), it’s inactive 1 of the ugliest retired there. Dreame, connected the different hand, has perfected the stylish dock look, and portion it’s bigger than Roborock’s, it’s overmuch prettier.

Dreame’s dock is besides somewhat much functional. While some models volition lavation the mops with blistery h2o and adust them with heated air, which helps woody with the odor and mess, Dreame has small wipers that cleanable the mop country for you, whereas Roborock’s mop tray needs manual cleaning. However, Roborock has the enactment to link straight to your plumbing, doing distant with the bulky h2o tank-look entirely. You bash request to get a specific model for this, which costs $100 more. While Dreame sells an add-on kit to its existing exemplary for this function, it’s lone disposable successful Asia. A North American exemplary — the X40 — is coming aboriginal this month, but it costs nineteen 100 dollars.

Winner: Tie

Navigation and obstacle avoidance: they some dodged the poop

Both models usage lidar to representation and navigate your home. They some mapped the location rapidly and accurately and responded correctly to requests for room-specific cleaning and portion cleaning — meaning they didn’t get lost. These robots some person front-facing cameras for AI-powered obstacle avoidance, and they some nimbly avoided fake canine turds, socks, shoes, and bundles of cables.

However, each had anemic spots. The Dreame successfully sucked up a heap of Cheerios, which the Roborock thought was an obstacle, but the Dreame got stuck connected a stray iPhone cablegram that the Roborock dodged. Roborock besides loves to devour pencils. In the end, though, they were some seldom derailed compared to non-camera-powered robots I’ve tested, and that’s the biggest payment of AI-powered obstacle avoidance unless you regularly fto your favored poop successful your house.

This is the archetypal Roborock since the fantabulous S7 MaxV Ultra to diagnostic a camera for entity detection (all the different models usage 3D obstacle detection, which is not arsenic effective). But Roombas with the aforesaid diagnostic are inactive the champion astatine knowing what’s successful its mode and successfully avoiding it oregon cleaning it erstwhile necessary. Also worthy noting: if you person a furniture skirt oregon cloth astir your sofa, lidar-powered robots volition spot it arsenic a wall, whereas a VSLAM-powered model, similar the Roombas, volition propulsion close done and cleanable nether your bed.

Winner: Tie

The S8 MaxV Ultra’s robot limb reaches retired to get debris retired of corners.

Vacuuming power: Roborock sucks hardest and has an limb …

Both bots person ace suction powerfulness and did an fantabulous occupation getting up each past spot of larger debris, specified arsenic atom and oatmeal, connected hard floor. But Roborock’s dual-brush strategy did a amended occupation connected carpet, and its rubber roller plan means little hairsbreadth tangle. Dreame sent maine its caller $50 anti-tangle tri-cut brushwood (sold separately) that cuts the hair, and I didn’t person to woody with immoderate tangles, which was nice. But the Roborock was tangle-free without buying an other accessory, and its dual brushes did amended astatine getting ungraded and hairsbreadth up disconnected the carpet.

Roborock’s flexi limb is besides a large upgrade. It’s designed to assistance the bot cleanable corners amended by reaching the spinning brushwood retired to swipe up the dirt. I person seen this successful enactment astatine CES, but it happens successful the flash of an eye, and contempt spending a batch of clip hovering implicit the bot, I ne'er really saw it enactment successful my home. But the debris I enactment successful the corners to trial it was gone, truthful I conjecture it worked?!

The Dreame (left) has a azygous roller brush, whereas the Roborock has 2 rubber brushes that are amended astatine getting ungraded disconnected carpet and sucking up messes successful 1 walk than the Dreame.

Auto-cleaning modes are a caller diagnostic I’m starting to spot connected high-end robots. They destruct the fuss of having to acceptable circumstantial cleaning modes for antithetic rooms — specified arsenic cleaning the room and entryway doubly but the eating country once. Both Roborock and Dreame person versions of this AI-powered cleaning mode. Dreame calls it CleanGenius, and Roborock’s is SmartPlan. I recovered them some precise utile for conscionable hitting spell and not having to program the way but inactive ending up with spotless floors.

These modes besides crook connected a diagnostic that sends the robot backmost to cleanable areas it determines that request much attention. This was hard to trial efficaciously successful the clip I’ve had with them, but it’s an absorbing diagnostic I’ll beryllium keeping an oculus on. Anything that involves little of maine spending clip with an app and much of the robot doing things connected its ain is simply a bully thing.

I truly liked Roborock’s “Recommended Routines,” personalized cleaning sequences that again mean little programming by you. There’s an After Meals 1 that tackles the room and eating country and a Pet Supply enactment for cleaning astir favored nutrient areas (the robot tin place pets, favored beds, and favored bowls), on with a fewer different utile options.

Winner: Roborock

Mopping prowess: Dreame’s mop moving and mop removal is genius

Dreame’s auto-detachable mop pads are inactive the champion mode I’ve seen to woody with the “how does a robot mop and vacuum without messing up your carpet” conundrum. When it’s cleaning carpet, it goes backmost to its dock, takes disconnected its mop pads, past goes and vacuums. Genius. It tin besides rise its mop to astir 10mm if needed to prevention time, truthful it tin inactive traverse carpet to mop further distant rooms. Roborock’s mop isn’t detachable, though you tin manually region the pad itself. It does assistance a batch higher, up to 20mm, but there’s inactive a accidental of contaminating high-pile carpets unless you archer it to debar carpets.

Dreame’s dual oscillating mop pads besides bash a amended occupation of getting bedewed messes disconnected the level than Roborock’s azygous level pad. While Roborock’s mop vibrates up to 4,000 times a minute, Dreame successfully removed each the dried ketchup and OJ successful my tests, whereas Roborock near a hint behind.

The different happening Dreame does precise good is cleanable baseboards and edges. It uses a “MopExtend RoboSwing” technology that extends its mop retired to scope the baseboard and besides swings the robot toward the borderline to propulsion the mops nether things similar my fridge and dishwasher, getting the grime that different cleaning methods miss. Roborock’s Extra Edge Mop system, caller connected the S8 MaxV Ultra, does springiness the bot a spot much mopping scope — a tiny spinning mop pad extends somewhat retired from the close of the robot, but it’s not a spot connected the Dreame.

Winner: Dreame

Apps, video cameras, dependable control, and Matter, ohio my!

These high-end robovacs person a dizzying magnitude of features accessed done their apps; which is wherever you acceptable up the representation (name rooms and adhd furnishings to assistance the robot recognize your location better). This was casual to bash connected both, and they person precise akin apps.

However, Roborock’s app is much refined, much stable, and somewhat much user-friendly. Both person so, truthful galore settings menus to dive into to customize everything from however often the bot washes its mop and erstwhile it empties its bin to which absorption it cleans your hardwood floors (yes — you tin prime “along the grain”). But Roborock makes it easier to get to what you need. It besides ne'er crashed connected me, whereas Dreame’s often showed the robot offline oregon made maine hold a portion earlier I could entree it.

One neat diagnostic is that some tin enactment arsenic roving location information cameras. Roborock volition adjacent spell look for your favored (although it failed to find my 80lb pup erstwhile helium was sitting close successful beforehand of it — to beryllium fair, it was dark, and helium looks similar a rug). You tin besides driblet successful connected the robot’s camera and spot and speech to radical successful your location — yes, that’s arsenic weird arsenic it sounds, but determination could beryllium a usage case. The camera diagnostic is not enabled by default connected either Dreame oregon Roborock and requires a acceptable of actions and a codification to entree it remotely.

The Roborock connected patrol for a pet. It didn’t spot my canine here, but it tin beryllium acceptable to drawback pictures of your favored whenever it sees them.

Only Roborock has built successful dependable power — a caller diagnostic with this model. The aftermath connection is Hello Rocky, and it worked precise well, responding promptly and knowing my commands. You bash person to hold a bushed aft activating it to accidental the command, which takes a spot of getting utilized to. Dreame tin respond to dependable commands from Alexa, Google Home, and Siri shortcuts (as does Roborock), but the single-purpose usage present makes the acquisition overmuch better.

Hello Rocky gave maine overmuch much power than immoderate of the third-party integrations. I could inquire it to bare the bin, skip here, halt drying, and more, on with each the modular commands similar cleanable the room and spell backmost to the dock.

Finally, Roborock supports Matter, which gives it an edge. While nary of the large astute location platforms enactment robot vacuums successful Matter yet, astir person said they volition soon. The information that Roborock’s S8 MaxV Ultra is already Matter-certified means you’re acceptable for that aboriginal if and erstwhile it arrives. Dreame has said it volition enactment Matter successful its newest vacuums but has not made immoderate announcements astir the X30.

Winner: Roborock

Which bot’s the best?

The Dreame X30 Ultra (left) and the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra are some awesome robot vacuum mops.

Both robots execute exceptionally good astatine mopping and vacuuming, and their all-singing-all-dancing docks marque level attraction virtually hands-free. But the Roborock beats the DreameBot wide acknowledgment to its superior vacuuming performance, easier-to-use app, and built-in dependable control. Its dual roller brushes, broadside brush, and 10,000Pa suction demolished each the adust ungraded successful my tests. And portion the Dreame is amended astatine mopping, the Roborock is inactive precise good.

If mopping is what you truly want, the DreameBot’s oscillating mops bash a amended occupation with bedewed spills and dried-on gunk, similar ketchup. The mop removal diagnostic meant I didn’t person to interest astir my white, high-pile carpet astatine all. If you person a batch of carpet oregon high-pile rugs scattered astir your location oregon similar the nicer-looking dock, Dreame whitethorn beryllium a amended choice, but otherwise, the Roborock volition suit you precise well.

If you are sold connected these bots but can’t tummy the price, some brands person cheaper models that bash astir arsenic much. The Roborock S8 Pro Ultra costs $1,600 and has little suction power, nary camera (so nary AI-powered obstacle detection), and nary dependable adjunct oregon Matter. Dreame’s erstwhile flagship model, the L20 Ultra, is presently $1,500 and slightly amended successful a fewer areas. It does person little suction powerfulness but tin region its mops and widen them (though not arsenic acold arsenic the X30). However, its auto-emptying wasn’t arsenic reliable.

I should enactment that Dreame has conscionable announced the X40 Ultra, which volition beryllium disposable for an eye-watering $1,900 and volition person a exemplary with a nonstop h2o hookup. The X40 besides adds a flexi limb — conscionable similar Roborock’s — and 12,000Pa of suction. But it inactive lone has 1 roller brush, and the brushes are cardinal to cleaning. Also, yes, I bash deliberation these robots are breeding.