The Best Shark Robot Vacuum
Shark's robot vacuum checks most of the boxes you'd expect from a mid-range machine. It's reliable in its cleaning capabilities as well as a mobile app that is easy to use and produces accurate home maps.
It also features Matrix Clean Navigation, a system which performs two passes in a row, before moving to the side to provide complete coverage. Its base is free of bags, unlike other robot vacuums.
1. Roborock S4
This is a top-quality robot vacuum for floors that are not clean that can take up debris and has a large dirt storage. The app lets you manage cleaning and docking. Its intelligent pathing is extremely efficient. The app gives you an overview of cleaning, which includes the map that shows where the S4 was cleaned, cleaning time and battery life.
The S4's maximum suction is 2,000Pa, which is similar to full-sized vacuums. With 19CFM the S4's side and combo brush is situated more to the front than in other Roborock models, which may be a way to cut down on the possibility of clogging.
The S4's advanced mapping system can map a home up to four levels deep. It can also remember the areas that it has already vacuumed. This makes it easy to create a cleaning schedule, without having to manually move robots from room to room. You can designate certain areas as "no-go zones" to stop the S4 from cleaning those areas.
It was able to vacuum the entire floor of our house easily, and was very efficient on floors with no carpets. It had a tough to remove dog hair. This is a common issue with robotic vacuums. The only 8.5% of the dog hair it picked up was actually collected in the dustbin and much of the rest was clumped in the brushes and suction inlet.
Compared to other Shark vacuums, the S4 is noticeably more compact and lighter, which increases maneuverability. It can make tighter turning and avoid obstacles which slow down other robots. The low-profile design makes it easier to fit under furniture. It also has improved climbing capabilities to traverse flooring transitions and various heights of flooring. It can reach the bottom of the stairs, and is an excellent choice for homes with multiple levels. The app allows you to set a schedule, and comes with an automatic vacuum control. It can also return to its charging station to recharge automatically between cleaning cycles. It has a large 5200 mAh battery that is expected to last for 150 minutes or 2691 square feet of space between recharges in normal mode.
2. Shark EZ Robot Self-Empty
This Shark robot vacuum is a great choice for pet owners who need a smart, easy-to-use machine. Its bagless self-emptying base is a major plus particularly when compared to competitors that use disposable dirt bags in their bases. You can empty the bin in the trashcan by removing it. It's messy, but you save money on the replacement bags.
The bin itself is fairly large, meaning that the EZ Robot is capable of taking care of a lot of debris. It also performs well on bare floors, though it does struggle somewhat with dirt that has been embedded on carpets with low pile. It has good navigational capabilities and has a small footprint.
While the EZ Robot isn't as good as the Roborock S4, it's still a solid option for people who want a good-performing affordable robot. It's well-built, has a wide range of automation options, and offers impressive cleaning capabilities on bare floors and high-pile carpet. However the maintenance requirements for this model are a challenge and it comes with significant recurring costs.
Another excellent feature of this Shark robot is its ability to recharge and resume automatically where it began when it returns to its docking station following the full cleaning. This is an extremely useful feature particularly if you own an extensive home.
The IQ XL also comes with many other useful features. This includes the ability to schedule whole-home cleanings remotely and view cleaning reports via the SharkClean App. You can also use voice control through Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant to start or stop cleaning sessions. The row-by-row mode is also an important benefit. It cleans your home in neat rows, rather than a back and forth snake pattern like other robots do.
The IQ XL has a major disadvantage in that it is unable to climb over obstacles such as power cords. It might mistake them for solid barriers and therefore not try to climb over them. It's also less effective or fast at navigating a space that is cluttered with pet hair. This can cause tangles to the brushes and slow it.
3. Shark AI Robot
This is a solid robotic vacuum from Shark and offers a great combination of features. It comes with a base that can hold up to 30 days' worth of debris, and it combines the cleaning power both of the robot mop and a vacuum cleaner. It has a grid cleaning mode, and it features advanced smart home integration that works with Alexa and Google Assistant. You can program it to clean, activate it at any time or create virtual boundaries to stop the robot from entering rooms with fragile items or rugs.
The Shark AI Robot carries out an excellent job of cleaning floors, removing debris like rice easily. It has a hard time taking large, bulky debris from low pile carpets and is not able to move around furniture with large dimensions. It does come with a do-not-disturb mode, so you can set it to work while you're at home and it won't disrupt your routine.
Another advantage is that it makes use of LiDAR technology to map your home and allows it to recognize and navigate obstacles more precisely than devices that rely on gyroscopes and sensors. This lets it avoid hitting delicate objects, and also optimize dirt collection on different surfaces. The LiDAR system is also more efficient than gyroscopes that could cause robots to slow down or lose control when they encounter uneven surfaces.
Other features include remote control, automatic mopping, and a variety of vacuum modes. It can recharge and charge itself while working. The main drawback is that it will only trace only one floor of your house therefore if you have two stories it will be necessary to manually move it to the two floors at the beginning of the run, and then program it to repeat.
Another negative is that it could be a bit noisy, especially in mopping mode. It also has many components that need to be cleaned or replaced frequently, which adds to its recurring cost. The self-empty function is the basic feature that helps to reduce the cost of these items. It's also compatible with a bagless filter, which can further reduce the cost annually.
4. Shark ION Robot RV700 series
The Shark ION Robot RV700 Series fulfills all the requirements you'd expect from a mid-range robotic vacuum, with reliable cleaning performance and a great mobile app that produces accurate home maps. It also comes with a bagless basis that eliminates annual purchases for dust bags to replace. In our test of cleaning performance it was able remove 97.8% of debris from hardwood floors and low-pile carpeting however it was not as effective on high-pile carpeting. Its maneuverability makes it easy to move between furniture and onto high-pile flooring. It can also easily pass over things like electrical cords and rug fringes without getting stuck.
The bristles with a helix-pattern pattern are strong enough to handle and untangle long hair strings, as well as other fibers and the brushroll comes with a retractable edge that can be utilized when it encounters obstacles. Its thin design allows it to glide under furniture, and proximity sensors allow it to adapt and analyze obstacles. The app allows you to schedule cleaning times or trigger the machine using one button press. The noise levels are moderate however it can be slowed down with a do-not-disturb feature or a custom scheduling.
The RV700 is a little more manual than the Roborock S4 or iRobot Roomba j7+. This is to be expected from a model that does not self-empty. It is nevertheless more durable and simpler to maintain. It charges faster and removes more dirt from high pile and floors that are bare. Its navigation system can create virtual boundaries, identify obstacles and avoid them, and also create virtual boundaries. This makes it the ideal choice for robotic cleaners you can "set and forget".
The RV700 Series does not have mop vacuum robot a cliff-sensor that would prevent it from falling down stairs. This could be a problem for people who live in taller houses. It's not able to mop and vacuum simultaneously and you must switch between modes within the app. However the RV700 Series is a less expensive alternative to the more advanced Roborock and iRobot models that offer self-emptying and cliff detection capabilities. Its primary selling point is the ability to be recharged and emptied while docked at its base. This makes it a perfect option for those who don't wish to empty the onboard dustbin each time they use it.