New Roborock S8 Max Series robots

We’ll start with The S8 Max Series (S8 MaxV Ultra and S8 Max Ultra) is Roborock’s upcoming flagship series.

And some of the new technology here is so unique they turned it into an art installation…

The S8 Max robots use a swing out robotic arm cleaning system specifically for corners, called FlexiArm. The brush reaches deeper into corners to clean even better.

The S8 Max V Ultra also has cameras, not only to help navigation and obstacle avoidance, but you can also use it as a mobile pet cam, since it has animal recognition.

“The robot will then roam around your home, identify your pet and notify you on your app; that hey my cat is here,” explains Marcus Lai with Roborock. “Then you can enable your video calling feature and use it as a mobile pet camera.”

The upgraded 8 in 1 self cleaning and charging dock known as the Rockdock is more efficient. It automatically empties, refills, and uses detergent; washes the mop with 60C hot water and dries with 60°C heated air to prevent stinky mopping pads. New here —Dirt levels are detected when it docks to see if the mop needs re-washing or if you floor might need another cleaning pass.

The new bots use Roborock’s VibraRise 3.0 Mopping System which both lifts the mopping pads, but also cleans better.“The new VibraRise 3.0 mopping system, we’ve upgraded the vibration in the way that it now scrubs at 4,000 times per minute so it gets tough stains and even stronger scrubbing power.

When it comes to the vacuum suction power, Roborock has made some big improvements too. The S8 Max V Ultra has the most suction you can get in a robot vacuum— industry-leading 10,000Pa suction power even the S8 Max Ultra has a dazzling 8,000Pa.

New Roborock QRevo Series robots

The Q Revo Series (Q Revo MaxV and Q Revo Pro) brings advanced edge mopping capability with two major new features; there’s a an extendable spinning mini-mop  that cleans as close as 1.85mm along edges, and the large microfibre mopping pads can reach out to scrub edges a lot better too . That should mean a lot fewer missed areas and less re-cleaning from you.

“The Q Revo Max V is the slightly smarter model in the way that it has built in voice control we just launched at CES this year; it’s called Hello Rocky. You are able to control the entirety of the robot with this voice assistance.”

And there’s also a new option for both the S8 Max series and the Q Revo series; you can choose a version that lets you plumb in the water and drainage lines so you never have to refill or empty a thing—and it’s totally DIY..

 Roborock Flexi and Flexi Pro

Now to the uprights…The new Flexi Series (Flexi Pro and Flexi) are lightweight, flexible wet-dry vacuums.These are slimmer and lighter than other competing versions you’ll see, and these have the ability to lay flat and clean under furniture like under the sofa or the bed.You fill the clean water tank with clean water and detergent and then you can pick up both dry spills or scrub wet messes off the floors. The Flexi Pro also offers power-assisted cleaning for less effort, pulling itself along the floor, as well as the best edge cleaning; it’s able to get within 1 millimeter of walls on either side, while the regular Flexi offers that same edge clearance but only on one side.

Of course once you’re done cleaning it’s back on the dock; and the Flexi uprights use warm water and hot air to wash and dry the mop rollers in 30 minutes.Most of the The 6 new Roborock cleaners will be available in April 2024 and I’m hoping to get hands on with as many as possible, so check for full reviews later this year.

Also Read:

1. CES 2024 Pepcom Tech Preview
2. What’s cool at CES 2024

The post Roborock announces 6 new products at CES appeared first on TechGadgetsCanada.com.

Robot floor cleaners are evolving at a rapid pace, and companies like Roborock just keep churning them out—lots of different models for different use cases. So what are you getting with the Roborock S8 and is it a worthy buy? I recently received an S8 robot to try out in my home. I’ll run it through my array of cleaning tests to show you how well it vacuums and mops, and I’ll cover off the special features it has that might make it enticing for you.

Roborock S8 vacuum + mop review

What’s the difference? Roborock S8, S8 Pro Ultra, S8 +

One quick note before we go on; if you’re checking out this model you may see it referred to as both the S8, and S8 Plus. The difference here is that the plus version comes with an auto-emptying base station. The model I received is simply the robot so does not have any auto-emptying capabilities. While it’s a great feature, if you can do without the auto-emptying it really helps to keep the price down. There is also the S8 pro ultra which comes with an auto-emptying base station which will empty and refill the water and wash and dry the mop too. Of course, adding all that makes it much more expensive; here you get all the smarts of Roborock’s top-end floor bot, at a much smaller cost.

What you get

Let’s see what you’re getting here. The Roborock S8 is a dual robot vacuum and mop.

With suction power up to 6000Pa, this should ensure that every speck of dust and every grain of debris is picked up, even if it’s lodged up between crevices or grout.

Another key feature is on the bottom— the DuoRoller brush system. These two brushes work together to loosen stubborn dirt from the surfaces and carpet in particular, beating it our of the fibres and then inhaling it. It also boasts carpet detection and Carpet Boost which will increase suction when it is vacuuming the fibres of carpet or rugs.

Watch my full hands-on review of Roborock S8

When it comes to the mopping this bot uses what’s called Vibra Rise sonic vibration mopping, which essentially shakes the flat microfibre mopping pad over the surface of your floor 3,000 times per minute as it moves around. This has kind of a scrubbing effect that can help lift those drips and dribbles from the floor, better than simply dragging a damp cloth over it.

How well does all this technology actually work in a real home? I’ll put it through my standard battery of cleaning tests momentarily.

A few other features related to the mopping; the S8 uses downward pressure on the mop to help with that scrubbing, and the opposite happens when it detects carpet; the mopping plate will lift up to keep from wetting floors.

Set up

Generally speaking getting Roborock vacuums set up is quite easy. You do need the Roborock app in order to connect to your home Wi-Fi and control your robot. I did recently experience an issue where I was unable to set up the S8 using my Apple iPhone, even though I’ve been able to set up Roborock vacs with an iPhone numerous times in the past. If you are also having trouble, I recommend reaching out to Roborock’s customer service. During my testing. I was able to use an Android phone and everything worked fine.

Roborock app is where you will be able to control your robot and set daily or weekly timed cleanings.

Get started your robot will create a virtual map of your home on its first outing. Once you have that virtual map you can use it to schedule room-specific cleanings. If you want your robot to simply vacuum it will handle that no problem.

When you’re ready to begin with mopping, you can remove the small water tank located in the back edge of the robot. While the tank only holds a few ounces of water, it’s enough to do about a thousand square feet of space at my home.

One last caveat; because this robot does not automatically empty itself nor do any of the mopping maintenance, you will want to empty the dustbin after each cleaning session, and check the water level too.

Cleaning tests: vacuuming

When I test a robot vacuum and mop I run all of them through the same tests. I spread finer flour or cornmeal, bits like rice or oats and crackers or chips on carpet and hard floors. I also leave small spills both wet and dry for it to mop up.

Someone quite impressed me at how well the S8 vacuums. I ran it for a few days just to get a sense of how it works. I found the suction is strong and you can also crank it up or lower it which has the effect of making the robot run quieter too. I did also regularly notice the robot increasing its suction power when it detected carpets and rugs. I found this definitely made a difference in how effectively the rugs were vacuumed.

On my dedicated vacuum spills… it was outstanding at getting pretty much everything I threw at it off the hard floors. On carpets, it also did a really good job and was extremely thorough. It did struggle a little bit with finer cornmeal, only getting about 80% of that spill.

Cleaning tests: mopping

I was really impressed with the mopping capabilities of this robot. I let stains like coffee and soy sauce dry on the floor to see if it would be able to scrub them up. The s8 was definitely able to power even dried on stains off the floor extremely effectively—even on its mid-level mopping setting (there are three settings; you can use less water and scrub intensity or more). It may miss some spots simply based on where they are placed, but the ones it does tackle are almost completely powered away; I’d say about 90 to 95% of all dried-on spills were removed.

While it’s extremely difficult to catch the mop lifting in action, I can confirm the S8 didn’t leave my rugs damp after it travelled overtop of them. The mop will lift a full 5 mm which should be plenty for many household floor coverings.

Obstacle avoidance

Roborock S8 uses what’s called PreciSense® LiDAR Navigation,. It’s the brains behind the device’s smart and efficient cleaning and the tech which creates the map of your floor plan. The same brains use infrared technology to supposedly identify and avoid random objects in its path —including pets, children, and other household hazards, even in the dark. I found the obstacle avoidance to be a little on the random side; while on occasions the S8 was easily able to unstick itself from getting snagged on a floor mat, it was not able to identify and avoid this cable. I think how well this will work in your home depends what kind of things you tend to leave laying around. For the most part, snags that I needed to intervene in were minimal.

Overall review: Roborock S8

Overall what I think I love the most about this robot is that you are essentially getting Roborock’s top of the line vacuum and mopping robot with all the bells and whistles at a much lower cost than something like the S8 pro ultra. You get all of the mapping and smarts, the vibrating scrubbing mop, as well as very powerful section with carpet boost too.

Overall cleaning ability is extremely effective and it can easily manage all but the toughest stains and spills’ even then it’s getting about 80-90% of it.

So what are the downsides?

It is hard to crack on this bot for some of the cooler features it doesn’t come with and if you do want auto emptying or more of the maintenance done, you can certainly upgrade to one of those other Roborock models I mentioned like the S8 + or the Cadillac S8 Pro Ultra.

But if you’re looking for an extremely powerful vacuum robot that is also an extremely effective mop all wrapped up in a smaller package, I can definitely recommend the Roborock S8 to you. This version sells for about $1145CAD/$599USD and don’t get me started on that chasm of a price discrepancy… even with the exchange rate…

Anyway, if you don’t think the S8 is what you’re looking for you can see what you get for upgrading to that Cadillac S8 Pro Ultra or check out why I didn’t love the budget Q5… Right now.

This is available on Amazon, and the Roborock website.

**A note about Affiliate Links: TechGadgetsCanada & TechGadgetsInternational is supported by our readers. Occasionally I will include affiliate links in my reviews. I do this partly for convenience of the reader (since I’ll almost always include a link to the company website or similar anyway) in case you want to read more or purchase, but I also may get a small commission from the click, which helps me keep the blog running. If you choose to use this link I thank you greatly for supporting the blog. There’s no obligation or cost to you for using these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

The post Roborock S8 vacuum + mop review appeared first on TechGadgetsCanada.com.

Choosing a robot vacuum these days can be dizzying. There are dozens of different models from a dozen different brands. One of the newest is the Roborock Q5 Pro +, and in this hands-on review, I’ll take a look at the key features of this bot, what you can expect it to do and what it can’t, and I’ll put it through my regular battery of cleaning tests to see how well it actually performs. I’ll wrap things up by listing the pros and the cons and letting you know if I think I can recommend this robot vacuum and mop to you.

What do you get with Roborock Q5 Pro+?

In a nutshell you are getting an all-in-one robot vacuum and mopping device that also comes with an auto-emptying base station. The robot is capable of either vacuuming or mopping or doing both at the same time. Once it’s cleaned your house it will return to its base station and empty out the onboard dust bin into a sealed dust bag. You can of course schedule it to clean when you want too.

While this is a smart and capable robot, it is more on the budget end of the spectrum ($699USD, often marked down), so you won’t find as many bells and whistles as some of Roborock’s higher-end devices like the Q Revo or the S8 Pro Ultra, both of which I’ve reviewed in my home.

At this point it might be helpful to some of you to point out what this particular floor bot does not have, not to make the Q5 Pro+ down for any of this, but to say if these are features you think you need, you can shop some of Roborock’s more expensive robots with more advanced features:

• no mop cleaning
• no mop scrubbing
• mop lifting; must remove plate to vacuum carpets
• no obstacle avoidance
• waterflow not adjustable
• no adjustable suction

To understand some of the helpful features of this robot that you might like, let’s flip it over.

Key features: Dual roller brushes, powerful suction, large dustbin

On the underside you will find the removable mopping plate; the design of this is rather clever; it holds a removable, washable microfibre mopping pad, and the plate itself also holds a small clean water tank which will supply the water for the mopping.

You’ll also see a set of dual rubber beater brushes. In theory, this should help you pick up more dirt and debris in a single pass. These two brushes combined with a high level of suction power (5,500pa) should mean this budget bot can still pack a punch. We’ll see in the cleaning tests…

There is also a rather large onboard dust bin capable of holding about 770 mL worth of dirt. This is quite a bit and on the large size for your average robot vacuum which should mean it’s able to keep cleaning for longer without needing to go back to its charging station and empty the bin.

Rockdock charging & empty station

This is a good time to touch on the charging and auto-empty station. Dubbed the “rock dock” the Q5 pro plus will recharge its batteries here anytime it’s not cleaning and empty its dustbin into the sealed dust bag.

While the auto emptying is on the loud side, and you cannot adjust the automatic frequency or timing, you can request an empty cycle any time you like in the app.

Set up & mapping

When you get your new robot you’ll need to download the Roborock app to get things set up. For the most part this happens in minutes with just a few clicks. As a short aside, I did recently struggle with getting my Apple iPhone to connect to my Roborock vacuum, so if you’re struggling with this as well, I recommend reaching out to Roborock’s customer service team. I ended up using another android phone to connect and things worked perfectly.

Once you have the robot connected to your homes Wi-Fi network you’ll want to send it out on a mapping run. The robot will use LIDAR to draw a very accurate floorplan of your house. Once you have that map you can go in and label rooms and adjust boundaries so that you can use targeted room cleaning or even schedule certain rooms to be cleaned on certain days. The mapping run takes just a few minutes and was extremely accurate for me after the first trip around the house.

Cleaning with Roborock Q5 Pro+

Whenever I test out a robot vacuum I run each one through the same series of tests; I get it to clean day-to-day dirt for a few days, then I lay some more targeted and difficult spills for it. I sprinkle finer things like flour or sugar, middle sized bits like rice or oatmeal and larger cracker pieces on both carpet and hard floors to see how well the robot will perform.

When it comes to the mopping I will spill some small amounts of liquid and see how the mopping pad fares. It may be worth pointing out there is no suction in the mop; so you are a limited to what the pad can absorb, meaning you should absolutely wipe up larger spills before the robot gets to them.

I can say the Q5 Pro + was actually intermittent when it came to the vacuuming. Sometimes it got about 80% or debris, other times it was more like 60 percent .
It seemed to struggle most with finer spills on carpets, and on cleaning around edges like the side of a rug.

The suction doesn’t seem to be very strong here and I think that shows in what you can still see on the rugs after it was finished. I could schedule a double pass of the space, but as is, it’s kind of disappointing.

Mopping

While the mop will absorb small liquid spills, the damp cloth is simply being dragged over the floor, so in my opinion what you’re getting here is more of a light dusting wipe and less of a hearty floor mopping. It was able to mop up smaller wet spills easily.

When it came to dried on spills it only got about 50-60-percent of tougher stuff, so while it’s helps, it’s not going to power away those coffee drips or dishwasher dribbles.

If you are mopping a particularly muddy or dirty area it will pay to remove the cloth and give it a good rinse after so the cloth doesn’t get nasty.

The other important consideration for some of you is that there is no mop lifting on this particular robot, meaning if the robot is cleaning in carpeted areas it’s bringing the mopping plate along for the ride, potentially moistening carpets and rugs. The simple fix is to remove the mopping plate when you want to vacuum, but this is an imperfect solution when it comes to the mopping, since there also does not appear to be any way to create no-go zones when the mopping plate is attached.

I let the robot roll over my rugs with its mopping plate on and I can say that on both flatter rugs and even plusher carpets, it was certainly not soaking them; at worst it was a light bit of dampness that dried quickly. So unless you have extremely delicate or special carpet and rugs, the mopping plate remaining attached shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

One last caveat; the small water tank only holds a few ounces, covering about 500 sq ft or 50m2, so if you’re hoping for a dusting wipe on larger spaces you will definitely have to refill partway through. Or you could simply use the app’s scheduling feature to handle certain rooms on certain days to ensure the Q5 Pro+ cleans with a full tank of water.

You can also add cleaning solution to the mopping tank if you want a boosted clean; Roborock naturally prefers you use their own cleaner for this but anything gentle should be okay.

Battery life and Runtime

With a 4-hour maximum runtime (240 minute max runtime) from its 5200mAh battery, this robot should have more than plenty of juice to clean even larger spaces. I can confirm it was easily able to clean all 1000 ft.² of my main floor on a single charge.

Overall review: Roborock Q5 Pro+

Overall this is not my favourite of the Roborock devices. Let’s go over the pros and cons to see why.

On the pro side the vacuum has a very long runtime. The large dustbin means it will clean for longer without heading back to its space station also. The auto emptying dock is a must have and means less hands-on maintenance for you. I found the set up process to be quite easy and the mapping is quick and extremely accurate. I also love that I can schedule the robot on a daily or weekly basis, and even dial in different rooms to be cleaned on different days.

When it comes to the cons, there are a few things I will point out because I think they might turn off some shoppers, but to be clear these are not traditional downsides; I’m not marking this robot down a whole lot because of them; since if any of these features are must haves for you you can absolutely find them in another more robust Roborock model.

To recap, the mop doesn’t lift off of carpeted surfaces, the water flow is not adjustable, and obstacle avoidance is not as pronounced as some more professional models but it can get itself out of trouble. The mop also doesn’t scrub; it’s designed for a light wipe of your floors after vacuuming. The small water tank also means that any mopping that does get done is limited to about 500 ft.² at a time. The biggest downsides for me were the lacklustre suction and half-hearted vacuum performance.

The trade-off for the features you’re not getting comes in the price. This is a far more affordable but then the flagship models sold by Roborock or even other manufacturers.but even so it’s not cheap; Roborock Q5 Pro+ sells for about $699USD/$999CAD, and for that price I was expecting better cleaning performance.

If you do want to see what you get from a more expensive or fancier model, check out my reviews of the Roborock Q Revo or the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra.

Shop the Roborock Q5 Pro+ on Amazon.

Also Read:

1. Review: iRobot Combo j5+ robot vacuum with mop

**A note about Affiliate Links: TechGadgetsCanada & TechGadgetsInternational is supported by our readers. Occasionally I will include affiliate links in my reviews. I do this partly for convenience of the reader (since I’ll almost always include a link to the company website or similar anyway) in case you want to read more or purchase, but I also may get a small commission from the click, which helps me keep the blog running. If you choose to use this link I thank you greatly for supporting the blog. There’s no obligation or cost to you for using these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

The post Roborock Q5 Pro+ vacuum-mop review appeared first on TechGadgetsCanada.com.

**Contest now Closed**How to enter to win a Roborock S8 from Roborock!

S8 Roborock  Contest Rules

The Fine Print

There is one (1) Roborock S8 device available to be won. We’ll pick one winner at random from among all website entries/comments. The contest is open to residents of Canada and USA only until 11:59pm MT September 31, 2023.

Only 1 entry per person, please; excess entries will be discarded. Odds of winning depend on the number of entries received. Not valid in Quebec.

The winner will receive 1 prize. Prize will be shipped direct to the winner by Roborock so winner is required to provide a Canadian or USA mailing address (PO Boxes not accepted). TechGadgetsCanada.com bears no responsibility for prizes not delivered, delayed or misdirected, or not claimed after 30 days, or misdirected due to incorrect address being provided. This prize has no cash value.

We’ll get in touch with the winner via the email address supplied on entry or via website comment registration. Winner must respond to an email naming them as the winner within 48 hours. Non-response within 48 hours means we’ll redraw under same  48 hour timeframe until we get a winner’s response.

Winner’s name(s) will be posted to this web page after the draw.

If for any reason the internet portion of the Roborock S8 Contest is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures or any other causes beyond the control of this website which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of this Contest, TechGadgetsCanada.com reserves the right at its sole discretion to disqualify any individual who tampers with the entry process, and to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest. Prize may not be exactly as show in accompanying photographs.

By entering this contest you agree you have read and accept the rules and are to abide by them.

**A note about Affiliate Links: TechGadgetsCanada & TechGadgetsInternational is supported by our readers. Occasionally I will include affiliate links in my reviews. I do this partly for convenience of the reader (since I’ll almost always include a link to the company website or similar anyway) in case you want to read more or purchase, but I also may get a small commission from the c

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Roborock vacuum comparison: At a Glance

Roborock S8 Pro Ultra ($1,599.99 USD / $2,249.99 CAD)

The S8 Pro Ultra is Roborock’s current flagship robot vacuum and you can immediately tell just from the product’s eye-watering price tag. Roborock stacks the deck with a massive feature set though starting with a monstrous 6,000Pa worth of suction power, dual vacuum rollers, and automatic brush lifting. Building on top of the technologies featured on Roborock’s older flagship products along with an improved design, the S8 Pro Ultra is simply the epitome of a luxury robot vacuum. Check out Erin’s review of the S8 Pro Ultra here.

Shop the S8 Pro Ultra from Roborock.

Shop the S8 Pro Ultra from Amazon.

Roborock S7 Max Ultra ($1,299.99 USD / $1,819.99 CAD)

The Roborock S7 Max Ultra is a refreshed version of Roborock’s 2022 flagship robot vacuum, the S7 MaxV Ultra. The specs do not eclipse the S8 Pro Ultra but in terms of sensors and mopping features, the S7 Max Ultra still exudes a flagship aura. Erin tried the S7 Max Ultra in her home, so find out what she learned in her hands-on review.

Shop the S7 Max Ultra from Roborock.

Shop the S7 Max Ultra from Amazon.

Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra ($1,399.99 USD / $1,959.99 CAD)

Roborock S7 Max V Ultra

The Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra is the only vacuum in this roundup released in 2022. It is the old flagship model and still packs quite a punch today. Don’t bother replacing it if you own one and it still works because the improvements the newer models have don’t justify the hassle in selling your old one and spending more on any of its successors. However, if you are looking to buy a new robot vacuum, avoid this model at all costs unless you can find it at a lower price than the newer S7 Max Ultra. Yes, don’t confuse yourself between the MaxV and Max model because the S7 Max actually has a higher suction power and comes with automatic mop drying. Read up on it in Erin’s full review of the S7 Max V here.

Shop the S7 Max V Ultra from Roborock.

Shop the S7 Max V Ultra from Amazon.

Roborock Q Revo ($899.99 USD / $1,269.99 CAD)

The Q Revo is a clever little Roborock innovation because it is nearly half the price of S8 Pro Ultra while maintaining most of its feature set. The main compromises are its reduced mopping functionality and downgraded docking station but at least Roborock didn’t strip them away completely! The Q Revo is Erin’s most recent review so take a look here.

Shop the Q Revo from Roborock.

Shop the Q Revo from Amazon.

Core Features

Because all four Roborock products in this roundup have built-in Wi-Fi, they all rely on the same Roborock app you can download from the iOS App Store or Google Play Store. The app has received numerous updates throughout its multi-year history and it has a friendly interface checking your vacuum’s status, tracking its location via 3-D maps of your room that it generates, scheduling cleaning routines, and defining no-vacuum zones. No matter which vacuum you pick from this list, it will take full advantage of the app’s capacities as each one features a sophisticated LDS Laser Navigation system allowing the vacuum to relay its location to the app in real time and make accurate maps.

Since the built-in Wi-Fi makes the vacuum part of your home networking setup, you can command the vacuum with your voice through Alexa or Google Assistant. Speaking of voice, the vacuums can make voice alerts too and you can change the voice pack to German, French, Spanish, or Chinese if you wish.

The four Roborock vacuums also boast the same battery capacity at 5,200mAh. When set to “Quiet Mode”, Roborock gives an estimated runtime of 3 hours from a full charge. Generally, you should get the same mileage from each of these vacuums though it could vary depending on the zones and modes you’ll rely on.

Vacuum Performance

Needless to say, the S8 Pro Ultra is head over heels the top performer when it comes to overall vacuum performance and it really should given its price. Based on my past tests, it handled hardwood floors and carpets far better than the older models effectively collecting fine and coarse debris. It appears the dual brushes and high suction power of the S8 Pro Ultra helps in that regard.

As for the rest of the models, I was still impressed with the vacuuming performance in general. Even if the old S7 MaxV Ultra has “only” 5,100Pa worth of suction power, it still performed decently when I reviewed it. Perhaps the increased 74-watts maximum rated power in the motor helped? Both the Q Revo and S7 Ultra have the same 5,500Pa suction spec and I had no issues with their cleaning jobs either.

Mopping Technology

Choosing amongst the four Roborock vacuums really depends on how big of a duty mopping is in your household. If a lot of the work in your household involves mopping, going for any of the 2023 models is worthwhile. Yes, the S7 MaxV Ultra does decent mopping duties as well but when you dock the newer vacuums and put them through their self-cleaning paces, the station will also spend time washing and drying the mop. Drying the mop sounds like an extra lazy routine to take for granted but it helps a lot as it prevents mold growth and odors. This helps a lot on the maintenance side and improves the vacuum’s longevity and you don’t have to do anything on your part.

Perhaps the biggest compromise on the Q Revo and its lower price is its unique dual spinning mops system. I found it quite fascinating because it did pretty well in my mopping tests and as soon as the vacuum detected a carpet, the mops rise up 7 millimeters so the vacuum can continue cleaning carpets without getting them wet. This translates to faster completion time and saves battery life too! The other vacuums have this feature too thanks to the VibraRise technology but it only lifts the mop 3 millimeters. But I still consider the Q Revo’s mops a compromise simply because it lacks the high-speed sonic mopping the rest of the models in the roundup offers. Consider those options if mopping performance is important.

The S8 Pro Ultra deserves a special mention for mopping as it comes with an extra feature that lets the vacuum lift the brush up so it can perform its mopping task even better without streaks. If time isn’t all that important, Roborock suggests that you let the S8 Pro Ultra conduct a full vacuum routine with the mop raised followed by a full mopping routine with the brush raised for the best deep cleaning results.

Docking Station

Each vacuum in this roundup has a different docking station and you really need to look up close to notice the differences. Starting with the Q Revo, the docking station is the most basic but it looks quite sleek too with a nice tall panel covering the water tanks. However, the water tank only has an 80 ml capacity while the other vacuum docking stations boast 2.5 times the capacity. The Q Revo’s dock also lacks the self-cleaning capabilities the rest of the Roborock vacuum docking stations have. You may detach the base though to make it easier for you to manually clean.

The S7 Max Ultra and S7 MaxV Ultra docking stations look similar but the older MaxV’s dock dustbin can hold 400 ml while the others max out at only 350 ml. Although this spec is a rare victory for the MaxV, I would rather pick the automatic mop cleaning which you can only find in the other vacuums’ docking stations. The S8 Pro Ultra doesn’t have any technical advantages over the S7 docks but the dock on the S8 Pro Ultra looks a bit nicer as the plastic plate covers the front of the water tanks entirely.

What’s next?

Roborock has been through quite a journey culminating to the grand release of the S8 Pro Ultra. I’m glad Roborock hasn’t forgotten that not everyone is willing to spend MacBook money on a robot vacuum and didn’t compromise too much on mid-range products like the Q Revo. If you wish to compare these vacuums with other Roborock vacuums, check out Roborock’s comparison page on its US website, or price them out here.

**A note about Affiliate Links: TechGadgetsCanada & TechGadgetsInternational is supported by our readers. Occasionally I will include affiliate links in my reviews. I do this partly for convenience of the reader (since I’ll almost always include a link to the company website or similar anyway) in case you want to read more or purchase, but I also may get a small commission from the click, which helps me keep the blog running. If you choose to use this link I thank you greatly for supporting the blog. There’s no obligation or cost to you for using these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

The post Comparing Roborock S7 Max Ultra vs Max V Ultra vs Q Revo vs S8 Pro appeared first on TechGadgetsCanada.com.

It’s actually getting to be quite dizzying… Robot vacuums are popping onto the market like a game of a robot Whack-a-Mole. One of the newest spots to arrive in for review is the Roborock S7 Max Ultra.  Just by looking at its sticker price ($1299US), it’s obvious that Roborock S7 Max Ultra is hoping to take the crown for the best robot vacuum cleaner. It’s a premium model that delivers great cleaning performance and a few extras that make life much easier. But, does it have what it takes to stand out in this competitive space?

I got to try out this robot vacuum and mop in for about a week in my home and in this review I’ll tell you what it’s like to set up and to use, what the key features are that might be selling you on this version, how it compares to other robots in the Roborock family including the too-close-for-comfort-named S7 Max V Ultra, and Roborock S7 (not to mention there’s also an S8 Pro Ultra and the Roborock Q Revo too…) I will put The  Roborock S7 Max Ultra through some cleaning tests and wrap things up by going over the pros and cons and letting you know if I think this is a good robot floor cleaner for you.

Roborock S7 Max Ultra: what you get without the ‘V”

With both vacuuming and mopping, this roborock vaccum is designed to be your whole home flooring cleaning solution.  From high-powered 5500Pa suction, obstacle avoidance using Roborock’s PreciSense LiDAR Navigation, and special VibraRise mopping system to a robust app interface that you can use to schedule your cleaning tasks, you’ll find all the bells and whistles you’ll typically see in all the other robot floor cleaners in this price range.

My hands-on video review

This one of the best roborock vaccum uses a flat mopping plate with removable pad that vibrates to scrub floors clean. However, It’s significantly less plush than the new Roborock Q Revo vacuum which I just reviewed, and that option uses spinning mopping pads instead of the vibrating plate. Underneath, a single vacuum roller pulls up the dirt.

While the vacuum itself is the star, it’s the RockDock Ultra that steals the show. The dock allows you to charge your Roborock S7 Max Ultra robot vacuum and also serves as the cleaning hub where the vacuum empties the dustbin, refills the onboard water tank with fresh water, and then washes the mop.

What’s the difference between Roborock S7 Max V Ultra and Roborock S7 Max Ultra?

In a word, drying.

In this new Max Ultra iteration, there is automatic drying of the mopping pads, which was missing from the Max V Ultra.  Otherwise their features are almost identical.

Set-up

The setup process for every Roborock S7 Ultra max is a  breeze, combining speed and simplicity. It’s as easy as plugging in the robot and finding a suitable location for its base station, ensuring it has enough space to maneuver. The base station itself is quite sizable and may pose a placement challenge, but it’s a trade-off for the array of fantastic features it brings.

Roborock’s app is where the real magic happens. Once the robot is connected to power and has a partial charge, you can sync it with the user-friendly Roborock app. This app becomes your ultimate command center, allowing you to schedule cleaning sessions, power the robot on and off, and fine-tune advanced settings. Navigating the app is a breeze, and you’ll have no trouble finding the tools and options you need. As the final steps of setup, you’ll connect the robot to your home Wi-Fi using your smartphone and give it a personalized name. Once everything is in order, the first mission is to send it on an initial run, so it can familiarize itself with your home’s layout.

This mapping process of roborock vaccum is astonishingly fast, and I was astounded by the accuracy achieved after just a 20-minute session. With a comprehensive map at your disposal in minutes, you can label rooms and establish designated “no-go zones” to keep the robot away from specific areas, all through the intuitive Roborock app.

The vacuum also recognizes any obstacles and cleans around them, ensuring that it doesn’t push them around or suck them up into the vacuum. This is especially useful when it comes to cleaning around the kids’ room, where what’s on the floor can be hard to predict.

Cleaning tests

I put all of my robot vacuums and mops through the same cleaning tests. I will use them around my house for several days just to see how they do on their own, then I will spill things like fine flour, oatmeal or rice, and larger cracker pieces just to see how well the robot can tackle debris.

When the robot will also mop, I will spill coffee or wine on the floor to see how it deals with on the spot messes, and I will also let other liquids dry to check its scrubbing prowess.

How well does it mop?

The VibraRise Mopping System’s sonic scrubbing action guarantees efficient mopping that leaves hardwood floors spotless.

Plus with its intelligent navigation, the vacuum identifies the surface it’s currently on and lifts the mop pad once it gets to the carpet.

How well does it vacuum?

Suction power on this vacuum is incredibly strong that all but guarantees a good result. The S7Max Ultra effortlessly tackled all my intentional messes…..

Easily inhaling finer flour from my rug and sweeping up about 98% of debris on the floors.

You’ve also got the power to dial up or down the intensity; you can lower the volume by lowering the suction if you’re trying to work.

Anytime the vacuum’s on board dustbin is full the vacuum will return back to the space station and empty the debris into a sealed vacuum bag. You can get 6 to 8 weeks of debris in the bag, depending of course on how often you’re running the vacuum and how dirty your house is.

You’ve got the power to dial up or down the intensity, depending on how much dirt and dust your house is facing. What’s even better is that it dynamically tweaks the noise level. So, if you’re hustling away during the day, you can keep the vacuum running on the low setting and still enjoy a spotless home.

Voice control

The Roborock S7 Max Ultra software allows users to control their robot vacuums on their smartphone app and even via voice commands through Google Assistant or Siri. From your smartphone app, you can automate your cleaning routines, set up no-go zones, and monitor your daily cleaning process.

Overall Roborock S7 Max Ultra Review

Overall there are a lot of pros to this machine. It’s an outstanding and powerful vacuum, and it picks up well over 95% of debris of all kinds. You can schedule the bot to handle regular cleanings on its own… and by dialing the suction up or down you can actually manage the noise level too.

The maintenance features the Rock Dock offers means you never have to empty the dustbin, and your mopping pad will stay clean and mildew-free, thanks to the addition of the new mop dryer.

Those are the pros so what are the cons? Some homeowners may not be a fan of the single vibrating mopping pads and may prefer more plush spinning pads instead, like those found on the Roborock Q Revo.

I have actually found that both types of mopping pad can be extremely effective. While no robot mop is perfect at getting 100% of dried on spills off your floors, I am still surprised by how well the single flat mopping plate is able to perform.

The only other major downside tends to be the cost of these all- in- one floor robots. They are quite expensive and it’s definitely something to consider if you want to ante up. I can’t say I’ve been using a robot vacuum of one type or another for about a decade in my two-dog house, and I do find it cuts down on my overall cleaning time, and also keeps the house looking tidy.

For that reason I can recommend a robot vacuum and mop combo to you, and I think the Roborock S7 Max Ultra is a pretty great option.

It sells for about $1299US you can get it from Roborock or other retailers.

Shop the Roborock S7 Max Ultra

**A note about Affiliate Links: TechGadgetsCanada & TechGadgetsInternational is supported by our readers. Occasionally I will include affiliate links in my reviews. I do this partly for convenience of the reader (since I’ll almost always include a link to the company website or similar anyway) in case you want to read more or purchase, but I also may get a small commission from the click, which helps me keep the blog running. If you choose to use this link I thank you greatly for supporting the blog. There’s no obligation or cost to you for using these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

The post Review: Roborock S7 Max Ultra robot vacuum + mop appeared first on TechGadgetsCanada.com.

What is Roborock S8 Pro Ultra and what can it do?

In short, this is a robot vacuum that mops, going beyond that to also empty its onboard dustbin into a sealed bag, then wash and dry its mop to avoid musty odors. It has advanced object recognition and hazard detection which should mean it’s supremely able to avoid getting caught on everything from socks and cords, to rug tassels and curtains. With a vibrating mopping pad that’s washable it can help scrub light dirt from floors too.

Unlike some other bots, this one uses a vibrating flat pad to mop the floors, as opposed to scrubbing round microfibre brushes.

What’s new with Roborock S8 Pro Ultra?

If you’re looking at this vacuum, chances are you’ve already scoped out the Roborock S7 Max V Ultra. Launched about a year ago, that was the flagship vacuum mop from Roborock that had some pretty advanced features. I was a big fan of that roving floor cleaner, giving it high marks in my full review of the S7 Max V Ultra. Even so it had a few flaws; key among them was that it wasn’t as thorough at vacuuming.

What’s the difference between Roborock S7 Max V Ultra and Roborock S8 Pro Ultra? In truth, not very much at all. The major upgrades are the design of the waste and water bins which now have a plastic enclosure wrapped around the front, there’s a slight upgrade to the suction on the S8 (up to 6,000Pa from 5500), and better ‘brush lifting’. The S8 also adds automatic mop drying which the S7 Max V Ultra didn’t have. Those minor improvements aside, it seems like Roborock has also increased the price. Base price on the S8 Pro Ultra is now $1599, while the S7 Max V Ultra is $1399US.

Battery life, dustbin and tank capacity, battery size and runtime all hold steady.

Set up

Getting the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra set up was quite easy. Though the box is huge and there seem to be a lot of parts and pieces, everything goes together intuitively and it’s easy to get things set up.
In the box you get the base station, and the robot unit itself. In the base station there are three bins; one holds a sealed vacuum bag for emptying the robot’s on-board dustbin, the other is a fresh water tank, and the third holds dirty water.

After unpacking everything and plugging it in, you’ll just fill the fresh water tank, and there is already a vacuum bag installed for you. Then use the Roborock app to get connected to your home’s Wi-Fi and gain control using the app.

Getting things paired takes just a few clicks and includes entering your home Wi-Fi password. In under five minutes my S8 robot was ready to go.

Design

One of the knocks I had on the S7 version was that it was very plastic-forward and looked kind of utilitarian. In the previous version, each of the bins was visible and it seemed like a Roborock was more concerned with showing off what it could do, and less concerned with having it blend in. I’m glad to say it looks like there’s a bit of a compromise that’s been made here since the new iteration now features a plastic faceplate across the front that gives it a bit of a smoother look. While it’s still not what I would call pretty, it is an improvement and I appreciate the effort.

The Roborock S8 Pro Ultra does take up a very large space in your home, however given all this bot-vac and mop does is probably not surprising. The footprint of the full device when docked measures about 17 deep x 18 high x 20 wide and you will definitely need to find dedicated space for it to live, where the bot also has enough space to back out of its garage easily. You also need access to a plug.

Cleaning performance

When I test out a robot vacuum in my home, I try each one out in the same way: I spill flour, sugar, rice or oats and crackers on both carpet and hard floors.
When, like this robot, they’re also mops, I also spill juice or sauce just to see what they do, though I will note vac-mops like these are not designed to sop up large or wet spills. They’re simply designed to give your floors a light wipe to keep dust and light dirt at bay.
I was really happy with the cleaning prowess of the S8 Pro Ultra. The bot was easily able to clean all types of dust and dirt from my hardwood floors and the mopping pad is a helpful follow up to the vacuuming, since that damp wipe-down helps keep any lingering dust at bay.

With small liquid spills, again, this is not designed to vacuum them up, but to wipe them with the damp mop. While my testing showed liquids did get smeared around a bit on initial passes, in subsequent passes it wiped up every last spot.

One thing that might be worth noting is that this mop cleans with water only. The bot will fill its hidden and inaccessible onboard water tank with clean water, then use that to saturate the mopping pad. It then uses the pad to wipe across your floors, hence, my calling it, a light wipe down. While I would really love to see Roborock introduce the ability to use soap in this machine, that’s not yet an option.

I will say I reviewed a bot that does used cleaning solution recently, the Narwal Freo, and while it’s lemon basil cleaner was nice, the robot did a terrible job which you can learn more about in my full review. So maybe soap is overrated.

Since the onboard water tank for the mop is quite small, the base station keeps it full and in my testing it took about 2 weeks of semi-regular use for it to need refilling. You can hear it draining and filling during the cleaning process, and a re-filling cycle takes about 2-3 minutes.

On carpets I can say that in my testing the S8 Ultra performed better than its predecessor in my tests. It was able to do a thorough job on its own with daily dirt, then with dedicated tests like spilled oats or rice, it was able to get about 99% of the debris.

Getting stuck: not a problem

Roborock vacuums have an outstanding ability to avoid obstacles and keep from getting tangled and stuck. That Narwal Freo robot I mentioned earlier got the worst score ever for obstacle avoidance. That vacuum got stuck on every single cleaning mission to the point where I couldn’t get weight to get rid of it. So I was a bit jaded, going into testing the S8.

I am more than thrilled to report that in my several weeks of testing this robot, vacuum and mop did not get stuck one single time on anything. The object, recognition and hazard avoidance is bar-none in this robot. In fact, of the several dozen robots I’ve tried over the last few years, I’d say with confidence Roborock get stuck the least of any brand.

Features

Self Cleaning

With many robot vacuums, you absolutely need to empty their onboard dust bin and or refill their mopping tanks at least once per day or after every cleaning outing. While it’s not a major chore, some think it’s a dirty job and most of us would rather not deal with it. That’s where the Roborock Empty Wash Fill Dock comes in.

When the S8 is finished it returns to its base for recharging. While it’s there the Empty Wash Fill Dock evacuates the vacuum’s onboard dustbin into a sealed vacuum bag, it refill the mop’s on-board water tank, then it runs a wash cycle on the mopping pad. Following the wash, there’s a warm air drying cycle, which is a new feature since the S7 Max V Ultra.
The drying cycle takes a couple of hours but it’s virtually silent. When I first reviewed the S7 I wasn’t entirely convinced the robot self-cleaning was doing much. Because it’s happening inside the base station and underneath the bot, there’s really nothing you can see.

Here’s what’s really going on: water floods the tray underneath the mopping pad and then it gets suctioned up. Then a wand rolls underneath and squeezes the dirty water from the pad, and inhales that dirty water into the bin for later emptying. The proof is in that dirty water bin: When I dumped it, the water was brown and stinky, so something is definitely getting done under there.
In short, I feel like the Empty Wash Fill Dock is a great feature of this robot that cuts way down on the amount of emptying, refilling and maintenance you need to do.

VibraRise mopping system

If you’re asking yourself how your robot vacuum and mop avoids moistening the carpets, there are two key features at work; one is that the robot can sense carpet, and the other is that when it does, it has the ability to lift it’s mopping plate from the floor. Roborock dubs this VibraRise and the effect is subtle but noticeable; the mopping plate lifts and clears most carpets by a few millimetres and means your carpets never get even the least bit damp. This technology is impressively successful. New on the S8 Pro Ultra is improved mop lifting, which should make it even more effective on higher pile carpets.

Camera is there but not accessible?

The S7 Max V Ultra has a camera in the front of the bot which played a role in navigation but you could also use it as a roving security camera. The camera still exists in the S8 version, but I can no longer see that there’s a way to access it and view the feed. This is fine as far as I’m concerned since it wasn’t a feature I wanted, needed or actually used anyway.

App: room labeling, smart scheduling, voice control

Some of these other features won’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s had their eye on a robot vacuum or mop. Using the Roborock app, it’s possible to create rooms and zones in your house so you can schedule room by room or zone-specific cleaning.

When the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra first heads out it will use all of its technology and visualization to draw a map of your home which is saved inside the Roborock app. The map is generated after just one outing; it’s that good. Then you can go in and delineate rooms and label them. This will allow you to set timed cleaning schedules to have various rooms vacuumed on specific days, or to do a daily swipe and wipe of the hallways, for example. Roborock’s app is extremely easy to navigate and pretty easy to figure out how to manage your rooms in the app.

Clean zones

In the same way you can name rooms, you can create specific cleaning ‘zones’ in your house inside the Roborock app. Zones differ from rooms in that they are moveable, or they can be special areas that allow you to focus the cleaning on a particular area within a room. One example of this would be busy work triangle in your kitchen or the high traffic area around the front door. Establishing these zones is done with a few clicks inside the app and if you name them intelligently, you can even ask your virtual digital assistant to clean them.

Google & Alexa voice control

Speaking of our digital butlers, you can link your Roborock app to either Google or Alexa and even set up commands for Siri for hands-free voice control. Just say things like, “Alexa, clean the kitchen,” or “OK Google, wash the hallways” and your robot vac-mop will head out for its mission.
Depending which assistant you want to use, there are different methods of set up, which I’m not going to take time with here. I had my bot connected to Google Assistant in minutes and was easily able to ask it to clean.

Adjustable suction & waterflow

This floor cleaning robot is able to adjust both the vacuum suction power ( 4 levels from Quiet to Max) and the mopping scrubbing intensity (3 levels from Mild to Intense)

Overall review: Roborock S8 Pro Ultra

Overall, Roborock has another winner here. While the upgrades aren’t massive or game changing, they’re thoughtful and go the distance to making this a must-have bot-vac-mop. Primarily the new design tweaks make it a little nicer to look at, and the suction increase has produced improved cleaning in my tests, meaning it’s able to do its job masterfully.

It obliterates any of the tedium of robot vacuum ownership like forgetting to empty the dust bin, fill the water tank, or wash the mopping pad. The maintenance tanks are large and give you lots of cleaning time before you need to tend to them. The mop washing process seems to work very well and the robot stays tidy and stink-free. When it comes to overall cleaning power, the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra is a very capable vacuum that’s easily able to keep my floors clean. I appreciate that the mopping and vacuum suction are adjustable; able to give me a quick quiet vacuum if I’m on a Zoom call, or a full deep clean while I’m out of the house. It also cleans extremely well, it avoids virtually all possible hazards and it never gets stuck.

The mopping, while not a substitute for a full floor mop, does help keep dust, dirty dog paw prints and light dirt managable.

So what are the downsides? Primarily that the base takes up a lot of floor real estate and some owners may find it challenging to place it. But overall if you want a dual purpose robot vacuum and mop with all the basics and a host of special features too, that can clean and maintain itself, I can definitely recommend the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra.

It sells for about $1599USD and you can get it from Roborock’s website.

The post The ULTIMATE robot vacuum? I review Roborock S8 Pro Ultra vacuum & mop in my home appeared first on TechGadgetsCanada.com.

What’s new with Roborock Dyad Pro? What’s the difference between Roborock Dyad and Dyad Pro?

The 2023 Roborock Dyad Pro boasts an improved battery life with a runtime of 43 minutes and a 30% more efficient battery than the previous model.

Original Dyad on left, Dyad Pro on right.

Watch my hands-on video review of Dyad Pro

The dirty water tank appears a smidge bigger than the original, and on the inside there’s a substantial redesign to the filter basket. The original had a simple basket to catch hair and debris, while the Pro version adds more metal mesh. It will be interesting to see how this works when I get to testing.

Dyad Pro has an improved charging station that not only cleans but now also dries the vacuum’s rollers, a feature that the previous model lacked.

Set up, assembly, installation

Getting ready to clean with this vacuum doesn’t take a whole lot. You do have two assembly tasks; the first is to insert the handle into the top of the vacuum and it just clicks into place. Next, connect the two halves of the stand. Plug it in and let Dyad Pro get charged.
While it’s charging up, let’s dive deeper into the key features, then we’ll run some cleaning tests.

Key Features: Roborock Dyad Pro

The Dyad Pro is heavier and bulkier than a typical stick vacuum, but that’s not a downside because there’s a lot more going on. This product both vacuums and mops at once.

Better Edge to Edge brushes

Let’s look underneath to get a feel for what it’s doing: A series of roller brushes underneath spin to scrub your floors while vacuum suction pulls both dry dirt and wet messes inside. The brushes now get to within 1mm of baseboards and edges.

Now uses cleaning solution (soap)

A clean water tank combined with a new cleanser tank adds power to the cleaning, since other similar devices and even the original Dyad only used water. You should get about 20 tanks of water to one tank of cleaner, so you’re not using much.

The user manual for this floor cleaner specifies only it should use cleaning solution approved by Roborock, but I was unable to find a list of what those might be. Since I didn’t have any of Roborock’s own solution, I opted for a gentle all natural floor cleanser I already have on hand.

Cleaning & Drying Dock

The new Pro version of the Dyad comes with a dock that serves several purposes; it allows for charging, self-cleaning, and drying of the mopping pads which can help keep musty smells down.
The drying is what’s new here and it takes about three hours for a full dry. The process is mercifully completely silent. You can speed up that drying time to two hours, but it does get a bit louder, but still not enough to disturb you.
After a cleaning task the Dyad Pro will automatically ask you to run a self cleaning cycle. New though: It can now be scheduled, triggered manually via a button, or even activated automatically when the device is docked, depending on your settings. There are two modes for self-cleaning: Balanced/Standard and Deep. The Balanced/Standard mode is usually sufficient for most cleaning needs.
The cleaning cycle runs for about 2 to 3 minutes and essentially runs water and soap through the mopping pads and cleans out the tubes and hoses on the inside. All the dirty water ends up in the dirty water tank and you can empty it when finished. Keeping this tank emptied and rinsed will go along way to preventing funky smells. The cleaning cycle is quite loud but it’s short, and worth doing.
Dirt Sensor
Dyad Pro has a feature that can let you know if an area is particularly dirty and thus might need more passes. Roborock calls it DirTect. If you hit a dirtier area, the LED light ring on the top of the machine turns red. More red means more dirt. In some other machines I have found this technology to be lacking, but here in the Dyad pro I actually found that it worked quite well, and the red light did light up when I was cleaning dirtier or high traffic areas. If you need extra power you can switch among the modes; Eco is lowest power and Max is highest.

LED info screen

That round LCD screen also displays information about battery life. If you have it connected to the Roborock app it can also show that.

App connection

Speaking of the Roborock app, while you won’t be operating a robot vacuum and you can’t get this particular device to clean by itself, you can connect to the Roborock app to monitor various systems of the device or to trigger a cleaning cycle or start or stop the drying from the couch if you need to.
To pair you just need to push and hold the self clean and the change mode button which is the topmost button on the front of the handle (the one that’s not the power button). When you hear the robot say it’s ready to connect to Wi-Fi you’ll just head to your phones Wi-Fi settings and tap to connect. If you are experiencing trouble getting this to work as I was, just left the machine off it’s charging base. During my testing. I could not get it to initiate the Wi-Fi connection while it was charging.
The app gives you information such as the overall battery level, and allows you to adjust different cleaning modes and settings. You can also schedule self cleaning to happen anytime you want on the regular so you don’t have to remember to do it. Lastly you can also adjust things like the level of water flow or suction power as well as initiate the fast drying or silent drying features.

Improved battery life

Dyad Pro adds more battery life than its predecessor. Dyad Pro has an estimated runtime of 43 minutes, which is longer than the 35 minutes of runtime for the regular Dyad.
In my testing I found this battery life estimate is pretty accurate. Well it doesn’t seem like an extraordinarily long time, I found I was really only taking five or 10 minutes to clean my entire house, so this gives me more than enough battery life for several complete cleans before I would need to recharge the machine. Also, given that you’re going to want to self clean and dry the machine after each use, if you keep it on the base, you should always have a full battery.

How does Roborock Dyad Pro work?

Roborock Dyad Pro has both a clean and dirty water tank system. The water, and cleaner work with the two rows of rollers that rotate in opposite directions and the up to 17,000Pa of suction power to inhale whatever’s on your floor.

There’s Auto Mode which is kind of an all-purpose cleaning mode, or Max mode which will give you more suction power.

To clean, fill the clean water tank, and add your cleanser if you’re going to use it. Then turn the Dyad on. The rollers spin and will actually pull the device along the floor. The water and cleaner wash the floor while any wet spills are pulled into the tank.

I didn’t find that it used too much water though as I noted earlier, the water level is adjustable. By toggling between Auto and Max mode you also seem to get different levels of water, and there’s also a ‘Floor Drying’ mode which sucks up the water already on the floor and doesn’t use more, so if you do feel the floor is too wet, just switch to Floor Dry Mode.

How well does Roborock Dyad Pro clean?

In my testing, I tried using Dyad Pro on all kinds of tasks. Are used primarily for daily cleaning to keep areas near the front and back door clean, as well as to pick up dried spills and drips in the kitchen.

The Dyad Pro does a good job on getting rid of daily dirt, dog paw prints, coffee drips and more. Depending on how dry or sticky the spill is, it may require a few passes to scrub it away.
I also laid out a few specific cleaning tests for it similar to how I have tested other devices.
It easily inhaled a full mug of spilled coffee, both picking up the liquid and wiping the floor clean.

On melted ice cream it also did good work all at once; and it was nice to not to have to pick up the sticky ice cream first then wash the residue off the floor after.
With dried messes like oatmeal and rice the Dyad Pro is extremely capable and vacuums it all up, but because whatever you take in goes into the dirty water tank, again, you want to make sure you clean it out.

The strainer basket didn’t do what I thought it would which is filter solids on its own. The oatmeal kind of just mixed in with everything else, but I realized just by flipping the filter basket to one side or the other I had a defective strainer I could simply pour the liquid through to filter out the solids then dump in the garbage. It’s actually a pretty smart design. Watch the video review to see it in action.

Can Dyad Pro clean carpets?

When I reviewed the original Dyad I had several folks ask if it could be used on carpet. The answer is it’s not recommended. While I did test the original Dyad on a flat Ruggable rug, it did an OK job, but it would not work so well in my opinion on a rug or carpet with any kind of pile. Similarly if you’re using it on a throw rug, I think the rollers would just pull at the fabric and not really help you clean. So the short answer is if you were really desperate I suppose you could try it, but it’s not recommended.

Overall review: Roborock Dyad Pro 2023

Overall this is a significantly improved machine over the original. The added features work well and they’re actually worth it.
On the pro side, the Dyad Pro is effective at both wet and dry messes, and it scrubs floors well. It’s got a great battery life, and the addition of the drying of the mops helps keep it from getting stinky.
When it comes to the cons; it feels like the new version is a bit heavier and bulker, just a bit, over the original. Some folks may find it heavy to take up stairs for example. But because it does also pull itself along, it doesn’t feel heavy while you’re using it. The biggest downside to this device is not one of its features… It’s that whatever you vacuum up you need to clean out, and depending on the nastiness of your mess, that will either be no sweat or pretty gross.
In short I can definitely recommend the Dyad Pro to you as a great versatile cleaner for your home.

Dyad Pro sells for about $449USD, and that’s the exact same price as the original, so you’re getting a lot more floor cleaning, for exactly the same price, which is pretty nice. Shop the new 2023 Dyad Pro from Roborock  or find it at Amazon.

**A note about Affiliate Links: TechGadgetsCanada & TechGadgetsInternational is supported by our readers. Occasionally I will include affiliate links in my reviews. I do this partly for convenience of the reader (since I’ll almost always include a link to the company website or similar anyway) in case you want to read more or purchase, but I also may get a small commission from the click, which helps me keep the blog running. If you choose to use this link I thank you greatly for supporting the blog. There’s no obligation or cost to you for using these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

The post New Roborock Dyad Pro review appeared first on TechGadgetsCanada.com.

Because there are so many different products with all kinds of different features and options, it can be tough to understand exactly what you’re getting. In this review I’ll share with you what happened after I spent a few weeks with the Roborock Q5+ (and the plus in the name simply indicates that the auto empty base and recharging station is included in the package).

What is Roborock Q5+?

This robot vacuum is a bit of a puzzle for me… I’ve reviewed quite literally dozens of robot vacuums, and for the most part they all have one or two key features that make them stand out. With this one I’m kind of struggling to figure out what that is.

With some bots they are ultra low priced. With others they add a scrubbing mop, or even a car wash style self cleaning base. This one to me kind of just seems like a basic vacuum robot with an automatic disposal base. You’d probably put this one in the same category with something like the iRobot J7+.

What’s in the box?

Inside the box you’re getting the Self-Empty Dock, with an extra vacuum bag, plus the Q5 bot.

The dock comes in two parts that you will simply screw together.

The dock is where your robot will go to automatically empty its onboard dustbin into a 2.5 L dust bag which Roborock says should be good for up to seven weeks of cleaning, depending mostly on your frequency of use. The dust bag also helps to filter the air and remove 99.7% of pollen to keep the air clean.

Set up: easy as pie

Getting this vacuum robot set up is fairly straightforward, as has been my experience with pretty much every Roborock but I have tried. You plug-in the base station and let the vac get a full charge. Then use the Roborock app to connect it to your home’s Wi-Fi.
Next up you’ll want to send it out to create a map of your home so you can really take advantage of the robot’s smarts.

Laser LiDar navigation: Roborock

The Roborock Q5+ has the ability to ‘see’ around obstacles in your home thanks to its navigation technology which it also uses this to draw a really detailed map of your home. With the map drawn, you can name specific rooms for room by room cleaning. That laser mapping also means the vacuum doesn’t accelerate into table legs and walls, so it cleans a bit more gently.

After just one outing, my vacuum had created a usable map, and that’s significantly faster than some other pricier bots. Also, unlike a lot of other bots, the Roborock Q5 is ready for you to label and customize your home map right from the get-go (other bots need days of repeated passes to create the map).

Using the Roborock app

Not surprisingly you can start, stop and direct your robot home using the buttons on the top of the vacuum, but the real power comes in the Roborock app: You can start and stop cleanups, set multiple schedules, create virtual barriers or no-go areas, choose your cleaning power and adjust your home maps or re-label rooms.

The app lets you create dividers between rooms, merge spaces and label them for more specific cleaning. The app is easy to understand and to find the controls and settings for things, so I was able to get my home labeled quickly. Dividing, merging and labelling my rooms was a breeze.

The next time I wanted to do a targeted clean of my hallway, I was able to choose that area on my map, and send out the bot. I was also able to schedule vacuuming of different rooms on different days.

3D mapping: looks cool, feels gimmicky

Roborock uses what it calls PreciSense LIDAR mapping that enables it to produce a 3-D map of your home so both you and the robot can have a clearer understanding of your homes layout and interpret it accordingly.

While the bot will draw a 2-D floorplan that’s quite accurate, if you want to fool around with the 3D maps, you do need to go in yourself after that 2-D version is created. From there you can use what’s called the Matrix to scan the rest of your home and the furniture, to create an even more detailed map. You can even identify the different types of flooring for your robot. (See how it works in my video review.)

Now while this looks pretty cool and I do definitely feel like I’m wearing a trenchcoat and sunglasses and talking to Keanu Reeves while using the app… I’m not clear that it actually does anything more than the two dimensional map does. I suppose it might help you orient yourself better when you are looking for targeted areas to be cleaned, but apart from that it feels a bit gimiciky. But it does work well and it’s accurate.

Supports multiple floors

The Roborock Q5 supports multi-storey mapping. All you have to do is put the robot down on whichever floor (no additional docks, and no need to identify different levels inside the app) and the robot will figure everything out for you and draw a detailed map of each floor in your app. Up to four levels are supported inside the app.

How well does Roborock Q5+ clean?

With all my robot vacuums I put them all through the same tests; I sprinkle finer flour, spill bits like oatmeal or rice, and drop larger cracker pieces onto both carpets and hard floors. In these cleaning tests the Robo rock you 5+ did an outstanding job at picking up almost every last speck of dirt. Its cleaning abilities are extremely thorough. Check out the cleaning tests in the video review.

The robot was great at going out on a cleaning mission and then returning to the base station to empty it’s on board dustbin. Unlike another bot I have been testing recently, it seems to have no issue with anything clogging on the inside, and it is successfully able to evacuate it’s insides without issue.

It also has carpet boost, where the robot recognizes when it’s on carpet and boosts suction, to power dirt from fibres better. This feature is noticeable due to an audible rise in noise and suction airflow, and it seems to keep carpets very clean.

Battery life, runtime & charging

With a high capacity 5200 mA hour battery and 470 mL dustbin you get long lasting cleaning that can easily tackle most homes in a single outing.

I can confirm that the Q5 was able to clean my entire main floor of about 1000 ft.² in a single outing. It did not need to come back to the dock to recharge.

Google and Alexa support

I’ve been reviewing several robot vacuums over the last few weeks and a few of them have given me major problems. So it was refreshing to find the Q5 connected to my Google Home app all on its own, and I was easily able to ask Google Assistant to send it out for a cleaning.

Overall review: Roborock Q5+

Overall this robot vacuum is refreshingly easy to use, easy to set up and it cleans amazingly well. In all of my cleaning tasks performed flawlessly, I never had any issues with the app or software, and overall the entire device is a joy to use. When it comes to downsides, this is perhaps not the most attractive robot vacuum and bass station combo out there; there are slightly more refined designs available. But that’s me being nitpicky. There’s absolutely nothing you won’t like when it comes to the entire Q5 package.

I can absolutely recommend Roborock Q5 plus to you for all of your smart home cleaning needs. It sells for about $699USD with the self empty dock, and $429 for just the robot.

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