There
are
an
absurd
number
of
robot
vacuums
available
today,
but
based
on
my
testing
of
dozens
of
bots,
just
a
handful
of
manufacturers
are
leading
the
pack
when
it
comes
to
innovation,
choice,
and
really
good
cleaning
machines.
These
include
Roborock,
iRobot,
and
Dreame.
Each
has
recently
released
new
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
still
recommend
Roombas
if
you’re
looking
for
either
a
high-end
robovac
or
a
budget
bot,
in
large
part
due
to
their
repairability,
ease
of
use,
and
reliability.
But
the
competition
is
getting
very
good,
and
with
iRobot’s
future
looking
shaky
following
its
break
up
with
Amazon,
I
figured
it
was
time
for
a
deeper
dive
into
its
strongest
competitors.
Here,
I
pit
the
X30
Ultra
against
the
S8
Max
V
Ultra
to
see
which
one
is
the
best.
Roborock
S8
MaxV
Ultra
$1799.99
The
Good
Excellent
vacuuming
performance
Side
brush
gets
into
corners
Very
good
app
Built-in
voice
control
is
impressive
The
Bad
Dock
is
still
quite
ugly
Mopping
tray
is
hard
to
clean
So
expensive
$1800
at
Amazon$1800
at
Best
Buy
How
we
rate
and
review
products
The
Roborock
S8
MaxV
Ultra
($1,799.99)
is
a
robot
vacuum
and
mop
with
a
charging
dock
that
fills
the
robot’s
onboard
water
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
minute
to
scrub
your
floors
and
raises
up
to
20mm
to
avoid
carpet.
The
S8
MaxV
has
a
new
flexi
arm
that
pushes
its
spinning
side
brush
out
further
to
get
into
corners
better
and
a
side
mop
that
helps
clean
along
edges.
A
new
on-device
voice
assistant
can
take
direct
commands,
so
you
don’t
need
to
use
the
app
or
a
third-party
speaker
to
control
the
robot
(although
it
works
with
Alexa,
Google
Home,
and
Siri
Shortcuts).
It’s
also
one
of
the
first
robot
vacuums
that
will
support
Matter,
although
that
feature
hasn’t
been
turned
on
yet.
Related
The
DreameBot
X30
Ultra
($1,699.99)
has
many
of
the
same
features
as
the
S8
MaxV
Ultra,
including
a
charging
dock
that
auto-empties,
washes
the
mops,
and
fills
the
robot’s
water
tank,
plus
a
camera
for
obstacle
detection.
It
has
8,300Pa
suction
and
uses
dual
spinning
mop
pads
that
it
can
automatically
remove
when
it
vacuums
—
my
favorite
feature.
It
can
also
lift
the
mops
if
needed
(up
to
10.5mm).
Uniquely,
the
Dreame
can
extend
its
mops
out
to
reach
baseboards
and
even
under
low
furniture,
as
far
as
4cm;
this
is
surprisingly
effective
at
getting
up
grime
from
edges.
DreameBot
X30
Ultra
$1699.99
The
Good
Excellent
mopping
performance
Auto
mop
removal
Mop
extension
feature
works
really
well
Hair-cutting
roller
brush
is
effective
The
Bad
Single
roller
brush
not
as
effective
Hair-cutting
brush
costs
extra
App
can
be
confusing
and
slow
No
Matter
support
Also
very
expensive
$1700
at
Amazon$1700
at
Dreame
How
we
rate
and
review
products
I
let
these
two
bots
battle
it
out
in
my
home
over
10
days,
testing
their
cleaning
prowess,
mopping
chops,
navigation
skills,
and
unique
features
—
such
as
an
arm
and
mops
that
do
the
splits.
I
also
evaluated
the
design
and
usability
of
their
multifunction
charging
docks
and
how
well
they
meet
their
promise
of
hands-free
cleaning.
I
put
their
companion
apps
through
their
paces,
diving
into
all
the
settings
and
features
these
machines
offer
in
their
quest
to
clean
your
floors.
Read
on
to
find
out
which
one
came
out
on
top.
Dock
design
and
function:
bigger
is
beautiful
unless
you
can
plumb
it
Despite
being
bigger
the
Dreame’s
dock
(left)
looks
better.
While
Roborock
has
redesigned
its
dock
into
something
smaller
and
more
aesthetically
pleasing
(it
was
the
first
to
release
a
multifunction
dock,
and
those
early
days
were
characterized
by
hulking
monstrosities),
it’s
still
one
of
the
ugliest
out
there.
Dreame,
on
the
other
hand,
has
perfected
the
stylish
dock
look,
and
while
it’s
bigger
than
Roborock’s,
it’s
much
prettier.
Dreame’s
dock
is
also
slightly
more
functional.
While
both
models
will
wash
the
mops
with
hot
water
and
dry
them
with
heated
air,
which
helps
deal
with
the
smell
and
mess,
Dreame
has
little
wipers
that
clean
the
mop
area
for
you,
whereas
Roborock’s
mop
tray
needs
manual
cleaning.
However,
Roborock
has
the
option
to
connect
directly
to
your
plumbing,
doing
away
with
the
bulky
water
tank-look
entirely.
You
do
need
to
get
a
specific
model
for
this,
which
costs
$100
more.
While
Dreame
sells
an
add-on
kit
to
its
existing
model
for
this
function,
it’s
only
available
in
Asia.
A
North
American
model
—
the
X40
—
is
coming
later
this
month,
but
it
costs
nineteen
hundred
dollars.
Navigation
and
obstacle
avoidance:
they
both
dodged
the
poop
The
Roborock
stares
down
the
fake
poop
and
goes
on
its
way.
Both
models
use
lidar
to
map
and
navigate
your
home.
They
both
mapped
the
house
quickly
and
accurately
and
responded
correctly
to
requests
for
room-specific
cleaning
and
zone
cleaning
—
meaning
they
didn’t
get
lost.
These
robots
both
have
front-facing
cameras
for
AI-powered
obstacle
avoidance,
and
they
both
nimbly
avoided
fake
dog
turds,
socks,
shoes,
and
bundles
of
cables.
However,
each
had
weak
spots.
The
Dreame
successfully
sucked
up
a
pile
of
Cheerios,
which
the
Roborock
thought
was
an
obstacle,
but
the
Dreame
got
stuck
on
a
stray
iPhone
cable
that
the
Roborock
dodged.
Roborock
also
loves
to
eat
pencils.
In
the
end,
though,
they
were
both
rarely
derailed
compared
to
non-camera-powered
robots
I’ve
tested,
and
that’s
the
biggest
benefit
of
AI-powered
obstacle
avoidance
unless
you
regularly
let
your
pet
poop
in
your
house.
This
is
the
first
Roborock
since
the
excellent
S7
MaxV
Ultra
to
feature
a
camera
for
object
detection
(all
the
other
models
use
3D
obstacle
detection,
which
is
not
as
effective).
But
Roombas
with
the
same
feature
are
still
the
best
at
knowing
what’s
in
its
way
and
successfully
avoiding
it
or
cleaning
it
when
necessary.
Also
worth
noting:
if
you
have
a
bed
skirt
or
fabric
around
your
sofa,
lidar-powered
robots
will
see
it
as
a
wall,
whereas
a
VSLAM-powered
model,
like
the
Roombas,
will
push
right
through
and
clean
under
your
bed.
The
S8
MaxV
Ultra’s
robot
arm
reaches
out
to
get
debris
out
of
corners.
Vacuuming
power:
Roborock
sucks
hardest
and
has
an
arm
…
Both
bots
have
super
suction
power
and
did
an
excellent
job
getting
up
every
last
bit
of
larger
debris,
such
as
rice
and
oatmeal,
on
hard
floor.
But
Roborock’s
dual-brush
system
did
a
better
job
on
carpet,
and
its
rubber
roller
design
means
less
hair
tangle.
Dreame
sent
me
its
new
$50
anti-tangle
tri-cut
brush
(sold
separately)
that
cuts
the
hair,
and
I
didn’t
have
to
deal
with
any
tangles,
which
was
nice.
But
the
Roborock
was
tangle-free
without
buying
an
extra
accessory,
and
its
dual
brushes
did
better
at
getting
dirt
and
hair
up
off
the
carpet.
Roborock’s
flexi
arm
is
also
a
great
upgrade.
It’s
designed
to
help
the
bot
clean
corners
better
by
reaching
the
spinning
brush
out
to
swipe
up
the
dirt.
I
have
seen
this
in
action
at
CES,
but
it
happens
in
the
flash
of
an
eye,
and
despite
spending
a
lot
of
time
hovering
over
the
bot,
I
never
actually
saw
it
work
in
my
home.
But
the
debris
I
put
in
the
corners
to
test
it
was
gone,
so
I
guess
it
worked?!
The
Dreame
(left)
has
a
single
roller
brush,
whereas
the
Roborock
has
two
rubber
brushes
that
are
better
at
getting
dirt
off
carpet
and
sucking
up
messes
in
one
pass
than
the
Dreame.
Auto-cleaning
modes
are
a
new
feature
I’m
starting
to
see
on
high-end
robots.
They
eliminate
the
bother
of
having
to
set
specific
cleaning
modes
for
different
rooms
—
such
as
cleaning
the
kitchen
and
entryway
twice
but
the
dining
room
once.
Both
Roborock
and
Dreame
have
versions
of
this
AI-powered
cleaning
mode.
Dreame
calls
it
CleanGenius,
and
Roborock’s
is
SmartPlan.
I
found
them
both
very
useful
for
just
hitting
go
and
not
having
to
plan
the
route
but
still
ending
up
with
spotless
floors.
These
modes
also
turn
on
a
feature
that
sends
the
robot
back
to
clean
areas
it
determines
that
need
more
attention.
This
was
hard
to
test
effectively
in
the
time
I’ve
had
with
them,
but
it’s
an
interesting
feature
I’ll
be
keeping
an
eye
on.
Anything
that
involves
less
of
me
spending
time
with
an
app
and
more
of
the
robot
doing
things
on
its
own
is
a
good
thing.
I
really
liked
Roborock’s
“Recommended
Routines,”
personalized
cleaning
sequences
that
again
mean
less
programming
by
you.
There’s
an
After
Meals
one
that
tackles
the
kitchen
and
dining
room
and
a
Pet
Supply
option
for
cleaning
around
pet
food
areas
(the
robot
can
identify
pets,
pet
beds,
and
pet
bowls),
along
with
a
few
other
useful
options.
Mopping
prowess:
Dreame’s
mop
moving
and
mop
removal
is
genius
The
Dreame
can
push
its
mops
out
to
scrub
baseboards
and
also
swing
the
robot’s
body
to
extend
the
mops
further
to
get
under
things
like
my
dishwasher
here.
Dreame’s
auto-detachable
mop
pads
are
still
the
best
way
I’ve
seen
to
deal
with
the
“how
does
a
robot
mop
and
vacuum
without
messing
up
your
carpet”
conundrum.
When
it’s
cleaning
carpet,
it
goes
back
to
its
dock,
takes
off
its
mop
pads,
then
goes
and
vacuums.
Genius.
It
can
also
raise
its
mop
to
about
10mm
if
needed
to
save
time,
so
it
can
still
traverse
carpet
to
mop
further
away
rooms.
Roborock’s
mop
isn’t
detachable,
although
you
can
manually
remove
the
pad
itself.
It
does
lift
a
lot
higher,
up
to
20mm,
but
there’s
still
a
chance
of
contaminating
high-pile
carpets
unless
you
tell
it
to
avoid
carpets.
Dreame’s
dual
oscillating
mop
pads
also
do
a
better
job
of
getting
wet
messes
off
the
floor
than
Roborock’s
single
flat
pad.
While
Roborock’s
mop
vibrates
up
to
4,000
times
a
minute,
Dreame
successfully
removed
all
the
dried
ketchup
and
OJ
in
my
tests,
whereas
Roborock
left
a
trace
behind.
The
other
thing
Dreame
does
very
well
is
clean
baseboards
and
edges.
It
uses
a
“MopExtend
RoboSwing”
technology
that
extends
its
mop
out
to
reach
the
baseboard
and
also
swings
the
robot
toward
the
edge
to
push
the
mops
under
things
like
my
fridge
and
dishwasher,
getting
the
grime
that
other
cleaning
methods
miss.
Roborock’s
Extra
Edge
Mop
system,
new
on
the
S8
MaxV
Ultra,
does
give
the
bot
a
bit
more
mopping
reach
—
a
small
spinning
mop
pad
extends
slightly
out
from
the
right
of
the
robot,
but
it’s
not
a
patch
on
the
Dreame.
Specs
for
the
Roborock
S8
MaxV
Ultra
and
DreameBot
X30
Price |
$1,699.99 |
$1,799.99 |
Color |
black
or
white |
black
or
white |
Suction |
8,300
Pa |
10,000
Pa |
Navigation |
Lidar |
Lidar |
Brushes |
single
rubber |
dual
rubber |
Mops |
two
spinning
mop
pads,
mop
lift
(10.5mm)
or
mop
removal |
single
flat
pad,
edge
mop,
mop
lift
(20mm) |
Dust
Bag |
3.2L |
2.5L |
Water
Tank |
clean
4L,
dirty
4.5L |
clean
4L,
dirty
3.5L |
Mop
washing |
hot
washing
and
drying |
hot
washing
and
drying |
Battery |
6,400mAh
battery |
5,200mAh |
Runtime |
260
mins |
180
minutes |
Connectivity |
Wi-Fi |
Wi-Fi,
Matter |
Compatability |
Google
Home,
Amazon
Alexa,
Siri
Shortcuts |
Matter,
Google
Home,
Amazon
Alexa,
Siri
Shortcuts |
Apps,
video
cameras,
voice
control,
and
Matter,
oh
my!
These
high-end
robovacs
have
a
dizzying
amount
of
features
accessed
through
their
apps;
which
is
where
you
set
up
the
map
(name
rooms
and
add
furniture
to
help
the
robot
understand
your
home
better).
This
was
easy
to
do
on
both,
and
they
have
very
similar
apps.
However,
Roborock’s
app
is
more
refined,
more
stable,
and
slightly
more
user-friendly.
Both
have
so,
so
many
settings
menus
to
dive
into
to
customize
everything
from
how
often
the
bot
washes
its
mop
and
when
it
empties
its
bin
to
which
direction
it
cleans
your
hardwood
floors
(yes
—
you
can
select
“along
the
grain”).
But
Roborock
makes
it
easier
to
get
to
what
you
need.
It
also
never
crashed
on
me,
whereas
Dreame’s
often
showed
the
robot
offline
or
made
me
wait
a
while
before
I
could
access
it.
One
neat
feature
is
that
both
can
act
as
roving
home
security
cameras.
Roborock
even
claims
it
can
go
look
for
your
pet
—
although
it
failed
to
find
my
80lb
pup
when
he
was
sitting
right
in
front
of
it.
To
be
fair,
it
was
dark,
and
he
looks
like
a
rug.
You
can
also
drop
in
on
the
robot’s
camera
and
see
and
talk
to
people
in
your
home
—
yes,
that’s
as
weird
as
it
sounds,
but
there
could
be
a
use
case.
The
camera
feature
is
not
enabled
by
default
on
either
Dreame
or
Roborock
and
requires
a
set
of
actions
and
a
code
to
access
it
remotely.
The
Roborock
on
patrol
for
a
pet.
It
didn’t
spot
my
dog
here,
but
it
can
be
set
to
snap
pictures
of
your
pet
whenever
it
sees
them.
Only
Roborock
has
built-in
voice
control,
a
new
feature
with
this
model.
The
wake
word
is
Hello
Rocky,
and
it
worked
very
well,
responding
promptly
and
understanding
my
commands.
You
do
have
to
wait
a
beat
after
activating
it
to
say
the
command,
which
takes
a
bit
of
getting
used
to.
Dreame
can
respond
to
voice
commands
from
Alexa,
Google
Home,
and
Siri
shortcuts
(as
does
Roborock),
but
the
single-purpose
use
here
makes
the
experience
much
better.
Hello
Rocky
gave
me
much
more
control
than
any
of
the
third-party
integrations.
I
could
ask
it
to
empty
the
bin,
skip
here,
stop
drying,
and
more,
along
with
all
the
standard
commands
like
clean
the
kitchen
and
go
back
to
the
dock.
Finally,
Roborock
supports
Matter,
which
gives
it
an
edge.
While
none
of
the
major
smart
home
platforms
support
robot
vacuums
in
Matter
yet,
most
have
said
they
will
soon.
The
fact
that
Roborock’s
S8
MaxV
Ultra
is
already
Matter-certified
means
you’re
ready
for
that
future
if
and
when
it
arrives.
Dreame
has
said
it
will
support
Matter
in
its
newest
vacuums
but
has
not
made
any
announcements
about
the
X30.
Which
bot’s
the
best?
The
Dreame
X30
Ultra
(left)
and
the
Roborock
S8
MaxV
Ultra
are
both
impressive
robot
vacuum
mops.
Both
robots
perform
exceptionally
well
at
mopping
and
vacuuming,
and
their
all-singing-all-dancing
docks
make
floor
maintenance
virtually
hands-free.
But
the
Roborock
beats
the
DreameBot
overall
thanks
to
its
superior
vacuuming
performance,
easier-to-use
app,
and
built-in
voice
control.
Its
dual
roller
brushes,
side
brush,
and
10,000Pa
suction
demolished
all
the
dry
dirt
in
my
tests.
And
while
the
Dreame
is
better
at
mopping,
the
Roborock
is
still
very
good.
If
mopping
is
what
you
really
want,
the
DreameBot’s
oscillating
mops
do
a
better
job
with
wet
spills
and
dried-on
gunk,
like
ketchup.
The
mop
removal
feature
meant
I
didn’t
have
to
worry
about
my
white,
high-pile
carpet
at
all.
If
you
have
a
lot
of
carpet
or
high-pile
rugs
scattered
around
your
home
or
prefer
the
nicer-looking
dock,
Dreame
may
be
a
better
choice,
but
otherwise,
the
Roborock
will
suit
you
very
well.
If
you
are
sold
on
these
bots
but
can’t
stomach
the
price,
both
brands
have
cheaper
models
that
do
almost
as
much.
The
Roborock
S8
Pro
Ultra
costs
$1,600
and
has
lower
suction
power,
no
camera
(so
no
AI-powered
obstacle
detection),
and
no
voice
assistant
or
Matter.
Dreame’s
previous
flagship
model,
the
L20
Ultra,
is
currently
$1,500
and
slightly
better
in
a
few
areas.
It
does
have
lower
suction
power
but
can
remove
its
mops
and
extend
them
(though
not
as
far
as
the
X30).
However,
its
auto-emptying
wasn’t
as
reliable.
I
should
note
that
Dreame
has
just
announced
the
X40
Ultra,
which
will
be
available
for
an
eye-watering
$1,900
and
will
have
a
model
with
a
direct
water
hookup.
The
X40
also
adds
a
flexi
arm
—
just
like
Roborock’s
—
and
12,000Pa
of
suction.
But
it
still
only
has
one
roller
brush,
and
the
brushes
are
key
to
cleaning.
Also,
yes,
I
do
think
these
robots
are
breeding.
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