While at CES in Las Vegas earlier this year (back when we could actually meet in groups… sigh), we met with the team from Roborock and were impressed by some of the innovations they were developing in high-powered, robotic vacuums for the home consumer.
We have been testing review units of two of their latest models and have come away even more impressed now that we have first-hand experience.
Disclaimer: review units were provided by Lewis PR for purposes of this review; all opinions are, of course, our own.
H6 Handheld Vacuum
At CES, Roborock launched a new product: their first handheld vacuum solution, the Roborock H6. Building on their experience in building powerful robot vacuums, the H6 combines outstanding battery technology with a compact, lightweight vacuum with impressive suction power, and it was designed with a collection of interchangeable heads for use in every-day use.
We invested a lot of time developing our first-ever handheld vacuum solution, in fact we’ve been carefully planning this for close to three years. With the H6, we wanted a product that addressed constraints still existing in the handheld vacuum space – weight and battery life in particular. It is our goal to empower users by offering the best, most effective and comprehensive cleaning solutions possible, whether it’s a robot vacuum or a handheld solution.
— Simon Wan, Roborock Co-Founder and Vice President
Image Credit: Roborock
The lightweight body (only 3 pounds) of the H6 makes it easy to clean everything from ceilings to shelves, and it can easily transition outside the home to clean car interiors. The included collection of accessories includes a floor brush, carpet brush, dusting brush, motorized mini-brush crevice tool, and flex tube, all of which are stored in the wall-mountable charging dock.
The transparent dustbin allows users to see when it is getting full and is easily removed and washed. An OLED screen on the H6 display information including power mode, charge and run-time remaining, maintenance reminders, and more.
Image Credit: Roborock
A 420W motor in the vacuum drives a multi-layer impeller, creating up to 150AW of lossless suction, depending on which of the three power settings is being used. Combining that suction with a five-layer filtration system (including multiple cyclones, and washable front and rear HEPA filters) allows the H6 to captures up to 99.97% of particles, including pollen and dander.
The H6 is the first cordless stick vacuum to be equipped with a LiPo battery – enabling a run-time of 90 minutes in eco-mode or 10 minutes in max power mode.
The Roborock H6 will be available at a suggested retail price of $449 on Monday, May 18, 2020, through Amazon.com.
S6 MaxV Robot Vacuum
Announced today (April 29th, 2020), the upgraded S6 MaxV is a major upgrade in the Roborock S6 series of robotic vacuums. Adding a pair of cameras to the existing laser-navigation technology in the S6 series, the MaxV has an obstacle avoidance system; an incredibly powerful system powered by a Qualcomm APQ8053 (edited to updated processor) processor chip that utilizes a Convolutional Neural Network for image processing. The stereo cameras combined with the ReactiveAI system allow the S6 MaxV to avoid a range of common robot trapping obstacles (like pet waste, shoes, scales, etc.) by capturing detailed images.
Image Credit: Roborock
The S6 MaxV boasts an extra-large 5200mAh battery; claiming up to 3 hours of cleaning in quiet mode. A The special Smart Top-Up feature prompts the robot to recharge just enough to complete a large clean if needed. The mopping function is just as robust, with a large water tank and removable mop cloth bracket. The mop cloth, as well as the internal filters, are washable — and the app will remind you when it is time to do so. Another innovation is multi-floor mapping software that allows the S6 MaxV to automatically recognize different levels of a home.
The Roborock S6 MaxV will be available at a suggested retail price of $749 in Q2 of 2020 through Amazon.com.
First-Person Review
While we have had the Roborock H6 handheld vacuum, it has essentially replaced both our large upright vacuum and our small dustbuster-style handheld vacuum.
Our original concern of running out of battery power mid-cleaning has been proven unfounded, especially as the H6 automatically shifts between the low- and high-energy power settings as it senses different floor types. The light weight of the H6 has also opened up a whole new range of locations that are getting cleaned also (especially as the kids figure out they can do it themselves) – the cobwebs that collect on popcorn ceilings have been removed and all the crumbs left in the kids’ chairs in the car have been removed (the stuff that the low power handheld could not get) are also all gone.
My parents are also fans of the H6, especially as they are alone while isolated at home right now, as they can move the light-weight vacuum between floors of their home – something they struggle to do with a full-size canister vacuum.
We have been extremely lucky to have very early access to the Roborock S6 MaxV robot vacuum to test and have been overwhelmed by the improvements over any similar device that we have tested.
The large traction wheels have the power to push over small edges – for example, the kids’ room has foam floor tiles and the S6 MaxV easily pushed up to clean the floor. The twin cameras did exactly what they were supposed to, identifying the shoes that my kids had left on the floor and cleaning around them.
Final word: the Roborock S6 MaxV is the robot vacuum that we have been waiting for, solving all the issues that we ever had with similar devices and even some that we didn’t know we had.
