while we are waiting robot vacuum cleaner To give you extra legs to tackle the stairs, Roborock has added an arm to its latest flagship model. The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra, which will be unveiled at CES 2024 in Las Vegas this week, features a (admittedly very small) arm that pushes the robot further out of the side to enter corners. Yes, it's not like picking up and bringing slippers, but hey, it's an arm! Riding a robot! In your house!
The $1,800 (Gulp) S8 MaxV includes a new voice assistant to control the vacuum without a separate smart device, 10,000 Pa of suction power, Caseand a new camera — enables AI-powered obstacle avoidance and video calling.
The robot's mopping system has also been upgraded, adding a rotating mop next to a flat vibrating mop pad. This pad vibrates faster (4,000 times per minute) and can be lifted 20mm to avoid carpeting when scrubbing hard floors or vacuuming or mopping. This is a significant increase over his 5 mm lift on the S8 Pro.
The RockDock Ultra charging dock, which empties your robot's trash can and fills its water tank, has a sleeker look and new features. Now connects directly to your home's drainage system, eliminating the need for large, bulky water tanks, washing the robot mop in hot water and drying it with hot air to prevent it from getting smelly.
Roborock will also launch the S8 Max Ultra for $1,599.99. It's very similar hardware-wise and will work with the new dock, but it doesn't have a camera and has a lower suction power of 8,000 Pa. There is also no voice assistant or support matter. Both models will be available at: roborock.com and Amazon in April.
Roborock's Marcus Lai said. The Verge Matter support will initially only be available on the top-of-the-line S8 MaxV Ultra. “We want our most powerful models to be at the forefront of this new and exciting technology,” he said. “We cannot exclude the possibility that more models will support the Matter protocol in the future.”
Matter support means you can control your vacuum with any Matter compatible platform, such as Apple Home. However, no major platform has yet added support for robot vacuums with Matter. The Roborock vacuum also works with Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Siri Shortcuts.
It's good to have cameras back on Roborock robots.Good but obsolete S7 MaxV Ultra I had the latest camera from the company. Top-of-the-line S8 Ultra Pro One model omitted. The video calling feature is probably of limited use (unless you really need to remotely control a robot around your house or yell at your kids or pets through an app). The real benefit is that it enhances the robot's AI obstacle avoidance. Using the camera, the bot can see and recognize common objects in your home and decide whether to clean them (Cheerios) to avoid them (dog poop, socks, cables).
If your robot doesn't have a camera, Roborock has some new models that don't have a camera. S8 Max Ultra uses 3D structured light technology to help the robot „see“ and avoid things it might trip over. We tested his S8 Pro Ultra model from Roborock, which uses the same technology, and found it to be less effective at avoiding small items like socks and cables, but it also doesn't get in the way.
A voice assistant named Rocky is an interesting addition. Like his Yiko voice assistant from Ecovacs, deebot robot, Rocky is built into the robot, so you don't need a smart speaker to control it. Instead, you can shout commands directly to the bot, such as cleaning the kitchen, emptying the trash can, or mopping the bathroom, and the robot should be able to reach it. Roborock says it can also be controlled remotely by voice via video capabilities.
For those who are interested in these new features but not the exorbitant price, Robrock is introducing some of them to the latest model of its mid-range Q series, also launching in April.
The new Q Revo MaxV ($1,119.99) has a camera, so it has better obstacle avoidance (although it's not as smart as the S8 MaxV Ultra), video calling, and Rocky. The Q Revo Pro ($999.99) is a step down, lacking a camera, video calling, voice assistant, and more basic obstacle avoidance technology.
However, both Q models add a new maneuverability trick that allows the robot to extend the mop to clean near edges such as baseboards and around chair legs. The Q line uses a vibrating mop pad, unlike the S8 line which has a flat pad. These are more effective at cleaning floors thoroughly, but I think they tend to get caught on things.
Both Q models have a suction power of 7,000 Pa and can lift the mop 10mm when a carpet is detected to keep it dry. Comes with the new Q Revo Dock 2.0, which charges the robot, automatically empties the trash can, washes the mop with hot water and dries it with warm air.