Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra review

Roborock S8 MaxV Extremely: Introduction

• Kind: Robotic vacuum cleaner with mopping options
• Docking: 2 docks on provide together with mains refill and drainage system
• Navigation system: Precisense LiDAR

Roborock tends to make use of CES to whip the covers off of its newest flagship robo cleaner, and CES 2024 was no exception, with the Chinese language model unveiling the Roborock S8 MaxV Extremely on the huge Las Vegas expo.

The S8 MaxV Extremely provides a heck of plenty of additions to the characteristic record and spec-sheet of the earlier top-dog – the wonderful Roborock S8 Professional Extremely.

—Roborock fashions in contrast

One of many huge new additions, when it comes to huge image good residence information, is the truth that the S8 MaxV Extremely brings Matter to the robotic vacuum cleaner celebration; robo cleaners had been one of many new system classes added by the CSA again in October 2023, when it launched Matter 1.2.

Information: Matter good residence

Nonetheless, as you’ll see in my Roborock S8 MaxV Extremely assessment beneath, that Matter addition is a little bit of a non-entity proper now, which is a disgrace.

However don’t let that put a dampener in your expectations of the latest flagship from the model which is extensively thought of the most effective within the enterprise proper now.

The Roborock S8 MaxV Extremely is an absolute beast of a cleansing machine, which comes with an absolute beast of a price-tag… however I’d say it greater than justifies its price.

Learn on to seek out out why…

Design and elements

• FlexiArm Design Facet Brush
• Refill and drainage dock an choice
• Heated air dryer system

Yearly, Roborock’s flagships get just a little bit extra futuristic wanting however, let’s face it, there’s not an excessive amount of you are able to do – design-wise – to make a robo cleaner step out from the gang… until you’re Dyson, after all.

The S8 MaxV Extremely, which is available in black or white, has a little bit of a sports activities automobile look about it in comparison with older Roborocks, however is actually nonetheless only a flat, spherical machine on wheels, measuring 353 x 350 x 103mm, with these acquainted management buttons up high alongside the LiDAR turret.

On the highest is a lift-up flap that homes the small bin. This lifts out for cleansing and it’s value doing this sometimes, to be able to take away any grime and to scrub the filter.

You gained’t must trouble emptying the bin although, because the dock takes care of this.

Look beneath although and also you’ll see that there’s loads of new additions on board, most notably the brand new FlexiArm Design Facet Brush and the Additional Edge Spinning Mop System.

These are basically a robotic arm and additional pad that reach to scrub hard-to-reach areas, with greater than 99% nook protection, we’re reliably knowledgeable.

It’s just like what we’ve seen from the likes of the iRobot Roomba Combo j7+, however much more hidden and refined; it simply tucks in on the entrance subsequent to the cameras and sensors.

Just like the S8 Professional, as an alternative of a single curler there at the moment are two that spin in alternate instructions. This not solely aids mud and grime pick-up, however the opposing rollers additionally forestall hairs from getting wrapped round.

The S8 MaxV Extremely that I’ve had on take a look at for this assessment got here with the model’s new RockDock Extremely 8-in-1 dock dock, however there’s additionally a brand new dock on provide too, that may be plumbed straight into your water provide and waste, very like a washer or dishwasher.

The ‘Refill and Drainage System’ dock is clearly a lot smaller than the dock which wants water tanks, it measures in at simply 419 x 409 x 300mm

The 8-in-1 dock measures the identical width and depth, however these two tanks up high – one for clear water and one for soiled waste water, take the peak as much as 470mm.

On both RockDock Extremely mannequin you’ll need to empty the mud bin each 6-8 weeks or so, and also you’re taking a look at fortnightly water tank emptying and filling for the non-plumbed choice.

On each fashions there’s a piece hiding the mud bag and the detergent compartment. To get to it you merely pop the magnetic entrance panel off.

Eco-charging is supported, in case you dwell in a area the place power costs fluctuate at particular time intervals.

Each of the docks provide scorching water cleansing and scorching air drying – however extra on that in a bit.

Options and in use

• DirTect acknowledges varieties of firt
• Reactive AI 2.0 avoids obstacles
• 10,000Pa suction ranking

There’s loads of new Roborock software program on board to create the final word cleansing efficiency, together with the DirTect, which acknowledges various kinds of grime and adjustments cleansing settings accordingly, and Reactive AI 2.0 for superior impediment recognition and avoidance; we’re advised that 73 object varieties might be recognized and you’ll even have your S8 MaxV Extremely take an image of any that it detects because it goes about its enterprise.

A variety of the massive new additions are {hardware} slightly than software program primarily based, although. First up is a whopping 10,000Pa suction ranking, by far the largest we’ve ever seen from a robo cleaner.

That 10,000Pa ranking, plus the Carpet Enhance+ tech has just about eradicated cat hair from my home.

Earlier Roborocks I’ve examined at all times did a improbable job, particularly on hardwood flooring, or eliminating pet hair and wonderful mud however this additional suction energy, plus that FlexiArm Design Facet Brush have actually made a distinction in rooms the place we now have carpet or rugs.

The twin curler system additionally works brilliantly; I dwell with three women (and a cat) who all appear to shed hair consistently however after weeks of use, the rollers on my S8 MaxV Extremely have remained clear.

The great thing about utilizing a high-end Roborock has at all times been that, it doesn’t matter what surfaces you’ve in your home, you possibly can just about push ‘begin’ and the machine and its software program will work out what’s what.

That’s much more the case with the S8 MaxV Extremely, because of the brand new AI Sensible Plan tech on board, which takes care of any eventualities that it might come throughout; assume completely different ground varieties, no-go zones, cussed stains, thick rugs, pet bowls and an entire lot extra.

You may, as I’ll discuss within the subsequent part, tweak your S8 MaxV Extremely’s settings to your coronary heart’s content material to be able to create the precise kind of fresh you need, however you actually don’t need to with all of the good AI software program already in place.

Navigation with the S8 MaxV Extremely is great, because of the improved LiDAR, mixed with the digicam on the entrance, it could actually rapidly transfer round a home, and infrequently will get caught. Roborock informs us that mapping is 6x quicker with the brand new flagship.

Mopping perform

On the subject of mopping, the S8 MaxV Extremely takes what was already a profitable combo from its predecessors however provides an entire bunch of recent options to the combo.

With the brand new flagship, there’s a heavy emphasis on warmth – the brand new RockDock Extremely not solely empties, refills, and dispenses detergent to the robotic, but in addition washes the mop with 60°C scorching water and dries with 60°C heated air to forestall odor and mildew build-up.

It’s just like the mopping dock on the Ecovacs Deebot X1 Omni, and it really works very well.

VibraRise, the title Roborock offers to the performance of lifting the mopping pad when carpet is detected, reaches model 3.0 with the S8 MaxV Extremely, including two vibration modules, 20mm lifting, and 4000rpm high-speed sonic mopping.

A brand new addition to the mopping combine is that the dock now boast an auto detergent dispenser; a 580ml tank that may add detergent to the clear water combine. Roborock states it’s best to solely use pre-approved detergents however I’ve been utilizing an ordinary ground cleaner for just a few weeks now with no ill-effects.

Mopping is the realm the place you get probably the most freedom to customise in order you get the setttings precisely as you need to your particular exhausting ground / carpet setup.

Within the app you possibly can edit your surfaces within the map, selecting between carpet, tile and floorboards. On the later, you possibly can select horizontal or vertical preparations in order the robotic know that optimum strategy to clear.

When the S8 MaxV Extremely is on the market doing its mopping-thing, it can return to the dock for mop washing. Throughout this mid-clean-clean, there’s tech within the dock to detect how soiled the mopping pad is and it’ll improve the frequency of the mop cleansing breaks if wants be.

In case you don’t belief the mop to raise sufficient to maintain your costly carpets and mats dry then you possibly can set the robotic to prioritize vacuuming carpeted areas first, in order it goes to them earlier than any mopping commences with a dry mop pad.

In contrast to the S7 MaxV, you possibly can’t really take away the mopping pad although; so you’ll have to put some religion into that 20mm raise, which is an unlimited enchancment on the 5mm raise from earlier fashions.

I’ve a thick rug in a hardwood lounge space and I’ve by no means observed any wetness in any respect on it, following a twin vacuum and mopping session.

On mopping-only cleans, the comb can even raise by 20mm, in order to not go away streaks in your mopped flooring.

There’s quick, customary, deep and deep+ cleansing, relying on the extent of muck you need it to cope with.

I discovered that it managed to cope with some pretty robust, cussed stains and I might go away the robotic to go about its enterprise, solely stepping in with a daily ground cleaner each couple of weeks.

App and digital assistants

The Roborock app is good and means that you can actually peronalize your cleans. It’s the identical Roborock app we all know and love however, while you faucet into the S8 MaxV Extremely, the UI has really been revamped for the brand new top-tier mannequin.

Nevertheless it’s a well-known affair nonetheless although, with multi-mapping, 3D mapping and cleansing modes galore on provide.

9 occasions out of ten I’ve simply been utilizing the usual clear modes, with my rooms divided and sequenced within the app, however it’s also nice to have the ability to specify issues like an ‘after dinner’ clear or a ‘kitchen deep mop’ too… you possibly can create routines that specify the place, when and the way you need cleans to happen and provides them names like these.

You may also add these shortcuts to widgets in your smartphone, which is tremendous helpful.

A variety of the settings for what the S8 MaxV Extremely is able to, above and past the default out-of-the-box settings, might be discovered within the varied menus on the app.

For instance, you’ll need to allow the facet brush in a piece referred to as ‘AI Laboratory’ and also you’ll additionally discover an choice in right here to allow deep cleansing on spots the place additional grime is detected.

With the S8 MaxV Extremely, Roborock has additionally taken a leaf out of Ecovac’s guide by including its personal voice assistant to the combo, as a result of why not eh?

Personally, I feel it could have made extra sense to enhance the Roborock expertise and integrations with the likes of Alexa or the Google Assistant, that are nonetheless fairly restricted, however the “Hey Rocky” characteristic works properly sufficient, letting you specify room cleansing, cleansing modes, mop washing and loads of different granular controls merely utilizing your voice.

One new characteristic that’s extremely gimmicky, however that I completely love, is the pet detection perform.

Already with the likes of the Roborock S7 MaxV Extremely, Roborock customers had been ready to make use of the digicam tech on board to make use of their robo cleaner as a makeshift safety digicam, utilizing the app as a distant viewer as their robots patrol their homes.

You may even do two-way calls when on this ‘safety digicam’ mode.

All of that’s nonetheless obtainable with the brand new flagship, with some additional – pet-based – bells and whistles. Within the app, in case you allow pet detection, you’ll have the ability to ship your S8 MaxV Extremely out to find your pet.

Throughout cleans, there’s additionally an choice to have your S8 MaxV Extremely seize ‘pet snaps’… i.e. pictures of your pets when it spots them.

One other pet-focused characteristic is that it’s going to detect the place meals and water bowls are, and provides these areas some additional consideration.

Now, I discussed Matter up high as a serious new addition to the combo however, and this isn’t actually Roborock’s fault, however there’s nothing Matter in regards to the system because it stands.

That’s as a result of, though robotic vacuum cleaners had been added to the Matter household on the finish of final yr, they nonetheless aren’t supported by Amazon, Google, Samsung or Apple – which means you gained’t have the ability to add the Roborock S8 MaxV Extremely as a Matter system to your good residence ecosystem of alternative in the mean time.

Nonetheless, that Matter performance is within the combine – so take it extra because the S8 MaxV Extremely being future proof, for when the good residence platforms catch up.

Battery life and upkeep

Battery life, from the 5,200mAh battery, is quoted at 180-minutes though that is on the bottom energy mode.

Nonetheless, we’re on the level now the place, even on most and deep-mop modes, that robotic vacuum cleaners can sort out giant areas on a single cost.

Upkeep is essentially dealt with by the dock, though you’ll need to empty the soiled water tank, add recent water to the clear tank on the non-plumbed model, and substitute the mud bin bag each few weeks.

It’s additionally value cleansing the robotic’s sensors with a material, and cleansing out the bin manually as soon as a month – and the app will remind you to do that.

Closing ideas

In case you’ve the funds for it, then the Roborock S8 MaxV Extremely is the final word robo cleansing machine.

It takes the success of earlier flagships and provides options like scorching water and scorching air cleansing to the combo, in addition to a raft of additional {hardware} and software program tweaks.

It’s costly, but it surely’s value it.

How we take a look at

After we publish our evaluations, you possibly can relaxation assured that they’re the results of “residing with” long run exams.

Robotic cleaners normally dwell inside an ecosystem, or a variety of merchandise that – supposedly – all work in concord. And they’re designed to supply a variety of various cleansing choices. Due to this fact, it’s inconceivable to make use of a robo cleaner for per week and ship a verdict.

As a result of we’re testing good residence package all day, on a regular basis, we all know what issues and the way a specific good cleansing machine compares to options that you may additionally be contemplating.

Our evaluations are complete, goal and truthful and, after all, we’re by no means paid on to assessment a tool.

Learn our information on how we take a look at robotic vacuum cleaners to study extra.

FAQs

Roborock S8 MaxV Extremely: Introduction: Specs