The New Best Robot Vacuum

For quite some time, we’ve been singing the praises of Roborock here at AndroidHeadlines. That’s because they make some of the best robot vacuums on the market. Sure the competitors are pretty good, but Roborock continues to push the envelope on robot vacuums, and they’ve done that again with the S8 Pro Ultra. And for the price, you’d expect that.

The Roborock S8 Pro Ultra is pretty expensive, with a MSRP of $1,600. But that does also include the new RockDock, which is able to empty the dustbin, as well as clean the mopping pad, and refill the water reservoir. So you get a lot for that money. But the question is, is it worth it? Let’s find out in our review of the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra.

Roborock S8 Pro Ultra Review: Design

The design of the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra hasn’t really changed a whole lot here. It’s still mostly the same as previous Roborock robot vacuums. On the front of the vacuum, you’ll find the Stereo AI cameras for the Reactive 3D obstacle-avoidance system. As well as a few other sensors. There’s the LiDAR on the top for navigation and mapping. With the three buttons on the top for home, power and mopping. The backside is where you’ll find the combo dustbin and water reservoir.

Now, on the bottom, Roborock has gone with two rubber brushes, following iRobot’s approach. We’ll talk more about this in the cleaning section. But, the design is really what you’d expect from Roborock.

Let’s talk about the dock though. It’s huge. And it kind has to be. Like the previous version of the RockDock on the S7 MaxV Ultra, this has the three containers at the top. On the left, is the dirty water from cleaning the mopping pad, with clean water in the center and the dust collection on the right. If you do a lot of mopping with the S8, you will want to empty that dirty water bin quite often. As it can start to stink pretty quickly. The other two, should last for quite some time.

The big change with the dock this year is that the front panel is higher now. Sort of hiding the different compartments back there. Some won’t like this, as it’s tougher to see the water levels, but I think it looks clean. Especially in this white and black color combo that Roborock sent over.

Roborock S8 Pro Ultra Review: Cleaning

In my experience, Roborock is the best at cleaning. And that continues to hold true with the S8 Pro Ultra. It has some of the most powerful suction on the market right now. It’s rated at 6,000Pa. While most of the competitors are between 2000 and 3000Pa. The Roborock S7 MaxV was only 5100Pa. So this is a pretty strong one.

With that suction, it does a really good job of cleaning up your home. And now that you have the option to have it vacuum a room twice, and do a criss-cross pattern, it really does a good job of cleaning up. My home has never been so clean. On hardwood, tile and laminate  flooring, it does quite well. Though it doesn’t quite need that much suction on those floorings. So the vacuum will boost suction on carpet.

This year, Roborock has moved to a dual-rubber brush option on the bottom of the S8. This is similar to what iRobot has been doing recently, and it does make a big difference. This allows the brushes to get closer to the floor to pick up debris, dirt and dust. It also keeps hair from getting tangled up on the brush. In the first iteration of this rubber brush, on the S6, it didn’t do a great job. It would tear the brush pretty easily. Now, there’s almost no issues with the rubber brushes, which is definitely a good thing. You’ll still want to replace it after a few months though.

When it comes to mopping, it also does a pretty good job here, as it will scrub the floor pretty intensely if you wish. This is good for getting up dried on messes on the floors. It also lifts the mopping pad up off of the floor when it goes onto carpet. So you are able to clean the entire home without removing the mopping module to clean the carpeted areas. That is still something that most other robot vacuums can’t do (besides the iRobot Roomba Combo j7).

All in all, it does a really good job of cleaning up the floors in your home. And the app does give you a lot of options for cleaning, to get the best experience.

Roborock S8 Pro Ultra Review: Software

Roborock’s app has always been very good. It’s pretty easy to use and adjust settings when needed. And that’s still true here on the S8 Pro Ultra. A feature that debuted last year with the S7 MaxV was the 3D mapping, and that is still here on the S8 Pro Ultra. This will allow you to see different furniture in your home. It’s still more of a gimmick, but it does look really cool.

Within the app, and on the floor plan, you can set up specific cleaning settings for each room. For instance, I live in a townhome and on the main floor is the kitchen, dining room and living room. Only the Kitchen and foyer is laminate floor while the rest is carpet. So in the kitchen and foyer, I have it set to mop the floor “intense” and the vacuum suction is down to balanced. Since it doesn’t need the full 6000Pa on laminate flooring. But in the living room, the suction power is set to max and it doesn’t mop. But I do have it set to run through the living room twice. Since that’s where me and my dog spend a lot of time. So it does need the attention. Especially while she’s shedding her winter coat.

This is a feature that no other robot vacuum (in my experience) has, yet. And I absolutely love it. Since not every room needs to be cleaned the same.

Now let’s talk about multiple floor plans. Since I am someone that does live in a multi-level home, it’s actually pretty useful to me. The Roborock S8 Pro Ultra can store up to 3 different floor plans. And it’s pretty good at adjusting to each floor plan on the go. The only downside here is that, you do need to carry the vacuum up and down the stairs to do different levels.

The app is super easy to use on both Android and iOS, however.

Roborock S8 Pro Ultra Review:  Wrap Up

The Roborock S8 Pro Ultra has not yet gone on sale, but the MSRP is reported to be $1,600. So this is a pretty expensive robot vacuum, and if Roborock hadn’t sent it over, I’m not sure I would have bought it. That’s a lot of money to spend on a robot vacuum. But if you are one that maybe can’t get around to clean your home, or too busy to vacuum, then the money may not be an issue. The Roborock S8 Pro Ultra is a pretty automated robot vacuum. Especially with the ability to add a schedule in the app.

So if the price isn’t an issue, then the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra is a really good option. I’d even say that it is the best robot vacuum on the market right now.

You should buy the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra if:

• You don’t already have a robot vacuum, or a newer robot vacuum.
• You have a pet, the increased suction power is great for pet hair.
• You have a larger home, where the price makes it really worth it.

You should not buy the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra if:

• You think $1,600 is to much for a robot vacuum.
• You live in an apartment, it’s not really worth it for such a small space.
• You have a newer robot vacuum like the Roborock S7 MaxV (Ultra) or the S6.