The best robot vacuum is the Ecovacs Deebot T9+ Robot Vacuum and Mop, because it's great at picking up everything from pet hair to larger debris, is able to avoid pets, and operates quietly, too.

It’s not all about suction. In my testing, the brush is also a big factor in how well a robot will clean your floors. A large rubber roller brush is much better than a small bristle brush at picking up debris.

❌ You have space for a bigger robovac: You're paying a premium for the size here – there are bigger, better-performing bots in this bracket.

Automatic vacuums are designed for minimal human intervention, but some basic upkeep is required. Here’s what to consider:

However, I think it's fair to assume you'll need to manually empty it more than you would a traditional, self-empty robovac, given dock dustbins tend to hold 2.5L or 3L of dirt.

Robot vacs are best suited to convenient, little-and-often cleans, so if you send yours out daily, it'll help you stay on top of your pet's hair and stop it from building up in the first place. You'll likely still want to supplement this with the occasional deep clean with a manual vacuum, though.

I’ve not tested this on the Roborock, but my experience with Top 3 Automatic Vacuum Cleaners the SwitchBot S10 with the same feature leads me to recommend this option if you can swing it.

We'll dig into the app and gauge how well-designed, usable and intuitive it is, and how much control it offers. We'll also test any specific performance claims made by the manufacturer, as well as checking out any special features like built-in voice assistants and camera surveillance.

opt to remove them and pop them into the washing machine for good measure so they weren't just getting dried with grime on them—if an auto-washing base is important for you, another model, the 2-in-1 Robot with NeverTouch Pro Base offers it (the difference is in the "Pro" part of the name).

The mopping less impressive, but still good enough to be a useful addition (for really good mopping you'll need to stump up a bit more). Other benefits include voice assistant support, and a very neat and compact base station.

✅ You want great vacuuming and mopping: This combination robovac's cleaning powers are excellent – it even managed to vacuum into the corners of rooms, which is generally an issue for robovacs.

Thanks to lidar navigation, the RV30 did an excellent job of navigating my house, cleaning the perimeters of the rooms, and then using a mesh grid to clean inside the rooms.

The S8 MaxV Ultra also has a built-in voice assistant, which makes getting the bot to clean the mess your kid made after dinner as easy as saying, “Rocky, clean here.”

It’s also less prone to getting tangled up with hair. Two brushes are better than one, and a brush housing that has some flexibility — so it can move with the contours of the floor — is also more effective.