Best Robot Vacuum Cleaner
Best Robot Vacuum Cleaner
Robot vacuum cleaners are the ultimate machines for keeping homes clean with minimal effort. But not all of them are the same: Some models have dry and wet cleaning, and some even empty their own dustbins. There’s always a robot vacuum for different budgets, but if you’re looking for the best one that we at HardwareZone will not hesitate to recommend, then stay a while and read on.
Personal needs and wants of a robot vacuum cleaner vary, but in our “Best Robot Vacuum Cleaner for 2024” category, we are looking out for not only features, performance and ease of use but also design and innovation. The last two criteria are key because, in a new smart home era where modern robot vacuum cleaners can be hard for us to differentiate between one another in looks and functions, our best robot vacuum pick must truly stand out from its peers. For this year’s awards, we are only considering models released between April 2023 and April 2024, and have a minimum suction power of 5000Pa or greater to qualify.
Note: While the list of brands competing in the robot vacuum space is rather exhaustive, many of them didn't make the cut after considering our above qualification criteria. Meanwhile, a few brands, like Xiaomi and Roborock were unable to send in their flagship models, while others were unable to send us a test unit.
And the winner is…
The Dyson 360 Vis Nav might seem to be the unlikely winner in a category full of robot vacuum models that could do more, such as wet mopping and auto cleaning. But there are quite a few things that we felt make this machine deserving of the top spot at the podium.
The first is simple: It’s really a darn good robot vacuum cleaner that does best at what it was built to do. This is thanks to its brush bar, which spans the full width of the machine and is positioned right at the front. Conventional robot vacuums (i.e., every other model here) use a side sweeper, and this tends to flick debris away as they clean. It’s just not a very good or efficient way of cleaning, not to mention how bad that is for people with a sensitive nose.
The 360 Vis Nav also has many more well-thought-out and innovative features, such as the extending side duct that can capture dust and debris right up to the wall and the built-in HEPA filtration system. It’s obvious Dyson has spent considerable R&D resources on the 360 Vis Nav’s development, unlike most brands that use ready-made designs from ODM (original design manufacturers) partners.
Perhaps the elephant in the room is the 360 Vis Nav’s pricing. At S$1,199, it’s a very premium price point for a robot vacuum that only does just that – it does not mop nor self-clean with a docking station like other similarly-priced models out there. But there’s no denying that this Dyson machine not only looks good but is also the best at what it does – getting dust and dirt out of the way – thanks to its innovative design features.
| Model | Design | Features | Performance | Value | Overall | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dyson 360 Vis Nav | 9.0 | 8.5 | 9.0 | 8.0 | 8.5 | S$1,199 |
| Ecovacs Deebot X2 Omni | 8.0 | 8.5 | 7.0 | 7.5 | 7.5 | S$1,799 |
| Xiaomi Robot Vacuum X20 | 7.5 | 7.0 | 6.5 | 8.0 | 7.0 | S$469 |
| Roborock Q Revo | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7.0 | 7.5 | 7.0 | S$1,099 |
| Dreame X30 Ultra | 8.0 | 9.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | S$1,899 |
For more details on how we rated our nominees and to learn about our experience with each device, check out the full reviews and articles listed in the References section below.
Here are the other nominees and how they fared in a snapshot.
Dreame X30 Ultra - Best Robot Vacuum Cleaner with mopping features
The X30 Ultra is Dreame’s top of the line robot vacuum and while it bears many of the type of features you’d expect from a flagship model that does wet and dry cleaning – such as auto cleaning and drying of the mopping pads and a dust bag in its docking station that collects dirt from the vacuum – there are a couple of things that set it apart.
First, the vacuum roller brush comes with cutting heads that Dreame calls the anti-tangle tricut brush and helps to remove tangled hair so it can be deposited into the dust bag. It does not work quite as well as the Dyson 360 Vis Nav roller brush, but it’s a far, far better solution than the other robot vacuums. But we are most impressed by how the docking station not only scrubs but also washes the mopping pads with water heated to 60-degree Celsius. All these features add on to the X30 Ultra’s jaw-dropping price tag of S$1,899 though.
Like the Ecovacs Deebot X2 Omni, the Dreame X30 Ultra also allows you to view a live feed from its camera using the Dreamehome app – turning it into a navigable home security camera. Whether this function is important to you is a matter of personal choice. We do think of it as more of a novelty feature though.
Xiaomi Robot Vacuum X20 - Best Budget Robot Vacuum Cleaner
The Robot Vacuum X20 is an interesting model from Xiaomi because it’s not the company’s flagship model (we did ask Xiaomi to send in their best model, though). That title belongs to the Robot Vacuum X20+, and the key differences between it and the X20 is that the flagship features a robot vacuum with a more power suction fan blower (6000Pa versus 5000Pa) as well as a dust bag in its docking station that the machine can self-empty dirt into.
Otherwise, the X20 is atypical of many contemporary robot vacuum cleaners with a docking station: It can do dry and wet cleaning and dries its wet mops after each session. Oddly, it dries by rotating the mop heads on the attached cleaning tray and not by hot air. We found that the mops take longer to dry this way, and although there’s no lingering smell after using the X20 daily for a week, we feel that hot air just does a better job from a hygiene point of view. Vacuum wise, the X20 is arguably the weakest here too. Its rollers are extremely prone to hair entanglements, making maintenance a frustrating (and icky) affair.
Overall, the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum X20 is a no-frills robot cleaner and its S$469 price tag reflects it as so. It may not have much in the way of features or cleaning performance compared to the other nominees here, but that price tag surely makes the X20 attractive for buyers with a tighter budget.
Note: The Xiaomi Robot Vacuum X20 is available at Lazada and Shopee.
Ecovacs Deebot X2 Omni
The Deebot X2 Omni is Ecovacs’ flagship robotic dry and wet floor cleaner. It comes with a full docking station that not only empty the vacuum cleaner’s dustbin automatically, but also clean and dry the machine’s mopping pads. Its vacuum roller bar brush is also only second to the Dyson 360 Vis Nav in width, thanks to its square chassis design. This design also enables the robot to reach corners better and clean along walls.
In our tests, the Deebot X2 Omni does its job well in cleaning dirt and small debris left on the floor. However, we found that its AI Navigation is erratic at best, as it makes the X2 Omni navigate the floor inconsistently and seemingly without a clear direction. While it ultimately seems to cover the whole mapped area at the end, it’s hard to understand what its algorithm is doing. Even in open areas without obstacles, it makes odd turns and seemingly random pathing. However, we do like that the docking station has hot air drying for when the vacuum returns, which helps reduce mould growth and odour from the mopping pads.
As a flagship robot with a docking station, the X2 Omni does come with a steep price tag of S$1,799, making it one of the most expensive robot vacuum cleaner with a docking station here.
Note: The Ecovacs Deebot X2 Omni is available at Lazada and Shopee.
Roborock Q Revo
The Roborock Q Revo is an upper mid-range robot vacuum that occupies a somewhat unconventional niche in Roborock's lineup. While it's far from budget-friendly at S$1,099, it does offer many of the same features that you can only find in its pricier brethens – the Roborock Q Revo MaxV and the S8 Pro Ultra.
Essentially, the Roborock Q Revo is hybrid robot cleaner that is adept at both vacuuming and mopping. Like all of the models here (sans the Dyson 360 Vis Nav), it has an auto-empty station that takes care of disposing of the collected dirt and manages the cleaning, drying, and refilling of the mopping components.
The Q Revo's design allows the mopping pads to lift 7mm off the ground – where 5mm seems to be the most common in most other robot vacuums. This allows it to move from, say, a hard floor to carpeted areas as well as higher-than-usual obstacles such as sliding door rails on the floor.
However, its suction power doesn't quite match the prowess of other vacuums – perhaps only better than the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum X20. Yet, it compensates with a more methodical approach to navigating around household objects, sparing the chaotic “robot banging” movements I've seen in some other models. Although the side brush struggles somewhat with corners, it's sufficient for light cleaning.