There are robot vacuums, and then there are robot vacuums. The former are quick hits that hope to get some dust off your floors and drag a wet piece of cloth hoping some things stick to it. The latter cruise your floors and fight to clean every last square inch of your grimy floors. The QRevo MaxV is the latter. This robot mop and vac combo is set to arrive this April. I’ve tested it, and it beats out just about every other piece of cleaning robotic tech I’ve tried – including the all hailed Roborock S8 Pro Ultra.
Setup and Mapping
I’m not going to get into the setup of the machine as it is ridiculously intuitive. Anyone who knows how to connect devices will connect this instantly. Anyone who doesn’t – would need help regardless. The Roborock setup and instructions are flawless. The vac quickly jumps into mapping my house with ease, and it only takes several minutes for the upstairs to be ready to go. I did run into one problem though.
We have a den that is a step down and you can access this area from the kitchen, or you can go around and access it from our entry. The QRevo MaxV has a difficult time figuring out that it can’t get into the kitchen by heading towards the den. So, it likes to just keep trying and failing because it doesn’t want to go off the ledge – where it could just turn and go into the kitchen from my living room. The good part is I can just go into the app and create a virtual wall where the step is. Now, the robot doesn’t try to get to the kitchen that way.
I label each room and name them, I put no-go zones where I don’t want it to vacuum (near my cables for guitar and equipment). If I don’t do this, the Roborock will get suspended even on high object avoidance. This is one area where iRobot still has a corner on the market with the brilliance of their J9+ models. Though, the QRevo Max V does have a “pet” mode that will make it more sensitive to items on the floor, I find it easier just to avoid certain areas. I did not test pet mode to see if it avoided cables.
Why it’s better
Roborock continues to offer a variety of robot vacuums to fit just about every single budget. They offer regular vacuums for those that just need to clean up carpets, but their best products tend to be the hybrid robot vac and mop combo. Let me start off with why the QRevo MaxV put my S8 Pro Ultra to rest. It isn’t complex. Better mopping. The Roborock QRevo MaxV has mop heads that actually rotate and “scrub” my floors. The S8 Pro Ultra does a good enough job, but there is something about an actual spinning mop head that makes me believe my floors are actually being scrubbed. To be fair, the S8 Pro Ultra sends a vibration through its mop, but I sometimes question if that is good enough. When I see the difference on hardwood, While I prefer the QRevo on Vinyl Plank, I’ve read other reviewers stating that they prefer the S8 Pro Ultra on Tile. Both are winners, but for deep cleans, a little elbow grease may be necessary.
Not only does the QRevo MaxV have rotating mop heads, but the technology also allows the mop heads to reach out into hard-to-reach areas and corners. I watch closely as the robot maneuvers around chairs and obstacles and every time the mop head reaches out beyond the unit to ensure nothing is missed. It’s so fun to see the innovation taking place here, and I can tell a big difference in the cleanliness of my floor because of it.
The QRevo MaxV also offers voice activation. This is good in theory, but I find that in practice, there is much to be desired. First, the voice recognition software often chimes in while I’m simply sitting on the couch. It’s always listening, but perhaps it doesn’t listen well or at least as well as it should. Overall, I can ask the robot to clean specific rooms with just my voice. If Roborock could improve their Amazon Echo skill and the voice tech here, they’d be that much further ahead in this game.
Suction and Base
The suction power of the Q Revo MaxV is better than the S8 Pro Ultra. It should be noted that the Revo only has one rubber roller underneath while the S8 Pro Ultra has two. I can’t necessarily tell a difference between the performance of the two, but I do notice that the Revo tends to be a bit more aggressive and careful on my carpet with its 7000Pa. This is fully customizable via the app too, meaning I can set it to max suction but that isn’t all. Additionally, I can adjust the pattern it travels on my floor, I can have it vacuum multiple times, and I can even have it be less “aggressive” near objects, so it doesn’t crash into walls etc. My only question is why people would choose less suction power. The only reason I could think is if I had a giant house and wanted to save on battery life.
The base is a bit taller on this model, and if I’m honest I do prefer the height of the S8 Pro Ultra. That being said, I don’t hate it. It’s just tall. Keep this in mind for your space. Filling the water tanks and emptying the dirty water tanks is as easy as ever, and the Q Revo Max V is sure to let you know when the tanks need love. This alerts me on both my app and as a visual red-light indicator on the base itself. I love the visual indicator because I don’t always have my phone handy when I am at home.
Summary
Here’s the bottom line. The Q Revo MaxV is my new favorite robot vacuum from Roborock. I’ve always wanted to try rotating mop heads and this one nails it. It’s everything I’d hoped for in function, and I’m confident Roborock will continue to work on the little things that hold it back like voice command sensitivity. The improved suction is noticeable and the ability for the vacuum to switch from mopping to vacuuming on carpet is on fleek. I’m a Roborock fan, and I will continue to be. I’ve yet to test a product from them that I’ve been disappointed with. We will have a review on Roborock’s latest vacuum in the upcoming weeks as well, so be sure to stay tuned for our review of the upcoming Flexi Pro!
