Every so often a product or technology comes along that impresses me more than most that come my way. Roborock S7, $650, is in that rarified air and I am SMITTEN!
At first glance, Roborock S7 looks like many other robot vacuums, which is a shame. This, I am sure, is an unintended oversight.
Fear not! This in-depth Roborock S7 review will serve as the readers’ guide to why I am recommending S7 over all other robot vacuums of which I am aware. Why not get the cleanest floors? The best implementation of AI technology? Covering the greatest area with as close to edge-to-edge coverage as possible? Add superior mopping capability? Long life per charge? At a fair and reasonable price?
••WHY IS THIS PRODUCT IMPORTANT?••
In a sea of robot vacuums that look somewhat similar, Roborock S7 is different in stark and demonstrable ways. As someone grateful for the opportunity to have hands-on to evaluate so many different consumer products and technologies, the S7 presents levels of design, engineering and manufacturing excellence, sophistication and ease of use unlike others in the category.
When comparing prices and capabilities of other robot vacuums the S7 is of singular excellence and value, and the reason I have devoted so much effort to share in-depth findings with you.
Let me remind you that my opinions are my own. I am not paid or otherwise compensated for them. Though this and other products may be provided to me for the purpose of review, I would rather not waste my time with products I cannot recommend, even when provided to me for possible review.
My time with Roborock S7 has been informative and a very pleasant surprise, though after the demo I witnessed a few months ago and after discussions with company representatives, my sense was of something special to come. Whereas hands-on with other robot vacuums left me with a lukewarm reaction, the more time spent with S7, the more I have come to love this product and to become enamored of it.
If there is even the slightest interest in this product category, kindly indulge me and see if, by the end of this review, you feel as I do.
Buckle in. Let’s get started.
••WHAT’S IN THE BOX?••
- Roborock S7
- Charging Dock with power cord
- VibraRise washable mop cloth
- App Connect to Network Guide, Robotic Vacuum Cleaner User Manual, additional documentation
Water tank. When removed, the magic voice will say, “Water tank removed,” or, “Water tank installed.” Choice of female English, French or Chinese.
VibraMop
VibraRise mop removed. The silver metal piece is the agitator/scrubbing mechanism that can scrub at up to 3,000 times per minute.
Inserting the mop into channel. Note that is is open on the right. Watch to see that the channel is closed at the other end to keep the mop head in place.
Loaded into the channel, slid to the end on the left below.
Once fitted, fold the mop back onto the carrier, where it is held in place with hook & loop fasteners. When reassembled, turn it over and slide it into place under the back of the S7 below the water tank. It locks in place with an audible click. The voice confirms, “Mop mount installed.”
Water tank. When removed, the magic voice will say, “Water tank removed,” or, “Water tank installed.” Choice of female English, French or Chinese.
VibraMop
VibraRise mop removed. The silver metal piece is the agitator/scrubbing mechanism that can scrub at up to 3,000 times per minute.
Inserting the mop into channel. Note that is is open on the right. Watch to see that the channel is closed at the other end to keep the mop head in place.
Loaded into the channel, slid to the end on the left below.
Once fitted, fold the mop back onto the carrier, where it is held in place with hook & loop
••WHY ANY ROBOT VACUUM?••
The robot vacuum category was thrust upon consumers nearly 20 years by marketing the convenience aspect when the first iRobot Roomba was introduced. Yes, mostly convenient, but back then none could replace the need for a more comprehensive, more traditional vacuum. I am witnessing in the S7 a shift in that paradigm, but we are not quite there yet as I will explain.
Let’s assume those considering such a convenient contraption are in a home with floors mostly devoid of clutter that would make impossible the wall-to-wall vacuuming promised by a modern and intelligent robot vac. Let us also assume that the home’s flooring material is compatible, even optimized for a roaming robot vacuum. No shag carpets, for example, and mostly bare floors.
A few months ago, I was invited to an online showing and discussion of Roborock S7. As I discovered, this is not a smart robot vacuum, it’s a genius!
••FEATURES AND BENEFITS••
Along with a companion smart phone app, the S7 uses LiDAR while navigating and scanning the environment, 3D mapping its path, saved through the app. Users can choose to create areas to clean or let S7 work autonomously, or both. In the example below, note the three overlapping white outlines, These are cleaning areas created on top of the overall mapped first floor. S7 can clean an area and/or an entire floor. Later and below will be shown that these areas can be named and effectively used as part of a cleaning routine while remaining infinitely variably automatic or manually executed.
Want special attention in, say, the kitchen? Tell S7 to clean an area once, twice, three times (x3 above, in the circle above “Cycles”), and then vary the intensity, or not, on each cycle OR on a special mission to give more attention to any area. Use the app’s Remote Control and either Buttons or Joystick to steer the S7 and to focus attention on any area. (See below)
Her dustbin can hold 470ml of debris or about 16 ounces. Emptying the bin is easy. Lift the hood and depress a tab at the top edge of the bin. Find the finger depression opposite it on the bottom edge, then lift it out of its nest. Remove the dustbin to a trash bag or larger receptable, remove the inset filter, then empty the bin through its large inlet hole. Tap, tap, tap, tap the filter to remove gunk caught in the pleats before returning it from whence it came. This is a washable, replaceable filter, that, with regular care ought to last at least six months. PRO TIP – Buy a spare air filter as I did to rotate into service while one is drying after rinsing under the faucet. This spare along with an additional pair of VibraRise Mop Cloths will allow cleaning with little to no downtime. The Mop Cloths are going to get dirty, so why scrub with a dirty one when swapping out for a clean one is so easy?
S7 has a floating, rubberized, replaceable brush head (see the photo near the top of this article) with a design that reduces clogging from hair and debris. The floating brush carrier allows the brush to remain as close as possible to the surface below, be it bare floor or low pile carpet. Along with impressive and variable strong suction, she picks up what is in her path with surprising vigor. Removal for cleaning is as easy as all the other maintenance items. Take note, pet owners!
Unique sonic technology couples with the VibraRise washable wet mop to effectively scrub what was dried-on floor schmutz to loosen and absorb it within the mop material. Think of it as similar to a damp sponge rapidly, super-vibrating while wiping a damp or dry debris spot and capturing the dirt in its membrane. If only she was capable of wringing out the mop head and returning it to the mop carrier. I can dream, can’t I?
When she encounters a raised surface, detected by underside Carpet Sensors, she holds the Auto Rise VibraMop up tight to the bottom of the S7 and does not allow water to leak onto carpeting or other raised surfaces. Washing is for bare floors only. This, too, can be stopped altogether for surfaces the user does not want to be wet mopped.
Once the floor prowl, crawl, mop, vacuum and designated area cleanup is completed, Roborock seeks out her Dock and crawls up the mild rise of its ramp until she reaches the parking spot. There, she rests on metal charging pads, refueling, awaiting bin emptying and mop head cleaning or swapping for a clean and dry one, ready for the next assignment. If the Dock tends to slide and become displaced during S7 cleaning around it, exiting or returning to it, cleaning the bare floor beneath its spot and then using a couple of pieces of removable and reusable double-sided tape as I do should hold it securely in place. This is especially useful if the home is multi-level and the Dock needs to be moved to clean each level. (Find a link for the tape I use at the end of article.)
••PLEASE CLICK THE LINKS AND WATCH ALL THE VIDEOS TO SEE THE S7’S MULTIFACETED, INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGY WORK TOGETHER IN HARMONY••
A bit further down is an example of what a simple schedule looks like. Users can customize any which way imaginable. The clip following the schedule shows S7 launching from the Dock to begin a scheduled cleaning. Notice how she surveys her surroundings to familiarize and assure her position using AI, based on stored mapping that communicates between the phone app and the S7 herself.
Watch her launch from the Dock on her appointed rounds.
Watch her navigate the kitchen, learning the path.
Watch her figure out the ins and outs of kitchen chairs.
Roborock S7 kitchen table and chairs antics
This crawl home can be successful only if the Dock and S7 are on the same level. Remember, no stair climbing.
Watch her go home and come to rest on her charging Dock
The workaround for multi-level homes is to relocate the Dock before use to each level in the same approximate location, then send her out to work the Full mapped or unmapped space, a mapped Room and a mapped Zone. Do not be concerned that she will go over an edge. She will not! Cliff Sensors on the underside prevent this.
Below is a complete downstairs map that includes the living room at the bottom right, even though it is a step down. S7 knows this and also knows it is still part of the whole downstairs area. To clean the living room, the Dock must be positioned on that slightly lower level.
Notice also that she knows where there is a rug or carpet, such as one that I touched on the map to highlight for you below. She adjusts her suction to provide more vacuuming power on carpets. This can clearly be heard on the videos where she goes onto and off of rugs.
••REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS••
It is fair to say that NO robot vacuum has anywhere near the suction power of even an inexpensive upright nor many stick vacs costing less than the S7. Is this a concern? Is more suction power needed than what Roborock S7 provides? NO! Vacuuming bare floors does not require much oomph. Vacuuming low- to medium-pile carpets requires a bit more suction power. S7’s automatic variable suction power is more than adequate for vacuuming any surface for which it is designed. In other words, NO robo vac is designed nor effective on deep pile or shag carpets. If that is that is prevalent in your home, a robo vac is not for you. On the other hand, if your home has enough bare floor area and low to medium pile carpeting or rugs to justify the expense, well, you might be a good candidate for a robo vac, including this Roborock S7.
Robo vacs can’t vacuum baseboard or curtains, climb or vacuum stairs, get into tight spaces or effectively vacuum corners. And they cannot easily be used for most of those, “Oops!” moments when a debris spill occurs. What are you going to do, whistle for it? Summon it in the app use the joystick to direct her to the spill? While this can be fun to try, I don’t think see this as the most time-efficient means to deal with the matter at hand. I would default to the fastest, most expeditious, efficient means by which to deal with the mess, be it a traditional or stick vacuum, a dry mop, or a broom and dustpan. Still, there is a place for S7 in many, if not most homes.
S7 can be picked up, placed near the spilled debris and “told” to spot clean. This is where the in-app Joystick control, within the Remote Control setting, can be employed and that was shown above. She can also use the app’s “Pin n Go” to spot-clean a small area on a larger mapped area. Users may tap the spot on the map to create the Pin, then click Go, and S7 launches on her seek mission to that spot. Then, touch Spot Clean. When completed, she will seek and return to the Dock.
I’ll concede that small homes or apartments might get by very nicely with an S7 or a lesser model along with an upright vacuum with attachments or a stick vac with attachments to clean where a robo vac cannot.
In addition to the basic technology of robot vacs, they are best put to use without an audience. Just as you would not vacuum with a stick, upright or cannister vacuum during a party or while watching TV with others, the same can be said of the usage model applicable to the S7.
Consumers can feel more comfortable with S7 on its cleaning mission when people are around more so than with traditional vacuum products and even than with many other robot vacs. S7 is much quieter than all traditional vacs and also quieter than most other robot vacs, but it is not so quiet as to go unnoticed. She has a Quiet setting in the Customize panel within the main settings area. She has three levels of vacuuming suction power that essentially represent quietest, medium and louder settings.
••As an Amazon Associate Mr. Gadget may receive a very small commission from purchases made through Amazon links at no additional cost to you••
How about a scenario such as this? In preparation for beginning a regular regimen of Roborock S7 ($650 at Amazon) floor care, clean the floors well with steam as we do with a pressurized multi-purpose steam cleaner. On the first S7 mapping and cleaning mission, set your S7 at her strongest suction and most vigorous mopping settings. On subsequent sessions, it may be appropriate to reduce effort. Reducing suction and mopping power also reduces the sound of the S7 during operation.
Note the settings. Scrub Intensity set to Intense and above this, the Vacuum Power is at Max. All totally customizable.
Here is a different option, with balanced Vacuum power and Intense mopping. Also customize how many passes over the route, the area, the room; once, twice or three times. It’s all up to YOU! Just set and let the S7 do her job.
Either perform manual cleaning sessions or schedule the cleaning to occur while you are not at home or not in the way and in the space to be cleaned. Since the traditional vacuum is operator-dependent, of course, it follows the user’s guidance in one room, two or the entire apartment or home. Do it all at once, one room a day or whatever is the user’s wish. Note the cleaning schedule example below.
••WELL-DESIGNED APP IN DEPTH••
Here is where the Roborock app is particularly useful.
LiDAR area mapping is saved on the host phone. Setting S7 loose to visit mapped areas, set by room, rooms, named areas or however the plan is created is an efficient way to clean each area. Whenever desired, let S7 do its work in one or more assigned area, even at a set time and day.
As S7 can only launch from its Dock and navigate on one level, it is necessary to plan ahead. Here, for example, the living room is a step down from the rest of the first floor. S7 has the living room mapped as one room, one area.
For the remainder of the downstairs area, I chose a spot to place Roborock S7’s Dock as home base and from where she can roam freely to cover the rest of downstairs area, including the kitchen, dining room, breakfast area, family room and downstairs bathroom. It’s a hoot to watch as she goes into the bathroom, dutifully navigating the floor, trying to go deep on either side of the toilet and then under the wall-mounted vanity. Following is Part One, about three minutes. Watch the precision with which she navigates this area, both on the rug in the hallway to the bathroom, then knowingly, without hesitating through the door and under the vanity as if she has been there before.
She has been there before, but this time I tested her adaptability. Previously, there was a loose rug in front of the vanity, as well as a small trash can to the right of the vanity. There was also a basket of magazines, all of which were removed before she entered the bathroom this time. Watch as she explores to find those obstacles gone, allowing her to more extensively clean without obstructions using her adaptive AI to relearn the area.
Watch her re-learn the powder room with obstacles removed.
On the next video, Part Two, watch as she announces that she has finished cleaning the assigned area, the only area to which she was sent on this outing. Hear her announce that she will be heading for the barn. Notice that she deftly exits, accurately follows the contours of the walls, then notice as she makes the left turn and heads to the Dock, encountering a small table that was not there when mapping was done. What to do? Adaptive AI! What is this? Let me sniff it out. Can I go through it? Maybe. I vote, “yes.” Nope. She decides otherwise. Watch as she nudges her way around it, using the wall sensor on the front as well as the bumper to sense what lies ahead. Then, after negotiating around that obstacle, pay close attention as she makes a bee line for the Dock, expertly missing the corner of the wooden dog crate by millimeters because she knew and trusted its location and position. This is (to me) very cool stuff. Mounting the Dock’s onramp, then parked, she reports, “Charging.”
In preparation for her cleaning routine, I have learned to remove major obstacles. Cords that can get in the way are picked and draped over a chair to allow her to pass under them. Rear channel speaker wires that loosely follow along the base of the family room wall are monitored as the S7 cleans that area. Similarly, there are, for now, loose cables and cords beneath the wall-mounted family room TV. S7 can get caught in them if we do not monitor her path. For the most part, once the floors are prepped, S7 is free to roam and do her work.
In the following video, she navigates from the hall from the bathroom into the family room. Watch as she discovers the ability to go under a low slung cabinet to clean! A center support is discovered. She navigates around it, seeing in the dark, with LiDAR’s laser beam 3D mapping, learning, remembering the layout, saving it to the iPhone (or Android) app. Had the Vertical Bumper located on the LiDAR sensor bump encountered resistance, she would have stopped and either rotated to exit or backed out.
There are raised padded mats with beveled edges in the kitchen, seen to her as, I believe, small and negotiable ramps. One mat is in front of the kitchen sink and another is in front of the stove. There is a small rectangular rug in front of the refrigerator with edges that can and occasionally do trip her up. Not always, but frequently, her movement causes the edge she encounters to raise. If left alone as she crawls under the edge and realizes via LiDAR and her Vertical Bumper that, I think, recognizes difficulty moving forward. When that occurs, she will extricate herself and go around it, testing the location of the rug edges as she goes. Also included in the next clip is a look at how she navigates inside the bases of our kitchen table chairs. That’s her AI at work.
Roborock S7 negotiates, navigates kitchen mats, chairs
Next, see her navigate and clean under raised recliner footrests.
Cleaning the mat under a recliner’s footrest
These clips are additional looks as she works around the kitchen chairs’ S-shaped bases. She hugs the three closed sides and tries to find her way into the open part, bumping up against the back of the base detecting the boundaries. Nowhere to go, no exit in that direction, her AI tells her to back out, and, hugging the outside of the base, she nudges her way under the table, encountering its metal base, going under each of the legs that jut upward toward each end that supports a heavy glass top. It is poetry in motion to observe.
Figuring out the Ins and outs of 3-sided chair base
Choreagraphy amongst “S-shaped” chairs
You get the drill?
••REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS REVISITED••
Think this through from a practical perspective. S7 can find home on her Dock. Remember, though, that robot vacuums cannot climb stairs or open doors to seek and go to the Dock.
In YOUR home, would it be practical to set an S7 on the prowl when you are away? While everyone is asleep to do only certain spaces? While everyone is at home? We are not so much creatures of habit here so that a set autonomous schedule of any kind works well. These are things to think about as part of the decision-making process to determine if this or any robot vacuum would be of benefit.
If you have decided to give serious consideration to the purchase of any robot vacuum, how will you deal with the areas not capable or being cleaned by a robo vac? For me, this is where my trusty, big, purple Dyson Ball Animal is still a useful, handy necessity. I also alternate with some of the stick vacs here, including a Samsung Jet 90, Roidmi F8, and Bissell ICONpet, among others. The Samsung model most closely matches my benchmark for vacuuming excellence, the Dyson brand. There is a good reason that virtually all stick vacs and virtually all “cyclone-based bagless vacuums” owe their basic design to Dysons that look so similar. I maintain that NO vacuum I have seen or used can successfully compete with a Dyson in their categories. With this prelude in mind, the Samsung Jet 90 is as close as I have experienced to the ease of use and ease of cleaning and maintenance as I have with numerous Dyson vacuums.
Dyson products are a prime example of genius design and engineering, plus excellence in manufacturing and performance. All Dyson vacuums are virtually clog free, never lose suction, and, compared to ALL others, are relatively simply to maintain.
Perhaps the new Roborock H7 Cordless Stick Vacuum will perform as well as or better than the Samsung. On the Roborock Website, it appears to be a high performer with minimal maintenance requirements and a novel, optional sealed bag system. If I get to test it, you can be sure I will report on it.
Circling back to this Roborock S7, I experienced the same appreciation and enthusiasm as with Dyson vacuums for its thoughtful, genius design, manufacture, innovative use of artificial intelligence and its FUN FACTOR. These are the elements that turn me on and why I love what I am so privileged to do.
Now that the “what-ifs” have been pondered, it’s time to move on.
A side note – our cuddly Havanese does not mind nor bother the S7 as she goes about her appointed rounds. Will you be so lucky that your pet will not take umbrage at an upstart, oddly behaved gadget in its midst? If you have nothing, and I mean nothing better to do for a couple of days, entertain yourself and lose your mind watching “pet riding robot vacuum” videos on YouTube.
••VISITING THE TECHNOLOGY INSIDE••
You’ve read about LiDAR and how it works. These are the “eyes.”
Her ”hands” are represented by the front bumper.
The front, semi-circular cover is not solidly mounted. It is movable, depressing under pressure, engaging a switch, sensing this pressure when she bumps against an object in her path, be it a wall, a floor-mounted doorstop, or anything impeding forward motion. She never slams into an object, however. Her front-facing Wall Sensor sees that there may be an object ahead, and her programming directs her to approach slowly, deliberately, carefully. This, in concert with her LiDAR eyes and wheels, instruct her to seek a way around any impediment to forward progress. You can see her utilizing these elements in the videos. Cliff Sensors underneath also prevent her from falling down and into the living room.
Won’t fall into living room, either.
Note how the spinning Side Brush “feelers” rate of spin is modulated at times. There are no electrical sensors associated with them. The feelers spin at variable speeds depending upon her environment, directing dirt into the path of the brush and suction. As she crawls along a baseboard, note from the videos that the feelers spin rate is relatively constant. Note that the feelers’ spin rate slows while navigating over as a rug, mat or anything other than bare floor. Her AI remembers and is added to the map.
Over rugs and back onto bare floor, watch as the Side Brush “feelers” spin rate changes
As she rides up and onto a carpet or mat, Carpet Sensors detect the surface difference. Mats do not have pile. Carpets and rugs do. AI tells her to ramp up the suction power on a rug because more vacuum is required to remove dirt from the depth of the fibers. Once she clears the rise and is back on a solid surface, less suction power is required, so she dials it back, which is apparent from the notable sound difference she makes.
Mopping requires additional smarts. The rear-mounted VibraRise mop knows to lift out of the way and to NOT mop when on surfaces other than the bare floor. You would not be happy were she to attempt to mop a carpet, would you?
After mapping, and then while set out on a cleaning mission, she carefully vacuums in a pattern that covers the mapped area. When she is NOT on a raised surface, she lowers her mop. Using a powerful, variable-intensity vibrational mechanism, her scrubbing operation starts at 1,650 times per minute and can increase to 3,000 times per minute. Vibrational motion decreases and she moves on, her auto-lifting VibraRise mop moves up and out of the way when next she comes upon a carpet or other raised surface. Her 300 ml/10 oz water tank dispenses enough water to wet, not soak the mop. You would not be happy if she dripped mop water onto rugs!
While she is smart, even genius, she cannot know when it is time to swap out a too-dirty mop for a fresh, clean and dry one. Depressing the red tabs as seen in the photos above releases the VibraMop mount without having to lift her. She speaks a message, “Mop mount removed,” and then, “Mop mount installed.”
Ditto the water tank. Press the red release button and pull it out, and she lets you know the tank is removed as well as when it is installed. Use ONLY water in the chamber. Water is the best cleaner and prevents clogging. Warm, not hot water will also work. I use purified, filtered water to prevent mineral buildup.
Once removed from captivity, turn the VibraMop over to mop side up. A hook-and-loop surface mates the mop to its base. Note from the images how cleverly the mop mounting “rod” slides into the slot and stops at the end of the slot to hold it securely, and then lower it onto the attachment surface to lock it in place.
••A FEW LOOSE ENDS••
It should come as no surprise that there is more to the Roborock S7 than covered here. If she encounters trouble, there are numerous codes to explain the issue.
Roborock S7 Troubleshooting examples
The onboard Lithium-ion battery has a maximum per-charge use of approximately 180 minutes, more or less, when settings are at higher than the lowest performance levels. In my experience, she has not run out of juice while on the job. The battery level must be above 20% for her to accept a new cleaning task. Otherwise, she will need to Dock and recharge until full OR at least 50% to be sent out. If she senses it is time to top up her battery, she will pause her cleaning routine and autonomously return to the Dock until recharged, and then toddle off to resume cleaning at the spot where she left off.
The in-app Maintenance screen lets users know the status of consumables as well as the timeline for when certain cleaning operations are due, such as the Side Brush and underside Sensors.
Roborock S7 Maintenance screen in app
When a firmware update is available, the app alerts users with a red dot next to Firmware Update on the Settings screen. When selected, the update is done without further intervention. Users hear her alert that firmware is being updated and when the update has completed. The company has been exemplary in tweaking the firmware to make the S7 an even better operating product as she matures.
Roborock S7 updating Firmware
A benefit of firmware updates is that the company can send new software with new instructions to the S7, just as NASA sends new programming info to spacecraft and satellites to keep them running and to fix bugs that are discovered. The S7’s space-age technology is no different.
Almost every time I send the S7 out to clean, I learn something new OR I think of a question. The company’s US-based support line has been very helpful, taking my calls and responding to my inquiries. Tech support gets an, “A” from me.
If the time comes when the internal battery is tired and requires replacement, they are available. I recommend the genuine Roborock and not a knockoff. They are not much more expensive and should not require replacement but every three to five years, or more, depending upon usage. Like your mobile phone’s battery, they do not last forever. Aliexpress has them for about $54. In time, they might be available through Amazon. Here is how easy it is for anyone to replace the battery.
••WHAT’S NEXT?••
Look for new Roborock models and regular firmware updates. I expect for the S7 to be a good buy for some time to come, despite innovations in follow-on models. I do not foresee a reason for delaying the purchase of an S7 in hopes that the next one will be more of a must have than the S7.
The long awaited Auto-Empty Dock is available for order in black or white NOW! This $300 accessory is different from other robot vacuum makers’ auto empty offerings. Notice the twin silo-like towers. The left side houses a high efficiency HEPA filter, while the right tower contains the dirt in an easy to dispose of, less-mess bag OR without the bag, going bagless. I do not see availability of disposable bags yet, but I am certain they will be available soon.
The Auto-Empty Dock empties Roborock S7 from the bottom, through the brush area. This is from under the air filter you saw in the top of the dirt bin. Watch it in action!
Why do we need it? How to use it? My initial thought was that it is unnecessary, until I gave it more thought. Why not? Sure, the filter will still require reqular cleaning, because I saw this was needed after a full downstairs run. However, Auto-Empty Dock pulls bin gunk from the bottom, efficiently and without the mess. I can clean the filter less often. With a multi-level home, I can permanently place the original Dock upstairs, let S7 do her thing, then carry her downstairs, Dock her at the Auto-Empty Dock and engage the auto emptying procedure. I am excited about this new accessory and look forward to getting one.
No other auto emptying mechanism has the performance and HEPA filtration as does S7. Similar to what we have come to see from Apple, they often do not have the first in a category in recent years. They wait and when their product comes out, it blows away the competition, often for more money. In similar fashion, Roborock hangs back and bests their competition, offering more and better at very competitive prices.
Comparing the cost with other high-performance robot vacs that have emptying docks, I see there are some that are more expensive and several that are less expensive. Unfortunately, the robot vacuum to which the other combos are mated do not have the aggregate of features, performance and precision in Roborock S7.
With a combined cost of about $950 for both an S7 and an Auto-Empty Dock, S7 is still the champ, with the best performance and cost.
When considering cost, I like to look at the overall value equation, especially on products expected to have a long service life, be it a car, a TV, a printer or innumerable houseware items that can last a lifetime. Think amortization. Applying this to a robot vacuum, the difference of $300 to even $500 or more for a device that will do the job with few compromises, if any, and that will operate with a high degree of success without breakdown represents value. With the cost differential spread over three to five years, up to eight years or more, that cost differential on an annual basis becomes less of a factor and easier to absorb. In my life, I do not mind spending more when the product makes me happy every time I use it. Every time I use such a product, I feel good for having made the decision to buy. Do you feel the same? What are your favorite purchases that cost more, yet make you happy you made the purchase? Please let me know!
••CONCLUSION••
After excruciatingly careful consideration and months of hands-on testing, looking at all the evidence, including comparing specifications of competitive products, I firmly recommend Roborock S7 as the most comprehensive and best all-around performing robot vacuum AND the best value.
••SUPPLIES AND CONSUMABLES••
(As needed! I bought a pair of mop cloths and washable filters for non-stop cleaning.)
A pair of washable filters from Amazon.
A pair of VibraRise washable mop cloths from Amazon.
Roborock rubber main brush replacement from Amazon.
Reusable, removable double-sided tape to keep the Dock in place on bare floors from Amazon.
••WARRANTY••
One year parts & labor
