Roborock 6S MaxV Review
With an advanced navigation system and a good combination of cleaning and mopping, the Roborock 6S MaxV is an excellent robot vacuum. It can clean and mop while avoiding most obstacles, and it has an array of smart features that are well-implemented and easy to use.
Pros
- Excellent navigation and obstacle recognition
- App is easy to use and functional
- Can be used as a remote control camera
- Smart mapping is easy to customize
Cons
- Cleaning power could be better
- Dustbin is a bit messy to empty
Roborock 6S MaxV Features & Specs
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Navigation type: | vSLAM and LDS |
| Suction power: | 2500 Pa |
| Mopping feature: | yes |
| Run time: | 180 min |
| Charging time: | 6 h |
| Side brushes: | 1 |
| HEPA filter: | yes |
| Dustbin size: | 460ml |
| Noise level: | 67dB |
| Height of the device: | 96.5 mm |
| Compatibility with voice assistants: | Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri |
| Wifi connection: | 2.4 GHz Wifi |
Navigation
Overall, the 6S MaxV was one of the best navigators in our tests. It uses a combination of a Laser Distance Sensor (LDS) and a dual camera system incorporating simultaneous location and mapping (SLAM) technology to not only map your home but also recognize obstacles in real time both avoiding and labeling them as it goes.
In the coverage test, the Roborock 6S MaxV was one of the fastest to navigate and clean our test room. It carefully mapped around the perimeter and then cleaned inside each room moving around tables and chairs with relative ease. The movements were mostly logical and deliberate. It also recognized carpets and rugs, increasing suction when it went over our test rug. It did get confused a few times, going over areas 2 or 3 times.
When it comes to obstacle recognition, the combination of cameras and AI in the 6S MaxV do an excellent job. Not only was it able to avoid most obstacles like socks, cables, and even our simulated poop, but it actually recognizes them and shows them on the map with icons and labels. This isn’t to say it is perfect because it would occasionally get caught on a cable or sock.
It maps different types of furniture as well, and remembers where it is when it cleans, so it gets more efficient each time it cleans a room. However, it did not pass our trap test when it had to figure out how to get back to its dock past obstacles.
Despite these small setbacks, the overall navigation score is a 4.5/5 which is one of the highest in our test.
Cleaning performance
The 6S MaxV has a claimed suction power of 2500 Pa which made it one of the more powerful vacuums in our test on paper, but the overall cleaning performance was only the middle of the pack. It is equipped with a single spinning brush to help sweep debris and uses a brush with nylon bristles and rubber fins.
In our hard surface test, the Roborock performed pretty well landing in the middle of the pack. It lacked the ability to clean around the edges, and always left some debris in the gaps of the floor.
On carpets, we could hear that there was an increase in power, but this did not help it in our pet hair test. It performed average on picking up kitty litter from the carpet, but instead of vacuuming up hair, it seemed to redistribute it instead.
In the mopping test, we found the mop feature to be similar to all the other mops in our test—that is to say it is more of a wet duster than actual mop. The pad itself is washable and reusable, which is nice, but all it does is wipe the floor as it cleans. This may remove dust, but it was not able to clean tough stains like coffee and sticky syrup.
The combined cleaning performance score is a 3.5/5 which is one of the lowest performances in our tests.
Smart features
One area where the Roborock 6S MaxV shines is in its implementation of smart features.
The smart mapping mode was the best in test with an easy-to-read recreation of the living space and automatic room recognition. It can identify and label pieces of furniture as it maps your home. Setting no go zones and customizing the map is straightforward and works very well.
Setting up the app was quite simple, and it allows you to schedule, alter cleaning modes, as well as maintenance. It is intuitive to use and has lots of useful features. To explore all the menus, you need to find the 3 little dots in the corner of the screen.
One added bonus of this vacuum is that the front-facing camera can be accessed remotely via the app. So if you are not home, but you want to check on your kids or pets, you can run the vacuum through the house. It does have privacy enabled by default, so you have to explicitly give the vacuum and app permission to use the camera both for viewing remotely and recognizing objects.
With smart mapping and good app implementation, we scored the Roborock 6S a 5/5 for smart features.
Ease of use
When it comes to Ease of use, The 6S MaxV also did well.
The 460ml dustbin can be removed and emptied easily, but you do have to open and close it, and the filter needs to be cleaned regularly as well. Honestly, the opening and closing of the dustbin is not intuitive and takes a few tries to get it right.
Maintenance is straightforward and since the app keeps track of it for you, you don’t even have to think about it. As with most other vacuums, the main parts are replaceable and easy to find.
Its average loudness was 65dB, which is equivalent to a normal conversation. On the maximum setting and when cleaning carpet, it can reach volumes of up to 77dB, so it wasn’t the quietest in our tests.
It was able to make it over a 1cm threshold, but it could not make it over the 2cm or 3cm obstacles. So if you have a house with higher thresholds, you will need to manually place the vacuum in different rooms.
Overall, we scored it a 4/5 for ease of use.
Conclusion
Overall, the Roborock 6S MaxV is a good robot vacuum that offers a great amount of utility. With a robust navigation system that has top-of-the-line obstacle avoidance and an excellent smart mapping tool, you can let the 6S MaxV clean your home without worrying. It is not the best vacuum on our list, but we think it the smartest one.