It's not perfect. Our tester found it struggled to follow more specific commands. However, it works fine if you just set it to clean your whole space in the most thorough way possible, so if that's your main plan for it, then it's still a solid recommendation.

An automatic vacuum cleaner is a device that cleans floors without human help. It uses sensors to navigate rooms.

Not all handheld vacuums can tackle pet hair well, but the Shark Ion W1 WV201 nails that task, earning an excellent rating. It’s also a champ at cleaning bare floors and getting into hard-to-reach places, and it’s not too shabby at cleaning carpets, either. The vacuum and all of its attachments can be stored on the charging base, making it a real space-saver.

This pint-sized but powerful robovac is perfect for small homes – and it just dropped to less than half price

Not all robovacs can handle the extra challenge posed by lots of pet hair, but one that really impressed on this front was the Dreame L40 Ultra. This bot was put through its paces in a home filled with furry, four-legged friends, and really rose to the occasion.

This model also avoids obstacles really well, including chocolate pudding we placed in its path to mimic a dog accident. Even when other robot vacuums were getting stuck in the chocolate mess, the ILife V3s Pro Robot Vacuum sailed past it. We also like its low profile (just 3 inches), which allows it to go under beds or couches more easily than taller models, and we’ve even seen it pick up dog hair that had collected under the bed.

We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

The one other—minor—critique we have is that there was some occasional hair wrap on the vacuum's roller, and we took to checking it weekly. Overall, however, this is a great option for households that want both their robot to vacuum and mop, and who want to take advantage of the bells and whistles available through the app, too. Mapping: Yes

The companion app works extremely well – our tester was especially impressed that it automatically partitioned the rooms into their own spaces. In terms of performance, we had almost no issues with this robot vacuum at all – if it's in your budget, it's worth the investment.

My biggest frustration with apps is maps that are fiddly to update and / or crash and must be rebuilt constantly. Most vacuums now have voice control (see FAQs), but some offer more in-depth control, such as telling Alexa to have the robot clean twice under the dining room table.

“For some people, it might make sense to have multiple vacuums for different situations,” says Frank Top 3 Automatic Vacuum Cleaners Rizzi, who tests vacuums for CR. “A robotic vacuum can help with maintaining your pristine floors, and a lighter stick can help with quick messes alongside your bigger upright or canister.”

The impressive suction pulled huge volumes of hair from carpet, and handled hard floors extremely well too. We had pelo issues with the hair clogging the self-empty mechanism, and a larger-than-usual dock dustbin also means you won't need to replace the dust bags too frequently.

CLEAN SMARTER - Sleek, premium design complements your home dé especialmentecor; The Roomba 692 is a great way to begin cleaning your home smarter. Just schedule it to clean up daily dirt, dust, and debris with the iRobot HOME app or your voice assistant..Runtime : 90 minutes

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.