Extendable arm, voice assistant, hot air: what the new robotic vacuum cleaners can do

Almost all the major manufacturers presented new robots at the CES in Las Vegas. Some brands are packing as many features as possible into their mid-range models, while others are equipping their top models with new capabilities. We have an overview and show you the most important new models straight from CES.

Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra: extendable arm and voice assistant

At around 1800 francs/euros, Roborock's new flagship is not exactly a bargain - in fact, it's one of the most expensive robot hoovers on the market. But you also get everything that is technically possible. And some innovations.

The S8 MaxV Ultra has an extendable arm to which one of the side brushes is attached. The robot extends it to reach all corners. The Roborock top model now also has its own integrated voice assistant, so you can even control it without the internet. Thanks to the Standard Matter, the S8 MaxV Ultra can also be connected to other smart home gadgets and controlled centrally.

The Roborock now has a camera built in again. According to the manufacturer, many users have missed the option of using the robot as a security camera and quickly looking into all rooms when they are away. You can now use the camera for video calls and have the robot search for pets.

The actual purpose of the camera is, of course, to recognise objects so that the robot can also avoid small obstacles. The S8 MaxV Ultra vacuums more powerfully than its predecessors and cleans the large mop in the base station with water heated to 60 degrees.

Roborock Q Revo: Less expensive, slightly fewer features

If you don't want to spend quite so much money, you might find what you're looking for in the Q Revo MaxV and Q Revo Pro models. They get many functions from the top model S8 MaxV Ultra - with differences in object recognition or voice control, for example. The Revo MaxV has more features than the Revo Pro. They are priced between 1000 and 1200 francs or euros, with a market launch in April, just like the top model.

The biggest difference lies in the mop technology. While the Ultra uses a large mop that cleans the floor by vibrating, the Revo models have two round mops that rotate. To get the corners completely clean, the cheaper robots therefore do not extend a brush, but one of the round mops.

Ecovacs Deebot X2 Combo: Robot and cordless vacuum cleaner with a common base

If you have a robot hoover, you will know that the automatic cleaning assistant alone cannot keep the entire home clean. You have to clean by hand on a regular basis. For example, in places where the robot can't reach. That's why most users have a normal hoover in addition to the robot hoover.

Ecovacs combines these two products into one. The Deebot X2 Combo consists of a robot hoover, base station and battery-powered vacuum cleaner. The latter can be charged directly at the base station. The base also vacuums up dust and dirt - not only for the robot, but also for the battery-powered vacuum cleaner.

The robot hoover doesn't offer much else new, the Deebot X2 is already commercially available. It navigates with two lidar scanners and can therefore avoid obstacles. The base station supplies the vacuum cleaner with fresh water and dries the mops with hot air. For the first time, Ecovacs has Matter on board. This networking standard allows you to control the robot together with other smart home gadgets.

Robot vacuum cleaners

EUR781,74

Ecovacs Deebot X2 Omni

Vacuum mopping robot

20

Robot vacuum cleaners

EUR781,74

Ecovacs Deebot X2 Omni

Vacuum mopping robot

20

Dreame L10s Pro Ultra Heat: Hot cleaning for under 1000 francs/euro

The L10s line from Dreame is being upgraded more and more - it is now actually a top model, but continues to be sold for under 1000 francs or euros. However, the exact price for Europe and availability have not yet been finalised.

L10s Pro Ultra Heat is what Dreame calls the latest upgrade. It still has the extendable mops to clean edges and borders. But the star of the new version is the base station. This is where the robot's cleaning pads are cleaned with hot water and then dried with hot air.

The station has a 4-litre dirty water tank and a 4.5-litre fresh water tank. There is also a 3.2-litre dust bag in which dirt and grime are collected. According to the manufacturer, the bag only needs to be replaced after around 75 days. The robot itself also remains autonomous for a long time because not only is the dust container emptied automatically, but the water is also topped up and the right amount of cleaning agent is added. All fully automatically.

The L10s Pro Ultra Heat recognises stubborn dirt and cleans the same area several times if necessary. It also recognises obstacles and avoids them.

Narwal Freo X Series: The weaknesses fixed

The Narwal Freo impressed during testing. However, the robot hoover also has a few weaknesses, such as the lack of a suction station.

With the Freo X Ultra, a model is now coming onto the market that collects dirt and dust in a bag directly in the robot. The robot hoover is autonomous for around seven weeks, after which the bag needs to be changed. This is possible because the dirt is compressed directly in the robot. Narwal wants to avoid having to vacuum the dust container in the base station every time, which is usually very noisy.

As a special feature, the manufacturer wants to avoid you having to laboriously clean the robot's brush from long human and animal hair. It is already designed to minimise entanglement. Hair is also continuously vacuumed away.

Freo X uses three lasers for navigation and can also avoid obstacles. However, the robot does not move around objects over a large area, but cleans up to eight millimetres away and only then turns away. The suction power is said to be on a par with other top models, and the mops are cleaned and dried in the base station. The robot can also "swing" the mops to edges and borders so that they are cleaned well.

Narwhal offers the Freo X in two versions. The Ultra version includes the base station with self-cleaning. The Plus version comes with a compact docking station that only charges the vacuum cleaner. The Ultra costs around 1300 francs or euros, the Plus just 430 euros or francs. The market launch is planned for March.

We have already presented two other new vacuum cleaners from the CES. You can read the news articles here.