I tried the 'must-have' gadget shoppers are calling the 'king of robot vacuums' - so is it worth the hype?
- I tried and tested the Roborock Qrevo L Pro robot vacuum to see if it's worth it
- Its a big investment, but does it live up to its value against other models?
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I'll be honest, I already have a robot vacuum at home - it's the no frills Roborock Q7B and I named him Kevin.
This little vacuum, which doesn't even have a fancy water tank, does a pretty impressive job considering it was less than $200 on sale and it quickly earned my trust in the Roborock brand.
Unfortunately much like the high tech tablet in Toy Story 5, the chance to try the new, shiny Qrevo L Pro proved too tempting so Kevin is now facing retirement, and I'll explain why.
For me, the point of a robot vacuum is that you no longer have to clean, full stop - I don't want the fuss of emptying dust, moving shoes out of the way or breaking out the mop to finish the job.
Invariably with my current vacuum, I rave to people about how useful it is while sitting on the sofa under a growing pile of every item in my house that I've had to move off the floor before it can start cleaning.
With this model, it does so many tasks itself, that you don't need to do anything like clearing the dust bag, for 65 days - I haven't worked out exactly how many hours that gives me back to binge watch Off Campus again, but I guarantee it's a lot.
The other priority for me is a vacuum that can do it all when I'm not even there, and let's just say, the Roborock Qrevo L Pro really hits the mark here.
The Roborock Qrevo L Pro neatly vacuums under sofas and other small spaces thanks to a long swpeeing brush and clever LiDAR detection that maps out your home
This model retails at $1,699, but it's currently on sale for 62 per cent off on Amazon, down to $649 - but that's still a big investment, so here's my honest verdict on whether the price tag is worth it.
Initial impressions
The first thing that impressed me about this vacuum is how easy it was to set up - I'm no stranger to building IKEA furniture, but when it comes to tech, I don't have time for a thick manual.
When the Qrevo L Pro arrived, it came in three parts: the vacuum, the dock, and the plug, meaning it was out of the box and ready to map in less than five minutes.
And the smart LiDAR mapping was incredibly fast too, swiftly zipping around our apartment and creating a 3D floor plan in no time at all in the app, which is super intuitive and let me add no-go zones easily.
The app also lets you name each room, add 'invisible walls' the robot can't cross and customise the floor and cleaning type in each - for example, I set my kitchen to vacuum, followed by mopping on turbo mode, as it's a high traffic area for spills and crumbs.
You can also set up schedules for when you want it to set off on a clean even when you're not there; some suggested ones in the app include immediately after meals or at a set time of your choosing.
After the mapping, it was a simple as hitting start and our new robot (name suggestions in the comments welcome) began vacuuming.
For some context, our entire apartment is carpeted except for the kitchen and bathroom, meaning it can be tricky to get a deep clean, plus it's a rental, so believe me when I say I need to keep it spotless.
The vacuum easily mapped our apartment and navigated around furniture and other items on the floor
The suction power on this model is 18,500pa, and for those that have no idea what this means, all you need to know is that it is seriously powerful.
For a first run, with no mopping involved, the vacuum did an excellent job, going over each room twice, smartly avoiding any objects lying around and leaving neat little lines that made it look like I'd had a professional round to visit.
Pros and cons
The first reason I'd recommend this vacuum is for its attention to carpets alone, thanks to double cleaning of carpeted areas and its ability to boost suction on carpets through the app. Plus, if you're using the mop function, the mop pads lift 10mm, meaning you don't have to worry about damp.
What impressed me more than the cleaning power, was the noise level.
This vacuum has a super silent quiet, do not disturb cleaning mode, allowing you to set it to clean while you sleep, but I didn't know this when I first tried it and just used the standard mode.
Aside from some start up noise, it was impressively quiet, so much so that I almost tripped over it as it silently emerged from under the sofa.
My robot vacuum came in three easy parts: the plug, dock and robot, meaning it was easy to set up in less than five minutes
So far, so futuristic, but I'll be up front about a downside to this model: the size.
Many modern robot vacuums come with a water tank system, but switching from a smaller model, this is a big product.
With its mapping ability over four floors, this would be perfect for a house or larger apartment, but for a small one bed it does take up a fair amount of space.
That said, it's a non-issue once you find the right spot for it, and all that size lends itself to some of the Qrevo L Pro's best features, including self-refilling of the water tank, self-emptying of the dust bag and self-drying of the mop pads.
The self-emptying 2.7L dust tank is a gamechanger as someone who always ends up spilling dust everywhere when trying to empty the compact tray on my current vacuum; not only do I not have to see it, as it's tucked nicely away in the dock, I don't even have to deal with it for more than two months? The lazy girl in me is cheering.
Mopping is no problem for this model, which easily vacuums and mops up crumbs and spills on hard floors and tiles
And if you do have a multi-storey home, or different surfaces inside, you might be wondering if it's able to move between them or will randomly get 'stuck on a cliff' as many overly dramatic vacuums do.
This one moved smoothly from our tiled kitchen to the living room carpet, and even attempted to climb over the sliding floor track into the wardrobe, so rest assured a rug or floor trim isn't going to stop its progress (unless you've told it so in the app) - and the mapping ensures it's smart enough not to go tumbling down any stairs.
Another thing I love is its anti-tangle ability - finding random strands of hair around the house is a daily occurrence for me, and the Qrevo L Pro sucked them all up in a breeze, wrapping them around its easy-to-clean spiral brush.
And if I ever do get that puppy I so desperately want, I know it's soft fur will be no match for this robot vacuum.
As for the mopping, it was just as straightforward as anything else: I simply filled the tank with water, hit start and thanks to the in-app map, the vacuum knew to vacuum, then mop, our kitchen, getting rid of crumbs and accidental spills in the process.
The Qrevo L Pro returned itself to the dock after mopping and had one loud moment while emptying the dust container, but this lasts less than 10 seconds and is no louder than your average vacuum.
A final thing to note is the mop drying - this robot vacuum smartly uses hot air to self-dry the mop pads which takes around three hours. This seems a long time, but the process is almost completely silent and I didn't even realise it was happening until checking the app.
The easy clip in mopping pads effectively clean hard and tiled floors, with the Qrevo L Pro self-drying them afterwards
But don't just take my word for it - fans of the Qrevo L Pro have been raving about how good this model is, particular as a step up from the Qrevo L and other more basic models.
'After using this every second day for vacuuming and every third day for vacuum + mop, it’s completely changed how I keep the floors clean, especially with pets around. This has been one of the best home tech upgrades I’ve made. It’s expensive, but for the time, effort and daily cleaning it saves, I genuinely think it’s worth it,' said one customer.
Another said: 'I got this to upgrade my old robot vacuum and was more than impressed with the newer model. I have a toddler that makes a lot of mess and I find this can handle it easily!'
'I am completely obsessed with the vacuum!! It feels like a genuinely smart, high quality cleaning system and has been especially great for managing pet hair and busy day to day mess,' said another.
Another fan commented on its speed and battery life: 'This Roborock robot vacuum and mop has been an absolute game changer for our household and a huge upgrade over the previous robot vacuum we owned.
On the default settings, a full vacuum and mop takes roughly one minute per square metre, and it only used around 17% battery during a full clean in my home!'
Verdict
If you haven't yet dived into the amazing world of robot vacuums, or perhaps it's time for an upgrade from your older model, this is a top quality choice that will last.
Although for our small apartment the large size of this robot vacuum made it tricky to find somewhere for it to live, the intuitive usage and effective cleaning won me over.
There's no arguing with how powerful it is either, giving a great clean on both vacuum and mopping settings, but what really impressed me was the in-depth customisation options in the app, which let us tweak the routine and type of cleaning.
The winning feature however, has got to be its autonomy - self-emptying the dust bag, self cleaning and drying of the mop pads; these are all tasks that give me time back and for me, that's what robots are for.
This smart high-tech vacuum features multiple cleaning modes, self-emptying and an anti-tangle brush for pet hair, along with Ai obstacle recognition and voice control.
Was $2,799
Hands-off for up to seven weeks thanks to a self-emptying dust tank, along with dual vacuum and mopping ability and a handy child lock.
Was $999
Designed for superior cleaning performance, the roborock Qrevo L robot vacuum delivers super strong suction power and effortlessly captures embedded dirt, stubborn debris, and pet hair from carpets, rugs, and hard-to-reach corners, ensuring a spotless home.
Was $1,599
This compact robot vacuum effortlessly lifts dust, dirt, pet hair, and debris from carpets, tiles, and hard floors. The detachable mop allows for vacuuming and mopping at once, and the combined 400ml dustbin and 270ml water tank efficiently covers large areas, delivering up to 150 minutes of continuous mopping.
Was $348
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