Look, I understand the need for marketing photos, but did they have to waste so many perfectly good M&M’s? Litter the floor with sprinkles or something; nobody likes those.
Roborock
Earlier this year I remodeled my basement, and the resulting layer of crud made it the perfect testing ground for the Roborock S5 — a robot vacuum that can also mop. It did a great job overall, which is why I’m excited to share this deal: For a limited time, and while supplies last, Amazon has the Roborock S5 all-floors vacuum for $369.99 with promo code ROBOROCKBF. That’s $20 less than just a couple weeks ago and an all-time low. (Note that the above photo shows it in black; the deal is for the white one with rose-gold trim.)
I’ve owned early-generation Roombas and late-model Ecovacs, but the S5 is my favorite robot sweeper to date. That’s largely because it seems smarter and more efficient than others I’ve tried.
The companion app, for example, gives you lots of cleaning options. You can set up virtual barriers, no-go zones, go-only zones and so on. All that’s possible thanks to the S5’s laser-mapping skills, which also allow it to clean in an orderly pattern, rather than just randomly bumping all over the place.
The S5 has a sizable battery, one that’s good for around 2.5 hours of cleaning, according to Roborock. That comes at the expense of the dust bin, which is on the smaller side. Similarly, the water tank nets you only about 30 minutes’ worth of mopping before needing to be refilled. (Thankfully, that was ample time to clean my basement, which is about 800 square feet.)
CNET hasn’t reviewed the S5, so I’ll steer you over to Matthew Miller’s review at ZDNet. Verdict: “A great performer at a price that is reasonable given its power, efficiency and utility.” And that was based on a then-$464 Amazon price. (It’s currently $500, but has been as high as $600.) Speaking of Amazon, over 200 customers collectively rated the robot 4.4 stars out of 5.
So, yeah, you may not know the Roborock brand, but in my estimation this is every bit as good as some of the latest Roombas — with a much lower price.
Read more: The best robot vacuums for 2019
Originally published earlier this year. Updated to reflect new sale prices and availability.
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