Roborock’s new S7 robot vac challenges Eufy and Ecovacs

Chinese company Roborock unveiled today its S7 combination robot mop and vacuum.

According to CEO Richard Chang, “The S7 completely transforms the mopping experience through surface recognition technology designed to automatically lift the mop element and avoid carpets, making mopping completely effortless while also delivering a deeper clean than ever before.”

In translation: The S7 will be able to tell if it’s moving on carpet or bare floors by using ultrasonic sensors. Since carpet absorbs sound better than hardwood, the S7 can tell what type of surface it's on and lift or lower its mopping pad accordingly. While on surfaces like kitchen floors, this cleaning robot can scrub up to 3,000 times a minute to dislodge stains and grime. If it’s cleaning carpets, the S7 produces up to 2,500 pa of suction, which is on par with competitors like Eufy.

Roborock has also put real-time mapping technology into the S7. You’ll be able to watch from your phone the S7 making a virtual map of your home. After every cycle, you’ll be able to see exactly where the robot has cleaned and from there, figure out pain points and adjust your furniture accordingly.

Here at Reviewed, we’ve spent a lot of time researching and testing robot vacuums in our lab. We think the Roborock S7 will deliver on all its promises when it hits the market March 24, 2021.

However, our general feeling about Roborock robot vacuums is that they’re expensive second adopters. Every feature that the S7 boasts can be found on a competitor’s vac that costs far less.

For example, the Ecovacs T5 can detect the difference between carpet and bare floors, has a similar battery, and a mapping app—all while costing about $150 less than the S7’s suggested MSRP of $649.

Likewise, later in the year, Roborock plans to introduce a self-emptying charging dock, and we're guessing it'll be similar to what iRobot's current generation Roombas have.

With this said, the S7’s scrubbing action is fairly unique, but the upcoming Eufy L80 Hybrid may give the S7 a run for its money.

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