Roborock upgrades flagship robotic vacuum with Matter support & more

Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra

At CES 2024, Roborock has taken the wraps off its new lineup of smart home vacuum cleaners, including new flagship models that add support for Matter and Apple Home.

During the annual tech conference in Las Vegas, Roborock revealed its new S8 Max series which encompasses the S8 MaxV Ultra and the S8 Max Ultra.

"The industry is experiencing a major shift where customers are not only searching for products that clean well but are also easy, smart to interact with and can seamlessly integrate into their smart home." Says Richard Chang, Founder & CEO of Roborock. "We now offer more connectivity options than ever before which we found are one of the most sought-after features for customers, while our robots now integrate robotic arm mechanics to clean better and are unique to the market."

New extending side arm cleans corners

The S8 Max series has a new FlexiArm design side brush that uses a robotic arm and additional spinning mop to help tight spaces with up to 99-percent corner coverage.

They've also been updated with a new RockDock Ultra that empties the dustbin, refills the water, dispenses detergent, washes the mop with hot water, and uses heated air to dry the mop post-cleaning. It also has a new dirt sensor to help determine when re-washing or re-mopping is necessary.

Roborock at CES 2024

Other improvements include the new VibraRise 3.0 mop that has increased vibrations, the "Hello Rocky" voice assistant, video calling, Matter support, and Reactive Ai 2.0 for obstacle avoidance.

With the addition of Matter, the S8 Max series of robotic vacuum and mops will be supported in Apple's Home app. Roborock will be among the first to bring this to the Home app, which includes scheduling, automation, and Siri control.

The S8 MaxV Ultra will retail for $1799.99 and the S8 Max Ultra will run $1599.99 and should be available in April.

Roborock Q Revo MaxV

Other announcements from Roborock include updated version of the Q Revo Series that add the same voice assistant, improved AI obstacle avoidance, video calling, and auto brush lifting.

Q Revo MaxV will be $1199.99 and the Q Revo Pro will be $999. Both will also launch in April.

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2 Comments

avon b7

said about 3 months ago

I have the Roborock S7+ (EU version) with auto emptying into a bag.

It is nice and my wife loves it but all these 'cleaning' devices need to be cleaned regularly themselves.

And it's me who does that so it somewhat defeats the objective of using a machine when a human can do the same job more efficiently and in much less time. And if you use the mop cleaning option regularly the inside gets gunked up too.

If you have a hard floor, a broom and mop can't be beat in certain scenarios.

I'd love to see more effort put into the non-cleaning possibilities, like more use of the cameras for security, pet surveillance, intrusion detection (bugs and animals). Or sensors for flood detection, gas etc.

I'd love an attachment for detecting and clean up broken glass.

twolf2919

said about 3 months ago

avon b7 said:

I have the Roborock S7+ (EU version) with auto emptying into a bag.

It is nice and my wife loves it but all these 'cleaning' devices need to be cleaned regularly themselves.

And it's me who does that so it somewhat defeats the objective of using a machine when a human can do the same job more efficiently and in much less time. And if you use the mop cleaning option regularly the inside gets gunked up too.

If you have a hard floor, a broom and mop can't be beat in certain scenarios.

I'd love to see more effort put into the non-cleaning possibilities, like more use of the cameras for security, pet surveillance, intrusion detection (bugs and animals). Or sensors for flood detection, gas etc.

I'd love an attachment for detecting and clean up broken glass.

I bought the S7 Max V (after having been a happy customer of the S5 Max V) instead of the "Ultra" version because I didn't trust the mops would be adequately cleaned and because I didn't want to subscribe to yet another regular cost (bags). Well, and I didn't want to spend $1500 either. The non-ultra version robot is exactly the same in terms of features/performance sans the fancy dock and the work that goes with maintaining that.

Both he S5 and S7 have mops that I regularly use(d) in my all-hardwood-and-tile-floor (2200sqft single level) house - and I've never had the gunking up problem you describe. I use a new mop with every cleaning - and only use the detergent Roborock recommends (Omo)l - perhaps the latter has something to do with mine not gunking up?

Although I'm not yet in the market for a new Roborock, that robotic arm looks promising. My one complaint about the robot is that it doesn't get close enough to floor boards and, obviously , not at all under any furniture - perhaps that robotic arm will help with both of these. Oh yeah, if they could make the mopping function even better, that would be appreciated too - despite the vibration thing, it's still not great at remove dried stains (e.g. drips of soda or coffee that weren't wiped right away).

I wish Roborock invented a counter-top mop. I hate cleaning bathroom and kitchen countertops - if I could just clear them and put a robot to work, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.