Flip the Roborock S5 over and you’re going to discover two black rubber wheels on both sides, a wheel in front, and a three-spoke side brush to the leftside. Between the black wheels are the combination rubber and bristle roller brush. Though like the brush on the Eufy Robovac 30c, the S5’s roller brush remained remarkably free of hair and fuzz. Layout The security company AV-Test recently assessed four distinct app-connected robot vacuums’ security, including the Roborock S55 and the Roomba 980. The Roborock S55 performed the worst; AV-Test explained this was”Due partially to gross safety deficiencies in data transmission, the transfer of information to third parties, the program’s unexplainable thirst for information, in addition to a clear need for improvement in the statement on the handling of consumer data.” As per a Roborock representative, though the Roborock S5 uses the exact same app produced by Xiaomi as the S55 (Xiaomi is an investor in Roborock), map data is saved locally on the robot and just enters the Cloud when a user views the map on the smartphone app.As much as 20 maps are stored in the Cloud in any time and are automatically deleted after a year. When users delete a map it’s also removed in the Cloud. What the Roborock S5 lacked in cleaning thoroughness, it made up for with speed, cleaning our hardwood and carpeting test region at an average of 15 minutes and 22 seconds, almost a full hour quicker than the Roomba 690 and 45 minutes fast than the Shark Ion R85.
It wasn’t quite as fast as the Neato Botvac D7, which cleaned the test area at an average of 10 minutes. We were excited about zone cleaning as it’s a great way to perform a cleaning of front hall or kitchen where there is more foot traffic. You can draw boxes around the map regions you want vacuumed. Unlike the Roomba i7+ and also the Neato Botvac D7, you cannot save or name the zones, which means you need to redraw the place each time you wish to clean them. Adding to the confusion is a Edit Map button on the screen that allows you draw barrier cassette and no-go zones. One of our favorite design elements of the Robovac S5 is its own”hood” Flip up the plastic piece that is thin and you’ll come across the ample dustbin concealed in the center, together with a index light and program reset button.The S5 was the only real robot vacuum cleaner we reviewed that had an space to maintain the otherwise easy-to-lose instrument for cleaning the brush roll, a way to maintain while improving the general aesthetic. An indented section close to the back is supposed to hold the microfiber mop module. At 63.8 decibels, the Roborock S5 was noticeably louder than the Shark Ion R85 (59.2). We had the ability to have a conversation because the vacuum worked around us, but raised our voices. In our lab tests, the Roborock S5 performed nicely, but not outstandingly so. On hardwood and carpeting, it picked up an average of 96.2% of the Cheerios strewn across the test region, which was marginally less than the iRobot Roomba 690 (99.5 percent), the Neato Botvac D7 (99.8) and the Shark Ion R85, that divides a perfect 100 percent on this evaluation.
The Roborock S5 measures 13.8 inches in diameter, more than an inch bigger than the Shark Ion R85; it is also bigger than the 13-inch iRobot Roomba 690 and the 13.2-inch Neato Botvac D7. Installation and program We were hesitant to provide the S5 free reign to mop in case it decided to try and clean our carpet, so we used the spot-cleaning manner, which cleans a 1.5- meter (4.9 ft ) area around wherever the S5 is placed. Turns out our hesitations were unfounded. The Roborock S5 made about as much water as a wet Swiffer pad on the floor. If it had cleaned as well as a Swiffer does.Security concerns Picking pet hair on both hardwood and carpeting stymied many of those robot vacuums we analyzed, including the Roborock S5;it picked up just 79.5 percent of pet hair–10 percent less compared to Botvac D7 and 8.5 percent less than the Ion R85. However, the S5 did finest the Roomba 690’s 73.3 percent pet hair pickup rate. Mopping performance Much like the program that accompanies the Eufy Robovac 30C, the Mi Home program was made to control multiple house devices. The design isn’t instinctive, while the vacuum section of this app is robust. Overall, the Roborock S5 gathered an average of 86.8% of test debris on carpeting –a performance on a par with all the Neato Botvac D7, but well below the Shark Ion R85’s 97.2 percent. The S5’s hardwood performance told a similar tale, picking up an average of 83.9 percent of all test debris.
It was bested by the Botvac D7 by 12 percent. The Roborock S5 distinguishes itself with a mopping quality that’s unique one of the robot vacuums we tested, but unfortunately, its prowess is more of a novelty than truly useful. A half-inch thin, half-moon-shaped disc with a microfiber pad attached with velcro clicks resides under the rear of the vacuum. Fill out the dish with water, click it in, adjust the Cleanup mode in the app and you are ready to wash. The screen displays the area cleaning time and our piece of information. Along the base are icons for Go, Dock, Clean and Zoned Cleanup. At the center of this robot is a increased laser cap on the Neato Botvac D7 with a splash of orange beneath. Over the cover are bodily buttons for spot cleaning, on/off and recharging. Maybe due to its white colour, the wall detectors on front and side of the S5 are more conspicuous than on other versions, but they don’t detract in the bot look.We were impressed with how lightly the Roborock S5 approached walls and barriers. The bumper on the Roomba 690 seemed to announce that it hit something with clunk; the S5 was considerably more considerate. The robot slows its own approach and its own brush before gingerly approaching an obstruction . The S5 pushed seats and puppy bowls around the floor over the Shark Ion R85 and the Neato Botvac D7. It wasn’t destructive, but I wouldn’t leave a vase on a plant stand around during a cleanup.
When the Roborock S5 gets its bearings, it cleaned areas in a detailed, exact, back-and-forth snake layout. The robot vacuum found its way beneath our dining room table through the maze weaving its way to the other from 1 side of the room. We appreciated how hewed to walls and chair legs;it tackled walls and borders as closely as the Neato Botvac D7. The vac was also smart enough to fully avoid a thick pile rug that felled additional robot vacuums, but its taller height supposed it did not fit under our chairs or our low-clearance sofa. Despite its size, the Roborock S5 deftly maneuvered through tight spaces. At 3.8 inches , the S5 sits straight between the 3.9-inch Botvac D7 and the 3.7-inch Roomba 690. While we do not love the raised laser cover in the middle, the feature was significantly less obtrusive than the one about the D7, which has a large overhang and penchant for getting stuck beneath room seats. You want it to look if it’s docked in your living room, if you’re adding a robot vacuum to your house. The Roborock S5 eschews the black-and-grey color scheme adopted by other vacuums for white, with muted silver trim around the rim. If you guessed that the Go icon could begin a fundamental cleaning cycle, then you’d be wrong. Instead, Go directs the S5 to a point on the cleansing map for the bot to perform a spot cleaning. A vacuuming cycle is initiated by activating the sterile icon. Buried in the Preferences menu are five different Cleanup modes: Quiet, Balanced, Turbo, MAX and Mop. The program, and by extension, the vacuum, retains the mode last used.
Cleaning performance The Roborock S5 may also be controlled via Amazon Alexa and Google Home. Don’t expect to access some complex features the options are On and Away, which prompts to bot to return to its base. Google Assistant adds”Return to Dock,” which sends the robot house, rather than Stop, which pauses the vacuum in its paths. “Beginning the cleanup,” a cheery voice announces from deep inside the Roborock S5. Rather than a string of Morse code-like beeps and chimes utilized by the Neato Botvac D7, the Shark Ion R85 and many other modern appliances, the S5 announces what it is going to do in easy-to-understand terminology prompts. The Roborock S5 is primarily controlled via the Mi Home app (Android and iOS). Connecting the robot into the app and also to our home wi-fi network took two tries, largely because the directions for pairing the bot to the Wi-Fi network weren’t very clear. Instructions that were abstruse quickly became a recurring motif of this S5. The manual recommends running a vacuum cycle over the area at least three times. We did this, but it didn’t seem to help. The S5 left the mapped area dull and a little tacky. When it had been possible to use something in addition to water from the tank it would have performed better. The black-and-white dock for your Roborock S5 is only marginally taller than the vacuum. A large plastic mat attaches to the pier, but it’s only needed if you plan on utilizing the attachment. Note that Map Saving Mode is now in beta and must be toggled on separately under Vacuum Settings in the app. We spent several test runs re-mapping our floor due to this map not saving automatically. Both the iRobot Roomba i7+ and the Botvac D7 are able to store multiple floor plans.
Steven Ostrander, That's My Name ! 