The best robot vacuum cleaner for pet hair Shark Robot Vacuum

Shark's robo vac checks off all the boxes you'd expect from a machine of this price range. It has reliable cleaning performance, an easy-to-use mobile app and produces precise home maps.

It also comes with Matrix Clean Navigation, a system that does two passes in a row, before moving to the side for full coverage. Its base is bagless, unlike many other robot vacuums.

1. Roborock S4

This is a fantastic robot vacuum for bare flooring with a large dirt container and is able to take in debris. The app lets you manage cleaning and docking. Its smart pathing feature is extremely efficient. The app also gives you an easy overview of cleaning, including maps of the areas that the S4 has been cleaned, cleaning time and battery life.

The S4's maximum suction is 2,000Pa which is comparable to larger vacuums robot. The S4's side brush and combo brush are located closer to the front of the machine than other Roborock models. This may be to help reduce clogging.

The S4's advanced navigation technology can digitally map a home up to four levels. It will remember the areas it has already cleaned, making it easy to create cleaning schedules without the need to manually move the robot from room to room. You can designate certain areas as "no-go zones" to stop the S4 from cleaning those areas.

It was able clean all floors of our house easily and was extremely efficient on floors with no carpets. However, it struggled with picking up dog hair that is a common problem for a lot of robotic vacuums. It only 8.5% of the dog hair it picked up was actually kept in the dustbin and much of the rest was clumped up around the suction inlet and brushes.

The S4 is smaller and lighter than other Shark vacuums. This makes it easier to maneuver. It is able to make more precise turns and avoid obstacles that slow down other robots. The low-profile design also makes it easier to place under furniture. It also has improved climbing capabilities to navigate flooring transitions as well as different levels of flooring. It can reach the bottom of the stairs and is a great choice for homes with multiple levels. The application lets you set a schedule and also includes the ability to control your vacuum manually. It can also return to its charging base to recharge between cleaning cycles. It comes with a massive 5200 mAh battery, which is rated to run for 150 minutes or 2691 square feet between recharges in normal mode.

2. Shark EZ Robot Self-Empty

This Shark robot vacuum is an excellent option for pet owners looking for a device that is simple to use and intelligent. The self-emptying bagless base of this model is a wonderful feature, especially when compared to other vacuums that use disposable dirt bags in their bases. You can empty the bin in the trashcan by simply taking it off it. It's messy, but it will save money on replacement bags.

The bin itself is also quite large, which means that the EZ Robot is capable of taking care of a lot of debris. It's also a good performer on clean floors, but it does struggle somewhat with dirt embedded in carpets with a low pile. It's got good navigation capabilities and a tiny footprint.

The EZ Robot may not be as good as Roborock S4, but it is still a great choice for those who are looking for a machine that can perform well and is priced reasonably. It's well-built and comes with many automation options. It also has an impressive cleaning performance, both on bare floors and carpets with a high pile. However, its maintenance requirements are high and it comes with high recurring costs.

Another excellent feature of this Shark robot is its ability to recharge and automatically resume where it began when it returns to its docking station after a full cleaning session. This is an excellent feature, especially in the case of a large home.

The IQ XL is also equipped with a variety of useful features, like the ability to remotely schedule whole-home cleaning sessions and review the results via the SharkClean app. You can also initiate, stop and resume cleaning sessions by speaking via Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. Its row-by-row cleaning mode is a major benefit as it cleans your entire home in neat rows rather than a back-and-forth snake pattern like many other robots.

The IQ XL has a major drawback in that it cannot climb over obstacles such as power cords. It might mistake them for solid barriers and not attempt to climb over them. It is also less effective or efficient in navigating space if it's stuffed with pet hair. This can cause tangles to the brushes and slow it.

3. Shark AI Robot

This is a great robotic vacuum from Shark that offers a combination of features. It has a base that can store up to 30 days worth of debris, and it combines the cleaning power both of a robot mop and a vacuum cleaner. It offers a matrix grid cleaning mode, and it is equipped with advanced smart home integration that can work with Alexa and Google Assistant. You can set it up to clean on a set schedule, activate on demand, or set virtual boundaries to prevent it from entering rooms that may contain rugs or fragile items.

The Shark AI Robot carries out a fairly thorough job of cleaning floors, picking up debris like rice easily. However it has a tough cleaning larger bulky debris from low-pile carpet and is not capable of moving around furniture. It does have a do-not-disturb mode, so you can set it to work while you're away from home and it won't interrupt your daily routine.

It also uses LiDAR to map your home Robot Vacuum. This lets it detect and navigate obstructions more precisely than units which rely on gyroscopes alone or an infrared sensor. This allows it to avoid hitting fragile objects and to optimize dirt collection on various surfaces. The LiDAR system is also faster than gyroscopes that could cause robots to slow down or lose control when they come across uneven surfaces.

Other features include a remote control, automatic mopping, and a variety of vacuum modes. It can charge and recharge itself while it is in use. The biggest issue is that it only maps only one floor. If you have two floors it's required to be manually carried to those areas, and then programed to repeat.

It can also be quite loud especially when in mopping mode. It also has a number of parts that have to be cleaned or replaced frequently and this adds to its recurring costs. The base self-empty function assists in reducing some of these costs. It also works with a bagless filter, which further lowers the cost annually.

4. Shark ION Robot RV700 series

The Shark ION Robot RV700 Series ticks all the boxes you'd expect from a mid-range robot vacuum, including solid cleaning capabilities and a fantastic mobile app that produces precise home maps. The bagless base makes it unnecessary to purchase new dust bags each year. In our cleaning test, it was able remove 97.8 percent of the debris from low-pile and hardwood flooring, but was not as efficient with high-pile carpeting. Its maneuverability makes it simple to navigate around furniture and climb onto flooring with high pile. It is also able to pass over things like electrical cords and rug fringes without getting stuck.

The bristles that are high-tensile and in a helix pattern are durable enough to manage and untangle long hair, string and other fibers. The brushroll also has an adjustable side which can be used in the event that it encounters an obstacle. Its thin design lets it slide under furniture, and proximity sensors assess and adjust to the surrounding obstacles. The app allows you to schedule cleanings or activate the machine with one button press. It is quiet at a moderate level, [Redirect Only] but can be quieted by using the do not disturb mode or a custom scheduling.

The RV700 is more manual than the Roborock S4 or [Redirect Only] iRobot Roomba J7+. This is to be anticipated from the fact that it does not self-empty. But, it is more durable and is easier to maintain, is faster in charging and gets rid of more debris on the floors, including high-pile carpeting. Its navigation system can create virtual boundaries and detect and avoid obstacles which makes it the ideal pick for "set it and forget it" robotic cleaners.

The RV700 Series does not have an incline sensor that could stop it from falling down stairs. This could be a problem people who live in homes that are taller. It's not able to mop and vacuum simultaneously, and you have to change between modes in the app. However it is the RV700 Series is a less expensive alternative to the more sophisticated Roborock and iRobot models that offer self-emptying and cliff detection capabilities. Its most appealing feature is the fact that it can be recharged and empty while docked at its base. This makes it a great choice for those who do not want to empty the onboard dustbin each time they use it.