In the editorial office, we tested the new robotic vacuum cleaner in detail Roborock S8. It is the brand's flagship model with an extremely strong suction power of up to 6000 Pa, a pair of rotating brushes, a vibrating mop or 3D space mapping.
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Since it is one of the models of the flagship series, we have high expectations from the vacuum cleaner. So let's see together whether these parameters and functions are also reflected in the quality of vacuuming and mopping.
Where to buy Roborock S8?
The Roborock S8 vacuum cleaner was provided to us for testing by our close partner, e-shop Geekbuying, which has official cooperation directly with the manufacturer Roborock.
The best coupons for Roborock S8
A vacuum cleaner is available in white and black directly in the Polish warehouse, which means express delivery within 7 days. Postage is completely free. The advantage of buying Roborock products from a dealer Geekbuying there is also a full 2-year warranty with service within Europe.
Technical specifications
| Model | Roborock S8 |
|---|---|
| dimensions | 353 x 350 x 96.5 mm |
| Weight | 4.8 kg |
| Navigation and route planning | LDS laser and 3D structured light |
| Maximum suction power | 6000 Pa |
| Capacity of the dirt container | 400ml |
| Water container capacity | 300ml |
| Drums | 5200 mAh |
| Endurance per charge | 180 minutes / 300 m2 vacuuming / 200 m2 mopping |
| charging | 6 hours |
| Maximum height of obstacles | 2 cm |
| noise | 68 dB (balanced mode) |
| Mop vibrations | 3000 cycles per minute |
| Special Features | obstacle avoidance / mop lifting / carpet detection / increase in performance when vacuuming carpets |
Contents of the package and its quality
The robotic vacuum cleaner Roborock S8 was delivered to us from the Polish warehouse by DPD courier in a box measuring 44.5 x 39.5 x 13.5 cm. As usual, Roborock packs its products twice, meaning that even in this case, the product box is wrapped in another, protective box. The plastic handle for easier carrying is also pleasing.
In a similar spirit, the inside of the box is also carried, where the robotic vacuum cleaner is exemplary packed together with all the accessories. In addition to the vacuum cleaner itself, we also find a small charging station, a power cable and a silicone mat for the vacuum cleaner.
The vacuum cleaner itself is also well protected, on which we can find a transparent foil, a sticker on the front camera, and the whole thing is still wrapped in another silo. The quality of the packaging is really at a high level, as befits a flagship model.
The contents of the package are more or less traditional, except for the vacuum cleaner pad, which is not normally found in robot vacuum cleaner packages. We only have reservations about the power cable, which is very short. It is only 95 cm.
Quality of workmanship and design
The design of most robotic vacuum cleaners is almost the same, and this is no different. Roborock S8 has a classic circular shape with a protrusion on the top, which hides the LiDAR system for scanning the space.
In addition to it, there are three buttons on the top (power off / on, cleaning, return to home) and the Roborock brand logo with a slightly wavy plastic surface. We had the vacuum cleaner available in white, but it is also available in black.
The top side has an openable lid, under which there is a dirt container with a capacity of 400 ml. The water container is in the back edge, from where it simply slides out. Its capacity is 300 ml and it looks quite small.
In the front edge of the vacuum cleaner, we find an IR camera, which is used for 3D scanning of the space. The bottom of the vacuum cleaner is traditionally home to a rotating brush, but in this case we can find two.
Of course, there are also sensors against falling down the stairs, large wheels with a distinctive pattern and a place for connecting a mop. Here you can notice the small metal part that takes care of the vibrations of the mop. But we will talk about that later.
Application and addition of a vacuum cleaner
Roborock S8 works with its own Roborock application, which you can find in the Google Play store or in the App Store if you own an iPhone. The application requires registration and subsequent login.
Adding a vacuum cleaner is very simple and quick. During pairing, we scanned the QR code located under the top cover next to the dirt container, entered our WiFi network password, connected to the vacuum cleaner's WiFi network, and the rest was done automatically.
At the end of this process, the application guided us through the initial settings, in which it asked us if we were going to vacuum several floors, if we had carpets or animals. Of course, you can change these settings later through the application.
First space scan
Unlike some other vacuum cleaners, which during the first scan of the premises also vacuum and go in detail along the walls of the apartment, the Roborock S8 just quickly goes through all the rooms. During these short visits to the rooms, he maps out the space, discovers the individual rooms and draws them on the map.
For room scanning, the LDS uses the LiDAR system, which is located on the top of the vacuum cleaner and rotates, allowing it to scan 360° around itself. This system is also helped by an IR camera in the front part, with which the vacuum cleaner can also create a 3D model of the premises and avoid obstacles.
The map of the premises is further improved during the first vacuuming, but the division by rooms is not completely accurate. The vacuum cleaner considers several narrow places as a transition to the next room, so it is necessary to intervene in the map for a more accurate division.
High performance and double brush
Roborock S8 provides a suction power of up to 6000 Pa. The manufacturer names this system HyperForce. The suction power is helped by up to two rotating brushes, which are located right next to each other and rotate in opposite directions. In this case, there is only one side three-armed brush.
The Carpet Boost+ function will also attract attention, which will take care of the automatic detection of carpets on which the robotic vacuum cleaner will increase the suction power to the maximum. Another option is extra carpet vacuuming after vacuuming is complete, when the Roborock S8 returns to carpets only.
If the vacuum cleaner has a mop installed, it can lift it slightly or completely skip the carpets, or it can even wash them. You can find these options in the settings under Carpet Settings.
Vacuuming and mopping options
The initial screen in the application contains all important vacuuming or mopping settings that we change most often. The first option is the choice between vacuuming the entire space, selected rooms or zones.
Other options include choosing a mode:
- vacuuming and mopping
- mopping
- vacuuming
- own
When vacuuming and mopping at the same time, we have a choice of suction power, level of mopping and type of vacuum cleaner paths. The suction power modes are: silent, balanced, turbo and max. There are three mopping levels and they are divided according to the amount of water that the vacuum cleaner uses.
There are two types of routes, fast and standard. With the fast route, however, we have to tolerate certain vacuuming imperfections, as it is a kind of accelerated vacuuming, where the vacuum cleaner skips the perimeter walls of the rooms and does not go through them so thoroughly. The quick vacuum of our apartment took 19 minutes, while the standard vacuum took about 35 minutes.
Separate mopping offers four types of routes in addition to three levels of water quantity. In addition to the aforementioned fast and standard modes, there is also a Deep and Deep+ mode. In Deep mode, he traverses the floor in Z-shaped routes, traversing each spot twice. At the same time, the Deep+ mode reduces the speed of the vacuum cleaner to 20 cm/s.
In addition to the four basic levels, the separate vacuuming also has another, the most powerful, which is labeled MAX+. The custom mode allows setting among the mentioned levels separately for each room.
Quality of vacuuming and mopping
The vacuum cleaner should be able to deal with various impurities without any problems, as we will see in our test. We spilled various impurities such as coffee, oatmeal or lentils on the kitchen floor.
You can see how it looked before vacuuming in the photo above. Solid particles like lentils tend to be a tough nut to crack for robotic vacuum cleaners, but the Roborock S8 handled these particles very well. After the first vacuuming in the highest MAX+ mode, only a few pieces were left on the floor, which were blown by the side brush to the places where the vacuum cleaner had already been. After the second vacuuming, they also disappeared.
The quality of vacuuming is very good and we are extremely satisfied with the overall performance of the vacuum cleaner.
We also tested the mop in a similar way. We spilled milk and water mixed with cocoa on the kitchen floor. We waited for them to dry on the floor overnight and then ran the vacuum on the maximum level of Deep+ mopping.
You can see how the floor looked before mopping in the photos:
And then after the first and second mopping:
Of course, dried milk is too demanding a discipline for a robotic vacuum cleaner, as these stains also took their toll stick vacuum cleaner with rotary brushes Roborock Dyad Pro. However, it removed the cocoa stains excellently after the first mopping, and overall we are very satisfied with the quality of the mopping.
As we mentioned earlier, Roborock S8 goes through individual places in Deep+ mode more times, since the imaginary lines of its route are much denser than when vacuuming. The vibrating function of the mop also contributes to a better result.
Avoiding collisions and obstacles
Since the Roborock S8 has a camera in the front, it can effectively avoid unexpected obstacles. For example, if we step into the path of a vacuum cleaner, it will immediately stop and nicely bypass the obstacle.
Overall, the vacuum cleaner has a very nice operation, when it hits the walls or furniture only exceptionally. Unlike some other vacuum cleaners, it does not needlessly stay in narrow spaces.
As for overcoming obstacles, it can handle a maximum of 2 cm high thresholds or other obstacles. We have a higher threshold only for the bathroom, which is 2.3 cm and the vacuum cleaner didn't even try to overcome it.
Map also in 3D
By default, the application displays a map of the premises divided into individual rooms and also offers the option of switching to a 3D view. Of course, only the walls are displayed here, but we can improve the 3D map nicely by adding furniture or setting the floor or adding carpets.
Among the furniture, we have available beds, sofas, an armchair, a TV chest, a dining table with chairs, a classic table or a coffee table, a wardrobe, a shoe rack, a bedside table and more. Perhaps the only thing missing here is a kitchen unit. Of course, the addition of furniture has only an aesthetic function and does not affect vacuuming or mopping in any way.
As for other map settings, there are also standard options such as dividing or joining rooms, naming them, a virtual wall, a no-go zone for vacuuming or mopping. Another option is to set the type of floor but the order of vacuuming. Here we also have a choice of intelligent order according to the type of rooms or manual order, where we determine the order.
We can rotate the map by 90° in both directions or switch between the aforementioned 3D and 2D display. An interesting feature is the intelligent recognition of obstacles.
In the map, we can find identified obstacles such as shoes, extension cords or cables. The percentage reliability of recognition is also displayed for each of the obstacles identified in this way. However, this function is only available in 2D map view.
Even though the vacuum cleaner identifies cables or an extension cord as obstacles, it can get tangled in such cables namithat he would avoid them completely.
Of course, it is also possible to save up to four maps, in case the vacuum cleaner works with several floors.
Additional settings
There are some interesting options in the settings of the Roborock application. This includes, for example, the mentioned reactive avoidance of obstacles, planning of vacuuming or mopping based on the selected time with the possibility of regular repetition. There's also a carpet vacuum setting, which we've also talked about before.
It is also interesting to set the direction of vacuuming along the individual parts of the floor in order to avoid going perpendicular to the cracks, especially with a wooden or laminate floor.
There are also settings for the volume and language of voice notifications, where Slovak or Czech are still missing, turning off the LED backlight of the buttons, child lock, do not disturb mode or even charging during the night current.
You can also send the vacuum cleaner to a selected location on the map or control its movement using the directional arrows. Here we also find history in the form of activity records and the status of individual components such as the filter, sensors, mop or side brush.
Endurance per charge
The new Roborock S8 has the same battery as its predecessor, the Roborock S7. It is a 5200 mAh battery, which according to the manufacturer should be sufficient for 300 m2 vacuuming or 180 m2 mopping, or 180 minutes of operation. However, it does not provide important information, which is the mode in which these values were measured.
We tried to discharge the robotic vacuum cleaner in the highest vacuuming mode MAX+, which we managed to do in almost 3 vacuumings of our apartment, when it traveled a total of 92 m2 and it took him 104 minutes. At 19% battery, the vacuum cleaner returned to the charging station to recharge. Charging to 100% took about 5 and a half hours.
One vacuuming in MAX+ mode thus consumed approximately 25-28% of the battery. For comparison, vacuuming in Balanced mode with simultaneous mopping on medium mode consumed 15%.
Roborock S8: Final review
The robotic vacuum cleaner Roborock S8 belongs to the flagship model range, and we have to admit that it is rightfully so. It offers a high suction power of up to 6000 Pa, a pair of rotating brushes located right next to each other, 3D scanning of the room with an IR camera and several smart functions.
The quality of vacuuming is excellent, and thanks to the vibrating mop and the thorough passage of individual places, it ranks among robotic vacuum cleaners with higher quality mopping. Avoiding obstacles, intelligent recognition of obstacles, a 3D map with furniture or a number of customizations in a clear application will also please you.
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Perhaps only the higher price will freeze, for which you will get a really excellent robotic vacuum cleaner.
