Roborock S7 Max Ultra - the (almost) best robot vacuum cleaner on the market

The Roborock S7 Max Ultra is the cheapest of the top vacuum cleaners, but it still does it all!

Introductory

This article is a difficult task for me, because as many of you know, I am a robot vacuum cleaner lover. The technology inside them is more interesting to me than a phone or an electric scooter. On the one hand, it is an engineering miracle that they squeeze more and more serious performance into such a small body every year, and on the other hand, there is AI, i.e. artificial intelligence support, which is more and more advanced.

Not only intelligent chatbots exist, artificial intelligence has already crept unnoticed into many areas of our lives, it literally surrounds us.

The Roborock S7 Max Ultra is not a simple machine. I've been using it for a week, trying it out, but I can safely say that I'm still just getting to know it. Even after all this time, he impressed me, but he still has points that you can get involved with. Still, it's an incredible machine.

In this article, I will try to introduce you to this wonderful machine, tell you about its many crazy good features and, of course, touch on the few that could be even better. I'll kill the joke, there won't be many of these!

Before starting the actual article, I have to describe a few things in the introduction so that you can get an idea of ​​the topic and feel how high the Roborock S7 Max Ultra represents in the history of the development of robot vacuum cleaners.

1. The first robots were dumb in every way. They had some infrared sensors, a collision sensor and nothing else. They didn't plan a route, they walked around the apartment based on the defined back and forth pattern.
2. Laser robots have appeared. It was a big leap, as they were able to map our apartment in real time and calculate the ideal cleaning route in real time.
3. More advanced laser machines have arrived. Suction power and battery capacity have increased, and MOPs with adjustable water volume have appeared. However, they still cleaned the carpet even though they had carpet detection. Mopping up was still just wiping, they couldn't mop up.
4. Artificial intelligence has also appeared in object recognition. At the front of the machines, optical (camera) or laser sensors (or both) were placed, through which the machines recognized the objects in front of them. The book was separated from a threshold and the telephone cord was not wound up either.
5. Machines equipped with self-draining, dust bag docks appeared, and rotary MOP machines appeared. They had weaker suction power but more efficient mopping, and water tanks also appeared in the dock.
6. This will be the topic of our today's article.

As you can see, the last few years have brought a lot of changes in the world of robot vacuum cleaners. Today, with top-of-the-line machines, it is expected that you don't have to unpack the house before you start cleaning. It can be expected that the dust container does not have to be emptied every day, it is enough to change the paper dust bag in the docking station every week. And slowly, effective mopping will also be expected, which is really the weak point of these machines. According to the manufacturer's promise, the Roborock S7 Max Ultra will provide a solution to these problems, and even provide a solution to those that we have not even thought of as problems until now.

A promise is a beautiful word, if it is kept it is good! Let's see if Roborock kept what it promised!

Packaging, accessories, exterior

The Roborock S7 Max Ultra comes in a huge box, which is no wonder, since the packaging hides a robot vacuum cleaner and a really big dock.

After opening the box, we first find the "envelope" hiding the instructions for use. On the next level, we find a spare paper dust bag and a power cable, with an EU plug of course. The machine will also be here. And on the lowest level there is the docking station, which is really quite large. Of course, it's no wonder, we find two large water tanks and a formation that looks like a third tank, under the latter is the paper dust bag.

The vacuum cleaner is a completely typical laser robot vacuum cleaner both in terms of appearance and dimensions. Its diameter is 35 centimeters, its height including the laser turret is 9,7 centimeters, and its weight is 4,7 kilograms. Available in two colors, black and white. I got the white one. I can tell you from experience that the black version looks better with these machines, but since this is a vacuum cleaner, it sometimes gets dusty, and the dust is much more visible on the black one. I can't help wiping my own black vacuum cleaner.

At the top of the machine is the "tower" of the laser sensor (LIDAR). There are three physical buttons that control the main functions. Under the lid that can be opened is the dust container, which is 350 milliliters, and here is also the Wifi indicator LED and the reset button. We find the water tank integrated into the machine, which turned out to be quite small, only 200 milliliters. In this case, however, the small capacity is not a disadvantage, I will explain why later!

Of course, the robot also has sensors. In addition to the usual collision detection and infrared sensors, there is the laser, but the most important is the ToF sensor on the front of the machine. Jumping a bit into the specifications, this is a camera that does not "see" in a traditional way, its task is to detect the reflected light, measure the time of the reflection, and detect the distance of the object.

However, the primary task is not to detect the distance of the object, but to create a 3-dimensional image of the objects in front of the machine thanks to the nanosecond measurement accuracy. This image is processed by the artificial intelligence, and after processing it "figures out" what kind of object is in front of the vacuum cleaner.

Looking at the exterior, the round opening on the back, above the docking station, is also interesting, the role of which I will write about later. It is no longer so interesting that instead of the hairy roller brush used in the past, there is a rubber "brush" at the bottom. The vacuum cleaner has a rotating brush for sweeping.

abilities

I'll try not to miss anything, it won't be easy. At Roborock, they also came up with a lot of good-sounding names for the capabilities, I don't like them too much, because I always feel like they want to fill my head with marketing bullshit. Nevertheless, I will also use them in the description if the manufacturer has already invented them. Fortunately, the good-sounding names cover meaningful things here.

Let's start with the most important! The Roborock S7 Max Ultra is a machine in which a lot of things have been integrated. It can sweep, vacuum and mop in one stroke. A special dock was developed for this, called RockDock Ultra all-in-one (didn't I say that there will be idiotic names...). According to the manufacturer, this is not a docking system, but a docking system, and I don't like to argue with them, it really is!

The vacuum cleaner became quite strong, as the HyperForce system has a strength of 5500 Pa. This is complemented by the wiper system, named VibraRise, and the obstacle avoidance system, named Reactive Tech. They also gave a name to laser navigation (so that we don't just call it LIDAR), it became PreciSense LIDAR.

Speaking of LIDAR, I would like to mention that when using it for the first time, we also have the option of quickly mapping the apartment, but we can also choose the option to connect the first mapping with a first vacuuming. Obviously, the latter will last longer.

It is interesting in this regard that the machine can store four maps (maps of 4 floors) in its memory, for which we have to enter the number of floors of our apartment or house in the app. Since it can recognize the place where you put it down, you don't need a dock for every floor, it automatically figures out which floor you are on, which map you need to "pick up", and cleans accordingly.

The wiper system is quite interesting, that is, it knows quite a lot. On the one hand, the MOP can exert 600 grams of pressure on the floor, and on the other hand, it can vibrate 1650-3000 times per minute, with which it rubs the floor quite effectively. The intensity of mopping can also be adjusted. But that's still nothing, the impossible has finally come true, the machine won't wash the carpet!

On the one hand, it turns off the water when it detects carpet. On the other hand, it increases the suction power when it detects carpet. Thirdly, it raises the MOP by 5 millimeters when it detects carpet. You can say a whoaaa at this.

The dock is also an integral part of the mopping system.

• The first important thing is that the docking station can refill the water tank of the vacuum cleaner, which is why I wrote above that it is not a problem that it is only 200 milliliters.
• The second important thing is that the dock can wash the MOP on the bottom of the machine.
• The third is that it collects the dirty water in another tank.
• The fourth is that the dock can dry itself and the MOP after use, so it doesn't stink.

I note that the tanks in the dock are huge, their capacity is 3 liters. Roborock claims that an area of ​​up to 300 square meters can be effectively cleaned with one charge. This is related to the fact that the battery built into the machine is quite large, with a capacity of 5200 mAh, which means that, in principle, 180 minutes of cleaning is possible with one charge.

It is interesting that the Roborock S7 Max Ultra is also equipped with fast charging. In practice, this means that it charges roughly 30 percent faster (from zero to 3 in about XNUMX hours) than previous machines. However, this is a serious difference, but its benefits will be felt mostly by those who live in such a huge house or apartment that the machine cannot clean with a single charge.

The manufacturer says that the Roborock S7 Max Ultra is such an autonomous system that we don't even have to smell it for 7 weeks, it works automatically in every way!

I already wrote about the carpet detection a little higher, but it also includes the fact that you can find a Carper Boost and a Carpet Deep mode in the settings. These enable more efficient carpet cleaning, not only does the suction power increase, but the robot will go over the carpet twice. What's more, there is also the possibility that mopping does not end at the beginning of the carpet, but that the vibration of the MOP also moves the fibers of the carpet.

There is a function that I carefully mentioned above. This is a problem that needs to be solved, which, to be honest, I didn't even think existed until now. I could say that it's unnecessary even if I don't know about it, but it's not that much.

I'll tell you what it is, you can set when editing the maps that if the room has a hardwood floor (e.g. laminate), then the joints of the floor run from where to where. This is important because the vacuum cleaner plans its route in such a way that it runs parallel to the joints, thus cleaning the dust from the joints of the floor more efficiently than if it were constantly crossing the joints.

Well, all I can say about such functions is that it sucks, what they don't think about during the design.

If it's mapping, I must say that I've seen many robots, but I've never seen such detailed map setting functions as the one on the Roborock S7 Max Ultra.

We can specify not only the running direction of the hard floor, but also if, for example, the covering consists of rectangular, equal (or roughly equal) sided elements, floor tiles. We can specify the location of the carpets manually so that the robot completely avoids the carpet. We can add 10 pieces of furniture that we want to protect to the map.

Of course, we also have the option of scheduled cleaning, in which case the cleaning starts at the same time every day or week. This is still nothing, because we also have the option to specify the default cleaning method for each room. Vacuuming and sweeping, or mopping, or vacuuming, sweeping and mopping at the same time.

In addition to these, of course, there would be the usual options, such as the NoGo zone (not in Western Europe, but in our apartment), virtual walls, zone cleaning, and the separation of rooms into separate areas (e.g. in a living room with an American kitchen, separating the kitchen and the living room), and of course the possibility to name the rooms there as well.

Of course, the map can also be enlarged, so we can divide the rooms very precisely. It is also interesting that after the mapping is completed, we will not only see the usual floor plan, but also where the machine encountered obstacles in the apartment, and where there was a carpet.

If you are not angry, then about such "traditional" things as e.g. I don't write about stair detection, they obviously cannot be missing from a top vacuum cleaner.

Experiences

Now this is going to be an interesting chapter because the focus will be on the few things I don't like. This is because 90 percent of the abilities are simply perfect! The machine cleans amazingly well, and although the mopping is still not the same as when I do the mopping, the vibrating MOP is still much more effective than the traditional one.

It is important to note that due to the way it vibrates, the MOP gets dirty sooner and much more than its traditional counterparts. Of course, this is not a problem, since the machine goes back to the dock and cleans the MOP. In other words, it goes back not only to fill the tank with clean water, but also because there is a small roller brush in the dock, which from time to time cleans the MOP at the bottom of the machine by rubbing it with water.

I've had a machine equipped with a rotating MOP before, but I didn't like that solution, that is, mostly the solution of washing out the MOP. There, the dock drains water under the MOP, rotates the MOP discs in it, and then sucks the dirty water back.

In other words, mopping is done in such a way that the docker wets the MOP, it mops up a few squares, and then it goes back to the dock for another watering. It sounds good at first, but in a large apartment it can take hours just for the machine to return to the dock to water the MOP.

In the case of the S7 Max Ultra, the method is completely different, as here the vacuum cleaner takes 200 milliliters of water with it, which it then dispenses onto the MOP, as with older machines. However, this MOP presses quite hard on the floor, and it also vibrates! So the efficiency is almost as good as with a rotating MOP, but you don't have to return to the dock a thousand times to wet and wash the MOP.

Regarding washing, it is important that the roller brush built into the dock, moving on a right-left rail, cleans the MOP with water and rubbing, which is a sufficiently fast and effective solution. During cleaning, the docking station sucks back the dirty water from the brush cleaning, and in the meantime refills the 200 milliliter tank of the vacuum cleaner.

The object recognition also works, it does not eat the cables, and of course, as expected from such a machine, the system is reactive, i.e. it reacts in real time to the objects in front of it. In other words, it does not treat the apartment as static, but as constantly changing, so for example it is not a problem if something falls from the table in front of it while vacuuming. He stops, dodges, continues cleaning.

What I do not like.

The dock is huge. Of course, it's no accident, it has to be this big because of the water tanks. The designers tried to make it more beautiful, to round the corners, etc., but this did not make it smaller. I found a suitable place for it, but I recommend that you think about whether you have a place to put it before buying. It is important not to squeeze it into small holes, because the vacuum cleaner may have problems when docking.

The second thing is the carpet detection, or more precisely, the solution that pauses the cleaning associated with it. On the one hand, the 5 millimeters that the machine can lift the MOP is quite small. There are obviously physical reasons for this, it is already surprising that this half centimeter increase "fits". However, on carpets with longer fibers, half a centimeter will obviously not be enough.

My other problem is that blocking the water and lifting the MOP is much slower than the machine "steps up" onto the carpet, so the edge of the carpet always remains a little wet after cleaning.

The third, which is a bit confusing, is drying the MOP after cleaning. In the app, you can set whether there should be automatic drying or not (of course!), and how long the drying should last. In other words, to be more precise, you can choose to dry it for 2 or 3 hours.

In practice, this means that the machine hums softly for 2-3 hours, blowing hot air on the MOP. This is a bit disturbing, even though fortunately the hum is neither loud nor hurtful.

What is incomprehensible is that for drying, the machine stands on the dock while charging. This would be logical if the MOP was not intact on the other side of the vacuum cleaner, opposite to the dock. It is there, so only a part of the warm air reaches the MOP, so it is understandable why the drying takes so long. If the machine is parked in reverse, I think the drying time could be cut in half.

My fourth and last problem is with the lack of maintenance, that is, with the fact that this machine can work for a very long time without us having to smell it. Well, that's true even if you don't count mopping up as chores. However, I would definitely not leave dirty water (or even clean) in the tank for more than 2-3 days, especially not in the current heat, because unwanted processes would surely start in the water.

The advantage of the S7 Max Ultra is that emptying, filling, and cleaning the water tanks only takes minutes of our life, so it is not a huge problem to fill the water tanks every morning and empty them in the evening.

Summary

As I wrote in the title, the Roborock S7 Max Ultra is almost the top among robot vacuum cleaners. And not almost because it has a few (almost worthless) "flaws", but because Roborock released the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra in the meantime.

There are two important, or maybe not so important, differences between the machines. One is that the suction power has increased from 5500 to 6000 Pa compared to this machine, which I think is an almost imperceptible difference. The other is that the S8 Pro Ultra can also raise the roller brush, which means that if you just want to mop, the roller brush will definitely not touch the floor, and mopping will be even more efficient. There is no other difference.

And it is, because the price of the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra is approx. It is $300, or HUF 100 more expensive than the Roborock S000 Max Ultra. If you want the very best and money is a secondary consideration, then buy the S7 Pro Ultra, but if you simply want a super machine, then save that HUF 8. I think so.

Of course, the price of the Roborock S7 Max Ultra is still not low. Although, this is also a matter of comparison, because the price of the older, less capable S7 Pro Ultra is 450 forints, and 7 for the also older S490 MaxV Ulra. Compared to these, you have to pay "only" 7 for the Roborock S380 Max Ultra, which is much newer than I wrote earlier this month, and in the package we now get 3 extra paper dust bags, an extra MOP and an extra HEPA filter as a gift. The latter were included in the package in connection with the introductory promotion.

If you like this all-knowing machine, you can order it right away from the European warehouse by clicking on the link below!

Roborock S7 Max Ultra robot vacuum cleaner