Let’s face facts: No one really enjoys vacuuming, do they? It’s pretty loud, it’s kind of tedious, and even the most lightweight stick vacuums can be unwieldy and hard to maneuver around corners and underneath furniture. That said, our floors get pretty gross; they’re where all the dust, dirt, and debris of our day-to-day lives land, and it all just sits there, waiting to get sucked up into oblivion whenever we finally muster the motivation to whip out the ol’ upright vacuum cleaner that’s taking up way too much space in our closet.
Perhaps I’m being a bit dramatic — but if any of the above resonates with you, it’s about time you upgrade to a robot vacuum. It’ll eliminate all of the above annoyances, and some of them don’t even require you to come into contact with a dustbin more often than every 60 days! Even better, eufy offers a varied lineup of robovacs for every budget and every floor cleaning need, so you can find the perfect one to fit your lifestyle.
What should I look for in a eufy robot vacuum?
When shopping for a robot vacuum to clean your home’s floors, you’ll want to consider a series of features and qualities. Depending on the depth of clean you’re aiming for, the size of the space you have, and the ultimate conveniences you hope to benefit from, you will find that you have several options to suit your wants, needs, and budget, most of all.
Here are the predominant factors that you’ll want to pay the most attention to as you determine the best eufy RoboVac for your home:
Height. If you’re hoping for your robot vacuum to clean underneath your furniture (so you don’t have to), you’ll want to make sure you select one with a profile that’s slim enough to fit in those spaces.
Obstacle and Drop Detection. These are pretty standard qualities to demand in a robotic vacuum, though some eufy models do it a little better than others, depending on their navigation system. But, generally speaking, your eufy RoboVac of choice will be equipped with a series of sensors to prevent it from bumping into walls and furniture, and from falling down any nearby stairs. Cheaper models, however, may get a little stuck if there’s a bit too much clutter on the floor (such as power cords, for example).
Battery Life. Some robot vacuums in the eufy lineup can go two hours or longer without needing to be recharged, while others need a boost of juice a lot sooner. Consider the device’s runtime if you’ll need it to clean for extended periods (or if your cat, for example, decides they really love taking their new toy for rides around the house.)
BoostIQ Technology. This quality allows the robot vacuum to smoothly transition over different surfaces (i.e. hardwood floors, tiles, low- to medium-pile carpeting and area rugs, etc.) and then automatically increase suction power whenever necessary to get that particular surface as clean as possible. Even if the “Boost IQ” feature is not mentioned explicitly by name in the product description, all of eufy’s RoboVac models are designed to move seamlessly from hard flooring to area rugs.
App Integration. Many of eufy’s robot vacuums can be controlled via the brand’s easy-to-use app — but not all of them. If this is of particular importance to you, make sure that you double-check that your chosen model is capable of app control. (Some can even be controlled via voice commands thanks to integration with Amazon Alexa and Google Home devices!)
Virtual Boundaries. Not all eufy models have this feature that often goes hand-in-hand with app integration, as the app is where you’ll be able to designate “no-go zones” (like that corner of the living room with all the electrical cords) and other virtual boundaries, such as rooms you don’t want the eufy to enter.
Smart Mapping. This is the robot vacuum’s ability to navigate your home’s floors and remember the pathways it takes to ensure it doesn’t miss an inch of coverage. Not all navigation systems are made equal, however, so we’ll delve into those specifics in depth below.
Self-Emptying. If you don’t want to deal with dumping out the dusty, dirty contents of your robot vac on a daily or weekly basis, consider a model with a self-emptying base. After it cleans your floors, it’ll return to the base and automatically empty the crud there. Then, you just have to empty the base once every 60 days, give or take.
Mop Combos. You may just be in the market for a robovac to take over the duty of manual sweeping and vacuuming — and that’s perfectly respectable. However, you should know that there are some eufy RoboVac models that can also mop your floors. To be fair, you probably shouldn’t expect them to do any legitimate scrubbing like some other brands’ mop combos (the Roborock S7 and iRobot Braava Jets come to mind), but they definitely add another level of cleanliness to your floors, especially if you tend to make a mess in the kitchen or if you live in an environment where you track in a bit of muck from the outdoors.
How does eufy navigate?
Aside from the aforementioned factors, you’ll also want to consider the fact that the eufy lineup of robot vacuums encompasses models with three different types of navigation:
iPath™ Laser Navigation: The most sophisticated navigation in eufy’s top-tier RoboVacs, it utilizes advanced LiDAR technology and a Z-shaped cleaning route for the most efficient cleaning. It accurately scans your home and builds a virtual map (aka “smart mapping”) that it remembers and references every time it cleans. (Bonus: Multiple floor maps can be learned and intelligently recognized so you can utilize one eufy across your whole home.) This smart mapping feature can be found on models like the eufy Clean L35 Hybrid+, and the RoboVac X8 and X8 Hybrid.
Smart Dynamic Navigation: Not quite as sophisticated as the iPath laser nav, Smart Dynamic navigation is still pretty impressive thanks to its gyroscope and accelerometer smart sensors. It utilizes logical route planning — a step up from the random paths of the “bounce” technology explained below — and ultimately covers your entire space with thorough cleaning power. It doesn’t really store this information for the future (like iPath does), but it’s an efficient and more affordable navigation system that can be found on models like the G30 Hybrid and G40 Hybrid+.
Bounce Series: These RoboVacs are the least intelligent when it comes to navigation, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. They may not be built with sophisticated mapping capabilities, but they can still get the job done by “bouncing” away from detected obstacles (i.e. walls, furniture or intentional boundaries you’ve created to keep it from entering rooms where it may get stuck or lost). The results may not be perfect — and this type of RoboVac may not be the brightest crayon in the box — but it’s still better than having to vacuum by hand. This series includes budget-friendly eufy models like the RoboVac 11S MAX.
How does eufy compare to Roomba and Shark?
Naturally, eufy is not the only robot vacuum cleaner on the block. The Roomba by iRobot literally gave this cleaning innovation its name when it first launched around the turn of the century. Back then — and even now — we often refer to all robot vacuums as “roombas” regardless of their make and model (comparable to the way that we tend to refer to tissues of all brands as “Kleenex” and all copy machines as “Xerox”). The robot vacuum market is also partially dominated by Shark, the household appliance giant behind a selection of their own innovative robovacs.
So how does the eufy RoboVac lineup compare to those of iRobot Roomba and Shark? When it comes to size, eufy offers some of the slimmest options in terms of both height and self-emptying stations, where applicable. Its models tend to also be better designed for smaller spaces with fewer people. This is partly because that’s what eufy’s mid-range power and brush technology can handle, and also partly because the eufy is quieter than its competitors so it won’t be as audibly disruptive in a smaller home. That said, eufy’s entire range tends to be pretty impressive when it comes to picking up pet hair, so dog and cat owners should take note.
When it comes to budget, Shark, iRobot, and eufy each boast a range of models to cater to different price points. However, eufy’s lineup generally delivers the most affordable robot vacuums of the trio, and they tend to go on sale fairly often as well.
