Roborock s7 maxv ultra

Roborock's S7 MaxV Ultra boasts to be one of the most autonomous robots on the market. Delivered with a large base with three tanks, it vacuums, washes, empties its collector and automatically cleans its mop.

 

Presentation

The S7 MaxV Ultra is a hybrid vacuum cleaner-robot for vacuuming and washing the floor. It is the "ultra" of the range which, delivered with a charging station, relieves the user of unsightly tasks. Composed of three containers, the base empties the waste collector, fills the robot's water tank if necessary and keeps the soiled water after cleaning. The originality of the product is that this station automatically washes its tray and mop. And to obtain outstanding cleaning performance, the manufacturer has equipped its robot with sensors, a rangefinder, a camera, a 3D scan and a sonic vibration mop.

 

Convenience of use

Roborock's latest addition has a futuristic look. Dressed in black and red, it measures less than 10 cm high. Above all, the S7 MaxV Ultra is a bundle of technology, and it shows! It is equipped with the ReactiveAI 2.0 technology combining an RGB camera and a 3D scan. This technology allows the robot to find its way in its environment and to detect obstacles in its path. Its laser rangefinder helps it to correctly map the environment and optimize the route. Finally, the S7 MaxV Ultra obviously has an armada of sensors to detect different types of surfaces, obstacles or avoid falling into the void in the presence of a staircase, for example. Thanks to these technologies, the navigation of the robot should be among the best.

If Roborock communicates a lot on these numerous technologies, the charging station remains the major asset of the S7 MaxV Ultra; imposing with its 49 cm height and 42 cm depth and width. It allows to reduce to the maximum the maintenance made by the user. To do this, it has three different tanks. Two of them are dedicated to the washing function: one must be filled with clean water, while the second one recovers the soiled water after washing.

In concrete terms, the base automatically fills the robot's built-in water tank (200 ml), wrings out the mop during and after washing, and then stores the soiled water in the second tank. While the Yeedi Mop Station and Dreame Bot W10 also have such bins, they do away with the need for a collector drain container. The base of the Roborock - and this is the originality of the robot - is equipped with one. This means that it is no longer necessary to get your hands dirty to empty the collector. But the manufacturer is not stopping there and has equipped the S7 MaxV Ultra with an automatic self-cleaning system on its base after a session.

Continuing the tour of the owner, we spot the waste collector under the frame of the S7 MaxV. With a capacity of 400 ml, it embeds a HEPA filter that traps small dust and thus reduces the risk of allergy or asthma. A large rubber brush and a small side brush, combined with a suction power of 5100 Pa, are responsible for vacuuming waste and dust.

The mop is attached to the underside of the robot and is machine washable. As for the water tank, it is clipped to the back and allows the vibrating mop to be moistened.

Finally, we identify the control panel located on the hood of the robot. Very classic, it allows you to launch a cleaning, pause it, send the S7 MaxV back to its base or ask it to undertake a targeted cleaning.

 

 

Connectivity and app

The Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra is easily connected to the app. After searching for the device on the app, a QR code appears and must be flashed by the robot's camera: it connects to the wifi and becomes operational.

The user is then offered a plethora of features. Of course, it is possible to ask the robot to start cleaning, to pause it or to return to its base. The intensity of suction and "scrubbing" of the mop can be adjusted according to the chosen mode: vacuum and wash, vacuum or wash. As with many robot vacuums, the Roborock app allows you to create virtual walls, no-go zones, cleaning zones and even customize rooms from scratch. In short, the user is king.

There are so many possible settings that it is difficult to detail them all. The user can choose the frequency of mop washing, activate or not the automatic emptying of the collector or program sessions. The multi-stage option is also available and is very useful.

As with the Samsung Jetbot AI+, the Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra's onboard camera allows the user to observe what's going on at home. It is then possible to follow a cleaning in progress, to control the robot remotely with a remote control and even to call the robot! The user can then communicate with people nearby or with his pet.

The app provides a very complete experience, especially since the mapping details are really appreciable: the robot spots obstacles (an icon identifies them on the map), different surfaces (such as carpets), and gray waste piles (such as our sawdust).

 

Maintenance

The S7 MaxV Ultra's dock is supposed to be very self-contained, but the facts differ somewhat. First of all, we found that the automatic emptying of the collector was far from efficient. After starting our cleaning session, the robot returns to its base, which in turn sucks up the collected waste. We then manipulated the robot and noticed that waste was escaping from the collector. To find out for sure, we placed 150 g of rice in the belly of the robot, then ordered it to automatically empty its collector. Only 26.3 g of rice were sucked out... We repeated the operation with 50 g of sawdust this time. The results were better, but unequivocal: only 30 g were recovered by the vacuum base.

The automatic cleaning of the mop was also somewhat disappointing. During the cleaning and at the end of the cycle, the Roborock's base takes care of cleaning the mop with an integrated brush. Unfortunately, the results are still mixed and we prefer to put the wipe in the washing machine for more efficiency (60°C for a perfect result).

Similarly, the base is supposed to clean itself, again with the help of the brush. Despite this feature, we find the base tray very dirty after cleaning. This is due to the numerous gaps on the base.

The HEPA filter retains little dust. We did a weighing before/after vacuuming 20g of cocoa. In the end, only 0.2 g of cocoa got lodged in the filter.

The automatic refill of the water tank integrated in the robot is also very efficient. Thanks to its clean water tank, the base fills it as soon as necessary, which allows the S7 MaxV Ultra to gain autonomy.

Finally, the rubber brush prevents hair from getting tangled, and a small tool is included with the robot to improve maintenance.

 

Navigation system

As we have already mentioned, the S7 MaxV Ultra is a condensation of technologies. Its sensors, its laser rangefinder and its pair of cameras should allow it to find its way perfectly in any type of environment.

So we wanted to verify Roborock's claims and scattered 100 g of sawdust in strategic places in our laboratory. The trajectory of the robot is strange: sometimes it cuts the piece in two, sometimes it lingers on the carpet. In any case, it first goes around the area before navigating in a zigzag.

Then comes the first challenge: our thin carpet. It's a success: the robot passes over the carpet without difficulty and doesn't forget to raise its mop to avoid soaking it. Likewise, chair rungs are no obstacle for the S7 MaxV Ultra. On the other hand, it goes around curtains without going under them and considers them as walls.

We then decide to place objects in its path to observe its behavior. The S7 MaxV Ultra would indeed be able to recognize shoes, cables and even animal excrements. Above all, the manufacturer assures that its machine reacts differently depending on what it perceives. The robot-sucker would approach the shoes, but would remain at a distance of the excrements, for example. Obviously, we did not carry out this test, but we placed a water bottle, a cloth and a power cable. Apart from the gourd, the robot dragged the obstacles along with it, which is a bit disappointing considering the promise.

Finally, we place the robot in the dark. A front light comes on to illuminate the path. Its path is fairly methodical, but the robot seems to take detours from time to time and sometimes gets into trouble with certain obstacles.

 

 

Vacuuming

The S7 MaxV Ultra has a suction power of 5100 Pa (pascals), a large brush and a side brush. This trio allows us to expect more than correct vacuuming performances. This was the case on hard floors and fine carpets, in boost or normal mode.

On thick carpet, however, the test is tougher. The device manages to collect 70% of the scattered rice in normal mode and 72% in boost mode. If this surface is particularly difficult for robot vacuum cleaners, this Roborock does not stand out in this test. For comparison, the Dreame L10 Pro, one of the latest tested by Les Numériques, had sucked up 82% of the waste.

We tested the S7 MaxV Ultra as a robot vacuum cleaner and not as a floor scrubber. So the procedure does not include scrubbing efficiency. However, Roborock's strong communication around the versatility of the device pushed us to double our tests. You can find the results in the lab news below.

 

Autonomy

The S7 MaxV Ultra is in the middle of our comparison and requires just over 3 hours to fully charge. In standard mode, the robot is in the high average and vacuums for 2 hours 51 minutes. It is also one of the longest-lasting appliances in boost mode, cleaning for 1 hour and 40 minutes.

 

Noise

Although it does not break the ears, the robot is not the quietest. In standard mode, it reaches 62 dB (A) against 54 dB (A) for the iRobot Roomba J7+. The robot vacuum cleaner even goes up to 66 dB (A) when set to its maximum power.

 

Conclusion

The S7 MaxV Ultra is presented by Roborock as a hybrid device capable of vacuuming, washing and managing its maintenance automatically. However, if the vacuuming performance is more than correct, there is a shadow in the picture. The docking station is indeed very dirty and does not manage to clean itself, whether it is its base, its mop or the emptying of the collector. The vibrating mop (as on many other devices) is just a showpiece. The S7 MaxV Ultra is certainly an excellent vacuum cleaner, but seems to botch its other features. It is therefore far from being considered a 2-in-1 robot worthy of the name.