Roborock S6 MaxV Review: It's Smart & Powerful... But Should You Get It?

If you aren't new to a robot vacuum cleaner already, you should know that most offer at least satisfactory clearance of dust and small debris, with some even needing to go over the area twice. Budget ones tend to have lower suction power, which can defeat the purpose of owning a robot vacuum to help you clean fine dust daily, depending on how you see it.

While we at Product Nation do not have excessive exposure to different robot vacuum cleaner models, our tests and research (along with a quick study-comparison to similar competitors, budget models and handheld vacuums) show us that the Roborock S6 MaxV is really deserving of its title among one of the best robot vacuum cleaners in Malaysia.

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First glance - Quick Roborock S6 MaxV Review

Roborock S6 MaxV is very similar to other latest-generation Roborock models such as the Roborock S6 and the S5 Max.

The biggest win for the S6 MaxV over the S6 and S5 Max is that it has a longer battery life of 180 minutes despite all of them sharing the same power capacity of 5200mAh. S6 MaxV also has a bigger suction power over the S6, and more rated power as well as a bigger water tank over both the S6 and S5 Max.

Aside from those, the Roborock S6 MaxV is also the first-ever Roborock vacuum to have artificial intelligence built into it, which holds key features to enhance its obstacle avoidance as well as its mapping capabilities (S6 MaxV has multi-level mapping!).

Otherwise, all three of the robot vacuum builts are similarly designed, with the same anti-tangle brush, same side brush and same bin placements.

On its pricing, the Roborock S6 MaxV is argued by many to be of great value and performs similarly when compared with competitors such as the Corvan picaBot Elite+, Deebot Ozmo T8 and Neato Robotic D4. They all have similar performance, pricing and specifications as well. 

In short, we believe that the Roborock S6 MaxV is worth the money spent due to its really good cleaning performance along with its app support and AI capabilities.

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Roborock S6 MaxV Specifications

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Performance & Highlighted Features 

App

Like many other robot vacuums that share similar specifications to the Roborock S6 MaxV, the app allows you to configure the operation of your robot vacuum such as setting up no-go zones, assigning specific areas to clean and also choosing power modes - Max, Turbo, Balanced, Gentle and Quiet. 

Setting up is also terribly easy; just have your charging dock and robot placed at its designated area, turn the robot on, then follow the straightforward setup instructions on the mobile app which is available on both Google Play Store and Apple's AppStore. Here, you can also set up voice recognition to use with the robot. Google Assistant, Siri and Alexa are all supported.

The app allows you to view the live feed of the robot cleaning as well (in mapping mode). Whether you're at home or away, you can turn on the robot from your app and get it to start cleaning, then watch it run its course. The robot needs to be connected to your house internet in order for you to operate it from a distance.

Mapping & Obstacle Avoidance

I was most intrigued by the mapping system. Here, you can set rooms (by highlighting the areas) as well as draw lines to set no-go zones for your robot to avoid. Got a big, 3-storey bungalow? The Roborock S6 MaxV supports multi-level mapping which lets you save up to 4 levels of maps. 

A small flaw here would be that the robot needs to be turned on in order for you to edit its no-go zones and such.

Roborock S6 MaxV is the first among all Roborocks to operate with artificial intelligence. It contains a dual-camera setup that has Roborock's own PreciSense LiDar Navigation system to work with day and night. The cameras' ReactiveAI system also works to recognize and avoid common home obstacles such as pet poop, toys and cords.

While I do not have pets to test the former, I can say that the robot has successfully avoided cords. However, I noticed that 1 out of 5 times, the robot tend to not completely avoid obstacles such as the legs of the table and lightweight stools (that had my potted plants on). Thus, you may want to look out for the S6 MaxV, as well as with all other robot vacuums, on your first use with it.

While the S6 MaxV should have no problem vacuuming carpets, I recommend removing rugs as they can get entangled. Your only safety precaution against such a scenario worsening is that the robot stops operating and alert you (aloud too) on the matter via the app.

Cleaning

In our books, the Roborock S6 MaxV performed flawlessly in terms of picking up even the finest dust and similar debris we could feel below our feet. I hardly had difficulty untangling the very few hairs caught at the tangle-brush underneath, along with emptying the dustbin which is recommended to be rinsed once a week. 

With the S6 MaxV's big bin capacity and on Balanced mode, it is able to pick everything up on the first go and clean my space of 1,000 square feet, more or less, about 3 times before a recharge and bin-emptying are needed. If your bin is full, the robot will suggest for you to empty it. And if your robot is running low on battery, it'll automatically go back to the dock and charge itself.

To activate mopping, all you have to do is fill in some water into the 300ml tank, insert it and the vacuum will automatically set to mopping mode. Upon the first test of mopping (without any detergents), some stains are still faint after being mopped over. At most, 2 or even 3 mopping sessions are needed to get rid of such obvious stains.

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Is the Roborock S6 MaxV good?

Aside from its cleaning performance, there are several features that I believe many users will love the Roborock S6 MaxV for, such as its advanced mapping features, being easy to set up and operate, having a fairly long battery life and relatively safe independent operation (it managed to sense cliffs and such on its first run).

While the Roborock S6 MaxV does not have any major flaws, some things that can be refined such as its obstacle avoidance recognition system.

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Why should you buy the Roborock S6 MaxV?

At a price of RM2,000, more or less, the Roborock S6 MaxV doesn't come cheap. But compared to many other similar robot vacuums, it is fairly priced for its features and that it offers an excellent value especially against other international western brands. Aside from its very clean sweeps, we would say that the best reason to get the Roborock S6 MaxV is for its great app functionality which is easy to use and navigate within.

The robot is also great for those who just want to get rid of very fine hair and pet fur on a daily basis, as it manages to pick up such fine particles (and dust too) in just one go. Its big battery and dustbin capacity ensures less monitoring on your part, with the brushes and other parts designed simply for easy cleaning when needed.

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Why should you not buy the Roborock S6 MaxV?

However, if you are looking to clean a home with the need to avoid a lot of delicate furniture and small pieces of items that'll constantly be strewn onto the floor, the Roborock S6 MaxV is not for you.

Technically, the Roborock S6 MaxV has features to counter their less-than-perfect obstacle recognition system (cue, their no-go zone feature and room-only cleaning duty) by having constant updates to its global database of recognized items. It's a good part on Roborock but that doesn't stop it from completely avoid bumping into smaller items that it's unsure of. 

Otherwise, that's a very mild concern to be nitpicky about. In general, the Roborock S6 MaxV is perfect for whoever is concerned about the cleanliness of their home with no fuss. After all, time is money, no?

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