A few years back, Xiaomi released its first robot vacuum with its own unique twist on things. It offered nearly the same performance as vacuums that cost two to three times as much, all while offering better navigation than the competition as well. The follow-up to this incredibly successful venture with Roborock, the manufacturer behind the original vacuum, utilizes the Roborock name instead of Xiaomi’s, all while still offering a similar design and base features. Roborock wasn’t content with just adding in a few new things though, it has redesigned the faults in the original vacuum on top of adding in new features, all while selling the vacuum for only around $100 more.
The Roborock S50 retails for around $500 on websites like GearBest, which places it in the middle of the spectrum as far as Robot vacuums are concerned. Roborock has added in some big new functionality to coincide with the price hike though, and you’ll find a new mopping accessory is available for giving the floor a quick wet sweep after being passed over by the vacuum’s suction rollers. In addition to this, a slew of new features can be found in the Mi Home app; the same app that all of Xiaomi’s connected products use, conveniently keeping all your smart home controls in one place. A brand new zone cleanup tool gives you control over individual room and space cleaning, while spot cleaning serves as an easy way to send the vacuum to a specific spot in the house and automatically clean a 2×2 meter square in the room.
We’ve already compared the first and second generation Roborock vacuums, but in this video we’re taking a deeper dive into the features that make the Roborock S50 unique among the swath of robot vacuums out there. The original vacuum featured the same 5,200mAh battery inside, but as we saw from the comparison video, the second generation seems to be a bit more efficient in its cleaning cycles and finished my home in an average of 15 minutes faster. Pair this with auto carpet detection with suction boost and a ton of other features, and you’ll quickly find out why this could be the robot vacuum to beat in 2018! Check out the video on our YouTube page below.