Roborock S6 MaxV Review: Better than all the rest?

 Price: Roborock S6 MaxV sells for $749.99 on Amazon.

Release Date: Roborock S6 MaxV was released in late June 2020.

Pros

• Roborock S6 MaxV uses ReactiveAI, the most powerful navigational and object avoidance tool available.
• Roborock S6 MaxV has an impressive battery life of 3 hours in quiet mode.
• Smart charging saves time
• Roborock S6 MaxV has a wide range of customization and scheduling options to optimize your home cleaning.
• You can set up several levels with several No-Go Zones, No-Go Lines, and No-Mop Zones.
• Roborock S6 MaxV has incredibly powerful mopping and vacuuming features.

Cons

• Costs a lot more than other Roborock vacuum cleaners.
• Changes and modifications may not be significant enough to warrant upgrading an existing Roborock vacuum cleaner such as the S6, unless you have the money to spend easily.

Roborock S6 MaxV is the latest robot vacuum cleaner released by Roborock, one of the world’s foremost producers of intelligent vacuum cleaners and other cleaning devices. Roborock is a part of Xiaomi, one of the world’s youngest Fortune 500 companies and the fourth-largest smartphone manufacturer. Since Roborock S6 MaxV is designed by such behemoths of the technological world, you know that trustworthiness and reliability aren’t issues.

For those who are familiar with Roborock’s previous vacuum cleaners, you may be wondering what’s so special about Roborock S6 MaxV. After all, their previous iterations — Roborock S6 and Roborock S5 Max — were fairly intelligent robot vacuum cleaners that performed sophisticated cleaning functions. What more could Roborock S6 MaxV possibly offer?

Well, to put it simply, Roborock S6 MaxV is a major improvement on other robot vacuum cleaners in a lot of ways. It has a better battery life, greater navigation skills, more suction force, greater dustbin capacity, and so much more. However, its greatest innovation is the use of a stereo camera in addition to the advanced laser navigation system, which provides advanced obstacle avoidance.

But is that enough? Is it enough for Roborock S6 MaxV to have a more sophisticated navigational skill? Is Roborock S6 MaxV worth the money? In this article, we give you a detailed overview of Roborock S6 MaxV so you can make that decision for yourself. We will discuss Roborock S6 MaxV design, features, performance, and compare it to the previous models of Roborock vacuum cleaners.

Roborock S6 MaxV Specifications

Roborock S6 MaxV Design

In terms of design, Roborock S6 MaxV doesn’t seem to have changed much from its predecessors — Roborock S6 and Roborock S5 Max.

Roborock S6 MaxV has a modern and minimalist aesthetic. It features a sleek matte black body with rubber sides to protect it from bumps. Unlike some of the previous robot vacuum models, it’s only available in one color — Black.

In terms of dimensions, Roborock S6 MaxV is just as low and sleek as the previous models, measuring 353 x 350 x 96.5mm. As such, it can easily slide under sofas without obstruction.

The Roborock S6 MaxV also features a large water tank around the side, measuring 300ml. The water tank is transparent and removable, which allows you to see the water level and determine when you need to change it.

One of the most significant changes to the Roborock S6 MaxV design is the addition of the stereo cameras on the robot vacuum’s body. In fact, Roborock S6 MaxV is the first in the line of Roborock’s vacuum cleaners to include stereo cameras, which facilitates better navigational skills.

Roborock S6 MaxV also includes three buttons on top of the body. As such, you can tap those buttons with your toes to make directional or navigational changes. However, the buttons only perform basic functions like starting and stopping. Most of the vacuum cleaner’s functions are handled through voice commands, in-app controls, and automated functions.

Like the previous Roborock vacuums, Roborock S6 MaxV also comes with a charging dock. As such, when the battery runs low, it automatically navigates towards the charging port and connects the charging dock.

Summary of Roborock S6 MaxV Design

• Color: Black.
• Dimensions: 353 x 350 x 96.5mm.
• Water Tank: Transparent; 300ml.
• Stereo Camera.
• Three Buttons.
• Charging Dock. Dimensions: 151mm x 130mm x 98mm

Roborock S6 MaxV Battery Life

Roborock S6 MaxV runs on a 5200mAh battery that provides up to 180 minutes of runtime on quiet mode. If you run the robot vacuum in normal mode, you’ll probably get around 150 minutes of runtime. Two to three hours of runtime may not seem like a lot, but it’s enough for most moderately-sized homes.

Roborock S6 MaxV also has a smart top-up feature, much like most advanced robot vacuum cleaners. When the battery is running low in the middle of a cleaning session, Roborock S6 MaxV automatically navigates to the charging station.

In previous versions of Roborock, the vacuum would charge till 80% battery before resuming the cleaning session again. However, Roborock S6 MaxV calculates exactly how much charge is necessary to complete the job and only charges that amount. For example, if it determines that it needs a 50% charge to clean the rest of your home, it will only charge until it has a 50% battery.

Once the entire home is cleaned, Roborock S6 MaxV will automatically navigate back to its charging station for complete charging, Roborock S6 MaxV takes approximately six hours to charge completely when it’s almost drained.

Summary of Battery Life Features:

• Battery Power: 5200mAh.
• Runtime: 180 Minutes (Quiet Mode).
• Charging Time: 6 Hours.
• Smart Top-Up.

Roborock S6 MaxV Mopping

Roborock S6 MaxV has the largest water tank capacity amongst all the previous Roborock vacuum cleaners. It has a 300ml water tank capacity with a total mopping area of up to 250sq. meters. As such, Roborock S6 MaxV can mop a moderately-sized home at least once before needing a refill.

Roborock S6 MaxV provides app-controlled mopping, which means you can set intelligent schedules and customizations. You can set up specific times and schedules for your Roborock’s mopping. You can also set up room-to-room customizations based on priority. Once your entire home is mopped, it automatically turns the water off, thus eliminating waste.

In addition to setting up schedules and room-based customizations, Roborock S6 MaxV also allows you to set up No Mop Zones. Let’s say you have a carpet in the middle of your living room. You can designate that area as a No Mop Zone in your Roborock app. As such, your Roborock will either avoid the carpet altogether or turn the water tank off while vacuuming the carpet.

Genius Level Mopping is one of Roborock S6 MaxV’s greatest new mopping features. The Roborock vacuum includes a spring-loaded mop that pushes the mop to the floor with 300g pressure. As such, Roborock S6 MaxV scrubs and mops the floors with consistent pressure, mopping the floor thoroughly.

Summary of Mopping Features

• Water Tank Capacity: 300ml.
• Mopping Area: 250m².
• App-Controlled Mopping.
• Genius Level Mopping.
• No-Mop Zones.

Roborock S6 MaxV Mapping & Navigation

There’s a lot to discuss when it comes to Roborock’s mapping and navigation features. Roborock S6 MaxV has advanced obstacle recognition and avoidance skills, perhaps the best in the industry. But what does that mean exactly? Let’s start with the latest addition to its navigational features.

So far, the previous Roborocks have used high-precision laser navigation sensors. Roborock S6 MaxV takes that up a notch with the integration of a stereo camera. This refers to the presence of two cameras on the front face of the Roborock — cameras with the ability to see and accurately estimate the location and size of obstacles. The stereo camera captures detailed images at 30 frames per second, which facilitates the smooth processing of small objects and details, such as slippers, pedestals, and waste.

The combination of high-precision laser navigation (LDS navigation) with the stereo camera is called ReactiveAI. The ReactiveAI allows the Roborock to see and sense objects in its route, thus allowing it to reroute itself around the object. It doesn’t just sense large objects, but also smaller objects like toys or slippers. “The seamless integration of ReactiveAI with our advanced laser technology allows the Roborock S6 MaxV to estimate the size and location of common obstacles,” said Richard Chang, CEO of Roborock in a Press Release.

Roborock S6 MaxV’s ReativeAI is powered by a Qualcomm® APQ8053 processor chip from Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. Furthermore, this obstacle avoidance technology leverages a Convolutional Neural Network that can process tens of thousands of images to accurately identify objects. “The advancements that Roborock has made in the Home Robotics industry these past years are remarkable,” said Dev Singh, senior director of business development and head of autonomous robotics at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “We’re thrilled to work with Roborock on their first product to launch with a stereo camera and a Qualcomm APQ8053 heterogeneous processor.”

Roborock S6 MaxV also has advanced depth perception, which means it can avoid objects that are as small as 5cm wide and 3cm high. It can essentially avoid objects like pet bowls, small toys, cups, pedestals, steps, and even pet waste. In addition to advanced depth perception, Roborock S6 MaxV also has advanced multi-level mapping features with which it can automatically identify four levels of your home. As such, it knows exactly where to go or avoid in order to avoid falling off stairs or bumping against pedestals.

You can also use your Roborock phone app to establish up to 10 No-Go Zones, No-Go Lines, and No-Mop Zones per level. No-Go Zones refer to entire areas of your home that the Roborock shouldn’t enter. No-Go Lines refer to virtual lines that you can draw on your screen that the Roborock can’t cross. And No-Mop Zones are areas of the house that the Roborock can go to but not for mopping, such as carpets. As such, the ability to set 10 No-Go Lines, No-Go Zones, and No-Mop Zones across four levels of your home offers an incredibly high degree of customization.

If you don’t want to set up automatic customizations, you can also control your Roborock manually with the phone’s app.

Summary of Mapping & Navigation Features

• ReactiveAI: LDS High-Precision Navigation System + Stereo Camera.
• Processor: Qualcomm® APQ8053.
• Depth Perception.
• Multi-Level Mapping.
• No-Go Zones.
• No-Go Lines.
• No-Mop Zones.

Roborock S6 MaxV Performance

Suction force is one of the most important features when it comes to a robot vacuum cleaner’s performance. Roborock has always fared really well in this category, with a steady suction force of 2000Pa. However, Roborock S6 MaxV exceeds that with a whopping suction force of 2500Pa, which is more than enough to suck up AA batteries and other such objects. Roborock S6 MaxV is approximately 25% more powerful than its predecessors.

Roborock S6 MaxV also performs brilliantly when it comes to the mopping force. As we mentioned earlier, Roborock S6 MaxV has a spring-loaded mop that applies 300g of constant pressure. With such pressure, Roborock S6 MaxV ensures that your floors will be sparkly clean at a single go. Roborock S6 MaxV also has a stronger mopping force than its preceding Roborocks.

Summary of Performance Features

• Suction Force: 2500Pa.
• Mopping Pressure: 300g.

Roborock S6 MaxV Maintenance

Roborock S6 MaxV is one of the easiest robot vacuum cleaners in terms of maintenance. To begin with, it has a large easily-ejectable dustbin that can hold 480ml of waste. Compared to this, previous Roborock vacuum cleaners have had a maximum dustbin capacity of 460ml. As such, Roborock S6 MaxV can collect more waste before you need to replace the dustbin.

Roborock S6 MaxV also has an advanced E11 rated filter that can capture up to 95% all pollutants in your home. Removing and cleaning the EPA filter is quite easy. Roborock S6 MaxV also has several features and sensors that let you know when the robot vacuum needs maintenance. There are sensors for the water tank, dustbin, mop mount, and all other aspects of the robot vacuum

Summary of Maintenance Features

• Dustbin Volume: 480ml.
• Filter: Removable E11 Filter.
• Sensors and Alarms.

Roborock S6 MaxV App

Roborock S6 MaxV can be controlled using two distinct smartphone apps — Roborock and Mi Home.

Both Roborock and Mi Home provide the complete suite of features we’ve discussed earlier in this article. They allow you to set smart schedules, rooms, levels, save maps, set no-go zones, no-go lines, no-mop zones, control navigation, etc.

So how do Roborock and Mi Home differ?

The Roborock app has been made by Beijing Roborock Technology Co., Ltd., and it’s meant solely for Roborock products. Mi Home has been made by Beijing Xiaomi Co., Ltd, and it’s meant to control all Xiaomi smart home products, including doorbells, cameras, door sensors, lamps, and other products. Both apps also have different interfaces.

As such, whether you use Roborock and Mi Home depends on how many Xiaomi smart devices you have. If you have several Xiaomi products besides Roborock, it makes sense to centralize all of their operations in your Mi Home app. However, if Roborock is your sole Xiaomi device, using the Roborock app will be simpler.

Roborock App

• Downloads: iOS and Android.
• Compatibility: iOS 9.0+ and Android 5.0+
• Ratings: 2.5/5 on iOS and 3.1/5 on Android.

Mi Home App

• Downloads: iOS and Android.
• Compatibility: iOS 9.0+ and Android 4.3+
• Ratings: 3.6/5 on iOS and 4.2/5 on Android.

Roborock S6 MaxV Voice Controls

Like other Roborock robot vacuums, S6 MaxV also supports Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. This allows you to use your voice to command S6 MaxV over any Alexa or Google Home device. Currently, however, Roborock vacuum cleaners accept many more commands from Google Home than from Alexa.

Using Roborock S6 MaxV with Alexa

How to control Roborock S6 MaxV using Alexa voice commands?

• In your Alexa app, go to Skills & Games.
• In the search bar, look for Roborock Home or Mi Home.
• Select the relevant app and tap Enable to Use.
• Link your Mi Home or Roborock app to Alexa.
• Follow the prompts and tap Discover Devices. Alexa will automatically discover your Roborock devices.
• If it doesn’t automatically discover the device, go to Add Device > Other > Discover Devices.
• You’ll get a list of devices, including your Roborock S6 MaxV.
• Select the relevant device.
• You can now start and stop your Roborock using Alexa voice commands.

Supported Actions:

• Start the vacuum.
• Stop the vacuum.

Using Roborock S6 MaxV with Google Assistant

How to control Roborock S6 MaxV using Google Home commands?

• In your Google Home app, go to Add > Set Up Device > Have Something Already Set Up > Mi Home/ Roborock.
• Link your Mi Home or Roborock account to Google Home.
• Select Roborock Vacuum Cleaner under the Mi Home section of Google Home.
• Your Roborock will be linked to Google Home.
• You can now use voice commands to control your Roborock S6 MaxV.

Supported Actions:

• Stop vacuuming.
• Send the vacuum home.
• Is vacuum charging?
• Charge the vacuum.
• Is vacuum charging?
• Pause the vacuum.
• Dock the vacuum.
• Start vacuuming.
• Stop the vacuum.
• Start the vacuum.

Roborock S6 MaxV vs. S6 vs. S5 Max vs. S5 vs. S4: Comparison of Roborock Vacuum Cleaners

Roborock S6 MaxV vs. S6

• Navigation: Roborock S6 MaxV is the first Roborock vacuum cleaner that provides advanced navigation abilities through ReactiveAI, a combination of LDS laser navigation and stereo cameras. Roborock S6 only has LDS navigation with sensors to avoid obstacles, but it’s not as effective.
• Battery: Roborock S6 MaxV has a runtime of 180 minutes in quiet mode. Meanwhile, Roborock S6 has a runtime of 150 minutes.
• Power: Roborock S6 MaxV has 25% more suction force than Roborock S6.

Roborock S6 MaxV vs. S5 Max

• Navigation: Roborock S6 MaxV uses a stereo camera and ReactiveAI for navigation and obstacle avoidance. Roborock S5 Max only uses LDS Laser navigation and sensors to avoid obstacles.
• Capacity: Roborock S6 MaxV has a 480ml dustbin capacity while Roborock S5 Max has a 460ml dustbin capacity.
• Battery: Roborock S6 MaxV has a runtime of 180 minutes in quiet mode. Meanwhile, Roborock S5 Max has a runtime of 150 minutes.
• Power: With 2500Pa, Roborock S6 MaxV has 25% more suction force than Roborock S5 Max.

Roborock S6 MaxV vs. S5

• Navigation: Roborock S6 MaxV uses a wide range of navigational features not available in Roborock S5, such as ReactiveAI, Adaptive Route Algorithm to learn a route, Selective Room Cleaning to change cleaning modes for different rooms, and the ability to create no-mop zones and no-go zones.
• Capacity: Roborock S6 MaxV has a 300ml water tank capacity while Roborock S5 only has a 140ml water tank capacity. As such, Roborock S6 MaxV can mop more of your home without needing a refill.
• Battery: Roborock S6 MaxV has a runtime of 180 minutes in quiet mode. Meanwhile, Roborock S5 has a runtime of 150 minutes. Furthermore, Roborock S6 MaxV calculates how long it will take to clean the rest of the house and only charges until that level. But Roborock S5 always charges till 80% before setting off to clean the rest of the house, even if it needs only 20% or 30% charge.
• Power: With 2500Pa, Roborock S6 MaxV has 25% more suction force than Roborock S5.

Roborock S6 MaxV vs. S4

• Mopping: Roborock S6 MaxV function as a vacuum cleaner and smart mop. Meanwhile, Roborock S4 only works as a vacuum cleaner with no mopping feature.
• Navigation: Roborock S6 MaxV uses a wide range of navigational tools, cameras, and sensors to intelligently navigate your home and avoid obstacles. Roborock S4 lacks such sophisticated features and is more likely to bump against obstacles.
• Capacity: Roborock S6 MaxV has a 480ml dustbin capacity while Roborock S4 has a 420ml dustbin capacity.
• Battery: Roborock S6 MaxV has a runtime of 180 minutes in quiet mode. Meanwhile, Roborock S4 has a runtime of 150 minutes. Furthermore, Roborock S6 MaxV calculates also provides intelligent recharge capacities, which means it calculates the amount of time necessary before recharging.
• Power: With 2500Pa, Roborock S6 MaxV has 25% more suction force than Roborock S4.
• Control: Roborock S6 MaxV can be controlled with your voice commands or app. Roborock S4 also comes with remote control.

Roborock S6 MaxV FAQs

How much is the Roborock S6 MaxV?

Roborock S6 MaxV costs $749.99 in the US.

Can I get Roborock S6 MaxV in UK?

Yes, you can, Roborock S6 MaxV’s is available on the UK market.

Does Roborock S6 MaxV have mopping capabilities?

Yes, Roborock S6 MaxV has an incredibly powerful mopping capability because it features a 300ml water tank with a spring-loaded mop that applies 300g pressure.

Does Roborock S6MaxV work with Google Home, Alexa, Siri?

Just like the other Roborock models, S6 MaxV works with Google Home and Alexa, but not with Siri.

How long does the Roborock S6MaxV battery last?

The Roborock S6 MaxV’s battery lasts up to 18 hours in quiet mode, but it will be lower in normal mode. The 5200mAh battery takes up to 6 hours to charge completely.