Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra review

Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra: Introduction

• Type: Robot vacuum cleaner with mopping features
• Docking: 2 docks on offer including mains refill and drainage system
• Navigation system: Precisense LiDAR

Roborock tends to use CES to whip the covers off of its latest flagship robo cleaner, and CES 2024 was no exception, with the Chinese brand unveiling the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra at the big Las Vegas expo.

The S8 MaxV Ultra adds a heck of a lot of additions to the feature list and spec-sheet of the previous top-dog – the excellent Roborock S8 Pro Ultra.

—Roborock models compared

One of the big new additions, in terms of big picture smart home news, is the fact that the S8 MaxV Ultra brings Matter to the robot vacuum cleaner party; robo cleaners were one of the new device categories added by the CSA back in October 2023, when it launched Matter 1.2.

Guide: Matter smart home

However, as you’ll see in my Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra review below, that Matter addition is a bit of a non-entity right now, which is a shame.

But don’t let that put a dampener on your expectations of the newest flagship from the brand which is widely considered the best in the business right now.

The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra is an absolute beast of a cleaning machine, which comes with an absolute beast of a price-tag… but I’d say it more than justifies its cost.

Read on to find out why…

Design and components

• FlexiArm Design Side Brush
• Refill and drainage dock an option
• Heated air dryer system

Every year, Roborock’s flagships get a little bit more futuristic looking but, let’s face it, there’s not too much you can do – design-wise – to make a robo cleaner step out from the crowd… unless you are Dyson, of course.

The S8 MaxV Ultra, which comes in black or white, has a bit of a sports car look about it compared to older Roborocks, but is essentially still just a flat, round machine on wheels, measuring 353 x 350 x 103mm, with those familiar control buttons up top alongside the LiDAR turret.

On the top is a lift-up flap that houses the small bin. This lifts out for cleaning and it’s worth doing this every so often, in order to remove any dirt and to clean the filter.

You won’t need to bother emptying the bin though, as the dock takes care of this.

Look underneath though and you’ll see that there’s plenty of new additions on board, most notably the new FlexiArm Design Side Brush and the Extra Edge Spinning Mop System.

These are essentially a robotic arm and extra pad that extend to clean hard-to-reach spaces, with more than 99% corner coverage, we’re reliably informed.

It’s similar to what we’ve seen from the likes of the iRobot Roomba Combo j7+, but a lot more hidden and subtle; it just tucks in at the front next to the cameras and sensors.

Like the S8 Pro, instead of a single roller there are now two that spin in alternate directions. This not only aids dust and dirt pick-up, but the opposing rollers also prevent hairs from getting wrapped around.

The S8 MaxV Ultra that I’ve had on test for this review came with the brand’s new RockDock Ultra 8-in-1 dock dock, but there’s also a new dock on offer too, that can be plumbed straight into your water supply and waste, much like a washing machine or dishwasher.

The ‘Refill and Drainage System’ dock is obviously much smaller than the dock which needs water tanks, it measures in at just 419 x 409 x 300mm

The 8-in-1 dock measures the same width and depth, but those two tanks up top – one for clean water and one for dirty waste water, take the height up to 470mm.

On either RockDock Ultra model you’ll have to empty the dust bin every 6-8 weeks or so, and you’re looking at fortnightly water tank emptying and filling for the non-plumbed option.

On both models there’s a section hiding the dust bag and the detergent compartment. To get to it you simply pop the magnetic front panel off.

Eco-charging is supported, if you live in a region where energy prices fluctuate at specific time periods.

Both of the docks offer hot water cleaning and hot air drying – but more on that in a bit.

Features and in use

• DirTect recognizes types of firt
• Reactive AI 2.0 avoids obstacles
• 10,000Pa suction rating

There’s plenty of new Roborock software on board to create the ultimate cleaning performance, including the DirTect, which recognizes different types of dirt and changes cleaning settings accordingly, and Reactive AI 2.0 for advanced obstacle recognition and avoidance; we’re told that 73 object types can be identified and you can even have your S8 MaxV Ultra take a picture of any that it detects as it goes about its business.

A lot of the big new additions are hardware rather than software based, though. First up is a whopping 10,000Pa suction rating, by far the biggest we’ve ever seen from a robo cleaner.

That 10,000Pa rating, plus the Carpet Boost+ tech has pretty much eliminated cat hair from my house.

Previous Roborocks I’ve tested always did a fantastic job, especially on hardwood floors, or getting rid of pet hair and fine dust but this extra suction power, plus that FlexiArm Design Side Brush have really made a difference in rooms where we have carpet or rugs.

The dual roller system also works brilliantly; I live with three girls (and a cat) who all seem to shed hair constantly but after weeks of use, the rollers on my S8 MaxV Ultra have remained clean.

The beauty of using a high-end Roborock has always been that, no matter what surfaces you have in your house, you can pretty much push ‘start’ and the machine and its software will work out what’s what.

That’s even more the case with the S8 MaxV Ultra, thanks to the new AI Smart Plan tech on board, which takes care of any scenarios that it may come across; think different floor types, no-go zones, stubborn stains, thick rugs, pet bowls and a whole lot more.

You can, as I’ll talk about in the next section, tweak your S8 MaxV Ultra’s settings to your heart’s content in order to create the exact type of clean you want, but you really don’t have to with all the smart AI software already in place.

Navigation with the S8 MaxV Ultra is superb, thanks to the improved LiDAR, combined with the camera on the front, it can quickly move around a house, and rarely gets stuck. Roborock informs us that mapping is 6x faster with the new flagship.

Mopping function

When it comes to mopping, the S8 MaxV Ultra takes what was already a winning combo from its predecessors but adds a whole bunch of new features to the mix.

With the new flagship, there’s a heavy emphasis on heat – the new RockDock Ultra not only empties, refills, and dispenses detergent to the robot, but also washes the mop with 60°C hot water and dries with 60°C heated air to prevent odor and mildew build-up.

It’s similar to the mopping dock on the Ecovacs Deebot X1 Omni, and it works really well.

VibraRise, the name Roborock gives to the functionality of lifting the mopping pad when carpet is detected, reaches version 3.0 with the S8 MaxV Ultra, adding two vibration modules, 20mm lifting, and 4000rpm high-speed sonic mopping.

A new addition to the mopping mix is that the dock now boast an auto detergent dispenser; a 580ml tank that will add detergent to the clean water mix. Roborock states you should only use pre-approved detergents but I’ve been using a standard floor cleaner for a few weeks now with no ill-effects.

Mopping is the area where you get the most freedom to customize so as you get the setttings exactly as you want for your specific hard floor / carpet setup.

In the app you can edit your surfaces in the map, choosing between carpet, tile and floorboards. On the later, you can choose horizontal or vertical arrangements so as the robot know that optimum way to clean.

When the S8 MaxV Ultra is out there doing its mopping-thing, it will return to the dock for mop washing. During this mid-clean-clean, there’s tech in the dock to detect how dirty the mopping pad is and it will increase the frequency of the mop cleaning breaks if needs be.

If you don’t trust the mop to lift enough to keep your expensive carpets and mats dry then you can set the robot to prioritize vacuuming carpeted areas first, so as it goes to them before any mopping commences with a dry mop pad.

Unlike the S7 MaxV, you can’t actually remove the mopping pad though; so you will have to put some faith into that 20mm lift, which is a vast improvement on the 5mm lift from previous models.

I have a thick rug in a hardwood living room area and I’ve never noticed any wetness at all on it, following a dual vacuum and mopping session.

On mopping-only cleans, the brush can also lift by 20mm, so as to not leave streaks on your mopped floors.

There’s fast, standard, deep and deep+ cleaning, depending on the level of muck you want it to deal with.

I found that it managed to deal with some fairly tough, stubborn stains and I could leave the robot to go about its business, only stepping in with a regular floor cleaner every couple of weeks.

App and digital assistants

The Roborock app is brilliant and allows you to really peronalize your cleans. It’s the same Roborock app we know and love but, when you tap into the S8 MaxV Ultra, the UI has actually been revamped for the new top-tier model.

But it’s a familiar affair still though, with multi-mapping, 3D mapping and cleaning modes galore on offer.

Nine times out of ten I’ve just been using the standard clean modes, with my rooms divided and sequenced in the app, but it is also great to be able to specify things like an ‘after dinner’ clean or a ‘kitchen deep mop’ too… you can create routines that specify where, when and how you want cleans to take place and give them names like these.

You can also add these shortcuts to widgets on your smartphone, which is super handy.

A lot of the settings for what the S8 MaxV Ultra is capable of, above and beyond the default out-of-the-box settings, can be found in the various menus on the app.

For example, you’ll have to enable the side brush in a section called ‘AI Laboratory’ and you’ll also find an option in here to enable deep cleaning on spots where extra dirt is detected.

With the S8 MaxV Ultra, Roborock has also taken a leaf out of Ecovac’s book by adding its own voice assistant to the mix, because why not eh?

Personally, I think it would have made more sense to improve the Roborock skills and integrations with the likes of Alexa or the Google Assistant, which are still pretty limited, but the “Hey Rocky” feature works well enough, letting you specify room cleaning, cleaning modes, mop washing and plenty of other granular controls simply using your voice.

One new feature that is incredibly gimmicky, but that I absolutely love, is the pet detection function.

Already with the likes of the Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra, Roborock users were able to use the camera tech on board to use their robo cleaner as a makeshift security camera, using the app as a remote viewer as their robots patrol their houses.

You can even do two-way calls when in this ‘security camera’ mode.

All of that is still available with the new flagship, with some extra – pet-based – bells and whistles. In the app, if you enable pet detection, you’ll be able to send your S8 MaxV Ultra out to locate your pet.

During cleans, there’s also an option to have your S8 MaxV Ultra capture ‘pet snaps’… i.e. photos of your pets when it spots them.

Another pet-focused feature is that it will detect where food and water bowls are, and give those areas some extra attention.

Now, I mentioned Matter up top as a major new addition to the mix but, and this isn’t really Roborock’s fault, but there’s nothing Matter about the device as it stands.

That’s because, although robot vacuum cleaners were added to the Matter family at the end of last year, they still aren’t supported by Amazon, Google, Samsung or Apple – meaning you won’t be able to add the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra as a Matter device to your smart home ecosystem of choice at the moment.

However, that Matter functionality is in the mix – so take it more as the S8 MaxV Ultra being future proof, for when the smart home platforms catch up.

Battery life and maintenance

Battery life, from the 5,200mAh battery, is quoted at 180-minutes although this is on the lowest power mode.

However, we’re at the point now where, even on maximum and deep-mop modes, that robot vacuum cleaners can tackle large areas on a single charge.

Maintenance is largely handled by the dock, although you will need to empty the dirty water tank, add fresh water to the clean tank on the non-plumbed version, and replace the dust bin bag every few weeks.

It’s also worth cleaning the robot’s sensors with a cloth, and cleaning out the bin manually once a month – and the app will remind you to do this.

Final thoughts

If you’ve the budget for it, then the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra is the ultimate robo cleaning machine.

It takes the success of previous flagships and adds features like hot water and hot air cleaning to the mix, as well as a raft of extra hardware and software tweaks.

It’s expensive, but it’s worth it.

How we test

When we publish our reviews, you can rest assured that they are the result of “living with” long term tests.

Robot cleaners usually live within an ecosystem, or a range of products that – supposedly – all work in harmony. And they are designed to offer a range of different cleaning options. Therefore, it’s impossible to use a robo cleaner for a week and deliver a verdict.

Because we’re testing smart home kit all day, everyday, we know what matters and how a particular smart cleaning machine compares to alternatives that you might also be considering.

Our reviews are comprehensive, objective and fair and, of course, we are never paid directly to review a device.

Read our guide on how we test robot vacuum cleaners to learn more.

FAQs

Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra: Introduction: Specifications