Roborock S8 Pro Ultra Review

Roborock's top-of-the-line two-in-one robot floor cleaner, the S8 Pro Ultra, manages to push the envelope in new directions while taking a couple of steps back at the same time. At $1,599.99, the S8 Pro Ultra costs more than its predecessor, the $1,399.99 S7 MaxV Ultra, and upgrades include a built-in hot air mop dryer to prevent mold and odors, a dual roller-brush system that resists hair tangles, and increased suction power. On the other hand, the S8 Pro Ultra's mop cloth mount isn't removable, a design quirk that makes it a poor choice for homes with plush carpeting. Moreover, this model drops remote home monitoring, a feature offered by its predecessor and competitors. For $50 less, the Ecovacs Deebot X1 Omni ($1,549.99) offers all of the self-cleaning perks of the S8 Pro Ultra, functions as a roving security camera, and features a built-in virtual assistant, thus retaining our Editors' Choice award for premium two-in-one robot cleaners.

Introduced at CES in January, the S8 is Roborock's flagship robot vacuum series for 2023. The lineup consists of three models: the S8 ($749.99), the S8+ ($999.99), and the S8 Pro Ultra ($1,599.99). The S8 Series is slated to go on sale in the US in late April and will be available for purchase on Roborock's website as well as on Amazon.

The base S8 model comes with a traditional charging station that does not support self-emptying. The S8+ comes with a self-emptying base station, so the robot can automatically transfer the contents of its dustbin into a bag after vacuuming. The S8 Pro Ultra comes with an all-in-one docking station called the RockDock Ultra that supports automatic dustbin emptying, mop washing, hot air mop drying, and water tank refilling.

The main upgrade compared with last year's S7 MaxV Ultra is a built-in hot air mop dryer, a feature we first saw on the Ecovacs Deebot X1 Omni that helps prevent bacteria buildup and smells. Roborock sells a dryer module(Opens in a new window) ($139) for the S7 MaxV Ultra, but that model does not support hot air mop drying out of the box.

Roborock also bumped up the vacuuming suction power compared with the last generation. All models in the S8 series feature 6,000 pascals (Pa) of suction power, up from 5,100Pa on the S7 MaxV Ultra, offering the strongest pickup of any Roborock robot vacuum.

In addition, the S8 series features an upgraded brush system. Instead of just one brush roll on the bottom, the robot now features a Roomba-like dual-brush system. The rubber brush rolls spin in opposite directions, allowing for better dirt pickup and fewer hair tangles, Roborock says. Several iRobot models already offer this feature, including the Roomba Combo j7+ and the affordable Roomba i3+ EVO.

You may already be familiar with Roborock's VibraRise mop-lifting system, which I'll discuss later in this review, but another component on the S8 Pro Ultra moves up and down: its brush rolls. In mopping-only mode, the brush rolls automatically lift 6mm out of the way, a feature Roborock says allows the robot to clean up spills without getting damaged. The other models in the S8 series do not have this feature.

The S8 Pro Ultra robot is about the same size as its predecessor, measuring 13.8 inches in diameter and 3.8 inches tall. It weighs about 10 pounds.

On top, the robot has Power/Clean, Mop Only/Child Lock, and Dock buttons, as well as a raised LiDAR sensor for navigation. Under the robot's top cover are a Wi-Fi indicator light, a tiny reset button, and a 350ml internal dustbin. The internal 200ml water tank is automatically refilled as needed from the larger reservoir in the base station.

Last year's Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra relied on a standard camera for obstacle recognition and included a microphone, which allowed the vacuum to serve as a roving home security camera with support for video calls. The same goes for the Deebot X1 Omni. Roborock changed this on the S8 Pro Ultra, which relies only on an infrared camera for obstacle recognition, and drops the microphone. Some privacy-conscious consumers may consider this a plus, but you can no longer remotely check on your home with the newer vacuum.

On the bottom, the robot features six cliff sensors that prevent it from falling down the stairs, a carpet detection sensor, one side brush for edges, the main brushes, and the VibraRise Mop cloth mount.

The RockDock Ultra is even bigger than last year's counterpart at 16.7 by 20.2 by 17.7 inches (LWH), probably because Roborock increased the size of the water tanks. The clean and dirty water tanks in the RockDock Ultra have 3.5-liter and 2.9-liter capacities, respectively, up from 3 liters and 2.5 liters in the S7 MaxV Ultra. Roborock streamlined the look of the dock compared with last year's model, too, hiding the tanks behind a cover, which I appreciate.

The RockDock Ultra arrives with a preinstalled 2.5-liter dust bag, and you get one extra dust bag in the box. A six-pack of replacement dust bags(Opens in a new window) costs around $31.99. It's worth it to buy the official bags; we tried third-party bags with last year's S7 and a poor-fitting cardboard mount prevented the auto-emptying feature from working properly.

In testing, the S8 Pro Ultra was easy to set up and connect with its companion app. The robot and its base arrive together in one box. To set up the base, you simply need to click the ramp into place and plug the power cord into the wall. Roborock recommends setting up the base in an area with good Wi-Fi coverage, on hard flooring against a wall, in a spot with at least 2.3 feet clear in front of it, and 1.6 feet of clearance above.

Then, press and hold the power button on the robot until the lights illuminate and place it on the charging dock. When successfully docked, the robot will audibly say "charging."

Before sending the S8 Pro Ultra out to clean, make sure to remove the plastic packaging film from the water tanks in the base and fill the clean water tank. If you want the vacuum to mop with something stronger than water, Roborock says to use only Roborock-branded floor cleaner (sold separately(Opens in a new window)) to prevent corrosion or damage.

Most other robot mops are only recommended for use with water or proprietary cleaning solutions, but the Roomba Combo j7+ conveniently supports Bona floor cleaning solution(Opens in a new window), which is widely available in stores and online. (I'm not going to tell you it's OK to use a non-Roborock cleaning solution with the S8 Pro Ultra, but I added a little Bona to the clean water tank and nothing bad happened.)

Roborock simplified the setup process for the S8 Pro Ultra compared with the S7 MaxV Ultra. Last year's model came with a traditional charger plus the Ultra Dock, and you had to remove an air inlet cover from the robot to enable self-emptying with the more advanced base station. This step is not required for the S8 Pro Ultra, which only comes with one charging station in the box, the RockDock Ultra.

To connect the Roborock app (available for Android and iOS), just open the top cover and press the Mop Only and Dock buttons (the ones on the left and right) simultaneously for three seconds until you hear it say "Resetting Wi-Fi." Next, open the app, tap Scan to Connect, use your phone to scan the QR code under the robot's cover, enter your home Wi-Fi credentials, tap Join when prompted, and you should be good to go.

In testing, the robot connected to its companion app on the first try. Once you pair the robot, the app walks you through some of its features and prompts you to install firmware updates.

You can configure a range of settings and behaviors during initial setup, including saving maps, Less Collision Mode, and Pet Mode. Less Collision Mode reduces frontal collisions with walls and furniture, but may impede performance in narrow spaces, Roborock says. Pet Mode improves obstacle recognition but may slightly reduce cleaning efficiency. These features and more are available at any time via the Settings menu.

The S8 Pro Ultra doesn't come with its own remote, but you can control it using the buttons on top of the robot, via the companion app on your phone, or with your voice via Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

The S8 Pro Ultra supports up to four maps and identifies its location to automatically switch between them, a useful feature if you have a multi-level home. On its first cleaning run, the S8 Pro Ultra took about 77 minutes and consumed 53% of its battery life to simultaneously map, vacuum, and mop my roughly 1,000-square-foot floor plan. A quick mapping function programs the robot to roam around and map your home first without cleaning.

When mapping your home, the S8 Pro Ultra automatically splits your floor plan into rooms and labels carpeted areas. You can manually edit the map at any time to merge, divide, and name the rooms; specify the type of flooring in each space; and rotate the map to your preferred orientation. The app lets you create virtual walls and no-go zones on the map so the robot avoids specific areas when cleaning. You can also add flooring thresholds to the map so the S8 Pro Ultra passes over them without cleaning for fewer entrapment incidents, but this step isn't necessary unless the robot gets stuck.

It took some manual tweaking to get the map of my home the way I wanted it with all the rooms accurately divided and labeled, but the process was pretty simple.

The app offers many cleaning customization options and settings, and it takes time to learn them all. I suggest reading the included user manual and tapping into all the different app menus to familiarize yourself with the cleaning options and settings.

There are three main cleaning modes: vacuum and mop together, mop only, and vacuum only. After selecting a mode, you can set the vacuuming suction power (Quiet, Balanced, Turbo, Max, or Max+) and/or mopping scrub intensity (mild, moderate, or intense). A fourth mode, called Customize, lets you set the mode, suction power, and scrub intensity individually for each room on your map.

After saving your floor plan in the app, you can send the robot to specific rooms for area cleaning with a quick tap or manually draw a box over smaller spots for targeted zone cleaning. The app lets you create room-specific cleaning schedules, so the robot will vacuum the kitchen every night at 9 p.m., for instance.

A Dock button in the app lets you send the robot back to the RockDock to empty its dustbin, wash the mop, and turn on the mop dryer from your phone, but the robot does all of this automatically, so it seems like a superfluous control.

The app also supports and suggests routines that let you apply frequently used cleaning settings with a single tap. It suggested an After Meals routine, for instance, that sends the robot right to the kitchen and dining room to vacuum and mop.

In Settings > Cleaning History, the robot keeps a record of its work. You can tap into each record to see where the robot cleaned, the number of times it mopped, the total square footage it covered, and its total cleaning time.

The S8 Pro Ultra doesn't have a built-in voice assistant like the Deebot X1 Omni, so you need to connect it with Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant to control it with voice commands through your phone or a smart speaker.

I had previously connected my Roborock account with Alexa and Google Assistant via their respective apps, so linking the S8 Pro Ultra was a breeze. To connect it with Amazon's virtual assistant, search for and enable the Roborock Plus skill in the Alexa app. To pair it with Google Assistant, tap the plus sign in the upper left corner of the Google Home app > Set Up Device > Works With Google, then search for Roborock and sign in.

After pairing it with the virtual assistants, I could control the S8 Pro Ultra with voice commands such as, "Alexa, tell Roborock to start cleaning," and, "Hey Google, tell Roborock to stop cleaning."

The two lower models in the S8 series feature Roborock's original VibraRise intelligent mopping system, which automatically lifts the mopping plate about 5mm when the robot detects carpeting, allowing it to vacuum and mop in a single cleaning pass. The VibraRise system "pairs high-speed scrubbing and consistent pressure on the floor" to lift grime, Roborock says.

The Pro Ultra model features an updated VibraRise 2.0 system that works the same way as its predecessor but now has two vibration modules for improved mopping efficiency compared with the original. As with the original version, a drawback of Roborock's VibraRise 2.0 system is that it may still dampen your medium- and high-pile rugs. The second-gen automatic mop lifting feature is still only suitable for low-pile carpets less than 4mm high.

iRobot built on this idea with its first two-in-one robotic floor cleaner, the Roomba Combo J7+, which features a fully retractable mop. When the Combo J7+ detects carpet, it lifts the mopping plate to the top of the robot. I prefer iRobot's retractable mop for homes with a lot of carpeting, but the J7+ requires more maintenance since it lacks automatic mop washing and water tank refilling.

The S8 Pro Ultra includes a single washable, reusable mopping cloth in the box. It attaches to the VibraRise mount with a Velcro-style hook-and-loop fastener. The mop cloth was missing from my sample unit, so Roborocok sent three boxes of two(Opens in a new window) ($25.99 each) for use during testing.

Notably, the S8 Pro Ultra's VibraRise mop cloth mount is not detachable. In other words, you can swap out the mopping cloth (if you buy extra), but you cannot remove the actual mounting plate from the robot. This design quirk sets the S8 Pro Ultra apart from most other two-in-ones, which feature removable mopping plates.

In my view, this is a poor design decision. Any plush carpet the vacuum crosses will come in contact with the mop cloth. If you run the robot without a mop cloth attached to the mount, the rough, scratchy hook-fastener system on the mount can get stuck on your carpet.

Roborock says this makes the robot more convenient since you don't have to manually swap parts. In its user research, Roborock found that RockDock Ultra testers "barely touched or detached" the mop cloth mount thanks to the mop washing feature, a spokesperson tells me. "Based on this insight we decided to use an undetachable mop module for all the products that come with the RockDock Ultra."

If you have carpeting, I recommend changing the mop often so the robot doesn't drag the dirty cloth across it. Yes, the robot washes its own mopping cloth, but you should still periodically toss it in the laundry machine or hand wash it with soap for a deeper clean.

I also have concerns about possible floor damage with this model. After running the S8 Pro Ultra several times on the highest scrub level, I noticed some scratching on my laminate floor. The scratches are shallow, thin, and only visible in bright sunlight. After examining the scratch pattern and the robot closely, I think the stitching along the curved edge of the mop pad (which feels rough to the touch) may be the culprit. I compared the Roborock mopping pad with several others from different brands, and none of the others had any rough spots. My S7 MaxV Ultra review unit came with a different, but similar, mopping cloth, and I didn't notice any floor scratches when I tested that model, but the S8 Pro Ultra features a more powerful vibration system.

Within the Floor Cleaning Settings of the app, Roborock offers a "clean along floor direction" option that is meant to "minimize scraping against the floor seams." I noticed this setting too late and enabled it only after the floor became scratched, so I'm not sure if it would have helped.

If you have hardwood or laminate flooring, I suggest enabling the "clean along floor direction" setting in the app, running the robot on the lowest mop scrubbing level the first few times, and closely examining your floors in direct sunlight afterward to check for scratches. I also customized my map, setting the scrub intensity to the lowest setting in rooms with laminate and to the highest setting in my tiled kitchen, where I have not noticed any scratching. After lowering the scrub level to mild, I did not notice any additional scratching on my laminate.

In response to my scratching claims, Roborock said it accidentally sent me the wrong mop pad for the S8 Pro Ultra, and rushed me a different one. Unfortunately, when I re-tested the robot with the new mopping pad on the highest scrub level, the problem persisted and I noticed some additional scratching.

For its part, Roborock says it investigated the issue and is confident that it's not the mop pad that caused the floor scratches. "For a surface to get scratched, the material that comes into contact will have to be similarly or even harder than the surface itself," the company says. "The materials and design of all of our mop pads has been tested extensively to not damage flooring, even under our max vibration mode."

Roborock also questioned whether the robot caused the scratches at all. "The robot's movement (usually travels in a straight line or turning at a fixed point) combined with the mop pad's vibration means that if it scratches the floor, it will cause straight scratch patterns," a spokesperson said. "The scratches in the image appear to have a random pattern that doesn't reflect our robot's normal movement."

The S8 Pro Ultra works quickly and efficiently, first cleaning around the edges of a room, then moving row by row to cover the rest of the space. The robot takes about an hour, and consumes around 50% of its battery, to vacuum and mop my 1,000-square-foot home.

The robot has no problem traversing different flooring types, including laminate, tile, wall-to-wall carpeting, and area rugs. It leaves all flooring types looking noticeably cleaner, and never got stuck in my testing. As it works, the robot tracks its route on the map with remarkable accuracy so you can see exactly where it cleaned.

Good obstacle avoidance is a must for robot vacuums, and the S8 Pro Ultra really shines in this area. It uses 3D light and infrared imaging technology to identify and avoid potential hazards on the floors. Roborock calls this Reactive 3D Obstacle Avoidance and says it can identify and bypass 42 types of objects as small as 1.97 by 1.18 inches (WH), including shoes, cords, pet waste, and clothes. If the robot notices an obstacle, it will reroute itself around it.

When the robot detects carpet, it lifts the mop, stops the water flow, and automatically increases its vacuuming suction power to the max. In the app, you can change the carpet avoidance mode to Ignore (instead of Dynamic Lift) so the robot will avoid carpeting altogether. You can also disable the Carpet Boost feature if you don't want it to increase its suction power when cleaning your rugs.

As noted, the Dynamic Lift mode only lifts the mop 5mm, so the damp pad may still come in contact with your rugs. It doesn't leave my rugs or carpets feeling wet, and it hasn't made any visible stains on them, but this could be a concern if you have light-colored and/or higher-pile rugs.

The Roborock S8 Pro Ultra's automatic mop-washing feature works well. During each full cleaning run in my home, the robot washes its mop several times. It always washes the mop right before setting out to clean, and then periodically goes back to its base station while cleaning to freshen up. By default, it's set to automatically wash the mop every 20 minutes, but you can change this setting in the app via Settings > Dock Settings > Mop Wash Frequency.

The robot takes about 3.5 minutes to wash the mop and makes a slightly unpleasant gurgling noise while doing so. After washing the mop, the robot transfers the dirty water to the appropriate tank in the base station.

After four full cleaning runs, I received a notification in the app to check the clean water tank, and it was indeed empty. When you click a water tank notification, the app offers a helpful diagram showing which one needs attention. At this point, I refilled the clean water tank and emptied the dirty water tank, which was almost full.

As with last year's model, I'm amazed by the amount of grime the S8 Pro Ultra mops off my floors, even with plain water. The liquid transferred to the dirty water tank in the base station is always brown and gross—be sure to rinse it well.

As I learned from testing other robot vacuums with this feature, if you wait too long to empty the dirty water tank, the liquid in there really starts to smell. I recommend periodically washing the inside with soap, or wiping it down with a disinfectant, before reinstalling the tank in the base station.

After manually refilling and emptying the water tanks, I checked the robot's mopping cloth and was pleasantly surprised by how little dirt remained on it. After a few cleaning runs, the cloth doesn't quite look as good as new, but the automatic mop-washing feature removes most of the grime. I will note that it can be difficult to change the mop cloth on this model since you have to turn the robot upside down to access it, and there's a lot of Velcro-like fastener.

After the robot cleans itself and docks, the mop dryer automatically turns on. It makes a low humming sound; if you put your hand near it you'll feel the warmth. Even with the heater, it takes some time to dry the mop cloth. But this feature goes a long way to prevent smells. I checked the mop cloth in the morning after running the heater the night before and it was completely dry, which is what you want between cleanings.

After washing its mop, the robot also automatically empties its dustbin. Like other models with this feature, the S8 Pro Ultra gets very loud—around 82db, or about the same volume as a leaf blower—for about 25 seconds while emptying its dustbin. The self-emptying feature works flawlessly, always successfully transferring the contents of the robot's internal bin to the bag in the base station. After a few cleaning runs, I checked the robot's internal bin and it was completely empty, except for a few stray dog hairs.

Battery life remains about the same as the last generation, but this year's model charges faster. Powered by a 5,200mAh lithium-ion battery like its predecessor, the S8 Pro Ultra cleaned for up to 133 minutes on a charge in my tests. The S7 MaxV Ultra cleaned for up to 126 minutes between charges. Battery life varies based on suction power and scrub intensity settings, but Roborock says the S8 Pro Ultra can run for up to 180 minutes in Quiet mode.

If the robot runs low on battery in the middle of a run, it will return to its base to juice up and then pick up where it left off. It takes about four hours to fully recharge, which Roborock says is about 30% faster compared with the S7 series.

The $1,599.99 Roborock S8 Pro Ultra is a two-in-one robot floor cleaner with strong vacuum suction and powerful mop scrubbing abilities. It requires little maintenance and supports automatic dustbin emptying, mop washing, water tank refilling, and hot air mop drying out of the box. This robot expertly navigates your home and avoids obstacles and getting stuck. It offers ample smart features, including support for room-based scheduling, one-tap cleaning routines, and Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands. This model suffers from a notable design flaw: Its mopping plate is not removable, which is a problem for homes with medium- and high-pile carpeting. Moreover, it doesn't have a camera for remote home monitoring, a feature available on some high-end robot vacuums, including last year's S7 MaxV Ultra.

If you already own the S7 MaxV Ultra, we suggest sticking with that model and adding the optional mop dryer module instead of upgrading to the S8 Pro Ultra. For everyone else, we continue to recommend the Ecovacs Deebot X1 Omni, our Editors' Choice, which offers all the conveniences of the S8 Pro Ultra (and then some) without the drawbacks.

The Roborock S8 Pro Ultra is one of the most powerful, feature-rich, and hands-off robot floor cleaners on the market, but its finicky mop mount might be problematic in some homes.

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