The Roborock S8 and Roborock S8 Plus, two titans of the robotic vacuum industry, are here to battle for a place in your cleaning arsenal. The Roborock S8 release date was in April of this year. It has taken the robo-vac industry by storm. It has necessitated the creation of the Roborock S8 Plus, a successor packed with even more features and technology intended to make your life easier so you can forget about cleaning and let the Roborock S8+ do it for you.
Let’s explore which Roborock vacuum cleaner would be best for you and your home. Both have their merits, but several key differences may make your decision.
Design and Build
The Roborock S8 and the S8+ are very similar in overall design. Both are circular robotic vacuums featuring DuoRoller brushes, complete with a VibraRise mopping system. The VibraRise mopping system emits low-impact vibrations while mopping to free up trapped dirt in all the nooks and crannies of different types of flooring and carpeting, emitting up to 3000 vibrations per minute with six Newtons of downward pressure.
The Roborock S8 and S8+ feature precise navigation systems using LiDAR and 3D Obstacle Avoidance technology. The Roborock S8 and S8+ are constructed from hard plastics and rubberised wheels to avoid damaging your wood surfaces.
Effectively, the Roborock S8 and S8+ are very similar, except the S8+ features a Roborock dock that allows it to self-empty its debris into a reservoir that can be periodically emptied.
Cleaning Performance
Many cleaning features on the Roborock S8 and S8+ are the same, providing 6000Pa of suction power and two wide-reaching brushes on the S8. However, the S8+ has a function where the mop can function and be lowered or raised independently of its brushes, allowing for the mop to be used for wet mopping of hardwood, softwood or laminate flooring and then raised to allow for the vacuum to be used on carpet (with a pile height of less than 5mm).
The Roborock S8 Plus also uses a newer iteration of VibraRise technology called VibraRise 2.0. This gives the S8+ double the width while mopping, allowing it to clean a wider surface area faster. The S8+ will clean 743 square feet in 88 minutes (on max suction power and balanced mopping setting) before auto-returning to its charging and docking station as soon as its battery dips below 20%.
The Roborock S8 and S8 Plus feature a 5,200mAh battery with an approximate runtime of 180 minutes in vacuum mode only on quiet mode. However, once the mopping head is engaged, that number drops significantly.
Navigation and Mapping
When it comes to their navigation systems, both the Roborock S8 and S8+ are very similar. Both rely on PreciSense LiDAR mapping (the type used by aircraft to create 3D models in their onboard computers to allow for easier navigation during take-off and landing), as well as Obstacle Avoidance technology that allows your Roborock vacuum to detect and go around pre-programmed obstacles like pets, shoes, table legs and more.
Battery Life and Charging
One of the great things about the most recent iterations of the Roborock vacuums is that most come equipped with a self-charging dock. On ‘Quiet’ mode, the Roborock S8 and S8 Plus have a battery life of 180 minutes, with a charging time of four hours. This is perfect for the ‘just before bed’ cleaning cycle or for use in an empty house during the middle of the day.
Smart Features
Regarding smart features, the Roborock S8 and S8+ leave you spoiled for choice. Both are compatible with the Roborock app, which can be downloaded on both iPhones and Android devices. The Roborock app allows you to schedule your cleanings, view and change the automatically-generated 3D map of your home for the Obstacle Avoidance feature on both vacuums, and check the status of the HEPA filters and brushes in the “Help” section of the app interface.
Additionally, the Roborock app works seamlessly with smart home devices like Amazon Alexa and Google Home, allowing you to voice control when your robot vacuum sets off on it’s daily clean. The app will also allow you to set a deep-clean mode for carpets: “Carpet Mode.” At the same time, “Home with Pets” boosts object detection and “Low-Collision” allows for tighter turns in your home's various nooks and crannies to avoid colliding with walls and other obstacles.
Another great feature of the Roborock app is that you can tell your Roborock S8 and S8+ which rooms to not clean by setting ‘no-go-zones’. This is ideal for a guest bedroom that’s rarely used or if there’s a sleeping person in one room and you don’t want to disturb them.
Both the Roborock S8 and S8+ pack a huge punch to dirt and grime when paired with the functionality and customisation of the Roborock application.
Customisation and Scheduling
While using the Roborock app, both devices can be programmed and customised before deployment. For example, setting “Carpet Mode” for the upstairs carpeting can be turned on or off remotely. You can also set scheduled cleanings for specific days or a certain time and day of each week via the app.
Given the additional mopping features of the Roborock S8+, it can be told to transition from one surface to another when cleaning a whole room. It will set up its object detection technology to detect when a carpet is present and raise the mop head on its undercarriage to allow for vacuuming without getting the carpet wet.
Maintenance and Care
Our overview's maintenance and care section is where the Roborock S8+ stands out from its predecessor. The Roborock S8 does not have a self-emptying mechanism built into its Roborock dock, unlike the S8+, which comes with a Roborock dust bag that is emptied once the Roborock S8+ returns to its docking for charging. On average, this dust bag will need to be emptied every few weeks, although if you’re using your Roborock vacuum every day, this will need to be emptied more frequently.
Which One is Best For You?
In conclusion, these two vacuum cleaners are very similar, with the main feature differentiating them being the self-cleaning and self-emptying capabilities of the Roborock S8+, with a few subtle differences, including the newer ultra-wide brushes.
So, if you’ve been searching for a do-it-all vacuum that is packed with features and functionality, then either the Roborock S8 or the S8+ will do you just fine! But if you don’t want to worry about emptying the dust bag often, or have multiple types of flooring in your home, the S8+ would be a better buy.