The Roborock Q7 is a must-have addition to your home-cleaning arsenal. Adopting a smaller, lighter design than the newer Roborock S8 and S8+ models, but complete with a self-emptying and self-charging Roborock dock, this May 2022 release from Roborock was our flagship design for just under a year until the Roborock S8 came along.
Read on to see if the Roborock Q7 is your budget-friendly alternative to the newer Roborock robotic vacuum models without compromising too much on features that save you time, money and effort.
Introducing Roborock’s Q7
The Roborock Q7 entered the Roborock robotic vacuum arena in May of 2022, boasting an auto-emptying dock, newer and more accurate navigation technology powered by PreciSense LiDAR 3D mapping software and up to 2700 Pascals of suction power when in vacuum mode.
The Roborock Q7 serves two purposes: a monster muncher of a vacuum that can extract tough dirt from carpets and all of the crevices of other types of floors and a mopping machine that will transition seamlessly from carpet to flooring and back again without spilling a drop on your carpet, but leaving your floors a shining light in the room.
With 2700 Pascals of suction power, this robotic vacuum ensures no dirt is left behind! It will automatically transition to ‘Carpet mode’ for deeper cleaning when on the carpet, lifting itself to 0.8 inches higher to allow its brushes to work harder on the thicker carpets.
Your Roborock Q7 is designed with low maintenance in mind and offers a 2.5L dustbag that sits in a Roborock docking system that the Q7 empties itself into when it auto-returns to its docking station. Given the large dustbag, the Roborock Q7 only needs to be emptied (on average) every seven weeks.
Design and Build Quality
The design and build quality of the Roborock Q7 is second-to-none, even though it’s a year-old unit. Made from hard plastics and rubberised wheels to avoid floor damage, this lightweight alternative to the Roborock S8 and S8+ weighs just over 8.25 pounds. It is under 14 inches wide and 4 inches high, making it a perfect fit for those under-couch cobweb havens.
It features a single rubberised roller brush designed to be tough and durable. Because the brushes are made of rubber, not plastic, hair is less easily trapped and wrapped up in them, as often as with traditional vacuum cleaners, meaning you’ll spend less time on your hands and knees, detaching reams of pet hair from your vacuum.
Another fantastic feature of the Roborock Q7 is its ability to mop and vacuum simultaneously. By performing two tasks simultaneously, the Roborock Q7 reduces the time it takes to clean your home. It has a 150 square metre maximum mopping range with a water tank capacity of 180ml, which must be refilled following cleaning.
Being compatible with the Roborock dock, the Roborock Q7 empties its Roborock dust bag automatically following each clean, with a maximum capacity of up to 3.5 litres.
Advanced Cleaning Technology
Roborock has made many advancements since the company launched in 2016, and none more so than in our cleaning technology. The Roborock Q7 is no exception, with a fast-spinning rubberised cleaning brush that sends dirt flying from your carpet spaces into the built-in dust collection module. Additionally, the Roborock Q7 features an internal E11 particulate filter that filters 99.7% of particulates, which can be easily removed and cleaned. You should wash the E11 particulate filter every few weeks and leave it to dry completely before re-installing it.
In addition to the rubberised brush, this dual-purpose unit features a mopping pad and a water tank that has a capacity of 180ml, to which a detergent pod can be added and mixed with the water to make washing your floors easy!
Smart Navigation and Mapping
Roborock’s Q7 system has fully embraced smart navigation and 3D mapping by integrating the same guidance system used by aircraft: the PreciSense LiDAR system. This navigational aid produces 3D modelling of a given space inside the Roborock Q7’s onboard computer. It can recognise objects such as chair legs, pets and other obstacles, utilising its Obstacle Avoidance technology to safely navigate a space without damaging your furniture or walls, baseboards, or even running into you!
The Roborock Q7 is also equipped with an advanced Sensient sensor array and a full suite of bumpers to aid it in going around corners without slamming into walls. Its Sensient array also features cliff detection to stop it from tumbling down your stairs. Additionally, the Q7 is equipped with voice commands that work with Amazon Alexa, Google Home and even Apple’s Siri system, allowing you to issue voice commands to the Q7 to tackle a specific room or begin its daily cleaning.
Long-Lasting Battery Life
The 180-minute battery life of the Roborock Q7 will allow it to clean up to 3229 square feet in vacuum-only mode and a 150 square metre mopping range. This three-hour battery will automatically return to its charging dock when it reaches 15% and begins charging. The approximate charge time of the Roborock Q7 is 5 hours and 45 minutes, making it convenient for overnight charging.
User-Friendly App Control
As with most home appliances in the age of smart technology, the Roborock Q7 can be controlled via the Roborock app, available for both Apple and Android phones. The intuitive, easy-to-navigate application allows you to set different maps for different levels of your home. While the Roborock Q7 cannot (yet!) climb stairs, it will automatically recognise these levels if set up within the Roborock app, allowing it to clean each level independently and avoid cleaning rooms designated as “No-Go Zones.”
The Roborock app also allows you to set cleaning schedules and use the “Quick Mapping” feature to pre-set maps quickly so that your Q7 can tackle it on its next cleaning route. Having an app on your phone makes your life much easier than manually turning the device on. It also tracks when your mopping pads and Roborock dust bags must be changed and when to swap out your brushes.
Quiet Operation
The Roborock Q7’s cleaning power comes from its internal brush systems, which work harder and faster on carpets and rugs, meaning it takes more power to make those brushes turn faster, resulting in more noise. At maximum suction and brush speed, as is the case when in “Carpet Mode”, the Roborock Q7 will emit roughly 70 decibels of sound when cleaning carpets.
It will also emit 70 decibels of sound when self-emptying its dust container into the Roborock dust bag. Otherwise, you can expect between 50 and 60 decibels of sound when in a regular vacuuming operation, making it perfect for sleeping babies (in conjunction with setting a “No-Go-Zone” for that hallway outside the baby’s room), but not great for nighttime operation.
Multi-Level Cleaning
One wonderful advancement that the Roborock Q7 brings to the table from its predecessor is the ability to integrate multi-level cleaning into its onboard computer and integration with the Roborock app.
Allowing you to set different rooms in the home via Quick Mapping, the Roborock Q7 will automatically detect different floors in the home and recall the maps set for that particular floor. This includes what type of flooring is on the floor - so, if one level of the home is carpeted, but the previous level was laminate or wood flooring, the Roborock will change to vacuum-only mode whenever it detects carpet.
This multi-level cleaning and memory of the Roborock Q7 makes cleaning two or three-storey homes a breeze, as it can store up to 4 levels of spatial information in its onboard computer.
Effortless Maintenance
The self-emptying mechanism of the Roborock Q7 makes this choice of robot vacuum even more compelling. Just when you thought a robot vacuum couldn’t get any more convenient! The 3.5L Roborock dust bag is attached to the Q7’s Roborock dock, where your vacuum will automatically return when its battery is low, or the dustbag needs to be emptied.
You’ll need to replace the Roborock Q7’s brush every few months, but you can keep track of when it needs changing via the Roborock app.
Final Thoughts on the Roborock Q7
Set at a fantastic price point of $799, the year-old Roborock Q7 is the perfect starter robotic vacuum cleaner and mop for your home if you’re tired of lugging a damn-great stand-up vacuum all over the house or don’t have much time to do a weekly vacuum of your large home.
The Roborock Q7 comes with convenience and safety in mind, meaning you don’t have to worry about your pets or children being injured by it, and it is completely compatible with smart homes and applications, allowing for maximum flexibility in your cleaning schedule and telling the Q7 how to clean your home.
The dual mop and vacuum feature of the Q7 allows it to perform two tasks simultaneously, making it one of the best low-budget, high-functionality robotic vacuums on the market.