One of the smart appliance announcements to look out for from CES 2023 is the Roborock S8 Series, which comes from one of the bigger robot vacuum competitors in recent years.
Roborock landed in Australia last year with the S7 models, providing competition to the likes of iRobot’s Roomba devices, and the Ecovacs range. In our review of the Roborock Q7 Max, we were impressed by its overall performance. Its ease of use, strong suction, long battery life, and LiDAR mapping provided a genuine contender in the robot vacuum market.
As part of the flagship range announcement, the Roborock S8 Series includes the S8 Pro Ultra, S8+, and the base S8 model. Alongside the robot vacuums, the brand also revealed the Dyad Pro, a cordless wet-dry vacuum cleaner.
The Roborock S8 Series is better at sucking
According to internal testing, the Roborock S8 Series wields 6,000Pa of suction power, a figure the company claims to be its highest yet. Another big improvement that caught the eye of The Verge is the addition of a dual rubber roller brush, a feature Roomba reportedly uses to great effect to reduce tangles building up.
To stop cross-contamination between the vacuum brush and the mop, the S8 Pro Ultra’s brush lifts up to 6mm when in mop-only mode. This also lets you mop up spills without damaging the vacuum unit. Additionally, the mop lifts up when the robot vacuum cleans carpets, and scrubs floors using what’s referred to as “sonic mopping technology”. Again, the premium S8 Pro Ultra gets an exclusive feature in the form of two vibration modules, which Roborock claims to result in more efficient mopping.
An upgraded dock system and navigation system
The premium-level S8 Pro Ultra comes with the new RockDock Ultra system, fulfilling device maintenance tasks like automatic mop washing, dust emptying, refilling, and self-cleaning. One of the new features the RockDock Ultra introduces is a warm air-drying feature designed to prevent mould growth and smells from developing on the mop pad and dock unit.
Roborock says the S8 Series employs the company’s latest obstacle recognition and avoidance system to help manoeuvre around the house.
Dyad Pro, a robot vacuum alternative
Alongside the Roborock S8 Series, the brand also revealed the Dyad Pro, a manual cordless wet-dry vacuum with self-cleaning functionality. With 17,000Pa of suction power, it provides an all-in-one vacuum and floor-washing device, reportedly capable of cleaning as close as 1mm to walls. Additionally, it’s capable of adapting its cleaning power, and water flow, and adjusting the cleaning solution used as required.
While docked, the Dyad Pro automatically cleans its rollers via a bi-directional motion and self-dries to prevent odours and bacteria from accumulating.
Roborock S8 Series launch details
All the details we currently know are based on the US announcement, which suggests an April 2023 launch with prices starting at US$749.99 for the base S8 model. Meanwhile, the Dyad Pro arrives at overseas stores this month for $449.99.
Following the US announcement, we’re hoping to hear local details soon. Each S8 device is currently listed on the American website, so it might be worth following the Australian site for potential local details.
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