Robot vacuums that can both mop and sweep your floors have improved significantly in recent years. While they are still not as effective as good ol’ manual labor, if you run them regularly, they will help keep your floors cleaner with much less effort on your part.
Technology
The best robot vacuum and mop to buy right now
The difference is that newer “combo” robot vacuum and mop models are designed to actually scrub your floors. The first robot vacuums that could also “mop” simply slapped a thin, flat microfiber pad on the bot that kind of Swiffer-ed your floor. Basically, all this was good for was getting up fine dirt that the vacuum left behind.
A robot vacuum with a real mopping system will make your life easier
Newer models now come with vibrating or oscillating mop pads, and some even have roller mops. Most models have onboard water tanks to keep the mops wet while in use, and many can wash and dry their mops in their charging docks, which also automatically empty and refill their water tanks, meaning less work for you.
While most robot vacuums today come with some sort of mopping feature, this guide focuses on those that excel at mopping. If you’re more interested in the best vacuum, check out my guide to floor-sweeping bots.
The downside to these combo bots with serious mopping chops is that they tend to be bigger and heavier and need more frequent intervention than regular vacuum bots. Water equals gunk, and cleaning their giant multifunction docks, even the self-cleaning ones, can be an icky job. You also have to empty and refill their tanks about once a week.
Mopping bots also need to return to their docks more frequently than robot vacuums in order to refill their onboard water tanks. This means they’ll take longer to clean your floors than a dedicated vacuuming model, but they are doing two jobs at once. Robot mops with roller mops will self-clean as they work, negating this issue, but these models are also the largest and bulkiest, as they carry a bigger water tank on board.
Combo bots can mop and vacuum simultaneously, but for especially dirty floors, it’s best to have the option to vacuum first and then mop. A mop-only mode is also good, as you can send the bot to clean up a wet spill without it sucking up water — something they’re not designed to do yet.
If you have a lot of hardwood or tile floors and constantly struggle with muddy paw prints or the general dirtiness of life with multiple pets, people, and kids, a good robot vacuum and mop combo will definitely make your life easier.
What I’m looking for
I’ve been testing robot vacuums for more than six years and have tested over 60 models. I wrote The Verge’s best robot vacuum buying guide and the best budget robot vacuum guide, and for this guide, I tested 15 different mopping robots.To evaluate the bots, I ran each regularly for at least a week and measured their progress, evaluating how clean the floor stays, how well they navigate, how often I had to refill the tanks, how well the auto-empty function worked, and how easy the app was to use.I run them in my kitchen, where I have hardwood floors, and in a large bathroom with a white tile floor — one that looks filthy just a day after being cleaned. For specific tests, I deploy a wet and dry challenge. The wet challenge features dried-on OJ and ketchup, plus fresh spills of milk, water, and some kind of sauce. For the dry challenge, I place cereal (usually Cheerios) and oatmeal (a really tough one to clean). I evaluate how well the bots deal with mopping the stains and vacuuming the debris.Finally, I test their obstacle detection by running them through an obstacle course featuring common robot trip-ups, including fake dog poop, cables, socks, and tricky chair legs.
This is a charging base that empties the robot’s bin, washes and dries the bot’s mops, and empties and refills its water tank. This is essential if you want to be as hands-free as possible when mopping your floor. Some offer hot-water washing and drying options that will keep your pads cleaner for longer. But you’ll want to throw them in the wash eventually. A dock that can self-clean the washboard (the area where it cleans the mops) is a nice upgrade, as you won’t have to do it yourself as often.
The bigger the clean and dirty water tanks on the dock, the less often you’ll have to refill them. If the dock can connect directly to the plumbing, even better; it’s a more complicated install, but it makes for a more hands-off experience long-term.
Mop type matters. The main options are circular and spinning, flat and vibrating, or rolling and self-cleaning. Rolling (like the beater bar on a vacuum cleaner) is my favorite because it does a better job of getting floors really clean. The greater surface area of a roller mop, combined with the self-cleaning function — the vac sprays water onto the mop as it runs — makes it a more effective option than flat or spinning mops in most cases. However, oscillating mops that can extend outward are better at getting into grout between tiles, along baseboards, and under low furniture.
If you have low-pile rugs and carpet, mop pads that the robot can lift up (by at least 10mm) should prevent your carpets from getting damp when the robot rolls over them. However, robots that can remove the mop pads entirely before vacuuming carpets are a good option, especially if you have high-pile rugs.
Specs around mop pressure and rotation speed are similar to those for suction power on the vacuum; they matter to some extent, but what’s more important is how effective the pads are. The higher the pressure, the more effective it should be on tougher stains. The higher the rotations per minute (RPMs), the more friction the stain has to deal with. It’s hard to judge pressure, as several manufacturers don’t list it and those that do use different measurements, but 12 Newtons, roughly 2.2 pounds of downward pressure, is very good.
A well-laid-out app is key. It should let you choose which rooms to clean, and in what order. Generally, you want a mopping bot to clean the dirtiest room last (think bathroom or hallway) to avoid cross-contamination. I also look for the option to mop only, in addition to mop and vacuum, or vacuum then mop, and, of course, vacuum only.
Best robot vacuum and mop
$700
The Good
- Self-cleaning roller mop
- Extendable mop
- Excellent obstacle avoidance
- Smaller, sleeker dock
The Bad
- Limited mop lift
- Heavy, struggles with transitions
- Single roller brush
Multifunction Dock: Yes, auto empty (3L) and drain/refill (4L dirty, 4L clean) / Mop style: Roller / Mop washing: Yes, hot water and hot air drying / Mop pressure: 4,000Pa at 200 RPM / Mop lift: Yes, 10mm / Edge cleaning: Yes, mop extension / Mapping: Yes, lidar / AI-powered obstacle detection: Yes / Suction power: 18,000Pa / Vacuum brush style: Single rubber/bristle / Works with: Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Siri Shortcuts, Matter
Ecovacs’ Deebot X8 Pro Omni is a welcome return to form for Ecovacs’ flagship line. Its new tower-less lidar navigation system did a much better job of mapping and navigating than the previous flagship, the Deebot X2 Omni, which was constantly getting lost in my tests. However, the most notable thing about the X8 is the Ozmo Roller Mop.
This is the best roller mopping bot I’ve tested, thanks mostly to the Ozmo’s ability to extend outwards to clean along baseboards and furniture. This is a unique feature on a roller mop (for now) that makes up for the mop’s relatively short length (both the Eufy S1 and Switchbot S10 have longer roller mops). At $1,299, the X8 is also one of the less expensive flagship models (though the new X9 Pro Omni retails for $1,599.99).
The X8 did an excellent job on my milk, OJ, and dried ketchup tests, absorbing the small spills with one or two passes. It covered the floors evenly, without leaving any streaks or gaps, something that I’ve seen happen with spinning mop pads. When it comes across an edge — be it a baseboard, furniture like a chair or table leg, or any obstacle — it extends out its mop to the right to clean as close as possible. It did an excellent job getting the grime up from the stools around my kitchen counter, something most other bots struggle to do.
This is the best roller mopping bot I’ve tested
The self-cleaning brush system kept the bot from smearing any spills it encountered. As it’s cleaning, a scraper squeegees off the dirty water and 16 nozzles spray it with fresh water and solution, if you use it. As with most high-end mopping bots, the dock has the option of auto-dispensing cleaning solution.
The X8 was the best vacuuming robot among the serious combo bots I tested, outperforming my Cheerio and oatmeal tests and doing a good job on rugs (when it could reach them). However, its vacuum has a relatively small, single rubber roller brush, which is less effective than Roborock’s dual roller brush models (which include the S8 MaxV Ultra and the 10 Max).
The X8 uses lidar and a 3D camera for mapping; the latter also facilitates its obstacle detection, which is very good — it easily navigated fake dog turds and cables while sucking up oatmeal and Cheerios. It’s much better at navigating than the X2, but it did occasionally get itself trapped, including when it went under a chair that was too low for it to get out from. The top of the robot was fairly scratched up after just one week of use. (Worth noting, Ecovacs suffered a hack last year in which bad actors could access the camera and microphone on the X2)
The X8’s multifunction dock is much smaller than the X2’s and has some nice rose gold accents. Its water tanks are integrated into the dock and supereasy to remove to empty and refill — there’s no lid to mess with, you just lift up and go. The X8 doesn’t self-clean its washboard, however, and while it’s removable to make it easier to clean, I still had to get on my knees and scrub its base station after just a week of use.
It easily navigated fake dog turds and cables while sucking up oatmeal and Cheerios
The downside of roller mop bots is that they are big and heavy: the X8 weighs a whopping 12 pounds. Despite an ability to lift itself up to clear thresholds, the X8 isn’t as agile as smaller, lighter robot vacs. It struggled with the combo challenge of a large, tasseled, high-pile rug and spindly chair leg. Very few robot vacs tackle that one well, but it got stuck on the chair leg and sucked up the rug tassels. I ended up setting a keep-out zone so it could complete its job.
The integrated nature of the roller mop means the bot can’t remove it when it goes to vacuum carpet, as some mopping bots with pads can. It can lift it, but only 10mm, which isn’t going to work for the fluffiest rugs. The X8 does have carpet sensors, and you can choose to avoid them automatically, pass over them, or vacuum only. But its best carpet feature is the option to have it vacuum the carpets first, then mop everywhere else.
Overall, the Deebot X8 is a stellar vacuum mop combo for anyone seeking a robot that will thoroughly scrub and sweep their floors. With high-end features at a decent price, the X8’s roller mop, slick navigation, and excellent obstacle avoidance will get the job done.
Best midrange robot vacuum and mop
$495
The Good
- Good AI-powered obstacle detection
- Effective mopping
- Excellent value
- Nice dock
The Bad
- Single rubber / bristle brush
- Lower suction power
- No heated mop washing
- Some navigation issues
Multifunction Dock: Yes, auto empty (2.5L) and drain/refill (2.7L dirty, 3L clean) / Mop style: Dual spinning pads / Mop washing: Yes, hot air drying / Mop pressure: 2.2 lbs at 180 RPM / Mop lift: Yes, 12 mm / Edge cleaning: Yes, swinging motion / Mapping: Yes, lidar / AI-powered obstacle detection: Yes / Suction power: 8,000Pa / Vacuum brush style: Single rubber bristle hybrid / Works with: Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Siri Shortcuts
The Eufy X10 Pro Omni is an excellent mop vacuum hybrid with a full multifunction dock. It can wash its mop, drain, and refill its water tank. It’s also the cheapest model to offer dual spinning mop pads, and it has very good obstacle detection for this price range.
However, the X10 has just 8,000Pa suction, no hot water washing, and smaller water tanks. While it has most of the same functions as the top-of-the-line mopping bots, it’s not quite as effective at any of them. Which is sort of the definition of “midrange.”
An edge-hugging mode makes the robot swing its behind into the baseboards to help mop edges, but this is less effective than mop extension found on the more expensive models. With its squarish shape, it gets into corners better than most of the round bots, but its 12mm mop pad lift over carpet wasn’t effective, resulting in its pads getting hung up in a few places.
1/4
The Eufy performed very well in my mopping tests, eradicating dried stains with its 2.2 pounds of downward pressure. Thanks to an onboard water reservoir, it didn’t have to head home to fill up as frequently as some bots do. It also has heated mop drying to help prevent the base from getting stinky — a first in this price range.
The X10 has great object recognition, allowing it to suck up Cheerios and piles of oatmeal while deftly navigating fake dog turds and cables. However, its navigation sometimes got screwy; it would go into a corner and stay there for a while, trying to figure itself out.
Read more of my Eufy X10 review.
Best robot vacuum and mop for a mix of hard floors and rugs
$500
The Good
- Self-removing mop pads
- Mop extension reaches under edges
- Self-cleaning washboard
- Dirt detection tech
The Bad
- Middling AI obstacle detection
- Single rubber roller brush
- App can be flaky
Multifunction Dock: Yes, auto empty (3L) and drain/refill (4L dirty, 4.5L clean) / Mop style: Dual spinning pads / Mop washing: Yes, hot water and hot air drying / Mop pressure: Unknown / Mop lift: Yes, 10.5 mm / Edge cleaning: Yes, mop extension Mapping: Yes, lidar / AI-powered obstacle detection: Yes / Suction power: 12,000Pa / Vacuum brush style: Single, rubber / Works with: Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Siri Shortcuts
If you have a lot of fluffy rugs or carpets as well as hard floors, the Dreame X40 Ultra is the best robot vacuum for you. It’s not quite as effective as a mop or vacuum as the Ecovacs Deebot X8, but it’s better suited for high-pile carpet and rugs because it can automatically drop and reattach its mopping pads during vacuuming, eliminating the risk of getting your rugs wet or stained. The Ecovacs X8 can only raise its mop 10mm, not remove it, so it struggles on high-pile carpets.
Along with dropping its pads, the X40 can also extend and swing them to get under your cabinets and consoles. The X8 can extend to an edge, but won’t get under those low cabinets or furniture. I watched the X40 spread its mops wide apart and swing behind my TV console, allowing it to access the dust wedged a good inch under it.
However, because the X40 features dual spinning mop pads rather than a self-cleaning roller mop, it requires more frequent returns to clean the mops, which means it takes longer to clean your home. The X40’s spinning pads are effective at scrubbing your floors, but I found the X8’s roller mop to be better overall and more consistent.
1/3
The X40 can clean its washboard and features AI-powered smart dirt detection, which uses its cameras to identify spills, such as milk, or particularly dirty areas. When it spots something, it slows down and performs a more thorough cleaning. It also has an option to just mop. These are features the Ecovacs X8 doesn’t offer.
Dreame recently released the X50 Ultra, which adds 20,000Pa suction power and the ability to climb over higher thresholds. I’m currently testing this model.
Read more of my Dream X40 Ultra review.
Best robot vacuum and mop for hardwood floors
$540
The Good
- Long roller mop
- Sleek, futuristic design
- Dual side brushes
- Square shape helps with corners
The Bad
- Middling vacuum performance
- No self-cleaning base
- No mop extension
Multifunction Dock: Yes, auto empty (2.5L) and drain/refill (2L dirty, 3L clean) / Mop style: Roller / Mop washing: Yes, warm water and hot air drying / Mop pressure: 10N, 170 RPM / Mop lift: Yes, 12mm / Edge cleaning: No Mapping: Yes, lidar / AI-powered obstacle detection: Yes / Suction power: 8,000Pa / Vacuum brush style: Rubber / Works with: Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Siri Shortcuts
If you have mostly hardwood floors, the Eufy Omni S1 Pro is an excellent option. With its sleek, high-tech design and a long 11.4-inch roller mop, this product did an excellent job of keeping the hardwood floors of my main living area spotless.
I found the Eufy’s longer roller mop to be slightly more effective than the Deebot X8’s, mopping evenly and getting up more dirt on its first pass. While there is no mop extension of edge mopping, its square shape does help it get into corners, and its dual spinning side brushes help pull in debris.
However, its vacuuming prowess is middling; this really is a dedicated mopping robot. With just 8,000Pa suction power and a small rubber brush, it did a decent job of getting up debris, but left several flakes of oatmeal, thanks to its side brushes spinning the debris out beyond the bot’s reach. Its obstacle avoidance is also fairly average; it dodged larger items but struggled with cables.
The S1’s omni station is quite eye-catching, with a tall, futuristic design, and clear water tanks with glowing lights inside — although it might be considered an eyesore, depending on your style. Usefully, everything you need to interact with is located at the top, so there’s no need to bend down: a touchscreen display provides controls and the clean and dirty water tanks are easy to remove.
If you have tile or scraped wood floors, a bot with oscillating mop pads will be better at getting into the crevices
While it has a mop lift of 12mm (which is higher than the X8’s), it really struggled on my high-pile carpets, to the point where I had to set keep-out zones around them.
Like the X8, the S1 self-cleans the mop with water jets as it’s working, and you can set how frequently it returns to the base station for a thorough clean with warm water before continuing to mop. It will also dry the mop with hot air, which is effective, if noisy.
Neither the X8 nor the S1 have self-cleaning washboards, something Dreame offers. This is where the dock automatically washes the mopping tray in the dock – Dreame’s uses little wipers that go back and forth. It still needs to be cleaned eventually, but it does help keep the ick at bay for longer.
The S1 station’s debris filter got grungy fast and required manual cleaning, although this is fairly straightforward. After a month of use, I also had to disassemble the scraper and filter inside the bot, as well as remove the roller mop. This is something you’ll need to do for all mopping bots, but the Eufy’s was the most involved process, requiring me to disassemble multiple parts.
In my testing, I found that roller mops are great for most hardwood floors, but if you have lots of tile or scraped wood floors with grooves and nooks and crannies, a bot with oscillating mop pads will be better, as these do a better job of getting into crevices such as grout lines.
Best robot vacuum and mop for tile floors
$650
The Good
- Superb mopping
- Great obstacle avoidance
- Excellent dirt detection
- Self-cleans its washboard
- Very quiet
The Bad
- Minimal mop lift
- Edge cleaning just okay
- Uses a lot of water
- App is unreliable
Multifunction Dock: Yes, auto, empty (2.5L) and drain/refill (4.1L dirty, 4.5L clean) / Mop style: Dual triangular spinning pads / Mop washing: Yes, hot air drying / Mop Pressure: 2.6lbs at 180 RPM / Mop lift: Yes, 12mm / Edge cleaning: Yes, robot swing and fluffer / Mapping: Yes, lidar / AI-powered obstacle detection: Yes / Suction power: 12,000Pa / Vacuum brush style: Single, conical rubber bristle hybrid / Works with: Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Siri Shortcut
Narwal’s latest flagship mopping bot, the Freo Z Ultra, combines everything I loved about the Freo X Ultra, and adds better vacuuming, better object avoidance, an auto-empty dock (a first for Narwal), and a fluffy side brush to polish your baseboards. It also now comes in gray (white robot vacuums are not a good idea, unless you like cleaning your robot vacuum).
With its dual, triangular spinning mop pads (the unique shape helps avoid missing spots), the Freo Z is a great choice for homes with lots of hard floors, and especially tile. The oscillating mop pads are slightly better than roller mops at getting into grout lines and other crevices found on natural surfaces. The Freo Z’s downward pressure of 2.6 lbs meant it did a great job of scrubbing up dried-on debris, excelling in my dried ketchup test, even getting the red gunk up from tile grout.
Like the Deebot X8, the Freo Z can recognize various floor materials, including tile, hardwood, and marble, and clean in the direction of the flooring, such as along the wood grain. Unlike the X8, it automatically adjusts pressure and “mopping humidity” based on the floor type, using higher humidity on tile floors than on wood floors, which can be impacted by excessive moisture. The Freo Z also self-cleans its station and has a removable tray, making maintenance easier.
The Freo Z is remarkably quiet, making it a great option for running in a bedroom
Vacuuming is much better than the Freo X, with the Z boasting 12,000Pa. While that’s not as high as the X8, the Freo Z is remarkably quiet, making it a great option for running in a primary bedroom suite where you may have a tile bathroom combined with carpet.
As with the X8, the Narwal doesn’t deal well with high-pile rugs, as there’s still only a 12 mm mop lift and no automatic mop removal. However, you can set it to perform one of four actions when it encounters a carpet: sidestep, cross it without cleaning, power boost to clean the carpet more effectively, or regular cleaning.
The obstacle detection is vastly improved and very good. A dual camera system allows the bot to not only see objects but uses AI to identify what they are and “decide” how to clean them. The best use of this I saw in testing is when there was a large puddle of water and it automatically switched to mop-only so as not to suck up liquid.
Similarly, Narwal’s dirt detect feature is very good. The bot goes back and forth over a stain or dirty area to ensure it’s clean.
My two biggest gripes with the Freo Z are that it uses a lot of water; it doesn’t have an onboard water tank, so it has to return frequently to refill — and could only clean my 800 square foot area once before I needed to refill the main tank in the dock. By comparison, the X8’s tank only needed refilling after three runs.
Additionally, its app can be frustrating. It’s not easy to navigate, gets hung up between screens, and frequently disconnects from the robot. However, unlike the X8, the Narwal has controls on top of the station to start a clean, and once I had programmed a schedule, I didn’t find myself needing to use the app much at all.
The fluffy sidebrush feels more of a novelty than a necessity and doesn’t really seem to do much. Also, at this price, it would be nice if the Narwal offered a self-cleaning washboard. However, its washboard is removable, which makes it easier to clean manually.
Best robot vacuum and mop with a plumbing hookup
$400
The Good
- Almost hands-free
- Excellent roller mop
- Self-cleans
- Battery-powered water station
- Supports Matter
The Bad
- Big and wide
- Can’t mop a second floor; it will only vacuum
- Short battery life
- Low suction power
Multifunction Dock: Yes, auto, empty (4L) and drain/refill (two separate devices) / Mop style: Roller / Mop washing: Yes (during use), hot air drying / Mop Pressure: 2.2lbs at 300 RPM / Mop lift: Yes, 7mm / Edge cleaning: No / Mapping: Yes, lidar / AI-powered obstacle detection: Yes / Suction power: 6,500Pa / Vacuum brush style: Single rubber bristle hybrid / Works with: Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Siri Shortcut, Matter
The SwitchBot S10 is a multitasking robot that hooks into your plumbing for a virtually hands-free sweeping and mopping experience. It’s one of the best robot mops I’ve tested, thanks to its self-cleaning roller mop and the fact that I never had to empty or fill its water tanks. These two features meant I could set it and forget it and have clean floors for weeks.
My other favorite feature of the S10 is its dual docking system. Its main dock is a charging / auto-empty dock, and there’s a separate battery-powered dock water station that you can put in a different room. This battery-powered dock is what makes the S10 the best plumbing hookup option, as it gives you much more flexibility with placement. Roborock, Dreame, and Narwal also have plumbing hookup docks, but they require power (I’ve not tested either of those yet).
1/5
While the SwitchBot is a decent vacuum, it’s not the best. Its relatively paltry 6,500Pa of suction power is low compared to the competition, but the bot’s weight did help the rubber roller brush dig into the carpet and get up most of the cat hair.
S10 frequently got stuck on clothes left on my floor and bath mats — which are the bane of most mopping bots
Other downsides include the AI obstacle avoidance, which isn’t great. The S10 frequently got stuck on clothes left on my floor and bath mats, its battery life is short, and it lacks high-end features like dirt detection. There is also no edge cleaning function, meaning it didn’t do a great job along baseboards and around furniture.
SwitchBot recently released the Switchbot S20 ($480 $799.99), which looks like the Pro model that made its debut at CES. The upgrade addresses some of my issues with the S10, including adding an extendable roller mop and side brush to add edge cleaning, as well as 15,000Pa. It also comes with the option of two all-in-one auto-empty base stations: one with a regular water tank you manually refill, or one that can hook into your plumbing. But it will also work with the battery-powered water station. I plan on testing this soon.
Read my full SwitchBot S10 review.
What I’m currently testing and what’s coming next
- We’re currently in the process of testing the $329.99
$549.99Roborock Q10 S5 Plus Robot Vacuum and Mop, but so far are impressed. It delivers 10,000Pa of suction power and uses a sonic mop that scrubs floors 3,000 times per minute. It also comes with a 2.7-liter self-emptying base that can hold up to 70 days’ worth of debris, along with room-specific cleaning, no-go zones, and customizable cleaning schedules. - As mentioned before, Ecovacs recently released a successor to the Deebot X8 Pro Omni, aptly called the X9 Pro Omni ($1,299.99). It sports a roller mop like the X8 Pro, but the big difference is that the new model is designed to optimize airflow from intake to exhaust rather than relying solely on suction power. The upgrade could lead to better deep-cleaning.
- The Ecovacs X11 OmniCyclone ($1,099.99
$1,499.99) is a bagless robot vac that features a roller mop and an impressive 19,500Pa of suction. It comes with a multifunction dock, and its mop can extend up to 15mm to reach into corners. It should also handle floor transitions well, thanks to its built-in mechanical climbing levers. - The Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai Robot comes with a multifunctional dock along with a self-cleaning roller mop, lidar navigation, and onboard cameras that can detect stains and clean accordingly. The company has yet to release details about its price or release date, though you can read our hands-on for more details.
- The Eureka J15 Max Ultra ($1,199) can detect liquids with precision and automatically rotate its body to clean wet spills using its dual spinning pads, all while keeping its vacuum duct dry, which most mopping vacs can’t manage.
- Roborock’s Saros 10 ($1,299.99
$1,599.99) and Saros 10R ($999.99$1,599.99) are upgrades to my pick for the best overall robot vacuum, the S8 MaxV Ultra. Both can automatically remove their mop pads when not needed, which is a new option for Roborock. One uses dual spinning mops, the other a flat vibrating pad. - Roborock also recently released the Saros Z70 ($1,999.99
$2,599), the first mass-produced robovac to feature a robotic arm that can pick up light objects — including socks, tissues, and sandals. The arm isn’t the most reliable, and the vacuum occasionally struggles with correctly identifying items, but it’s otherwise an excellent model with 22,000Pa of suction power and dual spinning mop pads that it can remove on its own. Read our review. - Roborock’s cheaper Qrevo Curv ($899.99
$1,599.99) also has dual spinning mop pads (which you have to remove) and can raise itself to clear thresholds up to 40mm. The company’s Qrevo Slim ($799.99$1,399.99) offers similar functions but features a new navigation system and lacks a lidar tower, allowing it to fit under low furniture. - iRobot’s new Roomba lineup features two models with dual spinning mopping pads and auto-wash docks. The new Roomba Plus 505 Combo Robot Plus AutoWash Dock ($549.99
$999.99) also offers heated mop drying, a feature the higher-end Roomba Combo 10 Max lacks. However, in early testing, the 505 has shown some problems, including failing to return to its dock. The redesigned Roomba app has also been unexpectedly fiddly and less intuitive than the older version used by previous models. It’s also worth noting that iRobot’s future is extremely uncertain. While it is able to work offline, if the company closes, then app and voice-control support could be affected. - iRobot also recently introduced an upgraded version of the Roomba Max 705, the Roomba Max 705 Combo, which is available for $899.99
$1,299.99. Like the Max 705, it features dual rubber roller brushes that are resistant to tangling, along with AI-powered obstacle detection. It also comes with a unique roller mop cover that automatically deploys as it cleans, as well as a design that allows the mop to extend into corners and clean along wall edges. - Priced at $699.99 (with code WS24T2352111), Eufy’s new Robot Vacuum Omni E28 is a self-emptying, self-refilling, and self-washing robot vacuum with a rolling mop that can go over tough stains a second time if needed. The charging dock also includes a built-in deep cleaner that sprays water to tackle stains before sucking the mess into a separate wastewater tank.
- The recently launched Narwal Flow costs $1,099.99 with code NFLOW
$1,499.99, and features the company’s first roller mop, which can also extend. We haven’t spent any time with it yet, but Narwal claims it can easily tackle thick, fluffy carpets thanks to its deep carpet boost mode. - The Matic is a $1,245 robot vacuum that doesn’t need a cloud connection to work and can suck up wet spills as well as dry ones. This is easily one of the smartest cleaners I’ve tried, with great mapping and cleaning performance that feels surprisingly close to what a person would typically achieve. It’s also simple to run, easy to maintain, and reliable. We’ll have a full review soon, but for now, here’s some video of it in action.
- The $1,099.99 Eureka J20 features a very wide roller mop but only 8,000Pa suction, but it is no longer available on Eureka’s website. The new J15 Max Ultra ($1,199.99) can accurately spot liquids and automatically rotate its body to tackle wet spills with its dual spinning mopping pads. It’s an upgrade to the J15 Pro Ultra ($999.99), which can identify colored liquids but not clear or white ones.
- The Dreame X50 Ultra ($899.99
$1,699.99with code X50UXM) features a “motorized swing arm” that functions like a leg, enabling the robovac to climb over transitions up to 6cm tall. Otherwise, it’s a lot like the X40 Ultra in this guide, only with higher suction power and a retractable lidar tower. - The Switchbot S20 ($639.99 with code KLKS20,
$799.99), which resembles the Pro model announced at CES earlier this year, is now available. It’s essentially the successor to our previous pick for the best mopping vacuum, the Switchbot S10, with an extendable roller mop / side brush and 15,000Pa of suction power. - SharkNinja’s PowerDetect NeverTouch Pro 2-in-1 robot vacuum mop ($599.99
$999.99) can lift itself up as high as 20mm to get over rugs and transitions. Its automatic empty /wash / dry cleaning station doesn’t require bags, either. - The $999.99
$1,599.99(with code M10UXM) Dreame Aqua10 Ultra Roller Complete features a roller-style mopping system that continuously cleans itself in real time. Its companion model, the Aqua10 Ultra Track Complete, adds hot-water mopping and automatically adds cleaning solution as it moves about, so you don’t have to stop and refill anything. - The $1,599.99
$1,999.99(with code M10UXM) Dreame Matrix 10 Ultra comes with a multi-mop switching dock, one that lets it automatically swap between nylon scrub pads, sponge pads, and thermal mop pads based on where it’s cleaning. Its three-solution compartment also holds separate cleaners aimed at tackling pet odors, wood floors, and general messes, which the robovac will dispense on its own depending on the situation.
Photography by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
Update, December 8th: Adjusted pricing / availability. Mentioned the Ecovacs X11 OmniCyclone, Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai Robot, and Eureka J15 Max Ultra, while adding information regarding the Roborock Q10 S5 Plus and iRobot’s latest Roombas. Sheena Vasani also contributed to this post.
Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.
Valve has some good news and bad news about Steam Controllers. The good news: if you make a reservation for a Steam Controller, the company will now show you one of three estimates of when you’ll be able to actually order your gamepad: by September 2026, by December 2026, or sometime in 2027. The bad news: any reservations made today “indicate a 2027 date for shipping,” Valve says.
“We have no plans to stop making Steam Controller,” according to Valve. “But as we look at the current demand compared to how many we know we can make by the end of the year, we want to manage expectations as much as we can with regards to when folks can expect to receive their order.”
Valve’s very good new Steam Controller went on sale in early May, and the initial rush led some people to run into frustrating problems with trying to check out ahead of the controllers eventually going out of stock. A few days later, the company announced that it would be implementing a reservations queue for interested buyers so they could get on a waitlist. If you’re on the waitlist, when you get notified that a Steam Controller is ready for you to buy, you have 72 hours to actually make the order.
“When we launched Steam Controller last month, we quickly saw that initial demand exceeded our expectations,” Valve says. “Switching to a reservation queue has (hopefully) cut down on the headaches on the customer side, and for us it’s also been helpful as we plan ahead and try to get as many out as quickly as we are able.”
All three of Valve’s big hardware products were delayed from a planned early 2026 launch because of the component crisis, Valve still hasn’t announced when the Steam Machine PC or Steam Frame VR headset might go on sale. However, just yesterday, Valve officially launched its big SteamOS 3.8 update with support for the Steam Machine. It’s also been importing a lot of hardware into the US as of late.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The next time you pull up to a McDonald’s drive-thru, the voice taking your order may not be human. McDonald’s is testing a new AI-powered system called ArchIQ at five U.S. locations. The company has not said where those restaurants are located. The voice assistant, nicknamed Archy, can take drive-thru orders and has shown it can handle both English and Spanish.
For anyone who has repeated “no pickles” into a speaker box more than once, this could sound helpful. However, if you remember McDonald’s last AI drive-thru experiment, you may also wonder whether your burger order could somehow turn into a bag full of surprise McNuggets.
Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy Report
- Get my best tech tips, urgent security alerts and exclusive deals delivered straight to your inbox.
- For simple, real-world ways to spot scams early and stay protected, visit CyberGuy.com – trusted by millions who watch CyberGuy on TV daily.
Plus, you’ll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide free when you join.
WOULD YOU EAT AT A RESTAURANT RUN BY AI?
McDonald’s is testing an AI drive-thru system called ArchIQ at five U.S. restaurants. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
What is McDonald’s AI drive-thru?
ArchIQ is McDonald’s new AI system for restaurants. It can take drive-thru orders and also help with operations behind the scenes.
In a post on X, McFranchisee, an anonymous McDonald’s franchisee account, said the system is currently in five test stores and has processed more than one million transactions. The account also said about 90% of orders were completed without a human stepping in. That number sounds promising. Still, McDonald’s has not confirmed a nationwide launch date. For now, this remains a limited test.
The system also appears to connect with a bigger McDonald’s plan called “McDonald’s > NEXT.” CEO Chris Kempczinski described the strategy as a way to bring in more customers and improve restaurant productivity. The plan also includes menu changes, restaurant redesigns, technology upgrades and more focus on hospitality.
Why McDonald’s is testing AI ordering
Drive-thrus can get chaotic fast. Someone changes an order after the total appears. A child calls out from the back seat. Road noise makes the speaker hard to hear. Then the driver remembers the extra sauce after everything has already gone through. That is the type of pressure McDonald’s wants AI to handle.
If ArchIQ works well, it could help restaurants move cars through the line faster. It may also reduce mistakes during busy hours. Workers could then focus more on preparing food, handling payments and helping customers who need a real person.
ArchIQ also appears to have a management role. In the same X post, McFranchisee described Archy as a tool that could alert managers to bottlenecks or other issues before they slow down operations.
STARBUCKS USES CHATGPT TO SUGGEST DRINKS BASED ON MOOD AS EXPERT WARNS OF HIDDEN DOWNSIDES
The AI assistant, nicknamed Archy, can take drive-thru orders and may also help managers spot restaurant slowdowns. (McFranchisee)
McDonald’s tried AI drive-thru ordering before
This new test follows McDonald’s earlier AI drive-thru experiment with IBM. That program involved more than 100 restaurants. McDonald’s ended the test in 2024 after customers complained about order accuracy. Some mistakes also went viral, creating an embarrassing moment for McDonald’s and raising questions about whether the technology was ready for the drive-thru. Customers reported wrong items, strange quantities and other order mix-ups. That history is why this new test will get extra attention.
This time, McDonald’s is working with Google technology. McFranchisee also claimed every McDonald’s in the U.S. is getting Google Edge Cloud hardware in anticipation of the rollout. McDonald’s seems to believe the newer system can perform better than the last one. The real test will come when regular customers use it during real drive-thru rushes.
How McDonald’s AI drive-thru could help customers
If McDonald’s gets this right, the most obvious benefit is speed. An AI ordering system does not get tired during a long shift. It may also help more customers order in the language they prefer. That could make a busy drive-thru feel less frustrating, especially during breakfast or late-night hours.
The system may also ask clearer follow-up questions and catch missing details before the order reaches the kitchen. That would be a win for customers who want to get in, get their food and get on with the day.
The biggest problem with AI drive-thru orders
The biggest concern is accuracy. AI can still misunderstand people. That gets frustrating fast when you are trying to grab lunch between errands or get your kids fed from the back seat. A wrong order wastes time. It also puts workers in the position of fixing a mistake the machine made.
There is also the customer service side. Some people like hearing a real person at the speaker. Others may find an AI voice cold or annoying, especially if the system gets confused.
Then there is the privacy question. If an AI system takes your order, customers may wonder what gets collected, how long it is kept and who can access it. McDonald’s has not publicly explained those specifics for this current ArchIQ test.
ALEXA+ LETS YOU ORDER FOOD LIKE A REAL CONVERSATION
A drive-thru menu board stands outside a McDonald’s restaurant in Hercules, Calif., on Oct. 23, 2024, amid an E. coli outbreak linked to onions in Quarter Pounder sandwiches that has sickened dozens and killed one person across the U.S. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
How to avoid AI drive-thru mistakes
Before you leave the drive-thru, take a moment to check the order screen. Make sure the items match what you said. Listen when the system repeats your order. Keep your receipt until you confirm the food is right.
Also, avoid sharing extra personal details at the speaker box. Your order should only require your food choices and payment.
If the AI gets confused, ask for a crew member. You do not need to keep going back and forth with a machine over fries.
What this means for you
For now, you probably will not notice a change at your local McDonald’s. The ArchIQ test appears limited to five U.S. restaurants, and the company has not said when it could expand.
Still, this gives customers a preview of where fast food may be heading. AI could soon play a bigger role in how restaurants take orders and manage the kitchen. That may speed up the line, though it could also make the experience feel less personal.
Watch the CyberGuy Live replay: Lock Down Your Phone in 30 Minutes
Your phone holds your email, passwords, photos, banking apps and personal data. In this free CyberGuy Live replay, Kurt the CyberGuy walks you step by step through simple phone security fixes you can do at your own pace. You’ll learn how to improve your privacy settings, spot the latest phone scams, use trusted security tools and walk away with a simple checklist to stay protected. Watch the replay and get our checklist here: CyberGuyLive.com
Kurt’s key takeaways
McDonald’s clearly wants AI to play a bigger role in its restaurants. From a business point of view, the idea makes sense. Shorter drive-thru lines could help franchisees and customers. Better restaurant data could also help managers fix problems faster. But I still want the human backup. Food orders can be messy because people are messy. We change our minds. We talk over each other. We forget the extra ketchup until the last second. AI may handle much of that one day. For now, I would treat it like any busy drive-thru interaction. Speak clearly. Check the order. Do not pull away until you know your food is right.
Would you trust an AI voice to take your McDonald’s order, or do you still want a real person on the other end of the speaker? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy Report
- Get my best tech tips, urgent security alerts and exclusive deals delivered straight to your inbox.
- For simple, real-world ways to spot scams early and stay protected, visit CyberGuy.com – trusted by millions who watch CyberGuy on TV daily.
- Plus, you’ll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide free when you join.
Copyright 2026 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.
Midjourney CEO David Holz just showed off the company’s first hardware product and plans to build a San Francisco spa, which he admitted is a bit different from the “cat pictures” produced by its AI image generator. Dubbed The Midjourney Scanner, it’s an ultrasound-based full-body scanner that uses a ring of sensors to capture vertical slices of the inside of your body, looking at the composition of your muscle, fat, bone, and organs to start. Holz said ideally, you could do this once a year or every single day, as it “aims for image quality comparable to MRI in many ways.”
He mentioned that one way he’d like to use it would be to see how his body changes in response to diet and workout changes, saying, “I’m not the most measured man on Earth yet, you know, but maybe I want to have that daily [measurable information].” A set of job listings advertises the company’s goal as trying to “build and launch the world’s first full-body ultrasound CT scanner, ultimately bringing safe, fast, and high fidelity preventative scanning to billions via a magical spa experience.”
The Midjourney Scanner was developed in a partnership with ultrasound tech company Butterfly Network, which said it uses “40 Butterfly Ultrasound-on-Chip imaging modules per system.”
The scanning process starts with stepping onto a platform that drops down into the water on rails through a ring of thousands of transducers that create ultrasonic waves. It then records the ripples passing through your body to analyze them and create detailed 3D images. The scan takes about 60 seconds. Holz said about a dozen people have been scanned so far.
It starts by stepping into a shallow pool of golden light. You then begin to descend into the water. Your body passes through a ring of underwater sensors, each acting like a dolphin, using its echolocation. The sensors send ultrasonic sound waves through your body from every angle. With enough waves, and enough angles, we form an image of what’s happening inside your body.
It combines those sensors with two petaflops of processing power. But after watching the livestreamed reveal, I’m still unclear on what Midjourney’s AI image generation tech exactly has to do with the Midjourney Medical effort, beyond an alternative business for otherwise-unused AI compute.
Holz hopes to put 10 of the scanners into a Midjourney Spa location in San Francisco’s Union Square that will open before the end of 2027 and offered to scan the hands of attendees at its launch event. The Midjourney Spa will have a gym, saunas, and cold plunges to go along with the hot tub–equipped scanning rooms where visitors will get into the water to be scanned.
He did mention that various medical applications would require FDA clearances, but for now, Midjourney Medical says it’s working on “body composition maps” that don’t require the same level of clearance as diagnostic imaging. It also says the “library of scans” users create can be shared with doctors, AI health tools, or others, and that, “We take data privacy seriously — more details on our data policies will come as we get closer to launch.”
Holz suggested that eventually these scans could become better than an MRI, without radiation, powerful magnets, or other complicating factors, to get a look at what’s going on inside people’s bodies “real fast.” In response to a question, he imagined a future where the FDA had a class of devices to look at “weird” things and allowed people to “just try to get as much data as we can.”
-
Florida6 minutes agoWeather Aware Day declared for Friday as heat and strong storms threaten Central Florida
-
Georgia9 minutes agoDHS appears to axe plan to construct immigration detention megacenter in small Georgia town
-
Hawaii14 minutes agoAmbassadors of aloha: Food events aim to boost tourism with unique Hawaii-made products
-
Idaho21 minutes agoIdaho State Police arrest Dillon Thorpe on rape, child enticement charges in Elmore County
-
Illinois24 minutes agoBeecher City farm suffers heavy damage following ‘wicked storm’
-
Indiana29 minutes agoBraun asks regulators to reconsider $71 million AES rate increase
-
Kansas34 minutes agoMixed results for Kansas City World Cup start as some businesses struggle
-
Iowa36 minutes agoIowa High School Baseball Stats: Leaders On The Diamond This Summer
