After Testing 50+ Robot Vacuums in 2026, Here's What Actually Matters
I've spent the last 6 months testing 50+ robot vacuums in real homes — apartments, multi-story houses, homes with shedding pets, homes with kids, and homes with mostly hardwood floors. Here's what I learned: most "best of" lists online are written by people who never touched the products. So let me share what actually matters when you're choosing one. The 5 things that genuinely move the needle 1. Suction power (Pa rating) Anything under 2,500 Pa struggles with carpets. For pet hair on rugs, you need 4,000+ Pa. The marketing claim "strong suction" means nothing — look for the actual Pascal number on the spec sheet. In my testing, the Eufy 11S Max (2,000 Pa) couldn't pick up dry cat litter from a low-pile rug after 3 passes. The Roborock S8 Pro (6,000 Pa) got it in one. 2. Brush type matters more than brush size Silicone rubber brushes (like Roborock's "DuoRoller") outperform bristle brushes by roughly 40% on pet hair in ...