Everything about scheduling, room selection, no-go zones, multi-floor mapping, voice control, and privacy.
This is where robot vacuums earn the "smart" label. But not all smart features are equally useful.
Run automatically at set times. Clean at 10am Monday-Friday while you're at work. Essential feature for true 'set and forget' automation.
Tell the robot to clean just the kitchen or skip the bedroom. Requires saved maps (LiDAR or camera navigation). Most useful feature after navigation itself.
Draw virtual barriers in the app to block off areas. Pet bowls, cable nests, kid play areas.
Robot remembers separate maps for different levels. Useful if you're carrying the robot between floors. Reality: Most people don't do this. You buy multiple robots or just clean one floor.
Watch the robot's progress on your phone as it cleans. Honestly? Cool to watch the first few times. Then you never look at it again. Low actual utility.
Robot senses carpet and increases suction automatically. Saves battery on hard floors, increases performance on carpet.
Here's what separates good apps from bad ones:
(Roborock, Dreame, Ecovacs flagship models)
(Budget brands, older models)
App quality can be tough to measure, but it affects your daily experience. Check user reviews specifically mentioning the app.
Most mid-range and up robots support voice commands via Alexa or Google Assistant. Siri support is less common but growing. Some mid-tier and premium models have built-in voice control with their own AI assistants.
Bottom line: Voice control is a nice bonus, but the app is where you'll do most control. Don't buy a model solely for voice features.
Cameras raise privacy questions. Here's what you should know:
For most people: Not much. Robot vacuum makers aren't in the data-selling business like social media companies.
But if privacy is a priority: Choose LiDAR models without cameras, or camera models that advertise local processing only.
If you just want "press button, robot cleans the whole floor", basic models work fine. You don't need app control, mapping, or voice features. This is okay for small apartments, single rooms, or people who want minimal complexity.
