Comparison of TOP robot vacuum cleaners: Roborock S7 vs Roborock S6 MaxV

Hey, readers of the Robotobzor! Recently we tested the latest model of 2021 – the flagship Roborock S7, which went on sale in 2021. The robot turned out to be very interesting and one of the best in its price segment, thanks to the implemented functionality and characteristics. After previous review, many of you began to ask, which model is best to choose: the new Roborock S7 or Roborock S6 MaxV, which went on sale exactly a year before, in the start of 2020. So, based on the test results, I compared these two robots and expressed my own opinion which one is better to choose and why. This time there will be no distribution of points, I will just compare them according to the main parameters and summarize. Let’s start!

Price

The first step is to compare the cost of robotic vacuum cleaners. The new Roborock S7 costs 550-600 $ at the time of this review posting, while the cost of the Roborock S6 MaxV ranges from 630-690 $.

We see that both robots belong to the premium segment and are not cheap, but the Roborock S7 still has a better price. But keep in mind that this is without a self-cleaning station, only regular charging base is included in the kit. The base for self-cleaning is sold separately and costs about $300.

Design

Now let’s visually compare these robot vacuum cleaners and see what`s the difference. In both models on top, there are 3 mechanical control buttons and a lidar with mechanical button that prevents it from getting stuck under furniture.

The updated Roborock S7 has an indicator on top that glows in different colors, indicates the status of the robot vacuum cleaner. Additionally, by pressing the local mode enable button, you can lock the control panel against accidental activation by children or animals.

In both models, the bumper has one wall sensor on the right side. Roborock S6 MaxV has a camera for recognizing objects on the floor, that located in the center. It is one of the main points in this comparison.

The Roborock S7 has an obstacle detection sensor on the front.

In both models the dustbin is located under the top cover, and the water tank is removed from the back. There are no significant differences.

But if we turn robots upside down, we see that the Roborock S7 has a silicone brush installed in the center.

And the Roborock S6 MaxV has a traditional bristly-petal.

The side brushes are the same. Next to the turning roller, the S7 has a carpet recognition sensor, which the S6 MaxV doesn`t have. Also, there is a difference in wet cleaning platforms. For S6 MaxV, this is a regular nozzle with a napkin, which is attached to the bottom of the robot, while for S7 has a special module called VibraRise. The napkin is equipped with a movable section that vibrates at a frequency of up to 3000 times per minute and at the same time is able to automatically rise by 5 mm when driving onto carpets. This is just the key highlight of the Roborock S7.

The important to note that the Roborock S7 constructively supports the base for self-cleaning garbage, which will be on sale soon. Roborock S6 MaxV will not be able to self-clean.

Anything else is same in size and build quality for both models. So, the S6 MaxV has an advantage in the active camera, while the S7 has a module for wet cleaning and an optionally available base for self-cleaning. We don`t count the central brush yet, still need to check its effectiveness.

Equipment

Roborock S6 MaxV box contains a plastic backing for the docking station, manual, a nozzle with an installed napkin, a charging base with a power adapter, and a spare HEPA filter. Equipment is very basic.

But the equipment of Roborock S7 is not better. It comes with a charging base with a power adapter, a nozzle with a napkin and manual. A spare HEPA filter is not included, and there is no docking pad either, but it`s not really needed. I’ll explain why later.

Technical features

Now let’s compare the main characteristics of Roborock S6 MaxV and Roborock S7. I summarized them in a table for your comfortable review:

Well, as we can see, the characteristics are the same, the Roborock S7 has a slightly larger dust collector, but the difference is not big. It is more important to highlight that it works louder, in parentheses I indicated the peak noise level at maximum mode during testing. I will explain why later.

Functionality

In terms of functionality, these robots are very similar, but each robot has its own main feature. What is similar? Both robots are controlled via both: Mi Home and Roborock’s branded mobile app. One of the main functions is that both robots support storing several cleaning maps in memory, automatic zoning of the room into areas, setting the cleaning mode individually for each room, setting excluded zones and virtual walls on the map and voice notifications in Russian if you order a Russified model.

Let`s have a look at the differences. Thanks to the camera, the Roborock S6 MaxV can recognize objects on the floor and go around them while cleaning. At the same time, he is able to photograph the detected objects and display on the map.

What`s useful about it? If you are a pet owner that is not trained to use a tray, or often spits balls of fur on the floor, the robot is able to identify such surprises and avoid them, instead of smearing them on the floor, as almost all other robots do. Also, the camera can be connected remotely for remote monitoring of the house, if you want. It is a useful feature of the Roborock S6 MaxV that many people like.

Roborock S7 has advanced wet cleaning because of the implemented VibraRise technology. The main idea of the technology is that when a carpet is detected, the robot is able to lift the napkin 5 mm above the surface. So, when entering the carpets, the contact of the wet wipe with the carpet is excluded, and the robot can vacuum and rinse the floor in one cleaning cycle, leaving the carpets dry and clean.

The napkin automatically rises when arriving at the base for charging, so a plastic backing for the station is not needed. Prolonged contact of a wet wipe with the floor is excluded if it is not removed in time after cleaning. So far, no other robots on the market are capable of this, at least I don`t know any analogues with a similar technology.

Instead of automatically lifting the napkin, you can turn on the automatic carpets detour mode to not bother yourself with the installation of separate exclusion zones on the carpets for the wet cleaning mode. Well, as I said before, the napkin vibrates during cleaning, and the robot will soon learn to self-clean at the station, this can also be considered as special features of the Roborock S7.

Amazon: Roborock S7

So, we can say that the differences in functionality are: for the S6 MaxV there is an active camera for recognizing objects and remote monitoring of the house, and for the S7 there is a vibrating platform that is capable of climbing on carpets, as well as when arriving at the base and the base itself for self-cleaning.

Testing

It is important to compare how robots perform their main task. We will compare according to this:

• The overall accuracy of navigation and movement patterns around the house.
• Suction power.
• Dry cleaning quality on laminate flooring.
• The quality of dry cleaning on the carpet.
• The quality of wet cleaning.
• The ability to drive through dark surfaces.
• Passage of robot vacuum cleaners.

The navigation of the Roborock S7 and S6 MaxV is the same if consider general algorithm of movement and cleaning speed. The robots divides the room into zones and clean one by one, first along the perimeter, and then with a snake movements. Here is no difference.

But the suction power of Roborock S7 is much higher, despite the fact that the compared robots are declared 2500 Pa. Looks like the new design of the brush played a role here. To compare, the S7 could suck out litter from slots up to 10mm deep, while the S6 MaxV could only partially sweep litter from only a 2mm slot.

Actually that`s why the Roborock S7 works louder at maximum power. The robot has a stronger suction and higher noise level.

The quality of dry cleaning on the laminate flooring for robots is on the same level, as well as the quality of garbage collection on the carpet. A small advantage for the Roborock S6 MaxV, its brush picks up fur and hair from the floor better thanks to the bristled inserts. A silicone roller does a good job of this as well, but it can still leave clumps of fur or hair, but in minimal amounts. But the silicone roller is much easier to clean from coiled hair and wool.

If someone is wondering: Are brushes interchangeable between the Roborock S7 and S6 MaxV? The answer is – No, they are different in diameter, that`s why, for example, the brush from the S6 MaxV installed in the S7 will be stuffed with dust and will not be able to throw it into the dust collector.

As for the quality of wet cleaning, if we talk about rubbing off dirt, then I didn`t notice any special effectiveness of the vibrating platform. In approximately the same conditions, both robots wiped off the dried-up dirt from shoes. The vibration module does a poor job of wiping off complex dirt, so I can`t give it an advantage in this comparison. But for delicate wet cleaning, both robots are equally good.

As for the obstacle passage, both robots are capable of crossing 2 cm sills, but the Roborock S6 MaxV passes them a little more confidently, so again this robot has a slight advantage in passage.

Well, both Roborock S6 MaxV and Roborock S7 are afraid of dark surfaces. So here, Roborok`s engineers did not fix the problem.

Amazon: Roborock S6 MaxV

Summing up

What’s the bottom line? Compared robot vacuum cleanerss are both good and have their own advantages that can be strong reason for buying. If we summarize all the main points in the table, we get:

I would recommend the Roborock S6 MaxV if there are no carpets in the house or apartment, but there are pets that can leave surprises in the cleaning area of ​​the robot. Or in those cases if remote monitoring of the house through a robot will be useful for you, as well as if, for example, there are children at home who throw things on the floor, after which the robot can go into a mistake by sucking in the socks or the charger cord.

If such situations are excluded and there are carpets on the floor and you choose a robot vacuum cleaner with a wet cleaning function and a self-cleaning base, then I recommend looking at the Roborock S7. It has its advantages, and higher suction power, it can clean deeper the carpets from a dust and small litter.

But if it is not urgent for you to buy a robot vacuum cleaner and you are interested in both: Roborock S6 MaxV and the Roborock S7, I recommend you wait for the market launch of the most pumped model in the Roborock line, which combines the strengths of the two compared robots. This is the Roborock T7s, which was announced right after the S7. It is equipped with a self-cleaning base, a lifting mechanism for the wet-type nozzle and an object detection system on the floor. It`s very interesting solution that will take the market of robotic vacuum cleaners to a completely different level. We hope that in autumn the new product will appear on the market and we will test it.

Here, I would like to end the review and comparison between Roborock S7 and Roborock S6 MaxV. If you have any questions, ask below in comments. Happy tech shopping to everyone. Bye!