After a year of pretty practical innovations initially kicked off at CES 2024,sex doc la it was tricky to predict the direction that CES 2025 robot vacuums would head in.
Welp, there wasn't really a theme at all. This year, robot vacuums were finally on par with the weirdness of the rest of CES.
Robot vacuums are on a whole new level in 2025
Last year, one big feature seemed to take over: self-washing and -drying mopping pads (among other expected upgrades like stronger suction power and more precise small obstacle avoidance). Now that most brands have at least one model that can pretty much take care of vacuuming and mopping without daily human intervention, smart map the home, and avoid obstacles without human intervention, the direction these brands would go in for 2025 felt... open-ended.
SEE ALSO: 22 new gadgets from CES 2025 that you can buy right nowIt turns out that big brands like Roborock, Eufy, and Dreame all had different ideas of how to ramp up robot vacuum autonomy. I'm comparing the best three robot vacuums and their most unique newfangled features below, plus any information we have on prices, preorders, and release dates so far.
Not necessarily set on buying a CES 2025 drop? Whether you don't feel like waiting or don't feel like paying that much, I'm listing an alternate robot vacuum from last year's crop that I think would offer a similar experience as each of these top three new robot vacuums.
Roborock Saros Z70
Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable 
Credit: Roborock Price:Set to retail for "around $2,000," though no official price is confirmed
When you can buy it:Set to come out in April
Biggest wow factor:It has a robotic grabby arm that can pick up small obstacles
Let's kick things off with the feature that probably wasn't on anyone's CES Bingo card: a robot vacuum with an arm.
The Roborock Saros Z70 puts a new spin on small obstacle avoidance technology by not only steering around things like socks or shoes, but picking them up completely and putting them in a designated area like a basket. The claw machine-style OmniGrip arm unfolds from the top of the robot vacuum and can pick up obstacles in four categories as long as they weigh less than 300 grams: socks, paper, small towels, and lightweight shoes. Support for pet toys would be particularly clutch in my household.
The Saros Z70 has another huge headline: 22,000 Pa of suction power. The robot vacuum world hasn't seen a number like that before — that's 3,500 Pa more powerful than the Roborock's previous strongest contender, the viral Roborock Qrevo Curv, and even 2,000 Pa more powerful than the 20,000 Pa clocked by the next-most powerful CES 2025 robot vacuum, the Dreame X50 Ultra. People who are in search of themost thorough carpet clean by a robot vacuum possible could easily be sold by this stat alone.
Though the cool factor of the grabby arm is pretty inarguable, the practicality is still iffy when considering the proposed $2,000-ish price tag. IMO, the Saros Z70 would have to be pretty perfect at literally everything else — actual vacuuming and mopping, navigating, you know the drill — to prove itself worth that kind of money. (In the words of my fellow Senior Shopping Reporter Haley Henschel, "If you can afford it, ask yourself this: Why don't you just hire a maid?"
After struggling to return to its dock several times at the live demo at CES, the verdict on whether this new technology is more of a pain than it's worth is still up in the air. As soon as I review this bad boy in my own apartment, I'll let you know.
The best Roborock Saros Z70 alternative from 2024
If you like the idea of a super perceptive robot vacuum with meticulous cleaning skills — and definitely aren't paying $2,000 for the Saros Z70 when it comes out in the spring — consider the Roborock Qrevo Master. A CES 2024 release, the Qrevo Master ended up being my favorite robot vacuum that I tested in 2024 for a few reasons, many of which are premium features shared with the Saros Z70. First and foremost, there's no arm that tidies up for you, but the Qrevo Master's small obstacle detection hasbeen pretty flawless in my home.
I've never seen a robot vacuum clean corners better than the Qrevo Master does. It's armed with two FlexiArms: no, they're not the OmniGrip arm that picks stuff up, but they do sweep and scrub in 90-degree angles and along edges much more precisely than a side brush or a mop that can't reach much farther than the diameter of the vacuum. Roborock baked these two features into the Saros Z70 as well, but with the Qrevo Master, you can secure that ASMR-like corner cleaning for significantly less money.
10,000 Pa of suction is no 22,000 Pa, but it has still been quite enough to keep up with my two cats. Speaking of cats, the Qrevo Master also has the livestream pet camera that Roborock put on the Saros Z70.
The Roborock Qrevo Master retails for $1,399.99 but has been on sale for as low as $899.99.
Eufy E20
Credit: Eufy 
Credit: Eufy Price:Can be preordered for $499.99 now, but will retail for $549.99
When you can buy it: Officially comes out on Feb. 10
Biggest wow factor:It's a robot vacuum that can transition into a cordless stick or handheld vacuum
There are always going to be those spots that even the most detail-oriented robot vacuums simply can't clean — they'll never be able to tackle the crumbs in your computer keyboard or pet fur-covered couch cushions or car seats. This is why I always say that the ideal vacuum setup is one that involves both a robot vacuum and a cordless stick vacuum, rather than putting your entire budget toward the absolute fanciest version of one or the other you can find.
This is the dilemma Eufy aimed to solve with its CES 2025 contender. The 3-in-1 Eufy E20 lets you skip the stress of shopping around for two vacuums by literally building a cordless handheld vacuum into the body of the robot vacuum. You can attach the full-size extender and cleaning head to make it a legit cordless stick vacuum or use it in handheld mode. The robot vacuum maxes out at 8,000 Pa of suction power: the same as the more-expensive Eufy X10 Pro Omni that I loved, but much less power than the other two CES releases in this story. Suction boosts to 30,000 Pa in handheld mode.
The Eufy E20 does have small obstacle avoidance technology but doesn't mop. It's not the most powerful robot vacuum or handheld vacuum, but if you don't have the space or patience to have two different types of vacuums in your home, this design might be the efficient middle ground you've been wishing existed.
Related Stories
- Rate your favorite smart home gear for a chance to win a $250 Amazon gift card
- Check out the best projectors from CES 2025 — and see which you can shop now
- Hands on with the ultralight Asus Zenbook A14 at CES 2025: MacBook Airs should be scared
- Best of CES 2025: Everything that stole the show, according to our experts
- Our favorite (mostly weird) robots we saw at CES 2025
The best Eufy E20 alternative from 2024
If you like the idea of the robot-to-cordless versatility but wish the robot vacuum itself was a little more intense of a cleaner, consider the Ecovacs T30S Combo. Released in summer 2024, it's an all-in-one cleaning hub that adds a cordless handheld vacuum to a premium robot vacuum that mops, washes and dries its own mopping pads, and cleans with 11,000 Pa of suction.
Rather than removing the cordless vac from the body of the robot vac like the E20, the T30S station features dual charging docks: one for the robot vacuum and one for the handheld vacuum. This means you'll be skipping the full-size stick vacuum of the E20. But if you're fine with leaving the floor to the robot as long as you have handheld control for the areas a robot can't go, this is a slightly more powerful option than the E20.
The Ecovacs T30S retails for $1,199.99 but has been on sale for as low as $799.99.
Dreame X50 Ultra
Credit: Dreame 
Credit: Dreame Price:Can be preordered for $1,309.99 with a coupon now, but will retail for $1,699.99
When you can buy it:Officially comes out on Feb. 14
Biggest wow factor: It can climb thresholds up to 2.36 inches
The rumor floating around asserting that the Dreame X50 Ultra could climb stairs is a bit of a reach. Sorry. But it doesstill have more rugged driving capabilities than most other robot vacs thanks to special wheels that hoist it over blockages up to 2.36 inches. This'll be huge in homes that have higher thresholds between floor types in doorways, thick rugs, or even sliding doors that a regular robot vacuum would probably get stuck on.
The Dreame X50 Ultra also clocks 20,000 Pa of suction power — and that should be just as big of a story as the wheel situation. That number easily makes it one of the most powerful robot vacuums on the market, only to be bested by the Roborock Saros Z70's 22,000 Pa. And compared to the Saros Z70, predicted to cost around $2,000, the Dreame X50 Ultra's $1,699.99 price tag is quite modest for such a tenacious cleaner that also takes care of its own dust bin and mopping pads. A $390 preorder coupon brings that price down to $1,309.99, and you definitely won't find a robovac more powerful in the sub-$1,500 price range.
The best Dreame X50 Ultra alternative from 2024
If you like the idea of a brawny robot vacuum that won't get stuck on floor-type changes in your home, consider the Shark PowerDetect NeverTouch Pro 2-in-1. While it may not offer the official 2.36-inch clearance that the X50 Ultra does, it still has large lifting wheels that give it some serious air over the rugs and doorway thresholds in my apartment. It's actually the only robot vacuum I've ever tested that lifts high enough to not flip up the corners of my bath mats every single time.
The PowerDetect NeverTouch Pro is also Shark's first robot vacuum to wash and dry its own mopping pad. The only thing is that this Shark won't vacuum carpets or rugs if its current cleaning cycle involves vacuuming and mopping hard floors — instead, it'll come back to the soft floors once it removes its own washing pad at the dock.
The Shark PowerDetect NeverTouch Pro 2-in-1 retails for $1,199.99 but has been on sale for as low as $699.99.