Shark’s robot vacuum is perfect for anyone who hates vacuuming

Vacuuming is one of the most tedious household chores I deal with regularly — it’s mindless, loud and physically draining. So when I moved into my shoebox apartment into a slightly bigger space with my dog and my husband, it was necessary to look into a quieter, hands-free alternative to my upright vacuum that could minimize the labor of cleaning up pet hair, dust and dirt multiple times a week. A robot vacuum was the most obvious solution; it does all the work itself without it forcing me to do anything other than press a button.

I wanted a smart vacuum that was reliable, relatively quiet and worked on a schedule, so when I saw that the highly ratedShark IQ Robot Vacuum was on sale during Amazon Prime Day a few years ago, I immediately ordered it. While it doesn’t completely replace my more powerful Dyson stick vacuum, it does help reduce the number of times I reach for it.

What is the Shark IQ Robot Self-Empty XL Vacuum?

Shark IQ Robot Self-Empty XL Vacuum

$372.00

Amazon

What we like

• Maps out your space
• App-enabled
• Fits under furniture

Something to note

• Loud when emptying
• Expensive
• Can't access tight corners

The Shark IQ robot vacuum looks like most smart robot vacuums: it has a circular base, brushrolls on the bottom to lift up dirt, crumbs and pet hair, and has multiple sensors to prevent it from bumping into obstacles. After every run, it returns to its included charging base station and self-empties the dirt and dust it collected into a large canister. The tank can hold up to 45 days worth of dirt and dust, according to the brand. 

This is a multisurface vacuum, meaning it works on both hard floors and carpets (I have both hardwood floors and a large area rug). The vacuum connects to the SharkClean app, where you can set up specific “no-go zones” that the vacuum will avoid, create a cleaning schedule and see the robot’s map of your space. You can also set it to run at your preferred time in the morning, afternoon or evening.

While you don’t need Wi-Fi to run this Shark robot vacuum, you will need it to use the SharkClean app and set a cleaning schedule, map your home and use the “recharge and resume” feature.

I bought this Shark robot vacuum back in 2021 when it was on sale for Prime Day (it was around $280 off at the time) as I was preparing to move into a new apartment. Setting up the vacuum was easy and painless — after finding a spot in my living room that was clear of surrounding furniture, I plugged in the base (which serves as a charging station for the vacuum itself) and charged the vacuum for about six hours. Once I pressed the “clean” button to start it up, it began immediately navigating around my apartment and mapping it out, telling the robot exactly where to go, and how to prevent it from running into furniture, walls and other obstacles while it cleans in the future. After detecting that the mapping was complete, it conveniently traveled back to its home base without me having to move it or direct it where to go.

I typically have the vacuum set to automatically clean three days a week in the afternoon, which works even when I’m not home (though I try to avoid it while my dog is at home unsupervised). My go-to method, however, is to manually run it by pressing the “clean” button on the vacuum whenever I feel my apartment is getting a little too messy. The cleaning process for my specific mapped-out space typically takes a little less than an hour, and it will automatically go back to the charging base when it’s done. The bagless base can hold dirt and debris for 45 days, but I empty it about twice a month, just to be safe.

I can use my voice to control the vacuum with Amazon Alexa, but I usually control it through the app or manually press the button. Whenever I’m curious about the vacuum’s average runtime, the app shows a history tab of its past cleaning runs (for up to 30 days) for me to review.

I like having a tidy, dirt- and dust-free apartment, yet usually find myself too busy to vacuum it on a regular basis. The Shark IQ Robot Vacuum helps me get my regular vacuuming done without needing to get up from my couch or bed (or even physically be at home, for that matter). I can sometimes forget about the chore altogether by having the vacuum automatically do it for me on a schedule, too. Below, I share in more detail what I love about Shark’s robot vacuum.

This Shark vacuum quickly and easily picks up piles of dirt, crumbs and dust, which is crucial since I have a messy dog. Though her specific breed (a havanese and bichon frise mix) doesn’t shed, I brush her regularly, which means hair and fuzz still finds its way on my carpets, floors and underneath furniture (if you’re a pet owner, you know how much that can pile up). Plus, she still tracks in dirt after running outside, as well as other dogs’ hair after playing with them. This vacuum is able to suck everything up in a few quick swipes, including pet hair, without it getting tangled in the brushroll. (Keep in mind, my dog has non-shedding medium-length hair, so dogs with longer or thicker hair may require you to regularly check and clean your brushroll.) And since the vacuum runs on its own, I don’t have to worry about that hair, dust and dirt piling up over time.

It’s made to work on all types of floors, which is another plus: I have hardwood, tile and carpet in my apartment, and it navigates each one seamlessly. I haven’t noticed a difference in terms of how it cleans one floor type over the other: It picks up dirt in one or two passes regardless of carpet or hard floors (though I haven’t used it on wet or damp debris or food, like used coffee grounds). However, it sometimes has a hard time switching from one floor to the other if there’s a raised edge and gets stuck. 

I found that the Shark IQ Robot Vacuum is true to its “smart” vacuum name and that the features it has are genuinely helpful. There aren’t smart accessories for the sake of it — every feature it has, works, and works well. It connects to the SharkClean app on my phone via Wi-Fi, where I can see the map it memorized, tell my vacuum to start cleaning or schedule certain times when I want it to clean each day. Once it finishes running through my mapped-out space, I love that it knows to go back to its charging base without me having to lift a finger. Plus, I can choose if I want it to clean my whole house or just target specific rooms, and I will typically mark any “no-go zones” I want the vacuum to stay out of (which are typically the bathroom and closets for me).

One of the biggest standout features of this vacuum is its self-emptying base: After 30 minutes, the vacuum will mosey back to its charging base, where it automatically empties the debris it picked up from its canister. Once the canister is empty, it resumes cleaning until it tackles every inch it previously mapped out. Unlike other vacuums that require me to manually empty out a dustbin nearly every week (and other robot vacuums that I would need to empty after every clean), this vacuum does the work for me. The only thing I need to worry about is cleaning out the base once or twice a month.

A downside is that while the vacuum itself doesn’t make too much noise as it cleans, the actual emptying process is very loud — it sounds like your typical noisy upright vacuum as a ton of air gets sucked into the base.

This robot vacuum is entirely self-directed, which means I don’t have to physically hold it as I swipe it across my home like other vacuums require me to do. After I press the “clean” button, there’s no other manual labor involved on my part. That’s not only great for me in terms of laziness, but it’s also a convenient feature for people who may not be able to stand or move around for extended periods of time.

While most of my floors are hardwood and tile, I have a few area rugs around my apartment that the vacuum easily mounts and cleans without getting stuck. Generally, its flat, compact shape navigates tight corners and runs underneath furniture surprisingly well and doesn’t smash into surrounding items as aggressively as other robot vacuums I’ve used in the past. It has gotten stuck a few times on unexpected obstacles like a box or chair, but it’s easy to pick it up and redirect it. Plus, it learns quickly: in times where I’ve had to redirect it, it usually doesn’t run into that same obstacle again.

However, it doesn’t do great around tight, curved areas like a toilet and usually gets stuck running into corners and walls — I’ll typically have to take my stick vacuum and clean those areas separately. It’s not surprising it runs into trouble in this way, having difficulty navigating curved areas or furniture is generally par for the course for most robot vacuums, in my experience. 

While this robot vacuum hasn’t entirely replaced my stick vacuum, it’s a convenient, time-saving way to clean my floors regularly. It doesn’t reach every corner or crevice, but it’s smart features, cleaning efficiency and compact size make it easy to clean dirt, crumbs and dust under furniture and other areas I forget to clean regularly. If you’re like me and don’t like the manual labor of vacuuming regularly, or if you simply don’t have time to dedicate to regular floor cleanings, this Shark robot vacuum is a worthy buy.

I’m an updates editor at NBC Select who covers a variety of home products, including vacuums, space heaters and washable rugs. I’ve used the Shark vacuum for the past two years.

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