I've been testing the Roborock QV 35S for a month — here are 3 things I like and 1 thing I don't

Part of my job as a reviews writer here at Tom's Guide is testing out some of the best robot vacuums to find out which ones are worth your money. And as the saying goes, I've had to kiss a few frogs to find the best of the bunch.

I've tried vacuums that walk into walls, don't vacuum anything up at all, and ones that can't even map a room (yikes, you had one job). But then there are the best ones that actually make life a lot simpler, taking the arduous task of vacuuming off your hands and actually improving your life.

The Roborock QV 35S is one of those. It's incredibly good value for money too. This robot vacuum does all of the work for you, and self-empties, so you literally don't have to think about it. But nothing's perfect; so here are three things I like about the Roborock QV 35S and one thing I don't like.

Roborock QV 35S: was $749 now $549 at Roborock

The Roborock QV 35S is an ideal self-emptying robot vacuum, especially for homes with hardwood floors. It avoids mopping carpets, and its obstacle avoidance is impressive. The mapping is super quick and simple, and it's responsive to moving objects like people moving in its path.

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What I like

Excellent for hardwood floors

You don't need to spend $1,000 on a robot vacuum that can clean your whole home without leaving a speck of dust, because the QV 35S can do it for less than $750. It's also regularly discounted, and right now you can get it for $549.

It left my floors completely free of debris; in the app, I could see the path the robot took to effectively pick up all of the dust and dirt I had tracked in on my shoes.

What's more, this bad boy can mop too. So after a muddy lunchtime walk, I set the mop function and let the Roborock clean up after me as I left my muddy footprints by the doorway.

Is that a carpet? It sure is, buddy

If you have carpet or rugs in your home, fear not, because the Rorock can identify them automatically.

This isn't always the case with robot vacuums, as some of them require you to note in the app which areas contain carpet and therefore shouldn't be mopped. The QV 35S did this for me during the mapping process.

What's more, when the robot is cleaning, it automatically detects carpets with the sensors and lifts up the mop so that the carpet doesn't get wet.

Great battery life

The Roborock QV 35S has great battery life, even on the strongest suction settings, and was able to vacuum and mop the ground floor of my home in one go. It can run for a maximum time of 180 minutes.

Many other vacuums I've tested have needed to return to their docking station for a juice-boost midway through cleaning, so I was impressed that the Roborock didn't need to do this.

What I don't like

Not the best for high-pile

Unfortunately, for all its big wins, the 10,000Pa suction isn't enough to help the QV 35S thrive on high-pile carpets. A lot of robot vacuums struggle with this, so it's not totally out of left field, but it's still a letdown.

During our standardized lab testing, the vacuum was only able to pick up 40% of the hair debris, 38.5% of the spilled flax seeds, and 72% of the puffed rice cereal. It manages better with larger debris, but the small stuff is totally lost.

So if you have hard flooring, this vacuum is a great value no-brainer. To find out more about whether this could be the robot vacuum for your home, you can read my full Roborock QV 35 review.

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