Tech
How to choose a robot vacuum in 2025: Dont buy one before considering these features
Roborock Saros 10R
3i G10+
Eufy E20 3-in-1
Making the call to buy a robot vacuum instead of a stick vacuum now isn't the risk that it was half a decade ago. Not when you have a grasp on the robot vacuum features to look for.
Back then, lazy suction power and even lazier attempts to return to the dock had many robot vacuum lemons collecting dust while their embittered owners reverted to vacuuming by hand. But in 2025, the best robot vacuum brands like iRobot, Roborock, Shark, and Eufy have robust lineups of robot vacuums that actually make life easier — not harder. And as more and more robot vacuums adapt to the changing expectations from consumers, features that were once considered premium are much easier to afford nowadays.
Despite the less intimidating cost spectrum, it's still possible to underpay or overpay for a robot vacuum. The question isn't whether or not a robot vacuum is worth it in your home at all — it's about which features are worth it in your home. So many brands offering affordable premium features can make it hard to know how to choose a robot vacuum that'll best suit you. I can yap about all of my learned tips on how to make your robot vacuum work better once you already have it. But for those still in the shopping phase, here's a straightforward buyer's guide on the most important factors to consider before buying a robot vacuum.
Do I need a self-emptying robot vacuum?
Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable
Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable
Self-emptying robot vacuums are definitely worth the convenience, regardless of how big your space is. If you're already trying to absolve yourself of vacuuming responsibilities, chances are that you also won't feel like dealing with the dust bin multiple times per week.
When cleaning is automated, your floors are probably going to be swept more often, anyway, filling up a robot vacuum's onboard dustbin faster. Larger homes and homes with pets will expedite dustbin fullness as well. A self-emptying robot vacuum will come in clutch here, which automatically empties its debris into the same dock it charges on. This leaves you off the hook from any dustbin maintenance for at least a month or two.
Automatic emptying docks do require more floor space than the toaster-sized docks of standalone models. But there are many compact self-emptying robot vacuums that would fit in a small space.
What is a smart mapping robot vacuum?
If there's one robot feature that you don't skip, make it this. Smart mapping is a type of navigational tech that enables a robot vacuum to scope out and remember a copy of your home's floor plan. The map drawn during the vacuum's initial mapping run will pop up in the corresponding smartphone app, where you tweak it by dragging and dropping borders, merging or splitting rooms, and adding labels. Then, the robot vacuum can clean specific rooms that need attention that day, or complete a whole-home clean.
Robot vacuums with smart mapping are usually far more agile when it comes to maneuvering around furniture. The bump-and-go approach that most early robot vacuums rely on just can't perceive a jungle of chair legs until it's too late. I'll die on the hill that smart mapping is the baseline brain power that any robot vacuum worth your money should have. If you think about it, actual cleaning skills don't even come into play if a robot vacuum can't successfully get itself to the spots that need to be cleaned.
Luckily, smart mapping isn't an expensive ask nowadays. A budget cap of $200 is more than enough to secure room-to-room mapping from reliable brands like Shark or Roborock.
Spot cleaning and virtual no-go zone
Credit: Eufy
Most robot vacuums that can remember the different rooms in your home can also adhere to app-drawn barriers around smaller zones within those rooms, like around a pile of Lego bricks or your pet's water bowl. This capability is crucial if you purchase a robot vacuum that does mop but doesn't recognize the difference between tile and a bath mat (more on this in the mopping section below).
Small obstacle avoidance
This navigational prowess would mean you shouldn't have to set keep-out zones in the app at all. Robot vacuums with small obstacle avoidance can detect and avoid problem-causers like cords, laundry, and even pet waste — things that are bound to show up on the floor on one day or another. The freedom that comes with skipping the pre-tidying routine is far too convenient.
Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable
While the cameras used to perceive obstacles in front of them aren't exactly the kind that take pictures, some fancier robot vacuums legitimately have livestream cameras. These give you a floor-level view of whatever the vacuum sees as it's roving your home, making it a pretty comforting tool for pet parents when they're away. Some cameras are even accompanied by two-way microphones to talk to your pets or call another person who's at home.
What robot vacuum works best on hardwood floors?
Robot vacuums have a much easier time sweeping free-floating debris off hardwood or tile than carpet. However, crumbs and hair don't have anything to grab onto on hard floors like they do on carpet, so debris often gets blown into corners. If you're picky about the cleanliness of the outskirts of the room like I am, look for a robot vacuum with a dedicated extendable edge sweeping brush. These go further than the lousy side brush affixed to cheap robot vacuums — they actually reach out a few inches past the robot vacuum's circular shape to push debris out of 90-degree angles and edges, like along the kitchen counter. Roborock's FlexiArm, seen on the Saros 10 and Saros 10R vacuums, is my favorite example.
Can robot vacuums go from hardwood to carpet?
Yes, just about any modern robot vacuum can switch between floor types without a hiccup. However, if your home has a heavy rug situation (including those pesky fluffy bath rugs), look for a robot vacuum with large wheels that can hoist it over various thresholds and carpet piles.
Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable
If your home has a pretty even mix of hard floors and carpet or rugs, floor type sensors will make your life easier. With these, a botvac can tell the difference between hard floors and soft ones, adjusting its suction method (and sometimes even how high it's hovering over the floor) accordingly. This looks like suction that's automatically boosted when the robot vacuum encounters carpet or, lifting mopping pads when the vac approaches a rug.
Do I need a robot vacuum that mops?
It's definitely worth getting a robot vacuum and mop combo if your home has a lot of hard flooring. If you don't feel like doing your own vacuuming, you're probably even more severely depleted of the motivation to do your own mopping.
Mopping intensity varies greatly from vacuum to vacuum. While nearly any 2-in-1 model can probably reliably wipe up a fresh juice spill with its wet cloth, a mopping mechanism like sonic mopping (which vibrates) or dual pressurized mopping pads (which spin) exert the elbow grease needed to penetrate dried stains or shoe prints. Many flagship hybrid models released in 2023 or later can also mop with a cleaning solution rather than just plain water — if you're big on true barefoot-ready sanitation. You could even shop for a soap based on your floor type, like hardwood cleaning solution or pet-safe ingredients.
Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable
Self-cleaning mopping pads
When deciding on a robot vacuums that mop, you have two options: models that can go from vacuuming to mopping by themselves, or models that need you to be home to physically make the switch to mopping mode. Cheaper 2-in-1 robot vacuums require a person to attach a water tank or mopping pad to switch to mopping mode, while more advanced models permanently have their mopping gear onboard and are ready to start mopping whenever called upon.
The first approach is typically more affordable, but your robot vacuum won't be able to complete a full vacuum and mop session if you're not home to ditch the water tank. These docks also tend to get smelly if not tended to regularly enough, along with mildewy mopping pads if you don't toss them in the laundry often enough. This level of manual involvement is more annoying than it's worth to some people — a lot of folks on Reddit ask for vacuum-only robot vacuum recommendations to avoid dealing with it altogether.
You can get out of this by opting for a robot vacuum and mop that can wash and dry its own mopping pads. Their self-empty dock also houses two water tanks — one for rinsing and refilling clean water, and one to hold the dirty water — plus fans beneath the vacuum for drying. If you're worried about bacteria or mildew, look for a self-cleaning dock that dries with hot hair.
Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable
Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable
The ideal robot vacuum and mop combo for pet hair will have this feature to mitigate the amount of fur that builds up on a mopping pad.
Automated mop washing isn't what it was during its initial breakout in 2024. Now, you have plenty of opportunities to score a self-washing and -drying hybrid model for as low as $500, especially during a sale event.
What robot vacuums work well on carpet?
Vacuuming gets trickier on carpet, where debris clings to carpet like velcro after being stepped on all the time.
I'll get into suction power in a second, but the brushroll system can make or break a robot vacuum's carpet performance just as much as the power under the hood. The best robot vacuums for carpet wield dual spinning brushrolls. On some robot vacs, these brushrolls sit parallel and spin toward each other to pinch debris and yank it from the carpet fibers. If your one non-negotiable is a robot vacuum that works on pet hair, you might consider a setup where the brushrolls are arranged beside each other — it'll kind of look like one big brushroll, but with a break in the middle. That opening shoot prevents hair wrapping by pulling hair up into the dust bin instead of pooling it at the sides of the roll.
Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable
What is good suction power for a robot vacuum?
Most robot vacuum brands measure suction power in pascals (Pa). As of August 2025, the strongest robot vacuum you can buy hits 22,000 Pa, though a new Dreame robot vacuum is set to clock 30,000 Pa when it comes out in the fall. Such intense cyclonic oomph isn't necessary in all homes, though I would generally advise against settling for anything less than 5,500 Pa.
What is a good robot vacuum battery life?
A 90- to 100-minute battery life is sufficient for a robot vacuum to cover an apartment on one charge. This is also fine if most of your cleaning will be done on a room-by-room basis. Battery life of more than 150 minutes isn't hard to find and is ideal for square footage surpassing 2,000.
When battery is low, the robot vacuum will head back to its dock to juice up. Even the cheapest robot vacuums nowadays are self-charging and should automatically resume cleaning afterwards — meaning you won't have to pick them up and escort them back to the base.
If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.
There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it'll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.
An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.
If you find yourself stuck at any step of today's Hurdle, don't worry! We have you covered.
Hurdle Word 1 hint
To creep around.
Hurdle Word 1 answer
SNEAK
Hurdle Word 2 hint
A long-legged bird.
Hurdle Word 2 Answer
STORK
Hurdle Word 3 hint
To throw.
Hurdle Word 3 answer
CHUCK
Hurdle Word 4 hint
More accurate.
Hurdle Word 4 answer
TRUER
Final Hurdle hint
They show when one smiles.
Hurdle Word 5 answer
TEETH
If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
This summer, FX's Alien: Earth latched onto my brain like a Facehugger latches onto a new host.
Now, with the release of the show's Season 1 finale, you'd think that Facehugger would drop off and leave me be. You'd be wrong! Instead, the Season 1 finale leaves viewers with some major questions we'll be puzzling over until the show's potential return.
Here are the five biggest questions we have for Alien: Earth Season 2.
What does a Neverland run by hybrids look like?
Season 1 of Alien: Earth ends with the group of hybrids known as the Lost Boys in total control over the Neverland research facility. They've imprisoned Boy Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin), Kirsh (Timothy Olyphant), Morrow (Babou Ceesay), Dame Sylvia (Essie Davis), and Atom Eins (Adrian Edmondson). Now, with the adults out of the way, Wendy (Sydney Chandler) declares it's time for the hybrids to "rule."
But what will their rule entail? Will they stay on Neverland, or will they try to extend their authority to the rest of the world? Will they remain fast allies, or will they turn against one another and go full Lord of the Flies on their new island kingdom?
How will Weyland-Yutani and Alien: Earth's other corporations react to Boy Kavalier's plight?
Credit: Patrick Brown / FX
By the end of Alien: Earth Season 1, Weyland-Yutani is closing in on Neverland in order to take back the specimens Boy Kavalier stole. But will Yutani (Sandra Yi Sencindiver) change tack when she realizes her rival is being held captive? Will she leave the island alone or try to stage a hostile takeover? Perhaps her priorities will change entirely, shifting from trying to capture the alien specimens to trying to perfect Boy Kavalier's revolutionary hybrid tech. Either way, her looming presence does not bode well for the newly independent hybrids.
Weyland-Yutani isn't the only other major corporation on the board in Alien: Earth, though. There are three other corporations we haven't truly met yet: Dynamic, Lynch, and Threshold. Could they be joining the party in Alien: Earth's future?
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What's next for the loose orchid and eyeball aliens?
While the Xenomorph may be under Wendy's control, there are still several alien threats running wild on the island. In the Season 1 finale, the orchid alien (aka D. Plumbicare) revealed that it could turn into a floating, octopus-like creature and got loose in Neverland. I would not want to be walking around the island with that out there, that's for sure.
But that's not all: Alien: Earth's breakout star, the eyeball alien T. Ocellus, found a new host in the corpse of Arthur Sylvia (David Rysdahl). We've seen T. Ocellus take over a cat corpse and a human body, but now we get to see it go full zombie mode in what might be Alien: Earth's coolest development yet. But what's T. Ocellus's plan while in Arthur's body? Will it try to find a new, stronger host in, say, a hybrid? (And what would that look like?) Will it finally have a conversation with its biggest fan, Boy Kavalier? And how in the world will Dame react when she sees her beloved husband with a massive new eyeball and a burst-open chest? Bring on the zombie shenanigans!
Will the Xenomorph continue serving Wendy, or will it rebel?
Credit: Patrick Brown / FX
For now, Wendy and her Xenomorph seem pretty tight. But what happens if the Xenomorph goes through a rebellious teenage phase and decides it doesn't want to serve its human mother figure anymore? Could the hybrids lose their grip on Neverland if the apex predator at their disposal decides to turn on them?
Wendy's Xenomorph also isn't the only Xenomorph on the island. There's also the specimen that burst out of Arthur's chest. As it grows, will it become territorial with Wendy's Xenomorph, or will it join the hybrid-Xeno family and view Wendy as its queen? If so, what are the odds Wendy tries to build a whole Xenomorph army?
How will Alien: Earth tie back to Alien?
The question hanging over any prequel is "how will this tie back to the original?" and with Alien: Earth, that question is especially pressing, given that it takes place two years before the events of Alien. By that point, there are no mentions of hybrid technology, nor are there any mentions of them in the sequels. So what will happen to the hybrids between then and now to render them obsolete? It's a daunting question, but it's one that Alien: Earth will certainly have to contend with as it closes in on the original films.
Alien: Earth is now streaming on Hulu.
After eight episodes of terrifying new creatures, Alien homages, and existential questions about the future of humanity, Alien: Earth Season 1 has come to a close. And what a close it was.
The finale, titled "The Real Monsters," flips the power dynamic that's been in place for the entire season. By the end of the episode, the hybrid Lost Boys, led by Wendy (Sydney Chandler), have gained total control over their keepers, including Boy Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin) and Dame Sylvia (Essie Davis). This power shift has been in the cards since Alien: Earth's first episode, but how do we get here? Let's break it down.
Alien: Earth's hybrids finally realize how strong they are.
Credit: Patrick Brown / FX
From the first moment Alien: Earth introduces Wendy in her super-strong, super-fast, super-durable hybrid body, it's clear that she and her fellow Lost Boys could absolutely wreck Prodigy's Neverland security team if they wanted to. That idea doesn't cross their minds, though. Instead, the Lost Boys are still children in consciousness, and they believe Neverland to be a safe paradise for them.
However, this idea erodes over the course of Alien: Earth's first season, as the Lost Boys lose confidence in the people they've been told to trust. They're endangered and experimented on. Nibs' (Lily Newmark) traumatic memories were manipulated. Isaac (Kit Young) died while tending to the alien specimens. Morrow (Babou Ceesay) threatened to kill Slightly's (Adarsh Gourav) family. Each horrifying incident wears away at the Lost Boys' childlike innocence, turning the idyllic Neverland into a hell on Earth.
Ironically, these incidents only increase the Lost Boys' feelings of powerlessness, even though they're the most powerful beings on Prodigy's remote island. But it's also in one of those scenes of powerlessness — when Prodigy forces corner Nibs, Wendy, and her brother Joe aka Hermit (Alex Lawther) on their escape boat in episode 7 — that the Lost Boys begin to realize their power. Nibs fully rips a soldier's jaw off, leaving Hermit to shoot (but not kill) her. Here, a horrified Wendy learns two things. First: Humans, including her brother, are terrified of the hybrids. Second: They have good reason to be. The hybrids are extremely dangerous. So why not embrace that?
That's the realization Wendy comes to in Alien: Earth's Season 1 finale. "All this time, we've been afraid of them," she tells the Lost Boys as they sit trapped in a Neverland cage. "But I think they should be afraid of us."
The Peter Pan allegories come to a head in the Alien: Earth Season 1 finale.
Credit: Patrick Brown/FX
Embracing the Neverland staffers' fear of them is the final stage in the Lost Boys' loss of their childish innocence. Or, in terms of Boy Kavalier's relentless Peter Pan references, this is them finally "growing up." However, that's exactly what the Prodigy founder and the rest of Neverland don't want to happen. As Wendy puts it, "We're all in this cell because we can't be kids anymore, but they won't let us be adults."
Nibs has another suggestion for what they are, one that's especially fitting after seeing the graves of their dead human bodies. "We're all ghosts," she says.
So what do these ghosts do? They turn Neverland into a haunted house, with Wendy using her in-built connection to the facility to manipulate video feeds, elevators, and doors to terrify every last soldier and scientist. Of course, having a Xenomorph at your beck and call helps too.
The entire episode serves as both a liberation for the Lost Boys and an identity crisis for Wendy, otherwise known by her human name, Marcy. She tells her brother, "I don't know what I am. I'm not a child. I'm not a grown-up. I'm not Marcy. I'm not Wendy. And I can't be what everyone wants me to be."
(Earlier in the season, Joe even questions whether Wendy truly holds his sister's consciousness, yet another blow to one of the pillars of Wendy's identity.)
Wendy's statement reflects the binaries in the world of Alien: Earth. Child and adult. Human and synthetic. Hybrids exist somewhere in between, blurring boundaries and creating a new kind of personhood. Wendy and the Lost Boys have spent the entire series having not just new names but entirely new identities imposed on them by exterior forces. Now, they get to make their own. Fellow hybrid Curly (Erana James) embraces her former name, Jane, as Wendy reminds each of the Lost Boys of theirs — a move the late Isaac, formerly Tootles, only enjoyed for an afternoon.
Wendy's identity crisis also explains her affinity for the Maginot aliens, whom she considers "honest." These creatures are wholly themselves, unlike liars such as Boy Kavalier. As Wendy points out, he considers himself Peter Pan, but he was never truly a boy. He was always a "mean, angry little man," just like his abusive father. Ouch. I'm not sure he'll be picking up a copy of Peter Pan any time soon after that.
"Now we rule."
Credit: Patrick Brown / FX
"The Real Monsters" ends with Wendy and the Lost Boys holding all of the authority figures in their lives hostage in the same cage they were formerly incarcerated in, prompting Wendy's declaration that, "now, we rule." Even Kirsh (Timothy Olyphant), their Prodigy synth senior, and Morrow, their cyborg antagonist, now answer to them.
The hybrids finally taking control is undoubtedly worthy of Alien: Earth's last hard-rocking needle drop. But it's certainly not the end of the Lost Boys' story. After all, the Weyland-Yutani forces are still encroaching on the island with numerous Prodigy forces still left, hinting at more conflict ahead. Plus, the alien orchid is loose, and T. Ocellus has found a new host in the chestburst corpse of Arthur Sylvia (David Rysdahl). That's a lot of threats for these still-young hybrids to deal with. How will they be able to fight off their enemies and learn how to rule their island?
That question of what it will look like for hybrids to "rule" hints at an intriguing new literary reference point for a possible Alien: Earth Season 2. If Season 1 was the Lost Boys growing up in the style of Peter Pan, then Season 2 might just see them learning to survive on an island in the vein of Lord of the Flies. With that in mind, who's Piggy, who's Ralph, and will the Xenomorph's head somehow wind up on the end of a pointy stick?
Alien: Earth is now streaming on Hulu.
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