I swapped a $1k robot vacuum for a $200 model and lost the will to live – get this Cyber Monday deal instead

Let me set the scene for you. You’re starting late at work because you’re covering the Cyber Monday sales, and you decide to use the time to do a bit of cleaning. You fire up your robovac companion app, wait 30 seconds for it to connect, then spend the next hour and a half trying to get it to successfully vacuum your one-bedroom apartment. The same apartment that would take maybe 15 minutes to manually vacuum. Seriously, it’s not big.

The bot I’m testing – which I won’t name, because my review is not complete – costs around $250 / £269 at list price, but dropped to about $150 / £150 in the seasonal sales. On paper, it looks pretty decent, and indeed in terms of suction and mopping it’s not bad at all. The issue is navigation and mapping, and it turns out those are pretty crucial if you want your robovac to be actually helpful, rather than a massive pain in the bum.

Cannot compute

For the list price, you wouldn’t expect this to be the best robot vacuum around, and the software is rather basic. This robot vacuum doesn’t claim to be able to map your home, and it doesn’t use LiDAR to find its way around. Instead, it’s designed to traverse the space in neat rows, using sensors to make its way around furniture and to avoid falling down stairs.

The issue is that if it’s in a space that’s narrow and then gets wider, it will just do that narrow part and not care to explore further. That means when I set it off from its dock, which is in the middle of my home, it’ll typically clean around one and a half of the four rooms. It’ll then declare it has ‘Successfully completed the task’ (a notification that genuinely makes me want to hurl it out of the window) and return to the dock. If it can find it.

I have been experimenting with picking it up and putting it in the furthest corner of the apartment, and then letting it snake its way back inwards, shuffling each individual piece of furniture out of its way as it goes. While this does work fairly well, I did at one point in the process stop and ask myself, “Is this easier than using a cordless stick vacuum?” to which the answer was, “No.”

Further to this, if it gets stuck, it’ll just reverse forwards and backwards in the same spot indefinitely, until it runs out of battery. It will not notify me. Far from being a hands-off option, this bot needs constant attention – I would absolutely never leave it to clean unsupervised. And really, one of the best things about robovacs is that if you get a half-decent one, it’ll take care of cleaning while you’re out, for minimal disruption.

A better recommendation

Before I moved on to this cheap robot vacuum, I was using a far more expensive one – the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra (list price $1,799.99 / £1,725) – and it was an absolute dream. When I wanted it to clean, I would simply ask it to clean and it would do so. Actually, it could do a lot more than that, some of which I didn’t need – so while I would recommend it if you can afford it, the good news is you don’t have to spend that much to get a robot that won’t make you lose your mind.

The reason I am sharing this story with you today is because there are tons of robot vacuum deals in the Black Friday / Cyber Monday sales, and they include a number of ultra-cheap options – think $150/£150 or less. I’d strongly urge you to skip the super-budget section and opt for a slightly more advanced model, or it’s likely to be more hindrance than help. Worst-case scenario, your budget buy not only wastes your time but causes significant rage issues (speaking from personal experience).

I’d urge you to use this opportunity to pick up an upper-mid range model that’s been discounted into a lower price bracket. That gives you the best chance of a bot that’s actually helpful – and a decent robot vacuum can be a huge help. Despite my bad experience here, I’d still recommend them in general – you just need to be discerning about which model you buy, and be prepared to invest a little more.

Here are a few of my favorite Cyber Monday robot vacuum deals in the US and UK:

Today’s best robot vacuum deals

More of today’s Cyber Monday sales in the US

• Amazon: TVs, smart home & air fryers from $12.99
• Apple: AirPods, iPads, MacBooks from $89.99
• Best Buy: $1,000 off 4K TVs, laptops & headphones
• B&H Photo: up to $900 off cameras, laptops, accessories
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs at Best Buy from $69.99
• Dell: best-selling Inspiron & XPS laptops from $279.99
• Dreamcloud: mattress deals from $349 + free shipping
• Holiday: decor, lights, Christmas trees & PJs from $10.99
• Home Depot: 40% off tools, appliances & furniture
• Lowe’s: holiday decor, appliances & tools from $17.31
• Nectar: up to 50% off all mattresses
• Nordstrom: 46% off boots, coats, jeans & jewelry
• Samsung: $1,500+ off TVs, phones, watches & appliances
• Target: save on furniture, Halloween, tech & clothing
• Walmart: cheap TVs, robot vacs, furniture & appliances

More of today’s Cyber Monday sales in the UK

• Amazon: up to 68% off toothbrushes and TVs
• AO: savings on games consoles and appliances
• Argos: up to 50% off toys, Lego, TVs and gifts
• Boots: up to 50% off Dyson, Oral-B and Philips
• Currys: big deals on TVs, appliances, laptops
• Dell: laptops, desktops, monitors from £299
• Dyson: up to £150 off
• Ebay: up to 50% off refurbished tech
• EE: up to £600 off Samsung and Apple
• John Lewis: up to £300 off appliances and TVs
• LG: £1,000 or more off TVs and appliances
• Samsung: up to £600 off TVs, phones and tablets
• Very: up to 30% off phones, appliances & clothing