They present it as the “master” of cleaning, one of the flagship products of Roborock, the Chinese company born from a rib of Xiaomi that in a few years is among the leaders in the robot vacuum cleaner market. We are talking about the Qrevo Masterwhich they sent us to test and which on paper promises to revolutionize the way we clean, not only by vacuuming and washing floors, but also by moving around the house without getting stuck – thanks to cameras, numerous sensors and navigation technology also used in cars – and above all by cleaning itself. All we have to do is fill the clean water tank and empty the dirty water and dust tank. And what better occasion than a weaning baby to put it to the test?
Unboxing, design and installation
The robot is easy to install. In the package we find the charging base with the removable water tanks already positioned (two four-liter tanks) and two 2.7-liter bags for collecting dust and hair. Just fit the “slide” that allows the device to enter the compartment for charging and cleaning, plug it into a power outlet and you’re done. The version tested is white, the design is elegant and clean.
The base is made of plastic, minimal, with two water tanks equipped with hermetic lids that do not release odors. There is no compartment to insert the detergent, which must therefore be diluted in clean water at each refill. The robot has a disk shape and a conspicuous Lidar turret that allows it to better map the house and move easily, but which prevents it from passing under furniture with a space less than ten centimeters.
Overall, it is a bulky device, if compared to other models on the market. It is difficult to “hide” it in the house, although the self-cleaning and the hermetic tanks do not prevent it from being installed even in a bedroom. However, the simple and clean design does not make it look out of place even if kept in plain sight in the kitchen, next to other appliances.
The app, the mapping, the voice control
There are two buttons on the robot, clearly visible and illuminated: one for turning it on and one for returning to the base. But to actually start it and set the cleaning programs you need to download the Roborock app, also available in Italian, easy to install and configure. The UI is quite intuitive: the first step it suggests is that of the mapping. We need to teach our device how the house is made. A button and off we go: the robot moves silently first along the walls, then inside the spaces. The map can then be modified, creating rooms, renaming them and choosing the type of floor, but also adding virtual walls and forbidden areas. Other elements – such as the type of furniture – will be added as the device moves for cleaning.
From theapp you can set up child control – which deactivates the physical buttons on the robot – and activate a camera that allows you to watch live what is happening at home. Useful if you have animals or if you want to check on the house when you are on vacation. But don’t think you can spy on your partner: when activated, the robot will say that the recording is on. In addition, the app allows you to customize the experience by setting the real cleaning programs and the possibility for the robot to recognize obstacles and environments, but also for example by reporting the presence of animals.
Because the Qrevo Master is able to speak and respond to voice commands. Don’t expect to interact with him as you do with your voice assistant: unfortunately he responds to about thirty predefined phrases, the list of which you can find right on the app. It’s funny to see him running to the cry of “Hello Rocky, clean here”, but we are now used to a different interaction with technology.
Cleaning and vacuuming
Let’s get to the point: does it work? The answer is yes, it does. The Qrevo Master, with 10,000 Pa suction, is one of the best robot vacuum cleaners on the market. Numerous cleaning functions that can be set via the app. With the Smart Plan, the device will evaluate from time to time whether to limit itself to vacuuming or washing. And even how many passes to make. Alternatively, you can choose the function that is best suited to the situation.
You can also schedule daily cleaning, select a room – or just an area – on the map or decide whether to have the clothes between one room and another to avoid contamination. A precaution that the robot also takes when it is left free to wash the entire house: the kitchen and bathroom are left for last.
In our test we found that the device performs well in all situations. surfaces (tiles, parquet, carpets), without leaving marks. And even with practically all levels of dirty: from normal dust to larger crumbs, from food thrown from the high chair to an egg dropped on the carpet while putting away the groceries, from flour flying away while kneading the pizza dough to splashes of bath water.
But the real surprise comes when “Rocky” approaches the furniture and skirting boards: the side brush and one of the cloths extends, to reach the corners and in the most difficult areas. And in the end the cleaning is quite thorough. Furthermore, in over a month of testing the robot has never gotten stuck, recognizing obstacles even when unexpected. Not even the toys scattered by the child have disoriented it. The 5,200mAh battery has never given problems on an average three-room apartment.
The maintenance
But the most interesting function is the one related to maintenance. Yes, because unlike other washer-vacuum devices, it is not necessary to do anything other than fill the clean water tank and – when we are prompted – empty the dirty water tank or the dry dirt tank. During and after each cleaning, in fact, the base of the robot washes the clothes and dries them quickly, making no further manual action necessary. Furthermore, a cutter integrated into the main brushes avoids tangles of hair or other stuck residues. As already mentioned, even if the dirt remains in the containers for a long time, no odor comes from the base, which can therefore be safely left anywhere in the house.
What we liked
The robot is easy to use, with an app in Italian that is all in all intuitive (even if some functions have to be searched for in the submenus), it cleans well and is efficient both in daily cleaning and in deeper cleaning. The brush and the cloth that extend laterally make up for the round shape that would leave the corners uncovered. Needless to say, it has proven to be essential after every meal, allowing you to collect crumbs – or actual food residues – under the table and in the kitchen area while spending time with your children or watching a movie. Not having to think about its maintenance, as well as the possibility of starting it with your phone remotely, allows for a decidedly lighter cleaning management.
What we didn’t like
As mentioned, the voice commands are currently fun and effective, but in reality not very useful, since you have to remember the exact phrase to say or look it up on the app. And at that point you might as well plug it in to start cleaning. Furthermore, the robot remains noisy during the vacuuming phase, not allowing it to be used at night or in any case when a little more silence is needed. As you might expect, the tank emptying and cloth drying functions are even less silent. But these can be disabled at times set by the user via the “Do not disturb” function. We would have liked to find some other spare parts in the package, such as cloths and not just the bag for dry residue. Furthermore, the turret with sensors and camera prevents the device from passing under low furniture. However, these are (a few) defects that do not affect the experience.
The price
The
Qrevo Master is a high-end robot, with a significant price. It is currently being sold on promotion on the Roborock website at 1149 euros (against 1299 on Amazon). A price that is certainly justified by its advanced functions.