Review: Roborock S5 Max – let the machines do the work for you

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.

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For those that keep up with my fight again tech, you may have seen I recently started making my home a bit smarter. Now, I get to add a robovac to the equation, thanks to the Roborock S5 Max.

Retailing for almost $600, the Roborock S5 Max is not going to be the cheapest robovac available to you, but if you are looking for a comprehensive robovac that can handle both vacuuming and mopping, this is a great option.

The Roborock S5 Max may seem overwhelming at first, but it is completely manageable

As a noob to the world of robovacs, opening the box and looking at the book was a bit overwhelming. Surprisingly, however, getting started with the S5 Max is extremely straightforward and the guide and app guide you through the process with ease.

Once the initial setup is complete, the S5 Max will spend some time learning your floors (and bumping into things occasionally), but once it has areas properly mapped out, it will vacuum a full section more efficiently, lowering vacuum times.

READ MORE: Review: Roborock Q5 Plus robot vacuum

Which is nice, as the advertised 150-minute battery life during testing was never reached. After running the vacuum mode of the S5 Max continuously, it started to lose power a little over the two-hour mark. Even so, that was only after continuously running it. During normal use, the battery life never presented an issue.

Vacuuming and mopping work like a charm

Overall, both the vacuuming and mopping with the Roborock S5 Max is impressive. Powerful suction means that even the dirtiest of floors get clean and the dust bin is large enough to where it doesn’t need to be emptied constantly. That being said, my house is on the smaller size, so your experience may be a bit different there.

Mopping works similar to vacuuming and again, works like a charm. It doesn’t use large amounts of water, so there were no issues where I would check afterward and find lines of water in the kitchen. That said, it’s really not meant for cleaning up spills, so some manual labor is still required if you find yourself with an actual mess in the kitchen.

As for negatives, it’s a bit loud when vacuuming, and Silent Mode doesn’t seem to help much, but that’s but a minor ding to the overall fantastic experience.

Final thoughts

At $599, the Roborock S5 Max can seem a bit intimidating for newcomers to the world of robotic vacuums, but thanks to its dual functionality and an easy-to-use app that allows for full control over your unit, there is a lot to love here.

If vacuuming after children, pets, and just daily living is a chore you simply don’t feel like dealing with, this will absolutely help with that.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• Review: Yeedi K600 Automatic Vacuum Robot – a great starter device
• Review: Anker Eufy Robovac G10 – a mop/vacuum hybrid
• This YouTuber created a flying robovac and maybe this is actually how the robot uprising starts
• Review: Bagotte BG700 robotic vacuum – a solid entry in the world of robovacs

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. Click here for more. A sample unit was provided for the purpose of this review.