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Wyze Robot Vacuum Review

A good overall performer at a great value, for carpet and hardwood floors alike
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Wyze Robot Vacuum Review (The Wyze Robot Vacuum is an affordable option for the premium qualities it brings to the table.)
The Wyze Robot Vacuum is an affordable option for the premium qualities it brings to the table.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Price:  $315 List
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Manufacturer:   Wyze Robot Vacuum
By Jessica Riconscente and Kyle Hameister  ⋅  May 31, 2023
69
OVERALL
SCORE


RANKED
#3 of 10
  • Navigation - 30% 7.8
  • Home Coverage - 20% 6.7
  • Carpet Cleaning - 15% 6.7
  • Hard Surface Cleaning - 15% 7.5
  • Pet Hair - 10% 4.0
  • Convenience - 10% 6.5

Our Verdict

The Wyze Robot Vacuum is a great first robotic vaccum offering from the established gadget brand. Designed to integrate into their suite of smart home products, we found it to be a great stand-alone option in its own right, belonging in the conversation of our list of best overall vacuums. Among the more affordable choices available to consumers in this ever-maturing marketplace, we think it completes with many pricier options in overall performance, especially on hard surfaces. Decent, but not great on the pet-specific tests. Know that the Wyze is a no-frills option: no tower dock or mop. Just a solid vacuum. To compare it to the competition, check out our article on the best robot vacuums.
REASONS TO BUY
Excellent coverage
Good hard surface performance
Gentle on furniture
REASONS TO AVOID
Average with edges
Mediocre on pet hair
No tower

Compare to Similar Products

 
wyze robot vacuum
This Product
Wyze Robot Vacuum
Awards Best Buy Award
Best Bang for the Buck
Top Pick Award
Most Intelligent Robot Vacuum
Editors' Choice Award
Best All Around Robot Vacuum
  
Price $315 List
$199.00 at Amazon
$1,300 List$430 List$550 List
$359.98 at Amazon
$230 List
$229.99 at Amazon
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Bottom Line This model is a great option overall, competing with pricier options in most testsThis one-of-a-kind robot vacuum does it all, from sweeping to moppingThis is an advanced robot vacuum that's within reach for everyone in the marketThe new standard for a smart, workhorse robot vacuumWith newer tech available at a similar price, we think you'd be better off looking elsewhere
Rating Categories Wyze Robot Vacuum Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra Roborock Q5 Eufy RoboVac X8 Hybrid Eufy RoboVac 11S Slim
Navigation (30%)
7.8
10.0
7.8
7.0
3.0
Home Coverage (20%)
6.7
7.9
8.2
7.9
5.1
Carpet Cleaning (15%)
6.7
8.5
7.2
6.3
5.1
Hard Surface Cleaning (15%)
7.5
7.1
6.8
7.5
4.7
Pet Hair (10%)
4.0
2.0
6.0
4.0
5.0
Convenience (10%)
6.5
10.0
7.2
6.5
3.0
Specs Wyze Robot Vacuum Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra Roborock Q5 Eufy RoboVac X8 Hybrid Eufy RoboVac 11S Slim
App Features Score Total 14 16 16 14 2
Pet Hair Captured 25.3% 5.0% 42.7% 28.6% 20.6%
Edging Performance 3.0 in 3.5 in 2.0 in 4.0 in 1.3 in
Manufacture Bin Capacity .55 L .4 L .47 L .4 L .6 L
Manufacture Station Capacity N/A 3.0 L N/A N/A No
Mopping No Yes No Yes No
Measured Diameter 13.5 in 13.8 in 13.8 in 13.5 in 12.5 in
Measured Height 3.6 in 3.3 in 3.8 in 4.0 in 2.8 in
Warranty 1 year limited 1 year limited 1 year limited 1 year limited 1 year limited
Recharge & Resume Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Measured Brush Width 6.25 in 6.50 in 6.50 in 6.00 in 5.50 in
Multi-Room Navigation Yes Yes Yes Yes No
App Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Barrier Type Virtual Virtual Virtual Virtual None

Our Analysis and Test Results

We're impressed with Wyze and its first foray into the market here. They've put out a very solid, but not flashy, product that gets the job done. It's refreshing to see a model that doesn't try to make a splash, just quietly performs and disappears into the background of your busy life.

Performance Comparison


The Wyze Robot Vacuum navigating your home's obstacles.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

Navigation


Navigation is all about the programming of the on-board algorithm and how the vacuum decides to partition out your home and maneuver around objects like chairs or tables.


First and foremost, know that the Wyze treats your home's objects and furniture with respect. Many older robot vacuums tend to ram objects. You probably won't notice scuffs or nicks with the rubberized bumpers, but it can be with enough power to move a chair out of alignment and unintentionally mess up the mapping. This guy will take a slightly jagged path around chair legs, but it is surprisingly tight and effective when all is said and done.

wyze robot vacuum - a screenshot of the wyze's through cleaning pattern from the app.
A screenshot of the Wyze's through cleaning pattern from the app.
Credit: Jessica Riconscente

What we liked even better was how it set up our floor's map, segmented it, then approached a methodical cleaning. It starts with a full perimeter of anywhere it can reach, then attacks each room with parallel lines. Each line overlaps to ensure effectiveness. It's a simple detail and takes longer than other vacuums we've tested, but it results in a cleaner floor. We'll take this over having to run two full cycles back-to-back.

What it doesn't do well is avoid your pets' accidents. This isn't a critical element for some consumers, but if you have a new puppy, take note. Watching the app in real-time, we saw that it noticed our analog Play-Doh stool, but it did not try to avoid it at all. Very few robot vacuums do this well; only the highest-end models have machine learning object recognition, and this budget model is not one of them.

wyze robot vacuum - the wyze is gentle with your home's furniture.
The Wyze is gentle with your home's furniture.
Credit: Jessica Riconscente

Home Coverage


We found that the Wyze was a little hit-and-miss here. Something it does well is thoroughly covering your home, but cleaning tight along the edges of walls and corners was a bit suspect.


The Wyze had some of the best actual coverage of our rooms that we've seen. The parallel line sweeps overlap so that it hits everywhere twice, effectively. We noticed it decided to tackle some of the harder things first, under tables for example, then came back to hit the open areas. As chairs are left out and boxes set down, you need to have confidence that your vacuum will handle the changes from session to session in stride. As a brand, we're impressed Wyze enters the market here fully up to speed.

wyze robot vacuum - map building is fine with the wyze. it divvies up rooms logically...
Map building is fine with the Wyze. It divvies up rooms logically and has multi-story capabilities.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

The app has multi-story programming and effectively identifies separate rooms. One oversight is that the spot clean feature is more of a “go-zone” you have to identify and map out. Most brands have a zone with preset square footage that you pop the app open and drop.

Edges were the main struggle, though. The Wyze handled virtual barriers and no-go zones well enough once dialed in, but we noticed that it trapped itself behind in some instances. You'll need to be careful with how you set up your no-go zones, or the vacuum can get confused. Getting along walls and into corners was a bit of a struggle too. This isn't uncommon at all among competitors. It really comes down to what kind of mess the rotating brush arm naturally handles better. Rice and oatmeal were fine. With coffee, it left a noticeable band behind. Essentially, if the main center roller doesn't capture powdered messes, be ready to run a few sessions to get the edges clean.

The rotating side arm of the Wyze is used to pick up debris from corners and edges.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

Carpet Cleaning


We're impressed with the Wyze in our carpet tests. The Wyze handles more “standard-sized” debris like rice and oatmeal really well. Almost 100% of the pre-measured spills were captured on short-pile carpet, while just over 90% of the debris was captured on high-pile. Larger items, like mini-wheat cereal, were also handled without issue on shorter carpet. On high-pile carpet, the debris was dug in further, then passed over. Not unexpected, but worth mentioning as some other models have the clearance to handle these situations better.


Powdered messes were the only truly difficult problem for the Wyze. We measured 15% picked up, which we chalk up to a plain lack of suction (vs. an upright). Truly fine grit messes will get lodged in carpet fibers, and while you can set a spot clean with high-suction mode, this just isn't what robot vacuums are designed to handle.

wyze robot vacuum - the wyze is tailor-made to pick up things like oatmeal, which it was...
The Wyze is tailor-made to pick up things like oatmeal, which it was nearly perfect with.
Credit: Jessica Riconscente

Hard Surface Cleaning


Hard surfaces are where robot vacuums shine. The Wyze in particular does a terrific job overall, so if your home has a high percentage of tile and hardwood, this is a winner.


Rice and oatmeal were nearly perfectly corralled. The flour did much better on hard flooring; the rotating brush arm moved everything to the center roller, which then picked up most of the debris.

wyze robot vacuum - just a mild film of flour was left behind.
Just a mild film of flour was left behind.
Credit: Jessica Riconscente

The mini-wheats were an interesting test. Many products on the market struggle here mainly due to low clearance. That's good for most things, especially powdered messes, but in this case, it means that about half of the pieces were pushed around and ultimately missed. We see many competitors here fling the bigger pieces around with the side rotating brush arm, but the Wyze's center roller rejected many pieces here.

Larger debris, like bigger cereal bites, can be an issue due to low clearance.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

Pet Hair


Hair can be tough to clean for robot vacs, especially on carpets. The Wyze is mediocre at best here, but take the ratings with a grain of salt. When it comes to pet hair, robot vacuums prevent daily buildup. They aren't, however, meant for cleaning up large pet hair messes.


As measured by weight, the Wyze picked up about a quarter of the pet hair we laid out. We had some cautiously optimistic expectations here, considering the overlapping layers should pull and lift the hair from two angles. Ultimately we saw the hair laid out in almost hairball-like deposits — meaning the Wyze was able to pick up the hair but couldn't capture all of it.

wyze robot vacuum - a captured and weighed bin of hair from our pet hair test.
A captured and weighed bin of hair from our pet hair test.
Credit: Jessica Riconscente

Convenience


The Wyze has some good features, mainly through its app. They got many things right — multi-story mapping, for example, is not especially common in the market just yet, making this budget option a nice entry level for anyone who wants to utilize the tool throughout their home. It has multiple suction and power settings, cleaning scheduling (and a cleaning history), and tracks the lifespan of components for replacement or periodic cleaning.


We did wish zone or individual room cleaning were available. We also couldn't find mention of a “find my robot” or a repeat session option. But all-in-all, Wyze got the important stuff right.

The Wyze app is sophisticated and feels polished.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

The Wyze comes with a standard charging dock. Every option in the market will have this, but many models have an optional tower dock these days. They can be quite expensive, nearly doubling the cost of the base model, but they dramatically improve the convenience of what is made to bring nothing but convenience to your life.

wyze robot vacuum - the app reminds you when it's time to clean certain components.
The app reminds you when it's time to clean certain components.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

A tower dock will automatically empty the dust bin to reduce the frequency of emptying your vacuum. Which, in this case, should be every other time it's run.

wyze robot vacuum - the wyze situated on its charging dock.
The Wyze situated on its charging dock.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

Should You Buy the Wyze Robot Vacuum?


We think the Wyze Robot Vacuum is a great value. Not dirt cheap, but still an incredible value for what it offers. This model competes in features and smarts with some much pricier options. It's one of our favorites and is evidence that the market as a whole is maturing when a budget option performs this well.

What Other Robot Vacuum Should You Consider?


If the all-around good performance and budget offering of the Wyze isn't going to cut it for you: We think that the iRobot Roomba j7+ is a great option for pet-filled households, with its combo of good pet hair performance, and superb pet-stool recognition. The Roborock Q5 edges the Wyze here just slightly in overall performance, but the top-of-the-line Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra is our best performer in smarts, bar none. If you also want mopping capabilities, the Eufy RoboVac X8 Hybrid is a good option.

Jessica Riconscente and Kyle Hameister