Roborock’s pet-ready Q5 Pro robot vacuum is on sale for under $200

By wazup on August 31, 2024 Comments Closed / 58 views

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By Sheena Vasani, a writer covering commerce, e-readers, and tech news. She previously wrote about everything from web development to AI at Inside.

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Roborock’s Q5 Pro on a hardwood floor. — a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Image: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

We highlighted some great deals on Dreame robot vacuums in our roundup of the best Labor Day deals, but if you don’t want to spend a grand on a vacuum, you might want to check out Roborock’s ongoing anniversary sale. Now through September 4th, Roborock is taking more than 40 percent off many of our favorite models, including the Q Revo (now $599.99) and the S8 MaxV Ultra (now $1,099.99). If you’re on a tighter budget, though, the best deal available is on the Roborock Q5 Pro, which is down to an all-time low of $179.99 ($250 off).

In many ways, Roborock’s big-wheeled robot vacuum / mop hybrid is made to tackle pet hair. The midrange vacuum features dual rubber brushes and 5,500Pa of suction power, which allows it to suck up pet hair and dirt from carpets impressively well. It also features a huge 770ml bin — preventing you from having to empty it every day — and a removable mopping pad that can clean up whatever dust the Q5 Pro doesn’t catch on its initial pass. It offers the same software features as the Q Revo and S8 MaxV Ultra, too, meaning you can still set digital keep-out zones and take advantage of features like lidar mapping and voice controls via Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri.

That being said, the Q5 Pro is Roborock’s entry-level model, so there are trade-offs. It lacks an auto-empty dock (unless you opt for the more expensive Plus model), and it won’t actually scrub your floors like a high-end robovac might. It also lacks AI-powered obstacle avoidance, though, thankfully for anyone with kids or a cluttered household, it can still dodge shoes and larger objects well enough.

It’s not fancy, but the Q5 Pro has a huge bin and big wheels to get up on higher-pile carpets easily. It has a small removable mopping reservoir for when there are dirty paws on the floors, but its main job is to suck up dirt and pet hair, and it does very well at both.