Midea S8+: self-cleaning, lidar, powerful motor, and vibration module for removing dirt

This review will focus on the new Midea S8+ robot vacuum cleaner. Looking ahead, I'd like to point out that this is an updated version of the popular Midea M7 Pro, which has a self-cleaning station. Otherwise, the robots are virtually identical in design, functionality, and cleaning performance. Below, I'll thoroughly test the Midea S8+ and then express my opinion on whether this robot vacuum is worth buying. The price at the time of writing is in the range of $500-575, which is quite reasonable for a self-cleaning robot vacuum. The purchase link is at the end of the review. So, let's get started!

Equipment

The robot vacuum cleaner arrived in a branded box like this:

In addition to the robot itself and the self-cleaning station, the kit includes:

1. A separate water tank with a vibrating platform. The robot itself has a regular water tank.
2. Wet cleaning nozzle with a microfiber cloth installed.
3. Operating instructions.
4. Two spare bags for the station.
5. Two spare side brushes.
6. Spare HEPA filter.

The kit is complete, including all spare parts for the robot's initial use. That's a plus.

Appearance

Let's take a look at the Midea S8+'s design. Let's start with the robot vacuum itself. It's round. The surface is dirt-resistant. The body is approximately 97 mm high from the floor.

A soft-touch mechanical bumper is installed at the front. Two mechanical control buttons are located on the top of the body. The lidar is equipped with a spring-loaded cover to prevent the robot from getting stuck under furniture.

The dust container is located under the top cover. It conveniently stores the robot's cleaning tools. Inside, we see openings with shutters for self-cleaning the container. Interestingly, the shutter, which prevents accidental spillage, is motorized and opens and closes automatically. The filtration system is triple: mesh, foam, and HEPA filters. This is a plus.

The robot itself has holes underneath the container for emptying waste. The smaller Midea M7 Pro model doesn't have these holes, so unfortunately, you can't simply purchase a self-cleaning station for this robot.

A 220 ml water tank is mounted on the rear of the robot. A pump is installed inside to electronically regulate the water flow. The cleaning cloth is attached to the nozzle using Velcro and pockets.

Instead of a standard water tank, you can install a special tank with a vibration module. It holds up to 200 ml of water. It contains an electric motor, which moves the cloth, and a pump for electronically regulating the water flow.

 

The cloth is divided into two parts and attached to the platform with Velcro. The cloth moves in opposite directions, mimicking the motion of a person's hands when scrubbing away dirt. I'll demonstrate the effectiveness of the vibration module later in the tests.

The robot's bottom is equipped with four anti-fall sensors, two side brushes, and a central turbo brush with bristles and petals. It's very well-designed. The bristles are dense, and the brush can be removed on both sides to remove tangled hair and fur.

The robot itself is above average in build quality. Let's take a look at the self-cleaning station:

The waste is discharged through the bottom. The suction channel can be removed from the bottom for easy cleaning in case something gets stuck and blocks the channel during self-cleaning. The bag is located on top under the lid. It holds up to 2.5 liters of dry waste, enough for 1-2 months of use of the robot vacuum. The bag itself is paper, not fabric like most other bags. robotic vacuum cleaners with a self-cleaning stationThere are no complaints about the station either. Visually, it is very similar to the station from Ecovacs Deebot OZMO T9 AIVI Plus, which I had previously reviewed.

Technical specifications

The main characteristics of the Midea S8+, as declared by the manufacturer:

Battery	Li-Ion 5200 mAh
Suction power	up to 4000 Pa
Cleaning area	up to 250 sq.m.
Battery life	up to 180 min
Dust collector	450 ml
Bag in the station	2.5 l
Water tank	200/220 ml
Obstacle clearance	up to 20 mm
Dimensions of the robot	350*79 mm
Dimensions of the station	454*301*440 mm

The specifications are identical to those of its predecessor, the Midea M7 Pro. The only notable feature is the increased claimed suction power, which will be confirmed during testing.

Functional capabilities

Let's move on to an overview of the Midea S8+'s features. The robot vacuum cleaner is controlled via the proprietary MSmartLife mobile app, which can be downloaded by scanning the QR code in the manual. Registering and connecting the robot to the network shouldn't be a problem; follow the manufacturer's instructions. The app interface is in Russian, which is a plus.

On the main control panel, the robot vacuum cleaner creates a room map and automatically divides it into rooms. Below the map are three cleaning modes: automatic cleaning of the entire available area, room-by-room cleaning, and cleaning in selected zones. Here, you can also select a spot cleaning mode and configure the number of passes the robot makes in the selected zone, from 1 to 3.

To the right is a section where you can set virtual walls and no-go zones on the map, including even separate no-go zones for wet cleaning mode. The main control panel also features a forced self-cleaning function for the robot and sterilization of water in the tank (activating a UV lamp inside the tank). This is an interesting feature; I haven't seen such an option in robotic vacuum cleaners before.

Another useful section is the cleaning settings. Here you can adjust the water flow and suction power, select an efficient cleaning mode that makes the robot vacuum cleaner move in a tighter, enable platform vibration, and enable automatic power boost when entering carpets.

In the map manager, you can select the desired map from the robot's memory. Incidentally, the Midea S8+ can store multiple unique maps in its memory. In the editor, you can change room boundaries, name them, and set no-go zones.

The basic settings offer options to enable multiple map storage, configure the frequency and even duration of self-cleaning, switch to manual control, and set up a cleaning schedule. When setting up a schedule, you can select the time, days of the week, cleaning mode, number of passes, and the desired rooms. It's important to note that the Midea S8+ speaks multiple languages, including Russian.

You can also set a time when the robot should not disturb you, view the cleaning log and track the status of consumables.

The Midea S8+ has very interesting features. You can flexibly customize cleaning parameters to suit your needs. The promotional materials even mention that this robot supports custom cleaning parameters for each room, but I didn't find this feature. It's also worth noting that this robot vacuum cleaner supports voice assistant control, including Yandex.Alice. That's a plus!

Testing

A detailed video review of the Midea S8+, including all tests, has already been prepared and published on the channel. I recommend watching the full video:

Navigation

And finally, let's move on to the tests. First, we'll test the Midea S8+'s navigation in a room with obstacles. Initially, the robot navigated the entire accessible area along the perimeter. The dryer gave it some trouble, but it was still able to escape the trap and continue cleaning. When cleaning in a serpentine pattern, the robot was able to clean around each chair leg and box individually before returning to its base. Test successful!

As for navigating throughout the house, the robot goes room by room, first along the perimeter, then in a serpentine pattern. Cleaning speed is high, and there are no uncleaned areas. This model has excellent navigation!

Suction power

The Midea S8+ has very strong suction power and lives up to its claims. It was able to suck up debris from every crevice, including 10 mm, just like the Midea M7 Pro.

Dry cleaning of laminate flooring

The dry cleaning performance is excellent. The robot picked up all the debris from the laminate flooring, leaving only a small amount in the corners, where round robot vacuums can't reach—at least, most of the models we reviewed couldn't. The majority of the debris was collected in the dust bin. Pet hair and fur were tangled around the central brush. The test was passed successfully.

Cleaning the carpet

Thanks to its powerful suction and well-designed brushes, the robot effectively picks up debris from carpet, delivering a deep clean. The Midea S8+ also offers excellent cleaning results.

Wet cleaning

However, wet cleaning has its own challenges. With a standard water tank and microfiber cloth installed, the robot doesn't remove dirt very effectively, smearing it across the floor. This option isn't particularly effective for everyday wet cleaning either—the cloth doesn't wet the floor evenly, leaving dry streaks after each pass.

But with the module with a vibrating mop installed, the robot really cleans well not only dirt, but also dried stains, almost at the level The best robotic floor polishers of 2022Therefore, with this module, the robot copes well with the tasks assigned to it.

It's also important to note that the Midea S8+ can vacuum and mop at the same time!

Wet cleaning and carpets

Regarding wet cleaning on carpets, this robot vacuum, even though it recognizes carpets, does not automatically avoid them in wet cleaning mode. Therefore, in such cases, I recommend setting separate no-go zones on carpets for wet cleaning mode.

Self-cleaning quality

The Midea S8+ has good self-cleaning performance. The robot can empty almost all debris from the dust bin into the cleaning station. Test passed successfully!

Obstacle clearance

The robot moves over 2 cm high thresholds without any problems, as stated by the manufacturer.

Driving on dark surfaces

Driving over dark surfaces is also no problem. The robot doesn't recognize them as elevation changes, which is a plus.

Noise level

Finally, let's measure the Midea S8+'s noise level in different modes. At minimum power, the noise level is around 58-60 dB. In standard mode, it reaches 63 dB, and at maximum power, the noise level is around 64-65 dB. This robot vacuum isn't overly noisy, considering its high suction power, and that's a good thing!

Let's sum it up

Midea S8+ has been thoroughly reviewed and tested. our evaluation system he managed to gain 87 out of 100 points and get into the top three tested robotic vacuum cleaners At the time of writing this review, the Midea M7 Pro, which was previously reviewed, also received a revised score of 79 out of 100, taking into account all the software updates.

I'll share my personal opinion about the robot I tested after getting to know it in detail. I liked the following:

1. Good quality dry and wet cleaning.
2. Good navigation.
3. Availability of a self-cleaning station.
4. High suction power.
5. High quality assembly.
6. The presence of a vibration module for scrubbing away difficult stains.
7. High-quality self-cleaning.
8. A large number of functions in the branded mobile application.
9. Complete Russification.
10. Yandex.Alice support.
11. The robot vacuum cleaner is not afraid of dark surfaces.
12. Good cross-country ability.
13. Complete set.
14. Low noise level.

Speaking of shortcomings, I don't have any particular complaints about this robot. The manufacturer has done a great job of fixing the bugs, even compared to the Midea M7 Pro, which had some minor navigation issues. Otherwise, for the price, it's simply top-notch. If the engineers had added an object recognition system on the bumper, an automatic cleaning pad lift function for carpets, and a rinsing station for the pad, this robot vacuum could even compete with the flagship Roidmi EVA. Roborock S7 MaxV And Ecovacs Deebot OMNI X1But the robots listed above have completely different prices. Therefore, for a budget of $500, the Midea S8+ is definitely one of the best robot vacuum cleaners, if not the best.

On that note, I'd like to end this review. If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments. Happy shopping. Bye!