Roborock S7 Pro Ultra: A simplified version of the flagship at a better price

Roborock S7 Pro Ultra is a stripped-down version of the flagship Roborock S7 MaxV UltraThe main difference is the lack of an active camera for object recognition and remote home monitoring in the Pro version. However, by slightly limiting the functionality, we were able to reduce the price from $1,600 to $1,300. The difference is about $200 at the exchange rate at the time of writing, and for many, the savings may be justified, given the retention of the 7 series' core features. Below, I'll take a detailed look and test the Roborock S7 Pro Ultra, after which I'll express my opinion on the robot. 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 Ultra station, it contains:

1. Power adapter.
2. Spare bag for the station.
3. Operating instructions. The global version does not have a Russian translation.

The package is minimal, which is typical for most Xiaomi robot vacuum cleaners and their sub-brands, including Roborock.

Appearance

Now let's take a look at the Roborock S7 Pro Ultra's design. Let's start with the robot itself. It's black and white, with a round body. A wall detection sensor is located on the right side of the bumper.

An obstacle detection sensor is installed in the center. To the right and left of it are terminals for charging the robot at the charging station. The body is approximately 97 mm high from the floor.

The control panel features three mechanical control buttons. A lidar sensor is used for navigation. It has a spring-loaded cover that prevents the robot from getting stuck under furniture.

The 400 ml dust container is located under the top cover. The self-cleaning ventilation shutter inside the robot is already removed. The filtration system is HEPA-only.

The 200 ml water tank is located at the rear. The filler hole has a mesh strainer for coarse filtering of the liquid being poured in, which is a plus. Another filler hole is located at the end for refilling the tank using the station itself.

The robot's underside is equipped with six fall protection sensors. The five-point silicone side brush is secured with a screw. A carpet detection sensor is located next to the swivel roller.

The central brush unit is floating. The silicone turbo brush can be easily removed from both sides for cleaning tangled hair and pet hair.

The napkin is attached to the platform using Velcro and a groove. The napkin holder is not removable.

Like the S7 and S7 MaxV, the car features a technology that lifts the cloth when driving onto carpets. It's called VibraRise.

In general, in terms of the design of the cleaning module, the robot is identical to the older version. Roborock S7 MaxV. As mentioned, the only differences are the lack of an object detection system on the bumper and minor design changes. For example, the Roborock S7 Pro Ultra lacks a control panel indicator light, the cleaning cloth holder is non-removable, and the body is white instead of black.

Now let's take a look at the Ultra station itself. Its design is completely identical to the one included with the S7 MaxV. The only difference is the color.

The station contains a dirty water tank, a clean water tank, and a dust bag for self-cleaning. This station allows the robot vacuum to automatically clean itself and rinse its cleaning cloth during cleaning. The tanks are equipped with floats. The lids are sealed, preventing unpleasant odors from spreading throughout the room if the dirty water is not emptied from the station promptly. The dust bag is of a standard design.

The robot's entry platform is equipped with a suction channel. Waste is discharged from the robot into a bag through the central brush unit. The charging terminals are located on the end. The platform itself contains a removable lint brush for cleaning the cleaning cloth. Unfortunately, the platform itself is not removable. Only the coarse filter is removable. It's also important to note that a nozzle for filling the robot's tank is located in the center. While rinsing the cleaning cloth, the robot refills its tank—very convenient!

The Roborock S7 Pro Ultra's design and appearance are premium. Everything looks neat, reliable, and stylish.

Technical specifications

The main characteristics of the Roborock S7 Pro Ultra, as stated by the manufacturer:

Robot vacuum cleaner:

• Li-Ion battery 5200 mAh.
• Suction power up to 5100 Pa.
• Operating time up to 180 min.
• Cleaning area up to 300 sq.m.
• Dust collector capacity is 400 ml.
• The water tank capacity is 200 ml.
• Obstacle clearance up to 20 mm.
• Dimensions: 350*97 mm.

Station:

• Power consumption (charging/rinsing/self-cleaning): 0.5A/0.25A/5A (≈115 W/58 W/ 1150 W).
• Clean water tank: 3 l.
• Dirty water tank: 2.5 l.
• Bag in the station: 2.5 l.
• Dimensions: 422*504*420 mm.

The Roborock S7 Pro Ultra is identical in specifications to the S7 MaxV Ultra. Let's move on!

Functional capabilities

Let's move on to a review of the Roborock S7 Pro Ultra's features. It's important to note that at the time of writing, this robot vacuum cleaner is only controlled via the Mi Home mobile app. Connection to Roborock's proprietary mobile app is not yet supported. At least Russia is supported, which is a plus.

The functions on the main work panel include:

1. Select rooms and zones for cleaning, setting the number of passes the robot makes in these areas of the map.
2. Adjustable suction power and cloth wetting level, even individually for each room.
3. Setting up virtual walls and no-go zones on the map. It's worth noting that, surprisingly, there are no separate no-go zones for wet cleaning mode.
4. Manual editing of room boundaries.
5. And setting the order of cleaning rooms.

In the main settings section, you're first asked to select a building layout, or more precisely, a single floor or multiple floors. It's worth noting that the Roborock S7 Pro Ultra can automatically recognize the floor and select the appropriate map from the saved ones.

When setting up a cleaning schedule, you can specify the time, days of the week, desired cleaning parameters, and select specific rooms if needed.

I'll focus specifically on the carpet cleaning settings. First, you can enable the automatic power boost when entering carpets. Second, you can choose how the robot behaves when it detects carpets. In "Auto-Carpet" mode, it raises the cleaning cloth when entering carpets to avoid wetting the pile. In "Avoid Carpet" mode, the robot carefully navigates around the carpet when it detects its edges. Finally, "Vibrate on Carpet" allows the robot to drive across carpets with the cleaning cloth lowered.

In the station settings, you can select the cloth rinse mode, adjust the rinsing frequency (time-based or after each room is cleaned), and set the dust bin self-cleaning mode. Surprisingly, there's no section for adjusting the cloth drying function, as is available in the Roborock app. A drying module is optional, but currently only available in China. I expect this section will be added in future updates.

Speaking of voice notifications, you can adjust their volume and select a language. Unfortunately, the global version doesn't offer Russian.

Additionally, you can turn off the robot's indicator lights, enable child safety, set a time when the robot should not disturb you, specify a point on the map for local cleaning, initiate manual control, view the cleaning log, and monitor the status of consumables.

Overall, the functionality is comprehensive and allows for flexible cleaning settings to suit your needs. Let's get to testing!

Testing

A detailed video review of the Roborock S7 Pro Ultra has already been prepared and published on the channel. I recommend watching the video:

Navigation

First, we tested the Roborock S7 Pro Ultra's navigation in a room with obstacles. The robot vacuum first navigated the perimeter of the room, then cleaned the entire accessible area in a serpentine pattern. It easily moved over the dryer's legs, and then swept around the box and all the dryer's legs separately. This test was passed successfully.

Speaking of whole-house navigation, the Roborock S7 Pro Ultra cleans room by room, first along the perimeter, then in a serpentine pattern. It periodically returned to the cleaning station to rinse the cloth to maintain the cleaning performance. There were no uncleaned areas, and the cleaning speed was high, indicating good navigation.

Suction power

The suction power is very strong, on par with the previously released Roborock S7 and Q7 Max, as well as the flagship Roborock S7 MaxV. The robot vacuum was able to thoroughly vacuum debris from a 10 mm gap. This is a truly powerful robot vacuum!

Dry cleaning of laminate flooring

The collection quality of various types of debris on laminate floors is good. Only a small amount of debris remains in corners, where round robotic vacuums can't reach. All debris is collected in the dust bin. It's important to note that the central brush only picks up a small amount of hair, which is quickly and easily removed thanks to its silicone structure.

Cleaning the carpet

The Roborock S7 Pro Ultra also does a good job of cleaning carpets. It's worth noting that the silicone side brush can twist on medium-pile carpets, and the silicone center brush is slightly inferior to a conventional bristle brush in terms of picking up debris on carpets. However, the cleaning performance is still high for a home environment.

Wiping off dirt

The cleaning performance is also excellent. The cloth presses firmly to the floor and absorbs dirt. All that's left is a narrow, unwashed area along the baseboard, a weak point of all the robot vacuums we reviewed. It's also important to note that the station allows the robot to automatically rinse the cloth and return to the cleaning spot. This ensures that even the dirtiest floors are streak- and puddle-free after just a few cycles.

Removing difficult stains

The Roborock S7 Pro Ultra can handle even the toughest stains. It takes time, but at least the robot can handle it, and thanks to the station, the floor is cleaned completely without smearing dirt.

Self-cleaning

Speaking of self-cleaning performance, Roborock has a surprisingly intractable problem. And with the Ultra station, the problem has become even worse, judging by reviews. The robot doesn't completely self-clean the container, and what's worse, sometimes if the robot isn't properly connected to the station, self-cleaning performance is even worse. As a result, debris remains not only in the container but also in the tray. Self-cleaning is problematic.

Rinsing the napkin

The rinsing quality of the cloth is high, at least on par with similar products. Here are the results from previous tests, namely: the cloth's condition after cleaning the stand and after rinsing at the station. I'll also check the cloth's condition again after cleaning a room with dirty floors. You can see the condition before and after rinsing. There are no complaints about the robot in this regard.

Obstacle clearance

The Roborock S7 Pro Ultra has excellent maneuverability. It can navigate even 2 cm thresholds while still lifting a napkin. That's a plus!

Driving on dark surfaces

However, the Roborock S7 Pro Ultra is sensitive to deep black surfaces, detecting them due to differences in height. Unfortunately, this issue remains unresolved, and the brand is aware of it, which it reports on its website. The same issue is observed with the S7, S7 MaxV, and other robots in the lineup.

Noise level

Finally, we measured the Roborock S7 Pro Ultra's noise level in different modes. With suction disabled, the noise level does not exceed 59 dB. At minimum power, the noise level ranges from 61-63 dB. At medium power, it rises to 64-65 dB. In Turbo mode, the noise level is around 66-68 dB, and at maximum power, the peak was 75 dB. Considering the high suction power, the noise level is quite acceptable for this robot.

Personal opinion

The Roborock S7 Pro Ultra has been thoroughly reviewed and tested. our evaluation system he managed to gain 158 points. A little less than the flagship S7 MaxV Ultra, which topped the charts Overall rating of tested robotic vacuum cleaners, at the time of writing. Nevertheless, it still deservedly made it into the top five.

I'll share my personal opinion about the robot. I liked the following:

1. Self-cleaning and rinsing of the napkin at the station.
2. Good navigation.
3. High suction power.
4. Good quality dry and wet cleaning.
5. Good quality of rinsing of the napkin.
6. A large number of functions for flexible adjustment of cleaning parameters.
7. Lifting the napkin when driving onto carpeted surfaces.
8. Good cross-country ability.
9. High-quality assembly and high brand authority.
10. Convenient cleaning of the central brush.
11. Automatic refilling of the water tank in the robot.
12. An optional module for connection to the drain and sewer is available.

Speaking of this last advantage, information has already surfaced that a module with reservoirs equipped with fittings for connection to utility lines has been released for the Chinese market. This option further automates the cleaning process and simplifies robot maintenance. We look forward to seeing the module appear on AliExpress.

Well, as for the shortcomings, the following were identified:

1. The robot vacuum cleaner is afraid of black floor coverings.
2. Doesn't sweep out debris in the corners.
3. There remains a narrow unwashed area along the baseboard.
4. There are problems with self-cleaning.
5. Drying napkins are offered as an option that is not yet available on the market.
6. A non-removable platform where the napkin is rinsed.

The first three comments are common to most robot vacuums I've reviewed. The remaining three are specific to the Roborock S7 Pro Ultra. If they don't bother you, I see no reason not to recommend this robot. In my opinion, if the price difference with the flagship S7 MaV Ultra is more than 20%, and the object detection system isn't that important, it makes sense to save money and choose a robot with similar cleaning performance, only cheaper.

Text the seller the phrase "discount from robovac.washerhouse.com" and you will be offered to buy 6 original bags for the station for $0.01.

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