This Robot Vacuum Broke The Industry Mold. Here's My Verdict After Months Of Testing

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The Matic is disposable for acquisition astatine $1,095.
• This robot vacuum has a unsocial shape facet and roller brush, and a debris container that eliminates nan request for a immense dock.
• The Matic has its drawbacks, chiefly that it's excessively gangly to cleanable nether furnishings and that it's presently only disposable for iOS, pinch an Android beta app planned for July.

Pioneer devices person nan unsocial situation of reinventing nan wheel. They reimagine thing that has go prevalent and referential to connection a caller replacement to reside communal personification problems. The Matic robot does precisely that for robot vacuums.

Also: I've tested dozens of robot vacuums. These are nan 3 I urge astir to family and friends

Testing robot vacuums is ever a nosy experience, but galore of them, excluding nan Roborock Saros Z70, person gotten somewhat stagnant connected their innovations. The Matic wholly redefines nan robot vacuum and does it truthful good that it outperforms galore other, much costly competitors.  

The Matic's style is nan first point that catches your eye. It's shaped much for illustration a robot than a robot vacuum, pinch a rectangular brushwood roller and mop lodging astatine nan beforehand and an 8-inch gangly assemblage that contains nan robot's debris container and h2o tank.

Its brushwood roller is housed successful nan rectangular portion connected nan beforehand alternatively of successful nan mediate of a information robot to scope corners for illustration a accepted aliases cordless vacuum. The mop roller is down nan brushwood but doesn't touch nan level unless it's clip to mop. The Matic lowers nan rollers to cleanable and tilts up nan beforehand to mop. 

Maria Diaz/ZDNET

This robot is intelligent capable to spot stubborn messes and spell complete them accordingly. If you spill liquids, nan robot will mop them up alternatively than vacuum complete them, spreading them around. 

To do this, nan Matic is equipped pinch 5 RGB cameras that continuously show its surroundings. Inside, an Nvidia GPU powers its AI capabilities, including 3D mapping, image recognition, and real-time decision-making.

Also: 10 ways to maximize your robot vacuum's cleaning ratio and artillery life

During testing, I tossed galore obstacles connected my floors and was rewarded pinch an efficient, intelligent robot vacuum dissimilar thing I've ever seen. For example, I put a integrative cup connected nan ground, and nan Matic saw it instantly and avoided it. The cup was marked arsenic an obstacle connected nan Matic app's representation wrong a fewer seconds. 

Maria Diaz/ZDNET

The Matic is truthful intelligent that it tin make real-time decisions to set its cleaning settings and redirect nan robot. I put cords of various colors and thicknesses connected my floors, and nan Matic ne'er suctioned them up. The Matic recognizes nan obstacles moreover if they look aft it originates cleaning, and it doesn't hiccup to redirect itself for illustration different robots do.

The Matic returns to complaint sporadically during a cleaning session. On a time erstwhile my kids near a messiness of creation supplies successful a room while nan Matic was cleaning, I watched it return to complaint and weave astir various objects connected nan level that hadn't been location minutes prior, including nan glue gun's cord. It does it without moreover slowing down to measure its surroundings. 

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This robot ever knows wherever it is successful your home. It uses nan cameras to create a 3D map, which was a spot unnerving to spot for nan first time. The robot scans your location pinch nan cameras to create nan map, letting you spot your different level types and moreover nan patterns of your rugs connected nan virtual representation successful nan app. 

Maria Diaz/ZDNET

I moved nan Matic aggregate times during testing to return photos, and nan robot almost instantly updated its location connected nan app's virtual map. Because it knows wherever it is, it tin ever find its dock erstwhile it's done cleaning aliases recharging. And it tin besides make decisions according to its location, for illustration taking different way to its dock erstwhile thing temporarily blocks nan shorter one. 

But a robot scanning your full location for illustration this begs nan mobility of really unafraid it is. The Matic squad is adamant that nan information processing is each done locally connected nan robot, not connected nan cloud. The institution tells maine it doesn't cod video aliases audio data, unless you authorize it successful circumstantial instances.

Also: The apical 10 robot vacuums ZDNET readers are buying successful 2025

The Matic app lets you take whether you want to beryllium capable to power your robot remotely. If you do, nan robot transmits information done an encrypted unreality connection. You tin ever opt retired of distant usage if you'd prefer.

Maria Diaz/ZDNET

Even nan Matic's dustbin is wholly reimagined. Instead of a difficult integrative dustbin, this robot has a soft, clear container that holds each nan discarded -- moreover nan soiled water. The container has diaper salts to sorb liquids and a built-in HEPA select truthful that you get a caller 1 each clip you get a caller bag. Each container lasts astir a week, though your mileage whitethorn vary, and costs astir $2. 

But ne'er having to propulsion retired a robot vacuum's soiled h2o vessel aft it's seemingly curdled astatine nan dock is priceless.

The makers of Matic created nan robot to attraction much connected ratio and longevity than connected having nan strongest suction connected nan market. As a result, nan robot is businesslike and follows a unsocial checkerboard cleaning shape to screen areas, followed by separator cleaning. 

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This is nan fastest-moving robot vacuum I've tested, but it's meant to beryllium much of a family companion that tin cleanable and support your floors. It navigates quickly, but it takes its clip to clean, often 5 times arsenic agelong arsenic different robot vacuums. An area of my location that takes different robots astir 90 minutes to vacuum and mop takes Matic astir 5 hours. But it's quiet capable to tally astatine night, truthful I conscionable tally it overnight to aftermath up to a cleanable home. 

ZDNET's buying advice

As a redesigned robot vacuum, nan Matic looks much inviting for kids and pets, and moreover comes pinch stickers to decorate it.

Maria Diaz/ZDNET

The Matic's early is possibly its astir outstanding feature. It is simply a family robot that tin vacuum and mop, equipped pinch an Nvidia GPU to powerfulness its computational capabilities. The Matic squad continuously improves its software, adding features for illustration separator cleaning, nan caller Android app, and early promises for illustration sound and motion control.

You won't person to interest astir buying nan latest and top robot vacuum each year; you tin conscionable spot nan Matic to proceed improving and gaining caller capabilities. 

The first devices to revolutionize nan position quo tin beryllium either hits, for illustration Apple's touchscreen iPhone, aliases misses, for illustration Microsoft's grounded early 2000s effort astatine a tablet. Most misses thin to neglect because nan nationalist isn't ready, not needfully nan manufacturer's doing. As a robot vacuum, Matic proved to beryllium a hit.