The wealth of smart home hardware and extras continues to grow at a rapid pace, and one of the first forays into smart home tech was no doubt the introduction of automated vacuums. The Roomba is arguably the iconic robotic vacuum cleaner, more-or-less creating the automated home cleaning market. Although selling well and effectively inventing the market, the Roomba didn’t really do all too well when compared to good old fashioned elbow grease.
At this point in 2019 though, there is a new industry leader — Eufy — that has taken that baton and ran with it thanks to their popular but affordable RoboVac line. And it works with Assistant.
Since 2004, the vision of what the Robovac could become hasn’t changed all too drastically. They all tend to adopt a puck-like shape on wheels that rolls around your house and sucks up dirt — what else would you expect from a vacuum cleaner?
The biggest difference since 2004 is that now virtual assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa and the Google Assistant allow us to manage our smart homes in bigger, better and intricate ways without too much fuss. You no longer need to expertly wire up an area or have mountains of cash to throw at a robotic vacuum as you potentially had to in the past. All of this leads us to one of the best currently available — the Eufy RoboVac 30C.
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Design & Hardware
The Eufy RoboVac series is very similar to the array of automated vacuums on the market. The basic shape is that of a trash can lid with wheels and a power button on top. I get that design isn’t exactly integral in a utility gadget such as a RoboVac so I can forgive the pretty uninspiring design.
At just 2.85-inches tall, it’s great at getting underneath all kinds of furniture within your house, after all this thing needs to get around without hindrance to really be effective at cleaning. The rubberized wheels are nice and grippy so that it can traverse even thick carpets and small obstacles around your home.
It doesn’t mean that the RoboVac can climb stairs or scattered floor detritus. If you have young kids, you might want to pick up that Lego, as it may hinder the cleaning job the RoboVac can do.
I had my doubts about the circular design, but the underside has dual brushes that allow for cleaning in corners and along the edges of rooms without too much of an issue. These dual roller and spinning brushes are backed up by 1500pa of suction for impressive cleaning performance.
As for capacity, you’re treated to a 0.6-liter dustbin that compacts any dirt and dust into the rear end of the puck-like vacuum. It simply unclips and slides out, allowing you to dump its findings into your nearest trash bin.
Large objects can act as a roadblock but for the most part, the RoboVac can tackle rugs and edges with relative ease. Being made mainly of plastic and also pretty sturdy, the Eufy RoboVac 30C is a durable little vacuum cleaner that will withstand plenty of bumps, dings and scrapes when scuttling around your home.
Installation & Set Up
Installation is a little different to many other Google Home smart tech, mainly as this is a moving object that needs access to roam throughout your house. In the box, you’ll find a small little base station, some magnetic ‘tape’ and the Eufy RoboVac 30C itself.
You will need to clip the spinning cleaning brushes to the bottom of the little vacuum, of which there are six in the box. This gives you some replacements should the originals wear out over time.
The base station or ‘home’ is integral, as this allows the RoboVac 30C to return and charge itself once it has finished a cleaning cycle. I have found a little place at the back of my TV unit to hide the little vacuum away from my dog — who is terrified of the little electric cleaning aide. Once you have a convenient and unblocked location for your new cleaning friend, you’ll need to link it to your home Wi-Fi network.
Connecting is a piece of cake thanks to the simple and impressive Eufy Home app. As far as apps for linking tech go, it’s my favorite by far. I still am not a fan of having to create an account, as I’d much rather have my vacuum usage be anonymous if a company is going to use the data to improve it via software updates.
Once you have paired with the Eufy Home app you’ll need to give the RoboVac a name — make it something easy to remember! Should you have selected a suitable name, you’ll now be able to link to your Google Assistant and access voice controls — more on these later.
One thing to note when you set up the RoboVac 30C is that if you have stairs, you’ll need to cordon off the area using the magnetic strip tape to prevent it from rolling down steps or stairs and into oblivion. Personally, I’ve kept the RoboVac 30C downstairs in my house so the strips have not been needed.
Control & Integration
Like any smart home tech that works with the Google Assistant, you have a couple of ways to control. Using the Eufy Home app offers the most granular controls. You’re able to set a timetable for when your RoboVac 30C runs or what program your schedule runs to.
There are also some quick toggles for things like a 30-minute cleaning program, edge cleaning and a deep clean. Beyond that, you can activate a quick program just by pressing the huge ‘play’ button. That lurches the RoboVac into action and should it get stuck or into a tricky scenario, you’re able to take control via some basic on-screen directional pad style buttons. Luckily, I haven’t encountered an issue where the little vacuum has stuck, so I’ve had no need to take control and get it out of a sticky situation as yet.
When connected to your Google Home account, you’re able to quickly start a cleaning program simply by asking Google one of a few commands:
- “OK Google, ask RoboVac to start cleaning”
- “OK Google, ask RoboVac to stop cleaning”
- “OK Google, ask RoboVac to go home”
- “OK Google, ask RoboVac to find my robot”
Verdict
At under $300, the Eufy RoboVac 30C is definitely one of the best affordable automated vacuum options on the market. While I can’t speak for your own home, with laminated wooden floors and not a great deal of carpet, the RoboVac manages to do a genuinely stellar job at keeping my home clean and free from the bane of my existence — dog hairs.
The height helps it navigate under low couches and furniture to actually give you a deeper clean than you probably would have managed on your own. The only downside is that the little pouch that holds all dust and dirt gives no indication or notification when full. To combat this, you will need to check after each run of the RoboVac to ensure you don’t encounter any blockages.
At this point, it’s worth acknowledging that the 30C has now been superseded by an updated model — the 35C. It offers a slight bump in battery life, power and a design refresh. The rest of the internals and controls remain the same, as does the pricing.
If you have a slightly lower budget, there is a slightly cheaper alternative in the form of the RoboVac 15T. It isn’t quite as powerful but still offers great scheduled and automated cleaning but has no Google Home integration options. At just $200, it’s arguably the best outright affordable option, I’d still personally say go for the 30C or 35C but if that is just a tiny bit out of your budget, you’ll be pleased regardless of your choice.
If you work a ton and want to try and automate some of your housework, then a robot vacuum cleaner that you can control from your smartphone or Google Home devices will no doubt help save you precious time cleaning your house or apartment.
So for that reason, the Eufy RoboVac 30C (and 35C) has to be considered a Google Home Essential.
Where can I get the Eufy RoboVac 30C?
Unlike some smart home tech, the Eufy RoboVac 30C can be picked up at a number of stores both online and offline. You can pick it up at Amazon, Walmart, Home Depot or Eufy directly but the upgraded 35C model is a slightly better buy (at no extra cost). Best of all, it does not differ in performance or integration. Instead, it just has a fresh lick of paint and a couple of extra LEDs.
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