Roborock S6 MaxV vs S7 – What They Don’t Tell You

The Roborock S6 MaxV and Roborock S7 are two of the best robot vacuums made by Roborock. They both have a lot to offer, but there are some key differences between them. In this article, I will compare these two robot vacuums so that you can decide which one is right for you.

A Summary of the Differences between Roborock S6 MaxV and S7

The S7 has a vibrating mop whereas the S6 MaxV has the old basic mop. The S7 also has an all rubber brush, while the S6 MaxV has a half bristle, half rubber brush. The S7’s rotating brush floats, allowing to get closer to the ground for better cleaning, whereas the S6 MaxV has the traditional fixed rotating brush. Finally, the S6 MaxV has a front camera to avoid objects, while the S7 does not and has to rely on the LIDAR.

 

The similarities between these two robot vacuums are as follows: both use an electronic water dispensing system. Both are LIDAR based with smart navigation for an efficient cleaning route. Both have a myriad of containment options to keep the robot cleaning only where it needs to. Both have auto top-up.

That’s the short version. For more details, continue reading the rest of this article below.

Difference 1: The S7 has the new “VibraRise” mop whereas the S6 MaxV has the older, more basic mop.

With the S7, Roborock introduced what they call “VibraRise”. The S7 comes with a vibrating arm that agitates the mopping pad when in use. This helps to loosen stains so that the pad can pick it up more effectively.

In addition, the S7 is aware of the type of surface it is currently cleaning. When it detects carpet, the S7 raises the mopping pad to avoid getting the carpet wet. This works pretty well for most low pile carpets, but if you have carpet with particularly high pile, you may need to designate no-mop zones in the app to avoid getting them wet.

The Roborock S6 MaxV, on the other hand, has a traditional mop that neither vibrates as it cleans hard surfaces nor rise up when it is on carpet. This means that it may not be as effective at mopping on the first go. However, it is able to clean most stains without much issue. There is no VibraRise on the S6 MaxV, so you would need to create no-go zones on the app if you want it to avoid carpet.

Difference 2: The S7 has an all-rubber brush whereas the S6 MaxV has the older style half-bristle, half-rubber brush.

The S7 is equipped with a newly designed all-rubber brush without bristles. The S6 MaxV has a half bristle, half rubber brush. The all-rubber brush is supposed to be less susceptible to hair tangles, but longer pieces of hair will still get stuck on the brush and need to be manually cleaned out. It does a good job of keeping all floor surfaces, be it hardwood, tile, or carpet clean.

Meanwhile, the Roborock S6 MaxV’s older style half-and-half bristle brush is still a decent option. It also does a good job on most floor surfaces, but is prone to the same problem of getting long pieces of hair stuck on the roller as the Roborock S7.

Difference 3: The S7’s has a floating brush roller while the S6 MaxV has a traditional (fixed) brush roller.

Another improvements on the S7 is the introduction of the multidirectional floating platform for the brush roller. This allows the brush rollers to freely pivot as the robot vacuums, adjusting to the best angle and height for cleaning the surface it is currently on.

The Roborock S6 MaxV, on the other hand, has the standard fixed brush roller seen in most robot vacuums. It performs well enough though. Most users rave about the cleaning performance on both hardwood and carpets.

The winner here is the S7. Being closer to the ground means the rollers will have an easier time picking up dust and debris.

Difference 4: The S6 Maxv has a front camera to avoid objects, the S7 does not

The Roborock S6 MaxV uses a front-facing camera to map and avoid obstacles in its path. The front facing camera and the object avoidance technology is actually what the MaxV refers to. (Therefore, the Roborock S7 MaxV will also have this technology, but not the plain vanilla Roborock S7).

Since the LIDAR unit is situated on top of the S7, it can only detect obstacles that taller than the robot vacuum. There’s no other way for the S7 to see it. This is fine for most objects in the house, but if you tend to find a lot of small objects low to the ground in your house, the S6 MaxV will be a better choice.

This is definitely the case if you have any pets that might accidently leaving unwanted “presents” for you on the ground where the robot might roam. You’ve probably seen the reports of Roomba owners who came home to poop smears all over the house. Definitely not something you want to deal with.

The Roborock S6 MaxV has a clear advantage when it comes to obstacle detection. An added bonus is that you can see what the camera sees on the Roborock app, so you can use the camera to spy on your pets when you’re not home.

Now let’s take a look at the similarities between these two vacuums.

Similarity 1: Both have electronic water tanks.

Both the S6 Max V and the S7 have an electronic water dispensing system brought over from the Roborock S5 Max.

What the electronic water tank allows is precise control over how wet you would like the mop to be. If you have hardwood that’s susceptible to excess moisture, for example, you can reduce the amount of water dispensed to keep the floor as dry as possible while still getting the dirt and grime cleaned up.

Conversely, if you have a particularly stubborn stain or just a flooring type that can take a little more water without issue, you can increase the amount of water dispensed to really power through that tough set-in stain.

Similarity 2: Both are LIDAR based, allowing for precise mapping and smart navigation.

The Roborock S6 MaxV and the Roborock S7 both use their top mounted LIDAR units for navigation and mapping. LIDAR is much more precise than camera based systems. You can see a map of your house in real time as the robot cleans on the app. It will also show you where it has already cleaned, giving you a good overview of the cleaning process if you like to check in once in a while.

Similarity 3: Both have multiple containment options and the ability to choose exactly where to clean.

The Roborock app also allows you to designate invisible walls and no-go zones. Invisible walls are boundaries beyond which the robot is not to cross. No-go zones are similar, except it forms an area instead of a line.

In addition to invisible walls and no-go zones, the S7 also has “no-mop” zones. These are areas you can designate to tell the robot to continue vacuuming but raise its mopping pad to temporarily stop mopping. You would do this for an area rug, for example. This is supposed to happen automatically with the S7’s carpet sensing technology, but you can also manually designate specific areas as no-mop to make sure it never gets wet by accident.

If there’s an area of your house you don’t want the vacuum to go, or a place you want it to avoid, you can set that up easily in the app. This is a great feature and both the S6 MaxV and S7 have it, but only the S7 has the no-mop zone feature since the S6 can’t raise its mopping pad.

Similarity 4: Both the S6 MaxV and S7 have “auto top-up”.

Auto top-up is a feature found on all modern Roborock vacuums. It means that if the battery on the Roborock vacuum runs low, it will automatically return to its dock, recharge, and then continue cleaning where it left off until the job is done. This means you don’t have to worry about your Roborock not being able to finish cleaning your entire floor.

This is a nice feature to have, but given the relatively long battery lives of 180 minutes for both models, this isn’t an issue for most people anyway. That is, unless you live in a mansion!

Now that we’ve looked at all of the key similarities and differences between the Roborock S6 MaxV and the Roborock S7, let’s decide which one is right for you.

Conclusion

The Roborock S6 MaxV and the Roborock S7 are both excellent robot vacuums. They have many similarities, such as electronic water tanks, precise mapping and navigation, multiple containment options, and the ability to choose exactly where to clean.

The S6 MaxV has an edge over the S7 when it comes to obstacle avoidance, which is a must if you have indoor pets that might leave unwanted messes on the ground. The S6 MaxV is also cheaper than the S7.

The S7 is the winner in every other aspect. It has an all-rubber brush that pivots multi-directionally to get closer to the ground, a vibrating mopping pad, and carpet sensors to raise the mop when it detects carpet.

If you don’t have any pets and don’t need to worry about obstacle avoidance, the Roborock S7 is the way to go.

If you have pets or if price is the main deciding factor, I would recommend the S6 MaxV. It is good enough for most households.

Side note: If you want the best of both worlds, the S7 MaxV is a version of the S7 that incorporates a front camera, but the downside is that it cost even more than the S7.

Which vacuum do you have and do you think you made the right decision? Let me know in the comments.