Samsung POWERbot R7070

The Samsung Powerbot R7070 was impressive our carpet, bare floor and edge cleaning tests. The robot was even able to suck fine grains of flour from the carpet, another feat that some of the other models were unable to accomplish. The front of the machine is squared off in shape which makes it possible to impressively clean the corners of our bare floors and carpets, something with which the rounder models struggle. Instead of traditional side brushes that most models adorn, this model has a shutter that extends down to capture dirt when the vac approaches walls. It edges methodically up to walls and corners and gets extremely close which explains its high Edges score. The design of the edge cleaning device also prevents scattering which many side brushes tend to do. It was able to navigate over most of our lab floors but was not one of the highest scorers in navigation. The vacuum seemed pretty powerful picking up pet hair in one pass, dragging it very little. Although a lot of hair was caught in the brushroll and didn't make it to the dirt bin. This brushroll does not have bristles like other Samsung models, but is a rubber blade. The hair was wound pretty tightly around this brushroll making it harder to remove the hair. This explains a lower convenience score than some of the other models. It wrestled with the tassels of our rug but eventually escaped and passed over electrical cords fairly easily. IT was able to climb a threhold of .75 inches after a few attempts. This model has a more powerful motor than the R7040 which may explain the difference in noise. Features: Cleaning Modes: Auto, Spot, Manual, Repeat, One Time or Daily Schedule, Turbo, Normal (med), Quiet. Special Cleaning Functions: Intelligent Power Control - automatically operates with stronger suction on carpet. Edge Clean Master - When it detects an edge or corner in auto or spot clean, it extends it shutter to clean. App: SmartThings version 1.7.51.42 Battery: Li-Ion (21.6V, 130 W) Includes: It comes with a docking station, remote control, boundary markers, extra filter and power cord. 1-year warranty.

The Samsung POWERbot R7070 is part of the Vacuum Cleaners test program at Consumer Reports. In our lab tests, Robotic Vacuums models like the POWERbot R7070 are rated on multiple criteria, such as those listed below.

Carpet: A high score means the vacuum effectively removes surface debris and embedded dust from medium-pile carpet. A top-scoring model picks up more debris from carpet per run.

Bare floors: A high score means the vacuum effectively removes surface debris like sand from smooth hard floors. A top-scoring model picks up more debris from non-carpeted flooring per run.

Navigation: A composite score that includes combined coverage over multiple runs, clearance under furniture and obstacle and entrapment avoidance.