Difference between the Roborock S6 vs. S6 Pure vs. S6 MaxV
To avoid any confusion, I’ll point out the similarities and differences between the S6, S6 Pure, and S6 Max V in this section.
The S6 and S6 Pure have the same motor, battery, and dirt capacity.
Aside from some minor cosmetic differences, these two robots mostly share the same components.
However, the S6 Pure has access to the multi-level map feature and has a larger water tank that will cover a more significant area.
The Roborock S6 and S6 Pure will run for up to 150 minutes. While the S6 MaxV goes further and will run for up to 180 minutes.
Of the three options, the S6 MaxV has the largest water tank with a 297ml capacity, followed by the S6 Pure with 180ml, while the S6 has the smallest volume at only 140ml.
Please check this table below for more details on the differences and similarities.
| Model | Roborock S6 | Roborock S6 Pure | Roborock S6 MaxV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adaptive Route Algorithm | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Selective Room Cleaning | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| LDS Laser Navigation | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| High Precision Map | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Map Saving | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Zone Cleanup | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| App Control | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Voice Control | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Washable E11 Air Filter | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Battery Capacity | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Coverage Area | >200㎡ | >200㎡ | >250㎡ |
| Dustbin Volume | 480ml | 460ml | 460ml |
| Water Tank Capacity | 140ml | 180ml | 297ml |
| Suction | 2000Pa | 2000Pa | 2500Pa |
| Run Time | 150 minutes | 150 minutes | 180 minutes |
| Price |
Roborock S6 MaxV: Design
To be honest, I was more excited by the Roborock S6 MaxV’s spec sheet than by its looks. It’s a black circle, and nearly identical in size and shape to other Roborock S- series vacuums. A raised disc emblazoned with the company symbol which houses the laser navigation system resides just forward of the bot’s center. Three small buttons for spot cleaning, power and docking are placed in front of it. A thin plastic hood lifts to reveal the Wi-Fi connection light, dustbin and onboard storage for the brush cleaning tool. It’s a small detail, but we appreciate the integrated storage for the easy-to-misplace tool.
Roborock S6 MaxV: Set up and app
Getting started with the Roborock app was a little strange. To create a new account, the app asks for an email and a code. We typed in our email address and assumed “code” meant password. It did not. We looked for a code on the robot and for guidance in the manual. No dice. Finally, we discovered that Roborock had sent a verification code to our email that was valid for five minutes. It was confusing because there wasn’t a submit button or any indication that you would receive an email immediately after typing in your address.
Advanced Obstacle Recognition and Avoidance
The most significant upgrade with the S6 MaxV is the “Advanced Obstacle Recognition and Avoidance” system with two technology layers.
First is the twin-lens stereo camera capable of taking photos up to 30fps.
Having two lenses allows this robot to see objects with a 3D perspective compared to the 2D view from a single-lens camera in the Ecovacs OZMO T8.
Second is ReactiveAI, which is an artificial intelligence software, processing the images captured by the camera.
For those concerned about security, Roborock says that these images are not stored but immediately erased.
Powering this technology is a fast Qualcomm® APQ8053 processor.
The camera is smart enough to avoid weighing scales, shoes, and most obstacles that meet the 3cm x 5cm (height x width) size threshold.
Please watch this video to see the results of the tests on these types of obstacles.
PERFORMANCE
The Roborock S6 MaxV did a good job handling my mostly-open floor plan. Like a kid carefully coloring, the bot outlined the edges of each area before adapting a serpentine pattern to vacuum inside its invisible lines. It’s similar to how the iRobot Roomba s9 handled cleaning, but with the added bonus of seeing the S6 MaxV’s exact movements on the map.
Perhaps due to the onboard cameras, the Roborock S6 MaxV decided the thick shag rug in my living room was insurmountable and should be ignored. Nearly every robot vacuum I’ve tested has fallen victim to this rug at one time or another, so I was impressed that the S6 MaxV opted to avoid it entirely. Roborock says the bot has an obstacle crossing ability of up to 0.79 inches
Multi-level Maps
Another feature rolled out is the multi-level map system that gives the users an option to save up maps of up to four levels.
The benefit of this feature is it automatically detects what level it’s at and loads the appropriate map as it scans the area. Take note that these maps have to be saved first for this feature to work.
The multi-level map feature’s beauty is you can program no-go zones, no-mop zones, or invisible walls for each level independently.
It also gives you the option to split the areas manually at each level, though the software automatically does it for you. But the choice to manually separate areas gives an extra layer of flexibility.
Technically, there’s no need to move the dock between floor levels, but after the cleaning cycle, the robot will hunt for the dock, a time-waster for me, and push an error code.
One workaround for this issue is to press the pause button and bring the robot back to its home base. But you’ll need to switch to the correct map afterward.
I believe that four is more than enough as most homes will only have one or two floors.
The only other Roborock product with the multi-level map feature is the S6 Pure, but they will slowly roll out updates so that lower-end variants (in the S-series product line) will have these features well.
While the Roborock S6 MaxV excelled at navigation, it wasn’t as strong of a performer in our lab tests, earning an overall score of 90.56, well below the Roomba s9’s 96.8 overall average. It excelled at vacuuming up cereal on both hardwood and carpet, but dog hair was the S6 MaxV’s downfall. On hardwood and carpet combined, it averaged an 80.5% pickup rate, more than 17 percentage points less than the Roomba s9.
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | Overall Score | Cereal | Kitty litter | Dog hair |
| Roborock S6 MaxV* | 90.56 | 98.9 | 92.28 | 80.5 |
| Roomba i7 | 90.4 | 93.1 | 87.6 | 90.5 |
| Roomba s9* | 96.8 | 92.5 | 100 | 98 |
| Shark Ion R85 | 94 | 100 | 94 | 88 |
*Same test performed in a smaller 5 x 5-foot area.
On hardwood floors, the Roborock S6 MaxV out-performed both the Roomba i7 and the Roomba s9 on our cereal test, picking up 97.8% of the Cheerios. It performed similarly well when scooping up kitty litter, collecting 96.3% of the granules. Unfortunately, it faltered hard when it came to cleaning up after Fido’s fur. The bot only picked up 78% of the hair, placing well below the Neato D7 and both Roombas. The majority of the hair collected by the S6 MaxV was wrapped around the side brush and the main roller brush.
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | Cereal | Kitty litter | Dog hair |
| Roborock S6 MaxV* | 97.8 | 96.3 | 78 |
| Roomba i7 | 93.4 | 87.9 | 88 |
| Roomba s9* | 90 | 100 | 99 |
| Shark Ion R85 | 100 | 95 | 77.5 |
*Same test performed in a smaller hardwood floor area.
On carpet, the Roborock S6 MaxV fared a bit better when tasked with removing dog hair, cleaning up 83% of it and avoiding the brush foibles it encountered on hardwood. Still, it didn’t come close to the pickup performance of the Shark Ion R85 (98.5) or the Roomba s9 (97).
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | Cereal | Kitty litter | Dog hair |
| Roborock S6 MaxV* | 100 | 88.25 | 83 |
| Roomba i7 | 92.7 | 87.3 | 93 |
| Roomba s9* | 95 | 100 | 97 |
| Shark Ion R85 | 100 | 93 | 98.5 |
Roborock S6 MaxV: Mopping performance
While the Roborock S6 MaxV’s vacuum performance may best be described as middling, we can’t be as kind about its mopping performance. Much like the Roborock S5, the robot’s mopping capability feels tacked on and not well integrated. In addition to filling the onboard water tank, the microfiber mop must be dampened and attached prior to use. Mopping controls can only be accessed in the app after the microfiber piece is attached, which we found slightly annoying.
Roborock S6 MaxV: App and digital assistants
You no longer need the old Xiaomi Mi smart home app and can use the Roborock one instead. Running the vacuum cleaner for the first time not only builds a map of your home but will automatically split it into rooms.
If it gets things wrong, you can quickly update and adjust them to suit, setting your own rooms and zones using the app.
Up to four maps per home can be stored, and the robot can recognise which floor it’s on automatically, so you can use it in a multi-story house.
Here’s where things get really smart, as you can fully customise how the Roborock S6 MaxV tackles your home. Want to clean just a single zone or room? No problem, you set the cleaner off on its job, and even tell it how many passes you’d like it to make. You can even set custom schedules, telling the robot how much power to use in each room.
Having the mop attachment on used to make cleaning a bit more complicated, but the S6 MaxV makes things a bit easier. Now, you can set areas as No Mop; when you want to clean the entire house, the S6 MaxV will first of all tackle these ‘dry’ rooms, before turning on its water supply to tackle the mop rooms.
There’s no more fiddling about removing and adding the mop with this model. You can also set your own cleaning routine, picking the order that rooms should be tackled in.
If anything, the range of options can be a touch overwhelming. After all, when faced with Gentle, Quiet, Balanced, Turbo and Max, which is better out of Turbo and Max, and how different are they anyway? Slightly fewer modes, more clearly defined would be nice.
Automation is high up the list for this vacuum cleaner, and it can be set to recognise carpet and up the suction power automatically. It’s a shame that this mode can’t be used to automatically back the vacuum cleaner off while the mop is attached, say avoiding soaking a prized rug.
Instead, you have to use no-mop zones to mark off these areas, plus you can set No-go Zones and virtual barriers to prevent the vacuum from going where you don’t want it to.
There are skills for both Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant. Via the Alexa app, you can start and stop a clean (but not return to dock). If you use your voice, you can start and stop a clean and get the robot to return to its dock. As the robot appears as a switch type device in the Alexa app, you can also use it in Routines, say starting a clean when you go out.
Google Assistant control is similar, although in the app you can start and stop a clean, and use the Dock button to return the cleaner to charge; you can, of course, do all of this with your voice.
Roborock S6 MaxV: Battery life and maintenance
Matching the S6 Pure, the MaxV has a 5200mAh battery, which can give up to 180-minutes of use, when used on the lowest power setting. Used in a rather standard Victorian terraced house, with the vacuum set to Turbo, I found that I could clean an entire floor and still have plenty of juice left to tackle a second go.
Roborock rates this cleaner for areas of up to 240 square meters, with mopping for 200 square meters. Should the robot run out of juice part way through a clean, it can return to dock, top itself off and then carry on.
Rated at 67dB, the S6 MaxV is louder than the old S6 but slightly quieter than the S6 Pure. In practice, there’s nothing to worry about, as this vacuum is far from loud, so there’s nothing to worry about.
You’ll get notifications when it’s time to clean sensors, brushes and filters. You can wash the filter but there’s a spare in the box and you can buy additional ones.
Once full, you’ll get a notification (in-app and voice) telling you it’s time to empty the bin.
- Powerful mapping
- Amazing performance
- Quality mopping in the right circumstances
- Smart app
- Object detection is hit and miss
- Relatively expensive
- Louder than S6
Roborock S6 MaxV review: Verdict
Roborock introduced some nifty features with the S6 MaxV. We really like the obstacle recognition and the highly customizable vacuuming experience. The Roborock app was also intuitive and mostly easy-to-use. Unfortunately, the $749 S6 MaxV didn’t excel at its main purpose: vacuuming. And, its mopping function felt like an afterthought. If you’re looking for a premium robot vacuum, the Roomba S9 (without its self-cleaning base) costs $50 more, is just as smart, and, more importantly, is better at picking up messes.
Please check this table below for more details on the differences and similarities.
| Model | Roborock S6 | Roborock S6 Pure | Roborock S6 MaxV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adaptive Route Algorithm | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Selective Room Cleaning | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| LDS Laser Navigation | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| High Precision Map | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Map Saving | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Zone Cleanup | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| App Control | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Voice Control | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Washable E11 Air Filter | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Battery Capacity | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Coverage Area | >200㎡ | >200㎡ | >250㎡ |
| Dustbin Volume | 480ml | 460ml | 460ml |
| Water Tank Capacity | 140ml | 180ml | 297ml |
| Suction | 2000Pa | 2000Pa | 2500Pa |
| Run Time | 150 minutes | 150 minutes | 180 minutes |
| Price |
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