A little over a year ago, I purchased the Shark – AI Ultra Robot Vacuum RV2502AE with XL HEPA Self-Empty Base, LIDAR Navigation, and Wi-Fi Connected – Black. I must say that it’s an excellent vacuum, and it gets used several times daily. It did have to be replaced a few months ago. When I reached out to customer service, I connected with an app, and they visually walked through various troubleshooting scenarios and ultimately decided that my robot needed to be replaced. Excellent customer service.
As much as I love this robot and was thrilled to get my replacement in April, I decided to look for a robot vacuum with a mopping feature a few weeks ago. While a few robot vacuums besides my beloved Shark brand piqued my interest, like the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra with a self-emptying water system, I chose Shark AI Ultra 2-in-1 Robot Self-Empty XL. Why? I have several Shark vacuums, and they do an excellent job. This robot is also bagless, but the Roborock isn’t. If it were, I most likely would have chosen that model. I must say that is one of the many things I love about Shark’s Vacuums; they’re bagless. Granted, I mainly purchased my second robot for mopping only, and thus far, that’s all I’ve used it for; however, if/when I do use the vacuum feature, I don’t want to have a bag to contend with.
First Impressions of the Shark AI Ultra 2-in1 Robot Self-Empty XL
Pros
- It Mops the Floor – It does a great job doing a surface mop of the floor. I honestly don’t think the robot mops are meant for intense ground in spills; however, if you’re someone like myself and are diligent with mopping (this is a several times weekly occurrence for me with my manual mop), then you might welcome a robot mop into your home since it will take care of that mopping. My lovely daughter is no longer a toddler; she’s 20 years old now, so I’m not dealing with the occasional child spills, and while we have two dogs, they don’t have accidents in our home.
- It Vacuums as it Mops – It’s a two-for-one deal. This vacuum comes with two bins. One is exclusively for vacuuming, and another has a section to hold the water at the bottom of the bin and a compartment that collects dust on top.
- Excellent job cleaning – Both the vacuum and the mop do an excellent job cleaning. The vacuum and mop pick up fine dirt with each run and plenty of Yoki (Working line black German Shepherd’s) hair.
- I’m not vacuuming! – There’s no need to pull out my corded (Shark Rocket Ultra-Light DuoClean – Model HV382) or my cordless (Shark IZ682H Vertex Pro Cordless Stick Vacuum with IQ Display) vacuums since my robot vacuums are that good.
Cons
- Where You Are? – I’d love to identify where the robot is while cleaning. It would have been helpful when setting up the map since it didn’t look too much like the rooms in my home.
- Manually have to change the mop – Unlike the dust bin, there isn’t a container that holds the clean water and another for dirty like with the Roborock, which means that after each cleaning, you have to change the mop pad and add more water.
Overall, I’m enjoying my newest robot. If this robot is anything like my other Shark vacuums, I’ll enjoy it for a long time.