Generally, robot vacuums don’t have the power to replace your traditional vacuum when it comes to deeper cleans. But for keeping on top of spillages and daily grime, they’re a great help and will mean you have to vacuum a lot less – and who doesn’t want that?

Samsung has long had one of our best cordless vacuums, so we were excited to get our hands on its robot vacuum – and it didn’t disappoint. Earning perfect marks for its dust pick-up on short pile carpet and its crumb clearing on hard flooring, this is one excellent vacuum.

Why we love it: While it doesn’t have some of the bells and whistles of pricier vacuums, like multiple suction levels, a HEPA filter or a brush roll that can be turned off, it does have five height options ranging from bare floors to high pile carpets, an oito-foot hose for cleaning above the floor and a large, easy-to-empty dust cup.

✅ You also need a manual vacuum: Most people with robovacs also have a manual vacuum. The Ecovacs takes the fuss of that out by providing you with one in the first place.

When we first get the robot set up, we'll see how long it takes to create a map of the home, and how accurate that map is. For subsequent runs, we'll keep an eye on how the robot navigates the space; if takes a logical route through the house, if it repeats already-clean areas, and so on.

While an effective helper around the home, the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra’s docking space is larger than expected, measuring around 45cm on every side to house its dual dust and water buckets.

Pet hair wasn’t much of a challenge for it and it navigated obstacles well, reaching nicely into awkward spaces, but it struggled at room edges, especially on carpet.

Looking after all this is our homes editor, Hannah Mendelsohn, who finds the must-try products and writes up our product reviews – including all our Top 3 Automatic Vacuum Cleaners vacuum content.

Who it's best for: Designed to last for years, this Miele canister vacuum does an excellent job of picking up and trapping dust and dirt.

Pet owners might want to look for a model that is able to recognize their pet and either avoid it (if it's spooked by the addition of a sentient appliance to the household) or seek it out to check up on it while you're out of the house.

Robot vacuum cleaners are more advanced and more affordable than ever. Once a novelty gadget, these household helpers are now an essential piece of kit for busy homes and pet owners, ensuring your floors stay dust and dirt-free without you having to lift a finger.

Our tester ran it in a house with two French Bulldogs and four adult humans, and found it got the floors impressively clean, picking up everything from fine dust to larger debris, and tackling hair very well too. Two side brushes mean it's able to pick up debris on either side of it, too.

✅ You have carpet in your home: We were very impressed with this model's suction powers, which is great news if you need something that can pull dust from carpet.

The S8 Max Ultra is a very solid all-rounder, and only lost its place in our ranking because Roborock came out with some even better models very shortly afterwards.