Vacuum cleaners can be pricey, which is one reason why the Haier Robot Vacuum Cleaner is so attractive of a price at Amazon. It does nearly everything: sweeps and mops, picks up pet hair, gets under low furniture and comes with a remote! Of course, there is a tradeoff. The Haier Robot Vacuum doesn’t do well on anything but very low pile carpet.
In what follows, I review the key features of the Haier Robot Vacuum, then highlight its pros and cons. Even though the Haier is both capable and reasonably priced, I discuss alternatives to the product that are in a similar price range. Finally, I will tell you if I would recommend the product and why.
Contents (Jump to)
Key Features of the Haier Robot Vacuum
- Virtual Wall: I can say from experience that virtual walls are awesome, and not a lot of vacuums (other than those in the Roomba line) have them. Happily, the Haier is one of them, and—in my experience—is one of the the only vacuums under $200 that does. Why are virtual walls great? It takes a second or two to set the virtual wall up and then it magically blocks off out-of-bounds areas. A very nice feature.
- Intelligent: The Haier prevents collisions with furniture and walls. If it can’t prevent a collision then it slows down till it’s barely moving and gently bumps the side of the item. Most often, though, it avoids obstacles altogether. The Haier also has a cliff sensor that steers the vacuum away from stairs and the like.
- Long Lasting Battery: The Haier can clean up to 1291 square feet in one cleaning cycle and its battery lasts for a very respectable 120 minutes.
- Wet Mop: The Haier Vacuum Cleaner is also a web mop that will wipe your hardwood or tile floors down while it vacuums. It has a 180 ml water tank, and an easy to clean microfibre cloth.
Pros: What I Liked
- Good at Cleaning: The Haier is good at cleaning. In my relatively unscientific test I put the Haier in a bedroom that had a hardwood floor, one I had previously cleaned with a broom. The floor looked clean, but then I turned the Haier loose on it. It had no trouble getting under the room’s sole dresser and bed. When I looked in the vacuum’s dust bin it was almost half full!
- Bagless Dirt Trap: The dirt trap is easily accessible and simple to empty. Just push the little button on top of the vacuum and pull out the container which holds all of the dirt and dust. Once you empty it, you just pop it back into the unit and close it, then it’s ready to start cleaning again.
- Easy to Clean Microfibre Cloth: Gets every last spec of dust off hardwood, laminate and tile.
- Nice Extras: There are two extra brushes, an extra filter and an extra microfibre cloth.
- Intelligent: Although the Haier has a sturdy rubber-like bumper on the front it rarely connected with any furniture. Also, I found its cleaning pattern, while not as precise as the Neato Botvac D80 or Roomba 980, did an amazingly good job, especially considering the Haire Robot Vacuum costs about four times less!
- There’s a Remote: Use the remote to begin a cleaning cycle, send the vacuum back to the recharging station, and give extra dirty areas more attention.
Cons: What I Would Like To See Improved
- This vacuum is NOT designed For Shag Carpets: This isn’t really a con since the manufacturers of the Haier are quite clear that their product doesn’t work well on carpet with pile longer than a quarter inch. The truth is that if you don’t have short pile carpet, this is not the robot vacuum you’re looking for.
- The Microfibre Cloth Must be Removed After Every Cleaning Cycle: Even if you only use water (a friend of mine who has the machine uses Swiffer cleaning fluid) you have to remove the cloth after every cleaning cycle and leave it to dry.
- Suction: I found that to keep the suction strong the filter should be cleaned after every cleaning cycle and the dust bin emptied.
- Difficulty Docking: If the recharging station isn’t fastened down (which you can easily do) then, because it’s so light, the vacuum can have a bit of trouble docking.
- Doesn’t Like Throw Rugs With a Fringe: The Haier tried to eat one of my thin throw rugs that had a fringe. On the plus side, it stopped vacuuming immediately and it was easy to remove the rug.
What’s The Difference Between the Haier Robot vs ILIFE V3s vs Neato Botvac D80?
Many considerations can go into selecting the right vacuum. For most of us, one of the more important aspects of our decision is price, but I find—even when this is the case—it can be interesting to compare a lower priced vacuum to a more expensive one with more features.
Notice that the less pricey vacuums like the Haier and ILIFE (review here) both weight less than the Botvac D80 (full review here)—which I’ve tested and which I can say is an excellent vacuum, one able to suction up pet hair even from deep shag. This difference in weight can be important if, say, you are thinking about buying the vacuum for someone elderly. Lifting one pound might be just fine while lifting nine might not be realistic.
Also, one of the tradeoffs here is the length of the cleaning cycle. Again, if your goal is for the vacuum to clean your home with minimal intervention on your part, since the less expensive vacuums have a longer cleaning cycle than the more expensive one they might be more desirable for your purposes.
| Haier Robot Vacuum | ILIFE V3s Robotic Vacuum | Neato Botvac D80 Vacuum | |
| Price | (check here for latest) | (check here for latest) | (check here for latest) |
| Weight (lbs) | 1.1 pounds | 4.9 pounds | 9 pounds |
| Height Clearance | 3.5” | 3” | 3.9” |
| Remote Control | Yes | Yes | No |
| Battery | 120 minutes | 130 to 150 minutes | About 100 minutes |
Other Robot Vacuum Cleaner Alternatives to Consider
ILIFE V3s Robotic Vacuum Cleaner
When I first shopped around for a robot vacuum cleaner I was staggered by the prices. None of the features I wanted were available for under $500. That’s why I was interested in ILIFE. It sweeps and mops, picks up pet hair, gets under even the lowest furniture, comes with a remote, is fairly quiet and all for under $200! Granted, the ILIFE Robotic Vacuum Cleaner isn’t the best vacuum around, but it does a good job on hardwood, tile, laminate and short pile carpet and it’s pretty good at picking up pet hair. Like the Haier Robot Vacuum, though, it’s achilles heel is thick shag carpet.
Samsung’s POWERbot Essential
Samsung’s POWERbot Essential robot vacuum cleaner is an attractive entry into a crowded marketplace. Even though it’s a bit on the noisy side and low pieces of furniture could present a challenge, the POWERbot Essential does the important things right. I was impressed with the amount of suction the vacuum could sustain and it handled both carpet and hardwood equally well. Also, and just as important, it was able to navigate around a fairly cluttered floor space while still covering the entire area.
iRobot Roomba 650 Vacuum Cleaning Robot
The iRobot Roomba 650 is an effective vacuum that sells for under $400 (check here for latest). It can do everything the Samsung’s POWERbot Essential and the ILIFE V3 can do (except mop!) as well as effortlessly handle deep plush carpet. But it also sells for significantly more than the Haier’s price tag.
Final Take—Is the Haier Robot Vacuum a Good Value?
The Haier Robot Vacuum Cleaner does a surprisingly good job at picking up dirt and cat hair. When I saw how little it cost relative to most other vacuums I was skeptical but it did just as good a job on hardwood and tile as other much more expensive robot vacuums. It did a good job vacuuming, has features I associate with higher priced vacuums and, as long as you don’t want it to replace your mop, is a product I would recommend you take a serious look at if you don’t want to spend more than about $200.
The Bottom Line: There is no way I could vacuum or sweep and easily get into all the nooks and crannies the Haier Robot Vacuum did. If you’re not a fan of vacuuming but love clean floors at a (very!) reasonable price this vacuum is worth taking a serious look at. It’s not as smart as a Roomba or Botvac, but for the price it’s a very competent cleaner.
Where to Buy: You can check the latest pricing at this listing on Amazon, where I’ve found the best availability.