Today’s robots are more sophisticated than ever. Most can be controlled with an app on your phone, and some are even voice-enabled. Many can return to the home base for a recharge and then go back to cleaning wherever they left off.

Rodriguez updated this story with notes from other Lab analysts’ extensive testing and research notes.

However, the software was still buggy at time of review, and we'd also expect higher suction for the premium price.

However, with an average pick-up score of almost 97 percent, it's a capable vacuum on both hard floors and carpet.

Why we love it: Powerful and versatile, this model has a motorized power nozzle to deep clean carpets, a mini motorized brush tool to lift pet hair from upholstery and a floor brush to gather fur on hardwoods and other bare floors. Bonus: All attachments except the power nozzle can be stored right on the vacuum.

And if you suffer from allergies, these robot vacuums have high-efficiency filters to help eliminate allergens that are hanging in the air. Of course, the downside to having a robot vacuum clean up after your pets is that you'll also have to make sure you plan for more frequent maintenance.

I also appreciate how versatile it is: you can turn the upright vacuum into a stick vacuum or a handheld canister for cleaning under furniture, windowsills and more. The model is easy to use and has a large carry handle on top of the canister as well as well-labeled buttons.

If you just want something that's shallow in profile for getting beneath furniture, look for a robovac without a raised central puck. This puck is generally used for robot vacuum navigation, but there are options that use different approaches – including all Roomba models, and some of Roborock's newest bots like the Qrevo Slim and Roborock Saros 10R (both of which we rate very highly).

The best robot vacuums from Consumer Reports’ tests are great for regular touch-ups and spot-cleaning without you having to grab your trusty upright or canister vacuums (which are better cleaners, we’ve found).

It's also packed with handy features such as its upgraded AdaptLift chassis that allows easy access over tall thresholds (without getting stuck). The App was easy to set up, map and schedule routines. More importantly, the Orevo Curv excelled in the majority of our tests.

A big bin means you don’t need to empty it as often. The largest I’ve seen is 800ml, but anything over 500ml is decent. With many bots now pulling double duty as mopping robots, plus the popularity of self-empty dock / charging bases, it’s getting harder to find small robot vacs with big bins.

We've tested many robot vacuums at Tom's Guide. While most perform great, they aren't as easy to recommend for everyone.

Your home is mostly wall-to-wall carpeting and all on one floor. In our Cleaning Lab tests, upright vacuum cleaners do the best job of removing ground-in, embedded dirt from carpeting because they are usually heavier than other styles, and the weight of the nozzle helps them reach deep into the carpet pile for better cleaning.

Our testers like that it’s easy to remove hair from the iRobot’s signature dual green rubber brush rollers. iRobot vacuums have very good scores for data security, but like Top 3 Automatic Vacuum Cleaners other models, its data privacy leaves a bit to be desired. iRobot Roomba Combo j5+