What we loved.

This is the first non-iRobot vacuum to have dual roller brushes, which significantly improves performance on carpet. We found it to be 30-40% better on pet-hair than the S7 model at removing deeply embedded pet-hair.

The new dock is elegant as they’ve partially covered the 3 containers. Most people would’ve wanted to place the S7 MaxV Ultra dock out of sight, but I think this one is nice enough to leave on show.

The vibra-rise mop lifting system is a winner. This hasn’t changed since the S7, however it’s still arguably the most important feature on a hybrid vacuum/mop combo.

It has plenty of suction, at 6000 pascals. This is important in some scenarios but the reality is that the dual roller brushes do most of the work. The S7 MaxV’s mopping performance was very good, however occasionally we had feedback that it wasn’t wet enough at the edge of the mopping pads. On the S8 Pro, they have doubled the water dispersion and increased the vibrational area, which improves the mopping performance and makes it mop closer to the wall.

It features obstacle avoidance which helps it avoid items on the floor. It utilises a combination of a camera and a secondary laser system for optimal performance in all settings.

The navigation remains brilliant, although no noticeable change from the S7 series. The quick mapping function and accurate navigation remains a market leader.

Again, the app hasn’t changed much but it was already very good. It’s intuitive, simple, and they push frequent updates.