Samsung JetBot AI+ review: is this the best robot vacuum cleaner money can buy?

Price: £1199 | Buy now from Samsung

Rating: 4/5

What we like

• Self-emptying bin

• Easy to use

• Cleans thoroughly for a robot vacuum cleaner (although the process takes a while)

• Quiet

• Great object detection

What we don’t like

• Pricey

• Struggles to fit under some furniture

• Dust bags need replacing every few months

• The docking station is bulky

Our verdict

The robots are coming. And while I may feel apprehensive about AI technology replacing my job at some point, I’m more than happy to usher in smart tech like the JetBot AI+ to deal with the drudgery of daily chores. With advanced navigation, smart object detection and a self-emptying bin, this slick bit of kit doesn’t just look futuristic – it acts it too.

Performance-wise, it’s seriously impressive. It maps out your home with precision, avoids stray toys and charging cables, and keeps floors looking freshly hoovered with zero effort on your part.

However, this level of convenience does come at a premium. It’s very expensive, and it also demands a lot of storage space. The charging base is pretty hefty, so you’ll need a permanent spot for it – no tucking it away in a cupboard when guests come over.

Still, if you’ve got the budget and space, the JetBot AI+ is a standout. It’s packed with genuinely helpful features, and during testing, it gave that rare and wonderful feeling of being totally on top of the housework.

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Key specs

Type of vacuum cleaner: Robot | Weight: 9.5kg (unit 4.4kg) | Capacity: 0.2 litres | Runtime: 90 minutes | Charge time: 210 minutes | Suction: 30W | Dimensions: 53 x 31 x 45 cm | Warranty: Two years

How we tested

I put the Samsung JetBot AI+ through its paces in my four-bedroom house in south London. Home to two small kids that love snacking, Lego building and dropping toys and clothes at every turn, it proved to be a good testing ground for the JetBot AI+ to deal with crumbs, dust, mud, Cheerios, hair, and all the detritus that small humans leave behind. As well as plenty of Poppit- and doll-sized obstacles to navigate around. I had the robot vacuum cleaner for three weeks and tested performance on wooden floors, kitchen tiles, vinyl flooring and carpet via a mix of pre-programmed auto cleaning and on-the-spot tasks.

Related: The best robot mops for sparkling floors without the faff

What’s in the box?

• Jet Bot AI+ robot vacuum cleaner

• Docking/cleaning station

• Two dust bags

• Two pre-motor filters

• Fine dust filter

• Manual

Does it come with a docking station?

Yes, the JetBot’s Clean Station is where the vacuum cleaner returns to charge, dock and empty its bin. Note that it’s quite a large unit (30.5 x 52.5 x 45cm) and needs to be accessible for the vacuum to return to (ie. not behind a closed door) as well as being plugged in at all times.

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How easy is the JetBot AI+ to set up?

Once I’d lugged the Clean Station out of the box (it’s a pretty hefty piece of kit) and positioned it in a temporary testing spot in the lounge, I found it easy to set up. The unit needs to be fully charged before use (which takes roughly three to four hours).

Everything is controlled via Samsung’s SmartThings app (I had to register an account on my iPhone to use it) and the vacuum cleaner needs to be able to connect to WiFi. The Samsung website has lots of useful info and step-by-step instructions on how to set the vacuum cleaner up for the first time and the app is very intuitive.

You’re encouraged to give the JetBot a name on the app - we chose Messi; which worked for my football-mad son (and his pun-loving mum).

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How do you control the JetBot AI+?

When charged, you can use the app’s mapping tool to create a vacuum blueprint for the JetBot to follow for subsequent cleaning sessions. On its first run out it’ll get a feel for each room layout and will recognise dimensions, furniture and obstacles by using AI technology (so it’s worth tidying up before getting started). Its LiDAR sensor (similar to sensors found in self-driving cars) will figure out the optimal route to follow. As with some other robot vacuum cleaners, you can set up ‘no-go’ zones for areas that you want the robot to avoid.

The SmartThings app serves as a remote control so you can set the JetBot up to clean from wherever you are. And you can use it to adjust maps and suction power, receive cleaning reports and set up custom schedules.

And you can monitor what’s going on in your home when you’re out of the house thanks to the front video camera - useful if you want to spy on pets or check if you’ve unplugged the straighteners.

Related: The best vacuum storage bags for freeing up wardrobe space

What’s the Samsung JetBot AI+ like to use day-to-day?

The front camera offers a fascinating insight into what’s lurking beneath your furniture (odd socks, Lego and Cheerios in our case). I found being papped by a household appliance quite unsettling. 

Once the JetBot is familiar with your room layouts, you can set it up to clean automatically on a daily basis. Mine came to life at 9.30am every morning and it was satisfying to hear it kick into action to tackle post-breakfast crumbs in the kitchen and lounge. It was quiet enough for me to work from home upstairs and dial into meetings without getting distracted. However, when it finishes up and returns to the self-emptying bin, the process is jet-engine loud - something to be aware of if you’re scheduling a clean around nap time, although the process itself only takes around 30 seconds. The JetBot has a small 200ml dustbin so you’ll soon get familiar with its roar.

A full downstairs clean (kitchen, dining area, lounge, hall, downstairs loo) took around 45 minutes. Far longer than it usually takes to whizz round with our regular Dyson V11 Absolute but it’s a thorough clean. I used the default mode that sees the robot vacuum clean the floor area first and then move onto the walls but you can set it up to run in a zigzag pattern for a faster clean. I didn’t find this quite as effective at cleaning though.

The JetBot design differs from other robot vacuum cleaners in that it has a tapered flat front edge rather than a fully circular unit which makes it way more competent when it comes to edge cleaning.

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How well does the Samsung JetBot AI+ clean carpets?

The JetBot offers great suction for a robot vacuum cleaner and I found it effective at shifting dirt from our upstairs carpets. The max setting is better suited to carpets and the normal setting is good for hard floors. Bear in mind that the max mode is noisier and will drain more battery power.

It’ll never clean quite as thoroughly as a stick vacuum cleaner - you’ll definitely still need one (or a handheld vacuum cleaner) to deal with stairs and to reach under furniture and into the kinds of crevices that the JetBot can’t navigate.

The JetBot features brush rollers rather than traditional bristles so it feels more effective on wooden floors and hard surfaces but I was impressed with the results on our carpets. And it’s fitted with not one but five layers of HEPA filtration which is said to be able to trap 99.99% of mirco dust.

Read next: The best carpet cleaners to buy for tidy floors

How well does the Samsung JetBot AI+ deal with hard floors?

Given the soft brush rollers mentioned above, the JetBot is better suited to cleaning hard floors so I found it really effective on our wooden floors, kitchen tiles, and vinyl flooring in the hall. It deftly switched between all surfaces and had no problem tackling a thick rug in the lounge.

Although it kicked some of the larger pieces of debris around a bit at first (looking at you, Cheerios), the JetBot did go back and suck up the remaining culprits before it finished its scheduled clean. It doesn’t always seem to move in the most efficient way, especially as you watch it in action and can see that it’s missed something along the way. But it does go back and deal with outstanding mess eventually.

The most frustrating thing is that because the JetBot is a fairly chunky unit, there were quite a few pieces of furniture that it couldn’t fit under so I needed to reach for the trusty Dyson to finish off the job.

Thanks to the LiDar sensors, the JetBot steers clear of cables, something that cheaper robot vacuum cleaners tend to gobble up, particularly on hard floors.

How well does the Samsung JetBot AI+ cope with pet hair?

I live in a pet-free home so I can’t give a thorough report on pet hair performance, sadly. I did test out the JetBot’s hair-sucking capabilities however by scattering clumps of hair from my Tangle Teezer and daughter's brush on carpets and wooden floors and found it did a good job at dealing with fine stray hair of different lengths. Although it’s worth noting that hair can easily get tangled up in the brush head so you'll need to lift up the underside and clear the decks on a regular basis. The fact that the unit is designed to provide an easy way to keep on top of daily vacuuming is reassuring for pet owners. And the front camera offers peace of mind for pet monitoring when away from home.

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How easy is the JetBot AI+ to clean?

The self-emptying bin is one of the product’s standout features. While other robot vacuum cleaners, like the iRobot Roomba 966, can be fiddly and messy to empty after each session, the JetBot cleans up its own mess, and the dust bags in the Clean Station can store around three months’ worth of dirt, depending on how you often you clean. When the JetBot has finished with a scheduled clean, it’ll return to the Cleaning Station to empty its load. As highlighted above, it’s VERY loud but it’s quick and easy and saves you getting your hands dirty. The LED light on the front of the unit will turn red to let you know when to empty the dust bag. A multipack of five 2-litre dust bags costs £19.

In terms of regular maintenance, all parts of the regular filters can be rinsed under running water. The Clean Station also has a fine dust filter which can’t be rinsed but should be replaced on a yearly basis.

Is the JetBot AI+ good value for money?

At £1199, the JetBot AI+ is eye-wateringly expensive. But you’re paying for cutting edge tech designed to clean your home without you having to lift a finger. This is the future of floor cleaning. Its closest competitor, the irobot Roomba s9+ is similarly priced at around £1000 but doesn’t offer the kind of smart home integration you get from the SmartThings app and it doesn’t have a real-time camera. You can certainly get much cheaper robot vacuum cleaners - you can currently pick up the Eufy Robovac 15C Max which features as our best budget robot vacuum cleaner, for less than £200. But if you’re looking for a bells-and-whistles sturdy robot vacuum cleaner that’s competent and convenient, and one that feels more like a household assistant than a mere appliance, this is worth spending money on if you have it.

About the author

Rachel Erdos is an Editor at Mumsnet where she commissions, edits and writes content with a focus on product reviews, homeware roundups and family travel.

She’s written buyer’s guides for publications including Expert Reviews, Coach and Den of Geek as well as reviews and features for the Guardian, TripSavvy and Visit London.

As a mum of two, she’s always on the lookout for products that make life easier at home and loves putting gadgets and appliances to the test to highlight best buys for families.

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