Shopping for a new vacuum cleaner can be a complete nightmare! Just a few minutes of browsing the market can leave you feeling disoriented and confused with so many to choose from.
The good news is that in this sea of floor and carpet cleaners, there are some absolute gems. But, the bad news is that it’s difficult to determine the good, the bad, and the ugly.
If you’re tired of using a manual vacuum cleaner and think it’s time you stepped into the future with a robotic device, then you may have come across the ILIFE V5s Pro Robot 2-in-1 vacuum cleaner.
This product is a powerful, economical robotic carpet and floor cleaner that comes with some excellent advanced features and good functionality. Not only is it a vacuum cleaner, but it also acts as a mop, so your kitchen tiles and wooden flooring can have a do-over every time.
But, does the ILIFE V5s pro Robot vacuum cleaner deserve all the hype surrounding it? Is it good value for money or are there others on the market that do just as well for less?
Today, we are going to answer these questions and more with our extensive review below. Read on as we discuss the pros and cons of the ILIFE V5s pro Robot vacuum cleaner and help you decide whether it is the right product for your needs.
ILIFE V5s Pro 2-In1 Robot Vacuum Cleaner – Cleaning Modes
Let’s begin with some of the most important features of a vacuum cleaner – the cleaning modes.
The ILIFE V5s comes with four cleaning modes that are very useful in all cleaning scenarios. Therefore, you can customize the vacuum to suit your requirements.
The cleaning modes are:
- Auto cleaning – This mode is ideal for cleaning an entire room. When set to this mode, the robot changes the intensity of the cleaning process spending on dust, dirt, debris, etc.
- Edge cleaning – This mode allows the robot to focus solely on cleaning along the edges and corners of walls.
- Spot cleaning – As the name suggests, this allows you to direct the robot to clean a specific spot.
- Schedule cleaning – If you’re out for the day, you can schedule the vacuum cleaner to start cleaning. Therefore, you can come back to a clean floor every time!
With these advanced features and excellent design, the ILIFE V5s robot floor and carpet cleaner is excellent value for money. Not only does it clean hard floors, but it works on thin carpets, too, so you can use it throughout your entire home.
ILIFE V5s Pro Configuration
The first thing you need to do with the ILIFE V5s Pro is to set it up. When receiving any new product or device, the installation process can be daunting. But, not with the V5s!
Setting this cleaner up could not have been easier. The included plug is compatible with the chagrin dock base, as well as the vacuum itself, so you’re not left with an unnecessary plug if something happens to the base.
Controlled via a remote control, you can have the V5s pro running to your needs in no time. But, if you don’t want to sit there and control it with the remote, you can use the Clean button that starts and pauses the cleaning process.
This singular button can also cycle through the various cleaning modes, so you can have it edge, spot, or clean the entire floor.
ILIFE V5s Pro Design
We have tested countless robotic vacuums over the years but the ILIFE V5s Pro is one of our favorites. We became so enamored with it, that we started calling it our “pet.”
Part of LIFE’s “Beetles” series of vacuum cleaners, the V5s pro is designed with a tasteful plastic lid, which is close in resemblance to an iPhone Gold. The lid is surrounded by a black and white casing and bumpers for added protection.
On either side of the vacuum cleaner are two blue lights. These help the cleaner look more like a bug purposefully running around your house leaving a trail of cleanliness behind it.
Maybe it was the “eye-like” blue lights, but we felt that this V5s model had more personality than many other robot vacuums we have tested (hence it being our little pet!)
What Makes It Different?
The ILIFE V5s Pro stands out from some similarly priced robotic vacuum cleaners thanks to its roller brush.
Unlike other competitors, such as the Shark Ion R85, the V5s Pro is equipped with two brushes (three-pronged) and a suction hole (3-inches wide) that sucks dirt and debris into the vacuum’s dustbin, located in its center.
Its side brushes are located on the front edges, like with the RoboVac 11s (which we also love).
The ILIFE V5s Pro measures 3 inches high and has a slightly raised lip situated on its front bumper. Although this is not high by any standards, it was not able to fit under certain areas, such as a low clearance sofa. Others, such as the Eufy RoboVac 11s could easily manage this, for instance.
However, the V5s Pro did manage to clean under the higher side of the couch with ease. You just may need to lift the couch a little, but this is not ideal considering you want the robot to do the work for you!
The diameter of the v5s pro measures in at 11.8 inches, giving it a small advantage over some of its slightly larger competitors, especially when cleaning around chair legs and room corners.
Altogether, the ILIFE V5s is a well thought out design that is able to clean most nooks and crannies, but struggle under some low clearance areas.
ILIFE V5s Pro Components
There are two main components that make up the ILIFE V5s pro vacuum cleaner:
- The robot
- The charging home base
The round-shaped robot body measures 11.8 x 11.8 x 3 inches. Weighing 4.5 pounds, it glides effortlessly over carpets and floors via its sensor guided wheels.
It is powered on a rechargeable lithium-ion battery (2600mAh). The charger’s voltage is 100 to 240VAC and has a power rating of 50/60 Hz 20W.
Included is a power adaptor which charges the unit up for about 120 minutes of usage. The charging time itself takes about 280 minutes.
Here are the features found on the ILIFE V5s Pro’s exterior:
- A clean button
- The power switch
- Font bumpers (helps to protect and even avoid wall, furniture, and other obstacles as the vacuum cleans
Here are the features found on the ILIFE V5s pro’s interior:
- A sucking passage for vacuum mode
- Cleaning brushes (right and left sides)
- 65 mm wheels and a nose wheel for steadier movement (on left and right sides)
- A water tank (wet mop mode)
- Dust bin (to collect dust, dirt, and debris)
- A couple of filters (to collect larger particles of dirt and debris)
- A base cover to act as protection for the interior parts
- A battery cover to act as protection for the lithium-ion battery
Aside from the actual unit, the V5s pro also comes with a remote control. This allows you to direct the robot to clean your floor and change between cleaning modes.
ILIFE V5s Pro Advanced Sensors
One of the biggest achievements with the design of the ILIFE V5s pro vacuum cleaner is its state-of-the-art sensors. These have AI capabilities, such as:
- Sensing some smaller items, such as cloths and cables (didn’t work every time, though)
- Anti-collision sensors that detect obstacles on the floor and then avoids hitting them
- Anti-fall sensors that sense stairs. Helps to avoid falling down steps, but those over 10 mm may not be sensed
- Returns back to its charging dock automatically when finished or to simply recharge
One feature that the V5s is lacking, however, is floor mapping. But, because of its lower price-tag, this is a trade off you should expect.
Because the V5s can not map out a floor space or remember a room’s layout, it may knock some obstacles at some point. If it gets stuck, you will need to manually move it to another area to continue.
ILIFE V5s Pro Cleaning Performance
Out of all the robot vacuum cleaners we have tested, the ILIFE Vs5 Pro 2-in-1 has one of the best cleaning performances. However, compared to some, it is pretty slow, so you may need to wait a bit longer for your floor to be cleaned properly.
The closest rival that we tested is the Shark Ion R85, but we believe the V5s offers a little more, performance-wise, because it can also suck up dog hair with ease.
The ILIFE V5s’ predecessor, the V3s Pro model, actually cleaned more thoroughly but the V5s is much better at picking up pet hair on carpets and hardwood.
In fact, in our tests, it was able to pick up over 97% of hairs, which is considerably better than some of its competitors, such as the RoboVac 11s, which could only pick up 67.5% of pet hair.
It’s not all sunshine and rainbows when using the ILIFE V5s Pro, however. One drawback in its design is that some of the dust, dirt, and debris it vacuums does not enter the dustbin. To test this, we placed some pieces of cereal on the floor.
The V5s was capable of picking up most of the pieces, but blew a few pieces back out with the next few uses.
Some smaller granules were not picked up, either, with an average of 88.2% of granules being vacuumed successfully. This is comparatively lower than the ILIFE V3s with a 91.75% pickup average.
Nonetheless, the cleaning performance of the ILIFE V5s Pro was very impressive. Overall, it picked up an average of 95.7% of debris on hardwood flooring. This is a better score than some rivals, such as the Eufy RoboVac 11s (85%) and the Shark Ion R85 (90.8%).
How Compare to Similar Vacuums?
However, it still has some way to go to beat its older sibling, the ILIFE V3s Pro which had a pickup score of 99.8%.
On carpet, the ILIFE V5s was just as impressive, picking up an average of 94% of the debris in our tests. Again, this was better than the RoboVac 11s (87%), but a little below the Ion R85 (97.2%).
Although a little slower than some of its competitors, the V5s pro cleans like it is on a mission. At first, it speeds out of its docking station to clean the surrounding floors with an eagerness that no human would have.
The robot’s sensors worked exceptionally well and were just as good as the sensors found on the more expensive RobotVac models. The V5s Pro moves towards walls with haste but always manages to break before any impact is made.
This was very welcome when moving around our feet too, so we didn’t have to worry about any injuries.
What We Didn’t Like
The only issue regarding the sensors was that they seemed to work best with larger obstacles. Therefore, it frequently bumped into smaller items, so if you have a pet dog or cat, you may want them to leave the room before using the ILIFE V5s to ensure their legs don’t get a knock here and there.
Another slight disappointment was that the V5s seemed to focus on some areas more than others. It would vacuum and clean one area twice but for others, it would either skip them or only go over once.
Back to its speed. The ILIFE V5s Pro is one of the slowest robotic vacuums we have tested. On average, it took about 1 hour and 40 minutes to complete a thorough clean test. For other models we have tried out, the average clean time has been closer to one hour.
But, in terms of sound, the V5s is one of the quietest on the market with a measurement of 59.9 decibels. So, you don’t have to be worried about getting woken up if you fancy a lie in one day and the vacuum is set to start cleaning.
This sound level is a lot less than some competitors and the ILIFE V3s Pro (64.1 decibels). So, if you have a chat with someone and the ILIFE V5s Pro is busy cleaning the surrounding floor, you will be able to carry on without any inconvenience. With some, we have needed to raise our voices, but this is no problem with the V5s Pro.
ILIFE V5s Pro Mopping Performance
Although the ILIFE V5s Pro is mainly advertised as a 2-in-1 cleaner, we don’t think its mopping abilities are the best out there. So, whilst it is touted as a cleaner and a mop, we wouldn’t purchase it for its mopping abilities.
The V5s boasts a microfiber pad that is attached to a thin piece of plastic. Here, there are inserts for the pad to stick to on the vacuum’s base.
When setting this up, attaching the piece was quite simple. Also, filling the V5s water reservoir was also straightforward. To use the mop, you just need to substitute the dustbin for the water reservoir.
Then, the water will drain out of the little holes on the underside of the vacuum and onto the microfiber pad to start mopping. This design should work well, but the pad never became wet enough to mop sufficiently.
All we could manage were a few streaks of water on the floor and nowhere near enough for a thorough mopping session.
When the water reservoir is inserted, the manual states that the vacuum suction is disabled. Although this seemed to be the case, having a separate mopping system would be more beneficial and a better design in our opinion.
ILIFE V5s Pro – Pros And Cons
Boasting a steady performance, a stylish design, and coming with a low price tag, the ILIFE V5s Pro 2-in-1 vacuum cleaner certainly has a lot of good points. Nevertheless, there are some drawbacks to its design and features.
Here are the main pros and cons of the ILIFE V5s Pro:
Pros
- Great value for money with an inexpensive price tag
- Very quiet when running
- Stylish and attractive design
- Approaches all obstacles with care as to not cause damage to anything and to itself
Cons
- Poor mopping feature
- Some pieces of debris are not sucked into the dustbin completely
- Does not clean as thoroughly as the ILIFE V3s Pro and is more expensive
In Summary – Verdict
Considering its price-tag, the ILIFE V5s Pro 2-in-1 vacuum cleaner is great value for money. It offers a great balance of vacuuming power and cost.
Although its mopping capabilities are a little lackluster, we believe the cleaning abilities of the V5s more than make up for its drawbacks.
Overall, the pet-like looking ILIFE V5s Pro performed well in our tests and, we would recommend this over many other robotic vacuum cleaners.