2 min readKmart has released limited stock of a robot vacuum cleaner, but this is one piece of budget tech I'd steer clear of. Security updates and support for connected home tech are well below the standard threshold you see on a phone or laptop, and cheaper devices tend to get even less. Your average robot vacuum cleaner gets two, maybe three years of security updates from reputable brands like Ecovacs and Roborock. But I doubt we'd see any from Kmart.
The device aptly called Robotic Vacuum - Black can be controlled through the Robot and Tuya Smart App. The app itself looks like a solid smart home hub application, with a similar layout to the Apple Home app. It acts as a central point to control a bunch of internet of things technologies, branching across protocols like WiFi, Bluetooth, and Zigbee. While the Tuya Smart app has its own security measures and can deliver security updates to devices, the manufacturer has to create and push them out. Kmart has not openly committed to do so.
Currently Kmart offers the bare minimum protections afforded under Australian Consumer Law. You get a 12-month limited warranty against defects, but aspects such as long running security updates aren't a legal neccessity as of yet. As of the Cyber Security (Security Standards for Smart Devices) Rules (2025), come March 2026, all manufacturers will be required to publish the support period for security updates to smart devices, but no minimum term has been established.
Robot vacuums are hot beds for security vulnerabilities. Last year the ABC reported on security issues in Ecovacs X2 models, and these same models were hacked in multiple US cities with the attackers yelling slurs through the onboard speaker. The flaws that led to this have since been patched, but these patches are only available because Ecovacs has a direct line of contact to its devices. Although the Kmart robot vacuum isn't as advanced as these models, there is still potential for hackers to use it as a bridge to get on to your local network. Without regular updates and digital maintenance it makes their jobs even easier.
The one potential saving grace for this device is that you don't neccessarily have to connect it to your home network. In a very retro fashion, the vacuum comes with a hand-held remote which you can use to control basic functionality. It is old school, but it could work, although you won't get the truley hands-off experience a robovac offers. No automation, no scheduling, no mapping. The little guy would be more like a pet rock.
There is a severe lack of cheap robot vacuum cleaners in the market, but iRobot has the best solution with its Roomba 105 range. Its cheapest option is around double the price of the Kmart one, but it gets a high level of security updates and it can actually vacuum and navigate well for the price. I am confident it would outperform the Kmart vacuum on every test.
Anko's robovac doesn't have LiDAR or a time-of-flight sensor so it will navigate by bumping around your house. Its suction power is low, sitting at a maximum of 2,200Pa which is about the same as a low-powered hand vacuum. Even budget vacuums with triple that suction power have struggled to pick up small and medium debris in our testing. Realistically spending the same money on a Kmart stick vacuum is probably going to be better for your floors, and for your network security.
