Roborock’s Qrevo EdgeC review: Rough around the edges

When I was solely a pet owner, I believed I was the target market for robot vacuums. My dog, Merlin — an Aussie Shepherd pup with a THICK double-coat — leaves tumbleweeds of fluff behind like Hansel & Gretel’s breadcrumbs. My cat, Goose, also actively contributes to the household mess by using his cardboard scratcher a little too aggressively.

Then I added a baby to the mix.

Stepping in squished blueberries and discovering half-chewed crackers on my rug only added to my list of cleaning challenges. Luckily, I had the opportunity to test out Roborock’s new Qrevo EdgeC robovac — one of the most bougie robovacs I've seen.

Not only does it vacuum and mop, a hybrid feature that more than exceeded my expectations upon arrival, but it also self-docks to charge, intuitively knows when to clean the mop heads, auto-empties the dustbin, and auto-refills the water. If you’re in the market for a top-of-the-line robovac, this Roborock shines just as bright as the floors it cleans.

Upon unboxing, the Qrevo EdgeC is a tidy combination of matte and gloss white finishes — a welcome feature because it rarely shows up fingerprints from curious children, unlike glossy black designs. The dock is quite large, but given the generous size of its tanks, this is forgivable.

Initial setup, which includes connecting to WiFi and setting the layout mapping, is all relatively simple.

The front of the unit focuses on vacuuming while the mops are located at the rear. This dual-cleaning method means the Roborock only needs to do one lap around your home in order to complete both cleaning tasks. This is a serious timesaver. 

Its 18,500Pa HyperForce suction is impressively powerful, particularly on thick carpets and shaggy pile rugs. One handy feature the app has is the option to apply specific flooring types to the layout map room-by-room to maximise cleaning efficiency. If you can’t be bothered going this granular, however, the Roborock Qrevo EdgeC can cleverly sense carpeted surfaces, will lift the mop cloths to avoid soaking those areas and will apply any specific carpet cleaning vacuum options you have pre-selected e.g. turbo mode. But more on this later.

The dual-mop cloths are 13cm in diameter and can be extended to clean a wider area behind the unit. The Roborock even knows to return itself to the dock to clean the mop heads mid-cleaning cycle.

When I originally mapped my home for the Roborock, I lifted as many things as I could to help it map out the greatest cleanable surface area possible. An ottoman, a basket of dog toys, a cat tower, dining chairs — you name it, if I could lift it, it went up.

And while I found that the robovac doesn't get confused by furniture already on the map, such as a couch or dining table, it does become bamboozled when several objects are bunched together and aren't usually mapped to be in its path. 

For example, I moved six dining chairs off to the side of my dining room so the robovac could get right under the dining table. As it made its way to the cleaning location, it went under a few chairs but couldn't navigate its way back out again. Even after cleaning the sensors and resetting the unit, the robovac still became lost in a sea of chair legs and failed to find an exit.

This got to the point where it was easier to simply pick up the robovac and put it where I needed it to start from rather than let it make its own way there.

For further testing, I placed several other items of varying sizes in the robovac’s path to observe its obstacle avoidance performance. The device ran over cables, got caught up on a shirt, then bumped into and pushed along small children’s toys rather than bypassing them altogether.

This unit has a 5,200mAh lithium-ion battery, which is on par with many other models currently on the market. Another bonus is that this unit reaches a height of just 9.79cm, making it ideal for cleaning under low-lying furniture. 

Merlin certainly put the Dual Anti-tangle system to the test when he lazily refused to move out of the Roborock’s path and had his tail momentarily sucked up. Thankfully, his tail came clean out (no pun intended) as soon as he stood up and walked off.
Please note: no animals were harmed during the testing of this robovac.

Roborock’s app is somewhat straightforward to use. While its sections and naming conventions make sense, it does take some initial exploration to find everything and remember where each setting lives. With so many customisation options, it is easy to get lost and overwhelmed by how to maximise this unit’s full potential. With a little practice, you'll learn to configure its many settings to create a tailored cleaning experience that suits your household’s needs. 

You can schedule full cleans, choose just to vacuum or mop only, spot-clean spills, select specific rooms for cleaning or go even granular by nominating select cleaning zones within those pre-set rooms. You can pencil in regular routines, personalise deep cleans, set automatic re-mopping for particularly dirty areas and even deep cleaning for pet-specific areas. Additionally, the app includes various cleaning patterns to further maximise cleaning performance. 

The app even has a handy maintenance section that communicates valuable information, like when to clean the sensors, for example, or when a part is reaching the end of its life.

One of my favourite features, though, is the child lock feature, which I thoroughly tested with a one-year-old. Despite his ability to work out, not one but, TWO dishwasher child locks, he is yet to jailbreak this one. 

Finally, you can also auto-set software updates, control it remotely, share the device with other phones and completely customise your map, well… almost completely. 

The Roborock Qrevo EdgeC retails for $2,199 in Australia. Otherwise pay just $91.63 per month interest-free via Zip or pay the unit off in four interest-free payments of $549.75 via afterpay.

Roborock is also offering a 3% discount to those who opt into its marketing communications.

Let’s be real, it’s $2,199! This is the same price as a completely driveable 10-20 year old car from Carsales.com. It’s a lot of money to spend on a customisable vacuum/mop butler, but you have to consider how much time and effort it’s going to save you in the long run.

It’s true what they say, the smartest people spend their money on ways to save time because, ultimately, it’s nearly impossible to get time back  — you can always make more money. Saving time typically spent on tedious household chores is a solid investment, like adding a dishwasher to your kitchen.

While the price tag places this unit well on the pricier end of the scale for a robovac, when you compare it to a stick vacuum by Dyson (usually priced between $600 to $1500) you start to understand why. 

Whether you’re unable to do these jobs yourself due to injury or a disability or you’re simply time poor like me, Roborock has created the ultimate solution. You may not think you need all the features this particular model has, but Roborock has, nonetheless, proven they have raised the bar. Now all it needs is an arm.