ILIFE continues to improve its vacuum cleaning robots. Over the past year, she launched a vacuum cleaner with a camera, a vacuum cleaner controlled from a smartphone, a vacuum cleaner with a wet-cleaning function, and even a vacuum cleaner designed for floor cleaning only. A natural question arises – why not create a vacuum cleaner that would use all these technologies at once? The ILIFE A9s is a robot vacuum cleaner that embodies all of the company’s development – a universal cleaner who can keep all floors clean – from tile to carpet, easy to operate and technologically advanced enough for its time.
What is it
This is a robot vacuum cleaner, which is the development of the popular ILIFE V8s model with the function of dry and wet cleaning. From the model ILIFE A8, he inherited a camera for navigation and voice comments of his actions. And from ILIFE A7 – support Wi-Fi and control using the proprietary ILIFE Robot application. Now you can follow his route directly in the smartphone, observing how accurately his movements cover the entire room. Another innovation was the inclusion of a special accessory called Electrowall – this is a special sensor that creates an invisible wall using infrared radiation that the vacuum cleaner cannot overcome. Thus, its access to the room is artificially blocked. There is nothing especially revolutionary in this accessory, it was produced before, but it was always sold separately. Such a course is called “Try and Buy” in marketing textbooks – in order for users to buy these electronic walls, you need to teach them to use them. The hypothesis, in this case, is simple: more than one such device may be needed for a large house, and if the user comes to taste, he will additionally buy them, and this will be a motivated purchase – he will understand not only why he needs these accessories, but also know exactly the required amount.
What is in the box
This time the bundle is as generous as ever. A trash bin and a rubber brush are already installed inside the vacuum cleaner. There is a separate container for wet cleaning with two microfiber cloths. Charging station with power supply (standard for all ILIFE vacuum cleaners). Two additional brushes for gathering dust under the body (there are four of them in total). Spare HEPA filter, another brush for wool (recommended for use if there are animals in the house), a standard tool for cleaning brushes (plastic plug with a brush on the second end). Remote control with two AAA batteries. Electrosten with two AA batteries. And a set of papers – a user manual in 6 languages, a warranty card and a booklet with brief instructions for novice users.
Overview of the smart robot vacuum cleaner ILIFE A9s: cleans-washes, builds walls-2
Consider the details of a close-up. The panicle brushes, as always, are not interchangeable – the left one has inserts of yellow plastic, the right one – of blue. They are easily removed and installed, and color coding does not allow to confuse them. The warranty card has an email address for technical support in Russian. The remote control is exactly the same as the ILIFE A8 vacuum cleaner – the general rule: if there is a display on the vacuum cleaner case, it is not on the remote control, and vice versa. True, on-site buttons for Wi-Fi, the ILIFE A8 was just an extra key without an inscription.
With the “electric”, I ran for the first time. As expected, there is no rocket science (despite the price of $ 37). The case is made of ordinary polished plastic, a status LED and an on / off switch. The sticker on the top clearly demonstrates how to orient the device in the room to prohibit the movement of the robot through an invisible wall.
The principle of the electrostatic can be seen in this illustration of the manufacturer. The instructions say that the range of such a wall is 3 meters. I confess, I could not come up with scenarios for using this accessory in my conditions. Why put it in the doorway, if you can just close the door to the room? But I do not exclude that someone will find such a device useful and will use it.
Overview of the smart robot vacuum cleaner ILIFE A9s: cleans-washes, builds walls-17
The charging station is no different from other ILIFE stations – they are all interchangeable. Is that on the plate different labels with the names of the models.
According to the instructions, the left and right of the charging station should be at least a meter, and in front of it – about two. In my case, on the one hand, it was half a meter, which did not prevent the robot from performing maneuvers and returning for charging on its own
Appearance
I don’t really like the polished surfaces of such a technique (one of the vacuum cleaners scratched the front panel very quickly), but to the credit of the engineers (it’s like they read my review), in the ILIFE V9s all polished parts are protected in one way or another by bumpers including the top. The display of this vacuum cleaner, as I said, no. The front panel contains a camera lens, a universal button (I love devices with one button – and the robot doesn’t need a vacuum cleaner for the others – start / stop, and no instructions need to be read) and a Wi-Fi connection LED. Next to the off button on the side panel is a connector to which, if necessary, you can connect the charger directly.
What you need to know about the pallet of the robot ILIFE V9s? First, he, in appearance, is no different from his fellows. Secondly, all rotating elements need to be removed and cleaned from time to time (and the brushes also need to be replaced). This applies to brushes, front swivel wheel (removed, if you pull vertically upwards). The main wheels, however, can not be removed, but they are easier to clean. Approximately once a month it is worth wiping the charging contact plates.
Dry cleaning
A regular container is intended for dry cleaning. It is very easy to open, clean and disassemble – there is a membrane inside, a foam pad and a HEPA filter under it. My experience suggests that changing it during weekly cleaning costs about once a year. Corporate set of 4 HEPA-filters and two pairs of brushes, brooms will cost $ 20. It may have seemed to me, but the ILIFE V9s have a little more suction power than their counterparts, in any case, it is definitely louder. He doesn’t create any questions on the quality of cleaning – even if you run it every day, he will collect his portion of dust in a two-room apartment by about a third of the container.
Wet cleaning
What you need to know about wet cleaning with a ILIFE V9S robot vacuum cleaner? Firstly, it should be carried out only after dry cleaning. Secondly, he does not wash the floors in the usual sense (and certainly does not scrape them – you need to correctly assess his level of possibilities). The effect of this cleaning is comparable to wiping the floor with a damp cloth. What, actually, the vacuum cleaner also does. The napkin in the form of a half circle is easily removed (it is attached with velcro and attached with two rubber bands on special projecting ends of the container). It can be washed (including in the washing machine). From the interesting – the flow of water supplied can be adjusted in the application. It is not that there is any need, but there will always be a user to whom the flow of water will seem excessive, or, conversely, weak. The adjustment is intended for such cases – you can choose one of three options.
Where to get new brushes and filters when they run out of their resource
An important question that you always ask yourself when buying a thing that somehow requires maintenance and replacement of some components. HEPA-filters, as I already wrote, ILIFE is standard and costs $ 20 per set, which includes 4 HEPA-filters and two pairs of brushes-brooms, which are enough for another couple of years. A rubber brush costs $ 20, a new carpet brush is $ 12. Wipes for wet cleaning are not sold yet, the logic, I suppose, is this: in a couple of years they will be on sale (as now there are napkins on sale for models two years old), so in a couple of years you can buy them if you wish. Well, or buy by that time a new model of a vacuum cleaner – a smartphone for $ 300, we change, relatively speaking, every two years.
What can the mobile application
To control the vacuum cleaner from a smartphone, the same ILIFE Robot application is used. He has a version for iOS. First you need to connect the vacuum cleaner to your home Wi-Fi network. To do this, press and hold for three seconds its single button on the panel. After that, start the application and connect to the access point (it is easy to find it – the name will contain the word Robot). Then enter the password to your Wi-Fi network and the robot is ready for remote control! The application is not so much any settings – you can choose one of three options for the flow of water during wet cleaning. You can control the movements of the vacuum cleaner with the help of a virtual joystick and watch how it builds a route map, bending around obstacles. Another useful feature of the application is the analysis of the resource of the filter and brushes. How this resource is calculated is not clear, most likely for the total time of work. In practice, of the three options for controlling the vacuum cleaner (remote, smartphone, or pressing the button), I most often used the most primitive and not requiring any devices — I came up and pressed twice (the first press would take the vacuum cleaner out of sleep, the second starts cleaning). No need to remember where you left the remote, no need to get a smartphone and launch the application. But what is actually more convenient to do through the application is, of course, to set the timer for the weekly cleanups. It is more comfortable than poking fingers in the remote, going through options. Unfortunately, ILIFE V9s cannot, despite the presence of a camera, build a room map. The camera is only needed to improve navigation. Although, perhaps, this is the only thing missing this model.
Neighbors in the lineup
Today ILIFE A9s is the most technologically advanced (and, accordingly, the most expensive) robot manufacturer’s vacuum cleaner. Below it in the line are models:
ILIFE V8s is a popular model (more than 3500 items sold in the official store on Aliexpress) with the functions of dry and wet cleaning. Price $ 230 (we have a review on our site). A great option for those who do not like to “overpay”.
ILIFE A7 – the first model of the company with management through the application. Only dry cleaning mode. Price $ 248 (read review)
ILIFE A8 – the first robot vacuum cleaner manufacturer with a camera. Only dry cleaning mode. Price $ 268 (read review)
ILIFE W400 is a special robot created only for wet cleaning and capable of really scrubbing floors (launders dried stains on the floor for 3-4 cycles, this is in the review). Price $ 229
ILIFE V7s Plus – the most popular model of the vacuum cleaner from the manufacturer with the function of wet cleaning. Sold over 8,000 units in 2 years. Price $ 177 – it is at the very end of its life cycle. (We also have a review of its modification with the name ILIFE V7s Pro).
From this entire list, either ILIFE V9s or its previous, cheaper versions, V8s and V7s, can be of real interest, which is what sales show. Although someone, for sure, will be useful and W400 – where need frequent wet cleaning. If wet cleaning is not needed at all, I would confine myself to the ILIFE A7 model, as the most technologically advanced one.
Issue price
The ILIFE V9s vacuum cleaner is just starting to be sold, its price tag is now $ 330, but on March 28, a large-scale sale on Aliexpress commemorates the anniversary of the square and can be bought at a special price of $ 257, which looks like a bargain. At competitors, models with control through an application are more expensive, as a rule, from $ 300, and those that know how to build room maps are even more expensive.
The bottom line
The robot vacuum cleaner ILIFE A9s combines in itself, finally, all possible technologies of the manufacturer in terms of cleaning automation in the house. He has a camera for improved navigation, support for the application, which facilitates the setting of the cleaning schedule and control over the wear of consumables. It copes well with maintaining cleanliness in the house automatically (if you run it every day, at least once every three days you should clean the container – in any case, do not force it to work unattended when you go on vacation for a week or two), has a useful wet cleaning mode. Finally, the package includes an accessory that allows the vacuum cleaner to block access to the premises where its appearance is undesirable (well, suddenly, you do not have a door or something else). The only thing that is missing is the complete happiness of this model – the ability to build and memorize a room map and navigate it – every time he will begin to draw the route again.
5 reasons to buy a robot vacuum cleaner ILIFE A9s
the desire to shift the daily maintenance of cleanliness to the equipment;
universality in work – dry and wet cleaning;
the ability to control the vacuum cleaner remotely using the application;
electronic wall sensor included;
Excellent and modern gift for housewarming.
2 reasons not to buy a robot vacuum cleaner ILIFE A9s
does not know how to build and store a room map in memory;
There are cheaper models with wet cleaning, for example, ILIFE V8s.