Shark ION Robot 750/R75 Review

Most of the robotic vacuums still work either by manually pushing a button on the robot or by remote control. That works fine, but in recent years one by one manufacturers have started to add Wi-Fi connectivity to robot vacuums, which makes using them a lot more convenient. R75 is one of the robotic vacuums, that has this handy feature.

However, with this robovac, you’ll have the possibility to use the robot also manually. You can do that by pushing buttons on the top of the robot. Hit ”clean” and the robot will start cleaning the floors or ”dock” if you wish the robot to return to its charging dock. If you need a specific area to be cleaned thoroughly, use the ”spot” cleaning mode, and the robot will clean an area in a spiral pattern. There is no remote, but you can buy one separately if you want. Then again, who needs a remote if you have a phone or Alexa?

So, if you don’t want to bend over the robot and physically hit the buttons, you can remotely control your robot by using the Shark ION Robot phone app. The app is compatible with Apple and Android devices. By using your app, you can start and stop cleaning and set recurring cleaning schedules. Also, the app provides access to tips, tricks, and FAQs, as well as maintenance reminders, troubleshooting, and tech support.

Also, Shark R75 is compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant, so you can just use the voice control to tell the vacuum to start working while you're sitting on your sofa. Pairing with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant has been said to be effortless.

Overall, users of this robot have been satisfied with the app and Alexa, and how they work. The owners have mentioned, that the app is well-designed, aesthetically pleasing and intuitive to use. It is and has been upgraded repeatedly.

Also, the possibility to set the vacuum to start cleaning even when you’re not home has been mentioned as a very positive feature. However, some people have reported having troubles with connecting the robot to Wi-Fi, or the robot losing connection with Wi-Fi from time to time. If that should be the case, you can always contact Shark Customer Service, which many users have found helpful.

Don’t overlook the navigation capabilities, when thinking of buying a robot to clean your floors. After all, robotic vacuums have to figure out the how to clean the rooms on their own, so they have to be able to cover the floors thoroughly. If they can’t handle this, they’ll likely to leave dirty spots behind and bump into furniture while roaming the floors.

According to its marketing materials, Shark R75 promises to ”navigate floors seamlessly while proximity sensors assess and adapt to surrounding obstacles.” In reality, according to its users, the robot performs pretty convincingly when it comes to these promises.

The cleaning and navigation pattern seems to be pretty random, which can raise some doubts. However, the results speak for themselves and the algorithm for cleaning seen to be well done. As far as owners have witnessed, the robot covers the floor area without missing spots.

As this robot from Shark is slim at only 2.6 inches (Roomba 980 is 3.6" and Deik 3.4"), it navigates around floors without getting stuck under low-built furniture. This is not a minor thing if you’re ever planning to leave it to clean by itself. It gets easily under most cabinets, sofas, beds, and furniture, so you don't have to worry about coming home and finding your vacuum stuck under your bed with the job unfinished.

If you want the robot to avoid certain areas, you can set ”no-go-zones” with BotBoundary (barrier) strips, which come along with the robot. Just place these barrier strips where you want (around your dog's food and water bowl, for example), and the robot won’t cross these strips when it moves around. The strips aren’t visible, they don’t require batteries and don’t have to be turned on – this makes using them super easy.

The robot is equipped with anti-collision and anti-drop sensors. The cliff sensors are there to avoid stairs and other steep drops. Users have reported, that the cliff sensor technology is on point and the robot will not fall off any drop-offs. If you want to be super cautious, you can place barrier strips in front of the stairs.

The manufacturer – as well as users of this robot - instruct that you should always check the space that is being cleaned and prep your home beforehand. Look around to see if there are any tight spaces or furniture the robot could get stuck in or under, and check that there aren’t any cords on floors. Owners of this robotic vacuum have also advised others to block any loose cables and wires with the boundary strips to be on the safe side.

Having said that, as long as you're ready to do some prepping before sending this robot to work, you won’t need to be there as a robotsitter when it does its job. The truth is that it’s not the case with all the robotic vacuums in the market.

Shark has equipped this model with a long-life lithium-ion battery, which has been noted by its users. When fully charged, the battery provides a cleaning time from 60 to 90 minutes. When the cleaning cycle is complete or the battery is running out, the robot will automatically return to its docking station.

As long as you set the charging dock with its back against the wall and remove any objects closer than 3 feet from the base, users have reported, that this the Shark ION 750 finds its way back to its charging dock. This feature is not to be taken for granted, as many of its competitors get lost while trying to find their dock.

Recharging the battery can take up to three hours. However, as this vacuum won’t automatically resume cleaning after it’s recharged, you may want to consider iRobot Roomba 980 if you’re about to use the robot for cleaning larger areas. If the robot needs charging mid-vacuuming, it will make quite a bit easier for you if it automatically resumes and finishes the job.

Even though the battery life is pretty long, in case the battery should need to be replaced, batteries can be purchased from the Shark's website.

This robovac posses many features, that are particularly welcome from the pet owners point of view.

1. It’s quiet: when you have pets, the noise of the vacuum may not be a minor point as pets can get scared easily. A nice benefit of this vacuum is that it generates only a low humming noise, which is considerably lower in decibels than what many of its competitors’ generate. Even Roomba 650 or Bobsweep pet hair plus are considerably louder than this vacuum. You can hear it while it’s operating, but you can easily have a conversation or watch TV while it cleans the floors.

2. It has self-cleaning brush roll: This vacuum is equipped with a self-cleaning roller brush, which helps to keep hair from building up and jamming the machine. This means that you have to do a lot less of maintenance work as the self-grooming system releases any tangled hair.

3. The dustbin: The dustbin has its pros and cons. On the other hand, the dustbin is quite small (only 0,3 liters), which means, you have to empty it more often compared to other vacuums with bigger dirt containers. If you have a pet that sheds a lot, it might be a significant problem. On the other hand, the dustbin is easy to remove and empty without making a mess, so emptying it is a quick maintenance task to perform even if you have to do it often.

4. It has HEPA filters: These are the ones you want to have if you have pets. Read more about them from the next chapter.

5. It performs really well with pet hair: read more details from Performance-section.