Roborock S6 MaxV vs. Ecovacs Deebot OZMO T8 AIVI: Which should you buy?

Ecovacs Deebot OZMO T8 AIVI

The Deebot OZMO T8 AIVI is a smart vacuum that learns to recognize items in your home. The camera and powerful suction allow the unit to avoid obstacles while truly cleaning your floors. It's also a great choice for pet homes as it sucks up plenty of fur, dust, and dry pet food along the way. You can even use the app to access the vacuum's camera and monitor your home.

Roborock S6 MaxV

The Roborock S6 MaxV is a powerful cleaner that can detect objects and then plan a path around them thanks to its dual camera. It has an impressive run time and is super easy to clean. It's also a great unit for pet homes since it does an excellent job of sucking up kitty litter, fur, and dry pet food.

Both Roborock and Ecovacs are reputable companies that make some of the best robot vacuums, so it comes as no surprise that these are both quality robot vacuums. Unlike most other robot maids out there, these two include cameras, along with software that helps them detect and avoid obstacles. Both offer mopping, mapping, no-go zones, room cleaning, and they both leave perfect back and forth lines on your carpet. If that wasn't enough, they both do an excellent job of picking up after my messy cat and dog.

While both devices really are amazing cleaners, I've found that the Ecovacs Deebot OZMO T8 AIVI just barely beats out the Roborock S6 MaxV when it comes to performance and total functions.

ECOVACS T8 AIVI vs Roborock S6 MaxV The specs

ECOVACS T8 AIVI vs Roborock S6 MaxV The differences

While the Ecovacs costs $50 more than the Roborock, they're both over $700, so the price difference is negligible. Truth be told, these two vacuums operated very similarly when it came to object detection and avoidance. However, there are a few stark differences in regard to how well the devices cleaned and how many features they offered. Here are the biggest differences between the two units.

Side brushes, dustbins, and water tanks

The Ecovacs Deebot OZMO T8 AIVI has two wire sides brushes, one on either side of the main brush, which helps it guide debris and dust to the main brush. The Roborock S6 MaxV, on the other hand, only has one rubber side brush on the unit's right side. After cleaning sessions, the Ecovacs would come back with more debris in the dustbin than the Roborock regardless of whether I ran the Roborock before or after the Ecovacs. I'm pretty sure that the dual side brushes had something to do with that.

The Roborock S6 MaxV, meanwhile, has both a larger water tank and a slightly larger dustbin, which means it can go a little further cleaning your home before it needs you to interact with it. However, the Ecovacs Deebot OZMO T8 AIVI still has a very respectably-sized dustbin and water tank, so this isn't a dealbreaker by any stretch. As mentioned before, the Ecovacs usually came back with more junk in the bin after cleaning sessions, which is really what matters in this situation.

Object detection and avoidance

Roborock S6 MaxV navigating around a shoe during testing.

The Roborock S6 MaxV uses a dual camera, with the idea that this helps the unit better understand depth perception, while the Ecovacs Deebot OZMO T8 AIVI employs a single camera. Despite this difference, the two operated relatively the same when detecting and avoiding objects in their path. I will say that neither unit was perfect.

Sometimes they bulldozed into my corgi's dog toys or got caught on cables or some other object in my house. However, when it came to larger things like shoes, tissue boxes, and furniture, the units both did a wonderful job of detecting the object and then finding an alternate route around it, although they sometimes nudged the object slightly and repositioned it in the process. Since they both adapt and learn over time, they both became better at recognizing obstacles as the days passed.

Roborock states that its vacuum can see and avoid any obstacles that are larger than 5 centimeters (2 inches) wide and 3 centimeters (1.1 inches) tall. While that covers most objects found in a home, it doesn't cover small toys like LEGO or smaller action figures. Ecovacs doesn't specify the size of objects that the OZMO T8 AIVI can identify, but the performance between the two was similar enough that we can say this difference is fairly irrelevant. In both cases, very small objects can still get run over.

Camera functions

One of the biggest differences between the two units is that the Deebot allows you to use the app to control the vacuum while viewing the camera feed. The MaxV didn't have this feature at first, but Roborock has since rolled out an app update that does allow users to access remote viewing. This basically turns the Deebot OZMO T8 AIVI and the Roborock MaxV into a home monitoring device. In the Deebot OZMO T8 AIVI's case, it can even work as a pet camera thanks to the microphone feature. Press down on the microphone button and anything you say will get repeated by the vacuum's speakers. That way you can use the Deebot to tell your dog just how good of a boy he is or check up on your mischievous cat even when you're away from home.

In addition to using the Deebot as a pet cam, you can use it to check around your house when you're on vacation just to make sure that everything is OK while you're away. That microphone we mentioned before might just help you scare off any would-be thieves that are in your home. This makes the Deebot's app abilities stand out quite a bit from the Roborock's.

Privacy concerns & camera covers

I honestly felt uncomfortable at times during cleaning sessions when either unit would come into my room and point the camera at me. Roborock addresses this concern by explaining that "images captured by ReactiveAI cameras are processed onboard and immediately deleted." Still, I'm not entirely sure how hard it would be for someone to hack into the vacuum and route the camera feed to the internet.

As mentioned before, Ecovacs embraces the camera and makes it possible for app users to view the camera feed. However, this also means that if someone were to hack into your account they could easily view that same feed or control the vacuum and spy around your home. Definitely an unsettling thought.

To address this issue, Ecovacs includes a permanent camera cover adhesive that completely blocks the camera. However, this seems like a strange afterthought rather than a solution to the problem. You'd purchase one of the less expensive vacuums if you didn't want to use the camera.

Both Roborock and Ecovacs should have included a slideable camera cover of some kind that you could manually put in place whenever the unit wasn't supposed to be running. Since this isn't the case, both devices are equally lacking.

Maintenance & brush cleaning

Source: Rebecca Spear / Android CentralEcovacs on the left, Roborock on the right.

These pictures show what the S6 MaxV and the Deebot OZMO T8 AIVI looked like after they'd been running every weekday straight for three weeks. As you can see, something about the S6 MaxV's casing attracts a whole lot more dirt and pet fur than the Deebot OZMO T8 AIVI. On top of that, the S6 MaxV's glossy casing makes it easy to leave smudges and markings on the unit. This made me feel like I needed to regularly clean the top of the S6 MaxV. In comparison, I never felt compelled to clean the Deebot OZMO T8 AIVI's casing since it never looked as bad.

The main brushes and side brushes on both units are very easy to clean. Since both units provide a brush-cleaning tool that's part razor and part brush, it's very easy to cut away any hair or wipe away any fuzzies that get stuck to either of the vacuums' brushes.

Additionally, the Roborock app and the Ecovacs app both help you know when you need to clean or replace various parts of the vacuum. For instance, they both let you know about how much time you have left before needing to wash the filter or attach replacement side brushes. One difference here is that the Roborock also lets you know when you need to clean the sensors, which the Ecovacs doesn't tell you to do. As far as the apps go, both companies offer very intuitive interfaces with plenty of controls that can help you set up the perfect cleaning settings and schedule for your home.

ECOVACS T8 AIVI vs Roborock S6 MaxV Bottom line

Ecovac Deebot OZMO T8 AIVI navigating around a shoe during testing.

These are both really impressive vacuums that can learn to detect familiar objects like shoes, large power strips, bathroom scales, and even pet droppings. I was able to trust these units much more than I can with many other robot vacuums I've tested. This, in turn, allowed me to relax more whenever my house was being cleaned. What's more, they're both magnificent cleaners that will help keep your floors clean of pet fur, dirt, and small debris. However, since the Ecovac Deebot OZMO T8 AIVI was designed to also function as a pet camera, the Ecovac comes out ahead. You can use the vacuum to check on your home while on vacation or to chat with your pets while at work.

The Deebot offers powerful suction and mopping to truly leave your floors clean after each session. You will still need to clean up a bit before starting the unit to prevent it from sucking up things it shouldn't, but you won't have to babysit it like you have to with some other devices out there. This really is a great robot vacuum for any home.

Even though it didn't win this showdown, the Roborock S6 MaxV is still a great option, especially if you want the newest on the market.