We like 360’s S9 Robot Vacuum Cleaner ($549.99) for its smart mapping technology, long battery life, and ability to mop as well as vacuum. We didn’t expect nearly as much from the company’s S5 model considering it costs nearly a third of the price at $199.99, but it pleasantly surprised us. Sure, it doesn’t mop and it isn’t quite as compact for cleaning under low-profile furniture, but it has a large dustbin and reasonably good navigation capabilities for the price. We prefer the $249.99 Wyze Robot Vacuum for its shorter stature and HEPA filter, but the 360 S5 offers plenty to like for $50 less.
Features and Accessories
While the pricey S9 comes with a bunch of accessories, the S5 provides just what’s needed. Apart from the main unit, you get a charging dock, power adapter, cleaning tool, some paperwork, and a set of five universal plugs. Unlike the S9‘s accessories that come thoughtfully packaged and labeled, the S5’s accessories have been thrown together in little plastic bags. Moreover, you don’t get a remote or any spare brushes like you do with S9.
At 7.7 pounds, the S5 is a bit lighter than the 8.5-pound S9, but still feels sturdy. It’s on the large size at 13.9 inches in diameter and 3.9 inches high, making it a bit too tall for some low-profile furniture.
Fairly minimal in terms of controls, the S5 has just two physical buttons on the top. One is responsible for both spot cleaning and sending the vacuum back to its charging dock depending on how long you press it for. The other button activates cleaning, pauses it, and turns the machine on or off when pressed and held for three seconds. Above these buttons is a removable dustbin. At 580ml, it’s quite large, so you almost certainly won’t need to empty it more than once per cleaning session.
There’s also a laser distance sensor on top of the robot, along with four anti-drop sensors and a ToF wall sensor on the side. In addition, there are four anti-collision switches and a recharging sensor that attaches itself to the electrode strips on the charging dock.
As mentioned, the S5 doesn’t come with a remote, but it does offer app connectivity for Android and iOS devices. All you have to do is download the 360 Robot Vacuum Cleaner, register for an account, and follow the steps for pairing it with your S5 (basically you press and hold the two buttons on top of the vacuum for three seconds to enter pairing mode, then select the S5 from the list of available devices). Once the app is connected, you can also set the vacuum up so that you can control it with Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant voice commands.
A Proficient Cleaner
In testing, the S5 demonstrated solid navigation capabilities for the price. It works in a zig-zag motion, stopping right before walls. A pair of main wheels coupled with a univeral wheel ensured smooth movement in every direction. While the S5 did get stuck a few times, it always founds it way out after a few seconds.
Within a few minutes, the S5 had mapped out my bedroom perfectly and moved around seamlessly. It made sure to cover each area a couple of times. In areas that needed more cleaning, I put the machine in spot cleaning mode and it focused on the specified area.
The main brush caught just about everything it passed, with the side brush helping to direct any additional debris toward the main brush. Around 90% of my room was spotless by the end of the first cleaning session—the only debris left was too close to the walls for the robot to get a hold of.
Scheduled cleaning, as the name suggests, is for making the S5 start cleaning automatically at a specific time you enter in the app. In addition, the app lets you create customized cleaning areas by their size and location. You can set up restricted zones to keep the robot away from cables or any other potential obstacles.
You also have the option to select from four cleaning modes, including Max, Powerful, Quiet, and Standard. These differ in terms of suction power, noise level, and battery drainage. The Powerful and Max cleaning modes drain battery the fastest and are the loudest, but clean with up to an impressive 2,200Pa of suction.
Speaking of battery life, the S5 maxes out at just 90 minutes of power according to 360, though in testing it was closer to 75 minutes. Unfortunately, it was difficult to get the robot to automatically dock on the charging pad in testing. After multiple failed attempts, I resorted to placing it on the charger manually.
A Solid Value
The 360 S5 Robot Vacuum Cleaner offers about as much as you’d expect for $199, including good cleaning capabilities, smart navigation, and app control. We wish it had longer battery life and that it was more reliable in docking automatically, but you’re still getting all the basics here for a decent price. That said, if you’re willing to spend $50 more, the Wyze Robot Vacuum lasts a bit longer and has a HEPA filter. And for $299.99, the iRobot Roomba 675 is our Editors’ Choice winner for even better battery life and obstacle avoidance.
