Hands-on with the Roborock H6
Hands-on with the Roborock H6 IBTimes / Jeff Li

Whenever you see a product where its design is obviously inspired by another, iconic design, usually two reactions come to mind: First, it must be a cheap knock-off, and second it must have a subpar quality and performance. In the case of the Xiaomi backed Roborock H6 versus the Dyson V10, neither reactions were valid, and we spent an entire 120 day test period to prove it.

Read on for our very extended hands-on review with the Roborock H6.

Our Hands-on Testing Conditions

The Roborock H6 is a perfect little cordless vacuum cleaner for a smaller office, and we went ahead and incorporated it into our 108 square meter (1162 square feet) office's weekly cleaning routine. The H6 is used at least twice a week for a full sweep of the office, and since we have a lunch room, it has to handle some daily food scraps pickups on top of the periodic cleaning.

When not used, the H6 lives in its cradle and is kept charged throughout the day.

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Premium Build Handheld Vacuum Cleaner

When unboxing the Roborock H6. you're immediately face-to-face with something that is obviously not a cheap knock-off. What you get is quality, well designed and built hardware that for all practical purposes rivals that of Dyson V10.

After 120 days of use, we're happy to report that none of the components have experienced any sort of breakdown, or even show much wear and tear - a testament to a premium quality build that endures the test of time.

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Dock and accessories included

Included with the H6 is the main unit itself, the motorized carpet brush, mini-motorized brush, a flex tube as well as the crevice and dusting brush. What's more, the package includes a cradle that can be screwed onto a wall which docks and charges the main unit, as well as provide storage for all the accessories. The dock keeps the whole package neat and tidy, while minimizing the likelihood of losing accessories.

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AI controlled suction power

Being a company that has robotic vacuums as their staple product, it's not a surprise that Roborock incorporates its AI technology into its handheld vacuum as well.

An interesting user experience with the H6 is that throughout its operation, the machine will determine the suction strength to match the type of floor it's going over; the more resistance for the motorized head (i.e. carpet) the higher the suction power becomes.

Market leading Battery life

The suction power directly impacts the battery life on the H6, and on the low-pile office carpet, the operation time on a single charge is usually just under 60 minutes. Which is enough for our medium sized 108 square meter workspace that usually takes 30 minutes to thoroughly vacuum.

The H6 is officially rated for 90 minutes - which is market leading, but the time is achieved by using the lowest suction setting and without it's motorized head. On the other end of the spectrum, vacuuming at full power with the motorized head, the battery will be quickly spent in as short as 10 minutes. This is why the delicate balance between battery life and performance is crucial, and is achieved through the onboard AI system.

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OLED Display of Battery life and Suction Mode

The AI control is great, but what's even better is that the H6 doesn't leave the user in the dark on what it's doing. With a simple but functional OLED display window near the handgrip, the battery life is always displayed as a countdown in minutes, as well showing the current suction mode. These are extremely helpful stats to have during the vacuuming session as you can always see how much time you have left before the battery runs out, and won't be caught out with a stalling vacuum cleaner.

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Five stages of HEPA filtering

Once taking the Roborock H6 dustbin apart, it's surprising how extensive its layers of filtration are. Other than the 'cyclone' dustbin which constitutes as two layers that deals with trapping the larger particles, there are three more layers of filters that the air passes through before exhausting out from the top.

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One design the H6 differs from Dyson is the large particle filter in the dust bin being made of stainless steel instead of plastic. One reason for this is that all five layers of filters are designed to be washed by water - a practice recommended by Roborock itself. This is quite a contrast from Dyson's approach, which only recommends the washing of the removable filter, leading many users to resort to online DIY guides to give their vacuum a satisfying deep clean.

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Product life longevity and performance deterioration over time?

For me, when I buy gadgets that are not from a top brand, there is always this worry in the back of my mind that even if it works well in the beginning, it wouldn't last and would deteriorate over time. That is why our team chose to review the H6 for more than 120 days, to prove to ourselves and to our readers that though Roborock is not yet a household name, that it is also not just another generic, unknown brand out there that makes subpar products that won't last.

I can honestly say that after using the Roborock H6 almost everyday for the last 120 days in the office, other than a single occurrence of the motorized head refusing to operate - which fixed itself on the next day, I have not had any problem with the H6. Furthermore, the battery life and suction strength, as far as I can tell, has not deteriorated from the day I first started using it. The H6 has the reliability of a mainstream product from a trusted brand.

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Final Verdict

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So, is the Roborock H6 a worthy contender of the Dyson V10? Considering it's tried and tested reliability in our extensive test, on-par or even superior functionality, it is definitely a vacuum cleaner that is worth considering for your office space or home.

Furthermore, by March 2021 Roborock is offering a 15% discount which makes the H6 a whopping 50% cheaper than the V11, and 40% cheaper than the V10 according to their official online store prices. The vast price difference makes the Roborock H6 an easy handheld vacuum cleaner to recommend, we're pinning it with the IBTimes 'Great Deal' badge.

Sam is a production engineer turned tech writer who specializes in seeking out gadgets that enhances productivity while still looking sharp. This is a contribution to an ongoing IBTimes review series on gadgets for Home Productivity.