The Shark AV2501S AI Ultra Robot Vacuum is a self-emptying robot vac built around Shark’s powerful suction, 360-degree LiDAR navigation, and a base that holds up to 30 days of dirt and debris before you need to empty it. It runs on Matrix Clean Navigation, which sends the robot over your floors in a grid pattern with multiple passes instead of random paths, so you’re less likely to end up with missed spots in the middle of a room. The self-empty base uses true HEPA filtration to trap 99.97 percent of dust and allergens down to 0.3 microns, which helps if anyone in the house has allergies or you’ve got pets shedding regularly.
An efficient robot vacuum with a variety of helpful features
The AV2501S automatically handles both hard floors and carpets, so it can move from tile to area rugs without you having to swap modes or follow it around. A self-cleaning brushroll is built into the underside, which keeps long hair from wrapping around the roller and choking the motor, which is a common failure point on cheaper robot vacs. For homes with dogs or long-haired cats, that alone can add years of life to the machine.
The robot’s navigation is performed using a 360-degree LiDAR. The LiDAR uses a spinning laser sensor at the top of the robot to create a map of its surroundings as it travels around the space. After three passes around your house, the vacuum will have built an extremely detailed map of your home. The robot also has sensors that detect obstacles such as chair legs and cords. You may designate no-go areas, identify the room you wish to clean using the SharkClean app, and initiate cleaning on demand.
UltraClean mode is another feature worth highlighting on the AV2501S. Trigger it from the app and the Shark will make two full passes over a target area, once back and forth and once side to side, for a more thorough clean on rooms that get a lot of traffic.
The battery of this vacuum lasts approximately 120 minutes after a full charge. This should be sufficient time to clean most single-story homes. In addition, if the vacuum loses power while still working through a cleaning cycle, the Recharge and Resume function sends it to recharge at its docking station, and when it is complete, the vacuum returns to where it was interrupted and continues cleaning.
Knocking $280 off the Shark AV2501S AI Ultra Robot Vacuum brings it to $270 from the usual $550, which is about half price on a robot vac with this feature set, and a great deal for anyone wanting to reduce the time they spend cleaning their floors.