From D-shaped bots to apps with a big 'Just clean it' button – these are the robot vacuum upgrades I want to see in 2026
Robovacs have come a long way in the decade I've been testing them for... but there's still room for improvement.
(Image credit: Future)
Robotic vacuum cleaners and mops are the sort of gadget that seemed like pure science fiction just a generation ago. A self-driving robot dutifully scrubbing at your kitchen floor, then vacuuming the living room and returning to base to empty itself – even a time traveler already comfortable with the internet and email would struggle to get their head around it.
I've been testing robotic vacuums and mops for years now, and tried out my first one a full decade ago. In that time I've seen huge change – and massive price increases too, it must be said. And yet, despite the considerable intelligence and cleaning performance of today's best robot vacuums, there are still plenty of opportunities for improvement. Here's what I'd like to see in 2026…
1. A simpler app experience
I don't want my vacuum cleaner to have a more complex menu system than my car. That isn't to say I want to return to the app-free robovacs of old, with nothing but an "On" button and an uncanny ability to ram every wall, baseboard and table leg.
But I don't want pages and pages of adjustability either. Victims of unrelenting feature-creep, many robovac apps have turned into a bloated mess. Some are littered with questionable translation and desperately need a copywriter, while others confuse configurability with clutter.
[
Click to view full-sized version (Image credit: Eufy / Future)](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/qVeKgN5NJdYrTNuKcY7pvh.jpg)
Would you like the robot to wash its mop every 19 minutes, or perhaps every 23 minutes? Should it dry the mops for two, three or four hours? I'd rather the manufacturer tell me what's best and be done with it. Better still, use a sensor and get the bot to work it out for itself.
Keep the configurability if you must, but please give me the option to hide it all and just tap a big "Clean" button instead.
2. More reliable obstacle avoidance
This is, quite literally, a hit-and-miss topic among the robotic vacuums I've tested in 2025. Seemingly regardless of price, some dodge obstacles with balletic precision while others get tangled up in cables, push chairs around as if expecting guests, and snack on discarded shoes like a hungry Labrador.
Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.
Joking aside, it's frustrating to see even four-figure vacuums bash into doors, walls and baseboards, seemingly feeling their way around instead of using their clever LiDAR sensors and AI-driven vision tech. I'm hoping for smarter, more confident navigation from robovacs in 2026, and an improved ability to clean around obstacles and work their way out of dead-ends.
