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Roborock Q5 Professional+: two-minute evaluate
Product information
For this evaluate, I examined the Q5 Professional+, which has a self-empty dock. There’s additionally a less expensive Q5 Professional, which is identical bot however with a charge-only dock.
The Roborock Q5 Professional+ is an reasonably priced robotic vacuum that delivers robust vacuuming efficiency with one main trade-off – poor mopping. Regardless of having a barely decrease 5,500Pa of suction energy, on check I discovered it excelled at choosing up dust and dirt, particularly on carpets – maybe because of the twin rubber curler brushes borrowed from Roborock’s higher-end fashions. It additionally dealt with the copious quantities of pet hair in my house extraordinarily properly. If you do not have a great deal of money to splash and your precedence is vacuuming, this could possibly be the best robot vacuum for you.
This mannequin makes use of LiDAR-based navigation, which permits for exact mapping and environment friendly cleansing paths. Its impediment avoidance is somewhat primary, although, so it is one to keep away from when you usually have a number of litter in your flooring. Different standout options embody the additional massive 2.5-liter bag in its compact however environment friendly dock, and an excellent, intuitive app.
Whereas the Q5 Professional+ performs admirably properly at vacuuming flooring of all kinds, its mopping system is solely comprised of a static mop pad with no mop-cleaning services of any type. Therefore, its mopping efficiency could be very underwhelming when in comparison with a lot of the competitors, together with a lot of its personal, admittedly dearer, Roborock stablemates.
When you do not want mopping, nevertheless, this could possibly be a superb purchase. It is barely older now and reductions are simple to return by, taking the Q5 Professional into the finances worth bracket and delivering robust worth for cash. It isn’t the newest and best mannequin, but it surely delivers robust vacuuming efficiency, sensible navigation and minimal dust-emptying upkeep. I might embody it amongst the best cheap robot vacuums round and the best robot vacuums for pet hair when you’re on a finances.
That is the quick model; learn on for my full Roborock Q5 Professional+ evaluate.
Roborock Q5 Professional+ evaluate: worth & availability
- Checklist worth: $699.99 / £499.99 / AU$999
- Launch date: October 2023
- Availability: US, UK, AU (out of inventory)
The Q5 Professional line was first introduced at IFA 2023, and launched in October 2023. As of writing, the Q5 Professional+ with auto dustbin is out there on the US Roborock web site at a listing worth of $699.99, however diminished to $359.99. On the UK Roborock web site, it is £499.99 all the way down to £349.99. In Australia, when you go direct to Roborock the Q5 Professional+ prices AU$999, diminished to AU$799 however out of inventory at time of writing. The Q5 Professional+ may also be bought by way of Amazon, though at time of writing it was out of inventory in each the US and UK.
When you do not want the self-empty dock, you’ll be able to go for the Roborock Q5 Professional, which is identical mannequin however simply with a primary, charge-only dock. That prices $429.99 (diminished to $179.99) or £299 (all the way down to £199.99). In Australia it is solely out there by way of third occasion retailers, however has a listing worth of AU$899.
At TechRadar, a robotic vacuum underneath $500 / £400 is taken into account a finances mannequin. At full worth, the Professional+ mannequin is mid-range, but it surely’s at the moment broadly discounted into the finances bracket. The Professional model is a finances mannequin even at record worth, and actually very low-cost when you can snag a reduction. If vacuuming is your precedence, then it is properly value contemplating.
If mopping is a precedence, then it will not be such a superb decide, although. During which case, maybe go for the sooner high-end Roborock S7 Max Ultra mannequin – which encompasses a absolutely functioning mop system with self cleansing means, and could be picked up for round $799.99 / £500 (though at record worth it is dearer),
Buyers within the UK must also take a look at the wonderful Xiaomi X20+, which retails for a ridiculously low worth of £299, and is the very best low-cost robovac I’ve examined.
A fast notice on availability. Given the speed of recent releases within the robotic vacuum world, the Q5 Professional and Professional+ are actually thought of barely older fashions. That, mixed with widespread reductions and a few lack of availability makes me assume that perhaps this line could also be discontinued within the not-too-distant future.
- Worth for cash rating: 4 out of 5
Roborock Q5 Professional+ specs
|
Max suction: |
5,000 Pa |
|
Robotic dimension (L x W): |
13.8 x 13.9″ / 35 x 35.3cm |
|
Robotic peak: |
3.8″ / 9.7cm |
|
Dock dimensions (H x W x D): |
17.6 x 12 x 17.3″ / 44.8 x 30.5 x 44cm |
|
Mud bin quantity (robotic): |
0.8L |
|
Mud bin quantity (base): |
2.5L |
|
Water tank quantity (robotic): |
0.2L |
|
Base kind: |
Cost, self-empty mud |
|
Max noise: |
67 dB |
Roborock Q5 Professional+ evaluate: design
- Glorious dual-roller vacuum system
- Nice dock with additional massive mud bag
- Disappointing mop pad
As a lot as I are inclined to gravitate in direction of Roborock as my model of selection in terms of robotic vacuum cleaners, I am additionally startled by the variety of totally different fashions – 21 and counting – that the revolutionary Chinese language producer has launched in simply the previous 12 months alone (at time of writing in March 2025). It is laborious sufficient as reviewer of those little house helpers to distinguish between one mannequin and the subsequent, so I can solely think about the confusion it should trigger for potential consumers who do not know something about all these fashions’ respective suction energy ranges, navigation and impediment avoidance techniques, and their numerous mopping features.
What I’ll say is that, although it is not essentially the very best within the Roborock vary, when you’re on a decent finances and want to leap onto the Roborock bandwagon, the minimalistic Q5 Professional collection is an effective place to begin. Accessible in two variants – the Professional+ I am reviewing right here with self-emptying dock and the usual Professional with no dock – the Roborock Q5 Professional+ is among the lowest priced Roborock collection at the moment in the marketplace.
Robotic design
Let’s check out the robotic itself. At 35 x 35.3 x 9.7cm it is about the identical width as most robotic vacs although, at a shade underneath 9.7cm, it is also one of many tallest, which suggests it will not have the ability to enterprise beneath some furnishings like its ultra-low stablemates, the Saros 10 and Saros 10R. Within the pantheon of robotic vacs, this one’s not a foul looker, although its ribbed high and black plastic does entice mud immediately. Like inside seconds.
Like so many robotic vacs today, the Q5 Professional makes use of LDS (Laser Distance Sensor) LiDAR and which means the Q5 Professional will shortly map a house – normally in a matter of minutes – and current its flooring plan in nice element on the accompanying Roborock app. LiDAR-equipped robots are glorious at common navigation – even in whole darkness – and can virtually at all times discover their method again to their docks the very first time you utilize them, not like old school camera-only fashions that do not know the place they’re half the time (here is extra on how robot vacuums navigate, when you’re ).
This mannequin is not fitted with a front-facing digicam, so impediment avoidance of any merchandise underneath round 4 inches in peak will endure. As a substitute, it makes use of its LiDAR and a bump sensor to assist it keep away from bigger obstacles and furnishings. Whereas there’s a sensor on the entrance, it is solely used for navigation again to the dock.
Like all robovacs, the Q5 professional additionally comes with 4 under-body cliff sensors to stop it tumbling down a flight of stairs (it’s also possible to set a digital barrier within the app for additional peace of thoughts). The highest a part of the unit is accomplished with three instant-access buttons for some guide management – dock, begin/cease and spot clear.
This mannequin is fitted with Roborock’s very efficient Duo Curler rubber rollers for environment friendly pickup of carpet and laborious flooring particles, together with the compulsory mounted spinning aspect brush for sweeping matter from corners of the room into the trail of the suction funnel. And talking of suction, this mannequin is rated at 5,500Pa which is so much decrease than some Roborock flagship fashions which boast as much as 22,000Pa.
Nonetheless, as you will see in my checks beneath, its decrease suction energy would not impinge on the bot’s means to hoover in addition to the perfect, particularly contemplating the lower cost level. This mannequin would not characteristic an ultrasonic carpet sensor, and whereas the blurb does say it has carpet increase by default, I have never heard something from the motor to counsel it does.
One particularly helpful asset right here is the inclusion of a larger-than-average 770ml inside bin for the robotic – most others are round 270ml – and which means it would fortunately deal with pet hair on a grand scale earlier than it trundles again to the dock to have all of it emptied robotically into the dock’s additionally larger-than-average 2.5-litre mud bag. However extra on that beneath.
In case you have an enormous house and are fascinated with battery specs, you will be happy to know that the Q5 Professional comes with a 5200mAh battery – the identical as fitted to a few of Roborock’s earlier flagship fashions. This battery boasts a operating time of as much as 180 minutes, which is greater than sufficient juice for a big flooring plan.
Lastly we come to this mannequin’s Achilles Heel – the dreadful moping system. Now I am typically no fan of any robotic with a mopping system and I do know I am not the one one. However, hey, the powers that be have determined that that’s what most individuals need so all producers proceed to make high-end robots with mopping techniques when all a few of us need is a extremely environment friendly vacuum-only system with a whopping 5-litre mud bag as an alternative of the house within the dock being consumed by two massive water containers. However what do I do know?
Picture 1 of 2
So, what’s so unhealthy about this mannequin’s mop? Nicely it is a easy 35cm static pad for a begin and, worse, it is not actually pushed down laborious sufficient towards the ground by the burden of the robotic, which suggests poor contact and protection. Additionally, since there aren’t any water tanks within the dock, you’ll have to fill a tiny 180ml water tank above the mopping pad and choose two ranges of moisture – so much and somewhat. By the way, this mop doesn’t increase robotically when traversing carpet so tread rigorously if in case you have loads of rugs en path to the laborious flooring. You may learn all in regards to the efficiency of this mop within the, er, Performance chapter beneath, however suffice to say I wasn’t impressed.
Dock design
The Q5 Professional+’s dock is a good bonus because it options an additional massive 2.5-liter mud bag the place most different bots can solely handle round two liters. And since there aren’t any water tanks to accommodate, the dock itself is barely round 45cm in peak, a svelte 30cm in width and 44cm in depth, which suggests it will not take up very a lot flooring house.
The ribbed design of the dock’s entrance fascia is harking back to a few of iRobot’s newer choices and it is no shabby looker, particularly when in comparison with a few of the tasteless designs I’ve just lately seen. Nonetheless, I am not too enamoured of the cheap-feeling lid one has to carry to entry the dock’s mud bag. Additionally, setting the dock up is not fairly as simple as most fashions since you will have to assemble the dock through the use of the equipped Allen key (underneath the platform) to connect it to the bin housing.
- Design rating: 3.5 out of 5
Roborock Q5 Professional+ evaluate: efficiency
- Glorious vacuum efficiency
- Robust navigation however rudimentary impediment avoidance
- Very poor mopping
Let’s check out the Roborock Q5 Professional+’s efficiency. It is a bit of a combined bag right here, so I’ve damaged this part up into navigation, vacuuming and mopping so it is clear the place this bot’s strengths and weaknesses are.
Navigation efficiency
All Roborocks navigate areas extraordinarily properly and this mannequin isn’t any totally different. No it would not have the bells-and-whistles multi-point LiDAR navigation of the brand new Roborock Saros 10R, but it surely managed simply effective in my open-plan house. Put one other method, throughout my evaluate interval it by no means as soon as bought misplaced or discovered itself trapped underneath furnishings. I am not promising that’ll by no means occur sooner or later – it is a robotic in spite of everything – but it surely’s a powerful begin.
Roborock makes use of one thing known as Adaptive Route Algorithms for the Q5 Professional’s navigation system and this implies it would clear flooring in a logical, linear method relatively than randomly like most digicam only-based fashions.
Crucially, that is one other a type of fashionable bots that did not appear to have any hassle traversing my rugs, even these of the free, skinny selection. And that is at all times a significant bonus for my part.
This mannequin could be described as merely enough in terms of impediment avoidance, so it is best suited to houses which are typically freed from small gadgets like free socks, Lego bricks and cellphone cables. If this describes your house, you’d be higher off spending much more on a higher-end mannequin – or keep away from a robotic altogether.
The Q5 professional makes use of very primary touch-and-run avoidance. This implies it could gently push some bigger gadgets out of the best way whereas dodging others. There is no rhyme or motive to its thought processes when confronted with obstacles however, based on my checks, it did not appear to see any gadgets lower than round 4 inches in peak. Consequently, it gamely ploughed over the small nylon canine bone that has equally caught out many different robotic vacs and pushed some smaller canine toys that different fashions have averted.
Vacuum efficiency
Vacuum cleansing of each laborious flooring and carpet is the place this mannequin actually shines. However then that does not shock me as a result of only a few Roborocks fail to impress on this regard.
Picture 1 of 2
Take a look at one came about on my kitchen flooring with a buffet of various elements – a handful of orzo pasta, a crushed Hob Nob, half a teaspoon of brown sugar, a big pinch of flour and a scattering of cornflakes (I might normally additionally embody some oats, however I ate them). Anyway, I set the unit to Max (one beneath full energy) and chosen two passes.
The outcomes have been glorious; certainly, pretty much as good as a lot of Roborock’s high-end bots. Sure, there was some severe snow ploughing of elements (my unhealthy for including so many) however every thing was ultimately sucked up with no traces of any remnants. High marks.
Picture 1 of 2
I then replicated the check on a medium-pile carpet rug utilizing the app’s Zone possibility and set the vacuum energy to Max+ (its highest setting) plus two passes for good measure. I anticipated poorer efficiency for this check however was pleasantly stunned to see it accumulate the overwhelming majority of the particles in a single cross. It then got here again on itself and picked up the remainder. And only for good measure, it then proceeded to run over the identical part horizontally till completely nothing remained. I name {that a} success.
Except for the above checks, I additionally had the Q5 Professional operating over a 5 day interval and famous how properly it collected all of the hair shed by my two canines and three cats. The beauty of this mannequin is that it has a a lot bigger inside bin than the vast majority of different robotic vacs. It is a large bonus in terms of amassing pet hair – not as a result of it could cram extra in throughout a mean cleansing session, however due to the additional house within the bin which prevents bundling and compression when robotically emptying on the dock.
Many robotic vacs I’ve examined have sometimes had points throughout self emptying, the place massive clumps of hair grow to be trapped within the outlet of the robotic’s bin and across the consumption to the dock’s mud bag. These points are simply mounted however are additionally an inconvenience. Therefore, if I am in the identical room because the dock, I at all times hear for the tell-tale ‘woomph’ sound because the hair is sucked into the dock. Actually, I’ve additionally grow to be accustomed to the tone of the motor fan throughout emptying so I can normally inform if there is a blockage challenge.
Mopping efficiency
Briefly, there’s nothing Professional about this robotic’s mopping system. Actually, I am unsure why Roborock even thought of a mopping system like this these days, as a result of it’s fairly woeful at mopping up something aside from the very high layer of mud and a few very mild soiling. Worse, the mop can not carry itself off the ground when crossing carpets so that you would wish to take away all rugs whereas in transit.
To arrange the mopping system you could fill the small 180ml water tank – ideally with scorching water – and slide the swap underneath the mop pad to your most well-liked selection of wetness (I selected the decrease quantity since I’ve engineered wood flooring). Now wait a couple of minutes whereas the water saturates the mop and set it off on its method. Because the app would not present an possibility for mopping, you principally set the robotic to do a typical vacuum and the mop pad merely drags alongside the ground.
In my check, the pad left much more moisture on the ground than different mopping fashions I’ve tried and, as a result of a few of my flooring’s wood planks are fractionally bowed, the water was deposited as a collection of stripes. Sure, it type of mopped the ground as evidenced by the dirtiness of the mop however, actually, that is no substitute for some correct elbow grease. Worse, it’s important to take away the mop pad when completed and clear it underneath a scorching faucet. That is simply an excessive amount of work for me.
Personally, I would not trouble utilizing this mannequin as a moist mop. As a substitute I might advise leaving the dry pad connected when sending the bot out on a vacuum run. It will merely drag behind, amassing any remnants of mud whereas giving your laborious flooring a polish of types.
Alternatively, when you do not assume you want a mop, maybe take into account the non-mopping Q5 Max+, which is finally a greater general selection for the cash. And in case your robotic merely will need to have a mop connected, take into account one thing just like the Roborock S7 Max Extremely which, whereas dearer, is method higher at moist mopping laborious flooring.
Dock efficiency
I have been very impressed with the efficiency of this dock. For a begin, it is bought a a lot bigger mud bag than most different fashions (2.5-litres) and a reassuringly loud suction course of that by no means did not take away all contents from the robotic’s larger-than-average bin, even when crammed with pet hair. I additionally love its unobtrusively small dimension, which makes it completely suited to location in a front room if house is a matter.
Picture 1 of 3
It isn’t as fully-featured as you’d discover on pricier fashions – as mentioned, there aren’t any water tanks, not to mention mop pad cleansing – however as a dust-emptying dock it is glorious. Regardless of some cheapness within the high quality of the lift-off mud bag lid, I give this dock near high marks.
- Efficiency rating: 3.5 out of 5
Roborock Q5 Professional+ evaluate: app
- Intuitive and simple to arrange
- Function crammed
- Not all setting choices out there
The Roborock app is important for maximizing the Q5 Professional+’s potential. Setup is simple and the interface is clear and really intuitive. It additionally comes with tons of choices, although some could also be lacking for this specific mannequin of robotic vac.
Normally, you are supplied with a good vary of parameters, together with real-time mapping, cleansing schedules, zone customization, routine settings and numerous customized choices relating to how the robotic and dock behave throughout any cleansing session. I significantly appreciated the ‘no-go zones’ for preserving the vacuum away from delicate areas and the best way you’ll be able to view your house in 3D. I additionally love the best way you’ll be able to set its voice notifications to your particular language and, if residing within the UK, even select a British accent.
Must you purchase the Roborock Q5 Professional+?
|
Attribute |
Notes |
Ranking |
|---|---|---|
|
Worth |
One in every of Roborock’s most cost-effective choices, and robust worth offered mopping is not your precedence. |
4/5 |
|
Design |
Nice vacuum and dock design let down by a poorly-conceived mopping system. |
3.5/5 |
|
Efficiency |
Glorious vacuum efficiency and mapping, however spoiled by terrible mopping and sub-par impediment avoidance. |
3.5/5 |
|
App |
Far and away essentially the most achieved app within the enterprise, though not all performance out there with this mannequin. |
4/5 |
Purchase it if…
Do not buy it if…
How I examined the Roborock Q5 Professional+
I let the Roborock Q5 Professional+ free on my open-plan flooring and noticed its conduct over a five-day interval. I then ran a collection of intensive checks to see how properly it vacuumed each laborious flooring and carpet, which it handed with flying colors. I additionally tried out its impediment avoidance utilizing a wide range of gadgets, together with small and huge canine toys. I then put its mop to the check, figuring out full properly that it will be a sub-par performer just by it. And I used to be proper.
Learn extra about how we test robot vacuum cleaners
- First reviewed March 2025