Shark AV2501S AI Robot Vacuum

We bought this during the 2024 Black Friday sales event. We previously owned a model from a different maker, but that one was a simple "bump" style that we had tired of over the last couple years. We wanted to try a smarter type that could also self-clean, so when this popped up on offer we took a chance and bought it. We have three large dogs that constantly shed, as well as two cats; all are inside pets. We have hardwood floors throughout the house except for the bedrooms, so the plan was for this little guy to handle the hardwood floors while we vacuum the carpets with a standard vacuum cleaner. I haven't had the chance to do an actual mapping run of the house because we are still in the process of moving in and there are boxes and other items in various areas that haven't been put away. I've only let the little fella roam on his own without mapping, but I hope to have everything put away (or mostly put away) by the end of the year. So far our little robot has done a great job on the hardwood floors. He picks up way more than the other robot vacuum ever did. It's amazing to watch it dock and empty itself into the base station, then get back to work all on its own. One great feature is how it cleans the brush roller. I'm not sure how it does it, but it does a great job. It does leave some hairs behind on the roller right in the middle when the metal support lies on the brush cover, as well as at the edges of the brush where it attaches to the motor. I wasn't surprise by that and it should be expected since those areas aren't easy to access without removing the cover and brush roll from the machine. The hairs came off super easy by hand, though. It was far easier to remove them than with the other vacuum robot we owned. The base station holding tank would probably last 30 days in houses without pets, or with one small pet; however, with our 5 pets it filled up within a few days of running 1-2 times per day. I checked it after about 6-8 days of running and it was quite full. It might have been able to run for another day or two (maybe longer), but I didn't want to risk it and was already heading to the rubbish bin anyway, so I went ahead and emptied it. The one frustrating thing I've found so far is the tall foam filter in the base dumps dirt out when you lift it out to clean it. I discovered that when I was emptying the base for the first time and decided to pull that out to give it a quick clean. Fine dirt just kept dropping out of it while I walked to the front door, leaving a trail of dirt behind. Now I know to only remove that when either outside or above the trash, both of which require lifting the base and taking it somewhere else. I can live with that slight inconvenience since the robot does so much work for me otherwise. Overall I am very pleased with the purchase. I suppose there are more expensive options out there, but this one is fine for our needs. I MIGHT update this review once I have the little guy map the house and start doing fully automated runs.