Ezviz RS20 Max review: a powerful £500 robot vacuum with unique mop tech

In the impressive world of flagship robot vacuums, innovation has been a bit slow recently. Most premium devices now have a wet mopping function, with spinning mop heads that can be washed at the base.

LiDar is a common feature, anti-tangle technology usually shows up in some form and, of course, they empty and fill their own waste containers.

It leaves you with a tricky decision to make if you do want to invest in the best robot vacuums in the market, and the huge discounts offered by some brands make it all the more testing.

I've spent several weeks testing the Ezviz RS20 Max, and it's priced currently at £499 (if you can catch a deal on Amazon) and that makes it a contender in the battle for the high-spec household robots.

It's a big unit. Not only is the robot itself a fair size, but the base station is a monster - it has two water tanks; one for dirty and one for clean, and then a large waste bin.

The main reason for its size, though, is its clever mop-washing and drying system. Sure, the likes of Eufy fit a mop-washing station into a smaller base, but the Ezviz RS20 Max has a trick up its sleeve. Unlike pretty much any other robot vacuum on the market, the RS20 Max can shed its two mop heads, and leave them in the base.

This means there's no soggy fabric being dragged behind it. That's never a problem on hard surfaces because they're always lifted away, but it's always been an issue for people with a mix of carpet and hard floors. You'll know what I mean if you've ever seen soggy patches on the edge of a rug.

It's such a simple idea, but brilliantly executed by Ezviz, and it's one of two key innovations in the RS20 Max.

Another clever feature that's rarely seen is access to the on-board camera. Through the accompanying app, you can send the robot out on its travels and watch where it's going in real time.

The use case for this is impressive. It effectively turns your robot into a home security system. Paranoid about an intruder? Just send your little sentry out on duty.

Need to keep an eye on a pet or family member? Just monitor them on the app.

This would be little more than a mere gimmick if the vacuuming and mopping functions were lacklustre, but thankfully, they're not.

In fact, with 13,000Pa of suction, the RS20 Max is one of the more powerful robot vacuums out there. And its CutFree brush system had no issues with my labradoodle's fur offerings.

The mopping function is perhaps less impressive, but I've yet to find a robot mopping system that properly wows me. And the fact that the robot will dash off and drop off its tools at the base station automatically if it detects a carpet is such a clever bit of tech.

It's also one of the most impressive mop washing systems I've tested too. Perhaps because they can be detached, they're washed and dried incredibly effectively, and surprisingly quickly.

The obstacle avoidance system is very clever, and its LiDar system maps your house very well, but its low profile can cause issues on thick rugs. Mine has got stuck a few times.

Battery life is decent, and it's not too noisy, even while it's on the base station having a quick charge up and refresh.

So in just about every measurable way, the Ezviz RS20 Max is as impressive as a £500 robot vacuum needs to be. It does a great job of mopping, it has powerful suction, the app is great, it's easy to set up, and it's easy to live with.

The detachable wash pads will only be of use to someone who has a share of carpet and hard floors, or perhaps hard floors and some rugs, and it'll be up to you to decide how useful the camera surveillance system is.

If you do happen to be lucky enough to be looking around for a top-spec robot vacuum, you'll know how tricky the decision is. And, I'm sorry to say, Ezviz has just made it a little bit harder.