Proscenic M8 Review: A Standout Robot Vacuum in a Very Crowded Market
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Table of Contents
The Prosecenic M8 has over 1,000 reviews on Amazon and a solid 4.3-star rating. A fairly popular choice among consumers, I was excited to give this robot vacuum a go in my home to see if it stood up to the hype.
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I’ve never owned a robot vacuum before, although I did test one for SPY earlier this year. Without going into too much detail, let’s just say after testing we don’t feature that particular vacuum anywhere on the site. Needless to say after an experience like that, I’ve been skeptical of robot vacuums in general. However, after having the Proscenic M8 zoom around my home over the last week, I’ve completely changed my tune on robot vacuums.
Buy: Proscenic M8 Robot Vacuum $369.00
Specs
Dimensions: 13.8 x 13.8 x 3.82
Weight: 8.3 pounds
Running Time: 150 minutes
Charging Time: 160 – 190 minutes
Suction Power: 3000pa max
Setup & Installation
The best thing about most consumer tech products today is that even though the tech can do some fairly complex things, it remains user-friendly. The Proscenic M8 was no different. The manual had a QR code to scan that downloaded the app. From there I followed the app’s prompts to connect the robot to my home WiFi. After that, it was as simple as finding the area on my floor where I wanted to place the robot vac. After the setup was completed, I was ready (and apprehensive) to let it clean the house.
Design
The Proscenic M8 has a similar design to the Roomba j7+, and many other robot vacuums out there — a circular design with bristled side brushes that whirl around to capture dust and particles and whisk them under into the suction duct and brush underneath. Unlike the Roomba j7+, the M8 doesn’t have a self-emptying charging bin, but the M8 Pro does, which at the time of this writing is about $220 more than the M8.
Aside from the mobile app (which we discuss later) this robot vacuum also comes with a remote control which comes in handy when you don’t have your phone readily available. Of course, you can also pause and start cleanings or command it to return home by touching the buttons on top of the vacuum.
Cleaning Performance
Remember I told you about the other junky robot vacuum that I tested — yeah, that one drove itself right down the stairs. So, I was curious how the M8 was going to react to stairs and the jumps between the two rugs in the living room/dining room areas. I should also note that the rest of my upstairs (for the most part) is hardwood. It cleaned the hardwood well and had no problems crawling from the hardwood up the rugs. And when it reached the stairs, it was smart enough to turn around and not go tumbling down.
I took a bunch of dust, dirt and hair (pretty gross) out of my handheld vacs vent and threw it all over my kitchen floor and throughout my upstairs (my GF was not happy). After one run using the auto-clean feature, I’d say it picked up 85-90% of the debris on the floor, and it took about 35-40 minutes to complete the cleaning. You can also set the robot in the app to clean twice for a more thorough cleaning if need be.
To test on carpet, I took the robot vac downstairs which is 100% carpeted. I sprinkled dog food throughout my basement. After it was done, it had missed four pieces in the main living area and a couple in the hallway. Needless to say, it grabbed the majority of the food on the floor.
That said, the M8 did get stuck under a dresser and somehow centered itself on the stand of a Papasan I had downstairs. It also kept going into my fireplace upstairs. However, those issues were easily resolved with restriction zones.
Mobile App
The app provides a plethora of features or setting up specific areas or rooms to clean. In my home, the kitchen and living room rug can get pretty dirty mostly thanks to a one-year-old pup. Setting up those areas and having the Proscenic M8 spot clean has been nice. And after setting up restriction zones, like my fireplace, it eliminated me having to intervene and help the robot vacuum out when it got stuck.
You can also set up specific schedules when you want the robot to clean and where you want it to clean. You can even view the history of every time the robot was in operation, how long it cleaned and where it cleaned.
The Verdict
I can see why this robot vacuum is such a popular choice on Amazon. It really is convenient. I would recommend paying close attention the very first time you run the auto clean and watch as it maps your home, so you can restrict areas that cause it trouble. Since I got it dialed in, I have been really happy for the convenience of not having to sweep every other day when my pup drags in grass and dirt from outside. Considering it’s $220 less than the M8 Pro and about $500 less than the iRobot Roomba j7+, it is certainly worth buying.
Pros:
It’s great for hardwood floors and heavily carpeted areas
It has no problems getting up and down rugs
You can create restriction zones in the app
Easy to create schedules and target specific areas
Cons:
Doesn’t have a self-emptying bin like the M8 Pro
Can get stuck under dressers and between chair legs (important to use restriction zones)
Score: 9/10
Buy: Proscenic M8 Robot Vacuum $369.00
How Long Will It Last?
Like any appliance in your home, the Proscenic M8 requires some maintenance on your part to keep the robot vacuum operating at an optimum level. Proscenic recommends cleaning the wheels on a monthly basis. The dustbin, rolling brush and side brush should be cleaned on a weekly basis. Thankfully, the robot vac comes with an extra filter and side brush when your vac needs a bit of a refresh.
What are Some of the Alternatives?
The Proscenic M8 has been rather good throughout testing, but it isn’t the only option out there. Here are some robot vacuum alternatives if you want a bit of variety for your automated home-cleaning options.
Roomba J7+
This is a highly intelligent robot vacuum cleaner that is easy to use thanks to its self-emptying dust bin and obstacle-avoidance programming.
Buy: Roomba J7+ $599.00 (orig. $799.99) 25% OFF
eufy BoostIQ RoboVac 11S
Slim and quiet, this robot vacuum is affordable compared to the likes of the Roomba and Proscenic. It has good suction power and boasts 100 minutes of run time.
Buy: eufy BoostIQ RoboVac 11s $199.99 (orig. $229.99) 13% OFF
Shark AV2501AE
Intelligent and hassle-free with a self-emptying bin and a HEPA filter to capture dust and allergens, this robot vacuum boasts powerful suction to clean up pet hair.
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