Review on Shark AV2501AE Robot Vacuum by Joe Daniels

I am writing this review as someone who has had many iRobot Roombas but just switched to Shark. I wanted a self-cleaning base and didn't want to pay too much for iRobot bags. -go zones, etc., so I want to break those down separately. DISPLAY: I have to say that the iRobot's display was significantly better. Not only did the machine represent my home better, the app also allowed me to customize the rooms better. In my house, the walls are at an odd angle, which the Shark app doesn't really allow for, so my rooms aren't represented as accurately as the iRobot app. However, the shark was MUCH faster. Roomba had to do about 3 runs before mapping my house while Shark did a decent job in about 15 minutes. APP: Speaking of the app, the iRobot app is much better designed and much bigger. more convenient than the Shark app. iRobot gives you the cleaning history, "favorites/shortcuts" cleaning, indicator, schedule, etc. on the display for that specific vacuum cleaner, while Shark lets you navigate through different menu options for all. Apps can be updated though and I hope they improve theirs. ZONES: Shark allows you to create "high traffic" zones that you can clean off the machine as a shortcut or do a more thorough cleaning. There's nothing really like it in the iRobot app other than creating shortcuts to clean. In the iRobot app, the restricted areas can be smaller, which is more useful since I use them to force the robot to avoid pet food bowls (I don't need a 3-foot radius for my cat's food bowls). I haven't had any problems with restricted zones. CLEAN: That's the fun part. Here I want to make some different callouts. 1. Cleaning with Shark is MUCH better than cleaning with Roomba. Even with Smart Mapping, I felt like Roomba kept skipping places, but I don't have that with Shark. I feel it lifts more.2. Shark has more cleaning options. This gives you the option to return the robot to the base for emptying every 30 minutes (whether Roomba does this I can't say as my Roomba doesn't have a self-draining base, but I find it very useful as I have 5 cats, 2 dogs in the house and 2 long haired women which means lots of wool to gather). This gives you the option to just keep cleaning until you run out of battery for a deeper clean (I don't know of any Roomba feature that compares). If the battery dies before it finishes cleaning, it will also return to the charging dock before coming back and finishing cleaning (I believe Roomba does this too). Also, you have the option to choose Eco, Regular or Heavy every time you start the robot. Each stage requires a different amount of power, but corresponds to both cleaning time and cleaning level (Roomba has no comparable features that I am aware of).3. Shark has a spot cleaning option where you can select a spot on your map and force the robot to "Super Clean" which results in cleaning the robot in the form of hatches. I like this feature because as mentioned before I have 5 cats that can carry a lot of junk near the boxes. The Ultraclean does a great job of picking up trash, minimizing the amount of trash being carried around the house in a way Roomba has never done before. You can also perform an Ultra Clean cleaning in specific rooms or high-traffic areas. NOISE: I've read a few reviews that say the Shark is loud...it's quieter than any of the three Roomba robots I've owned. The suction into the base is significantly louder than the displacement, but only lasts a few seconds. In general, I like Shark much more. The things it doesn't do as well as the Roomba are far outweighed by the quality of cleaning at a MUCH BETTER price!