Overview
- At IFA in Berlin on Saturday, MOVA and Roborock highlighted Physical AI and new flagships that add tactile skins, robotic arms, legged mobility and stronger suction and station functions.
- Independent tests rate recent flagships very highly: home&smart gave the Dreame X60 and MOVA V70 98/100 for cleaning power and reach, especially for pet owners and hard‑to‑reach edges.
- Durability limits remain: the industry reports typical usable lifespans of three to six years, batteries often fall off after two to four years, and most makers offer only two years of hardware warranty.
- Station failures are a common practical break point because pumps and wash systems can fail even when the robot base still works, and reliance on cloud services can strip app functions or mapping if servers are shut down.
- Retail timing matters: IFA promotions such as MediaMarkt’s ECOVACS deals run through September 7 and extended‑warranty bundles or easy spare‑part access can materially change the true cost of ownership.