Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 Self-Empty Robot Vacuum & Mop (RV2620WAUK) review: An effective self-emptying robot vacuum and mop

With the Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 Self-Empty Robot Vacuum & Mop RV2620WAUK, Shark has brought its reputation for powerful, effective vacuum cleaners at reasonable prices into the world of robot vacuuming. The robot and dock have a range of innovative features, from a mopping pattern that helps the robot outclass similar rivals, to a bagless self-emptying system that leaves you wondering why every other emptying station we’ve seen to date requires consumable bags.

It’s not all plain sailing for Shark, however. Robot vacuum cleaners aren’t just about the end result, but the path they take to get there. Unfortunately for Shark, while its hardware might be top of the class, its app lacks some of the best features that are commonly found in the apps of its toughest rivals.

Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 review: What do you get for the money?

The Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 Self-Empty Robot Vacuum & Mop (RV2620WAUK) costs £500 and comes in two parts, the robot itself and the self-emptying station. If you don’t mind emptying, you can buy the robot with a basic charging block for £400.

The robot is a standard puck-shaped device that comes with a choice of two rear compartments, one for vacuuming only, the other for vacuuming and mopping. The vacuum module fits snugly inside the device, while the mop option is larger and extends out the back, with additional space required for the water tank. This drips water onto a cloth on the base which the robot drags behind it.

On top of the robot there’s a LiDAR turret, which the Shark uses to sense its surroundings. From this data it creates a map of the floor plan, with the initial mapping run only taking a few minutes, as the robot doesn’t need to explore every corner of a room to get a good idea of where the walls are.

Underneath the robot there’s a single rotary sweeping brush on the right to flick dirt from the edges and corners of rooms. Then the suction vent has a traditional roller bar, which sits inside the suction cavity between the two large tractor wheels. The roller bar looks much like the ones you might find on a Shark cordless vacuum, with both bristles and fins alternating along the length of the bar to provide a two-pronged attack on carpet-bound dirt. Hidden underneath the bar there’s the welcome sight of a comb system, which did a decent job of keeping the bar free of hair tangles during testing.

The self-emptying station is definitely worthy of note. There’s nothing new about the concept, with plenty of robots now offering to empty the collection bin and some offering to refill and wash mopping pads too, such as the Ezviz RS2. However, it has one trick up its sleeve that I haven’t seen before, in that it doesn’t use a disposable collection bag. Instead, the upper right section of the station is a removable bin you can empty straight into your dustbin. It’s quick, clean and means you don’t have to purchase replacement bags.

Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 review: What is it like to use?

Most of the interaction you’ll have with the Shark Matrix Plus is through its app. This has a friendly tone and has been well designed, making it simple to control the robot’s functions.

Setting the robot up is straightforward, with instructions in the app that will take you through the process of registering the robot and connecting it to Wi-Fi. From there, you can send the robot out on its first mapping run, then configure that map by naming rooms, adjusting boundaries and setting no-go areas. You can schedule the robot to run at particular times, clean the whole floor or just a room, or spot clean a particular spillage.

That sounds like plenty but there are some things the app won’t do. The first is storing more than one map. This isn’t the deal-breaker I thought it was going to be, as you can still move the robot to another floor and set it off using the button on the top, and it won’t delete the previously saved map in the app. I’d prefer to see it manage multiple maps, though, otherwise you aren’t able to take advantage of all the app’s features in other rooms.

The other thing the robot doesn’t do is detect carpets. For a robot with a mop this is problematic, as you won’t want it dragging its wet mop pad across your rugs. You can set carpet areas by hand in the app but it’s very tricky to get right. It’s a long way from the carpet detection you’ll find on the Shark’s best rivals, such as the Eufy Clean X8 Pro.

Lastly, it’s worth noting that the mop’s vacuum compartment doesn’t self empty. Because it’s larger, it can’t line up with the emptying apparatus, so you have to empty it manually. If you were planning on using the mop function the most, it might not be worth taking the option of the self-emptying base station.

Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 review: Is it good at finding its way around?

When it comes to finding its way from A to B, the Shark Matrix Plus can’t be faulted. The map on the app seems accurate and I didn’t encounter any situations where the robot got lost or stuck. It’s careful around furniture but doesn’t have any technology to help it avoid other objects, so you need to keep your floor clear.

Around furniture it uses a bump and reverse system to work its way around table legs and the like. This is fine and it isn’t too rough with legs, but it means it isn’t the gentlest robot I’ve tested and you may not like it if your furniture is particularly delicate or expensive. It’s also slow compared to its rivals, as you can see below.

Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 review: How well does it clean?

Although I’ve poured a certain amount of scorn on the Shark’s app, it’s only half the story. Where a robot vacuum also needs to excel is in its ability to clean up mess, with this particular model proving particularly adept.

Starting with vacuuming, I pitted the Shark against Expert Reviews’ standard trio of tricky dry spillages, namely rice, flour and dog hair. The app has a useful spot clean function, which I used for these tests. It goes around the outside edge of a square of about 1.5m, then covers the middle in a backwards and forwards motion until the whole area has been cleaned. It then does this again in a perpendicular direction, covering the area twice.

It’s an effective system on rice and pet hair, as it has two chances to pick everything up. As a result it collected 98% of the mess that I dropped on both carpet and hard floor. That’s well above average.

Flour is a tougher task and it floundered a bit here, failing to pick up as much as the average I’ve seen on other robots. It gathered 77% from hard floor and just 52% from carpet.

I wasn’t expecting much from the mop, as it uses a cloth mounted on a plate that’s dragged behind the robot as it moves. However, Shark has a few tricks up its sleeve to mitigate what is usually a disappointing process.

Firstly, the pad gently oscillates from side to side, providing a bit of extra elbow grease to the mopping. Then, when doing a spot clean, it goes over the area twice, in different directions, as it does with the vacuum cleaner spot clean. Lastly, the robot also does a complete rotation every few centimetres to make sure the area has had a thorough wipe.

This simple pattern of cleaning actually does the job well. I tested it on mud, blackcurrant cordial and ketchup, all of which had been left to dry. It cleaned the mud and cordial away in a single outing. Dried-on ketchup is tougher, but this was cleared on the second outing.

It’s a time-consuming option because of the number of times it goes over the same area, but it’s effective, proving just as good as performances I’ve seen from rotary mopping robots that I assumed would be much better.

Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 review: Should you buy it?

The Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 is a decent cleaner for the price. However, it’s best in a property with one floor and clearly defined areas of carpet (such as fitted carpets that go wall to wall in whole rooms). Add in rugs and you open yourself to a world of pain if you want to get the robot navigating around them while mopping.

If you want a similar robot that can cope with different floors better, storing a map in the app for wherever you place it, the Eufy Clean X8 Pro is worth considering. This isn’t as good at mopping floors but has a great app and decent vacuuming ability.

Anyone who doesn’t fancy having to clean mopping pads as often should opt for the Ezviz RS2. This doesn’t empty its own vacuum bin but it does keep its mopping pads clean and fresh, and can refill the mop’s tank from its base station’s larger reservoir.