Aoso S3 2000Pa Smart Robotic Vacuum Cleaner Review

When we think about new technology, we usually think about things that excite us. Why do you think there are so many gamers drooling over 8K TVs, despite a shortage of 8K game systems? It’s not like they’re actually getting the full benefit in most cases. For the majority of people, it’s about the excitement of owning the latest, most advanced gadget.

This all falls out the window when it comes to home goods. Nobody is excited to get a slow cooker or showerhead because it looks sexy. If you’re going to buy one of those things, your number one concern is going to be the features. If grandma’s old slow cooker still works just fine, you’re probably not rushing out to buy a new one.

Consider the humble vacuum cleaner. You take it out when there’s a mess, and then it goes back in a closet. It’s not exciting, and there are few pressing reasons to buy a new one. But a robotic vacuum offers some significant added value that makes it worth the investment. Most importantly, you don’t have to do much work yourself. Just empty the dust bin every day or three, and the vacuum does the rest.

We’re about to review the Aoso S3 Smart Robotic Vacuum Cleaner. This is a slim, powerful vacuum that comes with a companion smartphone app. But how well does it perform, and is it worth the investment? Let’s take a closer look, and see what the S3 brings to the table!

Overall Design

The Aoso S3 is disc-shaped, like most robot vacuums. At 12.4 inches in diameter, it’s big enough to vacuum efficiently without taking up too much space. And at only three inches thick, it’s slim enough to fit under most furniture. You won’t have any issues cleaning under sofas, beds, dressers, and other low-standing pieces. This means you won’t have to follow along behind the S3 to spot clean under all your furniture.

The S3 housing is constructed from a glossy black plastic. The top has a brushed finish, and the front edge is slightly raised to form a bumper. You’ll also see laser sensors built into the front of the unit. We’ll talk about those more in a second. The dust bin is semi-transparent, so you can estimate how full it is at a glance. It also has a 500ml capacity, which is right in line with other robot vacuums. When it’s time to empty, just slide the bin out, dump it in the trash, and replace it. There’s nothing complex about the emptying process.

On top of the vacuum, you’ll see three buttons for manual operation. There’s a power button, which starts the S3 running in standard cleaning mode. In addition, a WiFi button, for connecting to your home network. And there’s a home button, for sending your vacuum back to the charging station. You can also use the remote control that’s included in the kit. Moreover, there’s also an app, which is what you’ll probably use most of the time. The remote and app provide more advanced options, such as the ability to manually change suction power. If you want more control than that, you’ll need to go manual and use a vertical stick vac.

On the bottom of the unit, you’ll see a large roller brush for collecting your dust. This brush has a spiral pattern, and rotates like a drum, much like a standard vacuum roller. However, there are also two additional brushes that extend to the sides. These rotate on a vertical axis, and sweep debris under the main brush. They don’t do much on carpet, but they make the S3 considerably more effective on hard surfaces.

The S3 has an internal battery, but it doesn’t plug in directly. Instead, it charges from a base station, which is permanently plugged into your wall via an AC adapter. The base station is fairly compact, and won’t be a major obstruction in a laundry room. When the vacuum is mounted in the base station, the battery is charging, so it’s ready whenever you need it.

Vacuum Performance

The S3’s main attraction is its powerful, 2,000-Pascal (Pa) suction. Most robot vacuums fall in the 1,000-1,500Pa range, so the S3 is significantly more powerful. You can suck up a set of marbles, although you probably wouldn’t want to. Of course, this kind of power comes with proportionately higher demands on your battery. If you don’t need maximum power, why waste battery life? The S3 will work at three different levels: 600, 1,400, and 2,000Pa. You can turn it down for collecting dust from hard floors, or crank it up for maximum power on tough messes.

The Aoso S3 is designed to go anywhere in your home. Its large wheels can climb a ledge of up to 0.59 inches. That’s more than enough to cross most household transitions. You can move from carpet to tile to hardwood and back again without your robot vacuum getting stuck. Similarly, you don’t have to worry about door mats, heating vents, and other low-lying obstructions. The S3 will run right over them without any issues.

About the only thing it can’t handle is caked-on dirt or grime. For that, you need a mop, or at least some kind of wet cleaner that can loosen up the grime. The Yeedi K700 robot vacuum doesn’t offer as much suction as the S3, but it does have a mop mode. Attach a mopping pad, fill the water reservoir, and the K700 will get tile or hardwood squeaky clean.

The S3’s internal battery has a capacity of 3,200mAh. This is sufficient for about about 110 minutes of cleaning, or just under four hours. In normal cleaning mode, this is enough to clean 1,400 square feet. Keep in mind, though, that this is based on manufacturer testing at low power. At maximum power, you can expect more like 30 minutes of performance. At medium, you’ll get around an hour of cleaning time. That’s still more than enough to clean a large area, so there’s plenty of life here. Besides which, unless you have a huge mess, you’re unlikely to be vacuuming at maximum power the entire time.

When the S3 is done running, it will automatically return to the base station to recharge. It will also return to the base if its battery drops below 10 percent. In that case, when it has recharged, it will go back out and resume cleaning until it has finished. Unless you live in a very large home, this should rarely happen to begin with.

Setup and Everyday Use

As we mentioned, there are three ways to control the Aoso S3: the on-board buttons, the remote, and the app. We already discussed the on-board buttons, so let’s dig into the other two options. To begin with, you can adjust the suction level, perhaps the most important feature. Secondly, you can set a schedule. This way, you can program the vacuum to run when nobody’s home to eliminate disruptions. The app is free to download on Android and iOS, and takes just a minute to install. Finally, the app offers one significant benefit that the remote doesn’t. You can use it to find the vacuum if it’s stuck or lost. The app will show a map of your house, with an icon for the vacuum.

Both the app and the remote can be used to switch between three cleaning modes. In normal mode, the vacuum will run up and down in an orderly fashion, cleaning the entire floor. When it’s in edge cleaning mode, it will run along walls and up against furniture. In spot cleaning mode, you set it down in one area, and it will clean within a few feet. This is great for spills and high-traffic areas. Regardless of where you’re cleaning, the motor will automatically adjust to conditions. It will run slow on hard surfaces, and run at a full 2,000Pa on heavy carpets. Of course, you can always override this with the remote or the app.

The first time you run the Aoso S3, it might seem to be behaving erratically. Don’t worry if it seems to be zooming around randomly. It’s mapping your house, and figuring out the most efficient pathway. As it runs around, it senses walls and furniture, so it knows where to go next time. This map is adaptive; in other words, if you move your sofa, the vacuum will learn and adjust. The same sensors detect stairs and other hazards, so you don’t have to worry about the S3 damaging itself. It will come right up to edges and clean the entire floor, but it won’t actually go over.

One thing you can’t do with the S3 is set any kind of boundary. There’s no magnetic tape or laser sensor. More disappointingly, there’s no way to set a virtual boundary in the app. This was a bizarre omission, since the S3 already maps your home. If you need to clean individual rooms, read our review of the Tesvor S6. It’s pricey, but it allows you to perform spot cleans right from the app. You can also create as many no-go zones as you want by drawing on the virtual map.

Final Verdict

The Aoso S3 Smart Robotic Vacuum Cleaner is one of the more powerful smart vacs on the market. With 2,000Pa of suction, it can handle tough messes that will defeat other robot vacuums. The battery life is reasonably good, especially if you moderate your power settings. Not only that, but the smart mapping maximizes the battery’s power. The S3 runs in an efficient pattern, never wasting a movement. We were disappointed that there’s no way to define a cleaning area. However, if you want to clean the whole floor, you’re looking at a great value.