With its expertise in robot vacuum cleaners, Roborock is no novice in the cleaner market. However, the H7 is only its second foray into the cordless stick vacuum cleaners, following up 2020's H6, and introducing several upgrades.

However, there's fierce competition in this premium segment of the market, including big names such as the Dyson V11, Miele Triflex HX1, Samsung Jet 90, plus others from names like Shark. So is the Roborock H7 a true rival to those not insignificant rivals? 

Our quick take

The Roborock H7 enters a really competitive space in terms of cordless stick vacuum cleaners. But it more than holds its own thanks to excellent power and cleaning capability.

There are a few minor issues: we'd really like to have seen a soft roller included; and we feel that it should be easier to empty - you have to either put your fingers in or another implement to get the dirt out. 

There are some really nice touches though, including the magnetic attachments on the stand, and the option to use a dirt bag. 

As such, the Roborock H7 does enough to justify its high price and keep pace with its rivals, although it doesn't necessarily stand out from that crowd. 

Roborock H7 vacuum cleaner - 4.5 / 5

FORAGAINST
  • Powerful cleaning
  • Magnetic attachments
  • Large dirt bin
  • Bagged option welcome
  • No soft roller brush
  • Dirt bin hard to empty properly

roborock H7 Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner, 3 Cleaning Modes, 160AW Constant Suction Power, Lightweight, Flexible MagBase Accessories, Long-Lasting Battery with 2.5H Recharge

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Design

  • Length: 121cm
  • Weight: 1.45kg
  • Bin size: 0.5 litres
  • Dirt bag: Two included

The most notable thing when you pick up the H7 is that it seems very light, at around 1.5kg. Something like the Dyson V8 is at least a kilo heavier. That's a big difference and it means that the H7 is really pleasant to use in terms of manoeuvrability around furniture and in tighter spaces. 

It also means it's great to use in handheld mode when you're cleaning stairs or car seats. Some cleaners can seem quite cumbersome in these situations. 

Roborock H7 review: A worthy alternative? photo 3
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The bin is also a decent size, at 0.5 litres (a 100ml improvement on the previous generation), though we didn't find it that easy to empty. While the bottom flips out, there's no mechanism to push the dirt out. That means you probably need to dip your fingers in and remove the compacted dirt. 

Should you wish, you can use a dust bag with this cleaner - two are included - but you're most likely going to use it bagless. However, this may be preferable for those who have a dust allergy, for example, and so it is a distinguishing feature for the H7. 

Features and specs

  • Display: 1.3-inch OLED
  • Filter: Five-layer, multi-cyclone separator
  • Accessories: MagBase, Multi-Surface Brush, Motorized Mini-brush, Dusting Brush, Crevice Tool

There's a small OLED display on the vacuum that tells you what cleaning mode you've selected, as well as how much cleaning time you have left, expressed as a percentage of battery capacity - though when you get cleaning in a particular mode it will show you the remaining clean time (for that mode) in minutes. A button - easily reachable with your thumb - enables you to swap between modes. 

Roborock H7 review: A worthy alternative? photo 9
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A nice touch is that the accessories are magnetic, so you can put them on the included wall-mountable MagBase easily, or even attach them to the side of a household appliance.

The included accessories do the job well. There's the main multi-surface brush and a motorised mini tool, in addition to a crevice tool and dusting brush.

However, there is no soft roller attachment included, which we tend to expect from a decent cordless, especially at this kind of price. The multi-surface brush works absolutely fine on carpet, tiles and wooden floors, but the brush bar can't be removed from the casing for easy cleaning.

Roborock H7 review: A worthy alternative? photo 7
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That's not going to be a problem most of the time, but if you suck up something that's too big and it gets wedged inside the H7 then you might have your work cut out to get it free. 

You're able to convert the H7 into a mop, too, although you need to purchase a separate accessory for that. 

The filter twists off the top of the H7 for easy cleaning just like on other cleaners. 

Performance and battery life

  • Motor: 480W
  • Battery: 80Wh Li-Po, non-removable / Charging time: 2.5 hours
  • Cited run time: Eco - 90 mins / Normal - 45 mins / Max - 8 minutes

Battery life is cited at around 90 minutes in Eco mode, but you'd be pushed to achieve this. We found around 40 minutes was the standard in Normal mode, with maybe 10-15 minutes more in Eco mode. That's with the main multi-surface brush attached.

Roborock H7 review: A worthy alternative? photo 10
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These figures are very respectable, though, and are more than enough for most small to medium-sized homes. If you have a larger home you'll probably want something a little more heavy-duty, like the Dyson Outsize, anyway. 

In Max mode, you're looking at a really short cleaning time - around seven to eight minutes. You're rarely going to need this mode in practice though. 

The Roborock H7 uses a lithium polymer battery (LiPo), which means a relatively quick recharge time of two-and-a-half hours - an improvement over the H6 which took around four hours. This is welcome since the battery isn't removable and so you can't buy another battery to lengthen the clean time. 

The 480W power is more than enough for even dirty floors and the pickup is very good, only faltering with larger pieces of debris. The odd piece is fine, but if you're trying to suck up a pile of something like a whole load of breakfast cereal then it can get backed up or just push it around. Of course, this won't be a daily occurrence.

Roborock H7 review: A worthy alternative? photo 4
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The cleaner deals with any fine debris absolutely brilliantly - there's no issue with any smaller particles and it's fairly decent at cleaning to the edge of the room, too. Hair also wasn't too much of a problem during our testing - especially as this cleaner doesn't claim to be anti-tangle - and it really excels on the carpeted surfaces.

roborock H7 Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner, 3 Cleaning Modes, 160AW Constant Suction Power, Lightweight, Flexible MagBase Accessories, Long-Lasting Battery with 2.5H Recharge

Amazon

To recap

This cleaner more than holds its own against rivals thanks to excellent power and cleaning capability.