Robot vacuums are now a mainstay household helper, but though they’re reliable for day-to-day dirt, sometimes hard floors need the kind of cleaning you can only get with a mop. Over the past year we’ve seen an increasing number of robotic vacuum/mop combos that aim to do both well, but they aren’t always very good at both vacuuming and mopping. The Eureka J15 Max Ultra is trying to be the robot vacuum that really can do it all with an improved AI to help it detect messes.
It’s not new for robot vacuums to use AI to recognize spills and stains, but the Eureka J15 Max Ultra is the first that can detect clear liquid spills which other bots will miss. (Trust me, you really do not want your vacuum to suck up a spilled puddle of milk or the contents of a pet’s overturned water bowl into its dust bin.) Eureka’s IntelliView AI 2.0 can detect different types of liquid stains, and when it does, the robot transitions to mopping instead of vacuuming, raising its roller brush so liquid doesn’t wind up in the dust bin.
It may sound like a small advancement, but it’s one that really makes the idea of a robotic vacuum/mop combo work, without the hassle that comes from it stumbling into a mess it can’t handle. And it takes a surprising amount of technology for this bot to see clear liquids: it uses an infrared vision system and FHD vision sensor to capture high definition images of its surroundings as well as their surface structures. IntelliView AI 2.0 processes the images looking for differences in reflection and texture, letting the J15 Max Ultra detect puddles that could otherwise be invisible.
Beyond its new advancements, Eureka’s entire J15 lineup looks to be good at both vacuuming and mopping. All models feature AI to detect stains and whether the type of surface they’re on, lifting their moping pads when they transition to carpet. For cleaning hard floors, they feature two spinning mop heads that can extend from the side of the bot to clean edges and corners — something many bots are bad at. The J15 Max Ultra also has a sweeping brush that extends to pick up dry debris and sweep them back towards the vacuum. Each model also has a base station where it goes to recharge, as well automatically emptying its dust bin and replace dirty water with clean. The base station for the high-end J15 Max Ultra and J15 Pro Ultra are also self-cleaning, keeping both the base station and the robot free of grime. You still need to empty the dust bin and dirty water tank, as well as fill the clean water tank, but the system requires less maintenance than others.
Read more: iRobot Introduces Its First Self-Emptying Robotic Mop Vac Under $500
The J15 is available in three models: the J15 Max Ultra, the J15 Pro Ultra, and the baseline J15 Ultra. But the Max Ultra is the only model available with IntelliView AI 2.0 and the extra sensors that make it better at detecting obstacles and messes. The J15 Pro Ultra and J15 Ultra only have IntelliView AI 1.0, so you may want to check your floors for wet messes they might not be able to see. The J15 Max Ultra also has a bigger battery for longer runtimes and more suction power to help pull up dirt. The J15 Pro Ultra and J15 Ultra aren’t slouches, but the J15 Max Ultra is just more powerful.
The J15 Pro Ultra is the last generation model in this lineup, and it’s already available for $999 from Eureka. https://us.eureka.com/products/j15-pro-ultra However, if you’re in the market for a high end robot vacuum and mop, I’d recommend waiting for the J15 Max Ultra and J15 Ultra which are due out in June 2025. The J15 Max Ultra is a premium vacuum with a premium $1,299 price, but the J15 Ultra is slightly more budget-minded at $799. The J15 Ultra isn’t quite as smart and doesn’t have a self-cleaning base station, but for $500 less you may be willing to do a little extra upkeep so your bot can clean its best.
[Image credit: Eureka]
Elizabeth Harper is a writer and editor with more than a decade of experience covering consumer technology and entertainment. In addition to writing for Techlicious, she's Editorial Director of Blizzard Watch and is published on sites all over the web, including Time, CBS, Engadget, The Daily Dot and DealNews.
