Shark ION Robot Vacuum AV751 review: Great suction, no sense of direction | ZDNet

If you’re searching for technology that makes life easier, robot vacuums and robot mops should be at the tip of your list. And there are more affordable options than you think.

For the past several weeks, I’ve been testing out the Shark ION Robot Vacuum AV751. It’s a decent robot vacuum, and keeps up with my two dogs and cat. The Shark ION Robot Vacuum AV751 is an older model, making it a budget-friendly option with name-brand recognition. That said, while it gets the job done in terms of suction power and cleaning ability, there are some notable drawbacks that you may or may not be deal breakers for you. Here’s the scoop.

Specifications

Everything you need to get the Shark up and running comes bundled in the box, including the charging dock, filters, and extra brushes. The robot was built with your home in mind; it’s small enough to fit under most furniture, but still large enough to clean adequately with its three brushes.

Performance

I’d like to start by pointing out the obvious: the Shark ION Robot Vacuum AV751 doesn’t come with any type of mapping capability, meaning it doesn’t track what and where it has cleaned before. Even when giving it full range of my open-concept living room, kitchen, and dining room, there would be times when the Shark would primarily clean in one area and call it a day. Knowing this, I ran the robot every single day to get the maximum cleaning. If you have an open-concept home and don’t plan on running the robot daily, then the Shark probably isn’t for you. 

On the other hand, for any rooms that have doors, I could just stick the vacuum in there, close the door, leave it for 10 minutes, and come back to completely cleaned floors. 

Suction power

Where this robot lacks in mapping technology, it makes up for with its suction power on tiles, laminate, and rugs. Not only did I run the vacuum daily in a house with two dogs and a cat, but I also tested its suction power on pieces of dog food, blades of grass, kitty litter, and some crushed-up potato chips. It didn’t miss a beat when cleaning; it sucked up everything in its path. 

On top of those specific tests, my floors looked spectacular after running the vacuum. It was so efficient at cleaning the floors that I was able to mop immediately after without having to worry about any dust or debris left behind.

On my carpet, the Shark ION AV751 cleaned the top surface well, but wasn’t as effective with the bits underneath. As a result, I ended up resorting to my regular vacuum in my bedrooms as it did a better job at cleaning the strands of dog and cat hair buried in the carpet floor.

To be fair, the Shark isn’t marketed as a pet-friendly vacuum. Instead, pet owners who want a robot vacuum for their furry animals should opt for the AV993 IQ model.

Mobility

The Shark ION AV751 didn’t have any issues going between different floorings. It transitions well across tiles, carpets, and laminate. Not only was it strong and determined enough to drive right up onto my carpet, but it would sometimes accidentally finds itself climbing up onto the platform of my cat tower. (Again, the lack of mapping is to blame here.) The tower isn’t something that I necessarily want swept, but I was still impressed by the Shark’s mobility. Naturally, the vacuum barely get stuck navigating through a home.

And I say barely because there is one place that the robot routinely gets caught in, which is at the floor vent of the corner of my dining room. The vacuum is typically able to get itself out of tough situations, but this corner vent in particular is a robot death trap. This should be a non-issue if your home doesn’t have floor vents.

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The Shark ION Robot Vacuum AV751 is about the average size of robot vacuums I’ve tested, and does a nice job of maneuvering around my house. It fits well under my beds, couches, end tables, and dining room table, cleaning a lot of the dirt and dust spots that I usually miss.

Stairs and ledges

One feature that really surprised me with this vacuum was the cliff sensors it uses to sense and avoid stairs and ledges. The first time the robot approached my stairs, I was nervous and stood closely to snag the vacuum just in case it decided to take a tumble. Much to my surprise, it never did. Every time it approached the stairs, it would clean right to the ledge and then turn around. The technology here works brilliantly.

Connectivity

Like other Shark robot vacuums, the AV751 works with the SharkClean app, Alexa, and Google Assistant. The app is user friendly and easy to navigate. You can start and stop your robot in addition to scheduling cleaning cycles all within it.

When scheduling, the app and robot work seamlessly together; the vacuum always started promptly at the correct time. Just make sure you have it plugged in and charged before doing so. Alexa and Google Assistant were also easy to set up and use, although I didn’t find them as convenient as the SharkClean app. Oftentimes, I’d already have the vacuum scheduled to run, so I didn’t need to tell it to begin a cleaning job. 

Another thing the Shark ION AV751 struggles with is finding its way back to the docking station after completing a cleaning cycle. Whenever it finished its job and was too far from the dock, it would aimlessly drive around looking for the docking station (and wasn’t very successful). More times than not, I had to go find the vacuum, stop it, and station it myself.

This isn’t terribly inconvenient. If you were to schedule the vacuum to run while you’re at work, however, there’s a good chance that it would run out of battery trying to find the docking station. You’d return to a lost, dead robot vacuum. 

Bottom line

For $229, I like the Shark ION AV751 for its suction power and how easily it navigates around my house. It isn’t too loud, fits well underneath my furniture, and lasts up to two hours on a single charge. There are some notable drawbacks like the lack of mapping capabilities and inability to return to its docking station. But for the price, the compromises may be worth it.

Alternatives to consider