Not too long ago I looked at the Roborock Q7 M5+, calling it "a good place to start" for robot vacuum newbies as well as a possible upgrade for those who might already have one in their home. I still stand by that, but I also have to admit that the Mova V50 Ultra Complete is an incredible piece of automated cleaning hardware that eclipses the more budget-friendly Q7 M5+ in every way -- except price, of course.
The Mova V50 Ultra Complete, provided by Mova for this review, is a top-tier sort of robot
vacuum (that also mops), with a price that matches its capabilities. To be completely honest, the device's $1399 price tag make me a bit skeptical at first. It's "just" a robot vacuum, after all. What could possibly justify costing more than double -- or even triple -- similar devices from other major robot mop and vacuum brands selling for under $1000? Or even under $500 in some cases?
Turns out it's no big mystery: This is just another example of "you get what you pay for." And that hefty cost gets you a lot of robot mop and vacuum. To the point that I'm not entirely sure I (not to mention my cats), will be able to go back to anything simpler.
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More Than What You Need
While the combined weight of everything inside made the act of moving and opening the packaging a bit of a chore -- not exactly fun when you're in your 40s and have back problems -- I couldn't help but be impressed once I started taking stock of what was inside.
Obviously you're getting the charging dock and vacuum itself, but what immediately set the tone for me was this comparably thin box sitting right on top. Popping it open for the first time felt like finding buried treasure, because it was full of replacement parts for the vacuum. I know this sounds mundane, but anyone familiar with these kinds of cleaning tools knows that they inevitably need to clean and replace things like brushes, filters, and dust bags. So not needing to order a bunch of these extra bits right away feels like the right kind of decadent excess.
It's not just about the replacement parts, either. The box also includes a pretty sizable bottle of Mova's proprietary cleaning solution, which is needed for the mop function. There's a bit more in there than you'll need to fill up the detergent reserves for the first time, too. A distinct lack of included cleaning solution, and the need to order it with the vacuum if you ever planned on mopping, was a sticking point with the Eufy Clean X8 Pro, so not having to worry about it here is wonderful.
More Prep Work For More Capabilities
Getting the V50 Ultra Complete set up for the first time was, admittedly, more work than expected. Outside of hefting around the rather weighty charging dock that's roughly the size of a mini-fridge, you also need to remove a lot of protective padding and film from various openings and sensors all over the vacuum, fill up the clean water reservoir for the mop, and pour the cleaning solution (and included pet odor solution for your dog or cat, if you want) into its own little tank.
The app setup is pretty much the same experience as with other robot vacuums, though. Install the app, make a digital user account if you haven't already, sign in, designate a plethora of permissions, then do the typical song and dance of following the on-screen instructions to get the vacuum connected to your home's Wi-Fi. Making sure you're not using a 5G signal, of course, because the V50 Ultra Complete requires a less intense 2.4 GHz signal.
After that you're pretty much done. Let the vacuum charge up to full (if you want you can also adjust the settings to top off at 90% in order to preserve battery longevity) or, if there's enough juice out of the box, start mapping out your living space. The amount of time and battery power needed for mapping will depend on the size and layout of your home, naturally, but for our apartment it only needed six minutes and used less than 10% of the battery.
So Much Control
There is, to put it mildly, a whole lot you can fiddle with in the V50 Ultra Complete's app settings. It's kind of daunting at first, actually. Thankfully everything starts on default settings, which should be fine for your average home, and there are a few options the app prompts you for when you first pair the vacuum, so it's very easy to stick to the basics at first and then play around with the settings little by little.
But what's tucked away in there is pretty darned impressive. You can turn on "hair compression" to (as the name suggests) make the machine make an effort to compact any hair it vacuums up (animal or otherwise) and make the most out of the room in the dust bin. "Large particles boost" will intelligently identify big bits of debris (cat litter/kitty litter, for example), and temporarily adjust vacuum strength and brush arm speed to compensate and clean more effectively. The vacuum can be set to avoid designated carpets entirely or raise the mop brushes when passing over them, too.
Even the dock has a multitude of settings you can tailor to your preferences. Don't want to use the pet odor solution (perhaps due to its extremely fragrant potpourri scent)? Simply tell the dock not to use it when mopping. Tell it to use warmer (or even hot) water when mopping if you want a more intense clean. Heck, the dock can even be set to clean the mop heads between uses.
But How Does It Clean?
Of course, none of those nuanced settings or extravagant extras would amount to much if the V50 Ultra Complete wasn't able to actually clean floors well. Fortunately, it handles cleaning better than any other robot vacuum and mop combos I've tried out before. Again -- this is to be expected, given the price and listed features -- but it is, indeed, the real deal.
On the default settings for both the mop and vacuum (and set to do both simultaneously), it was able to clean our whole apartment in just under an hour while using a little more than 40% of its charge. There were a small number of spots where a few bits or small fur clumps were left over, but it was no worse than any other robot vacuums I've tested -- slightly better, in fact. It was also noticeably quieter than those previously-tested models.
Also the sensor disk on top of the machine (which is common on a lot of robot vacuums) can retract, allowing the V50 Ultra Complete to squeeze into spaces other models wouldn't be able to fit. Very cool.
A second round of cleaning turned the vacuum up to its highest setting (Turbo) and slightly increased the volume of water being used for the mop. Even then, it still finished our whole place in under an hour and still had about 50% power left by the time it returned to the dock. On top of that comparably stellar battery performance, it was a much more thorough clean with barely any noticeable misses -- aside from areas the robot had no way of reaching, of course.
To put it plainly: The V50 Ultra Complete did an excellent job mopping and vacuuming once I bumped up the settings a bit.
Cat Tracking And AI Learning
The software also allows you to monitor pet activity. I can see where my cat was spotted by the vacuum most often during the week. Of course, this works best if I'm vacuuming multiple times a week, and notifies me (if I wish) as it learns. The amount this robot can learn and adapt to its surroundings, the smarter it gets.
It can suggest places to vacuum more often (like around my cat's food dish), and I can ask the vacuum to go out on a quest to locate my cat (helpful if I am not home and am wondering if this kitty's getting into trouble). Of course this all requires accepting permissions to use the device's onboard camera and so forth -- and I could use the vacuum just as well without these added cat bonuses.
Maintaining The Cleaning Instrument
I mentioned previously that the V50 Ultra Complete requires a bit more user involvement than simpler robot vacuums, but don't worry, it's perfectly manageable. Heck, it's actually kind of impressive how well-designed the various bits and bobs have been designed in order to make removal, replacement, and cleaning more user-friendly.
It starts with the app itself, which has a handy little readout nestled inside the Accessory Usage option under Settings. This is where you can get at-a-glance estimates on the condition of the filter, side brush, main brushes, mop pads, sensors, and even the scale inhibitor in the water tank. It's up to you to clean or replace these parts when needed, but having the app provide clear numbers and remaining use-hours estimates is definitely useful.
Actually changing these parts or fluids out should also be pretty easy for the average user. The clean water tank sits in the top of the dock next to the used water tank, with a very obvious difference in plastic color to denote the two (clear for clean and a dark tint for used). Just top off the clean water, and dump and rinse the used water tank, and you're done.
Adding more cleaning solution is also as simple as pulling the cover off the front of the dock, pulling out the solution tank, and adding more cleaner to the "A" reservoir. While you're in there you could also pull out the dust bag and pop in a fresh one, if needed.
The robot components are similarly simple to access. The top cover is magnetized, so you just have to pull up on it to remove it and access the filter. Ditto on the mop pads, which can be removed automatically by the dock itself but can just as easily be pulled off or popped on via magnet power.
Pathfinding Problems (Not) Aplenty
Something that a lot of robot vacuums seem to have in common is the occasional navigational issue, and the V50 Ultra Complete is no exception. Every cleaning session I put it through had at least one instance of "What the heck are you doing?" Though even the most egregious errors have been mildly annoying at worst. Mostly they've just been puzzling.
At one point the robot seemed to misread the threshold to our bedroom and ended up using the wheel extensions intended to navigate over high obstacles. In addition to repeatedly rolling in and out of the room at various angles, as though it couldn't figure out how to get around a nightstand near the door or had somehow forgotten where it was on the map. It eventually corrected itself and finished cleaning just fine, though.
During another session, it decided it was finished when there was still one room left to clean. I think this was likely an app problem rather than a robot one, but it was still a little irritating to tell the vacuum to do a full cleaning on the entire living space only to have it stop and head back to the dock right before the last area. "Fixing" the problem was just a matter of telling it to clean the one room it ignored, but the fact that it ignored the room in the first place wasn't great.
Mova V50 Ultra Complete Verdict
Hyperbolic as it may seem, I was being completely serious when I said "I'm not entirely sure I'll be able to go back." The V50 Ultra Complete has spoiled me -- though for something that carries a typical price tag of $1399, I also feel like anything less would be a disappointment.
Resorting to the trope of weird vehicle-based analogies for a moment: Using this high-end robot vacuum after getting used to models that cost half as much feels like getting to ride in a brand new luxury car after spending years driving a decades-old clunker. It's not cheap, but you do get what you pay for -- whether or not you've got a cat (or multiple cats) in the mix.
Yes, this is significantly more expensive than what I'm used to -- and well outside the price range of what could be considered a "starter" robot vacuum. But it does include approximately $100 worth of replacement parts. Yes, it's a lot of robot with a somewhat daunting amount of options and features. But this is also the cleanest one of these coasters on wheels have gotten our floors, with practically a second full cleanings-worth of battery power left afterwards to boot.
If you have the budget for it and have been looking for a more robust robot mop and vacuum to tackle your floors more effectively, the V50 Ultra Complete is absolutely worth a look.
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