Shark PowerDetect NeverTouch Pro 2-in-1 Review

Shark PowerDetect NeverTouch Pro 2 in 1: Introduction

• Type: Robot vacuum cleaner with mop
• cosmic union: Self-emptying spring with self-cleaning
• Navigation system: LiDAR

In September at IFA 2024, SharkNinja unveiled the new PowerDetect range, which consists of a host of different form factors, including a trio of new robot cleaner options.

Featuring brilliant NeverStuck technology, which lifts the robot when it’s on the carpet to keep the mop away, and a NeverTouch base (which you’ll actually have to touch from time to time), the Shark PowerDetect robot features 360 and 3D LiDAR sensors. , Alexa integration and dirt, edge, moisture and stain detection functions.

The three different models (NeverTouch Pro, NeverTouch and Self-Empty) feature the same robot (available in black or white), but the bases differ.

Tested here, to give it its full moniker, the Shark PowerDetect 2-in-1 Robot Vacuum and Mop with NeverTouch Pro Base, which has the model number RV2820ZE in the US and RV2800ZEUK here in the UK.

With a mid-tier price, it goes up against models like the Samsung Bespoke Jet Bot Combo and the Eufy X10 Pro Omni.

I’d barely finished packing up the Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 self-emptying robot vacuum cleaner (Shark’s first launch in the UK) when its more powerful sibling appeared.

But here we go again, with another review of the Shark robot cleaner…

Design and components

• Self-emptying and self-cleaning spring with anti-odor technology
• Advanced lifting design
• Ingenious mop release feature

The rapid evolution of Shark products is evident in the PowerDetect NeverTouch Pro.

Unlike the Shark Matrix Plus, which was a more basic option and, dare I say, looked a little dated, which I described as a “pretty tacky affair”, the new PowerDetect robot looks much more proper, with a much more aesthetic more elegant.

The robot itself includes a unique side sweeping brush and a combination floor roller designed to avoid getting tangled in pet hair.

The mop holder slides from side to side for better mopping action and can be left in the dock for vacuum-only mode, ensuring carpets stay dry; We’ll talk about that in a moment.

The large docking station comes equipped with two water tanks: one for clean water and one for dirty water from mopping.

SharkNinja claims that the clean water tank can last 30 days. Additionally, the dock features a 2-liter bagless trash container, which Shark estimates can handle up to 60 days of dirt.

I’ve had the model running upstairs in my house, vacuuming the bedrooms and mopping the bathroom and that water tank claim certainly holds up, and the trash can is still nowhere near full.

At the top you will notice a new anti-odor cartridge, designed to neutralize unpleasant odors during the container emptying process.

In the box you will receive a can with a fresh fragrance and you can buy more later.

The filters inside the base and robot are washable, ensuring that maintaining the PowerDetect is quite simple.

Settings, application and navigation.

The Shark Clean app, as I mentioned in the Matrix review, is a glaring weakness. While the initial setup is simple, its functionality is too basic compared to the competition, although some additions have been added, such as a live view of the robot during a cleaning.

The mapping process is divided into two stages; an initial mapping run and a floor type detection run, which seems unnecessarily cumbersome – why can’t you do both at the same time?

Once the map is finally complete, you can edit it to merge or split rooms and create no-go zones.

However, the app lacks a no-mop zone option. Instead, the robot relies on detecting hard floors to mop.

Cleaning options are also limited to Home, Rooms, or Spot cleaning modes, with Spot mode limited to a fixed-sized box that cannot be resized, unlike Roborock, which allows you to choose custom-sized zones to clean stains.

Unlike the Matrix, there’s no manual control over suction power, which seems silly; nor any adjustments in water use or the number of cleaning passes.

You rely entirely on your PowerDetect sensors to adjust these settings. While this may suit some users, advanced users will miss having more control and I found that areas, particularly on thicker carpets, were not always as clean.

The programming when it was first released was similarly simplistic, allowing only one program per day for a complete home cleaning. However, this has now been updated to allow you to clean different rooms at different times.

The PowerDetect robot has a built-in voice, which explains what happens at each step, and also some catchy little snippets of music to signal the start or end of a clean.

Performance

The Shark PowerDetect NeverTouch Pro is designed to clean intelligently, mopping hard floors and vacuuming both hard floors and carpets.

Since it can detect the type of surface it is cleaning, it only pulls out the mop if necessary. Therefore, if you choose the vacuum only mode, you will leave the mopping equipment parked at the dock.

If you need the mop, it will put it back in and clean, after having vacuumed first… originally called Deep, this mode recently changed its name to Vacuum + Mop.

In this mode it vacuums and mops hard floors at the same time. The other modes are vacuum only and mop only; the latter of which has a slightly confusing name because it vacuums detected areas of hardwood, as well as mopping at the same time.

These two modes can also be started from the silver buttons on the robot itself – they’re located next to a return to dock button.

I found that PowerDetect’s navigation was quite inconsistent and that the robot often had difficulty exiting certain spaces.

In carpet tests, the robot’s Dirt Detect sensors worked well, but left some areas with visible lint and small particles after the first pass. A second run achieved a complete cleanup, but it’s not ideal to have to send it twice.

On the Matrix you can choose a more powerful vacuum force, but on this model the PowerDetect technology is supposed to decide when an extra boost is needed, but unfortunately it doesn’t always work, so I’d like to see an option added back. to manually choose a power mode.

On hard floors, the robot performed much better, removing all debris in a single pass by vacuuming and mopping simultaneously. Spot cleaning tests further demonstrated the robot’s strengths. Coffee, red wine, ketchup and dried mud stains were removed efficiently, although multiple passes were sometimes necessary.

Edge cleanliness was decent but not exceptional. While Edge Detect and Wet Edge Detect feature improved performance, some dust remained on the edges. Competitors like the Roborock Q Revo Slim fared much better here.

Noise levels are quite low, less than 60 dB, making it easy to stay in the same room while the robot works.

Battery life is 110 minutes on the lowest suction setting, but varies depending on soil levels.

Final thoughts

The Shark PowerDetect NeverTouch Pro Robot Vacuum and Mop is a significant technological advancement that offers innovative features and impressive cleaning power. However, it is held back by an overly basic app, unpredictable features, and inconsistent navigation.

At this price, it competes with more polished models such as Roborock, Eufy and Dreame, which offer much better app functionality and navigation systems.

While the hardware is promising, the software needs refinement. With updates to the app, PowerDetect could become a strong contender. For now, it’s an ambitious robot vacuum cleaner that doesn’t fully justify its price.

how we test

When we publish our reviews, you can be sure that they are the result of “living with” long-term testing.

Cleaning robots typically live within an ecosystem or range of products that supposedly all work in harmony. And they are designed to offer a variety of different cleaning options. It is therefore impossible to use a robot cleaner for a week and give a verdict.

Because we test the smart home kit all day, every day, we know what matters and how a particular smart cleaning machine compares to alternatives you might also be considering.

Our reviews are complete, objective and fair, and of course, we are never paid directly to review a device.

Read our guide on how we test robot vacuums to learn more.

Frequently asked questions

Shark PowerDetect NeverTouch Pro 2-in-1: Specifications