Once you’ve tried a robot vacuum with a self-emptying bin, you can’t go back. The Wi-Fi-enabled Shark IQ bot has some hiccups, but it compensates by being relatively affordable, with a game-changing, self-emptying bin. In Shark's app, you can also enable Alexa, schedule cleanings, establish no-go zones on a floor map, and change the cleaning mode.

The Shark IQ will dock to unload the bin according to a pre-established algorithm, which usually worked out to twice an hour in my dog-hairy, kid-crumbly house. It also has nifty extras, like a self-cleaning roller brush. The bot did have trouble establishing a working floor map, and the cliff sensors often got tripped up on my kitchen step. But it’s worth it, just to not have to empty a dust bin every day.