Shark Matrix Plus Robot Vacuum Review

The build quality is decent. The vacuum body is made mostly from matte-finish plastic, with a few glossy accents and a LIDAR sensor trim piece meant to look like brushed metal. In broad terms, it doesn't feel especially high-end, but there aren't any glaringly obvious weak points in its construction either, aside from the notable exception of its dustbin; when lifting the robot, small debris can spill back out of it due to small gaps in its construction.

On the upside, the vacuum is easy to assemble and set up, with all parts snapping easily into place. Doing things like pulling out the side brush or removing the brushroll is very simple.

This vacuum has many parts that require regular maintenance. Luckily, most are easy to access.

• Dustbin: You can remove the dustbin by simply pressing the two release buttons at the back of the vacuum and then sliding it free. Since the vacuum automatically dumps accumulated debris into the external dirt bin on the charging dock, you'll only need to remove it to clear out blockages.
• Dustbin filter: Since the dustbin filter is built into the dustbin itself, it can be a hassle to clean. After every cleaning session, you should remove any stuck-on debris by hand or with another vacuum.
• Brushroll: You can easily access the brushroll by removing the brushroll cover, which is held in place with simple retention clips. That said, despite being advertised as self-cleaning, the brushroll is somewhat tangle-prone. You can remove any stuck-on debris or tangled hair by hand whenever necessary. It's worth noting that the brushroll on our test unit got stuck during testing, causing the vacuum to send a warning message and refuse to return to its dock until after we cleaned the brushroll.
• Side brush: You can pull the side brush from its socket. Check for any accumulated debris once a week and clean them as necessary, either by hand or with a dry cloth, as they tend to collect quite a bit of debris.
• Sensors and charging pads: You should dust the sensors and charging pads whenever you notice a buildup of debris.
• Base station dustbin: The external dustbin releases from the base station pretty easily. Another button on the side opens the bottom door so you can dump out any accumulated debris, releasing a cloud of dust and debris. According to the manufacturer, it can hold roughly 30 days' worth of collected debris. Unfortunately, there's no fill sensor, so you'll need to check the dustbin regularly.
• Base station dust bin pre-motor filters: You can lift the base station pre-filters from the top of the dock. You should clean them regularly using only cold water. Let them dry for at least 24 hours before putting them back in their place.
• Base station post-motor HEPA filter: You can find the post-motor filter in the base station behind a filter door on the base station. You should tap it against the side of a trash bin to dislodge any stuck-on debris, but make sure not to clean it under water.

This vacuum incurs high recurring costs, partly due to the added costs associated with its base station.

• Brushroll: The brushroll needs replacing every six to 12 months. No replacement is currently available.
• Side brush: The side brush needs to be replaced when it starts to exhibit visible wear and tear. You can buy a two-pack of replacements here.
• Vacuum pre-motor filter: This filter is built into the vacuum's dustbin and is designed to be reused, not replaced.
• Base station pre-filters: You should swap out the base station's pre-motor filters every six to 12 months. You can buy a set of replacements here.
• Base station post-motor filter: You should swap out the base station's post-motor filter every six to 12 months. You can buy a replacement here.

The Shark Matrix Plus is ultimately fairly compact. Its base station has virtually the same footprint as that of the Shark Matrix Robot, but it stands a little shorter, making it easier to squeeze under some tables.

This vacuum's internal dirt compartment has a very low capacity. Even when using this vacuum solely to deal with lightweight debris, you'll still need to empty its dustbin at the end of almost every single cleaning session.

This vacuum is bundled with a bagless self-empty station. It has a capacity of 1.00L, smaller than many other self-empty stations that use dirtbags with a capacity of 2.00L or more. While this bagless design does cut down on ownership costs since you won't have to purchase new bags regularly, it also means that debris disposal is messier and occurs a little more frequently. As per Shark's advertising material, this station needs emptying every 30 days.

• Shark Matrix Plus Robot
• Robot vacuum body
• Internal dust bin
• Pre-motor filter
• 1x Side brush
• Brushroll
• Brushroll cover
• Quick Start guide
• Base Station
• Self Empty Station/Charging station
• Base station dust bin
• Base station dust bin pre-motor filters (felt and foam)
• Base station dust bin post-motor HEPA filter and cover
• Filter holder

The battery performance is superb. In its high-power 'Max' power mode, it supplies just over an hour of cleaning time. Using its 'Eco' mode doesn't actually extend its battery life by that much, bringing its max battery life to about 100 minutes, which is far less than the otherwise similar Shark Matrix Robot. The vacuum will return to its docking station when its state of charge drops to 15%.

This vacuum has a few quality-of-life features. There are three suction power modes: 'Normal,' which is the default mode; the more energy-efficient 'Eco' mode; and the high-power 'Max' mode. It also offers recharge and resume functionality, allowing it to pick up a cleaning session from where it left off if it needs to return to its base to charge its battery. Beyond that, it has no debris or surface sensors that would allow it to automatically adjust its suction power setting.

Debris pickup on bare floors is excellent. It clears away the vast majority of larger debris like cereal and medium-sized debris like rice. It can leave behind smaller pulverized chunks of both and fine debris like sand. Having the vacuum make another pass would likely solve this.

It's worth noting that this vacuum did struggle with navigating within the confines of its test box when its dock station isn't accessible, as seen here. However, this is unlikely to present a problem in real-world use since the dock is always likely to be accessible.

The Shark Matrix Plus delivers decent performance on high-pile carpet. It does an alright job of dealing with medium-sized and large debris on this surface type. That said, it has a much harder time lifting away finer debris like sand that's been worked into this surface type, especially near walls.

Note: We initially encountered some difficulty testing this vacuum on our black sample carpet, as the vacuum's cliff sensors would trigger and cause the vacuum to stop moving. To get around this issue, we covered the sensors with white gaffer tape. This is something to be aware of if you have any black or very dark-colored carpeting in your home.

This vacuum's performance on low-pile carpet is mediocre. It's reasonably good at dealing with medium and large-sized debris but struggles more with finer material, and it has a really hard time collecting debris that's pressed up tight against walls or in corners.

Note: As with testing on high-pile carpet, this vacuum's cliff sensors went off on this surface type, too, causing the vacuum to stop moving. Once again, covering the cliff sensors with white gaffer tape resolved this issue. This is something to be aware of if you have any black or very dark-colored carpeting in your home.

This vacuum has a hard time with pet hair embedded in low-pile carpeting. It'll need to run several times to collect all pet hair. Its brushroll does tend to collect a lot of hair, despite its self-cleaning billing, but it's thankfully very easy to clean.

Like most robot vacuums, the Shark Matrix Plus has poor suction performance at its floorhead. The suction inlet is positioned too high above the ground to generate a tight seal on bare surfaces.

This vacuum has surprisingly good airflow performance for a robovac, especially in this price range. It's sufficiently powerful enough to lift heavier debris.

This vacuum is remarkably quiet. You'll hear what people nearby say even when the vacuum runs in its most powerful suction mode.

The multifunction dock is noisier than the vacuum when using the self-empty function, with a peak volume of 72.7 dBA.

This vacuum has decent overall maneuverability. It isn't the best regarding navigational efficiency, as it can pass over the same area more than once, but its overall room coverage is pretty good. It can also clean up close to obstacles like coat racks and furniture feet, which isn't always a given. Its LIDAR sensor is also somewhat tall, and the vacuum consequently can't clean under some low-lying couches and TV stands. It's also prone to getting stuck on shag-pile or tasseled rugs, though it can climb over things like electrical cords with only a bit of difficulty.

This vacuum does a poor job of sealing in fine allergens, which can escape from its exhaust and LIDAR sensor port. It's worth noting that the self-empty dock does have a HEPA filter, which should prevent any large clouds of fine dust from spilling out of the dustbin. All the same, if you want a self-empty dock with an extra layer of filtration media, you could check out the iRobot Roomba i8+'s self-empty dock, which uses a disposable dirtbag instead of a bagless system, further minimizing the risk of any mess when emptying it. We don't currently evaluate particle filtration for self-empty docks, so we can't make any definitive statements regarding the Shark dock's performance in this regard.

The Shark Matrix Plus struggles a lot with sucking up debris in crevices in its default 'Normal' mode. It lifts only a small amount of material away, but its side brush doesn't scatter debris away.

This vacuum has terrible stain-clearing performance. It has no mopping capability that would allow it to scrub away dried-on stains. If you're looking for a model in Shark's matrix lineup that does have a mopping function, the manufacturer does offer a model with a mopping system, the Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1. However, we haven't tested this model and can't guarantee it'll perform similarly to the Matrix Plus.

This vacuum isn't designed to deal with liquid spills.

The Shark Matrix Plus has a pretty broad range of automation features. It's capable of self-emptying, which reduces hands-on maintenance requirements. The two control buttons on top of the body allow you to use the vacuum without an internet connection; one sends the vacuum to its dock while the other starts a cleaning session in your home. Holding down the latter button engages the vacuum's 'Matrix Clean' mode, which spot-cleans a small area in a series of tight, overlapping vertical and horizontal grid lines. This mode only works for a small area, and the vacuum won't clean your entire home or even a single room this way. You can see this function in action here.

The SharkClean app is decent overall. You can use it to change the vacuum's suction power mode, command it to clean or return to its dock, schedule cleaning sessions, check the cleaning history and charge status, update the vacuum's firmware, or enable push notifications. After it's mapped out your home, you can also send it to specific rooms or set up virtual boundary lines that you don't want the vacuum to cross. You can see a quick tour of the SharkClean app here. That said, the app is also missing a few nice-to-have features that are becoming increasingly common on some alternatives, like the Roborock Qrevo; there's no multi-floor mapping capability, no obstacles represented in the coverage map, and no floor type sensor. You also can't schedule cleaning sessions for individual rooms or check the real-time position of the vacuum in your home.