Every robot vacuum says it is smart. Matic actually earned it: WIRED gave it a rare 10 out of 10 and called it the best robot vacuum it has tested. There is no lidar puck on top. Matic sees with cameras only, builds and keeps its map on the robot instead of in the cloud, and vacuums and mops in one pass, so it vacuums the rug and mops the tile without being told. Now it also takes “Hey Matic” voice commands and pointing gestures. Price: $1,495 direct, with a 6-month risk-free trial.
Eyes, not lasers
Matic was built by ex-Google engineers around an NVIDIA Jetson brain and a set of cameras, so it navigates more like a person than a bumper car. It spots floor types by itself, steers around toys, cables and paws, and recognizes people and pets so it gives them the right of way. A 3,000 square foot home maps in under 20 minutes with no pre-tidying, and when you carry it to another floor it recognizes the level and loads the right map. Infrared lights let it clean in the dark.
Your house stays in your house
All of that vision processing happens on the robot. Matic says your audio and video never leave your home and are never sent to the cloud, sold or even collected. For a camera on wheels roaming your living room, that is the headline feature.
Spec sheet that matters
- Navigation: camera-only vision with on-device mapping and AI
- Cleaning: vacuum and mop in one pass; mop roll self-wrings into the bag and lifts off rugs
- Controls: app (iPhone and Android), “Hey Matic” voice and gesture cues
- Noise: 55 dB vacuuming, 52 dB mopping
- Runtime: 2.5 hours vacuuming or 3 hours mopping; auto-docks and resumes
- Waste: HEPA bags that hold wet and dry mess
- Water tank: 600 ml, about 800 sq ft of mopping
- Size: 11 x 9.4 x 7.8 in body; small 4.9 x 7.1 x 5.1 in dock
The fine print: $1,495 is real money, and WIRED notes its 3,200 Pa suction is low on paper. There is no giant self-emptying base, so you swap HEPA bags (about one a week with daily use) and refill the tank yourself. It cannot climb stairs, ships to the US only, and the 1-year warranty and 6-month return window apply when you buy direct from Matic.
Want the opposite approach? The Roborock Saros Rover grew legs to climb stairs.
Get Matic for $1,495 with a 6-month risk-free trial direct from maticrobots.com.
Sources: Matic product page (specs and FAQ) | Matic home page | WIRED Matic review | The Verge Matic review | HowToMen Short.