Wyze Robot Vacuum promises premium features on a budget

Wyze is back again, this time with a robotic vacuum rivaling the bigger and more expensive names on the market. The new Wyze Robot Vacuum will arrive this January with a number of smart features, including the ability to map its surroundings, schedule sweeps, avoid virtual walls, run in a special quiet mode, and more.

Robot vacuums were popularized by Roomba, which is known for its disc-shaped automated vacuums that automatically clean your floors. A number of competitors have hit the market since, but most of them have one thing in common: they're quite pricey. That's where Wyze aims to distinguish itself, offering its own robotic vacuum with high-end features at $199.

Wyze says its Robot Vacuum has a diameter just under 14-inches and weighs just a tad above 7lbs. The model can be managed using both Android and iOS devices, enabling users to schedule sweep times, put up virtual walls in places the vacuum shouldn't visit and more using a smartphone or tablet.

The vacuum features Simultaneous Location and Mapping (SLAM) technology for tracking its location in the home and optimizing its routes. Wyze says buyers can expect high-precision mapping made possible by seven groups of sensors capable of scanning 2,016 distance points.

In addition to choosing the time of day and days of the week for vacuuming, the Wyze Robot Vacuum also supports area selection, which is a feature in which the user can edit the robot's map to choose specific areas for cleaning. The vacuum keeps track records that include data like duration, start time, and the areas that were cleaned.

The Wyze Robot Vacuum features 2100 Pascal suction power and three suction power modes, LIDAR, HEPA filter, 550ml dust bin, a drop sensor, NIDEC brushless motor, and it is powered by an A4 Cortex-A7 processor. The model takes 3.5 hours to charge.

Wyze says you'll be able to preorder the Robot Vacuum starting on November 10 with the general launch arriving in January.