I was recently given the opportunity to live with the Matic cleaner. First, let me start off by saying this is not a paid post; I am not affiliated in any way with the company, nor am I incentivized to write anything. I am just a technology enthusiast who was given a chance to test something new and write about it. Everything expressed here are my own opinions. Also, this is not a review. These are observations of a beta product and app. I can’t possibly cover every question or comment in this post, so feel free to ask questions!
Now, with that said, for those who may not know, Matic is an AI-enabled cleaner with vacuuming and mopping capabilities, designed to be a cleaning companion in your home rather than an encumbrance. Unlike other brands I have used (Dyson, iRobot), where you must maneuver around the robot if it cleans while you are in the space, Matic intelligently detects if people are present and navigates to clean that occupied area later in the cycle. It smartly adapts to changes in the living space, such as moved items and furniture, displaying an almost human-like intelligence. Because of this, I found myself often personifying Matic in this post.
I have had varying experiences with smart robotic cleaners, ranging from the ‘dumb as rocks’ Dyson 360 Vis Nav to the ‘I’ll bump into it to find out if it’s fragile’ iRobot devices, as well as the LIDAR-equipped Roborocks. Subjectively, I feel this robot navigates the best of the lot and vacuums second-best to Dyson. Even though it’s in beta, the ‘weirdness’ it exhibits is mostly on par with the bugs found in competitors’ production products. Currently, Matic tends to terrorize floor vents and is a bit hesitant around the kick areas under cabinets, but this is expected to improve over time as Matic gets optimized. (Remember, this is a beta product!)
Addressing the elephant in the room: size. Many will note that Matic is much taller than the average cleaning robot. Matic measures 8 inches tall, making it unable to get under most chairs, beds, and similar furniture. This is an interesting choice, as most robotic floor cleaners are only 3-4 inches tall. Initially, I thought this was a drawback. How am I expected to clean under my bed?! However, after considering engineering challenges, I believe the goal was to create a device that can clean anything a hand vacuum can clean without compromise. That said, Matic may not be the best choice if you want to clean every inch of your floor.
Matic’s approach to cleaning stands out, featuring the ability to work in near-zero lighting conditions (Tested exceptionally well), allowing you to schedule overnight cleanings and wake up to a clean house and not a stuck robot. When inevitable spills or crumbs happen, you can use the app to highlight an area to clean with your finger. Even though it’s early days for the robot, there is voice control support – with Matter on the horizon.
Let’s quickly touch on battery life: it’s fantastic. I can vacuum and mop an entire floor of my house on a single charge. Additionally, the robot’s speed is impressive. The first time I used it, I was surprised at how quickly it moved, navigated and completed its work.
The largest and most important point for me is privacy. This robot is packed with cameras. The last thing I want is my data mined and sold or hosted on the internet. EVERYTHING Matic does is local and on-device, staying between your home and the app. With Matic being a new company, I am not sure if anybody has independently verified these claims, but I am taking them at their word in the privacy policy.
Like a few of you may be doing, I was wondering if Matic would come to market or if it was just another ‘press release product.’ These feelings intensified as Matic experienced several delays. However, those feelings are completely unfounded. It is still months away from a launch, but the product is real and on the horizon.
I also learned about the reasons for the delays. Matic wanted to incorporate new NVIDIA AI chips to supercharge the processing power of this robotic cleaner, and after using Matic with these chips, I’m glad they did. It’s very cool in the app to see how Matic handles floor plan recognition, route planning, and learning. You never hear the words ‘evolving neural nets’ when talking about cleaning robots, but with Matic, you do.
The price, sit down, is a big one: $1,000 (well, $995). It started out at an eye-watering $1,800 but was adjusted down a few months ago. Worth it? I would say so. There are many other robots at that price point that are, to put it bluntly, dumber or not as effective at cleaning. Yes, there is no auto-bin emptying, but Matic has a generously sized HEPA filter bag. There is no auto-fill for the floor cleaning solution, but that’s not a big deal.
The future looks really bright for this robot, and I look forward to answering questions on my socials.
EDIT: I did not properly understand Matter support. Matter is not present but is on the roadmap.