iLife A11 review Tom's Guide Skip to main content Tom's Guide is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here's why you can trust us. iLife A11 review This hybrid robot vacuum and mop promises a lot, but delivers very little By Meghan McDonough published 7 July 2022 (Image: © Tom's Guide) Tom's Guide Verdict Skip it. There are better options than the iLife A11. Pros + Performs well on bare floors+ Quiet cleaner Cons - Dismal performance on carpet- Inaccurate mapping- Frustrating room division Today's best iLife A11 deals (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)$399.99 (opens in new tab)View (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)$399.99 (opens in new tab)View (opens in new tab)See all prices (2 found)iLife A11 review: SpecsOverall cleaning performance: 72.16 Pet hair score: 58.25 Size: 13.78 inches x 13.78 inches x 3.72 inches Modes: Vacuuming, Mopping On board dustbin capacity: 0.45 liter dustbin only/ 0.3 liter dustbin with 0.2 liter water tank Smart home compatibility: Alexa & Google Assistant The holy grail of robot vacuums is the hybrid: A robot that vacuums and mops equally well. Enter the iLife A11, a 2-in-1 robot vacuum that attempts to do just that. The latest offering from iLife features LiDar navigation and Y-shaped mopping, which is meant to simulate a manual, human-driven mop. The A11 performed well on hardwood, but did so poorly elsewhere that it stood no chance of making our list of the best robot vacuums. Read the rest of our iLife A11 review to see where it fell down. iLife A11 review Price and availability The iLife A11 was released in March of 2022 and is currently available on Amazon.com for $399 with a coupon that knocks $70 off. It comes with two dustbins: one for vacuuming only and one for vacuuming and mopping. The second is a combination water tank and dustbin as the A11 is capable of vacuuming and mopping simultaneously. Also in the box is a reusable microfiber mopping pad and an additional dustbin filter.iLife A11 Robot Vacuum and Mop Combo at Amazon for $399.99 (opens in new tab) iLife A11 review Design Shiny black never goes out of style with robot vacuums, does it? The iLife A11 continues the trend, dressed with a sleek, reflective jet black lid, complete with ILIFE etched in silver on the raised LiDar cap. (Image credit: Tom's Guide) A simple silver rubber oval button pulls double duty as the power and home button. Under the thin plastic lid resides the dustbin and an on-board cleaning tool. (Image credit: Tom's Guide) Flip the iLife A11 over and you'll see two chunky rubberized wheels on either side of the brush roll and a small omni-directional wheel in the front. There's also a tri-spoke brush to help collect debris just in front of the right wheel. The brush roll is an alternating mix of rubber fins and bristles to help guide debris into the vacuum's gullet. (Image credit: Tom's Guide) When the 2-in-1 dustbin is inserted, the iLife A11 is capable of vacuuming and mopping in one run, or tackling each task separately. Before mopping, you'll want to attach the removable microfiber pad to the mopping plate on the rear underside of the A11. The pad attaches with Velcro and is easy to remove for drying. Unlike iRobot and Roborock, iLife doesn't offer a branded cleaning solution. In fact, the company doesn't recommend using any cleaning solution aside from water. (Image credit: Tom's Guide) Looking at the iLife A11, I had a sense of deja vu. It's the same device body and base as both the Wyze Robot Vacuum and the Proscenic M6 Pro. While the M6 Pro uses a different color scheme, the A11 and the Wyze are nearly identical save the difference in logos and the A11's mopping add-ons - the A11 shares that feature with the M6 Pro. iLife A11 review Vacuuming performance Unfortunately for the iLife A11, this robot vacuum's performance hewed closer to the Proscenic M6 Pro than the Wyze Robot Vacuum. While I was impressed with how quiet the iLife A11 cleaned, it earned a disappointing overall average score of 72.16, worse than most vacuums I've tested. It was well below the Wyze Robot Vaccum's score of 92.73 and the Roborock S4 Max's 96.25 average. The irony of the iLife A11 robot vacuum is that it performed well on hardwood floors, but couldn't match that performance on carpet. iLife A11: Combined cleaning performance scores Overall Score CerealKitty litterDog hairiLife A1172.169959.2358.25Wyze Robot Vacuum92.7310091.287Roborock S4 Max96.2598.3896.3894Roomba i3+90.110094.975.5Proscenic M6 Pro80.3998.1374.0569Eufy RoboVac X8 Hybrid92.3994.3588.0894.75 On bare hardwood floors, the iLife A11 was a legit contender, earning a perfect 100 cleaning up Cheerios and a respectable 93.65 picking up kitty litter. When vacuuming, the iLife A11 tackles the edges of an area first then switches to a serpentine pattern inside. (Image credit: Tom's Guide) That pattern enabled it to clean up 91% of dog hair in our test area, though it accumulated a large clump on one of its wheels during testing. It eventually shook off the hair, but didn't return to pick it up. Though it missed pet hair pick up perfection, the A11 scored just two points below the iRobot Roomba i3's 93% clean up rate. iLife A11: Hardwood Floor results CerealKitty litterDog hairiLife A1110093.6591Wyze Robot Vacuum10097.15100Roborock S4 Max96.7597.75100Roomba i3+10095.793Proscenic M6 Pro10097.3100Eufy RoboVac X8 Hybrid98.790100 Carpet is where it all fell apart for the iLife A11. Though it collected 98% of the cereal in our test area, it performed poorly on the kitty litter and dog hair tests, picking up 24.8% and 25.5% respectively. iLife A11: Carpet tests CerealKitty litterDog hairiLife A119824.825.5Wyze Robot Vacuum10085.2574Roborock S4 Max1009588Roomba i3+1009458Proscenic M6 Pro96.2550.838Eufy RoboVac X8 Hybrid9086.1589.5 iLife A11 review Mopping performance Mopping floors with the iLife A11 was very similar to my experience with other hybrid vacuum and mopping robots. It cleans with water alone via a thin microfiber pad attached to the underside of the robot. Water drips from the tank onto the pad, moistening it as the pad travels along the floor. Unlike some other hybrids, the A11 moves in a Y-shaped pattern as it mops, which more closely mimics how someone using an actual mop would clean a floor. (Image credit: Tom's Guide) Like most other hybrids, I don't trust the A11 to mop the floors unattended. Neither does iLife. A warning on the water tank specifically states "Do not use water tank without anyone at home." Though the A11 did not release a lot of water, even when set to maximum seepage, it's not worth risking a wet rug - especially if the vac gets stuck. iLife A11 review Setup app and mapping iLife has a new app to accompany the A11, called iLife Vac Global (Android and iOS (opens in new tab)). There's a QR code for it on the underside of the vacuum and you'll want to use it since it's easily confused with the other iLife robot vacuum apps found in both app stores. The app requires you to create a new account or login and sends a verification code via email after you click "Send code." After entering the verification code, I kept receiving a password error. I eventually discovered that you have to enter (or re-enter) the password after entering the verification code. The app doesn't make this clear, which was frustrating. If that all seems like too much hassle, the A11 also comes with an old-fashioned remote control. The iLife A11 was able to quickly make a map of my first floor, but it wasn't entirely accurate. In general, LiDar-based robot vacuums will often show vague areas that are just beyond the robot's reach. The laser sees these areas initially, but, in theory, on subsequent runs, the bot learns the layout of a room and refines its map accordingly. That didn't happen with the A11. The map generated by the A11 included a lot of extra space in the dining room and added a whole extra room to my kitchen area. While I would love the extra square footage, the bot was detecting floor space that was simply not there. I couldn't delete these extra areas from the map, nor did they disappear when I attempted to create a new map. The A11 even decided one "imaginary" space in my kitchen was its own room and divided it accordingly. (Image credit: Tom's Guide) Even more frustrating, I wasn't able to divide up the rooms in my mostly open floor plan house accurately. Though the iLife A11 automatically created divisions for two rooms (the bathroom and the aforementioned phantom room), the rest of the division work was up to me. However, once I drew a line to divide my living room from my dining room, I couldn't create another division on the map that would intersect it anywhere. Essentially, the first line I drew invisibly extended out to the edges of the map. I could only create additional lines that were somewhat parallel to that first line by dragging my finger across the phone screen. Want to adjust a line slightly? Sorry, you're out of luck. Tapping anywhere near a newly drawn line deletes it, meaning you have to redraw it again. (Image credit: Tom's Guide) If you can get beyond the mapping madness, the iLife A11 has several cleaning options. In addition to room-specific cleaning, there's edge, spot, and area cleaning modes. There's even a manual cleaning mode which lets you control the vacuum with an onscreen directional pad. (Image credit: Tom's Guide) Scrubbing mode is used for regular mopping, though the amount of water seepage is adjustable. Suction is also adjustable with eco, standard, and turbo options. iLife A11 review Verdict Hybrid robot vacuums and mops might be the future of automated home cleaning, but the iLife A11 still has a ways to go. While I was initially impressed with this robot vacuum's cleaning performance on bare floors, it couldn't get the job done on carpet. Coupled with a frustrating app, the A11 doesn't live up to the hype for $399. Even if you have a carpet-free home, there are better, less frustrating and less expensive options such as the top-rated Roborock S4 Max or the Wyze Robot Vacuum. The iLife A11 has a lot of promise - but, ultimately, it doesn't deliver. Meghan McDonoughMeghan McDonough is a journalist who currently tests and writes about robot vacuums. Since 2008, she's written about laptops, mobile phones, headphones, speakers, and other consumer tech. When she sees an unfamiliar device, Meghan has a habit of asking complete strangers, "What is that? Does it work well for you?" In her spare time, Meghan enjoys seeing live music, tending to her garden, and playing endless games of fetch with her Goldendoodle, Duke of Squirrel. See all comments (0) No comments yet Comment from the forums Be In the Know Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. 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