iLife A4s Pro – Review 2020
Wi-Fi connectivity is a standard feature in robot vacuums these days, but not everyone needs or wants it. If you don’t necessarily care about being able to control your vacuum from your phone, an affordable, no-frills model like the $189.99 iLife A4s Pro might be just what you’re looking for. It’s easy to set up, has a compact design that allows it to maneuver around and under furniture, boasts several cleaning modes, and offers up to 2,000Pa of suction power. It’s a good option if you value simplicity, especially if you can find it on sale. But if you’re willing to spend a bit more, the $230 Ecovacs Deebot N79S gets you phone control, Amazon Alexa compatibility, and slightly better battery life.
Design, Features, and Setup
The A4s Pro replaces the A4s, offering a slimmer design, increased suction power, and a new auto boost feature for carpets. Measuring 12 inches in diameter and just 2.95 inches tall, the A4s Pro is slightly smaller than the A4s, which measures 12.2 inches in diameter and 3 inches tall. It’s among the most compact robot vacuums we’ve tested, making it a good option for cleaning under beds and sofas.
The Pro model also has a new high-speed motor that iLife says offers improved cleaning performance, and a new 2-in-1 main brush with rubber fins and bristles that doesn’t need to be cleaned as often as the previous model’s bristle-only roller. In terms of power, it’s two times stronger than the regular A4s, offering up to 2,000Pa of suction in Spot mode and 1,500Pa in Max mode.
It comes with one ElectroWall, an accessory you don’t get with the A4s, that creates an invisible barrier the vacuum won’t cross. You can place it wherever you want the robot to avoid, like under your desk where you might have a bunch of wires.
The A4s Pro is meant for cleaning hardwood, laminate, low-pile carpet, and tile. When it passes over carpet, it automatically increases its suction power. Like many other robot vacuums, it’s not meant for high-pile carpet or dark-colored floors, which the sensors can mistake for a ledge and refuse to pass over.
It has an Auto Clean button on top, a power switch on the side, and cliff sensors on the bottom that prevent it from falling down stairs. In the dustbin, it has a primary filter, a sponge, and a high-performance filter to capture airborne allergens. It comes with a remote control, a cleaning tool, an extra set of side brushes, and an extra high-performance filter.
The remote is powered by two AAA batteries that are included in the box. It has a small screen that displays the scheduled cleaning time on top, and the current time below. In the middle of the remote, there’s a Start/Pause button, along with direction buttons that let you manually control the robot and adjust the minute and hour when setting a cleaning schedule or the time. Under that are six more buttons for the robot’s various features and modes: Clock sets the current time, Plan sets a schedule, Spot makes the robot clean a specific area, Max increases suction power, Home sends the robot back to its base station, and Edge makes it clean along your baseboards.
Like its predecessor, the A4s Pro doesn’t offer app or voice control, so setting it up is as simple as placing the charging dock on the floor (iLife recommends setting it up about 3.2 feet away from objects on either side and 6.5 feet across from anything), plugging in the adapter, flipping on the robot’s power switch, and pressing the Home button on the remote. iLife recommends charging the robot overnight before its first use. When it’s charging, the Auto Clean button will flash orange. When it’s finished charging the light will turn off.
Scheduling a cleaning job is easy. First you need to set your local time on the remote (press the Clock button, use the arrows to adjust the time, then press the Clock button again to save it). Then press the Plan button, set a time for it to start cleaning, and press the Plan button again to confirm.
With most Wi-Fi-connected robot vacuums, you can customize the cleaning schedule to set a different time for each day of the week. You don’t get that option with the A4s Pro; once you set a schedule, it will clean at that same time each day.
Before running the A4s Pro, it’s a good idea to tidy up your home and pick up anything the robot might get stuck on, like power cords or toys. Some high-end robot vacuums like the Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 AIVI feature integrated cameras to see and avoid these obstacles, but they’re much more expensive.
Performance
iLife says the A4s Pro can clean for up to 100 minutes in Auto Cleaning mode on hard flooring, and 60 minutes in Max Mode. I have carpet, laminate with area rugs, and tile in my home, and it cleaned my floors for up to 90 minutes before its battery ran low and it started making its way back to its charging dock. That’s not bad, though the A4s lasted about 120 minutes in testing with mixed mode use. The Deebot N79S also lasted just a bit longer in testing at 95 minutes.
When it’s low on battery, the A4s Pro’s Auto Clean button will turn solid orange. It took around 15 minutes to find its way back to its charging dock, but it successfully made it there without my help on every test run.
It’s not uncommon for robot vacuums to get stuck on things like cords and furniture as they’re working, and A4s Pro is no exception. During one test run, it passed over a charging cord, which got tangled in its main brush. I manually removed the charging cord, pressed the Auto Clean button on the robot, and it got back to work. On another run, it got wedged under on the base of my couch. When it gets into a pickle, it will beep to alert you.
In testing, the auto boost feature worked as advertised. As soon as the robot rolled over an area rug or carpet, I could hear it get louder as it increased the suction power. The scheduling feature also worked without issue: I set it to clean at 1:30 p.m., and at that time the robot started right up in Auto mode as expected. The ElectroWall accessory (pictured below) also worked well; I placed it outside my office doorway, and when the robot got near the invisible barrier, it turned around and went in the other direction.
The A4s Pro is fairly quiet in operation, especially in Auto mode. You an watch TV or have a conversation with it running in the same room without being too disrupted.
After its first complete cleaning job, I was pleasantly surprised that the vacuum’s 15-ounce dustbin was completely filled with dust, dog hair, and feathers from my pillows. I then let it fully recharge and ran it a second time. After the second pass, the dustbin was about halfway full and my floors looked and felt a lot cleaner.
Maintenance
The A4s Pro requires similar maintenance as other robot vacuums. iLife recommends emptying and washing the dustbin and cleaning the primary filter after each use. Some robot vacuums can empty their own dustbin, like the iRobot Roomba S9+, but they cost a lot more.
You should clean the main brushes about twice a week and the side brushes whenever you notice they’re dirty or have hair tangled around them. iLife also recommends removing the front wheel with a screwdriver twice a week and cleaning any hair that’s tangled in the wheel cavity and axle.
The high-performance filter needs to be cleaned every two to four weeks and replaced every six months. You’ll also want to periodically wipe off the sensors and charging contacts on the bottom of the robot.
Comparisons and Conclusions
If you want an affordable robot vacuum and don’t care about being able to control it with your phone, the iLife A4s Pro is worth a look. It’s even more compact than its predecessor, making it a good option for low-clearance furniture, while offering more power for a lower price. It’s a decent value at $189.99, though you can often find it on sale, making it an even stronger buy.
In this price range, it’s also worth checking out the aforementioned Ecovacs Deebot N79S, which offers app control and Alexa voice command support for just $40 more. And if you’re willing to spend even more, the $299.99 Roomba 675 supports app and voice control while offering the best battery life and navigational abilities of the three, earning it our latest Editors’ Choice.
iLife A4s Pro Specs
Dimensions | 12 by 12 by 2.95 inches |
Battery Life (Tested) | 90 minutes |
Mop/Vacuum Hybrid | No |
Scheduling | Yes |
Virtual Walls | Yes |
Remote Control | Yes |
Phone Control | No |