If you’re looking for a robotic vacuum cleaner on a budget, you’ve got more options today than in the history of the technology. Considering the first robots only came out a few decades ago, that’s not surprising. However, considering the fact that one out of every four vacuums sold today in the US and Canada is a robotic one, the amount of choice in the market is officially dizzying. How do you tell a good deal from a bad one?

We’ve been working to answer that question lately. We’ve reviewed and compared a range of budget vacuums from established brands (e.g., the Roomba 690, 652, 650, and 614 or the Shark Robot 750 and 720), but we’ve also been examining a lot of lesser known and, frankly, no-name brands, such as the ECOVACS Deebot line (including the M80 Pro, N79, and N78) and the Dibea D960. Today we’re going to review and compare another lesser known but promising model, the ILIFE A4s Robot Vacuum Cleaner, and see how it stands up to the N79, which is currently our favorite small-company robotic worker. Our ten second summary is to choose the A4s if it’s cheaper and you don’t have a smart phone, and to choose the N79 if you do. Our full review is below, and you can buy it here.

Pros, Cons, and Key Features of the ILIFE A4s Robotic Vacuum

In a world of generic and ever-cheaper robotic vacuums, the ILIFE A4s‘ claim to fame is undoubtedly its battery. ILIFE states you can achieve up to 140 minutes, which is a higher number than you’ll see from most robotic vacuums in any price range. Beyond that, it has the standard features we’ve come to expect from budget robotic workers, including scheduling and programmability, a remote control, automatic return-home functionality, and multiple suction and cleaning modes. The A4s has a 12 inch cleaning radius, is 3 inches tall, and weighs a svelte 4.9 pounds. It comes with the same crummy one year warranty common to nearly every robotic vacuum in the industry; we don’t know why it’s so short when most of these machines will last several years longer, including the A4s, but that’s a discussion for another day.

The most significant thing missing from the A4s is Wi-Fi and smart phone compatibility. While there are several vacuums in this price range that don’t have it (e.g., the Roomba 652, 650, and 614), there are several that do (e.g., the Roomba 690, Shark 750, Deebot N79), so this is worth keeping in mind if it’s a deal breaker. We’ll note that programming the A4s from its remote was as easy as any smart phone app we’ve come across in a Wi-Fi compatible robot.

How does the ILIFE A4s compare to the Deebot N79?

As noted above, the main difference between the A4s and the N79 is the presence (and absence) of Wi-Fi compatibility. To put it simply, the A4s doesn’t come with Wi-Fi while the N79 does. This means you’ll need to control the A4s from the included remote (or by walking up to the robot itself, but who does that?), while you get to choose between physical interaction, remote interaction, and whipping out your smart phone with the N79.

It’s also worth mentioning that the A4s has a significantly longer battery life compared to the N79, which has an already impressive battery life at 100 minutes. With the ability to reach 140 minutes, the A4s pulls ahead by a significant margin. Additionally, the A4s weighs about half as much (4.9 vs 10 pounds) and has a smaller cleaning path at 12 inches vs 14 inches. Practically speaking, though, the only differences you’re likely to notice when using both are the way in which you control them and how long each can clean before whizzing back to its home base. Functionally, they both do a good job cleaning low-pile carpets, hardwood floors, and pet hair.

How well does the ILIFE A4s clean carpets and hardwood floors?

At this price point, we’re not looking for perfection; that’s something we expect when spending hundreds more, like at the level of a Roomba 980 or 960. And even then, there are going to be some bugs. At the price point of the A4s, though, our expectations are much more modest.

We want a vacuum that’s not afraid of carpets–low pile ones, anyway–and that can do a good job on all kinds of bare floors–hardwood, of course, but also tile, laminate, and concrete–as well as on area rugs. We want it to navigate somewhat reasonably and not kamikaze itself off flights of stairs. We want it to be smart enough to find its way home after cleaning, and we’d like enough battery life to not see it taking a battery break every half hour. The A4s meets all of these requirements, and handily.

The battery life in particular was particularly impressive; their claims of up to 140 minutes of battery life were certainly true on hardwood floors, and we easily saw 100 minutes on carpets as long as we stayed away from Max-Mode. We’ll note that ILIFE’s warning to avoid high-pile carpets and dark floors was accurate; the A4s was helpless on the former (you’ll want a Miele Soft Carpet or Electro+ for those) and avoided the latter due to its sensors confusing them for cliffs. Both of these are typical behaviors in this price range, so it was hard to hold them against the A4s.

We’ve heard rumors that the A4s is simply a rebranding of the Deebot M82, and considering the fact that you can control both of them with the same remote and the interiors are nearly identical, we’d agree with these rumors. At any rate, in a world where most generic robot vacuums are made in the same three factories in China, we can’t hold this against the A4s. It cleans and does so for a modest budget.

Why buy the ILIFE A4s?

In the end, if you’re considering the ILIFE A4s, it’s a pretty clear sign that a.) you’re willing to go beyond the major brands (or else you’d be looking at Roombas like the 652 and Sharks like the 750) and b.) you don’t want to spend more than a few hundred dollars if possible (or else you’d be looking at Roombas like the 980 and 960). With that in mind, you’re still going to want a machine that’s going to clean low-pile carpets and hardwood floors well, give a decent battery life, navigate with some intelligence, and keep going after the one year warranty expires. If those describe your needs, the A4s is going to meet them, as will the N79. Our main suggestion would be to get the A4s if you’re happy with just having a remote and to choose the N79 if you’d like smart phone control as well as a remote. Both are good machines, and you’re not going to go wrong with either in this price range.

You can buy the ILIFE A4s here on Amazon. If you want to control your robot with your phone, buy the Deebot N79 here instead.

Canadians can buy the ILIFE A4s here or buy the Deebot N79 here for smart phone compatibility.

If you find our research on PMC helpful, you can follow our efforts to keep maniacally reviewing home cleaning tools by shopping through our links above. We promise to keep fighting the good fight against every horror children, animals, and grown, yet messy humans can inflict upon a clean home.