ILIFE A4S Review and Test: The Longer Run Time

ILIFE has been busy for the past two months in terms of product development.

Just a few days ago I published a review on the ILIFE A6 – the latest in the A series robotic vacuums.

Now we will look at the A4S.

First, let’s quickly dive into the differences between these three variants and then just focus on the A4S.

There are 3 major upgrades which include improved charging uptime, brush and motor.

ILIFE A4S

The A4S and A6 come with a second generation engine that improves efficiency. The beater bar on the A6 does not contain any bristles. This translates to easier maintenance.

Unfortunately, having a newer engine doesn’t translate into more power. These two robots will produce the same power output as A4 which is 1,000Pa.

The biggest update in my opinion will be the motorized brush. The A4S comes with a stiffer brush that ILIFE says will work better on hair and dust.

The bearings have also been upgraded to provide better efficiency and excitation. This improves efficiency on carpets.

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Quick look at the features

• 5 times more suction compared to A4 helps it perform better on carpet
• Three-stage cleaning system
• Max cleaning mode enables maximum suction for carpets
• 120 to 140 minutes running time
• The second generation algorithm makes this robot smarter and more efficient
• Developed tangle-free sensors
• Small room mode automatically shortens the time the robot will operate to conserve battery and extend life
• Scheduled cleaning is available once a day, seven days a week
• HEPA filter
• 1 year warranty

Positives

• The improved motor improves efficiency and running time by 30 minutes
• Mini-Room feature shortens runtime to clean a smaller room
• Even with all the upgrades, it’s still one of the cheapest robots available
• The low profile design will fit most furniture
• long term time
• HEPA filter

Negatives

• It still uses a random algorithm that makes it ineffective
• It lacks strength so it can’t deep clean carpet

What do you expect from an upgraded A4?

In terms of appearance, this robot looks exactly like the A4. It uses the same outer shell, has the same color and container.

top view

View from the bottom

From the outside looking inside, it looks just like an A4. They both use the same color scheme and have the same layout underneath.

Almost all the parts inside A4 have been improved in A4S.

The list of promotions includes:

• Better Mobility
• Use of brushless DC motor
• Bigger Li-Ion battery
• Upgraded beater bar bearings
• Harder bristles for a motorized brush

All of these upgrades are aimed at improving the uptime, excitement, and service life of the bot.

Using a brushless DC motor will extend the life of the robot as it is more efficient in terms of efficiency.

These motors are usually more expensive due to the complex manufacturing process but ILIFE has been able to keep prices low. Compared to A4, there is not much difference in price.

small room technology

ILIFE has added a feature that small home owners like me will appreciate. They call this the small room technique.

Now to understand how this technology works, you first have to understand how the bot works without this feature.

When the Clean button is pressed, the robot’s default cleaning mode is triggered.

In simple terms, the robot goes through its cleaning pattern until it detects that the battery is at 20% or less. After that, the engine is automatically turned off to find the base of the house.

The problem arises when cleaning a small room – let’s say 100 square feet. It will run for more than two hours before the docks. Although I like accuracy, it is not practical to operate the robot for a long time in a small area.

Ultimately, the battery power deteriorates at an accelerated level and you will have to replace it sooner rather than later.

Mini-Room technology mitigates this problem somewhat by reducing the amount of time the robot cleans.

remote control

The A4S has the same remote control as the A4 with directional buttons and a maximum button to activate maximum suction. You can actually use the remote control on all ILIFE robots except for the V1 which doesn’t have one.

Lithium-ion battery

The A4S maintains the same 2,600mAh Li-ion battery that provides fade-free power that will run between 120 and 140 minutes.

Why the longer runtime? It is because of the brushless DC motor that works more efficiently compared to the brushed motor.

self rescue

The front wheel contains a sensor that tells the robot to roll back when it hasn’t detected any movement. This means that if the robot climbs over the door stopper and finds itself stuck, it will attempt to turn back.

What is the difference between A4 and A4S?

Most of it is invisible stuff – brush, battery, bearings, software. According to GearBest, the A4S will last longer and with an upgraded brush. The new brush has a larger bearing and is supposed to be easier to clean.

In terms of hardness, both brushes are similar. I don’t see much difference to be honest with you.

And if you watched the whole video up to the cleaning test, the A4 did better in terms of cleaning but was much less efficient as it takes another 10 minutes to clean the room.

To be fair with the A4S, I added a bit of powder so that could be a factor in its 3g drop.

Floor cleaning

I sprinkled 50g of oats, powder, hair and dust on the tarpaulin floor to test how this robot works.

Here is the result after 31 minutes…

She was able to pick up 44 out of the 50 grams scattered on the floor. A little frustrating because I expected more but it’s only the first test.

Carpet cleaning

The video above shows how this robot would navigate the carpet, how it would travel over different surfaces and how much dirt it was able to pick up

It’s not a cleaning test per se, but until I get to the actual bot I won’t be able to test it.

What comes in the box?

Out of the box, you’ll get…

• Robot A4S
• 1 extra HEPA filter
• charging base
• Remote control plus 2 AAA batteries
• Electric switch
• brush cleaning tool
• 2 extra side brushes
• User manual in English

Product specification

Where can I buy this?

There are only a few places to buy this robot – Amazon and GearBest. Amazon sells this for just under $200 — cheaper than the Roomba 650.

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to finish

The A4S offers some great upgrades here. The best I’ve had is the Mini-Room technology which reduces the time this robot will be working in a small room.

This feature extends the life of the batteries because you do not have to discharge them often.

The brushless DC motor adds approximately 30 minutes to the run time. This allows it to clean larger homes without having to moor as often. Again efficiency is the name of the game here.

The improvements made are not significant, and most of them are geared towards better efficiency and longer uptime.