There's a lot to like about the iLife A8 Robot Vacuum Cleaner on paper.
For a reasonable $299.99, it offers good navigation and automatic docking abilities, along with a low-profile design that easily sneaks under most furniture.
But it lacks some of the more advanced features you'll increasingly find in this price range, such as app and voice control, and its suction power didn't impress us in testing.
The Ecovacs Deebot N79S remains our top pick for affordable robot vacuums thanks to its superior connectivity and cleaning capabilities.
Design
The A8 is sleeker than you might expect for the price.
The top panel is deep black and made of glass, which looks classy and elegant, even if it's prone to dust and fingerprints.
Toward the front bumper, you'll find a panoramic camera and a circular Auto button.
The button glows green when fully charged or in use, red when there's an error, and orange while charging.
The front bumper itself houses the infrared sensors, while you'll find the dustbin at the rear.
Size-wise, the A8 is quite compact.
It measures 12.2 inches in diameter and stands 2.8 inches tall.
Its cousin, the iLife V8s (which both vacuums and mops), is slightly larger at 13 inches in diameter and 3.1 inches tall.
The A8's short profile makes it well-suited for homes with lots of low-clearance furniture.
Flip the bot over and you'll find its charging pins, drop sensors, side wheels, nose wheel, two side brushes, an interchangeable main brush, and two main treads.
In the box, you'll also find a charging dock, an extra rubber brush, two spare side brushes, cleaning tools, a spare filter, and a remote control (batteries not included), which is a nice haul of accessories for the price.
The only thing it doesn't come with is virtual barriers to cordon off areas of your home.
The remote control is small and easily fits in the palm of the hand.
It has a monochrome screen up top, with a directional pad underneath.
At the center of the directional pad is a start/pause button.
The bottom directional button toggles the Max cleaning mode, and below that are two rows of buttons that let you set the time, schedule, and select different modes.
You can also choose between spot and edge cleaning, as well as have the robot return to dock.
Setup and Performance
Because there's no app component to the A8, all you have to do to get started is plug in the dock and let the robot charge up to full battery.
This takes about five hours, which is longer than average.
I tested the A8 in PC Labs, and it did an impressive job of mapping rooms and finding its way around obstacles.
Initially, I was skeptical of the panoramic camera as the A8 consistently bumped into cabinets with harder-than-average force.
(Something to keep in mind if you have delicate furniture.) However, subsequent bumps were much gentler, and I later realized it was actually learning to map its environment.
As for traversing different floor types, the A8 handled the change with aplomb.
While most robot vacuums either clean methodically or seemingly at random, the A8 does both.
When you clean on Auto mode, it starts zig-zagging around the room, but then switches to a more methodical back-and-forth pattern once it maps the area.
The A8's navigation prowess also translated to impressive docking performance.
Often, robot vacuums in this price range get lost and run out of juice far from their charging docks.
The A8 didn't always make it all the way back, but it usually got pretty close.
Our test lab is also quite large, but the A8 clearly followed the shortest path back to its dock each time.
As far as actual vacuum performance goes, it's the A8's weakest link.
The vacuum managed to pick up an ear plug, a screw, and a quarter without issue, but it occasionally missed large dust bunnies and clumps of hair.
That might be due in part to its smaller-than-average dustbin.
While you'll get voice alerts if the vacuum gets stuck, it won't tell you when the bin is full—and a full bin means it won't pick up dirt effectively.
On average, I had to empty the bin at least twice per cleaning cycle.
That's not ideal if you're planning on running the vaccum unsupervised while you're at work.
The remote control is also disappointing.
While it was perfectly functional for scheduling and toggling between modes, the bot never registered directional commands in testing.
And as for scheduling options, you can program a once-daily clean, but that's it.
Battery life on the A8 is decent.
In testing, it got exactly 90 minutes of cleaning in on a single charge.
That's fairly standard, and sufficient for a single floor of a house or a small-to-medium apartment.
As for noise, the A8 isn't the quietest robot vacuum we've tested, but it's definitely an improvement over your traditional stick vacuums.
You'll probably have to turn up the volume on the TV if it's in the same room, but not by much.
Comparisons and Conclusions
While the iLife A8 delivers better-than-average navigation, it fails to outperform competing models when it comes to cleaning.
It's a decent option for keeping your home clean with minimal work on your end, but for the price, you can do better.
The Eufy RoboVac 11s has a similar form factor, along with better suction and longer battery life for less money than the A8.
Our Editors' Choice, the Ecovacs Deebot N79s, is also less expensive, and supports app control, more scheduling options, and Amazon Alexa voice assistance compatibility.
And for another option from iLife, the aforementioned V8s can mop in addition to vacuum, making it a more versatile choice.
iLife A8 Robot Vacuum Cleaner
Pros
Sleek, low-profile design.
Good navigation and docking abilities.
Comes with lots of spare parts.
The Bottom Line
The iLife A8 Robot Vacuum Cleaner is a pro at getting under low furniture and navigating around household obstacles, but it isn't strong enough to suck up every last crumb.
There's a lot to like about the iLife A8 Robot Vacuum Cleaner on paper.
For a reasonable $299.99, it offers good navigation and automatic docking abilities, along with a low-profile design that easily sneaks under most furniture.
But it lacks some of the more advanced features you'll increasingly find in this price range, such as app and voice control, and its suction power didn't impress us in testing.
The Ecovacs Deebot N79S remains our top pick for affordable robot vacuums thanks to its superior connectivity and cleaning capabilities.
Design
The A8 is sleeker than you might expect for the price.
The top panel is deep black and made of glass, which looks classy and elegant, even if it's prone to dust and fingerprints.
Toward the front bumper, you'll find a panoramic camera and a circular Auto button.
The button glows green when fully charged or in use, red when there's an error, and orange while charging.
The front bumper itself houses the infrared sensors, while you'll find the dustbin at the rear.
Size-wise, the A8 is quite compact.
It measures 12.2 inches in diameter and stands 2.8 inches tall.
Its cousin, the iLife V8s (which both vacuums and mops), is slightly larger at 13 inches in diameter and 3.1 inches tall.
The A8's short profile makes it well-suited for homes with lots of low-clearance furniture.
Flip the bot over and you'll find its charging pins, drop sensors, side wheels, nose wheel, two side brushes, an interchangeable main brush, and two main treads.
In the box, you'll also find a charging dock, an extra rubber brush, two spare side brushes, cleaning tools, a spare filter, and a remote control (batteries not included), which is a nice haul of accessories for the price.
The only thing it doesn't come with is virtual barriers to cordon off areas of your home.
The remote control is small and easily fits in the palm of the hand.
It has a monochrome screen up top, with a directional pad underneath.
At the center of the directional pad is a start/pause button.
The bottom directional button toggles the Max cleaning mode, and below that are two rows of buttons that let you set the time, schedule, and select different modes.
You can also choose between spot and edge cleaning, as well as have the robot return to dock.
Setup and Performance
Because there's no app component to the A8, all you have to do to get started is plug in the dock and let the robot charge up to full battery.
This takes about five hours, which is longer than average.
I tested the A8 in PC Labs, and it did an impressive job of mapping rooms and finding its way around obstacles.
Initially, I was skeptical of the panoramic camera as the A8 consistently bumped into cabinets with harder-than-average force.
(Something to keep in mind if you have delicate furniture.) However, subsequent bumps were much gentler, and I later realized it was actually learning to map its environment.
As for traversing different floor types, the A8 handled the change with aplomb.
While most robot vacuums either clean methodically or seemingly at random, the A8 does both.
When you clean on Auto mode, it starts zig-zagging around the room, but then switches to a more methodical back-and-forth pattern once it maps the area.
The A8's navigation prowess also translated to impressive docking performance.
Often, robot vacuums in this price range get lost and run out of juice far from their charging docks.
The A8 didn't always make it all the way back, but it usually got pretty close.
Our test lab is also quite large, but the A8 clearly followed the shortest path back to its dock each time.
As far as actual vacuum performance goes, it's the A8's weakest link.
The vacuum managed to pick up an ear plug, a screw, and a quarter without issue, but it occasionally missed large dust bunnies and clumps of hair.
That might be due in part to its smaller-than-average dustbin.
While you'll get voice alerts if the vacuum gets stuck, it won't tell you when the bin is full—and a full bin means it won't pick up dirt effectively.
On average, I had to empty the bin at least twice per cleaning cycle.
That's not ideal if you're planning on running the vaccum unsupervised while you're at work.
The remote control is also disappointing.
While it was perfectly functional for scheduling and toggling between modes, the bot never registered directional commands in testing.
And as for scheduling options, you can program a once-daily clean, but that's it.
Battery life on the A8 is decent.
In testing, it got exactly 90 minutes of cleaning in on a single charge.
That's fairly standard, and sufficient for a single floor of a house or a small-to-medium apartment.
As for noise, the A8 isn't the quietest robot vacuum we've tested, but it's definitely an improvement over your traditional stick vacuums.
You'll probably have to turn up the volume on the TV if it's in the same room, but not by much.
Comparisons and Conclusions
While the iLife A8 delivers better-than-average navigation, it fails to outperform competing models when it comes to cleaning.
It's a decent option for keeping your home clean with minimal work on your end, but for the price, you can do better.
The Eufy RoboVac 11s has a similar form factor, along with better suction and longer battery life for less money than the A8.
Our Editors' Choice, the Ecovacs Deebot N79s, is also less expensive, and supports app control, more scheduling options, and Amazon Alexa voice assistance compatibility.
And for another option from iLife, the aforementioned V8s can mop in addition to vacuum, making it a more versatile choice.
iLife A8 Robot Vacuum Cleaner
Pros
Sleek, low-profile design.
Good navigation and docking abilities.
Comes with lots of spare parts.
The Bottom Line
The iLife A8 Robot Vacuum Cleaner is a pro at getting under low furniture and navigating around household obstacles, but it isn't strong enough to suck up every last crumb.
