Which is better: iLife A9s or Clever&Clean AQUA-Series 03

In 2019, two new robot vacuum cleaners appeared on the market, costing just over $200 - these are iLife A9s ($210-$220) and Clever&Clean AQUA-Series 03 (21,900). Both models immediately attracted buyers because, at a relatively affordable price, they feature room mapping, a proprietary mobile app, and both dry and wet cleaning. In this review, we'll compare the iLife A9s and Clever&Clean AQUA-Series 03 and offer our opinion on which is better for a house or apartment.

Comparison criteria

We'll be comparing the main points: how the robots are equipped and what features/functionality they boast. So, let's take things one step at a time.

Equipment

The photo shows the Clever&Clean AQUA-Series 03 package:

The robot comes with a charging station with a power adapter, a wet cleaning tool, two microfiber cloths, two spare side brushes, a spare HEPA filter, a replacement suction nozzle, a remote control (batteries are already installed), a magnetic strip, instructions, and a warranty card. The kit is quite comprehensive, including everything you need for cleaning.

The following photo shows the iLife A9s package:

As you can see, this robot vacuum cleaner comes with a similar set of accessories: a charging base with an adapter, two microfiber cloths, a remote control, two spare brushes, a replaceable central brush, a spare HEPA filter, a virtual wall, a separate tank for wet cleaning, batteries for the virtual wall and remote control, instructions, and a warranty card.

The difference lies in the method of limiting the robot vacuum's movement. Clever&Clean uses a magnetic strip, while iLife uses a virtual wall. Both options are effective. The virtual wall is more convenient, but over time, it can lose its battery power and cease to function. Therefore, there are no clear advantages to either limiter.

Another distinctive feature is the wet cleaning tank. The Clever&Clean AQUA-Series 03 has a nozzle that attaches to the bottom of the robot. It holds 150 ml of water, enough for a full cleaning cycle. Meanwhile, the iLife A9s has a separate 300 ml wet cleaning tank. A significant advantage is the ability to adjust the water flow to the microfiber cloth (3 levels). This is convenient, as it's better to lower the flow rate on wooden surfaces and increase it on tile.

Overall, the container lasts longer, but on the other hand, after the cleaning cycle is complete, you'll still need to remove the microfiber cloth for washing and drain the remaining water. So, for larger areas (over 100 square meters), the container will be superior, but for areas of 50-80 square meters, the compared robots are essentially equal.

Overall, the iLife's features are slightly better, only due to the separate container. Otherwise, the robots are identical.

Technical specifications

We've compiled a table comparing the characteristics of the iLife A9s and Clever&Clean AQUA-Series 03 for easy evaluation:

	AQUA-Series 03	A9s
Type of cleaning	Dry and wet	Dry and wet
Dust collector capacity	0.5 l	0.6 l
Opening hours	Up to 100 min	up to 120 min
Suction power	up to 1800 Pa	1600 Pa
Cleaning area	100 sq.m.	up to 220 sq.m.
Battery	Li-Ion 2200 mAh	Li-Ion 2600 mAh
Dimensions	34*9 cm	33*7.6 cm
Weight	3.5 kg	2.55 kg
Control	Remote control, app, buttons on the body	Remote control, app

When comparing the specifications, it's clear that the iLife A9s wins in many ways. Visually, it's indeed more compact and lighter, which is obvious to the naked eye. The dust bin is also slightly larger, as is the battery capacity. Regarding cleaning area, we used the manufacturer's stated value. This robot vacuum cleaner is likely capable of cleaning up to 100-120 square meters, as it lacks a lidar sensor and its battery capacity isn't 3200 or 5200 mAh.

Clever&Clean's best feature is its suction power, reaching 1800 Pa in Turbo mode. This was noticeable during testing; the robot truly does a better job of picking up debris from the floor. In addition to the remote control and app, Clever also features a touchscreen and several buttons on the body, allowing you to control the robot.

In addition, Clover has three types of sensors, including ultrasonic ones. It's gentler on furniture and can detect mirrored furniture and bright sunlight. The robot can also detect glass. iLife has two types of sensors and isn't as gentle on furniture. iLife doesn't have dust and dirt protection. Clover's buttons are all touch-sensitive, not mechanical, so dust and water won't get in. The side button is covered with a case.

However, in terms of characteristics, the iLife A9s has a slight advantage.

Functional capabilities

It's more important to compare the functionality of robot vacuum cleaners, as this largely determines cleaning performance. First, let's look at the navigation of competitors. The AQUA-Series 03 is equipped with a gyroscope from the Japanese company SEIKO EPSON Corporation. Thanks to the built-in gyroscope, the robot navigates well, creates a map of the room, and traverses the entire cleaning zone without missing a beat. The iLife A9s, in addition to the gyroscope, has a built-in camera that provides a panoramic view of the room and plots the optimal route. While the camera and gyroscope combination may seem superior, Clever&Clean actually navigates slightly more efficiently, as you'll see in the tests at the end of the review.

The second thing worth noting is the replaceable central brushes, which both the iLife and Clever have. The iLife, however, has two brushes: a silicone one for cleaning long hair and fur, and a lint brush for cleaning small debris from the floor. Meanwhile, the Clever&Clean has a central bristle-petal brush that can be replaced with a suction hole. This is actually more convenient, because if you don't need the central brush, you can replace it with a suction hole and forget about the hassle of cleaning the brush of hair and fur. Therefore, it can be said that CleverClean is more universal robot vacuum cleaner.

The next thing worth mentioning is the mobile app. The robot vacuums we're comparing are equipped with a proprietary app that lets you set a cleaning schedule by day of the week, select a suitable operating mode, track its route, and more. But what's great about Clever&Clean is that the app is localized in Russian, and everything is quite intuitive and easy to set up.

The iLife A9s app is in English and is intuitive, but not everyone will immediately understand how to set it up.

Both robot vacuum cleaners have the same cleaning modes: perimeter cleaning, spiral cleaning, automatic cleaning, manual cleaning, and maximum cleaning (with increased suction power).

And finally, voice notifications. The Clever&Clean AQUA-Series 03 speaks Russian, notifying you of the cleaning status and other important information. The iLife A9s, however, isn't Russian-language, so all notifications are in English, which is also inconvenient.

Cleaning test

One last thing I'd like to mention before drawing a conclusion is the cleaning performance of the compared robot vacuums. We used a 10-square-meter room for the test. Under identical conditions, Clover cleaned the room in 9 minutes, while Ilife completed the task in 6 minutes. Due to the high level of dirt, the robots didn't manage to pick up all the debris on the first attempt, but most of it. During the second cleaning cycle, both models successfully cleaned the room. However, as shown in the video below, Ilife had difficulty returning to its home base. For some unknown reason, it didn't return to its home base despite trying several times. This disappointing aspect is why we're giving this robot vacuum a negative rating.

In the photo below, you can see how much junk iLife removed in one go:

Here's how much trash Clever&Clean removed:

Speaking of wet cleaning, iLife cleaned a smaller area (for some reason, it didn’t reach the edge of the virtual wall by about 20 cm).

Another important point is that Clover cleans more quietly, despite having higher suction power.

You can see a comparison of the quality of dry and wet cleaning in the video:

Let's sum it up

While the iLife A9s had a slight edge in terms of specifications and features, the Clever&Clean AQUA-Series 03 clearly had the edge in terms of functionality, and here's why:

1. Cleans better.
2. There are no problems with entering the base.
3. The application is Russified, as are the voice notifications.
4. Possibility of replacing the central brush with a suction hole.

It's also important to note that Clever&Clean is an official company and provides warranty and service throughout the Russian Federation. However, most iLife robot vacuum cleaners are sold through Aliexpress, which can complicate warranty coverage and timely technical support.

iLife A9s:

Ultimately, we believe the Clever&Clean AQUA-Series 03 outperforms the iLife A9s in cleaning performance and features. Considering these robot vacuums are similarly priced, the former makes more sense.