I didn’t expect to revisit the J15 series this soon. After spending weeks testing the Eureka J15 Pro Ultra earlier this year, I thought I had a good understanding of where Eureka stood in the robot vacuum landscape: good hardware, promising features, and just enough quirks to keep it from surpassing the likes of Roborock or Narwal.

But the J15 Max Ultra surprised me. It feels like Eureka took the feedback seriously and delivered something that not only fixes the Pro Ultra’s flaws but also pushes the feature envelope into territory that starts to feel genuinely next-gen.

This robot vacuum doesn’t just look like a spec bump. After putting it through its paces in my office, a space that gathers dust, hair, and debris like a magnet, I can safely say this is a meaningful upgrade.

From transparent spill detection to better corner cleaning and improved AI navigation, the Max Ultra earns its flagship badge more convincingly than its predecessor. It still makes some noise, literally and metaphorically, but this time, the improvements are hard to ignore.

Let’s break it down.

Design & Build Quality

From a design standpoint, the J15 Max Ultra doesn’t differ much from the Pro Ultra. It still has that purposeful, rounded-square footprint that I’ve come to appreciate for its corner-reach advantage, and the LiDAR turret still sits on top like a periscope. But look closer, and there are some refinements that hint at how much has changed beneath the surface.

The robot itself is slightly taller than I’d prefer, owing again to that turret and new sensor array up front. Eureka has now bundled in a dual-camera setup, one Full HD RGB sensor, and an infrared sensor that enables IntelliView AI 2.0. That’s the tech behind its new ability to detect transparent liquids, and while we’ll get into how well that works later, I’ll say this: the physical integration is clean. The sensors sit inside a blacked-out window at the front, giving the robot a high-tech, almost stealthy appearance.

Material choices are similar to the Pro Ultra. My unit is finished in matte black with glossy accents around the sensors and camera array. The matte texture keeps fingerprints at bay, which is important when you’re handling the robot for cleaning or inspection. Glossy sections still attract dust, but it’s a trade-off I’m used to.

The side brush now uses a new “DragonClaw” design with V-shaped bristles that supposedly reduces tangling. More importantly, it’s mounted on an extending arm, a new feature Eureka calls “SweepExtend.” This is paired with the returning ScrubExtend mop arm, and together they aim to hit corners more effectively than any bot I’ve used before. And spoiler: they actually do.

The wheels are chunky and soft-rubber coated, with independent suspension that feels robust under pressure. Underneath, the main roller brush retains the hybrid bristle-rubber design, reinforced by the FlexiRazor hair-cutting system. I opened it up after several sessions, and it was nearly spotless, rare for a space that collects long human hair and fine debris.

The dock is still massive. Taller than before, with the same angled front and double-hatch top lid housing the clean and dirty water tanks. Each holds over 3L, and the dust bag has a 3L capacity too. If you’re tight on space, this station will demand some rearrangement, but the flip side is that you won’t be babysitting it constantly.

The most underrated change here is the self-cleaning base tray. The previous model cleaned the mop pads well, but the tray itself was left dirty unless you wiped it down manually. The Max Ultra fixes that with a built-in scraper system that dries and sweeps debris into the main dust bag. It’s one of those quality-of-life improvements that sounds small but adds up over weeks of use.

Setup

Setup was, thankfully, uneventful. The robot still only supports 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, so I had to temporarily split my mesh network again, but once paired, the app took over and walked me through everything.

Initial mapping was fast, under 10 minutes, and impressively accurate. It detected furniture edges, created room divisions, and even flagged no-go zones around clutter. The LiDAR and dual-camera array clearly helped here, and the map was editable right after the first pass. I could name rooms, merge zones, and draw spot-cleaning areas without a hitch.

I use the J15 Max Ultra primarily in my office, which is chaotic: dusty corners, scattered cables, and, since it’s monsoon season in India, frequent hairfall that makes the floor even messier. The robot had no issue adjusting to this chaos. The only manual step was filling the clean water tank. Like the Pro Ultra, there’s no detergent tank, so if you want a bit of shine, you’ll have to add cleaner manually.

Performance

This is where the Max Ultra truly sets itself apart.

The headline upgrade is IntelliView AI 2.0, a dual-sensor vision system that can detect transparent spills, think water, Sprite, or pet bowl dribbles, and react appropriately. And yes, it works. I tested it by spilling clear water on white tile. The robot paused, lifted the roller brush, rotated slightly, and deployed only the mop to clean the spill without contaminating the dry bin. That’s a first for me. No guesswork, no app alerts, just smart, seamless cleanup.

General vacuuming is more powerful too. The Max Ultra bumps suction up to 22,000Pa, and it shows. Even on “Standard” mode, it lifted fine dust and debris embedded in tile grout. “Turbo” mode practically yanked loose hairs off the floor. And thanks to smarter carpet detection, the robot automatically ramps up suction on fabric surfaces and raises the mop pad when needed.

The FlexiRazor hair-cutting system continues to be a quiet hero. In my office, human hair is the main challenge, long, loose strands that typically wrap around rollers. After ten full cleanings, the brush was nearly clear. The system cuts through hair 400 times per minute, and this time, it feels like it’s actually living up to the claim.

The mopping system is where Eureka remains ahead of many rivals. The rotating pads scrub with downward pressure, and the ScrubExtend mechanism reaches baseboards and skirting better than anything I’ve tested.

Noise levels during regular operation are tolerable. The real disruption happens during self-cleaning. When the robot returns to base, the mop rinsing, self-emptying, and hot-air drying kick in. It’s loud, especially the vacuum burst that empties the dustbin, but it only lasts 10 to 15 seconds. If you’re in a meeting or on a call, you’ll want to schedule cleaning runs outside your work hours.

Obstacle avoidance has also improved. The robot’s sensor array now includes a line laser and IR emitter in addition to the RGB camera and LiDAR. It consistently avoided chair legs, trash bins, and even power cables. I didn’t see it bump into a single piece of furniture in over a dozen runs.

One odd quirk persists, though: the robot still skips cleaning the area directly in front of its base station unless you manually define a spot-clean zone. I had to do the same workaround I used with the Pro Ultra, set a daily cleanup around the dock to catch missed debris.

Battery life is decent. The 6400mAh pack gives you around 140 to 160 minutes of mixed cleaning, depending on your settings.

Software

Eureka’s app is surprisingly competent. It’s responsive, minimal, and well organized. All the expected features are here: zone cleaning, map saving, accessory wear tracking, scheduled runs, water temperature control, drying time options, and AI-enhanced smart cleaning mode.

There’s also a patrol mode that lets you drive the robot like a security camera on wheels. You can view live video, take snapshots, and even record clips. It’s mostly a gimmick, but it’s a fun one. The upgraded FHD camera helps here, delivering sharper video than the Pro Ultra.

Another new feature is Pet Mode, which trains the robot to avoid certain stains like pet waste or spills. I don’t have pets, so I couldn’t fully test this, but the logic seems solid: use IR to detect reflective surfaces, avoid potential mess, and alert the user.

It still isn’t perfect though. Occasionally, the robot resumes a paused clean too early and ends up returning to the dock again mid-job. Map syncing between floors can also lag. But none of this is deal-breaking. Firmware updates are rolling out monthly, and the foundation feels solid enough to build on.

Limitations

Despite the upgrades, the J15 Max Ultra still has some weak spots.

First, the dock is loud. Mop drying is gentler now, but the self-emptying vacuum cycle is jarring. Not ideal if your dock is in a bedroom or shared workspace.

Second, the robot’s height prevents it from going under most furniture below 12cm. The LiDAR turret remains fixed and non-retractable. For homes with low-clearance sofas, this could be a limitation.

There’s still no detergent tank, and the robot skips the immediate perimeter around the dock unless manually zoned.

Final Thoughts

After living with the Eureka J15 Max Ultra for several weeks, I feel confident saying this is a major step forward for Eureka’s robot vacuum ambitions. The company has ironed out a lot of the frustrations I had with the Pro Ultra: it sees hair better, dodges furniture more smartly, and handles spills with a level of intelligence that genuinely surprised me.

It’s not flawless. The base station is huge and loud. The robot’s top-mounted sensors still limit where it can go. And some minor software quirks remain. But for a product that retails around $1,199 and may often dip lower during sales, this is a seriously competent flagship.

More impressively, it now feels on par with what brands like Roborock and Dreame are offering. I genuinely didn’t expect Eureka to close the gap so quickly, and yet, here it is, delivering transparent spill detection, better AI logic, and edge-to-edge cleaning in a single generation leap.

If you’re looking for a fantastic robot vacuum around the $1,000 mark, the J15 Max Ultra is a steal deal. It handles complex messes, mops like a pro, cuts through hair, avoids your furniture, and maintains itself without much intervention.

Not perfect, but closer than most. And in a space this competitive, “closer than most” is actually saying a lot.

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