MOVA V50 Ultra Complete Review: Our New Favorite Robot Vacuum

At Vacuum Wars, we’ve tested hundreds of robot vacuums, but it’s not every day that one jumps straight to the top of our leaderboard. That’s exactly what happened with the MOVA V50 Ultra Complete, the latest flagship robot vacuum and mop combo from MOVA—a brand that’s quickly rising through the ranks in the smart home cleaning world.

After purchasing and rigorously testing the V50 Ultra over several weeks, it earned the #1 spot on our Top 20 Robot Vacuums list, making it—at least for now—our favorite robot vacuum, regardless of price. Below, we’ll dive into the pros and cons that helped it reach that spot and explain what makes it such a compelling option.

MOVA V50 Ultra: Overview and Value

The MOVA V50 Ultra Complete is a premium robot vacuum and mop combo that comes in white and includes an impressive accessory kit, packed with extra consumables like mop pads, filters, and disposable bags.

Despite its flagship-grade features, MOVA has priced this model significantly below competitors like the Ecovacs X9 Omni and Roborock Saros 10R, reinforcing its positioning as a value brand that doesn’t cut corners on features.

Exceptional Vacuuming Performance

The robot itself is well-designed with premium hardware, making it highly effective at vacuuming both hard floors and carpets. It features a single side brush and a newly engineered dual main brush, which work together to sweep debris of all sizes without scattering it. Its side brush will also automatically extend, which really does help with corner coverage, and it did well with this in our tests.

High Power Scores

The MOVA V50 also delivered well above-average suction and airflow in our tests—1.47 kPa of suction compared to the average of 0.83 kPa, and 20 CFM of airflow compared to the average robot vacuum score of 16.4 CFM—which also seemed to boost its performance in some of our practical tests.

Excels in Carpet Deep Clean Test

For example, in our carpet deep clean test—where sand is embedded into carpet to measure pickup—the MOVA V50 Pro Ultra Complete achieved a top 10 all-time score of 88%, well above the average robot vacuum score of 75%.

Outstanding Hair Pickup Performance

Also, with a 2 1/2-in. flattened pet hair pickup test on carpet, which can be tricky for robot vacuums, it was above average as well, picking up 88% of the hair in comparison to the average robot vacuum score of 81%.

Its new brush system, which they call TroboWave DuoBrush, also channels hair to one side of the brush, helping reduce tangles. In our 7-inch hair test, it achieved a perfect score, and MOVA even claims it handles hair up to 11.8 inches (30 cm)—a first we’ve seen from a manufacturer.

Advanced Mopping System

Another big pro with the MOVA V50 Ultra is its mopping ability. It uses two spinning mop pads, one of which automatically extends for better edge coverage. The pads also apply 8N of downward pressure and can tilt up to 5°, which is intended to help mop uneven surfaces.

Keeping Carpets Dry

The mop pads can also lift up automatically 10 1/2 mm to avoid getting carpets wet, which is a huge time-saver as it avoids doing two runs for both surface types. Alternatively, the mop pads are also magnetized so they can be left at the base for carpet cleaning and then picked back up for hard floor cleaning.

Mopping Performance

In our dried-on stain test, the MOVA V50 Ultra scored an impressive 109, well above the average of 93.

Impressively, it achieved that result while using only 0.57 g of water, about half the average of 1.01 g—making it far less prone to leaving streaks.

Overall, its mopping performance score came in at 230, compared to the average of 188, confirming it as a strong performer in this category.

Mopping Highlights

• Auto mop lift (10.5 mm): Prevents carpets from getting wet.
• Magnetic pad option: Lets users choose when to mop vs. vacuum.
• Dried Stain Removal Test: Scored 109 (average is 93) using half as much water, reducing the risk of streaks.
• Overall Mopping Score: 230 (average is 188)—very impressive.

Smart, Multifunctional Base Station

But the V50’s mopping story really can’t be told unless we move to the next pro, which is its multi-functional dock. When the robot returns to its base to charge, it carries out a wide range of automated tasks designed to make upkeep easier.

For example, it empties its internal dust bin into a sizable 3.2-liter disposable bag, which MOVA claims can hold up to 100 days’ worth of debris, though real-world results may vary.

Another standout element is the dual solution tank, which, to our knowledge, is a first for robot vacuum docks. The V50 Ultra comes with two cleaning solutions: a general-purpose cleaner and one formulated to help neutralize pet odors. Through the app, users can choose which solution to use in different areas of their home, offering more targeted cleaning control.

Washing and Drying its Mop Pads

The MOVA V50 Ultra washes its mop pads using a somewhat new version of mop pad washing, using spray nozzles that distribute the water evenly, which may or may not be better than the traditional method. We will need to devise a way to test this against other types.

The dock also washes the mop pads with hot water, and according to MOVA, hot water can also be used for mopping, which is rare. We suspect that the water doesn’t stay hot for long since, as far as we can tell, the robot doesn’t have an internal heater, but it’s still an interesting addition.

Another somewhat new idea in the industry is something MOVA is calling OmniDry, where, in addition to it drying the mop pads with hot air after mopping – which is a great thing for keeping the mop pads free of moisture and odors – it also dries other components like the bag and filters, which technically shouldn’t be getting wet, but we could see how they would sometimes, so it is good if they are getting dried, too.

Multi-Functional Dock Highlights:

• Automatically empties the robot’s dust bin into a 3.2 L disposable bag (up to 100 days of debris storage).
• Hot water mop pad washing system, with the option to use hot water for floor mopping.
• Spray nozzle cleaning method for even water distribution across mop pads.
• Omni Dry system uses hot air to dry mop pads, dust bag, and filters to prevent moisture and odors.
• Dual solution tank for targeted cleaning, including a general-purpose cleaner and Insoya Morphylene for pet odor control.

Smart Navigation

Another advantage of the MOVA V50 Ultra is its navigation system, powered by a top-mounted lidar sensor that automatically retracts when needed. This design offers all the benefits of lidar—precise mapping and smart navigation—while allowing the sensor to retract to just 89.5 mm (3.5 in.) to fit under low furniture, making it shorter than the average robot vacuum at 3.8 in.

In our navigation tests, the MOVA V50 proved slightly more efficient than average, covering 0.79 sq. m per minute compared to the 0.71 sq. m average, while maintaining solid overall coverage. In real-world use at our new office, it has handled complex cleaning runs without requiring any interventions, demonstrating impressive smart navigation.

Threshold Crossing

One of the standout features of the MOVA V50 robot vacuum is its threshold-crossing ability. If you identify thresholds in the app, the V50 activates a specialized wheel system to lift and cross them, handling two-tiered obstacles up to 60mm (2.3 inches) and straight 38mm (1.5-inch) rises with ease. It’s the first robot vacuum we’ve tested to successfully clear all three of our test thresholds.

Feature-Rich App Experience

In our opinion, the MOVA app is on par with—or even better than—those from Roborock, Ecovacs, and other top brands. It’s simple to set up, intuitive to navigate, and offers extensive control over the robot’s functions.

Key features include:

• Customizable cleaning settings such as clean-along-floor direction, water level, dust bin emptying frequency, scheduling, multi-floor mapping, virtual barriers, and carpet boost.
• Built-in virtual voice assistant for hands-free control.
• Intelligent detection of heavily soiled areas for extra mopping attention.
• Pet monitoring to check in on pets during cleaning.
• Additional smart tools that enhance convenience and control.

What Could Be Better

While the MOVA V50 Pro Ultra has a lot going for it, it’s not without flaws:

Average Obstacle Avoidance

The MOVA V50 has obstacle avoidance sensors in the front, which consist of an RGB camera and 3D structured light. It also has an LED light so that it can see in the dark, and it will avoid the bigger and more obvious objects. But at least in our obstacle avoidance tests, it only cleared 14 out of the 24 objects, where the average across all robot vacuums we have evaluated is 16. So, certainly better than nothing, but not elite-level obstacle avoidance.

Battery Life

Another minor drawback is the V50’s battery life. While its official runtime is rated at 220 minutes on the lowest power setting, our tests across all power modes on a fixed floor plan showed below-average efficiency—dropping 1% every 1.21 minutes, compared to the average of 1.31 minutes.

Its estimated coverage per charge was 1,033 sq. ft., roughly in line with the 1,015 sq. ft. average, thanks to above-average navigation efficiency. On larger floor plans, it may need to recharge mid-clean, but it supports the standard recharge-and-resume function so for many users this won’t be a noticeable issue.

Internal Dustbin Size

The internal dust bin on the robot vacuum is also on the smaller side at 300 ml, slightly below average.

Early Software Issues (Now Improved)

And lastly, in researching user feedback, we found some early reports of software glitches, including cases where the LiDAR turret didn’t retract as intended. MOVA has since addressed this with an update allowing users to adjust the turret’s retraction sensitivity—an encouraging sign that the company is listening to feedback and improving the product through software updates.

Final Thoughts: A New Champion in Robot Vacuuming

Overall, we were extremely impressed with the MOVA V50 Ultra. Priced well below other flagship competitors, it offers exceptional value—even if it weren’t the highest-scoring robot vacuum we’ve tested.

But according to our ranking system, it is. The V50 Ultra overtook the Ecovacs X9 to claim the top spot on our Vacuum Wars Top 20 Robot Vacuum list, ending the X9’s weeks-long reign.

While the X9 is a technically outstanding vacuum, it required more setup and attention out of the box. The V50, on the other hand, impressed us right from the start, and we’re hopeful it will hold its number one position for weeks to come.