Skip to main content

Shark Ion Robot 750 review

The Shark Ion 750 may well be the cleaning droid you’re looking for

Shark Ion Robot 750 review
Terry Walsh/Digital Trends
Shark Ion Robot 750
MSRP $339.99
“The Shark Ion Robot 750 delivers quite the dusty, hairy bang for the buck.”
Pros
  • Great value
  • Quiet operation and decent cleaning performance
  • Wi-Fi, simple app controls, scheduling and voice assistant support
  • Strong selection of good value parts and accessories
Cons
  • Regularly bumps into furniture
  • No room mapping means repeated cleans
  • Doesn't clean room edges well

“Why you can trust Digital Trends – We have a 20-year history of testing, reviewing, and rating products, services and apps to help you make a sound buying decision. Find out more about how we test and score products.“

While robot vacuum cleaners have been improving over the years, they’ve yet to find a place in the majority of mainstream homes. Leading brands like Samsung, LG and even Dyson have dabbled with robotics, but the market is dominated by smaller specialists like iRobot , Neato and Ecovacs.

Recommended Videos

Add floor-cleaning, fruit-chopping maestro Shark to that list. The $349 Ion Robot 750 Vacuum tops a range of three models designed to patrol and automatically clean your floors on its travels. Wi-Fi enabled, with mobile app control and integration with both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, it’s a thoroughly modern take on a robovac. But will its performance persuade you to sack your regular old upright vacuum? Let’s find out.

Puck-like body, easy app usage

Shark has opted for a traditional, puck-shaped design (12.6 × 12.6 × 2.6 inches) for the Ion, which helps prevent the robot from becoming stuck when navigating the house but presents challenges with cleaning of edges and corners. To help, two spinning side brushes (one more than some competitors) are equipped to pull dirt and dust into the robot’s path, which gobbles up debris with the support of a removable, self-cleaning brush roll. They’re included in box and snap on quickly. You’ll also find a charging dock, cleaning tool, and Bot Boundary strips, used to prevent the robot from straying into unwanted territories.

Clad in smart dark-gray plastics with silver accents, Ion is attractive and feels robust. While there’s nothing particularly revolutionary about the design, care has been taken to ensure the vacuum is simple to manage. Flipping the device over, we particularly liked how Shark clearly marks user-serviceable parts in bright yellow for easy replacement. Removing the rear dust pan for emptying and accessing the vacuum’s filter is also a cinch.

Once charged (it takes three hours), cleaning is toggled by a round cleaning button on the top of the robot. It’s a convenient option if you’re passing by, but launching the Ion from Shark’s mobile app or a voice assistant is quicker and more fun. It’s joined by a Dock button, which sends the robot back to its charging station, and a Spot button for concentrated cleaning of a small area.

Quiet operation with a few bumps along the way

In operation, the Ion robot cleans without too much racket and mostly succeeds in navigating around furniture in the home. We found the device had no problem travelling over rugs and floor thresholds and even managed to avoid some tricky cable hazards. However, we did notice a worrying tendency —  the robot ploughed enthusiastically into table legs, sofas and chairs without cause or care. Thankfully, a spring-loaded, rubberized bumper on the front of the device prevents damage, but you may wish to invite the cat to sleep in another room.

Clad in smart dark-gray plastics with silver accents, Ion is attractive and feels robust.

Unlike more sophisticated, camera-equipped robovacs that generate spatial maps of your home, Ion simply relies on an array of proximity sensors to detect obstacles and a lower cliff sensor to prevent falls down stairs. The robot cleans in a random pattern, which isn’t particularly precise – as a result, it may take a few days of cleaning to get full coverage. A lack of mapping also nixes the possibility of accurate recharging and then resuming when the Ion’s battery is low, but the robot will automatically head back to base when capacity is drained.

The sensors do a good job of detecting walls, and you’ll see Ion slow and change direction when a perimeter is detected. However, as Ion doesn’t get particularly close to those walls, you’ll need to follow up around your baseboards to zap any gaps. Maneuverability is excellent, however. A free spinning front-wheel and two fixed rear wheels allow the robot to get into and out of nooks that are wide enough to accommodate its width.

Just when we thought Ion would be stuck, the robot performed a deft six-point turn to find its way out of trouble. That said, the robot did manage to get stuck once or twice during our tests, alerting us with a cheerful chime and a warning notification in the accompanying app. A quick release, and Ion got back to work.

Surprisingly strong performance, but edge cleaning is lacking

When we started Ion’s first cleaning run, we were immediately concerned by the hushed operation of its vacuum, which could suggest a lack of suction power. The first run took about an hour and, pulling out the dust cup, we were shocked to see just how much dust and pet hair had been picked up in a room that we thought was pretty clean. Okay, it’s no Dyson, but at a third of the price of high-end competitors, the Ion Robot 750 delivers quite the dusty, hairy bang for the buck. Randomized routing and a preference to avoid close proximity with walls meant that Ion didn’t perform so well at the edges of a room. Otherwise, we had few complaints.

While Ion’s on-device controls are reasonably basic, features are extended with the highly- recommended Android/iOS app, which adds touch-controls, daily scheduling and history reporting, all of which are very simple to use.  Actions and skills for Google Home and Amazon Alexa similarly work well to start or dock the robot, report status, battery capacity and more – although deeper integration would prevent users from the clumsy “Hey Google, tell Shark to start my robot” phrasing. Fingers crossed that can be addressed in a future update.

Warranty information

The Shark Ion Robot 750 Vacuum is sold with a 1-year limited warranty. Purchases made directly from the manufacturer may be eligible for an upgraded 5-year VIP warranty.

Our Take

There are undoubtedly more advanced robot vacuum cleaners available than the Shark Ion 750, supporting advanced mapping features, greater suction and better cleaning at room edges. But they come at quite the price. If you want leading-edge tech and premium performance, then this isn’t the droid you’re looking for. For everyone else, this cheerful $349 Wi-Fi-enabled robovac, combining good general cleaning performance with simple and smart controls, is a solid pick.

Is there a better alternative?

iRobot’s range-topping Roomba 960 offers smart mapping, resume/recharge and improved suction that may well beat Ion Robot 750 in overall performance. But at $699, it’s also twice as expensive. If you’re looking for mopping features, be sure to check out the iRobot Braava Jet 240.

How long will it last?

A range of budget-friendly parts and accessories is readily available from Shark’s website, which should keep the robot cleaning for the long term – including a replacement Lithium-Ion battery, which will lose capacity over time. Otherwise, be sure to stick to the recommended cleaning and maintenance schedule and you should be able to enjoy years of robo-cleaning.

Should you buy it?

If you’re considering a robovac, start with the great-value Shark Ion Robot 750 before laying out the big bucks on a premium model.

Terry Walsh
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Terry Walsh is a British-born technology writer living in Canada, whose first computer was a cherished 48k ZX Spectrum…
Ecovacs shows off powerful Deebot X8 Pro Omni robot vacuum at CES 2025
The Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni in its docking station.

Ecovacs came out swinging at CES 2025, revealing a slew of smart home products running the gamut from robot vacuums and lawnmowers to bizarre window-cleaning robots. The star, however, was the Deebot X8 Pro Omni -- a powerful robot vacuum that makes big changes to its mopping abilities thanks to a new collaboration with Tineco.

Though it didn’t pick up a robotic arm like the Roborock Saros Z70, the Deebot X8 Pro Omni did learn some cool new mopping techniques. There are two big upgrades here, the first being additional pressure while mopping. The X8 Pro Omni can create up to 4,000Pa pressure and spin at up to 200 rpm, which should result in better cleaning than anything else we’ve seen from Ecovacs so far. The other upgrade is a self-washing mop, which continually cleans itself while mopping your floors, ensuring every mess is tackled by a clean mop.

Read more
Robotic pool cleaner with jaw-dropping 15-hour battery life revealed at CES 2025
iGarden TurboX Master

Tech company iGarden revealed several new products at CES 2025, but the TurboX and TurboX Master robotic pool cleaners were undoubtedly the most exciting. Both are designed to make pool maintenance effortless -- but it’s the TurboX Master and its staggering 15-hour runtime that stood out from the rest of the iGarden lineup.

The iGarden TurboX Master is expected to launch in April, and it’s poised to make waves in the robotic pool cleaner marketplace. While most products can only run for a few hours before needing a recharge, this one can clean for 15 hours before running out of juice. In fact, iGarden says it holds the Guinness Record for the longest continuous operation of a robotic pool cleaner. This is due to its unique AI-inverter technology, which results enhanced battery efficiency without skimping on a premium clean.

Read more
The Dreame Z1 Pro Robotic Pool Cleaner takes the hassle out of pool maintenance
the dreame z1 pro robotic pool cleaner takes hassle out of maintenance img 6328

Robot vacuums are out. Robot pool cleaners are in (the deep end). In addition to the noteworthy Dreame X50 Ultra, the company has introduced the Z1 Pro robotic pool cleaner. At first glance, it looks like the world's bulkiest robovac. With large treads instead of wheels and dual brushes on the front, the Z1 Pro looks like a cross between a tank and spaceship.

There's a reason it's significantly larger than household bots, though. Navigating through the water is more difficult from a physical standpoint, but it's also trickier for the navigation system. The Z1 Pro utilizes a combination of ultrasound, 3D structured light, and infrared to make its way through the depths, but what stands out most is its ability to handle elevation shifts. Early models of robot pool cleaners struggled with dips in the floor of the pool, but the Z1 Pro can clean not just the floor but also the walls (by literally climbing them) and the surface of the water. It will float atop your pool and act as a skimmer, too.

Read more