Morning Brew

Dave Lozo

The next time someone tells you innovation is dead, point them to the darlings of CES 2025—<a href="https://www.cnet.com/home/kitchen-and-household/a-robot-vacuum-that-picks-up-socks-stole-our-hearts-and-socks-at-ces-2025/">robot vacuums</a>&nbsp;that can pick up your socks, sprout legs, and check out that suspicious noise coming from the other room.<div class="paywall-selector"></div><div class="paywall">



Armed and fastidious:&nbsp;Roborock and Dreame unveiled robovacs that come with a pincer so that they can pick up and move small objects—such as socks and washcloths—and drop them in a bin to clear a path for vacuuming. Roborock says its max capacity is 300 grams (a little more than half a pound), while Dreame says its arm can lift up to 500 grams (a little more than a pound), which means it can pick up something as heavy as a shoe.



A leg up on competition:&nbsp;Dreame’s robovac also has “legs” for climbing that can propel itself onto surfaces up to two inches high, perfect for small elevation changes between rooms, but not long enough that you have to worry about the robovac appearing upstairs in your bedroom at 2am wondering why you can’t put your socks in the hamper yourself.



One robovac can fight crime: And not just crimes of laziness—Samsung’s Jet Bot Combo AI robot vacuum can detect intruders when you’re not scheduled to be home. <a href="https://fortune.com/company/samsung-electronics/" target="_blank">Samsung</a> told Wired that if another Samsung smart appliance detects unrecognized movement, that washing machine or refrigerator can <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/robot-vacuum-roborock-arm-omnigrip-ces/?_sp=034fa917-36b6-4b74-9a8d-b60a627f075a.1736703841857">send the robovac</a> to take a picture of a potential burglar who won’t want to tell anyone in jail how he got caught.—DL



This report was <a href="https://www.morningbrew.com/stories/2025/01/13/robovacs-are-evolving-into-versatile-butlers">originally published</a> by <a href="https://www.morningbrew.com/">Morning Brew</a>.</div>

Other robovacs can also pick up your things from the floor to clear a path for cleaning.

Some new robot vacuums can deter home invasions by taking pictures of burglars

The 50 companies most likely to thrive, 5 investing trends for 2025, and more. Read the latest edition of <a href="https://fortune.com/packages/december-2024-january-2025/?&itm_source=fortune&itm_medium=article_tout&itm_campaign=DecJanMag">the magazine.</a>

F-BreakingNews

Home robots

Tech

Some new robot vacuums can deter home invasions by taking pictures of burglars | Fortune

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Bloomberg

Mark Zuckerberg making a disappointed face

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Amanda Gerut

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Jason Del Rey

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Jeremy Kahn

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Beth Greenfield

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Alicia Adamczyk

Homeowners in California could pay a surcharge of $1,000 or more if FAIR Plan runs dry

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Jason Ma

An investor who spent $27 million on a mansion that burned down on 'Billionaire's Beach' only expects $3 million from insurance 

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Prarthana Prakash

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Chris Morris

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Hallie Steiner

Walgreens CEO says anti-shoplifting strategy backfired: 'When you lock things up…you don't sell as many of them’

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