Shark AI Ultra Self-Empty (AV2501S)

Shark publishes 4 of the 8 specifications we track for this model and states nothing about the other 4. Everything below is quoted from Shark’s own material, with the page it came from linked on each row. We have not handled this machine.

This is the cheapest way into Shark's grid cleaning, and the grid is the genuinely interesting idea. Matrix Clean sends the robot across the same patch twice at right angles rather than once in a single direction, which is a real answer to the thing that annoys people most about robot vacuums: the single pass that misses. Shark describes the behavior clearly, and it is checkable in the sense that you can watch it happen on your own floor.

Everything measurable is missing, which is the Shark pattern across every model we cover. No suction figure in any unit, no climb height, no runtime. The one number on the page is an onboard bin stated in quarts, which is a strange unit to pick in a category that otherwise uses milliliters and makes comparison with anything else awkward. At this price that matters less than it would at four figures, but it still means you are buying on the brand rather than on the sheet.

Buy it as a mapped, self-emptying vacuum for a house with ordinary floors and no mopping ambitions. The 30-day bagless base is the shortest stated interval of any Shark here, but bagless means those 30 days cost you nothing in consumables - you tip it out. If you want the mop as well, the Matrix Plus sits at a similar price and adds one.

The published spec sheet

Stated suction

Not publishedNot stated on Shark's product page, in pascals or any other unit.

Max climb height

Not publishedNot stated. No Shark model we cover publishes a climb height.

Mop lift

Not publishedVacuum-only model. There is no mop.

Main brush

Self-cleaning brushrollShark names it and does not describe the construction.Source: Shark AI Ultra AV2501S product page — brushroll (retrieved 2026-10-03)

Navigation

AI Laser Navigation with Matrix Clean grid cleaningShark describes Matrix Clean as cleaning in a grid, taking multiple passes over an area rather than a single pass.Source: Shark AI Ultra AV2501S product page — navigation (retrieved 2026-10-03)

Stated runtime

Not publishedNot stated on Shark's product page.

Dustbin

0.1 qt (about 95ml) on boardShark states the onboard bin in quarts rather than liters, which is unusual in this category and makes cross-brand comparison awkward.Source: Shark AI Ultra AV2501S product page — capacity (retrieved 2026-10-03)

Dock

Bagless self-empty base, stated at 30 days, with true HEPA filtrationShark states the base holds "up to 30 days of dirt and debris" and that its true HEPA filtration "captures and traps 99.97% of dust and allergens" down to 0.3 microns.Source: Shark AI Ultra AV2501S product page — self-empty base (retrieved 2026-10-03)

What the sheet says it does well, and what it does not

Who it is for

Someone who wants a mapped, self-emptying vacuum and does not care about mopping.

Who should skip it

You want to compare it against anything. Shark publishes no suction figure, no climb height and no runtime for it.

We name it as the pick to skip on 2 pages, for reasons specific to what those pages are about:

• Roborock vs Shark — Its Matrix Clean grid pattern is a genuinely distinct idea - the robot crosses the same area twice at right angles rather than once. It is the skip here because in a field that includes Roborock it is the machine you can check least: no suction figure in any unit, no climb height, no mop lift, no body height, and the shortest stated dock interval of any Shark at 30 days. It is also vacuum-only, while the Matrix Plus mops and states 60 days for similar money. We rank it last among Sharks on the best Shark robot vacuum for the same reasons.
• Are robot vacuums banned in the US? — It is a competent mapped vacuum with a bagless HEPA base, and the grid-cleaning pattern is a real idea. It is the skip on a page about buying with confidence because it is the least checkable machine we cover: Shark states no suction figure, no climb height, no mop lift and no body height for it. When the question you arrived with is "what am I actually allowed to know before I spend", a spec sheet this empty is the wrong answer regardless of how the robot cleans.

Where we recommend it

• The best Shark robot vacuum

How we assessed this

By reading what Shark publishes and recording it with its source. We have never owned, handled or measured this machine, and nothing above is written as though we had. Where the manufacturer publishes nothing, the row says so rather than borrowing a number from somewhere else. The full method is on how we pick, and if a figure here does not match the page it links to, tell us and we will correct it with a date.

What the spec sheet does not tell you

4 of the figures we track are absent from Shark’s own material for this model. That is worth knowing before you buy, because each of them answers a question somebody eventually asks:

• Stated suction — Not stated on Shark's product page, in pascals or any other unit.
• Max climb height — Not stated. No Shark model we cover publishes a climb height.
• Mop lift — Vacuum-only model. There is no mop.
• Stated runtime — Not stated on Shark's product page.

We could fill those in from a review site or an estimate. We do not, because a number we cannot source is worth less than an honest blank, and the pattern of what each maker will and will not state is one of the more useful things on this site.