Roomba ROBOTS: Your Guide to the World of Robotics

Infrared “cliff sensors” on the bottom of Roombas similarly prevent them from falling off ledges such as stairways. These slow down the Roomba when nearing obstacles, to reduce its force of impact. It’s also used to clean alongside walls without bumping into the wall repeatedly. This technology is also able bissell crosswave cordless to distinguish between hard and soft obstacles. When it encounters potential obstacles that aren’t in its database, the j7+ snaps photos and asks you whether it should avoid those areas in the future. It only takes about a minute to review the obstacle images, and doing so can prove extremely useful.

Finally, we sprinkle a 2-ounce mixture of cat litter and coffee grounds in a space with a mix of bare wood and a low-pile rug. We run each bot for 25 minutes or until it stops on its own, whichever comes first. The Roborock Q5+ performs exactly the same as the Q5 but comes with a charging station that can empty debris from the robot right into a disposable bag. Although the function works well, we found the Roomba i3/i3+ to be more affordable and a better cleaner overall.

This method allows you to quickly and easily create Keep-Out Zones around areas that typically halt cheaper robot vacuums. Note the type of flooring you have as some robot vacuums perform better on hardwood floors while others are optimized for carpet. The Roomba J7 performed relatively well on hardwood and low-pile carpets, removing 91.7% and 58.5% of test sand from those surfaces respectively. However, the robot struggled while vacuuming medium pile carpeting, pulling away just 17% of sand here. IRobot set out to solve this potential problem with its new Roomba J7 Plus.

irobot vacuum cleaner

We were surprised the first time the 11S disappeared under a bed—and then more surprised when it reemerged with an unholy amount of cat hair stuffed into its bin and wrapped about the brush roll. In early 2022, iRobot added several new features to the app, including smart mapping and integration with Siri voice commands. The Roomba i3 EVO has two counter-rotating “extractor” rolls, which we’ve found to be excellent for cleaning rugs and resisting tangles. It also has much more suction than Roomba 600-series bots, which helps its bare-floor pickup.

The main thing that makes the Roomba 694 stand out from other affordable robot vacuums is that it’s more durable and easier to repair . They generally don’t break, spare parts are always in stock, and you can swap in everything from a new filter to a new transmission with nothing more than a screwdriver. Usually you pay more for the Roomba 694 than for our other budget pick, the Eufy RoboVac 11S, or other super-cheap bots with random navigation. But the Roomba bot can easily pay off in the long run because it’ll last longer. In fact, several Wirecutter staff members have owned Roomba 600-series bots for several years and have found them to be sturdy and reliable.

The Roomba product line comes in a variety of small but effective robot vacuums with smart features such as household mapping, as well as control integrations through app, Wi-Fi, and voice. The S7 MaxV Ultra boasts a unique mop-lifting feature, also available on the more affordable Roborock S7+, which allows for more efficient cleaning runs than the competition. Most two-in-one robots with a carpet sensor, including the X1 Omni, automatically avoid rugs when mopping so as not to get them wet. And with a maximum 5,100 pascals , the S7 MaxV Ultra offers some of the best suction power we’ve seen.

The S series also includes linking technology that allows the Roomba to communicate wirelessly with other iRobot products, where the Braava Jet M6 can automatically be set to mop after the s9 has finished vacuuming. This robot features the company’s smart mapping technology and sensors that are made to scan ahead at a rate of 25 times per second to detect obstacles in its path. This bundle comes with an extra edge-sweeping brush and a filter to keep up in homes with the most pet hair. Avoid letting the Roomba jostle the water bowls in the corner by designating a “keep-out zone” for areas that don’t need to be tackled.

Or tell it to make sure to do extra cleaning with a bonus cycle to grab tracked-in grass and dirt in the foyer using a voice-activated cycle via the app. If you’re new to the world of robot vacuums and want to try one without spending a ton of money, the iLife A9 is a wise choice. If you have medium-pile carpeting in your home, it’s not the best option, but if you have hard floors and low-pile carpeting, it’s one of the best robot vacuums you can get in its price range. Like many robot vacuums at this price, the Roomba i3 EVO can thoroughly clean big spaces by following a logical, orderly path throughout a home. To do so, the i3 EVO uses floor sensors, bump sensors, gyroscopes, and infrared .

The laser-nav bots also tend to bump into less stuff than the Roomba bots do and complete their jobs faster as a result. However, we still predict that Roomba bots on average will last longer than any of their competitors and work better at getting hair out of rugs. They’re more than a toy or a novelty item, and they can be a valuable floor-care tool in most homes.