The j7 is one of the loudest vacuums I’ve tested (hence the propensity to be silenced by a household member). But I like how easy they are to repair, a crucial factor for an expensive gadget you’d like to use for many years. While parts are costly, they are readily available, including mechanical bits like wheels and the entire cleaning module. Roborock, for example, doesn’t sell spare parts beyond bags, bins, and brushes on its accessories site; you have to ship the robot to the company for any repairs. The Roomba j7 is an AI-powered robot vacuum that detects and avoids common robot traps, such as cords, cables, and pet waste. It works with a stylish clean base that will clean the dirt out of its bin so you don’t have to.
The most promising vacuums are then sent to a reviewer to see how well they perform in a real-world environment. Here, we look at things such as how easily it navigates around an apartment, if it gets stuck under furniture or on carpets, how difficult it is to set up, and how messy it is to empty its dustbin. Forgetting to clean your robot vacuum is one of the 9 vacuum cleaner mistakes you’re probably making.
As we explained in our budget guide, WiFi is a key feature for most robot vacuums. Some of the affordable devices aren’t WiFi connected, though, so it’s best to double check before you buy cheap. WiFi lets a robot vacuum cleaner do things like communicate shark cordless with a mobile app, which then allows you to control the device from your phone. It also gives you the option of room-specific cleaning commands (with the app or voice control via Alexa, Google, or Siri) and allows you to set keep-out zones.
However, we don’t think chasing the very best cleaning performance is worthwhile. This affordable robot vacuum is quieter and fits under more furniture than most models we’ve tested. While it works best in small spaces, it rarely gets stuck, and it does a good job on bare floors and short-pile rugs.
And it changes its cleaning mode automatically when transitioning from, say, carpeting to a hardwood floor. The Roomba j7 has Imprint Smart Mapping, but unlike the Shark, it took more than one runthrough of my home for it to create a complete map. IRobot’s app distinguishes between a regular cleaning job and a “mapping run,” so make sure you’re choosing the latter the first few times you run the machine. Outside of these features, you’ll be faced with lots of specs around suction power, but largely all of these rolling sweepers are suitably sucky, picking up everything from dog hair and kitty litter to Cheerios and dust bunnies. Most have multiple suction levels and will adjust to suck harder when they sense carpet. Beyond the basic specs I’ve already mentioned, there are four key features to consider when buying a robot vacuum.
Setting up the Shark is as simple as taking it and its base out of the box, plugging the base in and downloading the companion mobile app to finish things up. The machine connects to WiFi, allowing you to control it via the app when you’re not at home, or using Google Assistant and Alexa voice commands. The first journey the Shark makes is an “Explore Run,” during which it produces a map of your home that you can then edit from the mobile app. It’s also worth noting that the Roomba i4 is the same robot vacuum as the i3 Evo, so pick up whichever one is offering the best price. The i3 has an attractive woven plastic gray top — a nice change from most of the shiny black plastic you find in this category (a magnet for dust, fingerprints, and scratches).
The “i” and “j” look very similar, and the only difference is that the Roomba j series has obstacle avoidance, while the Roomba i7+ does not. However, we think if the Roomba i7+ Robot Vacuum is on sale, you should snag it. You can keep your robot vacuum in excellent condition for a long time by providing occasional maintenance and care. This includes replacing the filter inside the vacuum regularly (check the manufacturer’s instructions to see how often this should be), cutting any tangled hair out of the brush roll, and emptying out the dust bin after every use. The more high-end models even have mapping capabilities, which allow the vacuum to memorize the layout of your home from one cleaning job to another, so it spends less time bumping into walls and more time picking up debris. The powerful suction allows the vacuum to pick up crumbs and sand with just as much ease on both hard flooring and carpets alike.