The iRobot Roomba is equipped with a laser sensor that directs it around obstacles and walls. It also has sensors on the underside of the device that detect changes in elevation, allowing it to transition from bare floor to carpet. It has beater brushes like a conventional vacuum cleaner to loosen and collect dirt, as well as suction that sweeps the dirt into a storage compartment. Top robot models have a proprietary VSLM feature — Vision Simultaneous Localization and Mapping — that takes snapshots as the Roomba works to guide the unit in an efficient path throughout the room. As a vacuum, the S7 was pretty good — it’s not the best with pet hair — but it was fast and thorough, scoring a pick up average of 93.
At 2.85 inches, the 11S is almost a full inch shorter than the Roomba 694, enough for it to glide under even lower-clearance furniture, where dust and hair build up but never see the light of day. 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. The dust- and crumb-pickup stress tests are meant only to give us an idea of each bot’s cleaning power—they don’t tell the whole story. 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.
We’ve also tested some cheap bump bots that are slightly different from the standard-issue Eufy, including the Eureka Groove. That bot was basically fine, but it couldn’t match the agility of the Eufy model (and its endless clones) or the durability of the Roomba bots we’ve tested. Wirecutter’s Liam McCabe wrote the previous versions of this guide, evaluating some 200 robots and testing close to 50 models since 2012. It also has built-in sensors to help it avoid small objects in its path, so you can feel more comfortable running it without supervision. During testing, we found that it avoided all the objects we placed in front of it—including socks, power cords, and pet messes. The Roomba i8+, which is smaller and slightly more advanced than the i4+, can create personalized Smart Maps of your home and be programmed to only clean designated Clean Zones and avoid Keep Out Zones.
While we factor in the average cleaning time to our overall rating, we give it less importance than cleaning effectiveness, as most people will schedule a robot vacuum to go about its rounds after they leave their house. IRobot’s newest offering, the Roomba j7+ is one of the best Roombas because of its obstacle avoidance technology. With this, it can essentially detect everyday objects, such as cables and socks and steer clear of them.
However, it tends to bump into things more often than the j7, resulting in a few toppled chairs during testing. So it isn’t the right bot for you if you have delicate items like vases on pedestals. If the dock is in a cluttered area or under a piece of furniture, there’s a good chance the bot will not re-dock. You can find tons more laser-nav robots with largely similar specs and appearance, including bots from barely-there brands such as Tesvor, Dreametech, Viomi, and Honiture.
(Though the i4+ can also create Smart Maps, it doesn’t have the ability to create Clean Zones or Keep Out Zones.) The i8+ is currently $300 off at Best Buy, so you can snag it now for just $599.99. That way, the sensors can work more efficiently and don’t have any trouble navigating irobot vacuum cleaner through the home. If your Roomba has a mapping feature, ambient light will help it navigate more efficiently. Stark’s Vacuums has grown to be one of the largest independent vacuum cleaner retailers in the country, with nine locations and more than 250 vacuums to choose from.