The Roomba i7 is an older model and tends to cost less than the new Roomba j7. We wrote a review of the self-emptying Roomba i7+ in 2018, when it was brand new, and called it the best robot vacuum that money could buy. The rest of the industry caught up very quickly, so the i7+ is no longer such a irobot vacuum cleaner standout. As of late 2021, it’s no longer one of iRobot’s “core” products and won’t be available through as many retailers as other models, but you can still find it in plenty of places for now. The functionally identical Roomba i6 is also common, as are the auto-emptying Roomba i6+ or Roomba i8+.
It’s not designed for cleaning high-pile rugs, and may struggle greatly on shag carpeting. The onboard bin is fairly shallow, and may need to be emptied before a cleaning cycle is completed. If you do not empty the bin or check for tangled hairs regularly, it will affect the performance of the robot vacuum. In fact, a full bin will result in it dragging any mess around the floors rather than picking it up. The Neato D9 provides a solid cleaning performance, scoring a respectable 92.79 overall on our tests. It picked up almost 93% of kitty litter carpet, which ranks it above the Eufy RoboVac X8 Hybrid, and its predecessor, the Neato D4.
For several hundred dollars less than the j7 Plus, you get the power of a high-end Roomba vacuum; it has the same suction level and similar battery life to the j7. However, it does have a tendency to bump into things more often than the j7, likely because it doesn’t have a camera on board. During testing, this resulted in a few toppled chairs, so this isn’t the right bot for you if you have delicate items like vases on pedestals.
The battery life will generally range from 60 minutes with more basic versions to about 120 minutes at the higher end. Those who want their Roomba to cover more square footage may prefer a model with a longer battery life, or perhaps two robots to cover different zones or floors. For our hard floor straight-line pickup tests, large and small debris is deposited onto a marked area of the floor (based on the width of the opening of the robot vacuum’s nozzle). Then each robot vacuum is allowed 10 minutes to pick up the debris from the floor and the weight of the dustbin is taken to find how much debris is picked up by each. Straight-line pickup tests on carpet are done in an enclosed area where we deposit mixed debris including potting soil, sand and rayon fibers meant to mimic hair. Each robot vacuum is allowed to clean the carpet for a specified length of time, and the weight of the dustbin is taken to find out how much debris each robot can pick up.
The Roborock S7 works with Alexa Routines and can be set to run when you leave home, or you can use the app’s scheduling feature. The Coredy R750 robotic vacuum cleaner combines smart technology with quality components bissell crosswave cordless to deliver an impressive multi-surface cleaning experience. With an upgraded washable HEPA-style filter, it captures a range of dust and particles that make it a solid option for homes with pets.