Using two Roombas at the same time is not only possible but can be very handy when cleaning two floor areas. For use on the same floor, smart mapping will make it easier to send your robots to different zones. Alternatively, the iRobot Roomba 694 is a more affordable option that is suitable for smaller homes and spaces. With an included edge-sweeping brush, this pick comes with adaptive navigation included and a multisurface lift brush. Be advised, however, that this model’s cleaning sessions have less suction power than comparable models. Ahead you can read more about how we evaluate robot vacuums in our Lab tests — plus a complete shopping guide and answers to your most frequently asked questions.
In our testing this worked well, except for the fact that it resumed right in the middle of a dinner with friends, but it was easy enough to stop the cleaning run by pressing the button on the vacuum. While iRobot’s Roomba lineup may be the best-known robot vacuums, there are a lot of great brands to compare Roomba against, which you can do with our iRobot j7+ vs. Samsung Jet Bot AI+ comparison. But if you feel a Roomba is the right robot vacuum for you, the Roomba i7+ makes an incredible option to add to your smart home. The iRobot Roomba i7+ has a ton of smart features, including the ability to learn your home, and is even capable of cleaning up in-the-moment messes like crumbs under the kitchen table with a simple voice command. It’s able to learn the layout of your home and builds personal smart maps, enabling it to expertly clean and navigate in neat, efficient rows, and know where to go when you give it a command to clean a certain area.
I hate to be a downer, but you’re probably still going to need a second vacuum once in a while. I keep a Dyson around for quick spot cleaning and vacuuming bedroom corners. Bagless vacuums can potentially create problems for allergy sufferers when it comes time to empty the machine.
“Dock” mode, introduced with the third generation, instructs the Roomba to seek a charging base for recharging. Many second- and third-generation Roombas come packaged with infrared remote controls, allowing a human operator to “drive” the Roomba to areas to be specially cleaned. I think the convenience is worth it, but they may require some tinkering. If you purchase the bin as an accessory rather than bundled, the robot may have trouble settling itself properly on the base station’s air ports when it docks.
The RoboVac G30 offers a lot of power for its size, and it automatically increases the suction when it moves over carpets and heavily soiled areas. While pricey, iRobot’s Roomba j7+ robot vacuum has smarts to spare, with a guarantee to avoid pet waste and a self-emptying base that means you rarely have to lift a finger. This is an app-controlled vacuum with a low profile that didn’t perform well enough in our testing to compete with others in the irobot vacuum cleaner same price range. It can be controlled via a remote, app or voice assistant but has no mapping or room-specific scheduling capability, and the random navigation, in our testing, never quite completed a run of the house. If you live in a home without high-pile carpets and find yourself constantly vacuuming up pet hair or dirt, and don’t need the ability to map your home and create virtual walls or no-go zones, the Eufy 11S is a top choice.
If the iRobot Roomba i3+ EVO robot vacuum was of interest to you but you’d like to include the ability to mop with your robot vacuum, this bundle may be the right one for you. While it includes the iRobot Roomba i3 robot vacuum, with it comes the iRobot Braava jet m6 robot mop. The combo stacks up well against the best robot vacuum mop combos, as it packages all of the powerful cleaning capabilities of the Roomba i3 with the ability to mop alongside it. For a true hands-off cleaning experience, this bot can connect to select Roomba models to automatically trigger mopping after a vacuum cycle. The robot will automatically adjust its cleaning cycles to whichever type pad is attached. Like the i7, the Roomba i3 has 10 times the power of the 600 series and coordinates with the iRobot app.
When it’s running low on battery—after about 75 minutes of runtime—the Roomba will automatically recharge and then resume cleaning. For homes with pet dander and shedded fur, a dual multisurface rubber brush allows for easy release of hair to avoid tangling, while a high-efficiency filter traps 99 percent of dander and other common allergens. A recharge and resume feature automatically activates after about 90 minutes of battery use. It comes loaded with filters and dust bags for the base, plus replacements for each. There are some bonus features to consider when selecting the model best suited to your cleaning needs. A tangle-free roller is especially handy for those with pets, as its extractors lift pet hair and other debris without it getting caught in the Roomba’s brushes.
At roughly $280, including shipping from Wyze.com, it’s consistently been one of the lowest-priced models of its ilk through most of 2021 (around $40 cheaper than the Roborock S4 Max’s lowest price). The robot itself feels relatively flimsy, but we have no clue what to expect in terms of durability, and our analysis of user reviews didn’t turn up any unusual complaints. The main reason we don’t recommend the Wyze is that the app can’t currently remember maps for multiple floors of a home. It learns one level, whereas Roborock bots can remember up to four levels.