Earlier this week, we heard that iRobot was scrapping almost its entire robot vacuum range and changing it with 4 shiny new fashions. It is a daring transfer, however I feel mandatory, given how far iRobot was beginning to lag behind the remainder of the best robot vacuums in the marketplace.
iRobot is not pushing the envelope in the identical approach because the likes of Roborock, Dreame and Narwal; lots of the new Roomba features are somewhat understated, or in some circumstances merely catch the model as much as a spot others reached years in the past. Nevertheless, I feel the brand new fleet represents what most individuals need in a robotic vacuum. And that is one thing different manufacturers are in peril of shedding sight of.
If the robovacs we saw at CES 2025 are something to go by, bot manufacturers suppose we’re all clamoring after robovacs which have mechanical arms to select up our socks, tiny legs to hoist them over thresholds, or hats that flip them into air purifiers. All these innovations are cool, positive, however all of them add potential factors of failure. What I (and I think, many others) really need is a robotic vacuum that works reliably, cleans successfully and does not stick out like a sore thumb in my house.
Maybe probably the most modern mannequin within the new Roomba lineup is the 205 DustCompactor. This squishes the mud within the onboard bin, so extra can slot in. It is not an particularly flashy innovation, however it could possibly be a game-changer for individuals like me, with small properties who do not have house for a cumbersome auto-empty dock. (I am so enamored by this mannequin I’ve written an entire separate article on why this is the robot vacuum for me.)
One other small however welcome change is the introduction of a brand new design language. At this time’s robotic vacuums have turn out to be very generic wanting, with few manufacturers contemplating that shiny black or white plastic won’t be everybody’s house aesthetic of alternative. iRobot’s GRID system mixes in matte and textured areas to offer these new bots an altogether friendlier look.
How straightforward it’s to make sense of the vary additionally components into buyer expertise, and I am relieved to see that iRobot has discarded its jumble of j7, i5, j9+ in favor of names that point out how the completely different fashions relate to 1 one other. Now it is Roomba (good), Roomba Plus (higher), Roomba Max (greatest). After I was briefed on the brand new vary, I used to be informed iRobot would as soon as once more be sharing suction specs, which might be one other win relating to buyer procuring expertise.
A bit of late?
Different new additions are simply as optimistic, however really feel extra overdue. LiDAR is the large one. This implies the brand new robots ought to map and navigate quicker and extra precisely than earlier fashions, however it’s baffling that iRobot has taken so lengthy to embrace this robot vacuum navigation system.
(As a fast apart, manufacturers like Roborock are actually beginning to transfer previous LiDAR onto a system that is likely to be even higher. Dubbed StarSight, this new expertise does not require the raised navigation puck and subsequently means the bots could be slimmer and enterprise into smaller areas. We have been very impressed with it to this point, as you may study in our Roborock Qrevo Slim review.)
Rotating mop pads aren’t new information, and neither are do-it-all docks. iRobot caught with mud emptying-only till the launch of the Roomba Combo 10 Max, and that mannequin’s dock disenchanted with its messy and inefficient mop cleansing approach. Mop pad cleansing has been rethought for the 405 and 505 AutoWash docks – though prompted extra by the swap in mop pad type than something – and I hope the brand new makes an attempt are extra profitable.
Nonetheless, I am feeling very optimistic in regards to the Roombas. And whereas the brand new bots won’t flip heads in the way in which the Roborock Saros Z70 and its mechanical arm will, I feel iRobot’s quiet improvements are way more in step with what your common buyer actually desires in a robotic vacuum.
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