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?
Source link
