Robotic Vacuum cleaners are one of the best technologies to come along in recent times. What can be better than coming home to perfectly clean floors every day, without lifting a finger? If you’re looking for a quality robotic vacuum with advanced technology and excellent cleaning abilities, the iRobot Roomba range of robotic vacuum cleaners is one of your best options. Even the cheapest model in the range, the Roomba 650, is packed with incredible features and will out-perform even much more expensive robotic vacuum cleaners from other brands. Roomba models have been released in the 900, 800, 700 and 600 series as of writing this Roomba comparison.
Roomba Models Reviewed
In this article, we’ll do a comparison of four Roomba models – the 980; 880; 770 and 650. You can decide which meets your needs and fits into your price range. While the larger models may have some extra features like the iRobot home app, they all have many similarities that set them apart from most other automated floor cleaning systems.
Before we compare the individual models, let’s take a look at the iRobot Roomba design features that make all of their robotic vacuum cleaners such an attractive option.
Similarities of the Roomba Robot Vacuums
iAdapt Navigation
All iRobot Roomba vacuum cleaners use the iAdapt navigation system to clean efficiently and adapt to changes in your home. A full range of sensors, give Roomba vacuum cleaners the ability to detect furniture and map out the most effective and efficient way to clean the room. The vacuum cleaner will work faster and cover a greater area on a single charge, thanks to this intelligent management system.
Automatic Docking
Any robotic vacuum cleaner has the limitation of how long it can work before the battery needs recharging. While the models near the top of the range have impressively long cleaning cycles, they will all run out of power at some point. Fortunately, they all have automatic docking. This means that when the battery starts to run low, the machine will return to its docking station and recharge automatically so it can resume with a fully charged battery later.
Low Profile Design
The flat disc shape of these vacuum cleaners gives them a very sleek modern look. While this very pleasing on the eye, there’s a more practical reason for this. The fact that they stand only a few inches from the ground means that they are able to clean under sofas and other areas where most vacuum cleaners can’t reach. There’s no need to move furniture in order to thoroughly clean your entire home.
Cleans Any Floor Surface
All of the iRobot Roomba models will effectively clean any type of flooring. The vacuum cleaner will automatically adjust to carpet, laminate flooring, hardwoods, tiles or any other type of floor surface. This means that every room in the house will receive the best cleaning treatment regardless of the type of floor. The three-stage cleaning system provides the ultimate way to effectively clean any surface by agitating dirt, brushing and high-powered vacuum suction.
Scheduled Cleaning
The iRobot Roomba will start cleaning anytime you want it to with the single touch of a button. To make your life easier, it also has a schedule function that allows you to choose when the machine will do its work. You can set seven different schedules per week. So you can have the vacuum cleaner start and stop when it suits you. There’s no reason for you to ever hear the sound of a vacuum cleaner because you can schedule it work when you’re not home.
1-Year Limited Warranty
iRobot offers a 1-year limited warranty on the Roomba range and a 30-day money back guarantee. Whenever I review a product, I go through the warranty very carefully. This gives one an idea of how confident the manufacturer feels about their product. The 1-year limited warranty on this range is about as good as gets. Basically, you’re covered for everything if you don’t abuse the machine. The battery is covered for 6 months which quite reasonable, considering many manufacturers don’t cover batteries at all. Generally speaking, if a battery works properly for the first few operations, there’s virtually no chance of it having any defects.
iRobot Roomba Range – Differences
So, no matter which of the models you choose, all of the features listed above will come as standard. Now it’s time to see how they compare so you can see what you’ll be getting for your money.
1. Roomba 650
This is a very economical option that has all the basic features which make Roomba vacuum cleaners so great. It’s the smallest of the lot, weighing only 11.7 LBS and measuring 13.4″ X 3.6″ X 13.4″.
For its price, this is a fantastic little vacuum cleaner but don’t expect all of the advanced features that you’ll find on the more expensive machines. It will clean one room at a time very efficiently thanks to the iNavigation system. Because of its limitations in run time and size, the Roomba 650 is only suited to smaller homes and it’s not the best option if you have pets that shed a lot of hair because it doesn’t have the tangle-free debris extractors found on some of the other models.
If you live in a one or two bedroomed apartment and see no need to spend your hard-earned cash on the extra features of the other models, this is the right one for you. The Roomba 650 offers great design and dependability combined with excellent cleaning power at a price that anyone can afford. If you search online you can easily snap this robot vacuum for under $300.
2. Roomba 770
Going one size bigger with the iRobot Roomba 770 robotic vacuum cleaner has a few advantages over the smaller model. It’s slightly bigger (13.9″ X 3.4″ X 13.9″ weight: 13.2 LBS). The size variation doesn’t make too much difference and the real advantage of this one comes in the form of the concentrated cleaning system.
The use of their series II dirt detection technology on this model (and all the others that follow) means that it cleans more effectively. By using acoustic and optical sensors, the vacuum cleaner is able to detect high concentrations of dirt. When the Roomba finds an area that is particularly dirty it will concentrate on this area and clean more intensively when required.
So, essentially we can look at the Roomba 770 as being pretty much the same as the 650 with the advantage of a more intelligent cleaning system. If you have kids or pets, it probably makes better sense to go for this one because it will do a better job cleaning the areas where they tend to leave more dirt.
3. Roomba 880
The Roomba 880 takes things to a new level with a few features that make it more powerful and effective than the two smaller models.
The most notable advantage of this model is the Aero-force 3-stage cleaning system. It is considerably more powerful than the smaller models providing five times more air power. Using the Gen 2 motor with counter rotating extraction makes this a better option for cleaning larger homes more efficiently. The Xlife battery extends the cleaning times by up to twice as much as their other batteries.
If you have a large amount of pet hair around your home, the Roomba 880 will make your life much easier. The tangle-free debris extractors use rubber grips to lift hair and other items that would otherwise become tangled in the brushes. This clever technology makes it a much better option for families with a number of pets, particularly those that shed a lot of hair. Despite the added power and extra features on this model, the advanced technology used in its design make it lighter than the less powerful ones and it weighs only 8.4 LBS.
This is a technologically advanced piece of machinery and it’s highly efficient cleaning capabilities make it suitable for cleaning larger areas more effectively.
4. Roomba 980
If you’re willing to pay more for the most advanced technology and just about the best cleaning power in its class, the range-topping Roomba 980 is about the best that you’ll find. It is the most effective out of all of them for cleaning large areas and is able to clean multiple rooms in one go. The Roomba will clean an entire level of your home without having to be moved.
It has an impressive run time of 120 minutes and is able to recharge and resume cleaning immediately afterward. This means that the iRobot Roomba 980 has virtually no limit to the size home that it will clean with incredible efficiency. It has double the power of the Roomba 880 (which is already pretty impressive). This means that the Aero-force three-stage cleaning system on this model is twice as effective as on the Roomba 880. The cleaning system is made even more effective with a carpet boost feature. When the Roomba 980 detects that is cleaning a carpeted floor, it will boost the power, giving it the ability to extract the most stubborn dirt and dust from even the thickest carpets.
It also has the iRobot home app so you can monitor and control it from your smartphone or tablet when you’re not home. Even when you’re on vacation on the other side of the world, you’ll be able to keep track of what your Roomba 980 is up to. This is one of the most advanced robotic vacuum cleaners around and is the best for cleaning even the largest home with least amount of effort. One can’t help but love this little machine.
Conclusion
The Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner range offers just about the best cleaning power that you can hope for. The low profile design gives it a distinct advantage over more bulky alternatives that won’t fit under furniture. As you move up through the range, the technology becomes even more impressive.
In order to give you a fair and honest review, I checked around to find out what other users have to say about Roomba robotic vacuum cleaners. After going through hundreds of reviews posted on countless websites I can conclude that the overall consensus is a big thumbs-up with the greatest number of people giving them 5-star ratings.
There are only two concerns that seem to stand out. One is that they are quite noisy but, then again, show me a vacuum cleaner that isn’t. Personally, I can’t see the noise as being too much of a problem if you schedule the machine to work when you’re not at home. The second concern seems to be unavoidable and that is the small holding capacity for debris – you have to empty it fairly regularly. This is an unfortunate payoff for the versatility of its low profile design. In order to make the machine compact enough to clean in areas where others can’t, some of the debris storage space had to be sacrificed.
With very few compromises, the advantages of the iRobot Roomba range of robotic vacuum cleaners definitely outweigh the disadvantages. I would recommend them to anyone.
