Google Assistant and Alexa compatibility let you start a cleaning session with just your voice, or simply use the iRobot Home App. When your area’s pollen count is high or during pet shedding season, the Roomba 677 robot vacuum can even suggest extra cleanings —to help keep your floors clean every day of the year. The Dual Mode Virtual Wall® Barrier gives you dyson robot vacuum greater control over where your robot cleans. Virtual Wall Mode keeps your robot in the rooms you want cleaned and out of the ones you don’t. The Eufy G30 Edge is a mapping robot, using a mixture of sensors and software to move methodically though your space in a back and forth motion, like a game of Snake, instead of bumping randomly through your apartment.
When it’s done cleaning, the device automatically empties into its included clean base for easy dirt disposal with enclosed bags. This smart vacuum includes iRobot’s P.O.O.P. guarantee, or “Pet Owner Official Promise.” Your Roomba j7+ is guaranteed to avoid pet waste or iRobot will replace your vacuum for free. Control the vac with your connected smartphone or device via the iRobot Home app. The Roomba 694 has a 90-minute run time before it automatically docks and recharges.
This Shark machine comes with a clean base, so it will empty its dustbin after every job – and also during a job if its bin gets full before it’s done. In the latter situation, the Shark will go back to cleaning automatically after it’s freed up its bin. That’s a great feature, but I found the best thing about the base to be its bagless design.
Like the Roomba 694, the Eufy 11S is semi-random in its navigation, so it’s best for cleaning just a few rooms at a time. It’s not great at getting pet hair out of plush rugs, but it works fine for keeping bare floors and short rugs pretty tidy. However, the basic Eufy series isn’t as durable as Roomba models, nor is it built to be repaired. However, we think this is an acceptable compromise given the more affordable price tag. This is by far the simplest, most affordable Roomba option you can buy, but it’s still a dependable robot vacuum that will clean your home independently.
IRobot also has robot vacuum deals and offers on their site if you’re looking to save. For this piece, I performed extensive research to understand the qualities of each Roomba model. I personally tested the Roomba 694 and the Roomba j7+, and I looked into the benefits of each product for use in the average home.
Instead, the ILife V3s has two edge sweeping tools on the front to help guide dirt into its path and a strong suction underneath to pick up everything. This means you won’t have to cut tangled hairs out of the bottom of your vacuum every few weeks since everything gets sucked away. Roomba uses a patented 3-stage cleaning process to vacuum your carpets, hardwood, tile, and laminate floors on its own, automatically adjusting to different floor surfaces as it moves through your home. You can even watch your robot vacuum operate no matter where you are, using Samsung’s SmartThings App.
I evaluated each model’s individual characteristics and assessed what type of consumer would benefit from them the most. I’m a freelance food, home, and kitchen writer with experience reviewing household gadgets for sites like Food & Wine, Foodnetwork.com, Real Simple and Better Homes & Gardens. With a degree in journalism from Penn State and a degree in Culinary Arts from the Institute of Culinary Education, I focus on writing thorough, analytical, and authoritative product reviews to help consumers run a more efficient household. A dog owner and mom of a 10-month-old, I’m no stranger to mess, so I have no shortage of real-life insight into the need for a robot vacuum.
Designed to navigate your home and clean your floors automatically, robot vacuum cleaners are made to tackle this chore so you don’t have to. Powered by rechargeable batteries, the robot typically sits on a charging dock to top off its energy supply. Premium models come with docking stations that can also empty the robot’s dustbin when it’s full. Most companies in this space advertise power in pascals (Pa), the metric unit of pressure, though iRobot doesn’t always make this information easy to find. In general, the more power, the better, especially if you have carpet, but battery life and obstacle avoidance capabilities are also important factors.
So, ideally you will still want to run your regular vacuum every so often, while the robot vacuum helps keep dust down in the interim. By keeping on top of the light debris, you won’t need to use your full-sized vacuum so often. Plus, keep in mind that robot vacuums are still improving with each new release, so over time, the necessity for your upright model will lessen. If you opt for a design which can mop as well, this too will likely replace the need for a mop and bucket in the future — but it’s not quite there yet. The first phase of our analysis starts with testing each robot vacuum to see how effective it is at picking up 20 grams of kitty litter, 20 grams of Cheerios, and two grams of dog hair on hardwood and a medium-pile carpet. We also time how long it takes each to complete each test, as well as how loud the vacuum is as it goes about its business.