You don’t need all of these, and each will mean spending more than the most basic budget bots in this roundup. The physical design is also very similar under the hood, with two multi-surface rubber roller brushes to get more dirt up. These rubber brushes don’t get tangled by long hair the way shark cordless bristle brushes can. Because there’s no option to add keep-out zones in the app, you’ll need to buy iRobot’s virtual walls if there are places you don’t want the robot to go. They cost $99 for two, so if you need more than a couple of keep-out zones, it’s worth going for the j7 instead.
IRobot recently updated this model with smart mapping capabilities, so you can send it right to specific rooms by phone or voice for targeted area cleanings. The S7 MaxV Ultra boasts a unique mop-lifting feature, also available on the more affordable Roborock S7+, which allows for more efficient cleaning runs than the competition. Most two-in-one robots with a carpet sensor, including the X1 Omni, automatically avoid rugs when mopping so as not to get them wet.
Pet owners and people with young kids in particular seem to gain a lot from bots, but many robot vacuum owners have told us that they are amazed at how clean their floors look and feel after they start using one regularly. If you run your bot a few times per week, or even every day, crumbs and pet hair will never get a chance to pile up; the mess is gone before it becomes a nuisance, with very little effort on your part required. They’re more than a toy or a novelty item, and they can be a valuable floor-care tool in most homes.
And again, we’ve found over and over again that such bots work well in smaller spaces. In December 2022, an MIT Technology Review article revealed that images captured by cameras on development models of iRobot Roomba vacuums were leaked publicly by a third-party company, Scale AI, with whom iRobot had shared the data. Most robot vacs with object-recognition rely on an onboard camera, which not only identifies obstacles (such as cords and stray socks), but takes an image of the purported clutter so you can see what was avoided. It’s important that anyone using a camera-equipped robot vacuum understand that the bot may inadvertently record images that many would consider private, such as photos of people, including children, in the home.
However, I test them in one of the most challenging environments possible—a carpeted, two-story family home with messy kids and a shedding dog—and personally, I find them indispensable. Whether you’re choking on cat hair, need to lighten your chore load, or just want to spend more time with your family, we have a pick that will help. The 700 series, introduced in May 2011, though largely similar to the 500 and 600 series, included a more robust cleaning system, improved AeroVac Bin with HEPA filter, and improved battery life. Like the 500 series, the 700 series had models with different technologies and accessories.
Johnson has boiled down testing insights and brought our experience with low- and high-tech products to life. You can also find her work on Real Simple, Better Homes and Gardens, Apartment Therapy, and Southern Living. Aside from cleaning your floors, Roombas also come with features such as voice control, smart mapping, and scheduled cleans. Our home testers are currently performing long-term tests on our top vacuums to put these smart features through their paces in the real world. We will update this list with their fresh and thorough insights once those tests are complete.