- Irobot eliminates all its robot vacuum clezers apart from combo 10 max, replacing them with 5 new models
- The new empts have lidar, pads for rotating trapists and introduce a new great design language.
- They are available for presale since March 18 in North America and some European countries.
Irobot started as the Robot Vacuum Robot brand: if I was looking for a robovac, I wanted a Roomba. But over the years, other brands began to overcome it, and the gap continued to expand, with boombs sliding further and lower in our best robot aspiration classification and threatening to completely disappear from them. Until now…
Irobot has drawn the big weapons by 2025, discarding almost all its Roomba fleet and replacing it with five new models that seem that they could actually bother people such as Roborock and Ecovacs.
The greatest update is the introduction of Lidar, and it is remarkable that it has taken so long to address with technology: Lidar is considered almost universally the best and most reliable form of robot vacuum navigation, and is more or less standard in the rest of the market. The new roombs should, as a result, offer faster and more precise navigation, and can also find their way in the dark.
Irobot is calling his lidar ‘Clearview’ navigation, and is presented in all new models. That includes, curiously, one that does not have the Puck Lidar Central, raised. (Irobot assures us that this will not compromise the accuracy of navigation, but it is definitely something we would like to try for ourselves).
Perhaps the introduction of rotary discs, which can lift and, in one case, expel to mop the edge. These tend to deliver a more efficient wet cleaning than static pillows favored by the Roomba so far. They are paired, in the case of the Roba Plus 405 combo and the 505 combo, with ‘autoWash’ most advanced docks that can clean and dry the paddle pads, in a case with hot air.
A decision that helps mark this as a new beginning for Irobot is the introduction of a new design language, bent (for geometric, rational, iconic and dynamic). The new bots have a kind of Mondrian style geometric grid at the top and introduce matt textures for a more friendly appearance and more style than most competition. It is also distinctive for the brand, and will help Roomba to stand out in a sea of fairly generic competition products.
The most interesting introduction to the alignment, for me, is the combined robot DustCompactor Roomba 205. Designed for those who do not have space for a giant self-surrounding spring in your home (high hand), this bot makes the following best option and compact the dust in the small container on board, which makes it capable of maintaining much greater amounts and eliminating the need to constantly empty it. As apart, this is the same bot without the Lidar disc, which I suppose fits with the aerodynamic and saved environment.
What is in a name?
The fact that the names have been renewed to a clearer system of Roomba (good), Roomba Plus (better), Roomba Max (Best), should be of great help to consumers who seek to make sense of alignment and their options. The only sad thing about this is that the Max category is currently composed of the Roomba 10 Max Roomba alone. That is the only model that should not be discarded, and since it only came out in 2024, I can see why. However, he did not receive the best answer and is not a great reach. In fact, it looks positively decrepit compared to the new and elegant capable fleet and, in particular, it lacks important updates such as Lidar. I hope that a better ‘better’ model is soon on the cards.
Another blessing for consumers is Irobot’s decision to share suction specifications once again. The brand had stopped doing this, arguing that the cleaning power was not suction. While that is true, it is a useful indicator of what the performance could be, and useful when comparing different models (both from the range of Irobot and outside). All new branches have 7,000 suction, which is less than most premium bots, but it is still a decent amount, especially when combined with an efficient design.
