Aside from not pushing poop across your floors, the Roomba J7 Plus excels at other things, too. It doesn’t feature a built-in mop, but it’s a semi-affordable self-emptying option, and an exceedingly well-rounded cleaner, boasting top three averages on both hardwood floor and low-pile carpets. It fell short on plush, midpile carpets, so go with the Roomba S9 Plus if your dog is well-trained and you’re more worried about its fur than its waste, but that’s really the only weak spot here.
We’ve also tested some cheap bump bots that are slightly different from the standard-issue Eufy, including the Eureka Groove. That bot was basically fine, but it couldn’t match the agility of the Eufy model or the durability of the Roomba bots we’ve tested. We bought one of the Goovi models, and lo and behold, we found that it bissell crosswave cordless was functionally identical to the 11S, with many of the same components and even the same beep and boop sounds. The Roborock app has a lot more features and control options than iRobot’s app for the Roomba i3 EVO. We’ve aimed to recommend a handful of robots that should work well in most homes and aren’t wildly expensive.
A possible side effect of the Roomba i3 EVO’s design is that it may be relatively slow compared with other smart-mapping bots, such as our also-great pick, the Roborock Q5. Whereas those other bots use lasers or cameras to help them map and clean areas, the i3 EVO still utilizes gyroscopes and sensors to help it navigate. Laser-nav bots can learn your home’s layout in a single session, whereas the i3 EVO and higher-end Roomba models typically need two or three sessions of training. The laser-nav bots also tend to bump into less stuff than the Roomba bots do and complete their jobs faster as a result. However, we still predict that Roomba bots on average will last longer than any of their competitors and work better at getting hair out of rugs. They’re more than a toy or a novelty item, and they can be a valuable floor-care tool in most homes.
All Roomba bots, including the i3 EVO, also have a dirt-detection system—another feature you can’t find in other brands’ bots. When a Roomba model senses that it’s passing over an area with a lot of debris, it stops and makes a few passes back and forth to pick up as much as possible. If you suffer from allergies but still want a robot vacuum to handle your light-duty cleaning needs, the iRobot Roomba S9 is among the robot vacuums we’ve tested.
They roll until they bump into something, then trundle off in another direction. The Roborock E4 uses a dual gyroscope and OpticEye sensor system to navigate your home by “feel.” It moves in a somewhat methodical pattern that covers all the ground it can reach. Now, compare that with the Samsung JetBot AI Plus, which also promises to use its cameras to spot and avoid pet droppings. The result was, well, not great — in each test run, it would eventually bump into one of our test piles. Originally hailing from Troy, Ohio, Ry Crist is a text-based adventure connoisseur, a lover of terrible movies and an enthusiastic yet mediocre cook. A CNET editor since 2013, Ry’s beats include smart home tech, lighting, appliances, and home networking.
You can basically rebuild your bot if needed, making this an investment that should last a long time. Keep in mind that manufacturers typically cover their robots with one-year limited warranties that include parts and labor. The Samsung JetBot AI Plus consistently failed our solid pet waste test.
The real benefit here is that you don’t have to tidy up before you run your vacuum (although cluttered floors won’t get as clean). It also means it rarely gets stuck during a job, so you won’t come home to a beached bot and a half-clean house. bissell crosswave cordless If you like the idea of a self-emptying robot vacuum but not the high price tag of the iRobot Roomba j7+, then we recommend the Shark IQ XL. It has smart features such as linear navigation, in-app mapping, scheduling and voice control.