Ecovacs Deebot T9 AIVI vs iRobot Roomba i3

**Roomba S9+:** More powerful but didn’t feel worth it for the price. Didn’t have a lidar. 1099$.

Vacuums with this feature typically cost around $1,000, however, which is a lot more than most people are able or willing to spend. That makes the Roomba i3+ EVO especially appealing; at $549.99, it's iRobot's most affordable model with a self-emptying dustbin. Its battery life isn't spectacular and its smart mapping capabilities are limited to a single floor, but depending on your needs and budget, it might be the right model for you

I can't seem to find one that checks my boxes. The one I see recommended the most on here is the Ecovacs deebot, but I tried that and it sucked.

In any case, in the actual pickup tests, i was more than impressed with the i3. In fact, in terms of the i3's cleaning performance, it seemed to be as...

Unfortunately there is a design hinderance with it, at least with our specific dog hair situation. Basically, in the robovac (and the regular Lupe), dog hair tends to ball up - becoming a tumbleweed mass. The dust bins are fairly small - look closely at video reviews. The auto-empty stations tend to have smaller openings even yet - ours is on the bottom - two little vents in the dock that go to the bottom of the robot

The Roombas well-designed and well built. The I3 certainly has a more powerful suction than the Model 650 and it does well traversing between our area rugs, hardwood and tile. Somehow, the I3 seems less attracted to charging cords and rug fringes than Ruby was. OCD types will be thrilled by the straight-line navigation of I3

- mopping (although I have seen the d9 I think it's called which looks to be the ecovacs competitor to the narwhal)

In a weird shaped room like a hallway or around furniture legs, it is ponderous and feels like it runs over the same spot again and again. In a big room it makes neat, straight, long lines. For a robot that only knows where it has been by using a tiny sensor on the bottom and the front bumper, it performs remarkably well. Not nearly as well as a LIDAR or camera robot but my wife has privacy concerns about having a live camera in the house so we aren't buying any more intelligent of a Roomba

Once I filtered with these criteria(Auto empty base, LiDAR, Camera AI, Mop) in vacuum wars, it was clear this is what I needed(no results but T9+ AIVI fits the bill)

Considering the glut of off market replacement options and how well these cheaper alternatives seem to perform/review, iRobot should seriously consider making replacement parts (like filters) either reusable or competitive with alternatives. Overall, 5/5 based on my tempered expectations of what these things would actually get done. Quite satisfied with it's performance so far. Looking forward to upgrading to an i7 (or the equivalent of that) in the future