iRobot Roomba 981 vs iRobot Roomba i3

If you're looking for a less expensive alternative, the iRobot Roomba 981 is the best Roomba for hardwood floors that we've tested. This robot vacuum doesn't have the Roborock S7's mopping feature and LIDAR mapping system. This means it can't navigate in the dark or generate permanent maps of its coverage area, which would allow you to set up virtual boundary lines or schedule cleaning sessions for specific rooms. That said, it's considerably cheaper and delivers superb performance on bare floors, easily clearing away small and bulky debris and doing a better job of dealing with pet hair

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

But I have to leave lights on when it runs at night. This is NOT a smart robot. It does not let you choose rooms to clean. You cannot set boundaries or schedule same day multiple cleanings on the app

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...

If you are a pet owner looking for a robot that will completely replace your participation in the activity, this isn't it. If you are looking for a maintainer that vacuums as scheduled and keeps things manageable between vacuuming, then this roomba could work for you. Pros: Suction seems good and the vacuum adjusts well when moving from hard floor to carpet. It has consistently found the base by itself when complete

When I finally started to use it, the map features were nice, the suction was good (two dogs in our home), and it wasn’t too loud. However, overall, I prefer my other vacuum as the map is in real time and it’s more user-friendly and has fewer errors and issues.

In this aspect, the Roomba is almost TOO effective; it's chewed up the rug and exposed the underweaving. I now have an area rug with two un-fibered patches roughly a square inch (6.5 cm^2) each. Admittedly, I have purchased rug tape to keep the corners down (and keep the rug in place; great when my cat goes skittering across the ground chasing the toy mouse I have for him), and though the incidents are fewer and far between (going into month three, I've had to untangle it twice in 9 passes), it isn't at 0, something I'd expect a machine with the presence of mind to sense changes in height to handle far more effectively

- Flic buttons (or some other 3rd party) to allow people in the house to control things without needing to remember obscure routine names.

It made my life so much easier before Thanksgiving because I usually would have been cleaning like crazy. I woke up l ran the vacuum, exercised and then washed the floor! I have more time!! Things to know but would deter me from buying again: - it is noisy. If I am in a conference call, I have to close office doors. It’s hard watching tv when it runs

I bought the aftermarket ones from Amazon too and found them WAY too noisy so I bought the iRobot ones. Unfortunately, they're still noisier than the disposable ones but slightly less noisy than amazon brand. I think the noise comes from the vibration of the plastic card with the braava. I'm thinking of adding some thin fabric to see if it'll make a difference

The 981 is superior to the 960 in the following ways: -Multi power operation: it can automatically run hi/low automatically based on dirt level or surface being run on -- I'm not sure-- it runs on high on carpet and low on wood-- most of the time it's low on wood or hard surfaces -Higher capacity battery - due to the dual speed operation it can have a shorter max run time on the low end but a higher run time on the high end depending on how much low/high running it does -Seems to have a dual exhaust dirt bin while my 960's have a single exhaust bin. I have still had a very difficult time substantiating this difference and trying to find replacement parts to more deeply understand this difference -It definitely cleans more deeply than any robot vacuum I've had in the past-- the carpet ends up standing straight up like it does from a traditional vacuum cleaner and after many years and robots this is a first! Surprising difference between the 960 and 980 series! Logic-wise, and as expected, the operational mode of this unit is essentially the same as the 960-- neat rows, less banging around against objects and devices as compared to past models. I won't go into more as my goal here was really to compare the 960 and 981 and the value that is to be had in the used/ warehouse / refurb market on this particular model-- coming in at the identical price between 981, 960 and 692 models which was shocking. I'm not here to argue any comparison to the i7 which I keep my eye on as well and in the warehouse / refurb / used market is never anywhere near the value that this model has been

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

Why a ONE star? Well they whole reason for the robotic vacuum cleaner is that you don’t have to spend your time vacuuming right? Or so that it can do it while your away or doing another task. Well if your vacuum gets hung up on a rug EVERY time it runs and you have to reset it every time, what’s the point? My older roomba did a better job. If I had one type of flooring and no floor coverings I’m sure this robot vacuum would be great.

However, it never even was able to fully map my house because it would get stuck on the low pile rug constantly. Kind of defeats the purpose of being able to turn it on and not having to worry. I would have kept it if it cost $100.

Even though they are reasonably priced, it's an ongoing expense. It also is pretty 'loud' when operating. I should have paid more attention to the filters before purchasing.

The automatic dirt disposal feature worked perfectly, successfully sucking the contents of the robot's dustbin into the AllergenLock bag. The robot automatically empties its bin after docking, but there's also a button in the app that lets you do it any time. When it's emptying the bin, the blower is pretty loud for 30 seconds or so—about the volume of an old-school standing vacuum. After several full test runs, I checked the bin and it was completely empty