iRobot has just introduced its new $275 Roomba Combo Essential. It’s a surprisingly low price for a 2-in-1 robot that vacuums and mops and features the brand’s premium smart features.
The new model’s iRobotOS intelligence can automatically clean when you leave the house, create detailed visual cleaning reports, and suggest cleanings for a fraction of the cost of the best Roombas we’ve tested.
The Roomba Combo Essential is an upgraded replacement for the budget-focused Roomba 600 series. Its smaller dimensions, which fit under furniture, allow it to cover more ground and clean better. It also has a longer battery life of 120 minutes. Compared to the 600 Series, the new Roomba Combo Essential has 20 times more suction power and 25% better dirt pickup on hard floors.
iRobot OS navigates in a row pattern for thorough cleaning. The wet and dry vacuum records its work using the intelligent Clean Map report function. This generates a report in the iRobot app to show you how long it took to clean and where it got covered. Their app will even suggest cleaning times like the $1,400 Roomba J9+ Combo we recently reviewed.
The Roomba Combo Essential’s deceptively discreet design packs a lot of gear under the hood. Its 4-stage cleaning system consists of a special V-shaped multi-surface brush, edge sweeping brush, and pump-fed microfiber mop pad that work together to vacuum and mop hard floors in a single step.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t come with a self-emptying dock like the affordable Shark IQ for truly hands-free set-it-and-forget-it operation. While it doesn’t automatically equip or clean your mop pad, it can be removed to run the Essential in vacuum-only mode on all floor types. There are three suction power levels and three water level options you can choose from depending on the mess.
The Roomba Combo Essential robot ($274.99, iRobot) is now available in the US at iRobot.com and will be available at select retailers starting April 7. It will be available in Canada directly from iRobot and at select retailers starting April 12.
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