iRobot Roomba j7+ Review: Closer to a Tangle-Free Life
iRobot Roomba j7 +
RRP $ 850.00
“Do more cleaning, worry less. The iRobot Roomba j7 + is more intelligent than your average robot vacuum cleaner. "
advantages
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Good job avoiding wires
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Self-draining floor with a low profile
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Solid all-round cleaning
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Cleans efficiently in a zigzag pattern
disadvantage
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The thorough carpet cleaning service is missing
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A little noisy when vacuuming
Experience goes far. This is especially true in the world of robotic vacuums, where iterative improvements in technology over the years have resulted in smarter, more efficient bots that clean faster. Gone are the days of worrying about robotic vacuums falling down stairs or aimlessly cleaning one spot. Today's robotic vacuums are better than that – but there is still one major thing that will trip them up.
Wires, cables, and other minor clutter around the house can still trip the best robotic vacuums out there. As a pioneer in this area, iRobot aims to address this ubiquitous problem with its Roomba j7 +. When it comes to experience, nobody gets more out of it than iRobot. The Roomba j7 + not only has a self-draining base, but is also equipped with a camera that helps it avoid obstacles better. While there is a lot of talk about how to avoid annoying cables on the floor, seeing is believing. The times of pre-cleaning could be over if it can actually do this without errors!
Put up
Unsurprisingly, setting up the iRobot Roomba j7 + was effortless. Because everything was already assembled in the packaging, so all you had to do was remove the self-draining base, connect the charging cable and dock the robot vacuum. Worth mentioning are subtle additions to the self-draining base, such as the fact that it has a much lower profile than any other self-draining container I've seen. There's even a little nook inside the base to store an extra bag, filter, and side brush. I appreciate that as they are usually kept elsewhere and quickly forgotten.
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After everything was unpacked and connected, all I had to do was launch the iRobot app on my phone to guide myself to connect it to my home's Wi-Fi network. Having used the Roomba i3 + before, I thought it at least copied my apartment plan, but it didn't. Instead, the Roomba j7 + used the first run to vacuum and actively map my entire apartment. I had to run it a few more times before it realized there was an accessible route to the bedroom.
software
What I like about the iRobot app is that it's intuitive and simple. Once a map of my apartment has been created, I can go into the app to label the different rooms, add partitions to differentiate one room from another, and set “exclusion” zones to prevent the Roomba j7 + there cleans. The latter ability comes in handy when you have areas that you don't want the bot to disturb, such as B. the position of pet bowls. The ability to customize the map in this way alleviates the annoying instances of a robotic vacuum cleaner simply rolling through an area and everything in its path.
You can also schedule Roomba j7 + to clean automatically. I would still recommend adult supervision because you just never know what can happen – even more so when pets are at home. You don't want to come home to find that your cat's tail is caught in the robot hoover when you haven't been there.
Obstacle detection and avoidance
With the help of its front camera and Genius 3.0 Home Intelligence technology, the Roomba j7 + is better equipped to recognize obstacles and avoid them. I have to admit, it's great for avoiding cluttered charging cables near power outlets and power strips, but it's not infallible. There were mainly two cases in which it did not avoid obstacles: On the one hand, a paper bag lying on the floor, on the other hand, a lined up cat toy. I'll say that when I put a charging cable in its path, it paused for a moment to assess and then walked around it to continue cleaning.
While it's not perfect, it should be noted that the Roomba j7 + is currently trained to detect cords, cords, headphones, and pet droppings. Other clutter like shoes and socks will eventually be added through a software update to improve obstacle avoidance. On top of that, constant training and reviews help the robot make smarter decisions when it comes to cleaning – so I'm confident it will get better over time.
John Velasco / Digital Trends
When the cleaning is done, you can return to the cleaning history to evaluate some of the obstacles it encountered. While avoiding everything wasn't perfect, I suspect it will get better over time as checking the obstacles in the app trains his vision better. For now, however, I would rank the Samsung Jet Bot AI + just ahead of the iRobot champion when it comes to detection and avoidance.
Cleaning performance
If there is one thing you can rely on with iRobot, it is that its robotic vacuum cleaners offer above-average cleaning performance. With its side sweeping and underside brushes, it pulls in dirt and debris that is scattered on my wooden floors. Cat litter isn't thrown in all directions as the side sweeping brush rotates at a gentle speed, while the three-stage cleaning system and 10-fold hitch suction technology ensure that all debris is captured.
It does good to avoid messy charging cables near power outlets and power strips.
The Roomba j7 + is also an efficient bot that doesn't waste time devising a game plan for cleaning up rooms. It works efficiently and effectively by navigating in traditional zigzag patterns. Nooks and crannies are handled well too, but I find that when bumping into furniture it can just be a little bit aggressive.
John Velasco / Digital Trends
While the Roomba j7 + is a solid cleaner for hard floors, it gets stuck with carpets. Superficial things like pet hair and other crumbs are easily picked up by the multi-surface rubber brush, but I am not convinced of its deep cleaning performance on carpets. It just doesn't achieve the same deep cleaning sensation that my bare feet experience on carpets cleaned with cordless vacuums.
Battery life
Since my apartment is roughly over 1,000 square meters, there has never been a battery on one of the robotic vacuum cleaners I tested. The Roomba j7 + cleaned for over 40 minutes without a battery warning. When the battery ran out, it would automatically return to the base station to recharge.
John Velasco / Digital Trends
There the contents of his trash can are also thrown into the self-empty base. Then it roars like a jet plane because it needs the suction force to remove all of its contents. You could say it's deafening so keep that in mind. With the robot hoover itself, it is moderately noisy during cleaning, so if you are concentrating on something you will want to let it run at a different time.
Our opinion
While it's not the revolutionary robotic vacuum I was expecting, the iRobot Roomba j7 + is an iterative model that sits reasonably between the Roomba i3 + and s9 + at $ 850. It's a smart, efficient and feature-rich robot hoover that offers a well-rounded cleaning performance that is enhanced by its smarter avoidance and self-emptying system.
Is there a better alternative?
The Samsung Jet Bot AI + is the only other robotic vacuum cleaner that outperforms the iRobot offering. In addition to superior avoidance detection, it's a notable revolutionary robotic vacuum cleaner as it doubles as a roaming security camera to patrol the house when you are not around.
Alternatively there is the Roborock S7 and its self-draining base. It also delivers solid cleaning, enhanced by the fact that it has a mopping function that really makes hard floors feel squeaky clean.
How long it will take?
The iRobot Roomba j7 + is made of various sturdy plastic materials and still feels like a solid, well-made bot. Of course, it takes some maintenance to keep it in tip-top shape – like removing any tangles around its side sweeping brush and cleaning the sensors. There is a one year limited warranty that covers it against defects.
Should you buy it?
Yes, mostly because it specializes in avoiding the hassle of cables. Even if pre-cleaning before vacuuming isn't entirely eliminated, you don't have to worry about having to take care of it all the time throughout the cleaning routine.
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