iRobot makes all sorts of household small appliances, but the company is best known for its Roomba robot vacuums. And as of right now, there's a new Roomba in town -- the $700 Wi-Fi Roomba 960.
You'll only find the 960 in the US and Canada today, but the team plans to expand overseas later this year. At the current exchange rate, that $700 price tag coverts to roughly £525 in the UK and AU$920 in Australia.
According to iRobot, the 960 shares the same software smarts as its $900 980 predecessor, but costs just $700. But for all of its app-enabledness, the 960 doesn't seem as clever as the 980 for two key reasons:
- The 960 is outfitted with the same old motor you'll find on the non-smart 800-series Roomba we reviewed in 2013
- The 960's lithium-ion battery is smaller than the 980's and claims to have a shorter battery life
But robot vacuums are expensive and Roombas are no exception. That's particularly true for the small, but growing selection of app-enabled self-cleaning vacuums on the market.
The connected Roomba 980 iRobot introduced in 2015 costs $900 and the similarly smart Dyson 360 Eye that made its US debut in 2016 will set you back $1,000. Neato is the one robot vacuum company that's managed to maintain mostly-reasonable prices. Its app-enabled $700 Botvac Connected performed better than either the Roomba 980 or the Dyson 360 and costs hundreds less.
