iRobot has launched a robot vacuum that puts its products’ most premium perks within reach of modest budgets. The Roomba i3+, available now, comes with the company’s innovative self-emptying dock, intelligent navigation, and iRobot Genius™ Home Intelligence for just $599. The vacuum is also being sold as the i3 without the cleaning dock for $399.
iRobot says the Roomba i3 is equipped with a pair of multi-surface rubber brushes and a specially designed edge-sweeping brush. The company boasts it has 10 times the suction power of the Roomba 600 series. It uses iRobot’s Dirt Detect technology to identify areas of built-up dirt that need extra attention. Its high-efficiency filter captures 99 percent of pollen, mold, dust mites, and cat and dog allergens, according to iRobot. The Roomba i3+ adds the Clean Base Automatic Dirt Disposal, essentially a combination charging dock and trash receptacle that automatically sucks the dirt from the vacuum’s dustbin each time it re-docks. The self-emptying innovation was first introduced with the Roomba s9+.
iRobot
The Roomba i3+ automatically empties its dusbin into its charging base, which iRobot says can hold up to 60 days worth of dirt.
The Roomba i3+ is controlled with the recently redesigned iRobot app powered by iRobot Genius Home Intelligence. This AI-driven platform enables the robot to learn your cleaning habits and recommend schedules based on past cleaning jobs, or make cleaning suggestions based on pet shedding and allergy seasons. The i3+ also supports location-based cleaning when you pair it with a service like Life360 or the August Wi-Fi Smart Lock, and voice control when you connect it to a Google Home or Amazon Echo smart speaker.
iRobot’s self-emptying Roombas are the only robot vacuums we’ve seen that fulfill the promise of a completely automated cleaning experience. But those models—the Roomba i7+ and Roomba s9+—were selling for $799 and $1,099 respectively as of this writing. The introduction of the Roomba i3+ makes truly hands-free vacuuming accessible to far more users and is sure to please those who thought such a luxury was out of reach.
We’ll have a hands-on review soon.