I am looking for roomba vacuum cleaner for my flat. I have a carpet and 2 cats in my flat.
I read a lot of sites and choose between roomba 890 and 960
Who use these models?
Or may be other model better?
I have tested 2 Roombas 7 and 8 series, Neato Botvac and the Xiaomi Robot Vaccum.
I rank them as follows:
Xiaomi ~ Botvac >> Roomba
The Xiaomi and Botvac are much more efficient with their mapping and clean algorithm. The Roomba behaves like a fly and misses a lot of areas. The Botvac vaccums better than the Xiaomi powerwise and is better on carpet but on hardwood, the Xiaomi is equivalent and has a better app. I have integrated them all with the Vera through various APIs.
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The roomba 980 wifi is outstanding. It maps the entire floor it’s cleaning and doesn’t miss anything. We have had one for over a year and I still can not believe how much it pulls up running every other day. Runs for about 75 min and goes back to the dock to charge and comes out about an hour later to finish where it left off. Cleans my first floor which is about 1500 sf. The phone app is cool and the robot sends you an email if it runs into a problem or finishes a job. It is not cheap but would buy one again in a heartbeat.
We love our Neato D80s and D85s. Like the pricier Roomba, it maps the floor, and misses nothing. I’ve never seen the high-end Roomba work, but the Neatos leave carpet with a long straight pattern, like a human vacuumed it. Returns itself to the dock to charge, and resumes cleaning after if it still has work to do. We have them scheduled to run M,W,F, and our floors are always spotless.
[quote=“rafale77, post:2, topic:197386”]I have tested 2 Roombas 7 and 8 series, Neato Botvac and the Xiaomi Robot Vaccum.
I rank them as follows:
Xiaomi ~ Botvac >> Roomba
The Xiaomi and Botvac are much more efficient with their mapping and clean algorithm. The Roomba behaves like a fly and misses a lot of areas. The Botvac vaccums better than the Xiaomi powerwise and is better on carpet but on hardwood, the Xiaomi is equivalent and has a better app. I have integrated them all with the Vera through various APIs.[/quote]
Hi,
Does they have a Vera plugin or you wrote the code yourself?
I’m using an old Roomba 550 with Thinking Cleaner plate and it connected to Vera perfectly, but I believe I will have to replace this old machine sooner or later, and the 900 series is not connected to Vera as far as I know, so it’s a deal breaker for me.
Will love to understand there’s other easy solutions with other robots. “Easy” for me means a pluging, as I’m not very skilled in programming or API stuff
With two cats the Roomba 960. The longer runtime of the 980 isn’t useful due to small bin size. There is no reason to buy the old 800 series.
I have had two Neatos and both broke just past warranty. I will not buy another Neato.
[quote=“dzmiller, post:6, topic:197386”]With two cats the Roomba 960. The longer runtime of the 980 isn’t useful due to small bin size. There is no reason to buy the old 800 series.
I have had two Neatos and both broke just past warranty. I will not buy another Neato.[/quote]
Two cats as well, and still use two Neato VX series with only minor annoyances. I have had three Roombas and all three went to the electronics recycle bin as they just would not run reliably - will not buy another Roomba.
Roomba 960 here. I had a roomba 650 for several years and it did well. Wanted to update to mapping. Happy with the 960.
I liked the Neato price point at ~$400-$450. But the last one was a VX and the rotating mirror died at 14 months. The Roomba 960 is somewhat superior in all aspects, but also more expensive.
I never owned the 700-800 series “lighthouse” Roomba. I thought that half-assed approach to navigation was just stupid compared to Neato. But I do think Roomba now has the upper hand using cameras instead of LIDAR. The problem of a consistently reliable spinning mirror is probably why no company followed Neato in using LIDAR.
The entry level Roomba is still a good choice if it doesn’t need to roam many rooms. I use one in my kitchen and family room. With a dog gate at the exit of the space a mapping vacuum provides no additional benefit.
It is pretty cool to see the LIDAR spinning on camera. While you can’t see it with your naked eye, I have a surveillance camera in an area where the Neato passes, and you can see the laser spinning around the room in the recordings. I suspect the cats can see the laser too based on their reactions…
I chose a Neato over the Roomba because it simply seemed to be smarter - I knew people who had Roombas and furniture legs had marks from constant bumping from the dumb vacuums, whilst the Neato did this way less via the laser mapping. I recently got a Xiaomi (to save having to lug the Neato upstairs) and frankly I am super impressed. A fraction the cost of the Neato, similar room mapping, ability to view a map via the app to see where it has been (no more “Did it do this room?” uncertainty), decent suction and battery life… basically I would highly recommend considering the Xiaomi. The money you save you could go towards a Braava to mop the hard floors such as kitchen area…
This is very deceiving since it really depends on which model you choose. My 960 is way smarter then my old 650.
Dollar for dollar, or price is another issue and roomba is up there with dyson and other well known long lasting units.
This is very deceiving since it really depends on which model you choose. My 960 is way smarter then my old 650.
Dollar for dollar, or price is another issue and roomba is up there with dyson and other well known long lasting units.[/quote]
I did not mean to be deceiving! 
Definitely agree that the newer high end Roombas with their “iAdapt” are far better at navigation than before (when I went with the Neato), but as they use a camera rather than laser, I understand they can fall back to bumping around when in a dark room. This may not be an issue for you if, for example, you don’t run it at night. I would suggest anyone wanting more detailed comparisons of the latest models check out some of the multiple reviews out there on the web to help choose which vacuum best suits their requirements.
I have actually purchased three Neatos. I have owned two and gave a third to my daughter. That one is still working.
Both Neato and 900 series Roomba will hit and mark certain furniture legs. That aspect of performance is not a differentiating feature between brands.
Cost aside the Roomba 960/980 is a better vacuum. Having actually owned many machines from both companies I do not need to seek out online reviews. I do turn on lights when running the 960 before sunrise. I have a nifty product called Vera that makes that cumbersome task easy.
I decided buy roomba 890 read this article [url=https://robotbox.net/irobot-roomba-series-robotic-vacuum-cleaners-comparison-860-vs-870-vs-880-vs-890-vs-960-vs-980/]https://robotbox.net/irobot-roomba-series-robotic-vacuum-cleaners-comparison-860-vs-870-vs-880-vs-890-vs-960-vs-980/[/url] and decided buy 890…with wifi, not expensive like 980((. Maybe this article article will be useful somebody.
Only thing is that one has the same dumb logic as the older units that just bounce off the wall until battery is low then keep bouncing until its within sight of the base. the 960 or next step up has a totally different system that maps and uses a camera to find its way around and not just bounce off walls.
For me that is a huge difference on from my 650 to 900 series. My 650 I just added wifi (thinking cleaner, which is now collecting dust and should be up for sale) and it was a wifi enabled robot. Just with no logic like the 890.
Below the 900 series I would no longer buy a roomba. I would save my money and pay $200 for the ECOVACS DEEBOT N79 or similar from that manufacturer.
I currently use a Roomba 650 in my kitchen and family room because I don’t need a navigating vacuum that space. But when that unit dies I will buy something cheap. The non-navigating Roombas are now over priced.
[quote=“integlikewhoa, post:16, topic:197386”]Only thing is that one has the same dumb logic as the older units that just bounce off the wall until battery is low then keep bouncing until its within sight of the base. the 960 or next step up has a totally different system that maps and uses a camera to find its way around and not just bounce off walls.
For me that is a huge difference on from my 650 to 900 series. My 650 I just added wifi (thinking cleaner, which is now collecting dust and should be up for sale) and it was a wifi enabled robot. Just with no logic like the 890.[/quote]
Yes 960 and 980 better BUT price :(((
The more complex the mechanism is the faster it will break 
I’ll try 890 and write my review
[quote=“rafale77, post:2, topic:197386”]I have tested 2 Roombas 7 and 8 series, Neato Botvac and the Xiaomi Robot Vaccum.
I rank them as follows:
Xiaomi ~ Botvac >> Roomba
The Xiaomi and Botvac are much more efficient with their mapping and clean algorithm. The Roomba behaves like a fly and misses a lot of areas. The Botvac vaccums better than the Xiaomi powerwise and is better on carpet but on hardwood, the Xiaomi is equivalent and has a better app. I have integrated them all with the Vera through various APIs.[/quote]
I just bought a Xiaomi Mi Vacuum Gen. 1, could you explain in more detail how to got to controlling it with Vera?
Guys, how do you think, which one of these robovacs is good for the hardwood floors? Two months ago I got rid of all carpets in the house and now am a bit stuck, for my vacuum cleaner told me that he sees the hardwood floor for the first time :o 