Subj : iRobots latest robot vacuum and mop is its most affordable 2-in-1
To   : All
From : TechnologyDaily
Date : Thu Apr 04 2024 13:15:05

iRobots latest robot vacuum and mop is its most affordable 2-in-1 ever

Date:
Thu, 04 Apr 2024 12:00:42 +0000

Description:
The new Roomba Combo Essential could be the cheap robot vacuum and mop youve 
been waiting for.

FULL STORY
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The worlds best robot vacuums  such as the Roomba Combo j9 Plus  dont just 
suck up dirt from your carpets, theyre also smart mops that scrub your hard 
floors whenever you tell them to. Unfortunately, if you want a 2-in-1 robot 
cleaner from a reliable brand like iRobot you can expect to pay a fairly high 
price (the aforementioned j9 vacuum can set you back up to $1,399.99 / 1,249, 
for example). Or at least, until now. 

Thats because iRobot has unveiled its most affordable 2-in-1 robot vacuum and 
mop ever. The Roomba Combo Essential comes with a mop function alongside its 
vacuuming abilities, and it wont break the bank, coming in at just $275 / 
269. 

What's more, it boasts some pretty decent specs. It has a 120-minute battery 
life, and iRobot says the Combo Essential delivers 18 times more suction 
power than its Roomba 600 Series robots, and its smarter to boot. 

You can set different suction and liquid settings based on the strength of 
clean you need, itll give you Clean Map reports to show you the exact areas 
your robot cleaned, and thanks to the iRobot OS you can set up automations 
like Clean While Im Away  which sets your Roomba going when it detects youve 
left home. Is this an Essential cleaning gadget? 

We havent had the chance to test out this Roomba Combo Essential for 
ourselves yet, but there are a couple of potential downsides you might notice 
from this machine compared to Roombas pricier robot vacuum and mops. (Image 
credit: iRobot) 

Firstly theres no self-emptying base, just a charging one. This means that 
while your Roomba will recharge itself, youll have to empty out the dirt and 
refill the water tank in the mop manually between each clean. Secondly, the 
mop sits underneath the robot rather than folding down from above like some 
of iRobots other combo cleaners  so theres a chance it could catch on rugs 
and carpets and spread dirt if you dont plan your cleans carefully. 

Lastly, we expect it wont offer quite as powerful a clean as some of Roombas 
higher-end models, though wed have to put it through its paces ourselves to 
know for sure. That said, a few downgrades are to be expected from a 
budget-friendly gadget like the Combo Essential, and based on what weve seen 
we imagine itll be a capable cleaning companion. 

If youre desperate to buy iRobots Roomba Combo Essential ASAP then youre in 
luck: its available to buy right now from iRobots official store . If you 
dont have many hard floors then you could instead pick up the mopless Roomba 
Vac Essential, which launches on April 7 in the US, and costs $249. Outside 
of the lack of mop its otherwise identical to the Combo model. 

For any of you that have a Roomba 600 Series model already and are tempted to 
upgrade, iRobot is sweetening the deal by offering US customers (sorry those 
of you in the UK) $50 credit towards a Combo Essential robot when you 
trade-in your old robot. You might also like Dyson's powerful 360 Vis Nav 
robot vacuum finally lands in the US IKEA's affordable new smart LED wall 
panel is an impressively versatile mood light Dyson's new vacuum and mop took 
all the hassle out of cleaning my new flat



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Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/home/robot-vacuums/irobots-latest-robot-vacuum-and-m
op-is-its-most-affordable-2-in-1-ever


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