We only carry out our tests on hard 90-degree edges to keep objectivity, so we’re pretty sure that the robot vacuum can climb rounded edges/obstacles even better.

Naturally, the cat-eyed the new entrant with considerable suspicion but has now got used to the new mortised invader and has labelled him as “to be avoided” but also “mostly harmless”. Wonderfully, this means you don’t really have to think about cleaning your floors for a good few weeks at a time (depending on how often you run the robot). You can send the iRobot to clean a specific room, let it vacuum your bedroom first and then your living room. But it’s an effective cleaner, with rubber multi-surface brushes that pull hair and debris from carpets and an edge-sweeping brush that gets into corners. Considering that the vacuum will dock and recharge itself when necessary, however, this isn't a huge deal.No problem - Vacuums stubborn messes with a 3-Stage Cleaning System that uses Dual Multi-Surface Rubber Brushes and 10X the Power-Lifting Suction*. She covers everything from kitchen appliances to smart home devices, from floor care to personal care to air care technology. Once it started, the first thing that struck me was how noisy it is in operation, with a mechanical whirring sound and a spinning sweeper that combine (especially on hard flooring) to overpowering effect.

The brushes on both models of cleaner have been designed to avoid hair becoming wrapped around the roller – a common problem across some rivals.If the robot vacuum doesn’t have structured navigation and leaves out areas, the cleaning result won’t be satisfying. Imprint Smart Mapping allows you to control which rooms are cleaned and when, for vacuuming that works around you and your schedule. The “+” in the name refers to the automatic dirt disposal feature, but you can pick up an i7 without it for less. It has no problem with small debris like rice but it struggles a bit more with large debris, which end up getting caught in the brushroll, keeping it from spinning. After cleaning the same space a few times, they will produce a Smart Map that is pre-segmented into different spaces or rooms.

The robot vacuum cleaner continuously calculates the fastest route and determines very precisely where it has already been and where it has to go next. One new feature that has been introduced since the i7+ came out is the ability to set areas that the robot shouldn’t go into, such as your pet’s food and drink bowls.Ultimately, it has passed the wife test, as while she is naturally suspicious of gadgetry has commented how much time it is saving over manual cleaning. Coverage is excellent, with the robot ably moving around furniture and through the legs of some tricky dining room chairs. However, it’s clear that this product introduces a cost of operation that few, if any, other robot vacuums require. Unlike other sites, we test every robot vacuum cleaner we review thoroughly over an extended period of time.