The Roomba i7 is said to be ideal for picking up pet hair from both hard floors and carpets because of its dual main brush system with rubber rollers. The i7 has Wi-Fi connectivity, thus it can connect to a smartphone app, Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. The recommended retail price is more than $700, but does it elevate your household cleaning to the seventh robot heaven?
What is included with the Roomba i7?
The box contains a dual mode virtual wall barrier, one extra high-efficiency filter and an extra side brush. A home base charging station and a line cord are also included (check price on Amazon).
Smart Mapping Technology
The i7 uses smart mapping technology to create maps of the spaces it cleans. The robot produces a smart map after cleaning the same floor a few times.
You can view and edit the map with the iRobot Home App. The map can be customized by merging or splitting up areas and by adding a label for specific rooms. The i7 can map, remember and recognize up to 10 distinct floor plans. As a result, this Roomba can be used for cleaning a multi-level house or even another house.
Automatic Dirt Disposal
The i7 and i7+ are both compatible with the clean base automatic dirt disposal charging station. However, this special docking station is included in the box with the i7+ robot vacuum. The clean base station is also sold separately.
You need to replace the standard dust bin of the i7 model with the special dust bin if you want to use it with the clean base dirt disposal station. The robot will dock when it needs to either recharge or empty its bin. The dirt is sucked out of the robot’s dust bin and into a filter bag inside the automatic dirt disposal station. The bag can hold the contents of up to 30 of the robot’s bins before it needs to be replaced.
Roomba i7 vs. 960
These Roomba robots are suitable for cleaning both hard floor surfaces and carpets. They have the 3-stage cleaning system with multi-surface rubber brushes, dirt detect technology and a high-efficiency filter. If the battery is very low, then these robots can recharge and resume on their own.
The vacuum robots are Wi-Fi enabled, thus they can be remotely controlled by either a smartphone app or a smart home system (Alexa or Google). A virtual wall is included with both robots.
The most important difference is that the Roomba 960 is not compatible with the new clean base automatic dirt disposal station. The 960 also does not have the more advanced imprint smart mapping feature.
Finally, there is the price difference. The Roomba i7 has a list price of $799 in contrast with the Roomba 960 that has a list price of $699. So, the new i7 costs only 100 dollars more.
Roomba i7 vs. i7+
It seems like there is no real difference between these two model numbers (7150 vs. 7550). The only difference we could find has to do with the home base station. The Roomba i7 ships with the standard dust bin and charging base. The i7+ ships with a special dust bin and the clean base automatic dirt disposal station.
The price difference between these two models are significant: obviously, the i7 costs less than the i7+ model. Therefore, your choice of model depends on whether you want the automatic dirt disposal tower or not.
FAQ
The robot will send a notification to the iRobot Home App on your smartphone. Empty the bin if you are in the house, or do it later when you get home. This is the point where the new clean base automatic dirt disposal system might prove its worth.
The Roomba i7 has a lithium-ion battery which might provide an hour or more of operation before requiring a recharge. The robot will find its home base and dock to recharge. The robot needs at least 2 hours to recharge its battery before it resumes cleaning.
The i7 has two cleaning brushes with rubber surfaces at its center. One brush loosens the dirt while the second brush sweeps it up. The multi-surface rubber rolls are less likely to get choked with hair when compared to bristle brushes. The rubber brushes are easier to keep clean. The robot also has a high-efficiency filter which removes up to 99% of allergens associated with having pets in the house. For these reasons, the i7 is a good choice for people who keep pets in their homes.
Conclusion
The Roomba i7 is recommended for busy households that have to cope with pet hair and allergens, but does not have enough time to sweep the floor and vacuum the carpets every day. However, the small size of the robot’s dust bin limits the amount of pet hair that can be collected in one cleaning session.
If your house is populated by a lot of cats and dogs, then the amount of pet hair might be too much for the small dust bin. As a result, you could end up having to clean the dust bin more than once per day. In that case, you should probably consider buying the i7+ that is shipped with the clean base automatic dirt disposal station (buy on Amazon).