Confronted with a deluge of Chinese language opponents, debt points and the collapse of a sale to Amazon, American residence robotics firm iRobot is in some trouble in the mean time on the company stage, and all of the import tariffs of the rainbow could not have the ability to assist, since iRobot manufactures in Asia.
However in product phrases, the Roomba line, whose title has been shorthand for robovacs for years, has by no means seemed higher, even when the corporate appears to be leaving the bleeding-edge innovation in this space to others.
iRobot despatched out a sensible, midrange providing for me to place via the torture check of residing with my household and our extravagantly disgraceful residing requirements: the Roomba Plus 505 Combo Robotic & AutoWash Dock.
iRobot
Spec sheet highlights right here embrace:
- Twin DualClean mop pads that attain out on a little bit arm to mop proper up towards partitions and into corners
- The next-end, however not outrageous 7,000 Pa of suction energy – sufficient for homes with a lot of carpet
- A docking/charging station that auto-empties the mud canister, and washes and heat-dries the mops
- LiDAR mapping with the alleged capability to acknowledge furnishings, in addition to obstacles from cords and cables to steps, socks and people artless crayons of the animal kingdom: canine turds.
Nothing too loopy, only a strong, well-priced Roomba with correct LiDAR-based navigation and built-in mopping/vacuuming – two issues that, as The Hustle factors out, iRobot held off on for much too lengthy. The present vary, introduced in March 2025, represents a significant strategic pivot for the corporate, and maybe a little bit of humble pie, nevertheless it’s a superb transfer. Machines just like the 505 Combo are a lot nearer to what clients count on within the mid-2020s.
So how’s it go? Properly, superficially, the very first thing I seen was nice: after testing a bunch of Chinese language opponents currently from the likes of Narwal, Roborock and Eureka, I’ve to confess my inside grammar Nazi finds it soothing to make use of a tool that is a local English speaker and would not converse in mangled translations.
iRobot
The app is surprisingly minimalist, which makes it straightforward to make use of and thus maybe a friendlier present on your getting older mother and father if they are not tech lovers. However it’s additionally lacking some choices I would have appreciated to tinker with, like mop wetness, which we’ll get to later, and the way typically the Roomba pops again to the dock to empty out its dustbin.
Mapping is fairly fast and uneventful, though the outcomes did want some cleansing up and tweaking in my case. I am joyful to provide all robovacs a move on this; the directions are at all times clear that it must be finished with a transparent flooring, and the day I see a transparent flooring all through this whole home, I will be pinching myself too laborious to go configuring robots.
As an alternative, I get them to map it out in line with the naked flooring obtainable on the day, letting it regularly daybreak on them what sort of life they’re in for, and hoping they will fill within the gaps because the mess fluctuates. This does are inclined to trigger some confusion, so I would like to return into the map, be part of and separate rooms, and edit out phantom areas the place the robots have stood in entrance of mirrors and interpreted them as giant, inaccessible areas. That is by no means a number of enjoyable in a cell app, nevertheless it’s additionally my fault, so the Roomba scores a par for the course in mapping.
iRobot
Cleansing efficiency is round par as effectively. On carpets, it pays to go for the deeper clear settings and provides it a number of passes, however on the whole it picks up a satisfying quantity of guff, takes it again to the dock and self-empties right into a disposable bag that ought to final effectively over a month, possibly even two, with no need any consideration. Personally, I would look into changing that with a reusable bag with a zipper on it.
As for mopping… Properly, as talked about above, the minimalist app would not provide the choice to play with how a lot water it makes use of. To my eye, I really feel like this little Roomba may crank issues up a bit typically.
Having mentioned that, laborious flooring do find yourself wanting good, the extending arm does push the rotating mop pads proper up towards wall edges, and impressively deep into the corners too… And the consequence on the finish of the day is a very grotesque soiled water container, which does really feel like a job effectively finished.
Loz Blain/New Atlas
In any other case, effectively… You understand, I can not say I’ve actually fashioned a lot of a relationship with this system during the last month or two of testing, however that is primarily as a result of it hasn’t requested for a lot of my consideration. Certainly, that is in all probability my main impression; the 505 will get the job finished with out a ton of intervention.
That in itself is a verdict of excessive reward to start from, nevertheless it’s to not say you’ll be able to ignore the 505 utterly. Let’s decide some nits.
Firstly, I’ve nonetheless sometimes needed to rescue it from choking on the odd sock, necklace, USB cable, hair clip, emery board or lengthy piece of string. That is one other par for the course, and a problem that no robovac I’ve tried has utterly mastered, regardless of what number of sensors and cameras or how allegedly intelligent the AI. However more often than not, the 505 flags obstacles and avoids them prefer it says on the tin, and I would rank it on the higher finish of the models I’ve tried when it comes to intelligence.
iRobot
Secondly, it would not cope with lengthy hair practically in addition to the Narwals in my little check fleet, which use single-sided foremost curler brushes that roll hair up into loops and flick them off into the maw of the vacuum. The Roomba’s double-sided brush mounts regularly construct up a tangle at both finish, ultimately requiring you to tug the ends off the curler and dig all of the hair out. This, by the way, is one thing I had to determine for myself, not having the ability to discover it within the on-line manuals.
Thirdly, it is not as spectacular round small steps shifting between rooms and surfaces as, say, the flagship Roborock monster, which rises up on struts like a low-rider and kind of wheelies over such issues (and prices a lot, way more). The Roomba is a little bit clunky on this regard, nevertheless it will get the place it is going.
Fourthly, and weirdly, at one level it developed a behavior of dropping its single edge-sweeping brush mid-clean, main to a couple annoying hunts round the home to seek out the place it had dropped off. This appears to have resolved itself in current weeks, however I can not say I perceive why or what’s modified.
One different small factor to say is that it would not vacuum whereas it commutes, or whereas it is getting into or leaving its dock. So you’ll be able to typically find yourself with the dock itself wanting soiled. That might be a simple sufficient repair for a software program improve…
Loz Blain / New Atlas
The most important grievance I would stage on the Roomba 505, although, is that it is noisy. They’re all noisy when it comes to suction, thoughts you, particularly while you crank them as much as their highest settings. However the 505 augments this with extra low-pitched chattering and shuddering sounds than the others I’ve examined, sufficient that I initially thought it would’ve had one thing caught in it. Nope, it is simply noisy.
That is type of odd to me, provided that this unit would not use the double counter-rotating rollers that after fashioned a key a part of Roomba’s patented secret sauce. However it hasn’t been an enormous deal both, actually, since I schedule most of this machine’s work for when no one’s residence anyway.
Initially launching at US$1,000, the Roomba Plus 505 Combo is now selling for closer to US$599 within the USA (Advisable retail is AU$1,699 in Australia, however equally there’s a deal now at AU$999).
At these costs, I would take into account the 505 an incredible purchase proper now, as a strong midrange machine that is at present obtainable nearer to low-end costs. I feel it is a good transfer that iRobot has jumped on board with LiDAR and mixture vacuum/mopping, and whereas it nonetheless cannot wash the carpet, the present Roomba lineup appears headed in the suitable path.
Supply: iRobot Roomba
