Thinking of vacuum cleaners as smart objects was not, at least at the beginning, the main goal of the writer's imagination and certainly of many of our readers: yet iRobot Roomba i7 + appears today as a particularly advanced, interesting object with a lot of good ideas inside.
Of course, a little attention is needed in its use and for sure it is necessary to understand what you are buying, but the investment is undoubtedly concrete both from a personal point of view and also for those who have commercial activities, where cleaning is sometimes undervalued.
We have used the iRobot Roomba i7 + for some time in our house, letting it manage itself in complete autonomy, with all the difficulties of an apartment in the city, where every square meter is used to the maximum and there is little space for everything, probably the place. more difficult where to do such a test.
iRobot Roomba i7 +, complete with Clean Base, which takes care of recharging and collecting dust
iRobot Roomba i7 +, the review
First contact
When we open the box we find inside iRobot Roomba i7 +, complete with the support base, which we will detail later although we have already seen it during the presentation and a small sheet indicating the first operations, plus a hygienic bag for collecting the dust (already installed) and another spare.
Not much else is needed because, basically, everything is done from the App for iOS and Android, which is universal, both the configuration phase and the device management phase, operations that we have left to do in detail to his wife, whose use of technology is usually much more practical than ours.
The most delicate phases, those relating to the first pairing, were carried out in perfect transparency, without the slightest perplexity: the app is simply delicious, with an enviable ease and autonomy. Note of merit for the ability to connect to a 5Ghz Wi-Fi network, a factor not to be taken for granted on this category of device.
The relationship with the animals is good, even if the opinion is very subjective: the neighbor's dog looked at him for a whole evening, and then ignored him completely from the next day
Cat 2.0
Once installed, the iRobot Roomba i7 + basically lives a life of its own: in practice it is like having a cat in the house, except that it obeys orders where the cat usually clearly ignores them. For the rest, the Roomba is crouched in its charging base all the time until we manually call it up via the App, telling it which rooms to clean (or all of them) or we schedule it for a particular hour, in the same way.
Once the work has started, the small vacuum cleaner is completely independent, it wanders around the house going to work on all the available space, trying to enter the corners, under the table, above the carpets and in the various rooms with the door open, where the difference in height does not exceed approximately one centimeter.
the operation of the double multi-surface rubber brushes significantly improves the collection of dirt
The noise is that of a vacuum cleaner in operation, but more muffled: a loud, loud noise appears when the iRobot Roomba i7 + returns to the base to discharge the dirt on the base, transferring all the dust from its tank to the larger one of the base where there is is the bag, which can be removed by hand by touching only the outside. It must be said that the presence of the bag in the base is not strictly necessary, because the iRobot Roomba i7 + is capable of operating even in the absence of a bag (but it must be emptied by hand), however this is the most important factor in its design, the ability to empty itself alone, effectively increasing the autonomy.
We have not done such detailed tests, both for a matter of time and for the impossibility of establishing the typical house, however we can admit that for an apartment of about 100 square meters, the duration of a bag is approximated on the month, with a strong variability based on the number of steps and the amount of dirt but according to the writer even in critical conditions it is difficult for it to drop below two weeks.
Some screenshots of the App, here on an iPad mini
How it works
During operation, we said, iRobot Roomba i7 + is totally autonomous: the software inside creates a map of the surface and updates it constantly, and via Wi-Fi, communicates with the App (the captured map is visible from a smartphone or Tablet).
The noise is manageable, you certainly can't watch TV when it goes into the same room (but you can't even do it with a normal vacuum cleaner) but it's not all that annoying (apart from carrying dirt into the pan, where the compressor is important, but it lasts a few seconds).
Our opinion is that iRobot Roomba i7 + gives its best where there is more space to move: a chair, a wall, a low table limit its action space, while a carpet or a doll on the floor are ignored objects.
The dust container, which is thrown away without ever touching the inside
During some passages it has happened that a couple of cables have been eaten, so it is better to be careful before letting it go freely: it is obviously possible to limit its action space with obstacles (to prevent access to some critical areas) physical or virtual (from the App) but otherwise it is better to let it go as much as possible, letting it make all the decisions independently.
Where in fact it fails to arrive the first time, in the following steps it tries to pass anyway, continuing to look for new areas previously unexplored.
It goes without saying that the near the end of the charge returns by itself to the base (if reachable) for recharging (and cleaning the tray), to then resume work if not finished.
The level of cleaning is quite good and, we are told, better than the other previous Roomba models, especially thanks to the new brushes and the new rotation system. The comparison with a manual vacuum cleaner would be wrong, because on the one hand Roomba does not have such a complete view, on the other hand, while the vacuum cleaner needs our time during the past, Roomba does the job autonomously and where it cannot clean the first time, he can do it a second time.
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Considerations
In the era of 2.0 devices, iRobot Roomba i7 + is certainly a higher level than its predecessors in the sector for several reasons: the App is very well done and perfectly profiled for the audience it is aimed at, the mechanics of the vacuum cleaner good because it does your duty without any human intervention (unless you have to move it from the room manually, an operation provided by the app but for which, in the end, you need to bring it back to the base by hand) the idea of a promising base because it extends the life of a project which makes its autonomy the winning weapon.
Considering these premises, it is clear that the user must understand exactly if iRobot Roomba i7 + is the definitive solution: if you have a small house, with lots of furniture and narrow corridors, the potential of the intelligent vacuum cleaner fails, because the constant trying to get to where it is. difficult to arrive is an effort often made in vain, even if the results in the small are the same.
The inner tray can be extracted and washed easily under water
If, on the other hand, you have a breathtaking home, or a living room, an office, a shop or places where large rooms need continuous cleaning, then iRobot Roomba i7 + is the dream come true: you can plan it maybe at night or in the morning. , it depends on the situation, and he does his job and you control him only when it signals on the iPhone display that the tray is full.
And if in the meantime some children are playing in the room or a cat or a dog walking near them, patience, take a few more turns, nothing to worry about.
The price is important, because if we compare it to a vacuum cleaner we need a comparison with very established brands, however the presence of an App, the delightful analysis of the spaces and the operation that gladly does without you justify the effort, but as mentioned only as long as you understand what you are buying.
The carpets are not a problem, while the chairs and cables are, better remove everything before the passage
Pro : • App done very well • Excellent space analysis • The use of the tray makes it much more independent
Cons : • Not suitable for spaces small • The trays are purchased separately
Price : 1,199.00 Euro
At the time of writing iRobot Roomba i7 + is available exclusively at all Unieuro retailers in the peninsula, or directly through the iRobot online store at a cost of 1,199.00 Euros. The i7 version, identical in the mechanics but without the base with drawer for emptying dirt (which is available online but should arrive in stores at a later time) has a cost of 899.00 Euros.
