iRobot Roomba i3 (3150) Wi-Fi Connected Robot Vacuum Vacuum – Wi-Fi Connected Mapping, Works with Alexa, Ideal for Pet Hair, Carpets

Le prix est élevé mais voilà un excellent appareil, fort supérieur à celui de la série 500 qu’il a remplacé après plusieurs années de loyaux services.

La puissance d’aspiration est remarquablement supérieure et l’appareil est plus agile pour contourner les obstacles. La recharge se fait aussi beaucoup plus rapidement.

Soulignons toutefois que les commandes avec Alexa se limitent essentiellement à “démarrer Roomba”, “arrêter Roomba” et “Retourner Roomba à la base”. Elles ne valent pas vraiment la peine.

The i3 is definitely worth the price of the upgrade from the 600 series. Recently returned my 600 series because it kept getting stuck, which really defeats the purpose of a robot vacuum. I decided to give the i3 a try and I could not be happier with that decision. The suction power is way better, it’s so much quieter, and it hasn’t gotten stuck once yet. The row by row cleaning pattern is also way more efficient than the zig zag pattern of the 600 series. Super happy with this version of the iRobot.

1- I have no idea why thickness is something you’d review this for… it’s thin enough to go under a coffee table but not under furniture.

2- This roomba is probably great if you don’t have pets. I was advised to name it (you get to give your roomba a name, btw) something you don’t love because they can be high maintenance and a little frustrating on occasion. So I named mine Mitch McConnell because it’s entire purpose is to suck. Roomba Mitch McConnell does this literally and figuratively. I have watched Mitch pass right over obvious pet hair multiple times a week… it also gets pretty overwhelmed.

Originally I was pretty excited to get the trip reports and the cheery tone whenever Mitch McConnell would successfully complete a job. But quickly these trips stopped being successful without some sort of intervention.

Roomba Mitch McConnell (RMM)’s documents say it should be able to make it about 2 months without needing replacement parts (which seems pretty excessive to be honest). In less than 5 weeks I’ve had to take it apart 3 times. Like the real Mitch, it seems to roll from one failed promise to another. In just over a month, I’ve been trained to realize I probably will need to engage with RMM at least twice as often as I was led to believe to keep my personal life from being negatively impacted by its actions. I often have to intervene at least once every other time Mitch (the Roomba) takes on a mission. So far, that’s slightly less than human Mitch… but Roomba Mitch McConnell is just getting started. Roomba Mitch also seems to lack their namesake’s middle-class-eradicating-precision, erratically zipping around the house in no predictable pattern. Will it drive over the middle of the living room floor? Maybe. Will it get stuck on the small leg of the spin bike and send alerts it is on a cliff? Absolutely.

In spite of its flaws, I would say the Roomba does add some value to my life and manages to accomplish at least some of the tasks a vacuum should – it is just not fully acting on my behalf, more at its own, unpredictable whim. If you have a pet free environment, however, I believe this Roomba could meet your need – just like there is probably a more appropriate environment for human Mitch McConnell than the United States Senate where his actions have less consequence on human lives or the state of our nation – say, for example, as a part time greeter at civil war museum.

In conclusion, I guess I’d say this Roomba does some things, but not everything – so manage your expectations and if you’ve got a cat, try another option. But who knows? In the right setting, you might even find you could love it. The Roomba. Not the senate minority leader.

Charge and resume is where it’s at. Having a large main floor, a robo vac without this feature needs to be minded and monitored in order to clean the whole area, that’s not my idea of convenience. The i3 can charge and resume without fancy LIDAR or cameras. And the baseboards against hardwood and tile look way cleaner than when cleaned with an upright. The overall results are just amazing. I vacuumed with my Dyson upright then ran the i3 and was amazed at the improved look and feel overall of the floors. I think robo tech has finally caught up to the promise for large homes.

 I’ve own older iteration of the iRobot Roomba and my last one is already 6+ years old so I was excited to test an all new version and check out new features. As it’s mid range it’s not very clear if it’s better to stay with a lower end model or get a higher end one unless this one checks all your needs, hopefully the following will help you decide.

* Design *
It’s around the same size as my older 780 Roomba but defiantly a lot lighter. The weight balance is not that good and the unit is a lot heavier in front (battery) then the back. There is no handle like on my older Roomba. Maybe iRobot don’t plan on you lifting this thing around… I like the next upper texture finish. The sounds its making are much nicer and modern then the old beeps and the overall built quality feels a bit better. there is still that small bumper up front to detect a wall (which got slightly bigger but not sure it’s better). On the bottom there are the usually 3 wheels, spinning side brush, new airforce cleaning system (the two green silicon brushes stand out) and some extra sensors for navigation.

* Vacuum Functionality *
charging is pretty quick. Quicker then the older model I own. The charging station looks the same as the old one. there are three buttons. One for clean on/off, go home (charging station) and another for communication setup.
Noise Level is around the same, maybe slightly lower then the older model so some people find it too loud but then again you can schedule it to work when you are away from home. Speaking of which, unlike my older model, any advance features can only be access using iRobot app. from the testing I’ve made the vacuuming power and ability is much better then the older model. I must admit I was surprise it was better then the older brush style design. Dust bin is smaller and a bit awkward to place back unlike before when it’s slide in and out you need to first insert it in an angle and then slide it in. It adjusted seemingly for different types of surfaces. A nice feature is that it will pick up from where it left after recharging.

* Cleaning It *
Other then the silicon brushes that seems to be easier to clean, the rest of the parts are prune to the same issues, which is a shame. Hair will get tangled on the wheels and spinning brush. Dust bin has some funny corners to get it clean properly. You get an extra filter but I wish they implemented a washable filter like in the Dyson products.

* App *
Lots of features to explore, from scheduling and syncing with other products (like the mop robot) to receive notification on cleaning progress, mapping of the house, voice control link and so on. The user interface is sleek and modern but I guess most of the features will be useless for most people.

Overall it’s a nice budget upgrade for older model, unless you have an higher end one which will have more or less the same features. If you don’t need all these connectivity features to another robot or the option of the self emptying station (aka a vacuum for you vacuum…) there are two lower tiers ones that will be cheaper. If you require extra features like specific room cleaning, anti allergen and more look into higher end models.

With all the competition iRobot has now, specially in this price range, I don’t think they have done enough with this model.

These have a long way to come. It misses sections of the house (i.e. never got under my couch after many tries). It doesn’t fit under some things with legs close together (i.e some dining chairs, a plant stand). It is noisy and clunks around. I couldn’t think of a time this would help me (i.e. not when I am home as it takes a long time to do one floor, and it is noisy/disruptive). It doesn’t get the baseboards, so I would still want to vacuum with my regular vacuum frequently. I also still have to pull out the regular vacuum to do the other floors of the house (because once you get the dock for the Roomba situated, you don’t move it from floor to floor). And after dinner, if I saw crumbs under the table, I found it easier to grab a cordless hand vac rather than hoping the Roomba would find those crumbs and waiting 2 hours to find out!! I wish you could tell it spots to focus on.

These still have a long way to go before they are perfected.