If you go back to the year 1901, when vacuum cleaners were first invented, and you took a look at that first vacuum cleaner, you’d notice something. You’d notice that the very first vacuum cleaner was a very ugly and crude device that didn’t offer a great deal in terms of cleaning ability, or practicality. Many people concluded that the vacuum cleaner would be, at its best, a novelty. Nothing more than a novelty.
Many years later, the vacuum cleaner is considered more than just a cleaning tool; it’s considered one of the most essential and important cleaning tools. Without a vacuum cleaner, the entire process of cleaning your floors and keeping the dust and dirt off of your floors, and out of your carpets, would be significantly more challenging.
Most people agree with the sentiment that vacuum cleaners are some of the most essential and important cleaning tools that you can buy. But, many people are still uncertain about robot vacuum cleaners. Many people find them to be novelties with some practical value, but nowhere near as useful or as efficient as a regular vacuum cleaner.
If you talk to the people running these robot vacuum companies, who are deeply involved in the industry, you’ll learn something. You’ll learn that robot vacuums may be a novelty, and they may seem inefficient, but not only are they anything but inefficient, they will soon become a necessary part of every household.
No one aligns with this design ethos more than iRobot, the company responsible for the “Roomba” line of robot vacuums. In this buying guide, you’re going to learn all about one of iRobot’s best vacuums, the iRobot Roomba S9+ Robot Vacuum. And then, you’re going to learn all about the iRobot Roomba S9, iRobot Roomba i7, and then, finally, the iRobot Roomba E5. You are going to learn all about what these robot vacuums offer and how they can make your life easier.
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What Does The iRobot Roomba S9+ Robot Vacuum Offer?
The iRobot Roomba S9+ is a unique robot vacuum. And, what makes it unique is the fact that it gives you a feature that no other robot vacuum gives you. This feature is very difficult to execute properly, which is why this robot vacuum costs quite a bit of money, but it makes your life significantly easier.
iRobot Roomba Robot Vacuum Comparison
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Roomba | S9 | i7 | i3 |
3 Stage-Cleaning System | Superior | Premium | Premium |
Suction power | 40x w/ Power Boost Tech | 10x | 10x |
Cleaning pattern | Neat rows | Neat rows | Neat rows |
Runtime | Smart charge & resume | Smart charge & resume | Recharge & resume |
Intelligent navigation | Smart mapping | Smart mapping | Mapping |
Navigates obstacles & stairs | Visual navigation | Visual navigation | Yes |
Personalized cleaning recommendations | Custom cleaning options | Custom cleaning options | Yes |
Smart home connection | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Tangle resistant rubber brushes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
High-Efficiency Filter | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Connect to Braava jet m6 Robot Mop | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Selp-emptying base** | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Clean by specific rooms or objects | Yes | Yes | N/A |
Create Clean Zones & Keep Out Zones | Yes | Yes | N/A |
Specialized corner clean | Yes | N/A | N/A |
Price |
When you are using the iRobot Roomba S9+ to clean your home, there will be a point when the dirt container, which is used to hold all of the dirt and dust that you are vacuuming up, will become full. With a regular robot vacuum, you would need to turn off the vacuum, for the time being, and then empty that dirt container. But, you don’t need to do that with the iRobot Roomba S9+.
Instead, the iRobot Roomba S9+ detects when its dirt tank is full, and then it goes over to a device, and this device empties the dirt and dust from the dirt tank, allowing the iRobot Roomba S9+ to go back to cleaning your home.
For thirty-cleanings, you can rely on this device, which iRobot gives you, for disposing of the dirt and dust that the robot vacuum picks up. And then, after that, you will have to empty it. But, with the iRobot Roomba S9+ you have a truly “hands-off” robot vacuum.
Of course, this wouldn’t be very useful, if the iRobot Roomba S9+ didn’t offer excellent performance. Fortunately, though, it offers some of the best performance that you can find on the robot vacuum market.
Using this robot vacuum, you can vacuum on any hard floor. It doesn’t matter if the floor is made out of stone, marble, hardwood, etc; you can use this robot vacuum to vacuum on that floor. And, you can also use this robot vacuum to vacuum on rugs and carpets. Even the thick and dense carpets and rugs are no match for this robot vacuum. Most robot vacuums give you little cleaning power, when it comes to rugs and carpets, but with the iRobot Roomba S9+, you can clean even the thickest rugs and carpets.
Through the use of Smart Mapping Technology, you can access a map of your home, using your smartphone. The iRobot Roomba S9+ creates this map, and then, using the app that iRobot has designed, you have access to a variety of excellent settings and features. You can choose which rooms to clean, and which rooms not to clean. You can choose which rooms the iRobot Roomba S9+ can’t go into. And, you can schedule cleanings for specific rooms and choose how the iRobot Roomba S9+ cleans those specific rooms.
In the end, the iRobot Roomba S9+ is a fantastic robot vacuum! It costs a lot of money, though, but if you want the best, then it’s completely worth it!

iRobot Roomba S9+ Vs. iRobot Roomba S9
The iRobot Roomba S9+ is known as the “S9+” due to the automated disposal that it allows you to perform. But, with the iRobot Roomba S9, you have all of the same features that you’ll find in the iRobot Roomba S9+, but you don’t have the automated disposal feature. Instead, you need to empty the dirt and dust yourself.
If that isn’t something that you’re concerned about, then you’ll be happy to know that the iRobot Roomba S9 is a fantastic vacuum that is almost as good as the iRobot Roomba S9+. Using this robot vacuum, you can vacuum on any hard floor, and any soft floor. The vacuuming experience will be quick, efficient, and thorough.
Just as with the iRobot Roomba S9+, you have access to Smart Mapping Technology. Using this technology, you can choose which rooms the robot vacuum needs to clean, what rooms it shouldn’t clean, and how it cleans those rooms. You can also create a custom schedule, change the cleaning mode, turn the vacuum on and off, tell it to recharge, and you can do those things at any time.
In the end, the iRobot Roomba S9 isn’t quite as good as the iRobot Roomba S9+, because it lacks the automatic disposal feature. But, if you don’t mind not having that, then the iRobot Roomba S9 is a fantastic robot vacuum!

iRobot Roomba S9+ Vs. iRobot Roomba i7
With the iRobot Roomba i7, you have a robot vacuum cleaner that is very similar to the iRobot Roomba S9. But, the biggest difference is that the design of the robot vacuum isn’t as aesthetically pleasing, and the navigation system isn’t quite as good. But, it’s still very good.
Using the iRobot Roomba i7, you can vacuum up anything. It doesn’t matter if you’re vacuuming on a hard floor, or a soft floor, you can vacuum on that floor. And, you can control where the iRobot Roomba i7 goes, and what rooms and spaces it cleans, and how it cleans them. But, the navigation doesn’t always work the way it should.
Ultimately, the iRobot Roomba i7 doesn’t offer anything different, but it is cheaper, and if you don’t mind a slightly less pleasing aesthetic design, then the iRobot Roomba i7 is a great choice!

iRobot Roomba sS9+ Vs. iRobot Roomba E5
With the iRobot Roomba E5, you have a robot vacuum that doesn’t give you any Smart Mapping features, nor does it give you the same level of suction power and cleaning efficiency as the other robot vacuums.
The iRobot Roomba E5 is designed for more general usage. Usage that is significantly less intense and thorough. You can vacuum on any hard floor, but rugs and carpets that are especially thick you will have some trouble vacuuming.
If you only need to vacuum on hard floors, and want to have access to the other features that robot vacuums give you – such as scheduling – without spending a great deal of money, then the iRobot Roomba E5 is a good choice.

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Sources
SmartCleaningTips: Best Robot Vacuums
TomsGuide iRobot Roomba s9+ review
TheSpruce The 8 Best Roombas of 2022
Last update on 2023-06-03 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API