Much like Dyson brand vacuums , I had heard my fair share of iRobot hype before I began testing the Roomba 880. I even had visions of following in Tom Haverford's footsteps andbuilding a "DJ Roomba" of my very own. Sadly, my dreams of channeling "Parks and Recreation" were dashed when I unboxed it and began testing instead. Fortunately, though, what I discovered was a clever little robot vacuum that came in first or second place in every single performance category.
The Roomba 880 is a new model for iRobot and the very first 800-series bot for the brand. At $699.99, it will replace the equally priced Roomba 790 that Katie Pilkington recently reviewed.
So what's different? At first glance, not a whole lot. But, flip the vacuum over and you'll see something entirely new: AeroForce technology. I'll go into that more later, but it's basically a design and feature upgrade that improves performance a lot.
Yes, I would recommend the Roomba 880 to anyone in the market for a luxury-priced robot vac. It performed better than the $699.99 Roomba 790 , and much better than the $799.99 LG Hom-Bot Square , as well as the $349.99 Infinuvo CleanMate QQ5 .
Overall, the 880 will be best for someone who appreciates gadgets and understands that a robot vacuum isn't designed to replace all other floor cleaning. It also isn't the best choice for someone only interested in vacuuming up pet hair. For that, the $449.99 Neato Robotics XV Signature Pro holds steady in the lead.
The 8.4-pound Roomba is a cute and capable robot vacuum. It has a height of 3.6 inches and a width of 13.9 inches. It's finished in black (unlike the 790's blue finish), and has a carrying handle so you can easily transport it.
Stylistically, the 880 doesn't stray too far from iRobot's existing design. It has the same rounded look, and that same large Clean/Power button in the middle. The company clearly wanted to maintain the Roomba's unassuming, minimalist design and sturdy construction.
It comes with a removable dust bin with an easy-access release button, left and right side wheels, a removable caster wheel in the front, debris extractors, and a spinning side brush. Aside from the vacuum itself, you also get a Home Base, or dock, two Virtual Wall/Lighthouse sensors with four C batteries included, an extra HEPA filter, and a remote control with two AA batteries included.
Features
The most interesting feature offered on the Roomba 880 is iRobot's newly designed AeroForce cleaning system. It includes two bristle-free extractors that rotate inward toward one another to speed airflow and increase suction. There's also a high-efficiency vacuum, and a new XLife battery that claims to last much longer.
The most interesting feature offered on the Roomba 880 is iRobot's newly designed AeroForce cleaning system. It includes two bristle-free extractors that rotate inward toward one another to speed airflow and increase suction. There's also a high-efficiency vacuum, and a new XLife battery that claims to last much longer.
The display on the top of the vacuum includes the following buttons: Dock, Clock, Schedule, and Spot. Hit the Dock button and your Roomba will return to Home Base to charge. Select Clock and you can set the day, hour, and minute. Choose Schedule and you can program a specific cleaning routine for your Roomba to tackle every week. And the unique Spot option targets small cleaning areas -- it rotates outward 3 feet from its starting point and then returns back to where it began to deep clean a particular section of floor.
The 880 also has various indicator lights to communicate with you as it cleans or charges. Docked, the battery light will flash amber as it charges and it will maintain a solid green color when it's fully charged. Solid red means that the battery is empty. A Dirt Detect feature senses debris and targets those areas for cleaning. A troubleshooting light will appear if there's a problem, and an antitangle light will display when the Roomba is trying to untangle itself from something. A full bin light lets you know when the tray needs to be emptied.
You can control those things directly on the Roomba, but you can also initiate regular cleaning and spot cleaning from the remote, dock the Roomba, or steer it around using the arrow buttons. And if you want to block off a particular room for cleaning, the Virtual Walls act like invisible fences; the 880 won't move past them. You also have the option of turning your Virtual Walls into Lighthouses. Position them throughout your home and your Roomba will be able to follow them around to clean room by room and get back to Home Base without getting lost.
Usability
This vacuum is very simple to use. Set it on regular clean, spot clean, or create your own schedule in advance, and let it go. You can also rely on different accessories like the Virtual Walls and the Lighthouses mentioned in the Features section above to keep it from leaving a room or to help guide it throughout your house and back to Home Base. The 880 requires very little effort and interaction from you (possibly even less than the Neato, since the Roomba has a remote for increased accessibility and the Neato doesn't).
This vacuum is very simple to use. Set it on regular clean, spot clean, or create your own schedule in advance, and let it go. You can also rely on different accessories like the Virtual Walls and the Lighthouses mentioned in the Features section above to keep it from leaving a room or to help guide it throughout your house and back to Home Base. The 880 requires very little effort and interaction from you (possibly even less than the Neato, since the Roomba has a remote for increased accessibility and the Neato doesn't).
The 880 also senses how long it needs to clean a given space and it will return to the dock to charge when it thinks that job is done. It doesn't get much easier than that. However, you can't exactly estimate how long it might take the Roomba to clean a room -- especially when you first get it.
So if you're in a hurry, a robot vacuum is not the most efficient cleaning method. Sure, it follows algorithms that cover as much ground as possible, but if you want to clean something fast, watching a Roomba run is a bit like waiting for water to boil. While ease of use is high, speed of use is a bit less predictable.
Also, while the dust bin is easy to remove, if it isn't positioned correctly it will dump everything it just cleaned all over the place. And because it's small, you will need to empty that bin and shake out the filter pretty much every time you use it. It's also recommended that you replace the filter about six times a year and clean both debris extractors every four months (even more if you have pets). The sensors need to be cleaned periodically, too.
You don't have to do much (or anything) with this robot vacuum while it's in use. But when it isn't running the upkeep makes this low-maintenance Roomba seem a bit high maintenance. Since it's so small and easy to lift, though, cleaning isn't nearly as involved as it would be with a larger, more traditional upright or canister vacuum cleaner.
Performance
So, how did it do?
So, how did it do?
First, all of the built-in sensors performed flawlessly. The cliff sensors that keep the Roomba from taking a tumble down a flight of stairs knew every time it got near an edge, stopped, and changed direction. The Virtual Walls and Lighthouses I set up also did a great job either confining or leading the Roomba where it needed to go to clean around my house. And when I tested it in my living room, it fit underneath a pretty low arm chair, the media center, and the coffee table without objection. Now that's dedication.
THE GOOD The iRobot Roomba 880 replaces its predecessor's bristly brushes with rubbery "extractors" as part of the new AeroForce cleaning system. This brushless technology removes debris better than previous iterations and keeps maintenance to a minimum.
THE BAD The bin is supposedly larger than in previous Roomba models, but it still fills up too quickly when you're dealing with dust and shedding pets. That, and it costs $699.
THE BOTTOM LINE The Roomba 880 is the most well-rounded, capable bot we've encountered so far, but the $449 Neato Robotics XV Signature Pro still wins the pet hair performance test on all flooring surfaces.
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