Roborock Qrevo VS iRobot Roomba S9 Plus

Roborock has now expanded its range in the mid-size segment with the Q Revo, an incredibly capable robot vacuum cleaner. It is a wise strategy from Roborock to first launch its flagship S8 Pro Ultra at a price that is approximately SEK 6,000 higher and then follow up with the Q Revo, which in technical terms almost reaches the flagship level. Although there are some technical differences between them, the result they deliver is not that markedly different. Moreover, taking into account the price gap between them, Q Revo becomes the superior choice. The Q Revo obviously offers all the advanced features we recognize from Roborock's top models, including Lidar, obstacle avoidance, auto-lift-able mop, and self-emptying, among others. The base unit is slightly higher, but at the same time it holds a whopping 5 liters of water. The mop cleaning is carried out with a new type of base plate that requires minimal maintenance and, above all, eliminates the need to change parts, which differs from, for example, the S8 Pro Ultra and S7 MaxV Ultra.

Compared to its predecessor, the iRobot Roomba i7+, the Roomba S9+ has undergone several significant improvements, including a new D-shaped design that allows it to access tight corners and hard-to-reach places more efficiently. A previous problem with Roomba models was that the brushes spun too quickly, often resulting in the dirt spreading instead of collecting up. On the Roomba S9+, this problem has been solved by having the brushes rotate more slowly, increasing its ability to efficiently collect dirt and debris.

Another noticeable improvement is the dual brush on the underside of the Roomba S9+, which has been moved forward and widened. This causes fewer hairs to get stuck and makes it more effective at cleaning even thick carpets.

The Roomba S9+ uses a navigation technology called VSLAM (Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) instead of LIDAR, which is used by many other competing robotic vacuum cleaners. VSLAM uses a built-in camera to map and navigate your home. One advantage of VSLAM is its ability to handle situations where obstacles have fabric hanging down to the floor, which LIDAR can sometimes have difficulty detecting. However, VSLAM is dependent on the lighting conditions in your home, and it may be less effective in dark environments. A combination of both technologies, VSLAM and LIDAR, would perhaps have been an optimal solution.

It is also worth mentioning that iRobot, the manufacturer of the Roomba, is now owned by the tech giant Amazon, which acquired the company for about $17 billion. This acquisition has strengthened Amazon's presence in the smart home market and positioned them as a leading player in the sector.

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