iRobot debuts two new Roombas that double as Mops ahead of IFA

iRobot didn’t wait until IFA to announce the new Roomba Combo j5 Plus and the Roomba Combo i5 Plus. These are both combo machines that do vacuuming and mopping, and it marks the first time that the combo has moved away from the j series.

The Roomba Combo j5 Plus will cost you $799, while the Roomba Combo i5 Plus will be a bit cheaper at $549. They are available for pre-sale now, in North America.

When iRobot announced its first combo, the Roomba Combo j7 Plus a couple of years ago, the mop had an arm that literally brought it up over the vacuum when it goes onto carpet. These new models don’t do that. Instead, iRobot has gone with a cheaper option (which makes sense, since these are well under $1,000). Instead, you’ll need to swap out the dustbin/water tank for a regular dustbin to vacuum other areas of your home.

This sounds like what other robot vacuums do, but it’s a bit simpler. Since you just press one button to swap the dustbins, whereas other competitors force you to remove the mop entirely. Which is more work, as you need to flip the robot vacuum over to do that.

Both models come with the same auto-empty charging dock

Both the Roomba Combo j5 Plus and i5 Plus come with the auto-empty dock, which will automatically empty the vacuum when it docks itself. But, iRobot is still a bit behind the competition here, as the dock does not clean the mop, nor does it refill the water tank. You’ll have to do that on your own.

As you could probably tell, the j5 Plus is part of iRobot’s high-end lineup, while the i5 Plus is more of a mid-range Roomba. Both use the iRobot app, as well as its vSLAM navigation technology. But the j5 Plus does add in AI obstacle detection. Something that is only available on the j series so far.

As mentioned, both models are available for pre-sales starting today. No word yet on when they will start shipping, however.