Recently iRobot released its first and only hybrid vacuum that includes mopping. It does have a self-emptying station but the station does not do all the washing and cleaning the pad things and is basically the same as the J7+ comes with.
Roomba Combo J7+ vs. J7+
What has changed
- Mopping. The Combo has a mopping feature.
- Battery. The Combo modification lasts longer.
The Roomba Combo J7 is iRobot's latest option and its first with a hybrid functionality of a robot vacuum and mop.
Specs
| Specs/Models | Combo J7+ | J7+ |
| Price | $899.0 | $599.0 |
| Mapping | yes | yes |
| Mapping sensor type | camera, gyroscope | camera, gyroscope |
| Front camera | yes | yes |
| Virtual walls | yes | yes |
| Cliff sensor | yes | yes |
| Barrier-cross height | 16 mm / 0.63 in | 16 mm / 0.63 in |
| Battery capacity | 4,460 mAh | 2,410 mAh |
| Run time | 75 min | 75 min |
| Noise level | 68 dB | 68 dB |
| Recharge | yes | yes |
| Carpet boost | yes | yes |
| Dirt sensor | yes | yes |
| Dustbag capacity | 1 L | 1 L |
| Dustbin capacity | 400 ml | 400 ml |
| Water tank capacity | 210 ml | - |
| Wet mopping | yes | no |
| WiFi/App | yes | yes |
| Alexa, Google Assistant | yes | yes |
| Voice prompts | yes | yes |
| Zoned cleaning | yes | yes |
| Height | 8.63 cm / 3.4 in | 9.2 cm / 3.62 in |
| Weight | 3.3 kg / 7.28 lbs | 3.3 kg / 7.28 lbs |
The Roomba Combo is the first hybrid robot in the lineup. It comes with a mopping attachment that lifts up on carpets in mopping mode. This way the robot keeps vacuuming carpets and mopping hard floors. The downside is the pad is small and it does not vibrate or rotate so basically just being dragged around the floors and being lifted up on carpets.
One downside with the small pad is that it limits the range because it gets dirty quickly.
Another is the lack of an agitating element, limiting its mopping performance. It was decent with non-sticky stains like red wine but needed two passes to remove them, but it struggled with sticky juice stains badly.
Another feature missing is the lack of a pad washing feature which more brands also have implemented
Besides the mopping element, the Combo J7 retains many of the same features as the J7 with the round frame, counter-rotating extractors, side brush, and low-profile base station.
The dustbin design has a slight variance since the Combo J7 needed to cramp a water tank inside it, but it retains the same shape and placement.
Cleaning test
With the airflow uptake the Combo J7 got higher numbers. It was better in most surface and deep cleaning experiments, but only slightly.
However, the Combo J7 retains the same issues as the J7 and other round-shaped Roomba models, which is the side brush scattering debris.
Another issue with the Combo J7 and J7 is their inability to pick up a high percentage of hair strands, even short five-inch ones. The Combo J7 was slightly worse than the J7, with most of it wrapping on the axles.
Edge cleaning results are nearly identical as both will pick up a good percentage but won't get everything, which is a negative effect of the low airflow and round frame.
| / | Combo J7+ | J7+ |
| Overall | 95.2% | 94.45% |
| Hard floor | 97.85% | 96.65% |
| Sand on hard floor | 96.7% | 98.46% |
| Carpet | 97.97% | 96.92% |
| Deep cleaning | 88.3% | 85.75% |
The Combo J7+ shows better results almost in each test.
iRobot Roomba Combo J7+
The first and only hybrid model in the lineup
Lifts up the mopping module on carpets
$899.0 on AmazonNavigating
Both utilize v-slam and rely on a front-mounted camera, gyroscope, and optical sensors for location tracking and map creation. Another similarity between the Combo J7 and J7 is their obstacle avoidance system with the front-facing camera.
iRobot has one of the best obstacle avoidance performance on the market
These robots are the best at evading high-risk objects like pet feces and stretched wires. Both didn't touch these obstacles during the tests and worth considering if this feature is a high priority.
Base station
The Combo J7 and J7 use the same low-profile base station
It's a better design, than the I or S-series base stations because it has a smaller vertical footprint, plus there's a slot for an extra bag.
Run time
One underrated upgrade iRobot put in the Combo J7 is it has a larger battery.
The Combo J7 runs for up to 90 minutes.
Noise
Another proof of the airflow uptick is the bump in the Combo J7 noise levels. It's a few decibels higher than the J7. Fortunately, it's below the 70-decibel threshold, so it's not deafening.
App features
There's not much difference in the app features between these options.
Since the Combo J7 has the mopping feature consumers have several options for deployment. They could use the vacuum only more or hybrid mode, but there's no mopping-only function.
Both have the obstacle areas feature where folks can tag obstacles as keep-out zones to save time
Other than the mopping option, these apps are similar and there's not much difference.
Which option is better?
Aside from the mopping feature and the slight airflow bump, the Roomba Combo J7 and J7 are the same robots, so the question is, are you willing to pay the premium for the upgrades?
After looking at the numbers, the performance benefits from the airflow uptick aren't significant, like the variance between a high-airflow Roomba and a J7, so this shouldn't be a deciding factor.
The efficiency enhancement can be, but the Combo J7 still missed spots like the J7 and has roughly the same run time as its predecessor despite the larger battery.
So your decision boils down to whether the mopping feature is essential or not, and does it justify the added cost?