iRobot Roomba Combo i8+ review: What is the market leader's new vacuum and floor mopping robot good for?
A TEST REPORT from Jonas Wilhelm 
on August 23, 2023, 12:00 pm | Write a comment
Some time ago, iRobot launched the Roomba Combo i8+, a new vacuum and floor mopping robot with a suction station. This is based on the successful Roomba i7+ and now also offers a wipe function. I found out for you whether the purchase of the new robot is worthwhile.
In contrast to many competing models, the Roomba Combo i8+ does not navigate with a laser, but with a camera. The robot also has two rubber brushes, which are intended to pick up dirt better. The + in the name stands for the Clean-Base suction station, which is included. You can read below what else the robot has to offer, how it has fared in everyday life and whether it is worth buying.
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tl; dr
Unfortunately, the Roomba Combo i8+ could not completely convince me review. The suction power of the robot is at a very high level and was always sufficient to reliably vacuum up all types of dirt. The suction station always did a good job. I also liked the navigation, which unfortunately cannot quite keep up with the lidar technology, as it has major weaknesses in the dark. However, despite the camera-based technology, the Roomba mostly found its way around reliably and navigated well and quickly through the rooms, even if the first mapping took a long time. The Roomba disappointingly lacks obstacle detection, which I think is a shame and is also a criticism of the high price. Another point of criticism is the wipe function, which many Prohas problems and is only partially usable, which is a pity. The design and workmanship are again at a very high level.
For the reasons mentioned, I can only recommend the Roomba to a limited extent. People who can live with the poorly implemented wiping function, the lack of obstacle detection and the high price can still buy it with a clear conscience, since everything else is implemented quite well.
Unboxing & scope of delivery
The Roomba comes in a large box printed with features of the robot. In addition to the robot itself and the usual paperwork, the scope of delivery includes the suction station, the combo water tank, two wipes, a spare dust bag and a spare side brush. The scope of delivery is comparatively large, which I really liked. Pretty much everything you need to get started is included.
Picture: TechnikNews
Design & processing
I quite like the design of the Roomba and its suction station. Everything looks very high quality and chic. The robot itself consists almost entirely of plastic, which is mostly matte except for the top. On the underside of the robot, in addition to the two silicone brushes, there are also the charging contacts, the 6 fall sensors, the sensors for the dirt detect technology, the side brush and the rubber opening for automatic emptying. The robot makes a very solid impression, as the workmanship is really very good. The suction station is also made of matte plastic and offers a cable management device on the back. It is also very chic and quite well made.
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- Picture: TechnikNews
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- Picture: TechnikNews
Commissioning & setup
After unboxing and unpacking the robot, the buyer must install the iRobot app. In the next step, the app connects to the robot and sets it up step by step with the user. After setting up, you should start the mapping journey, in which the robot drives and scans all rooms. This trip took me a long time, so you should plan your time. Once that's done, the user needs to name all the rooms and set up the no-go zones so Roomba always knows where it is and where it's allowed to go. Buyers who have multiple floors to clean will need to repeat the process on each floor. Once you have done all that, the robot is ready to go and can start cleaning.
With the Roomba Combo i8, iRobot relies on camera-based navigation. This almost always worked well review and reliably navigated the robot from A to B. The Roomba always needed a bit of time to find its way on another floor, but it always did so conscientiously. Even no-go zones were always avoided, which I think is good. The only major weakness of the navigation is the behavior of the camera in the dark. In the dark, the camera only recognizes a little, so that the Roomba loses its orientation and everything takes much longer, which I think is a shame. Another weakness of the robot is the lack of obstacle avoidance, which is why the robot can only recognize and avoid obstacles with its bumper. This in turn means that the robot will run into pretty much anything that gets in its way, making a pretty nasty noise.
suction
The Roomba's suction power is pretty good. In the test, it vacuumed up almost everything that was lying around on the floor with its two rubber brushes. In my suction power test, where I spread 40 grams of lentils, 30 grams of oatmeal and 30 grams of flour on a carpet and tiles in a test area, the Roomba did quite well. The Roomba absorbed 84 grams on the carpet, which is an above-average value and surprised me positively. It then soaked up 93 grams on the tiles, which is average. Thanks to the Dirt Detect sensors, the Roomba recognizes when there is a lot of dirt on the floor and then cleans these areas more thoroughly, which worked well. I think it's pretty good that hair almost never got wrapped around the brushes either. The robot is also not very loud during the suction process, which I also liked. Overall I was very happy with the suction power.
Picture: TechnikNews
Roomba Combo wipe function
Unfortunately, the wiping performance of the Roombas could not completely convince me. In order to be able to use the wiping function, you have to exchange the dust container for the combo container, which you have to activate beforehand in the app. Activation works by scanning the QR code located on the combo container. You then have to attach the wiping cloth to this and fill up the water tank, which is used to moisten the wiping cloth. The wiping result is okay for a passive wiping function. The wiper was able to remove light coffee stains and dirt, but not more stubborn stains.
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- Picture: TechnikNews
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- Picture: TechnikNews
After wiping, the robot returns to the station where the dust container cannot be vacuumed due to the combo use. This is due to the lack of a rubber opening in the combo canister. I can live with that since the robot doesn't have to wipe every day. However, if the robot still has liquid in the water tank and is standing on the station, it will continue to drip onto the wipe. The ProThe problem is that after a night in which this was the case, the water ran out and collected between the station and the ground. I find that iRobot has a solution for this Proproblem should come up with, since you can only let the robot wipe when you are at home and remove the wiper directly after the wiping process.
Suction station
I really liked the suction station, also called Clean-Base, review. Not only does she look very good, but she always cleaned the robot's dust container thoroughly. The volume during the suction process is extremely high, but the suction does not last very long. 1,7 liters of dirt fit in the dust bag, which is enough for around 50 to 60 days of daily use in our household. Once it is full, you can easily exchange it for a new one.
Picture: TechnikNews
iRobot Home App
Of course, like every modern vacuum robot, the Roomba i8+ comes with an app. In this case, it's called iRobot Home. They can be used to start cleaning processes and also manage all of the robot's settings. The user can also set automations and schedules. For example, if you leave the house, the Roomba can recognize this and automatically start the vacuuming process. You can also manage the cards via the app and set up zones or rename rooms. The remaining filter life can also be displayed via the app, which is practical. Another cool feature is that it always shows approximately how much time the robot needs to complete the cleaning process, even if it doesn't always correctly measure the size of the cleaned area. Overall, I really liked it because it was structured very logically.
Picture: TechnikNews
Prices & Availability
The iRobot Roomba Combo i8 without suction station has an RRP of 499 euros and the Combo i8+ with suction station has an RRP of 799 euros, which I think is simply too much for what is on offer. Competitors not only offer obstacle detection for this price, but also a much better active wiping function. Even the very similar Roomba i7+, which comes without a wiping function, costs 250 euros less. However, I think that the Roomba will drop in price and then become much more interesting. For just under 800 euros, I would only recommend the Roomba to a very limited extent, which is a shame. You can buy the robot from iRobot itself and also from all common electronics stores, such as MediaMarkt or Amazon.
