It’s only been a few months since iRobot filed for bankruptcy, but it has re-emerged under new ownership and announced eight new Roomba models.
The company that invented robot vacuum cleaners 23 years ago has been bought by its main manufacturer in China…
iRobot is the American company that invented a now ubiquitous product category: robot vacuum cleaners. Unfortunately, the company struggled to keep pace with an ever-increasing number of competitors offering more affordable products and entered voluntary bankruptcy late last year.
The company then announced that the activity would be taken over by its main manufacturer in China, Shenzhen PICEA Robotics. That actually happened, and the resurgent company has just announced eight new models.
New iRobot owners say these combine improved performance with smaller sizes. US pricing has not yet been confirmed, but The edge has obtained UK prices which suggest roughly the same starting point for the new base model and potentially a slightly higher price for the flagship model.
The main changes include higher suction power, a smaller overall size to better navigate your home, more models with roller mops and the introduction of “hot spot cleaning” (…) The company claims its new range is up to 25% smaller for “many” models (…)
The range starts at £229 (around $309) for the base 115 model and goes up to £799 ($1,080) for the flagship 775. The previous range started at £249 and went up to £999 – costing between $299 and $999 in the US.
The flagship Max 775 combo nearly doubles the 705’s 16,000 Pa suction power to 30,000 Pa. It also adds pressurized hot spray pretreatment as well as the new hot spot cleaning feature. As before, it uses a combination of LiDAR and AI-powered camera systems, and the dock empties the robot’s bin, washes the mop in hot water, then dries it with hot air.
The entry-level Roomba 115 Vacuum and Mop Combo looks to offer excellent value for money given a doubling of suction power to 15,000PA and an optional auto-vacuum dock available for an extra £70 ($95).
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