iRobot - Roomba Max 705 Vac robot

I have not really much to add here since i have a completely different approach regarding cleaning performance tests. Vacuumwars does mainly some sweeping tests (the only more vacuuming weighted test is their cravis test that they for whatever reason do not attach much value anymore in their rating - their carpet test is flawed mainly due to the design and short runtime - one issue is that it favours multipass tech like iRobots DirtDetect and punish longer periods of edge/corner cleaning (no dirt embedded) or slower navigating robots - and does not represent longterm cleaning). I test the longterm vacuuming performance (and connected to this to what extend the robot is able ro replace manual cleaning) using certified test dust for both hardfloor and carpets that simulates household dust that is much more difficult to remove even compared to sand (and is mandantory for IEC testing standards for all vacuuming cleaning devices including vacuum robots). If you may have seen some of my latest videos or especially about the Saros 10R hardfloor part ( [https://youtu.be/08SC1tb69j4?t=357](https://youtu.be/08SC1tb69j4?t=357) ) you have seen that these units are no able to remove this dust from my laminat by vacuuming only - they need mopping - and even with mopping they are not able to remove the dust in the gaps/grouts - something that some (by far not all) vacuuming focused robots are able to do without problems. I would go into this in more detail for vac only robots (and mopping overall) but i have no footage uploaded yet (besides the iRobot Max 705 that also fails this test) to "proof" it for way better performing robots with the same testing conditions i used for the Saros 10R testing video. But here is one example i posted in a reddit post a while ago (as stated before not the current test condition i use and it covers the vac part only). [https://youtu.be/nRTN\_0T6Z6Y?si=nP7DfZ7loXYIeDIq](https://youtu.be/nRTN_0T6Z6Y?si=nP7DfZ7loXYIeDIq)

It is already listed (with auto emptying) at the polish website [https://irobot.pl/pl/roomba/693-irobot-roomba-max-705-vac-stacja-autoempty-5061042262981.html](https://irobot.pl/pl/roomba/693-irobot-roomba-max-705-vac-stacja-autoempty-5061042262981.html) There was already the Ecovacs T9 Aivi that features a similar setup (its from the ecovacs/irobot teamup) that is pretty awful in terms of cleaning performance (did some quick tests but no uploads) since it looked like they just put the dual rollers on it without adjustment of of the airflow design.

We have had the new roomba 705 max for a week now and it is absolutely brilliant. Granted it is a vac only the suction is amazing, the mapping is spot on, and the obstacle avoidance is far and away an improvement over what we had before. I will admit i have not had other brands in our home, i fall into that category of being brand loyal if the brand hasn’t pissed me off. The reason we went with the vac only model was we liked how having a separate mop worked for us in the past. I didn’t know how i would feel about a tankless mop that drug wet pads across the house. All of our hard surfaces intersect so not really a big deal, but with that said if they came out with a mop only that had upgraded navigation as much as the 705 has i’d buy it tomorrow!

The odd thing about the worry about the company not being there is if people buy the products that won’t be an issue. We purchased the new 705 and are VERY happy with it.

we bought iRobot because we had their product in the past and had good results with it. i don’t feel it’s an inferior product because it does the job (and better than expected) at a price point at or below the last product i purchased from them 5 years ago. Could i have looked at other companies…maybe but i was satisfied with what i had before so i went back. I’m not entirely sure that your assessment of at a competitive price is correct from what i did see while waiting on the 705 to be released.

you obviously have way more time to spend researching and memorizing product info than i do. maybe you should have a youtube channel. I wanted a vac. It promised better suction than what i had. It has obstacle avoidance which is more than i had (btw it does work seemingly contrary to your opinion) I didn’t care to purchase a product that i knew nothing about or had no familiarity with so for me that was enough for me to make a decision to buy a $900 product without spending days researching products i generally don’t see in stores or see advertising for. I didn’t make a recommendation, i commented on your negative opinion of a vac because of speculation on the company’s solvency. Odds are someone will buy them if they don’t make their figures and that company will service them for a while. That said I can recommend the 705 if i am happy with it inspite of your negative opinion of it. Because i have had it cleaning my house for 2 weeks. The nap on the carpets have lifted again in the high traffic areas and it’s mapping and obstacle avoidance are exactly as advertised. It’s all in what you want to spend your money on.

we have both 705 models and are very happy with them

Navigation is better, but battery dies before it returns to dock. Now I have a constant error that the dust bin is not installed. Anybody have a solution to that?

Uh sure but this is definitely not the same robot. Can’t wait for your testing though. Really strange for them to release/show it this late. Would’ve been better to market this one since this one is more of a Roomba than the others. (Roomba dustbin, aeroforce).

You forgot the most important question which is what your budget is. I have 2 German shedders and a chocolate lab. I've had an S9 that worked pretty well for the last 5 years on hard floors. Technology and anti-long hair tangle has come a long way and, almost any new bot in the mid-range or premium range are going to do great at anti-tangle. I know people really don't like roomba right now but, my max705 just did my while 900 sq/ft space without puking out clumps of hair like my S9 would, on a single pass. I tested a Dreame X50 too and frankly it was about the same result there too albeit the dreame did it much more quietly.

I’ve got two j7+ and a 705 max with a golden! (Used to be two 😢). They work great for upkeep but you’ll still need to deep clean every once in awhile.

have the new Roomba 705 max. completed the map. problem the app will not move to clean phase of program. it wont let me set time or area in automations the screens are stuck at map. anybody have an answer?

thanks. the issue resolved after a couple of hours. guess the app needed to have time to filter info. not the greatest app but working now.

I'm still running a Roomba S9+ and I'm yet to find something else that can handle my specific requirements. It's carpet performance is unmatched in real world performance. I do also have a Roborock Qrevo S, which was bought to replace the S9+, but it does nothing better than the Roomba (for my use case) other than the fact it can mop. I'm holding out for the Roomba 705 Combo that's apparently dropping in the next couple of months. The 705 doesn't match the carpet performance of the S9+ but if it can do a half decent job at carpets and also mop my one room with a hard floor then I'll probably end up purchasing that.

We have the Dyson and it’s a beast for carpets and pet hair. It has its issue; most not liking metal floor registers. But ours completes over 90% of its scheduled cleanings. The amount of dirt/hair it picks up would easily fill a base station bag within 2 weeks. The roomba 705max would also be a good robot or any robot that has the dual counter rotating rubber brush rollers.

u/amandainpdx, you said in another comment that you wouldn’t buy another Roomba. Could you share more about that decision? I realize they aren’t in the best financial position as a company so maybe long term support might be an issue, though I’d expect they’d at least sell or merge with another company. I used a Roomba j7, which was fine but navigation never really lived up to expectations and the side brush kept breaking on carpet fringe. I also have the Braava m6, which I think you also had at one point. I decided to support iRobot again and got the new 705 max vacuum only model on sale. Navigation is good, though I don’t have experience with other brands. It’s so much faster and more efficient than the j7 though, but that may be low praise since the j7 was excessively slow when the spaces were filled with furniture, like the living room (it probably also needs a new battery so it doesn’t have to charge as often). Side brush seems to avoid breakage on fringes. App is ok, but does what I need. The machine seems to have most of the features for vacuuming well. Have you had the opportunity to test these latest models? While I have concerns about privacy with these models from overseas companies, do you think it’s reasonable to be concerned?

About a month ago I bought one of the new 705 models. I was excited to try the new Roomba’s because of the addition of LiDAR and an “apparent” over 100x suction than the previous Roomba I had. I didn’t have it more than 3 days before it went back to the store. My older i7 has stared having issues on carpet, leaving behind trails of cat hair it just smeared around the floor instead of picking it up. When I upgraded I thought that the new one would at least be a bit better, but nope! It did the exact same thing but I paid 900$ more dollars for the displeasure. The initial set up was painful, it got suck on the software update screen even tho the robot updated fine. It made me wait there 2 hours like that before I finally just reopened the app and it decided to work. Initial mapping run went fine and I was able to refine the set up. However I noticed the robot would go out to clean and it would go to the rooms I wanted but it would never complete job. It would return to dock to charge only to about 30% then head out and repeat until I cancelled it manually, sometimes it would show 5-6 hour jobs when nobody was home to stop it. This thing had way too many issues for being so expensive! I just returned it and that was that, won’t buy another one ever again. I also bot permanently banned from the iRobot subreddit for sharing my experience and saying Roomba’s use to be the high standard but have since fallen from grace.

I've found mine to be pretty impressive with obstacles so far. The only thing it missed was a small piece of clear plastic packaging - the kind that usually comes fixed to a cardboard back to hold small items at stores. I had to pull that one out, which I wasn't really surprised. Other than that it easily avoids, usb cords, socks and dog toys. Have not put dog poop to the test yet.

Sort of. There's also the Eufy L50 and L60 models, which are almost the same except for less suction and a lower price for the L50. Also look at the new Roomba 105 and 705, many Shark models, and the Dyson 360 Vis Nav. As always, check reviews; the Roombas in particular haven't reviewed well. What's more common is a vacuum-only robot with a stationary mop pad that's just stuck on the bottom. Technically, it's a combo with mopping, but the mop is just an add-on, and can be ignored. An example of this is the Roborock Q5 Pro and Pro+, which is the Q5 Max and Max+ with a mop tacked on and a few cosmetic changes. Sometimes, the Pro is even cheaper than the Max, which makes the Pro the smart buy. Just throw the mop plate in a drawer or in the trash. Be careful, though, that you're not sacrificing dustbin space for the water tank. The very similar Roborock Q7 M5 does this, while the Pro has the water tank as part of the mop plate. The most notable model that technically supports mopping, but only as an add-on, is the SwitchBot K10+. It comes with little disposable mopping cloths that attach to hooks on the back of the robot. Ignore the cloths, and you have a very good small robot that can get into lots of tight spaces and which has been reviewed to vacuum well.

Sorry but that doesn't mean the 505 is more "upscale". It's just a different segment as it offers vac + mop. 705 only offers vac (no mop) but it's much better as a vac than 505 is. 705 Combo will be following soon.

Yeah, they're rebadging Chinese OEM bots at the moment. The 705 kinda has some of their tech (the rollers) but it's otherwise mostly just a rebadge

My two 705 Max vacuums avoid a lot of obstacles. Cords, socks, books. No problems so far.

I bought the first in May and the second in June and they had two software updates.

I have tried several ecovacs, handful of roombas and currently daily driving a mova v50 and a roomba 705. Despite all the reviewers and testers opinions - my real world experience is the roomba 705 hands down outperforms the mova v50 in vacuuming power. I'm not sure how or why but the dustbins dont lie. The roomba spends less time thinking about what to do, and just does it. The mova is great because you can ditch the mop pads and not have to worry about a snail trail on your rugs and carpets, but the roomba just gets the job done. I think all the AI and obstacle avoidance and millions of sensors on the high end machines bog them down a bit. Roomba figured it out with the 705 series. Mova spent 15 minutes doing a 2x sweep on a small kids bedroom and using 15% of its battery. The 705 does it in 8 minutes and uses much less battery. While picking up more crud.

So I know it’s expensive and is a just a Chinese robot as well and stuff but the roomba 705 actually cleans carpets really well and has like REALLY good obstacle avoidance especially for cords but it’s kinda of too expensive for what it is, and it tangles hair a lot. But everybody will downvote me because roborock just is unable to make a good vacuum only to the point where the bankrupt company (iRobot) somehow made something better

I jumped at the 705 for upstairs (all carpets). Downstairs I still have a combo of j9 and braava m6 mop but I’m waiting for the rumoured 705 combo roller mop which I’ll grab for downstairs (mostly hard floors). Plus 505 Combo may be ok for you?

You care about mopping? If not then I’d recommend the 504 plus or the 705 plus. 504 plus is same as 705 plus except a bit lower suction power

Update 2: mapped the whole house (1400 sq ft) in 20 minutes. Thing is fast. the only downside, due to the Lidar turret, it couldn’t go under my TV furniture. Am gonna do another mapping run. The dock also doesn’t have any “ramp” . Also, my oldest Roomba is a 960 not a 680 lol. Typo in the opening post.

705 hands down. Like takes half the time to complete vacuuming, is better at it, way quieter. I don’t think there is any way J9 can even somewhat compete with 705. 705 I find does a better job of vacuuming carpets than even the beast that was S9+.

Significantly quieter, even the base auto empty is quieter now. I can run 705 with my cats in the same room now, before the S9/J9 were an actual nuisance with noise. And the fact that it takes half the time to clean the same area makes it even better.

Like how much it sticks out when docked ? Yeah it does stick out a bit more, since they got rid of the ramp, I am not sure exactly sure how much , but 2 inches (5cm) seems about right.

I have been a huge S9 fan, I still have mine and it stilll is gong strong. I have a J9+ and while better in some ways, it never came close to the raw cleaning power of S9. But the new 705 Max surpasses it, I love mine and it's been running flawlessly .

Odd, I have had much better obstacle avoidance on my 705 and 505. My j7 was fine, but I see a major difference in the newer models.

I Jumped the Robo Vacs wagon with a cheap " bump and go " to see if it was a fit for me.. Finally gave up after 3 years, RIP, so decided to get into the new Roomba line with Lidar and " advertised" better bells and whistles.. My dead $80 Vac beats the hell put of the $250 I paid for this crap and the headaches I endured with the software wasn't worth it.. Still after many updates, my Lefants software was better than this one.. Roomba is on it's way out and rightfully so..

I had a crappy experience with a Roomba. But it was an older model from around 2017. The thing kept running into things and getting stuck along edges where 2 types of flooring would meet. IDK if newer models are better, but that thing was pretty disappointing, IMO. You could make a game out of sweeping and vacuuming so that your kids will be eager to help out. The goal is to eventually have them do it out of habit. 😅 I actually got my friend's son into vacuuming when he was 2 or 3 yrs old. The idea paid off several yrs later. My friend was a single parent (toddler and a newborn) with multiple pets and a huge home, mostly carpeting. She seemed to be suffering from Postpartum Depression, so I'd stop by at least once a wk to help clean and just to give her a break from her toddler. Her son was very difficult to manage - clingy, sensitive, always wanting undivided attention, always wanting to be held, never content to play alone, never wanting to follow instructions, prone to throwing tantrums and acting out, etc. But he was also VERY curious and full of energy - which were qualities I could work with. I bought the kid a toy vacuum. Minor problems solved! He would finally stop interrupting me while I vacuumed. In fact, he would "vacuum" along side of me. He would shout, "Go to your kennel," "Coming thru," and, "Lift your feet," along with me. It was great! No fussing, and I could keep an eye on him bc he was always right next to me, copying my movements and words. It was also just amusing to observe him and teach him little things. He became a great helper. He was eager to pick up his toys and other items that were in the path of the vacuum. He also became great at directing his pets out of the way. Fast fwd about 6-9 mos... The kid lost interest in his toy vacuum. He could tell it was not the real deal. He figured out the real vacuum was cable of sucking up dirt & debri. He would keep trying to use the real vacuum, but it was too large and dangerous for him to handle - even tho he had learned to stay clear of the suction area. He started getting in the way again. So I gave him an old cordless hand vac. And he got pretty good at using it! He started vacuuming the couches, dining chairs, and entryway. Eventually, we "put him in charge" of all the hard flooring. 😂 That kid would get territorial if we tried to clean "his" areas. He vacuumed daily and even started sweeping with a hand broom. (He was sloppy, but got better over time.) (Parent humor incoming!) About a yr later, my friend bought him a cordless Dyson for Christmas. I got him his own handbroom, dustpan, and Swiffer. We bought these items as a joke. We made him open them before all other presents, thinking he would hate them. But he was so excited! 🤯 Especially for the Dyson (which my friend actually bought for herself). My friend's son became pretty good at vacuuming by the time he was 8. He naturally took charge of vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, AND dusting as part of his household chores. He continues to do them without hassle to this day. Another thing to consider is an automatic dustpan. IDK how child-friendly they are, but it's another item my friend invested in to get her children interested in helping with chores.

Mine is named Robbie, I can’t keep the floor clear enough to use him. My goal for the weekend is to clear his path. Wish me luck!

We named our Roomba Harry. We have a lab/beagle mix.

Hi, I’m not a mom but my roomba with self-emptying base is a - and I cannot stress this enough - fucking lifesaver. I have three cats, have hardwood and carpet and the roomba is literally one of the only reasons my floors look even remotely clean. Beware: I owned one without the self-emptying base thing and I never used it because emptying it every time it was full was a barrier I wouldn’t get past. Getting the base where the roomba empties itself is a GAME CHANGER.

I have a roomba we named homewrecker because it leaves a trail of destruction behind it. It always knocks over something or gets tangled up in wires.

I had a Roomba, and it did a good job. It died after 2 years though, and they don't sell repair parts. I kept it limping along for another few months until I gave up on it. I don't think I'd ever get another Roomba, but I would like to try another brand.

I have a self emptying roomba vacuum. It runs daily at 9:30 am, recharges and empties itself, then finishes rhe rest around 2 in the afternoon. I live on a horse farm with 4 dogs and 5 cats and only if its muddy do shoes come off at the door. That robot is a wonderful thing.

Two huskies here. We have a self emptying Roomba. We run it 5 days a week. I have to keep up with the replacement parts, or it starts just wadding up hair and leaving it in chunks. But even that cuts manual cleaning time, because I can just take the hand vac to the chunks. We've had it since 2021.

Get a roomba with the self-emptying base station. Pays for itself 10 times over.

We got the Costco iRobot Roomba on sale (just sweep function) and it’s been really helpful. Definitely worth the time savings and it probably does a better job than our manual vacuuming. We don’t care for the mop function that much, just don’t want to deal with the water compartment

If you get a roomba I highly recommend one that self-empties into a tower. We run ours 4 days a week in our bedroom, the living room, front hall. Kitchen, dining room. It keeps the ACD tumbleweeds at bay between weekly Dyson vacuumings.

We’ve used a self emptying Roomba for years. 3 dogs, a Basset, a Lab, and a Terrier. All are moderate shedders and fur accumulation is a problem. All three are indoor/outdoor dogs and mud is a consideration for us. We have area rugs from Costco that help dry paws and pick up some dirt. We launder them at a coin-op each month to save wear and tear on our washer. The Roomba is fine for keeping visible areas tidy, but one pass on the floor and the internal bin will fill with fur and dust. We still vacuum with a stick vac in corners and under furniture, Roomba can’t reach. No mopping robot can keep up with mud from paws if you live in a rainy muddy area. Invest in a good Swiffer wet mop or a light weight bucket based mop.

I started with a eufy and it was pretty good on all hardwood floors. It would pile some fire up in the corners I could pick up. But then I upgraded to a roomba with the self emptying thing and I love it. The app and tutorials are very helpful.

Thats literally crazy.. I've had my roomba for like 5 years now.. We have 3 big dogs and a cat, in a small house. Still works great, I've replaced the brushes and obviously the filters on it but it still works awesome.

Robot vacuum. We have a roomba with the self emptying bin, SAVED MY SANITY.

I have a Roomba that I picked up from Costco. It can be controlled via app and it has a self emptying base.

I have the Wyze robot vac and a roomba self emptying vac. I vastly prefer the performance of the wyze vac.

We love ours. We have one for upstairs and downstairs. Don’t try to get a cheap one, we did that and went through a couple of them pretty quickly. Now we have two good ones (iRobot) with the bin that they self empty into when they get full. We have three kids, two dogs, and a cat that sheds more than both dogs combined, and having robot vacuums has been a game changer. Before we got the one with the bins, it would get full and need emptying before it finished a whole cycle. Now it goes and empties itself and then goes back to cleaning. It’s some trial and error at first. Just run it the first few times when you’re watching it to see where it has any problems. Then you can try to adjust any problem areas. Our upstairs vacuum doesn’t go into the bedrooms because the kids have lots of tiny Barbie shoes and stuff. We have them clean up good and just regular vacuum real quick every other week or so (and we keep bedroom doors closed so the pets don’t go in there to keep hair shedding out). But the robot keeps the main areas of the house from getting hairballs and dirty. We recently got a robot mop as well, and that has been awesome! I feel like it’s just like having any other vacuum. You have to get everything picked up off the floor before you start. You wouldn’t start regular vacuuming with things still on the floor. If there are areas that it gets stuck often, either block it off or try to adjust any problem areas. We usually pull all of the dining room chairs away from the table so that it can get a good clean under the table and around it. We run the vacuums & mop anytime we leave the house, and it’s so nice coming home to freshly vacuumed and mopped floors!

I bought one well over a year ago possibly on year 2. iRobot self emptying. If it only lasted a year I’d buy another one. It works as well as it did when I bought it. I replace the rollers and the brush thingy like twice. Get the iRobot replacement the knock off parts lasted like a week. I have all tile. Bedroom is carpet. If it runs everyday it’s not a problem on carpet. If it’s a few days of fur it creates nests I just hand pick up. I don’t have to do this if it runs daily. Completely worth it. I also live near a beach and it straight picks up all the sand too. It’s great. Never not having one.