iRobot’s next Roomba vacuum will take out the trash for you

iRobot Roomba i7+

There’s a new Roomba robot vacuum on its way that looks to be a lot smarter about how it navigates your home, and how it cleans up after itself.

The iRobot Roomba i7+ is a development on the previous Roomba 980, bringing in a new Smart Mapping system that memorises the layouts of different rooms.

Another neat addition is a small bin attached to the Roomba’s charging dock, which it automatically returns to after a clean to dump the dust and crumbs it’s accrued on the way. Users will be notified through the Roomba smartphone app when the bin is full and needs to be taken to your other, larger household bin.

The Roomba i7+ and base station are available for preorder now for $949.99 (around £730/AU$1,320), with units shipping from September 12th to the US and Canada, and a wider global release no doubt shortly to follow.

Clean up your act

iRobot’s series of intelligent vacuums have been reducing the workload of household chores for years now, after a team of MIT graduates brought their expertise in space exploration and military systems to bear on the smart home.

The humble home vacuum has proved ripe for reinvention, with the likes of iRobot and UK manufacturer Dyson both finding innovative ways of improving the efficiency of cleaning your carpets.

Henry St Leger

Henry is a freelance technology journalist, and former News & Features Editor for TechRadar, where he specialized in home entertainment gadgets such as TVs, projectors, soundbars, and smart speakers. Other bylines include Edge, T3, iMore, GamesRadar, NBC News, Healthline, and The Times.