iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max evaluation
iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max: two-minute evaluation
Regardless of the high-end construct high quality, the 2-in-1 iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max is kind of a way behind the competitors by way of mapping, vacuuming, auto bin emptying and mopping. And though its worth has dropped from an preliminary $1,399 / £1,499 to a extra cheap $999.99 / £799, I nonetheless contemplate this bot too costly for what it provides, particularly when in comparison with the just about sci-fi stage of tech that corporations like Roborock, Eufy, Dreame and Narwal are becoming to their merchandise.
Though it is not geared up with an extendable aspect brush, the iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max could be very succesful at vacuuming laborious flooring. Nonetheless, it struggles on carpet, particularly if there’s a whole lot of pet hair on it. Its bin-emptying and mopping system, too, are very underwhelming.
In iRobot’s protection, the corporate apparently has among the greatest troubleshooting tech assist within the enterprise, however then the key to any good tech is to not require any troubleshooting in any respect – know-how like this could work effectively, reliably and logically which, sadly, this bot is not particularly good at, a minimum of when in comparison with the extraordinarily excessive stage of futuristic smarts from nearly all of its nearest opponents.
iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max evaluation: worth & availability
- Listing worth: $1,399 / £1,499 (recurrently discounted to round $999.99 / £799)
- Launched: July 2024
The iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max was introduced in July 2024 and went on sale within the US, UK and elsewhere shortly afterwards. It is in the stores direct from iRobot, or through third celebration retailers like Walmart or Amazon.
At time of writing, this mannequin sits proper on the high of the iRobot Roomba vary by way of worth and specs. The official listing worth is $1,399 / £1,499 – firmly within the premium worth bracket, and up there with the costliest fashions available on the market. Nonetheless, by the point my UK evaluation unit arrived, the value had dropped to £999. At time of submitting this evaluation it is now it is £799 – an enormous drop that implies that iRobot appeared intently on the Chinese language competitors from Dreame, Roborock, Eufy, Deebot and Narwal and felt that they had no choice however to carry the value crashing down. Within the US the price-drop is much less, however not insignificant: it is now $999.99.
That is nonetheless within the premium bracket, however decrease down. And but, I nonetheless assume that even the present, discounted worth is just too huge an ask given how far the overwhelming majority of the competitors is forward of the sport.
- Worth for cash rating: 2.5 out of 5
iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max specs
| Max suction: | Data unavailable |
| Robotic dimension (W x D): | 13.3 x 33.3″ / 33.9 x 33.8cm |
| Robotic top: | 3.4″ / 8.7cm |
| Dock dimensions (W x D x H): | 19.7 x 15.7 x 17.3″ / 50 x 40 x 44cm |
| Mud bin quantity (onboard): | Not acknowledged |
| Mud bin quantity (dock): | Approx 2.5L |
| Water tank quantity (dock): | 2L (clear); approx 1.8L (soiled) |
| Base kind: | Cost, mud empty, mop pad clear and dry |
iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max evaluation: design
- Low-profile bot and enticing dock
- Fastened mop that shifts to sit down on high of the bot when not required
- Loud in operation
There is a good bit to get into right here, so I’ve cut up the design part into the robotic design and the dock design.
Robotic design
With its lengthy historical past in each industrial and military-use robots, US-based iRobot has been on the forefront of robotic vacuum design for over twenty years. However like several business that finds favor with the general public on an enormous scale, it wasn’t too lengthy earlier than a flurry of copycats jumped on the bandwagon with a number of recent improvements and improved software program design, to the purpose that immediately iRobot finds itself competing with round 15 different corporations, largely from China, a world–chief in robotics.
Sadly, on proof of the corporate’s newest machine, the iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max, it appears that evidently the model everybody went to as a primary port of name has begun to lag behind the mainstream, with some reused know-how and never many putting new improvements.
Let’s begin with the robotic itself. It is fitted with a twin rubber curler system that ought to work wonders on carpet by beating deep into the pile to launch as a lot mud and particles as doable.
Nonetheless, whereas the rollers appeared completely succesful on laborious flooring, they struggled at gathering pet hair from carpet (extra on that later). I am additionally questioning whether or not there is a lack of suction energy. iRobot is just about distinctive amongst robotic vacuum manufacturers in not releasing suction specs, arguing that it is not a very good indicator of pickup energy. All I’ve to go on is that the unit provides three suction ranges – Quiet, Balanced and Excessive – and that it provides double the ‘Customary’ pickup energy of many of the remainder of the iRobot vary.
It is a disgrace iRobot did not go for an extendable spinning aspect brush as a result of this new innovation is excellent at stretching into corners the place the robotic’s centrally positioned brush rollers can not attain. It is also a disgrace that iRobot solely ever made one robotic vac that was D-shaped – the superb Roomba s9+ – in order that even its fastened aspect brush may attain into any right-angled nook. However then once more nearly all robotic vac producers apart from Dyson and Eufy proceed with a round design for his or her robots, and I do know not why.
On the plus aspect, I am thrilled to see that this bot is able to driving over unfastened laborious flooring rugs with out ruffling them up an excessive amount of or worse, getting caught in the midst of a rug mountain.
The place issues fall away significantly is within the design of the Combo 10 Max’s rear-mounted mopping system, a minimum of by immediately’s requirements. When robotic vacuum producers initially found that they might embody a moist pad on the rear to mop a flooring whereas the entrance finish did the vacuuming, they opted for a static moist pad that simply dragged alongside behind because the robotic moved round.
Then somebody observed that the moist pad was being dragged throughout any carpet that the robotic wanted to traverse en path to its subsequent place of business. Roborock solved this conundrum by becoming a mechanism that raised the rear mop a couple of centimeters at any time when the robotic was on carpet. It was a revelatory innovation that others would quickly undertake for their very own merchandise.
Nonetheless, iRobot went even additional with its earlier Combo j7+ mannequin and as a substitute of simply elevating the mop a couple of centimeters – which is loads sufficient on all however the deepest of carpet pile – it developed a convoluted system that not solely raised the mop however positioned it on high of the rear of the machine.
The exact same system is in use on the Combo 10 Max. Which brings me to one of many greatest disappointments with this machine. You guessed, the character of static mop itself. Anybody who has ever eliminated a flooring stain utilizing their hand and a moist fabric will know that a couple of tight round swirls is extra environment friendly than simply swiping from one aspect to the opposite.
Consequently nearly each different producer has already dropped old school static mops like this for spinning towel-covered twin round mop pads or, as within the case of Eufy, a cylindrical spinning towel. Furthermore, some fashions just like the Dreame L40 Extremely and Roborock Qrevo Curv even use extendable rear mops that come out the aspect to run alongside skirting boards and round chair legs. By stark distinction – for a premium-spec mannequin a minimum of – the Combo 10 Max sticks to the outdated dyed-in-the-wool methodology of merely dragging a really skinny and watery mop pad round behind it, albeit with some strain utilized by the load of the robotic itself.
Whereas a static mop like it will sweep a flooring clear of most mild stains, it is no match for a pair of fast-spinning mops. Moreover, the act of positioning the mop above the bot when it is not in use leaves unpleasant splashes of water all around the high of the bot’s shiny rear floor.
With regards to navigation across the dwelling, nearly all robotic vacs today use LiDAR, a radar-like laser-based vary finder that maps a complete dwelling in mere minutes. Like Dyson, iRobot has caught to SLAM know-how utilizing its tried-and-tested RGB digital camera, LED headlight and sensor system, however this makes it painfully sluggish to map a complete flooring plan. (This is extra on how robotic vacuums navigate.)
Nonetheless, one good factor with this bot is that its front-mounted RGB digital camera is fairly good at detecting obstacles. It’s going to typically decide up obstacles smaller than these detected by most different fashions, even these fitted with each LiDAR and a digital camera. Additionally, having no LiDAR on high of the machine means the bot can enterprise beneath low slung furnishings and – if it feels prefer it – punch by way of couch and mattress valances, which is one thing LiDAR-based fashions can not do.
The Combo 10 Max is provided with all the standard know-how to detect obstacles like stairs, drop-offs, partitions and, as talked about above, most small gadgets like footwear and cables. Nonetheless, as you may learn in my efficiency chapter, this robovac’s impediment avoidance is not any higher than the superb Dreame L40 Extremely, although I’d say that it is nonetheless a lower above a few of its opponents.
The Combo 10 Max can also be armed with a function referred to as ‘Filth Detective’ and in keeping with iRobot, it ‘creates a cleansing plan based mostly on how typically every room is cleaned and the way ceaselessly dust is detected in every room. Deciding on Filth Detective to start out cleansing will allow your robotic to robotically prioritize the dirtiest rooms and use essentially the most optimum cleansing settings for every.’ To be sincere, this perform could be very troublesome to investigate since there are not any actual alerts to recommend when it is in operation. However I will give iRobot the good thing about doubt on this regard.
The beauty of most robotic vacs is that they are fairly quiet whereas they go about their day by day chores. Invariably all you’ll hear is a low-pitched hum because it passes by. Conversely, this mannequin’s sound frequency is increased pitched and, whereas it measures at a median 62dB, the character of its increased frequency whine may be annoying when it is in the identical room.
Dock design
The Roomba Combo 10 Max’s AutoWash Dock will get a right away star for excellent aesthetics. In reality, iRobot has constantly supplied among the greatest trying docking stations because the launch of the J7+. Sure, at 44cm in top, 50cm in depth and 40cm in width, it is a pretty big factor to have within the lounge or hallway, however in its favor the ribbed matt black plastic encompass is so much higher trying than most different docks I’ve seen and, after all, the colour black is much much less noticeable in a house state of affairs.
Like most modern robotic vacs, this mannequin’s dock fees the robotic, empties its small bin and cleans its mop. Though iRobot does not state the scale of the AutoWash Dock’s mud bag, it appears to be about common (round 2.5 liters).
Accordingly, it ought to maintain sufficient particles in a non-pet family for over a month’s value of cleansing earlier than that you must take into consideration discarding it and becoming a brand new one (a spare bag is supplied within the bundle). Nonetheless, if in case you have shedding pets, you possibly can count on to alter mud luggage rather more ceaselessly – probably each two weeks.
Since this mannequin additionally mops, it comes with two larger-than-average rectangular water tanks hidden behind a entrance door, one for clear water (2 liters) and the opposite for the soiled stuff (about 1.8 liters).
Nonetheless, each water tanks have horizontal lids and each tanks are positioned horizontally as a substitute of vertically, which implies that the load of the water forces the again of the containers downward as you pull them out.
If, as an illustration, the straightforward clip on the soiled water tank is not firmly in place and also you pull it out with out bracing for the load, the entire contents may simply tip backwards because it leaves the plinth and pour the soiled contents all around the flooring. In contrast to different fashions, eradicating and carrying these tanks to the sink is most actually a two-handed operation.
The Combo Max 10s additionally performs a bizarre mop-cleaning routine whereby the robotic strikes out and in of its housing to run its mop over a ribbed rubber curler. That is in distinction to the best way different programs work, the place the cleansing mechanism strikes forwards and backwards throughout the mopping pad or, as is the case with most trendy hybrids, a spinning system that scrubs the round mops. This dock additionally makes use of a comfortable fan to dry the dock space after washing the pad however because the pad itself is positioned face down above the robotic unit, the pad itself does not profit from a lot drying in any respect.
iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max evaluation: efficiency
- Respectable mopping
- Disappointing suction on carpet
- Dock suction is poor
Once more, there’s loads to debate right here, so I’ve damaged this part up into Navigation efficiency (under), Impediment avoidance, Vacuum efficiency, Mopping efficiency and Dock efficiency.
Navigation efficiency
The iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max makes use of SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) navigation know-how, which is not horrible but additionally is nowhere close to as environment friendly as LiDAR (Gentle Detection and Ranging), particularly in the case of quick and correct navigation in all ranges of sunshine, even full darkness.
As an illustration, it took about half-hour for the Combo 10 Max to map my open-plan floorspace comprising front room, eating space, kitchen, hallway and passage. A LiDAR-equipped mannequin takes about eight minutes to map the identical area.
Additionally, the map it produced was nowhere close to as outlined as a LiDAR-equipped machine, which produces maps of such accuracy you possibly can see precisely the place to pick out a selected cleansing zone, like a small rug or highlighted part of flooring. LiDAR additionally means that you can see the robotic work in actual time and pinpoint its whereabouts utilizing a cellphone app. Conversely, with this product chances are you’ll discover it tough to precisely divide one room from one other, as a result of it is not notably clear which little bit of the map is which.
To provide you some concept how complicated it’s to decipher the iRobot map, I endured the next state of affairs. Firstly, I created a ‘kitchen vac & mop’ routine beneath ‘Favorites’ and it mopped the primary few ft of kitchen flooring, then retracted the mop and vacuumed the kitchen rug. Up to now so good. Nonetheless it then fully forgot about the remainder of the kitchen (amounting to 70% of the ground area) and went again to its dock to scrub the mop. I believed it was simply doing a mid-session clear however, no, that was it.
Spherical two. I set it off on the identical process and this time it went straight to the kitchen rug to hoover it. Then it began mopping the identical part as earlier than, solely this time the quantity of water left behind on the ground was unacceptably excessive because of the mop having simply been washed. It then trundled again to the dock as earlier than.
This confused me, so I checked the map which, at a look appeared okay till I examined it extra intently and observed that the bot had by no means absolutely mapped the kitchen in the course of the dry mapping run it carried out the second I set it up. I anticipated it to a minimum of find out about this unmapped area when it was within the kitchen vacuuming and maybe assume ‘oh, this is a brand new a part of the ground plan I did not see earlier. I will go forward and amend the map’.
In the long run I resorted to resetting the entire system to get it again to the beginning and remapped the entire home once more. Bizarrely, it mapped all the dwelling precisely the second time round, albeit with weirdly-shaped partitions that also make it laborious to work out what’s what.
Impediment avoidance
I then carried out some impediment avoidance assessments and the outcomes had been various however not too unhealthy it should be mentioned. For my first two impediment assessments I maybe positioned too many obstacles within the bot’s path as a result of it lower quick each rug cleansing periods and scuttled again dwelling. Take a look at three with diminished litter proved extra profitable, although the Combo 10 Max did journey over the round canine chew that has equally flummoxed each different bot in earlier assessments. Sadly, it additionally failed to note the wayward shoe lace. Nonetheless, it did keep away from the sock and the cellphone cable.
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Would I depend on it to keep away from canine mess? Regardless of iRobot stating that, like a lot of its forebears together with the j7+ and j9+, the Combo 10 Max will keep away from canine waste, I’d by no means belief it to keep away from it 100%. However then once more, I might by no means belief any robotic vac to keep away from pet waste – it is already occurred to me with a earlier product and I am not happening that horrendously smelly toothbrush highway once more. The ethical is – if in case you have a pet within the dwelling that hasn’t been housetrained but, don’t depend on any robotic vac to keep away from any messes it makes.
I ought to lastly add that the Combo 10 Max additionally bumps into partitions and furnishings as a part of its day by day routine and this inevitably provides so many scuffs and scratches to the edges of the unit that it could look 5 years outdated after only a few weeks of use. Nonetheless, there’s a setting that may cut back this pinball concern on the expense of not performing as thorough a cleansing job alongside edges and round desk legs.
Vacuum efficiency
I anticipated a lot better carpet efficiency from this machine, particularly because it’s geared up with twin rubber brush rollers. Throughout my primary rug and front room carpet take a look at, the Combo 10 Max often ruffled up some Labrador hair into lengthy bundled strands that it left behind and, whereas the robotic’s small inside bin confirmed some proof of hair assortment, it turned out that it hadn’t collected as a lot as I anticipated.
To verify this, I despatched the Roborock Qrevo Curv to the identical sections of carpet and its bin contained much more hair than the Combo 10 Max – after it had already been there. When you have a whole lot of bushy pets, this may not be one of the best robovac for you (head to TechRadar’s greatest robotic vacuum for pet hair information for bots that can deal with pet hair).
I then proceeded to embark on some correct pickup assessments on each carpet and laborious flooring utilizing TechRadar’s menu of elements: uncooked oats, flour and biscuit crumbs. My Persian-style rug is just about 2.3 x 1.4m however the robotic appeared to overlook some sections totally and the areas it did clear – together with the particular take a look at space – it did not do very properly. It actually made one speedy move over the take a look at patch after which began to erratically clear some however not all the remainder of the rug, leaving loads of flour in its wake. It then went again to base.
Worse, whereas doing this take a look at, it additionally proceeded to smear extra rolled strands of pet hair that had clearly been shed since a earlier take a look at. After returning, the dock’s extremely loud suction kicked into motion to take away the contents of the bot’s bin and you’ll learn concerning the outcomes of this in a chapter under.
My last take a look at included the identical elements on my kitchen’s picket flooring and it collected the overwhelming majority of detritus within the first move after which went forwards and backwards over the part a number of instances. It additionally trundled again to base halfway by way of the kitchen session to have its bin emptied after which headed again to complete the duty. Good outcome.
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One particularly annoying facet with this technique is the extent of noise it creates. Firstly, the bot’s aspect brush makes an irritating scuttling noise on laborious flooring and the excessive frequency whine of the vacuum part is audible from the opposite aspect of a room. By comparability, my Roborock Qrevo Curv is sort of as quiet as a church mouse.
Mopping efficiency
In contrast to a lot of the competitors that has already moved over to plush spinning mop pads, the Combo Max 10 sticks to the old school methodology of dragging a skinny, damp mop round behind it. Sure, the mop lifts fully off the ground and out of the best way – however then the few centimeters that different fashions increase their mops is enough to forestall any injury to most carpet, bar, say, the deep pile selection. And anyway, among the very newest bots with revolving mop heads now merely depart them within the dock if not getting used.
To provide it its dues, the Combo Max 10’s mopping is definitely fairly respectable, regardless of the dearth of any dust agitating vibration tech like that fitted to some earlier Roborocks. In my kitchen take a look at, it mopped effectively sufficient and no worse than some cheaper fashions I’ve examined. I additionally observed that it additionally made a couple of back-and-forth passes over the stain I created so its SmartScrub system function appears to work okay. Was it nearly as good as a pair of spinning toweling mops? No, however for mild mopping duties it will do.
Nonetheless, if set to vac and mop on the identical time, this bot will nonetheless vacuum over areas it has already mopped and this causes additional dampness across the suction consumption which is able to begin to look very messy after a couple of duties. Many robotic vacs do this, however a minimum of some fashions now present the choice to vac then mop, somewhat than do each on the identical time.
Dock efficiency
Maybe one of the vital shocking disappointments I’ve skilled with the Combo Max 10 is the poor stage of the AutoWash Dock’s suction when emptying the robotic’s bin. Other than being a lot louder than the norm (round 83dB), it has had persevering with bother emptying a full bin’s value of pet hair.
Firstly, it made a racket with a sound of dashing air and no whoomph sound that every one robots make when a clump of hair is sucked from the robotic’s bin into the cleansing station’s mud bag. After I eliminated the robotic’s bin, I observed a big semi-circular clump of pet hair protruding. This may occur with some robotic vacs, particularly these with poor docking station suction. So I eliminated the protruding clump and the remainder of the contents had been ultimately sucked into the AutoWash Dock’s massive mud bag. Or so I believed.
After I checked the robotic’s bin once more, I observed a whole lot of massive sand-like particles and some small items of gravel. These ought to have additionally been sucked into the principle mud bag like each different robotic vac I’ve ever reviewed. This exact same anomaly occurred after my carpet and laborious flooring assessments utilizing uncooked oats, flour and crushed biscuits.
As my pictures illustrate, the dock merely refused to suck nearly all of oat flakes out of the robotic’s bin. And that is a significant fail in my view. Put one other method, I would not advocate this vac when you dwell by the seaside or its cleansing station might wrestle to take away all traces of seashore sand from the bot’s bin.
Concerning the dock’s mop cleansing means, I am not satisfied {that a} robotic shifting forwards and backwards over a easy ribbed rubber curler is an environment friendly option to clear a mop. Sure it removes a whole lot of detritus and most indicators of discolor however on no account can this technique compete with the competitors for cleanliness. Maybe worse is the truth that, after having been washed, the mop itself is properly and actually sodden, which implies any subsequent mopping periods can have it dragging round a soaking mop as a substitute of a dampened one.
Additionally, the quantity of water the cleaned mop leaves on high of the robotic is unacceptable for a product on this worth band. Sure there’s that drying cycle I discussed earlier, however all that basically does is dry the cleansing space within the dock and never the mop itself. And, as everyone knows, a humid mop normally results in mustiness and mildew, particularly after a couple of days of non-use.
- Efficiency rating: 3 out of 5
iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max evaluation: app
- Respectable dwelling display
- Fundamental customization
- Fairly buggy
Whereas there are some parts of the iRobot app that impress – like the moment dwelling web page entry to pre-programmed favourite routines – I discover it largely complicated to make use of, clunky and filled with bugs. As an illustration, I’ve obtained error messages at any time when I faucet on a Favourite routine whereas that exact routine is in operation. It ought to both enable you into that setting or stay inoperative. As a substitute you simply get an unhelpful error message that claims ‘please attempt once more’.
As alluded to above, I additionally discover the ground plan map fairly tough to learn as a result of it is nowhere close to as detailed as that of a LiDAR-based mannequin. In reality, it is primitive and fairly blocky. Take my eating room map, as an illustration. I’ve a big canine mattress in opposition to the window however that space is represented by a slanted wall that is unnecessary. This made it tough to find a exact space in entrance of the canine mattress so I may create a selected zone-cleaning routine.
As you’d count on, the iRobot app gives choices to create room dividers, room labels and – when you can work out the map – cleansing zones. It additionally helps you to regulate varied parameters like whether or not you need the dock to dry the mop pad (it does not completely dry it), set a baby lock and find the unit when it is misplaced by emitting a faint sound. You may also command this mannequin utilizing Alexa and Google.
Must you purchase the iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max?
| Attribute | Notes | Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Worth | Decrease-premium with present reductions, and nonetheless overpriced for what it provides. | 2.5/5 |
| Design | Effectively constructed with a lovely dock, however quite a few design points from a usability perspective. | 3/5 |
| Efficiency | Acceptable vacuuming and mopping efficiency, however dock features are poor. | 3/5 |
| App | Very primary in comparison with different trendy apps, with scant customization and unclear maps. | 2.5/5 |
Purchase it if…
Do not buy it if…
How I examined the iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max
TechRadar has a set testing regime which I adopted to a tee. Other than having it set to carry out some day by day cleansing routines, I additionally examined the mannequin’s vacuuming means utilizing oats, crushed biscuits and flooring on each laborious flooring and medium-pile carpet. I additionally examined its mopping perform on engineered laborious wooden flooring and the way properly it navigated varied obstacles. Lastly, I made notes on the cleansing station’s efficiency at bin emptying and mop cleansing, measured the noise ranges of each the robotic and its docking station and spent a whole lot of time attending to know the iRobot app.
Learn extra about how we take a look at robotic vacuum cleaners.
- First reviewed November 2024
