When it comes to robot vacuums, the iRobot Roomba is undoubtedly the biggest name in the industry, and their robots are known for their excellent design quality and performance. But Roborock also has an impressive line-up of very efficient robotic vacuum cleaners; with some of the most advanced hybrid vacuum/mop robots.
The Roomba J7+ Combo and the Roborock S7 are among the highest performing hybrid robot vacuum/mop on the market. These robots are built to clean large homes with hardwood and carpet flooring. But each model brings something unique to the table, and in this Roomba J7 Plus Combo vs Roborock S7 review, we will discuss the major similarities and differences of the two bot vacs.
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At a glance
Last update on 2023-12-06 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
The quick answer
These two robot vacuums may have similar functions, but each one has some unique features, and your choice will ultimately depend on what you prefer.
The Roborock S7 has a better navigation system and bigger battery. The LIDAR sensor and SLAM algorithm make it more efficient at navigation, and the 5200 mAh battery provides the S7 better range (up to 180 minutes on a single charge).
In comparison, the Roomba Combo J7+ is great at obstacle avoidance thanks to its front-facing camera. The most impressive thing about the J7+ is the fully retractable mop pad, thanks to a little robot arm. This design feature ensures that the wet mop pad is completely out of the way when the robot encounters carpet floors, therefore not even a drop of water will get on the carpets.
I would recommend the Roomba J7+ if you have a lot of carpets, but if your home is mostly wood and tile flooring, then the Roborock S7 would be much better for you.
Roomba J7 Plus Combo vs Roborock S7 product overviews
Roomba Combo J7+
The Roomba Combo J7+ is built to simultaneously vacuum and mop large homes with both carpets and hard floors. As one of the best robot vacuums from iRobot, it effectively sweeps up pet hairs and dirt particles using dual multi-surface rubber brushes, an edge-sweeping brush and a powerful suction force.
For intelligent navigation, this robot is equipped with iRobot OS Technology and PrecisionVision Navigation to recognize and avoid common objects in its way. To improve cleaning efficiency, the Imprint Smart Mapping enables you to manage and schedule when and which rooms are cleaned, while also saving several maps for simpler cleaning on every level of your house.
It’s powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that never runs out of juice with the ‘Recharge and Resume Feature.’ Roomba J7+ is also compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant voice controls and a user-friendly mobile app for extra-easy control.
- Vacuums and mops in one go
- Good obstacle avoidance
- Lifts mop pad with robot arm
- Free replacement if it goes over pet waste in the first year
- Battery life can be improved
- Mop pad is small
- Water tank is small (needs regular refills)
Last update on 2023-12-06 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Roborock S7
The Roborock S7 is designed to be the ultimate cleaning device with the automatic vacuum and mop combo. It will launch in two colors; a classic white and shiny black finish, with lots of impressive new features.
This robot is powered by a rechargeable 5200mAh Li-ion battery that cleans for up to 3-hours on a single charge and a 300ml water tank enough to deep clean up to 2150 sq ft in one cleaning session. The laser-based LiDAR navigation system ensures accurate navigation while simultaneously creating digital maps for automatic room recognition.
The S7 sports a new all-rubber sweeping brush with spiral blades to agitate dirt particles, while a 2500 PA suction power forces them into a 470 ml dustbin. For improved mopping, the sonic mopping pad system scrubs hard to dislodge stuck-on dirt while ultrasonic sound detects carpets and intelligently lifts the mopping pad, so the robot can vacuum and mop in a single cleaning cycle.
- Excellent cleaning performance
- Will vacuum and mop
- Has great, systematic navigation
- Good obstacle detection
- Not great for carpets
- It’s a bit too tall
Last update on 2023-12-06 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Side by side comparison
Size and look
The Roomba j7+ is 13.3 inches in diameter and 3.4 inches in height, which is common for most robot vacuums, and small enough to fit under most furniture. The Roborock S7 is slightly bigger, measuring 3.8 inches tall and 13.8 inches in diameter.
These two robots are really well-built. They are composed of high-quality plastic, with a glossy exterior shell and top cover. They are both glossy black and have the basic circular shape found in most robot vacuum cleaners.
Smart mapping
The ability to create virtual maps of the home is a feature that robotic vacuum cleaners often have and is very important in optimizing navigation and cleaning. Most robot vacs will scan and map the floors of a house, and you can see and edit the maps using their mobile apps.
The Roomba and the Roborock will both drive around your house to determine its overall layout and make virtual maps of each room. They also allow you to designate certain rooms, create no-go areas or no-mop zones, and specify the precise areas you want cleaned.
Cleaning performance
This is probably the most important aspect of a robotic vacuum cleaner. In comparison, both robots perform well on wood, tiles and carpets. However, the S7 cleans better on hard floors, while the J7+ is better for carpets. The twin rubber brushes of the Roomba contribute to its excellent performance on carpets and floors, with about 95% pick-up rate on several cleaning tests.
On the other hand, the Roborock S7 doesn’t clean carpets too well, probably because of the 2500 Pa suction. If you want a Roborock that’s great for both low-pile carpets and hard floors, check out the S7 MaxV (currently the best robot vacuum from Roborock) with a superb suction of 5100 Pa and an awesome vacuuming and mopping capability.
Self-emptying
Automatic dirt disposal is an awesome feature in robot vacs, as it actually automates the entire vacuuming process. The S7 is compatible with the Roborock Auto-Empty Dock, so it automatically empties the bin after each cleaning, but you will have to purchase it separately. While the Combo J7+ comes with a iRobot Clean Base, which also empties after each cleaning.
App and voice control
Both the Roborock S7 and the iRobot Roomba j7 Plus Combo feature smartphone controls for both iOS and Android devices.
The apps provide comparable controls and use Wi-Fi to connect to your robot vacuum. You can then instruct your robot to clean particular rooms, and edit the map to include new rooms and keep-out zones. Both Roomba and Roborock can connect to Alexa, Siri, or the Google Assistant to provide voice-activated cleaning.
Roborock gives you the option to select between mopping only, vacuuming only, or simultaneous vacuuming and mopping. With the Roomba, you can instruct it to vacuum only or to vacuum and mop, but not to mop only.
Vacuuming noise
The Roborock S7 isn’t very noisy, but the noise can vary depending on the setting you’ve got it in. The quiet mode of the robot is as loud as 67 dB, this is comparable to conversations between people. But it can get louder, depending on what mode it’s set to clean.
iRobot j7+ is quieter, with a noise rating of 46 dB to 55 dB. But of course, this can get much louder depending on the suction mode, and the loudest noise is during the auto-empty at the base station.
Key differences
Navigation is a big deal in robot vacuum cleaners, and so is obstacle avoidance. The combination of these features greatly affects how well a robot vac will clean your home. Most robotic vacuum cleaners will use laser sensors and a front camera to find their way around the home.
For Roborock S7, the navigation system is the laser-based LiDAR technology. The S7 is very precise and efficient in identifying furniture and everyday objects around the home. The Roomba J7+ is also able to smartly navigate the home.
It uses vSLAM with the iRobot’s Precision Vision Navigation system. Roomba J7+ also has an impressive navigation system, it’s smart enough to go around obstacles on the floors, but will miss some spots, which is somewhat disappointing for a high-end Roomba.
Mopping feature
Another major difference between these two robots is their individual approach to mopping. While they are both hybrid robot vacuum cleaners with the ability to vacuum and mop in one cleaning session, they handle mopping differently.
First, both robots have a basic mop pad that they wet by spraying water (mixed with cleaning solution) from the integrated water tank, then proceed to clean. The Roomba has a water tank capacity of 210ml, while the Roborock S7 has a bigger 300ml water tank.
While mopping, the Roborock S7 doesn’t just drag the wet pad across the floors, like the Roomba Combo J7+ (and most basic robot mops), it uses a sonic mopping technology for advanced mopping.
What this means is that the S7 will actually scrub your floors to remove dried dirt using a vibrating mop pad that scrubs up to 3000 times per minute. The mop pad has scrub speed settings ranging from 1650 times per minute to 3000 times per minute, this will quickly scrub off any stuck-on dirt.
And when it encounters a carpet, the S7 will lift the mop pad using the VibraRise technology. This means you can mop hard floors and vacuum carpets in one cleaning cycle. And after each cleaning session, it lifts the mopping map as it drives back to the docking station to prevent ugly streaks and dripping.
Roborock’s VibraRise system sounds great, but the Roomba has something even cooler and better; a robot arm. When the Combo J7+ senses a carpet, the robot arm lifts the mopping pads and rests on top of the robot, this works very well and not even a drop of water will get on carpets.
Roborock also avoids carpets by raising the mop pads, but it doesn’t have a robot arm to completely lift the mop off the floors, so a few droplets of water may get on the carpets. I must say that iRobot definitely impressed with the robot arm design.
Brush rolls
Both the Roborock S7 and the Roomba Combo J7+ come with a primary sweeping brush as well as a side brush for edge sweeping. The main difference between the two is that the Roomba has a twin brush roll design, which clearly adds to the robot’s superior sweeping performance. Only iRobot vacuums have dual rubber brush rolls, which are highly effective.
Battery capacity
Overall, the battery performance of the iRobot j7+ Combo is excellent. It can run for roughly 85 to 100 minutes on a single battery. The Roborock S7, on the other hand, offers an even greater battery life of up to 180 minutes on a single charge, equating to a capacity of around 5200 mAh. It can run for more than 3 hours in its energy-efficient “Quiet” mode. However, the battery will not last as low if you choose the highest suction setting.
As the robots’ batteries run low, they return to their charging station to recharge before resuming with the cleaning.
Suction power
Roborock S7 has a 2500 PA suction force, which is enough to clean hardwood floors and low-pile carpets. But Roomba doesn’t declare the suction rating of their robots, so we can’t say for sure whether it’s up to or more than that of Roborock.
FAQ section
Does the Roomba mop scrub?
No, the Roomba just drags the wet mop pad across the floor. But the Roborock uses a vibrating mopping pad to simulate scrubbing floors, and it does a better mopping job than the Roomba.
What is the difference between iRobot j7+ and i7+?
There are 2 major differences between the iRobot j7+ and i7+. The first thing you will notice that differs between these two robots is the auto-empty dock. The robots have different versions of the Clean Base. Roomba i7+ uses the older version of iRobot Clean Base, which is taller and bulkier, while the j7+ comes with the smaller and sleeker Clean Base.
The second difference is the obstacle avoidance feature. Roomba J7+ is able to recognize and avoid objects better than the i7+. The j7+ also has the iRobot P.O.O.P. (Pet Owner Official Promise), which promises to replace your Roomba for free if it goes over pet waste in the first year of purchase. Roomba i7+ does not have this promise.
Is Roborock S7+ good for pet hair?
Yes, it can pick up dog hair, but the Roomba is better at picking up pet hair.
Does Roomba j7+ have smart mapping?
Yes, it has the iRobot Imprint® Smart Mapping. It stores several maps for quicker cleaning on different levels of your home. And allows you to choose which rooms to clean, and schedule when they should be cleaned.
Does the Roborock S7 detect poop?
No, the S7 is not able to recognize and avoid dog poop or pee. You will have to remove pet waste before starting the robot. But the Roomba J7+ will recognize and avoid dog poop.
Final thoughts
Roomba Combo j7+ is the latest robot vacuum cleaner from iRobot, and the only robot vacuum with built-in mopping functionality. It’s obviously the more advanced robots with interesting features like the robot arm, it’s ability to avoid pet waste and better performance on carpets. But the Roborock S7 is also an awesome device with amazing sweeping and mopping performance; it’s navigation is top-notch, and the battery life is one of the best there is.
The Roomba j7+ is best for you if you have pets with lots of carpets, otherwise the Roborock S7 is the better option.
