Customer Ratings & Reviews

Wow, we are impressed. We purchased the Roomba max 705 a few days ago and set it up last night. It was real easy to set up, we let it charge overnight, although it charged a lot faster than that. This afternoon we set it on its first run, it mapped our two bedroom two bath apartment (1100 sq ft) in about 30 minutes and was pretty accurate. Then we started its first cleaning run. We have wood flooring with a rug in front of the sofa, and two pioneer woman, cushioned rugs in the kitchen. We were wondering if the Roomba (which we named Dusty) would get hung up on the padded rugs. It had no such difficulty at all. Upon the initial set up, I choose the two pass option for each room, but stopped the second pass because the first pass was good enough. I have since edited the cleaning task to only do one pass. It took about 20 minutes to do the living room and about 10 minutes each for the other rooms. The whole task was done in a little over an hour. We were very happy with that length of time, we watched the whole thing because we wanted to make sure it didn’t get caught up anywhere or stuck by an obstacle. It was pretty fun watching it zoom around. It got most of the way underneath our sofa and had no problem getting underneath our bed and barstool chairs. Our coffee table was too low for it to get under. It did a really good job throughout the house. I think we would only need to run it every few days and keep the house spotless. I do figure that we may have to do a quick sweep along the edges and behind some doors and toilets every few weeks. But that is relatively minor compared to the time it would take to clean the whole house. My Apple Watch said it was only around 60 dB. Which is about as loud as a normal conversation. It did not seem loud, but it was quieter when it was on the rug. When it started the mapping and cleaning program, it was at 100%, when it was finished it was at 55%. It ran for an hour and a half, with half hour of it being the initial mapping. After Dusty finished, it’s cleaning task. It found its way back to the dock, and automatically emptied the bin into the dock storage area. It was really neat to see that, it was a little louder at that point, but no louder than a regular vacuum. A three pack of the docking bags and air filters are $20 each so that isn’t a big deal considering it should last about six months for each one. Overall, we were impressed. This is our first robot vacuum and it was on sale. We were going to buy it at $800 but it came on sale for $600. I do believe with the time savings and ease of work, we will definitely get our moneys worth.

This robot is heads and shoulders above the S9+ that it replaces. I live in a one bedroom apartment… 1. Setup - setup (for me) was relatively simple and painless. I have seen some complaints that setup and documentation was confusing. I think if this your first robot I would agree. The problem is that there is no hard copy of the owner’s manual. The manual resides within the app itself. So this is a different interface app than the one used with my older S9+. The new app does not seem to be quite as intuitive as the older app. For me (experienced) the learning curve was relatively painless. In some ways it is an improvement. Now you can touch a room on the map to have the robot clean that space without the need to go through a separate menu. From there you can easily make adjustments to the “routine.” Also welcome is that you can watch the realtime progress of the routine that you are running. It’s a little mesmerizing to watch. This function looks fairly accurate but there is sometimes some lag. Finally, there is a numerical indicator of charge state instead of a progress bar. 2. Speed - the Max 705 mapped my apartment within 10 minutes. This is significantly faster than the S9+. There were some initial hiccups but today I ran my first automated run. It vacuumed 6 spaces in 1 hour and 1 minute with no recharging. At the end of its run there was still 46% charge left. I don’t know how to account for this as the robot doesn’t seem to be moving any faster than the S9+. It must just run its routes more efficiently. For comparison, my old S9+ took three to four hours to complete the same run and at least one or two recharges (even on a brand new battery). This is amazing to me. 3. Compared to my older S9+ the Max 705 is dead quiet at least on smart mode. Even on max suction setting it is considerably quieter than the S9+. 4. So far there have been minor glitches while running its routes, i.e. going to the bedroom instead of the living room. That happened once but did not repeat. In my experience, the more vacuums under your belt the more it learns and the better it becomes. The brush came off. In the S9+ you would actually screw the brush on. On the Max 705 the brush just snaps on. Hopefully this was a one off. Even though I didn’t want to get a new robot I was able to get this on sale. This is a definite improvement over the S9+. So far so good!

Previously owned an older model roomba (I3). We have a golden retriever and watch dogs so lots of pet hair and dirt get tracked throughout the house. This vacuum is significantly better than our previous one. It cleans the house thoroughly, at a much faster pace, and even a bit quieter. The mapping is more accurate and it doesn’t get stuck on dog toys (which are always scattered around the house) or cords like the other one did. It does a great job getting both pet hair and dirt, and it transitions seamlessly from carpet to hardwoods. I try to clean it once an every week or two to unclog any pet hair from the rollers/wheels. This brings me to my one drawback that frustrates me. The rollers and main drive wheels are as easy to clean as the previous model, but the front caster wheel is very difficult to clean. Hair gets in there and prevents the wheel from rolling well. Previous models allowed you to push the wheel out and easily remove hair from the axels but this one does not have that feature and I find myself spending 10-15 minutes with a pair of needle tip tweezers to clean the hair so the wheel rolls well and doesn’t cause floor damage. In the photo you can see the hair around the axel. I cleaned this a few days ago so it’s not bad now but shows the issue. Still deserves 5 stars in my opinion but would appreciate a rubber caster wheel like it has now that we can push out and clean better.

I had the S9+ since 2020 and got this in 2025. I was shocked at much quieter the 705 is when compared to the S9. The 705 also maps so much better and is far more gentler around the objects in my house. The S9 is still going strong with my senior mother in her house, but I am quite happy with this 705 purchase!

Bought as a replacement for a Neato robot vacuum, as the company stopped supporting the software and now only runs on default and no maps. Anyway, this Roomba was more promising. Very good suction power and it knows is way around. It still needs a headlight to vacuum dark rooms or when running at night. It takes much longer than any previous vacuum to finish the work. In part because it needs to recharge the battery and it takes over an hour just for that. The battery is its weakest link. It is improvement from previous, but you cannot find a replacement anywhere! it is not the same as other Roomba 700 series batteries. This one has a wired connector.

This replaces our i7, purchased in 2019 which still works & I questioned whether or not we really needed a new one, but SO GLAD we got this 705 model. It mapped our house in a fraction of the time it took the i7. You can watch it's progress on the app during vacuuming and it works must faster. I like that the brush comes out much further than the i7's so gets nooks and crannies the i7 couldn't reach. Also like the lower profile of the docking station as compared with said predecessor...I run it about every other day and then just have to "help" behind doors etc with my other vac. A huge time-saver.

A newer vacuum was needed, i thought, had replaced the battery and cleaned the terminals on my old robot. So after talking with support. I decided to get a new robot, but then I reinstalled the original battery and low and behold, it started charging and works, but I like this one better the charging system is a vast improvement over my older model i3, now have two vacuuming robots, oh well. This one uses the newer Roomba Home app.

I was alarmed when I opened the box only to find a quick reference card, a warranty card and a multi-language safety guide. "It can't be this simple to set up," I thought. Actually, it was. The only extra parts in the box were the sweeper brush, which I immediately installed, and a filter. I opened the Rooma to install the filter and discovered that the loose filter was a replacement for the filter that had already been installed. Inside the auto empty dock were two disposal bags. I conneced one to the dock, and left the other in the storage well for use as a replacement. The dock also housed a cleaning brush for the filter. I do not remember seeing that tool before with other Roombas, and I look forward to using it. This model is a talker. As I pushed the Roomba toward the dock until it touched both charging connectors, a female voice told me the Roomba was charging, and a white led confirmed the charging status. I decided to let the unit charge all night before attempting to complete the set up process. New software was required for the operation of the Roomba Max 705. My previous model, the Roomba Combo j7+, used the iRobot app. This model uses the Roomba Home app. Once I installed the software and connected the Roomba, a firmware download was required and I was advised it might take some time to complete. It did take a while. In fact, I waited a couple of hours and never got any prompt that the download had been completed. I re-booted my iPhone, and when I opened the Roomba Home app advised that it was time to map my house for the first time. The Roomba completed that task in a breeze, taking about 30 minutes. When I attemped the first whole house cleaning, however, I ran into a glitch. The unit went back to base before it even finished the living room. I assumed the mapping and the first job had drained the battery down and that the job would resume momentarily. It didn't. I am not sure what caused that glitch, becuase it has not happened again. All subsequent jobs have been completed successfully. And if "completed successfully" seems like faint praise, such is not intended. The vacuum quietly and powerfully cleaned my floors leaving no visible residue, and I was very pleased at the result which was obtained on the single pass setting. Subjectively, the Roomba seems quieter than my previous models. It's lidar-based technology allows it to avoid obstacles, and in several days of use, it has not gotten stuck a single time. We live in a home with a kitchen that opens into a large living room with no wall separating the two areas. Although the initial mapping was accurate, the Roomba Home software allows you to create subrooms within the mapped area, which I did, and it also allows you to rename rooms, and I also took advantage of that feature as well. The software allows the Roomba to clean all the mapped area, or specfic rooms. Cleaning can also be scheduled for every day or specfic days. For the first time in my experience, a spot clean feature can be selected for cleaning. It covers an area about one square meter which you select on the mapped area. We used this after an accident when a glass pot cover fell onto the floor and shattered. It worked like a charm. I have no complaints about the job this Roomba is doing after several days use. Just like its predecessors, it works tirelessly while I am at work, leaving the rooms vaccuumed clean when I get home. If you've had other Roombas or if you haven't, I think you'll like it, and I reccomend it.

The Roomba Max 705 is the newest version of their flagship model for 2025. This model is designed for families and homes with lots of dirt, dust and debris. Especially homes with kids or pets that need vacuuming consistently throughout the week. I have had the pleasure of owning many different models of Roomba’s throughout the years and have been impressed with how far Roomba has really come with their technology. The original automated vacuums just went in patterns, had very little object detection, and small drops or changes in the floor? Forget about it! Might as well have been a cliff (funny enough I’ve received a notification one time saying my vacuum had fallen off a cliff). But now with the Max 705 a lot of those issues are a thing of the past. Unwrapping the Max 705 I was surprised by how light and compact the unit is. The Max 705 doesn’t require a ramp for the Roomba to sit on to empty so it shrinks the overall footprint of the device. The Roomba is finished with a sleek black design that reminds me of a higher end electronic. Initial setup of the Max 705 was straightforward and easy! They really have streamlined the process and made it simple and intuitive for even non tech friendly folks. The new 705 uses a Roomba Home app which is different from the older iRobot app. One of the newer features for this year is the Clearview Pro LiDAR. The camera that’s equipped to the Roomba helps create a map along with automatically naming rooms. You also can add furniture and zones or areas to avoid. Initial mapping of my 1st floor home took about 30 minutes and was fairly accurate. I was hoping with the newer camera it would be able to auto detect furniture, but you can also add items yourself. Once we were done mapping we were off and running! When vacuuming the room it will display on the app the exact path the Roomba takes. Observing the vacuum move about the room it definitely does a good job overall of cleaning without banging into your furniture. The camera system they’re using has improved the Roomba’s ability to navigate tight spaces. Another newer feature is Roomba’s foray into AI with PrecisionVision. Which is supposed to intelligently navigate around household items like toys, shoes, cords, and even pet excrement. Curious as I was, I tested the vacuum with multiple items including dog poop and it worked as advertised! The unit will stop, adjust, and go around items with zero issues. The new camera system also has improved sensors that won’t allow the Roomba to tumble down the stairs or any other steep drops. So falling off cliffs are a thing of the past. Overall the suction on the new 705 seems more powerful than past models. I noticed as it goes over carpet or area rugs it adjusts the amount of force while keeping the same pace. A feature that is handy but that I won’t admittedly use very often is voice commands. You can use Google assistant or Alexa to schedule a vacuum or command it to start vacuuming immediately. I just prefer to set the vacuum to operate at a certain time every morning! Overall we are very happy with the Roomba Max 705. The new improvements to the AI detection along with the mapping and scheduling through the app make it a seamless part of our cleaning process everyday in our home. With the auto empty it set it and forget it! No dog hair on the floor when I get home is always a plus and makes the Roomba indispensable!

TLDR: Much needed updates bring the Roomba back on a level playing field with the rest of the competition. PROS Quieter operation Better edge cleaning Improved navigation with AI & LIDAR Auto Empty with up to 75 days between bag changes INITIAL IMPRESSIONS I have been using a Roomba as my primary tidy up vacuum for a couple of years now. My Roomba i8 has been a loyal & faithful companion. It was great to be able to start up the i8 when I left the house and it hit all the high traffic areas while I was gone, coming home to clean floors. I got spoiled. However, my loyal companion was starting to show its age. There seemed to be a lack of development during the time Amazon was looking into buying Roomba. After the deal fell through, it seemed like development stopped. Updates became non-existent. My once faithful companion stopped connecting to my Wi-Fi, it often got lost while cleaning, cleaned areas I didn’t tell it to, and worst of all, because it refused to connect reliably to my Wi-Fi, I couldn't start it via the app. I grew extremely frustrated with the Roomba. I’ve had a Roomba competitor in my workout room / man cave for more than a year now. Its advanced features were putting the i8 to shame. The icing on the cake was that it always cleans when ordered to and the app has been issue-free and never failing to stay connected to Wi-Fi. The Roomba had grown long in the tooth and become too unreliable. I am happy to report that iRobot has addressed EVERY issue I have been experiencing with the i8. The Max 705 is leaps and bounds ahead of the i8 in terms of functionality, user friendliness, brains, and sensing. As advanced as the 705 is compared to the last generation, in reality, Roomba is now just on a level playing field with their competitors. USE & IMPROVEMENTS Let’s go over some areas that iRobot addressed and improved upon their previous generation of robot vacuums. First. iRobot has given the Max 705 “vison”. Using a combination of LIDAR and what appears to be cameras, the Roomba can now “see” its surroundings. Initial set-up and programming are vastly improved. You no longer have to use a “boundary marker” device & follow the Roomba around telling it where you want it to go and where it can’t. With LIDAR, the Roomba maps your house and gives you a map of what it sees. The app does its best to identify what room it is in, but it doesn’t work all that well. Fortunately, the app and map are very easy to use and customize. I had my whole house mapped in less than 15 minutes and another 10 or so to customize the map for each room. It’s simple and works slick. Second. iRobot improved the 705 in nearly every way as far as its cleaning performance goes. How so? First it has much more suction power than my i8. It cleans better with less power than my i8 did at full power. Second, they improved the function of edge brush and rollers. After we adopted a rescue cat, the i8 had met its match. It was so frustrating watching it sweep up loose litter. The edge brush turned so quickly, it flung more litter under appliances and cabinets than it picked up. The Max 705 has a much less aggressive edge cleaning brush and so much more suction that it cleans even the messiest litter events with ease. Third. Because the 705 can now “see” the world around it, it does a better job at identifying objects. However, it’s not perfect. While it will see cords and cat toys without issue, it struggles with shoelaces and random objects occasionally. Sometimes a mess will be read incorrectly and avoided, instead of cleaning it up. I’m sure iRobot will continue to iron out the kinks, but it works so much better than the i8. FINAL THOUGHTS I had almost given up on iRobot and was ready to go to the competition. Their vacs had grown stale, the tech and the apps didn’t improve, and the competitors’ products were superior to any iRobot product in every way. Roomba had been left behind with what appeared to be no hope in sight. Finally, a new generation has arrived. While the Max 705 doesn’t do anything extra or special that my competitors’ products don’t do, it does at least level the playing field. iRobot is back in the hunt. The app works flawlessly with my mesh Wi-Fi. The vac is much quieter than the last generation (nearly silent while traversing), comes in a smaller package, and best of all, with its new cleaning algorithm, vacuums in less time. How much less time? I have 3 areas that I clean on a regular basis. They are the heaviest traffic areas in my house. My i8 took 1hr and 13 minutes to clean all 3 areas. The Max 705 takes 51 minutes. A substantial improvement. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

My my how technology has pulled us all closer to the age of the Jetsons. No we don’t have Rosie the a robot, but we have iRobot Roomba Max 705. My last smart vacuum was a Bob Sweep circa 2017, but discontinued use after he knocked over an expensive guitar, broke a lamp, got stuck under the couch each cleaning, chewed up charging cables, and needed more babysitting that just pushing a traditional vacuum around the house. I decided robotic vacuuming just wasn’t ready for primetime and would re-investigate in the future. Fortunately for we consumers seeking convenience 8 years is a century in technological advancement. This unit is absolutely fantastic. While it doesn’t have the sock picking arm that we saw at CES in January, it does boast my favorite additon : LiDAR sensors. This allows the machine to “see” or sense where it’s going like Dolphin or a bat echolocation in a way. Gone are the days of blindly steering along and never finding its way back home. Inside the box are 2 pieces, Roomba and the dust bin, not counting snap-on side brush. That’s it. Setup couldn’t have been easier. Scan the QR code to download a Roomba app, charger her up, and away she goes. The first run the app notifies you that it’s a mapping run, and no cleaning will take place. I took care to try and pick up items that would prevent cleaning, as I wanted all wall boundaries clean. The app asks you to open Al doors and areas you’ll like cleaned which is helpful. I was amazed when I viewed the mostly accurate floor plan of my main floor , not quite a CAD drawing but detailed , with the option to name your rooms or manually adjust. One feature that I was thrilled to discover is its ability to maintain up to 10 different “Smart Maps”, so multiple floor owners don’t digress. I do know it uses the base station as a beacon or point-of-reference, so we are considering buying 2 more dust bins for upstairs and basement. While much better than all previous experiences, I did wonder why it did not go room to room, e.g. it would clean an area, leave, and come back 3-4 more times. Once he got to the carpet in the bedroom though it’s a dream. Dog hair was gone, and the carpet was left with perfectly straight lines like when the professional cleaners work. I was also glad to see it avoided my rats nest of charging cables next to the bed, while also cleaning areas under the bed where one of the 3 dogs has a secret hideout for his stash of garbage snacks. One slight jiggle is my wife found “Rosie” with a dead battery under a dresser, and carried her to her charge station. She placed it so the Roomba iRobot emblem waxed the same way as the markings on the dustbin base station, unbeknownst to me. When I was wondering why she didn’t perform her scheduled duties today I realized the erred and did not have the charge pins in contact with each other. It’s a one-time mistake, but just FYI. Pros: +LiDAR +Clear view sensor +Room mapping +10 Smart Maps +Strong Suction +Dual rubber rollers +Obstacle avoidance +hardwoods and carpet +rugged build +modular design +Battery life +Roomba app Cons -dustbin smallish -thick dog hair clogs -voice can be hard to hear -sounds like jet engine when emptying into bin -niggle, nameplate is backwards when charging Conclusion *if you’ve been on the fence joining the robotic vacuum cleaning revolution, the wait may be over with Roomba’s flagship 705 Max. While not perfect, it is light years beyond my last experience that left a bad taste. Battery technology has advanced a great degree, but the game changer for me is the addition of LiDAR for room mapping and obstacle avoidance. Recommended STRONG BUY

The Roomba Max 705 is my third robot vacuum and by far my favorite. The previous two that I owned were made by other brands and it showed. While they initially mapped my home just fine, they were horrendous at obstacle avoidance and had limited dirt bin capacity with no emptying dock. For context, we have a split level home and two short haired dogs. Our Roomba is located on the upper floor which is carpeted with laminate in the bathrooms. Initial mapping was quick and allowed for accurate visualization and easy room edits in the Roomba Home app. We have the vacuum automated to clean every other day with how much our dogs shed. So far the rubber rollers have done great with short dog hair with no wrapping or clogging. The vacuum is fairly quiet and doesn’t spook either of our dogs. The Roomba can clean almost the entire upper floor of our home on a single charge, but will return to the dock as needed to top off. Where this vacuum really excels is its obstacle avoidance. The previous robot vacuums we had would constantly get stuck on area rugs, in corners near furniture, or quite literally ON dog toys. The Roomba navigates a dynamic environment with ease and has not gotten stuck even once. This is particularly helpful in our home where both of our dogs leave toys everywhere. Within the Roomba Home app, you can see exactly where the vacuum is and it will indicate where obstacles are that have been avoided. I use this information to locate and pick up dog toys, but also to try and move other items out of the way to be sure the vacuum can clean every nook and cranny on its next run. Once cleaning is complete, the Roomba will automatically return to its dock and empty its collection bin. This does lead me to my one gripe about this device, which is the way the vacuum empties into the dock. The vacuum’s collection bin is not very large and I’ve noticed it will get clogged with pet hair after a full cleaning cycle. I wish the vacuum would automatically empty its collection bin after each room it cleans to prevent clogging. For the dock itself, it would have been nice if the internals were a bin instead of a bag so it could be reused instead of thrown out. Alas, the remedies for these gripes are easy enough and they certainly beat vacuuming myself. I’d still highly recommend the Roomba Max 705. At a minimum, buy a Roomba of some sort, not a knock off brand.

iRobot - Roomba Max 705 Vac Robot Vacuum The Roomba Max 705 is a vacuum-only robot that features LiDAR navigation, AI-powered obstacle detection, and a self-emptying dock. It is presented as a premium option in iRobot’s lineup, designed to provide a hands-free, low-maintenance cleaning experience, emphasizing high suction and reduced maintenance rather than mopping capability. According to iRobot, the 705 delivers 180 times the suction of the Roomba 600 series. Several outside sources indicate that the suction is rated at 13,000 Pa, and ramps up intelligently in dirtier zones thanks to Dirt Detect technology. It ships with a dock that automatically empties the onboard dustbin for up to 75 days between bag changes. The Roomba Max 705 relies on twin multi-surface rubber brushes that stay in constant contact with both carpet and hard flooring, minimizing hair tangles. A dedicated edge-sweeping brush sweeps debris from walls and corners into the suction path, and when the robot senses carpet, its Carpet Boost system automatically ramps up suction for deeper extraction. The setup is intuitive; no instruction manual was needed to charge or operate. The home button sends it to the base and empties the bag, and the power button sends it to map the layout and vacuum afterward. It is larger, measuring 4.1 x 14 x 13.8 inches, making it slightly bigger than other Roomba models or Robot vacs we've used before. However, it is easy to carry as needed and weighs in at just under 7.5 lbs. I am using this in a two-story home with both hard floors (tile and hardwood) and carpet. Using it as a lone vacuum means I am transporting it downstairs. I use the upstairs area for the dock, as it will be the primary unattended cleaning area. The Roomba Max 705 is relatively quiet during standard operation, especially on hard floors. It's low hum won’t disrupt conversation or background TV noise, and the high-suction Carpet Boost mode of vacuuming is as loud as a casual conversation. Tile floors have a higher level of noise, but not by much. The loudest moment is when the dock activates to auto-empty the bin—a quick, vacuum-like burst that’s hard to miss, but it only lasts a few seconds and is as loud as a regular vacuum cleaner. I set up a miniature obstacle course in a room without furniture. The Max 705 can navigate around hand weights I placed in the room, which aren't solid in the middle, allowing the Roomba to see through them, possibly. It will occasionally lightly bump into them, but still cleans in a tight area around them. It has a hard time with clear plastic bags and will get confused for a few seconds. Then, it tends to skip the area around them, leaving a slight space, before cleaning well, avoiding the bags. The Max 705 excelled at vacuuming very close to the edge of walls without actually touching them. It also doesn't get confused by the accordion closet doors, which aren't perfectly parallel or 100% butted together. The sensors and LiDAR do an excellent job of avoiding the stairs without hanging over the precipice. I have had vac robots try to commit feats of daring, and it was a close call rescuing them before they took the plunge. I was disappointed that the WiFi Support was 2.4GHz only. I had hoped for WiFi 6.5 or, better yet, WiFi 7, but I didn’t experience any issues connecting the app or the vacuum to my multiband network. Battery life is solid for a vacuum in this class. On a full charge, the Max 705 can clean for about 90 to 120 minutes, depending on the suction mode and floor type. It automatically returns to the dock when it needs to recharge and resumes cleaning if a task was incomplete. The app is quite extensive and clear, so you can customize your cleaning to fit your needs and lifestyle. It's a good upgrade from the previous app. The iRobot site states that it learns and helps determine a good schedule, modifies settings, and makes suggestions with its ‘smart scheduling’ features. I haven’t used it long enough to work with this feature. The Roomba Max 705 seems rugged and is a well-designed robot vacuum that offers consistent cleaning, substantial obstacle avoidance, and the quality you’d expect from a trusted brand like iRobot. Its LiDAR navigation is fast and precise, and I feel it is a considerable upgrade to the older system. The dual-brush system efficiently manages various surfaces, and the Auto Empty dock provides real convenience for daily use.

I am pleasantly surprised by the improvements to the Roomba Max 705...Mainly thanks to the addition of LiDAR Navigation (and possibly AI). For the past couple of years, I have been using the Roomba j7 - which does clean quite well, but it does manage to get itself stuck with some regularity. The J7 navigates using only a camera on the front and while it ultimately cleans well - watching it try to navigate around obstacles is an absolute nightmare. It basically bumps its way around the room taking forever. The Max 705 is noticeably better at navigating light or dark rooms, and it is MUCH better at quickly mapping out rooms. The LiDAR actually scans the room instead of requiring the vacuum to crash into every wall in order to recognize the surrounding layout. Setting up the vacuum is a breeze although it is odd that the Max 705 requires a new Roomba Home app - which (for some reason) cannot manage the older J7. So, now I have to use the iRobot app to vacuum downstairs, and the separate Roomba Home app to vacuum upstairs. I wish that the new app could control both vacuums. The AI & LiDAR steal the show. Watching the Max 705 navigate is actually impressive. It seems to do a MUCH better job at "understanding" the obstacles in its path and in avoiding them. In the attached photos you can see how the vacuum recognized my dog lying on the floor. Instead of bumping into him, it would stop, adjust, and navigate around him. Very cool and super convenient that it doesn't get trapped or stuck. I also very much appreciate that it moves in long sweeping paths leaving uniform carpet stripes (also seen in the attached photos). I do frequently recommend paying for the versions that come with the extra tank so that the Roomba can empty itself. But, I don't appreciate the extra loud noise that is made when sucking dirt from the Roomba into the tank - to me this means that I can't have the Roomba automatically vacuum at night-time (as the loud noise would disturb my sleeping family). I also don't like that the large tank houses a disposable vacuum bag inside. I wish that the dust simply emptied into a reusable tank, or basket. Having vacuum bags inside just adds yet another perpetual cost that shouldn't be required. Overall, I would not hesitate to recommend this version of the Roomba, and I do believe that the improvements make upgrading worth the additional cost. Weather used on hardwoods, carpets, concrete, linoleum, or rugs - the Roomba vacuums exceptionally well. I can literally feel the difference when walking over the floor. Romba absolutely justifies its price.

Ok, this is my 8th vacuuming robot.  I live in a multi-floor, split level home.  I have 5 specific levels (with one or more steps between levels).  This one I got for my largest area, my great room (Entry, Kitchen, Dining & Living area).  Long ago I got tired of moving robots from one area to another.  This is my second Roomba, it's replacing a Korean brand that is not performing as expected.  All but one of my robots self empty themselves (I won't get another that does not). Roomba for years has continued to improve their robots, both making them more and less expensive; with the 700 series being more upmarket.  For example, their entry level robots only support 2.4G WiFi, this one (and all my others support both 2.4G and 5G). This one also has voice announcements to tell you when it's changing modes of operation (or if it needs assistance).  This is much better than not knowing, or needing to look at their app.  Its base unit is pretty light, but when returning to charge it backs in very slowly.  But it is very easy to bump it and change its position.  As I've done with others, I suggest using some Alien tape on both sides to make it more difficult to move (stays put).  Getting it setup was very easy, but you must create an online Roomba account (with a 12 character password and a verified email to use the iRobot Home App).  Once the account is set up you can use the Home app.  First you set up the WiFi connection, then you map the room where it will be used (you may have to do a firmware update (that takes nearly 30 minutes)). This Roomba uses ClearView (Pro Lidar); it creates a detailed map of your room before you use it the first time.  It then calculates a back and forth pattern to cover your space allowing for furniture and/or other obstacles (I have a lot).  Its mapping is so accurate it rarely touches any large objects, and is very gentle around chair legs and such.  It moves pretty quickly, faster than my other Roomba.  It has four power levels plus a smart mode which allows it to choose/change power levels based on various sensors (vision/dirt detection).  It does a great job of negotiating rugs/carpet and changing power/height as necessary (much better than some of my others). Like most of my others it will grab on to my carpet fringe, at first I thought it was trying to avoid it.  It seemed to recognize it and avoided going directly over it.  However as it departed my oriental rug with fringe its suction pulled on the fringe, and I had to manually release it.  On hardwood and tile floors, its little whiskers help bring in the dust rather than just blowing it around.  But after making two passes around my great room, I saw it over/past two objects several times.  As it changed suction going up/over 2 rugs a piece of onion skin was miss/scooted aside every pass..  I also had a small garlic paper on the floor that never got picked up.  I think its exhaust is disrupting some of its cleaning duties.  On carpet is did a much better job, it did a great job of picking up crumbs under my dining room table, even with all the chair legs it had to work around.  The home button caused it to return home, not in any sort of direct path.  The go home command in the app had it take a much more efficient path (go figure, no big deal).   The plastic dust bin is fairly compact and well designed, it has a disposable vacuum bag (and an extra).  It's easy to remove, replace and dispose of. This, I think, is better than a plastic bin to empty, too much dust escapes.  Compared to other robots I think iRobot has greatly decreased the noise that their robots make.  In its smart mode where suction varies, on hard floors it is very quiet. As it gets to carpets, it sucks louder, but it's a different sucking sound, somewhat muted by the carpet. Dust does stick to the front of the unit, you will want to wipe the front down periodically.  It has dual rotating "cleaners", both with different textures. The combination they use seems to prevent the collection hair (a good design).   For the price this robot is competitive, it's not cheap, but it is full featured. Using it in smart mode it is quiet enough that you can still listen to a TV while it's running (I can't do this with my other Roomba, in a bathroom).  Where I'm planning to use it, it will be more than adequate.  This is where my wife calls me Mr. Obvious....

I have enjoyed using this vacuum thus far. The addition of camera and LIDAR make cleaning extremely efficient which seems to get better the more I use it. Cleaning is simple and the base station makes things easy. Setup: The packaging comes with the vacuum, the base station with two bags, an extra HEPA filter, and documentation. There is a cleaning tool inside the base station. After plugging it in and charging it, you will use the new Roomba Home app to finish setup for Wi-Fi connectivity, mapping and cleaning. If you used to use the old Roomba app, this can be a bit confusing as the old app will detect the vacuum but direct you to the new app. After setup, the vacuum will attempt to map your house. I found the first mapping run to be a bit clumsy with a bit of bumping around. After the mapping is done, and you start your first cleaning the vacuum appears to work much more intelligently for navigation going forward. Cleaning: I was thoroughly impressed with this vacuum's ability to clean. I usually send it out to vacuum on demand, but you can set up a schedule if so desired. As this vacuum has LIDAR and a camera, it will detect objects on the ground and go around them, so you do not need to be so careful with picking things up off the floor (useful if you have kids or pets with toys moving around). The more I have used the vacuum, the better it appears to be at navigating around the house with less bumps and cleaning in an efficient pattern. I have yet to have it get stuck while traveling around the house. As I usually have it clean on demand, I tend to use the smart vacuum feature which lets you choose which rooms to clean and sets an order of cleaning. For example, I might set it up to clean the kitchen, dining room, living room, laundry room then vacuum in that order, but you can easily omit rooms or change the order as needed. Smart cleaning will also allow you to set up the strength of the vacuum cleaning. It will often clean with more suction on carpets and rugs and go to a lighter level on hardwood. You can pre-select the level prior to starting but I found smart cleaning to be ideal. In smart mode, it might be a quick vacuum job, or it might need to recharge halfway through as the robot determines it needs additional time and suction to clean the same area. It does all this on its own automatically. Noise is not too bad unless you are at max suction. Maintenance: The brushes are “anti-tangle” which means they are without hairs/brushes and use rotating rubber. I found that it is very easy to clean with most hair or large fibers going off toward the side allowing for easy removal. The rotating side brush can get hair tangled in it though at times and might need to be cleaned more frequently. Thorough cleaning with a brush and the included knife tool should be done as needed or every 3-6 months. This includes changing out the HEPA filter though you should “tap” it out every few weeks to keep it clear of debris. The included self-emptying station should last up to 75 days of frequent use though I have not been able to test this yet. Obviously, this will change depending on the amount of dirt and how often you vacuum.

We had a Roomba many years ago and what a difference a few years makes. While that old one basically made its way around our home by bumping into things, this one uses vastly improved electronics to map the house ensuring everything that I want vacuumed is. Setup is extremely easy with the Roomba app. The app walks you through adding Roomba to your WiFi network. It then prompts you to map your house. This is very cool. Roomba made its way around my home and drew a sketchy map of my home in the app. I was shocked that it named most of my rooms itself. Still not sure how that worked but appears to have an onboard camera that evidently recognized things in the room to name it, such as a toilet. At that point the map was kind of crude. Later I opened the app to find that the sketch of my home turned into a very impressive map. You then can edit rooms, add furniture and appliances, and setup areas for it to avoid. Odd thing here is that the only two appliances are a refrigerator and a washing machine. Why no other appliances? The entire process is very straightforward. Now to cleaning. The app is used to start a cleaning routine which can be a suggested routine or a customized routine. In the latter, you can choose rooms, areas, furniture (such as a kitchen table), including combinations of all of these. Huge negative is you cannot save these customized routines. You must choose the options every time you start a custom cleaning routine. Roomba is surprisingly effective at cleaning, getting under chairs and in nooks that the old one would never have done. It has pretty decent suction as I have seen it pick up some fairly large pieces of dirt. When finished cleaning it automatically empties into the changeable and disposable bag in the charging hub. The bags are much like a traditional vacuum bag. More to impress. Once you start the cleaning routine, you can watch Roomba’s progress on the app (see pictures). After it goes around the exterior of a room, it starts going back and forth to cover the entire room. After it has completed that, it starts crossing the room in the opposite direction to cover the room twice with every cleaning. Again, see the pictures. While running you can pause or cancel the cleaning from the app. A couple of negatives if you can call them that. The app is only fully supported on iPhone, not on iPad. Not sure about Android devices. The onboard power and home button have limited use. The power buttons only choice is to clean the entire room and pause. The home button just cancels the routine and sends Roomba back to its charging base. You really need to use the phone app for ultimate control of the Roomba. While quite pricey, you really do get what you pay for, and this thing is amazing in addition to being extremely useful.

iRobot Corporation was founded in 1990 by three members of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Artificial Intelligence Lab. iRobot became known for manufacturing Roomba (home vacuum cleaners) & Braava (floor moppers). The first Roomba was introduced in 2002. Their latest product offering is the Roomba Max 705 Vac Robot Vacuum + AutoEmpty Dock. This powerful robotic vacuum features Clearview Pro Lidar, a technology that produces a clear, logical map that is far superior to previous models. Another significant feature is PrecisionVision AI Technology that recognizes & avoids objects, such as cords or pet waste. The included AutoEmpty Dock holds dirt & debris as small as 0.7 microns collected by the vacuum in a large disposable bag, providing up to 75 days of cleaning without the dust or mess. Roomba Max 705 connects to a new Roomba Home App, not the old iRobot App used by previous Roombas. I found the new app to be a breath of fresh air with 4 suction levels, specific room cleaning choices & even multiple cleaning passes where needed. CONCLUSION: Roomba Max 705 is a dramatic improvement over all other robotic vacuums - and I have tried many. It is quieter, yet has the most suction. Combined with its intelligent navigation system, this is a serious cleaning tool that earns my highest recommendation.

The Robot - Roomba Max 705 with Dock is a formidable offering in the vacuum/robot space. Setting up the Max 705 completed much more quickly than what I've experienced on our prior Roomba models. Previously, having to restart the entire process was commonplace due to unknown glitching- but on this unit (with the new mobile App, which is required btw...), the unit was recognized, initialized on our home network and updated all in the first go! Room mapping was also much quicker than what we've previously experienced and looks to be way more precise. Prior to receiving the Max 705, we had been using the j9 with varying results and it will form the basis of my comparisons, for this entire review. To be clear, we were pretty happy with the j9's performance! The Max 705 is, for all intents & purposes, roughly the same size as the j9 - just a few millimeters larger in diameter. More notably, is that the docking/collection station is smaller than that which comes with the j9 and there is no floor plate for the robot to drive up onto. The Max 705 also reaches taller because of the Lidar tower, but for us, the robot still clears all the usual furniture without problems. I've included photos to show the differences in appearance/size for those coming from a j9 platform. The mobile app is called Roomba Home and it does need further polish & evolution, but the 2D vs 3D map renditions is a very cool feature and generally speaking, the app works like you'd expect. Be aware though, if you have older Roomba vacs in use throughout your household, you'll need to keep using the old iRobot mobile app to keep things flowing; Roomba Home doesn't support the j9 and I think it's a safe bet, none of the older, lower-tiered models either. Roomba Home also lets the user build cleaning routines based upon the "detected" rooms identified during the mapping process. It's a little wonky how they have that set up but it does work. Maybe in the future, the app engineers will make this process more obvious & intuitive. The Max also can do spot cleaning but we're not a huge fan of that feature. Personal preference. Additionally, there are four cleaning "strengths"; Smart, Light, Normal & Deep. Suffice it to say, Smart mode will vary in time to complete depending on how dirty certain areas are during the run. Overall, all 4 cleaning modes do a good job and because of the apparent, better mapping when first setting up the system - cleaning duration times seem noticeably shorter than those on the j9 and I attribute this to far less meandering/wandering of the robot across the floor. In multiple cleaning runs, the Max 705 never became stuck and this is a good thing. But on two occasions, both having to do with rugs, the edge brush became dislodged from the spindle that drives it and this is why I demoted the review two whole stars. With the multiple Roomba systems we've owned over the years, we've never had an incident with that brush falling off. Perhaps this particular brush is defective. No idea. It feels like it is snapping in tight. Lastly, I needed to cover the status LED on the base station tower with some tape because it is outrageously bright and ON all-the-time. Vs. the j9, this seems like an oversight. On the j9, the status ring on top of the actual robot can be programmed via the mobile app to go completely Dark. The Max 705 doesn't currently offer that level of control inside the app, so be aware where you plan on setting up the system because you are going to get a rather unexpected, bright, night light. P.S. Another facet of the Max 705 is that the camera eye faces outward when docked vs. the j9, where the camera faces the docking station when parked. Make of that what you will... All-in-all, the Max 705 is a good product suffering from some growing pains - that should be worked out/improved given time: Pros: Quicker setup and more precise mapping. The 3D map visuals on the mobile app are quite impressive. Markedly quieter in operation, but by how much is totally subjective and vs. what dependent? Compared to our j9, it's noticeably much quieter in it's highest mode - except for the ending, emptying out stage. The robot seems deliberate & careful around furniture & obstacles; never repeatedly bumping into anything. The base station is smaller overall and takes up a much smaller footprint on the floor. Cons: Our unit appears prone to dropping the spinning edge brush, especially when maneuvering around rugs. The status light, located low on the base station tower is unnecessarily bright, with no Night Time control. The engineers should work on that!

I bought two of these. They work very well. I have a dog who sheds a lot, and this Roomba picks up the hair very well on my carpeted and hardwood floors. The self emptying is a fantastic feature. I have not had any issues with the mapping or cleaning, it does what it’s supposed to do. I really like that it goes around the room and a counterclockwise motion first so the side brush can sweep around the edges and corners and then it does its routine. The app is very simple to use too and navigate through features. The spot cleaner is a very nice feature to have and it works very well as my dog has made messes with her food and I have done spot cleans with that and it picks up every bit of it.