The Roomba 890 is iRobot’s latest offering. It is the first and, so far, the only Series 800 robot vacuum that you can connect to your Wi-Fi network, allowing you to remote control the unit through a smartphone app.
Is it worth buying?
Design
The Roomba 890 does not really innovate and deviate from the designs of the earlier Roomba models. It is still futuristic-looking and still follows the round design. The Roomba 890 also has the same dimensions as the other Roombas. It measures 13.9 inches in diameter and has a height of 3.6 inches.
Features
The Roomba 980’s notable features include:
iAdapt navigation
Roomba 890 uses a range of sensors to find its way around the room. These sensors allow your Roomba 890 to avoid obstacles, go under furniture with enough clearance, and go around those without. These sensors also prevent the robot vacuum from bumping into walls or falling off stairs.
There are also sensors that help the 890 detect the dirtier areas of your floor, allowing it to give these areas the more thorough cleaning job they need. iAdapt further uses a cleaning pattern that ensures comprehensive clean, leaving only a few or no areas uncleaned!
AeroForce 3-Stage Cleaning System
The Roomba 890 features a three-stage cleaning system that involves agitation, extraction, and suction of pet hair, debris and dirt. This is made possible by:
- The debris extractor. The debris extractor is brushless, so while it grabs dog hair, dirt and debris off the floor, it does not get tangled as often as brushes do.
- The side brushes. The side brushes take care of the pet hair, dust and dirt on wall edges, as well as push the debris under the robot vacuum where it could be suctioned up.
- The Gen 2 motor. The Gen 2 motor gives the Roomba 890 five times the air power of the motor you see on earlier Roombas, particularly the Series 600 and Series 700 robots.
The Gen 2 motor and debris extractor ensure better cleaning performance while also lessening the robot vacuum’s need for maintenance.
WiFi support
Wi-Fi support came only recently for Roombas, and there are only four models that have this feature. There’s the higher-end Roomba 960 and 980, and there’s the budget option, Roomba 690.
The Roomba 890 also has this feature and it is seen as the perfect model to go for if you want to enjoy great functionalities plus connectivity without spending too much. WiFi support for the 890 means being able to control the robot vacuum using the Home mobile app wherever you are.
You can do some cleaning even if you are on vacation halfway around the world! With the mobile app, you can also set up cleaning schedules and let the Roomba 890 clean your floors by itself without having to prompt it every time.
Alexa compatibility
If you have an Amazon Echo, Amazon Dot, or an Amazon Echo Show and any other Alexa-powered device, you can use voice commands to tell your Roomba 890 to start cleaning or to go back to its charging station to recharge, among other things.
Dual mode virtual wall barrier
No products found.The Roomba 890 comes with one dual-mode virtual wall barrier, which is a navigation control device that pulses an infrared beam the 890 will not cross.
This effectively keeps the Roomba from going out of the room or from getting into an area you do not want it to go to, such as your bathroom. It can also protect certain areas in the room it is cleaning, like the area where your dog’s food bowl is.
Other features
The Roomba 890 tells you when it is time to empty the dust bin. Also, the Roomba 890 can find its charging dock once the battery runs low and it does offer spot cleaning. It uses a lithium ion battery and features a carrying handle for easy transport from room to room.
What you would love about the Roomba 890
iRobot’s Series 800 robots were the company’s flagship devices for a couple of years, and the 890 is arguably the best Series 800 robot available now.
What does this mean? Even without the fancy features, the Roomba 890 delivers an efficient clean for your floors. The Roomba 890 is even better at cleaning your floors than other robot vacuums.
The 890’s lower price, Wi-Fi connectivity, and ability to be controlled using voice commands are no doubt a bonus. You finally have a capable cleaning robot that you can control from anywhere in the world.
You would love how there are several ways for you to interact with your Roomba 890. You can start, stop, or pause cleaning using the mobile app. You can do the same things using the buttons on the robot vacuum itself.
Furthermore, you could just schedule the cleaning sessions, or just tell Alexa to start cleaning whenever you feel like it.
What could be better
No products found.While iAdapt navigation is enough for the Roomba 890 to find its way around, it does not have the visual localization technology that the Roomba 900 series robots have. This technology literally allows your Roomba to “see” your floor and map it out. This makes way for an even smarter mapping and navigation.
Moreover, if you have carpeted floors, you should know that the Roomba 890 gives these a thorough cleaning. But you might want to get the Roomba 980 with the carpet boost feature. (Read my full comparison here!)
The carpet boost increases the Roomba 980’s power once it detects that the vacuum is on a rug or a carpet. That’s 10 times more suction power. The carpet boost feature also turns itself off when the Roomba 980 gets to hardwood or tile floors to help save battery.
Reviews
“I have 2 dogs who shed a lot. If you schedule this vacuum to regularly it does a fantastic job of keeping the house without too much intervention. I did have it clog a lot initially after going under a bed and getting up a ton of from the . Which truly speaks as a testament of how great the suction is on this thing. For this to be hassle-free and used as intended you really really need to do a deep before firing this up for the first or else you will be emptying the bin frequently. under the bed was near impossible for me so I didn’t mind emptying the dust bin frequently in order to reduce that had been living in my . On a day to day basis I am truly amazed of how powerful and easy this unit is to use. Since initially I have yet to break out the old Hoover. It even gets in troubled corner spots which i thought be left to me. If you’re considering buying this, definitely do it!” Matthew Marchese, Amazon
“I tried a cheap knock off first and it was terrible. After reading reviews, I decided to try this . I wanted a robot that would vacuum between my daily vacuum as we have dogs, a cat and kids. This does exactly what I wanted it to do, I schedule it to vacuum during the day after everyone has left. It does exactly what I need and even vacuums the area rugs without problems. The couple of times it has had a full or has gotten stuck, it sends me a message letting me know so I can shut it off, tell it to return to its or if I’m home go take care of it. If I don’t get the message, it will shut itself off so it doesn’t burn out the motor. So far I love it!” D.K, Amazon
How does the Roomba 890 compare to other robotic vacuums? Check out our top guide here!
Our WiFi is very, very weak. Must the roomba 890 have WiFi
In order to work?
Not required, just convenient!