Look at the current crop of robot vacuums, and you will see that they have one thing in common: a circular shape that makes them look like they are giant hockey pucks cleaning your floors. The Neato Botvac D series, however, have always used their now familiar D-shape.
The company has a lot of new robot vacuums out there. In fact, they have just plugged the holes on the Botvac D Connected series, and now offer a robot for every need, budget, and personality. Comparing the Neato Botvac D4 and D7 Connected will help you know more about these devices and help you choose which one to buy.
Neato Botvac D7 Connected
Measuring 13.2 by 12.6 by 3.9 inches, the Neato Botvac D7 Connected has the familiar D shape that allows it to get closer to walls and edges. The low profile of this robot vacuum enables it to go under furniture. Meanwhile, with three flat sides, Neato has been able to use a broader brush.
The Neato Botvac D7 Connected uses an 11-inch main brush that gives it a broad cleaning path. This brush is indeed a lot wider than the brushes you’d find in round robot vacuums.
Features of the Neato Botvac D7 Connected
The Neato Botvac D7 Connected is currently the flagship robot vacuum that boasts the company’s latest technologies and the best features.
LaserSmart navigation
The Neato Botvac D7 Connected uses lasers to create a map of your floors. The robot vacuum will then refer to this map to navigate around your rooms. Because it can “see” your floors, the Botvac D7 can give your rooms a more comprehensive cleaning.
No-Go virtual lines
The map also allows you to use No-Go Lines to block the robot from either entering or leaving a certain area. Using the map on your mobile app, you can draw the No-Go lines. No more laying down unsightly tapes or using navigational control devices to make sure that your Botvac D7 cleans where you want it to and avoid the areas you do not like it to enter. However, if you are more comfortable with laying down tapes, Neato has included Boundary Markers in the box.
This feature is handy for situations like having your pet’s food bowls in the room where the robot vacuum is cleaning. You can draw a No-Go Line around the food bowl to tell your robot vacuum to avoid it. It can also help you keep the Botvac D7 from going under furniture with low clearance so that it does not get stuck.
Zone cleaning
The Botvac D7 also has the zone cleaning mode that tells it to clean only the specific areas that you want. All you need to do is to create a zone and have the robot vacuum clean there. For instance, if you spill something in the living room, you can just call up the existing floor map that is saved on your app and create a zone where the spill is.
This feature will allow you to ensure that the area is especially clean. You can also schedule zone cleaning, such as giving the doorway an extra clean after everybody has left the house.
Three-step cleaning system
The Neato Botvac D7 Connected uses a spiral combo brush, a side brush, and a powerful vacuum that work together to clean your floors. The brushes will loosen up and sweep the dirt and dust, and the vacuum suction will send all these into the sizeable 24-ounce dustbin.
This robot vacuum has an ultra-performance filter that keeps all the collected dust and dirt in the trash bin, rather than allow them to circulate back into the air you breathe.
Cleaning modes
Several cleaning modes allow you to specify how the robot vacuum will do its job. For instance, spot cleaning will tell the Neato Botvac D7 Connected to stay in a small area. This mode is excellent for taking care of spills. It also has an eco mode that allows the robot vacuum to clean quietly and for a longer time. You can also have it clean on a schedule, or have it go over the entire house.
Furthermore, you have the turbo mode. Turning the turbo mode on will tell your robot vacuum to boost the suction, allowing it to pick up the larger or heavier debris, or pet hair.
Extra care navigation
If you own some pieces of expensive furniture or decor that you do not want to be damaged, you can ask the Botvac D7 to be extra careful around them. You can invoke the extra care navigation feature, which tells the robot vacuum to be very careful not to bump into anything.
Connectivity
The Neato Botvac D7 Connected can connect to your Wi-Fi network. You can download the companion mobile app to operate the robot vacuum and interact with its maps. You can also use the mobile app to schedule cleaning sessions or tweak the settings.
This robot vacuum also works with voice commands via Google Home or Amazon Echo. You can also control it from your Apple Watch. What’s more, it is compatible with the Neato Chatbot, which means that you can start the robot vacuum using Facebook.
Battery life
The Neato Botvac D7 Connected uses a lithium-ion battery that delivers up to two hours of operation. The long battery life makes the Botvac D7 ideal even for bigger houses. The battery needs around 150 minutes to recharge. However, you can use the quick boost charging feature that allows the robot vacuum to get just enough battery juice to complete cleaning your room.
For instance, if the Neato Botvac D7 Connected runs low on battery and it has only cleaned around three-fourths of the room, it will go back to the charging dock and recharge just enough to finish the remaining fourth of the room, instead of waiting for the battery to become fully charged.
Ratings and Reviews
TechRadar gives this robot vacuum an almost perfect 4.5 stars out of 5.0. They like how the robot vacuum allows you to set up No-Go Lines easily and right from the app. They also praise the stylish design on the Botvac D7 Connected, as well as its stellar cleaning performance. When you clean with this robot vacuum, it will leave your floors spotless.
However, some things can be better. TechRadar thinks that prices for this robot vacuum should be more affordable. Currently, this robot vacuum sells for around $800.
On Amazon, the Neato Botvac D7 Connected gets an average rating of 3.7 stars out of 5.0 from more than 370 customers. The robot vacuum gets the Amazon Choice badge as well.
Neato Botvac D4 Connected
The Neato Botvac D4 Connected fills in the blanks between the previous Botvac D3 and Botvac D5 Connected. The Neato Botvac D3 Connected is currently the entry-level model in the company’s line up, while the Botvac D5 used to be the company’s flagship model.
Priced at around $300 lower than the Botvac D7, the Botvac D4 has some features missing. Before delving into that, let us look at the features that the Neato Botvac D4share with D7.
Similarities Between the Neato Botvac D4 Connected and the Neato Botvac D7 Connected
The Botvac D4 and the Botvac D7 Connected both use the same LaserSmart mapping technology that enables the robot vacuums to have No-Go Lines and cleaning maps on the app. They also have the same shape and dimensions.
Both of these models connect to your Wi-Fi network, giving you the opportunity to control your robot vacuum using the companion mobile app. You can also control both using Amazon Echo or Google Home. You can even set up IFTTT recipes and use the Neato Chatbot on Facebook, something that other robot vacuums do not have.
Speaking of the mobile apps, both the Neato Botvac D4 Connected and the Botvac D7 Connected give you coverage maps to let you see where the robot vacuum has cleaned. These maps give you a visual confirmation that the robot did clean every inch of your floor.
What’s more, the mobile app also gives you a complete history of your cleaning sessions, with some pretty nifty statistics. Both models can also recharge themselves automatically and then resume cleaning after the battery is full. Both offer quick boost charging, too.
Differences Between the Neato Botvac D4 Connected and the Neato Botvac D7 Connected
As you can see, these two robot vacuums share a lot of the main functionalities and features. However, the Neato Botvac D7 Connected is around $300 more expensive than the Botvac D4. What features does the Botvac D7 have that the Neato Botvac D4 Connected does not? And are these differences worth the extra money?
Filter
The Neato Botvac D7 Connected uses an ultra-performance filter to help keep dirt and dust inside the dustbin. The Botvac D4 uses a high performance filter, which might let more dust and dirt recirculate into the air than the D7’s.
Main brush
While both the Neato Botvac D4 Connected and the Botvac D7 Connected use one side brush, they use a different main brush. The Botvac D4 has a combo brush, while the Botvac D7 has a spiral combo brush. What’s the difference?
The spiral combo brush is ideal for sweeping up pet hair and almost any kind of dirt and debris. This brush makes less noise than other brushes and can work with different floor types. It costs $39.99.
Meanwhile, the combo brush has the same width as the spiral combo brush. It is also great for different types of floor, and also works for those with a lot of pet hair on the floor. While Neato markets both brushes the same way, the combo brush is a slight downgrade. The spiral version still cleans your floors more thoroughly.
Dual-band connectivity
The Botvac D7 Connected can connect to both 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz frequencies. If you own a lot of connected devices connecting to your Wi-Fi, you can use the 5.0 GHz because it is less crowded and less susceptible to interference.
You do not have that option with the Botvac D4, which only connects to 2.4 GHz frequencies on your Wi-Fi network.
Multiple floor plans
While both the D4 and D7 Connected can save your floor plan, the more expensive robot vacuum can save numerous floor plans.
Zone cleaning
The Neato Botvac D4 Connected does not offer the zone cleaning feature that the D7 has.
Manual drive
You can manually direct the Neato Botvac D7 Connected to where you want it to go. For instance, you might see a spot that is very dirty on your floor. You can just use the mobile app to direct the robot vacuum to go to this spot. The Botvac D4 Connected does not have this feature.
Find Me
If you lose your Neato Botvac D7 Connected, you can get your mobile phone and use the Find Me feature.  This feature will show you where your robot vacuum is.  The Find Me feature is especially helpful if your Neato Botvac D7 is stuck somewhere and you have no idea where it is.
Battery life
The Neato Botvac D4 Connected has a shorter run time at only 75 minutes, compared to the D7’s 120 minutes. However, it takes longer to charge the D7. More specifically, it takes up to 150 minutes to fully recharge the D7’s battery compared to only 100 minutes for the D4.
The good news is that both models offer quick boost charging that allows the robots to calculate the amount of juice needed to finish a job, instead of going for a full recharge.
Side-by-side Comparison: Neato Botvac D4 Connected and Neato Botvac D7 Connected
Choosing between these two robot vacuums? Here is an easy way to see which features are common to both and which are not.
| Model | Botvac D4 Connected | Botvac D7 Connected |
| Price | $499.00 (Check out the latest price here!) |
$799.99Â (Check out the latest price here!) |
| Dimensions (inches)Â | 13.2 by 12.6 by 3.9Â | 13.2 by 12.6 by 3.9Â |
| Weight (ounces)Â | 117.9Â | 120.0Â |
| LaserSmart™ mapping & navigation | Yes | Yes |
| D-Shape design | Yes | Yes |
| Filter type | High Performance | Ultra Performance |
| Brush type | Combo Brush | Spiral Combo Brush |
| Side brush | Yes | Yes |
| Wi-Fi Connectivity | 2.4 GHz | 2.4 GHz + 5 GHz |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes |
| Apple Watch | Yes | Yes |
| Amazon Echo | Yes | Yes |
| Google Home | Yes | Yes |
| Neato Chatbot | Yes | Yes |
| IFTTT | Yes | Yes |
| Neato App | Yes | Yes |
| Cleaning summary with coverage maps | Yes | Yes |
| Cleaning history & statistics | Yes | Yes |
| No-Go Lines | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple floor plans | No | Yes |
| Zone cleaning | No | Yes |
| Eco/Turbo cleaning modes | Yes | Yes |
| Spot clean | Yes | Yes |
| Extra care navigation | Yes | Yes |
| Manual drive remote control | No | Yes |
| Find me | No | Yes |
| Coverage and Charging | Yes | Yes |
| Auto-Recharge & Resume / Self Charging | Yes | Yes |
| Maximum runtime per battery (minutes)Â | 75Â | 120Â |
| Charging time (minutes)Â | 100Â | 150Â |
| Quick boost charging | Yes | Yes |
Neato Botvac D7 Connected vs. Neato Botvac D4 Connected: Which One Should You Buy?
Neato is known to produce excellent robot vacuums. You are sure to love how its robot vacuums clean and all the features that they offer.
However, there is a certain kind of allure in owning a company’s flagship product: the Neato Botvac D7 Connected. It has all the latest technologies that the company offers.
The catch? It comes with a $800 price tag that not too many people would want to shell out. If you are one of them, then you can consider getting the more affordable Neato Botvac D4 Connected. You can expect to miss out on some features, but this robot vacuum can still deliver an excellent cleaning for your floors. The Botvac D4 might also be more ideal if you have a smaller house or apartment.
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