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iRobot has a robot vacuum for everyone. The company has the top-of-the-line Roomba i7+ that lets you forget about your floors for a month or so. You also have the budget-friendly Series 600 robots that can deliver an excellent clean even with the affordable price tags. Then you have the in-betweens such as the Roomba e5 and Roomba 890.
The Roomba e5 and the Roomba 890 are the company’s mid-range models that offer a better cleaning than the Series 600 devices yet sell for a more affordable price than the Series 900 models. Which one of the two is better?
Contents (Jump to)
Roomba e5
The Roomba e5 is one of the newest models from iRobot. This robot vacuum retains some of the company’s patented technologies and mixes them with new features. What should you expect from the Roomba e5? (Read my full review here!)
Design
The Roomba e5 has the familiar round shape that you see on other robot vacuums. It measures 13.3 by 13.3 by 3.6 inches and weighs 115.2 ounces. With an all-black color scheme, this elegant-looking robot vacuum features the large CLEAN button at the center of the device, with two smaller buttons at each side.
Three-Stage Cleaning
The Roomba e5 robot vacuum uses dual multi-surface rubber brushes and a side brush to loosen up and then sweep dirt off your floors. These brushes will put debris into the vacuum’s path, allowing the powerful suction to send it all into the dust bin. With these three elements, the Roomba e5 becomes an effective cleaner that can make your floors spotless without you lifting a finger.
Furthermore, the Roomba e5 uses a high-efficiency filter to keep all the dirt inside the bin, making sure that these do not go back into the air that you breathe. This feature makes the e5 a godsend for people who suffer from allergies or asthma.
The Roomba e5 uses iRobot’s iAdapt navigation system, which is equipped with sensors to help the robot vacuum find its way around your floors. These sensors will prevent your robot vacuum from bumping into things and falling down stairs or steps. This, in turn, ensures a comprehensive cleaning of your floors. It also has the dirt detect technology that finds the dirtiest parts of your room. This feature enables the robot vacuum to clean longer in places where it is needed most.
Smart Features
The Roomba e5 connects to your Wi-Fi network, allowing you to use a companion mobile app to operate the robot or to set up schedules. The Wi-Fi connectivity also means that you get another way to interact with your robot. If you have either Google Home or Amazon Alexa smart speakers at home, you can use these to tell your robot to start or stop cleaning.
Ideal for Pets
iRobot markets the Roomba e5 for pet owners. The company claims that this robot vacuum’s three-stage cleaning system will get rid of the pet hair lying around your floor, along with the dust and allergens that your pet brings into the house. The high-efficiency filter is also excellent at keeping pet dander and other allergens out of the air you breathe.
Lithium-Ion Battery
The Roomba e5 uses a lithium-ion battery that delivers a maximum runtime of 90 minutes on a single charge. The robot vacuum will keep on cleaning until it runs out of battery or finishes the job. If it does run out of battery, the robot vacuum will find its way back to the charging dock.
Pricing for the Roomba e5
The Roomba e5 is currently sold on the company’s website. However, iRobot always holds a sale, and this can bring the price down by a certain amount.
Ratings and Reviews
The Roomba e5 gets an average rating of 4.5 stars out of 5.0 on Amazon. Verified users of this robot vacuum praise it for being able to clean thoroughly. Even with several pets in the house, the Roomba e5 can leave the floors really clean. People also like how helpful and knowledgeable the company’s customer service representatives are.
On iRobot’s online store, this robot vacuum gets a similarly high 4.5 stars out 5.0 rating from 125 reviewers, with nine out of 10 users saying that they will recommend this model to friends and family. People are praising the Roomba e5 for its effective cleaning, ease of use, and stress-free operations. They also like how it cleans under their furniture, as well as its long runtimes.
However, there are complaints that the robot has a small dustbin, which means that it needs more cleaning and more maintenance. Some reviewers also warn interested buyers about the robot vacuum missing spots, getting choked up on pet hair and other debris, and being quite noisy. Some users say that this robot vacuum scares their pets.
Roomba 890
If the Roomba e5 is one of the latest devices from iRobot, the Roomba 890 (read my full review here!) is older and is no longer available on the company’s online store. The Roomba 890 is a two-year-old product that iRobot introduced to cater to those who wanted the Series 900 robot’s Wi-Fi connectivity without the hefty price tag. For quite some time, the Roomba 890 was an excellent alternative to the company’s high-end Roomba 980 and 960 models.
What can you expect from the Roomba 890?
The Roomba 890 is also a puck-shaped robot vacuum that measures 13.9 by 13.9 by 3.6 inches and weighs 134.4 ounces. The Roomba 890 has the same shape as the Roomba e5, but it uses a black and brown color scheme.
Three-stage cleaning system
The Roomba 890 uses debris extractors as its main brush. These rubber brushes would help rid your floors of the dust and dirt while minimizing the chance of pet and human hair choking it. Because it does not have brush bristles, the debris extractor is safe from tangles. Along with the side brush and the powerful suction, the Roomba 890 can clean and sweep your floors in no time. The Roomba 890 also uses a high-efficiency filter to trap the dirt and dust inside the trash bin.
Wi-Fi connectivity
The Roomba 890 can also connect to your Wi-Fi network, which allows you to start, pause, or resume cleaning via the mobile app, even when you are not home. You can also use voice commands to operate the robot.
Other features
The Roomba 890 shares some of the Roomba e5’s important functionalities, such as the navigation technology and the dirt detect feature, among several other features.
Pricing for the Roomba 890
When the Roomba 890 was first launched, it was the cheaper alternative to both the Roomba 980 and the Roomba 960. Today, however, this robot vacuum is no longer available on the iRobot website. But you can still get it from other online retailers such as Amazon, where it sells for a certain range of prices.
Ratings and Reviews
The Roomba 890 has an average rating of 3.9 stars out of 5.0 on Amazon. Verified users love the Roomba 890’s efficient cleaning while making sure that pairing with your Wi-Fi network is hassle-free. The Roomba 890 can pick up a lot of dust and debris and can leave your floors really clean. However, some people complain that it could have been better.
For instance, the Roomba 890 works only for an hour, and then when the battery runs out, it goes back to its charging dock and stays there for the rest of the day. It can also be loud enough to scar pets, and it can be very slow in finishing the cleaning job.
On the company’s website, the Roomba 890 also gets a rating of 3.9 stars out of 5.0. People love how easy it is to use. They also love the efficient clean that it offers and the fact that it even cleans under furniture. However, they do not like it that the robot vacuum clogs easily and can miss some spots.
Comparing the Roomba e5 and the Roomba 890
The Roomba e5 and Roomba 890 have a lot of things in common. Both robot vacuums cost less than an amount, with the older Roomba 890 having a slightly more expensive price tag. When it comes to dimensions, the Roomba 890 is bigger than the Roomba e5. This means that the Roomba e5 can get into tighter corners than the 890, but the 890 can cover more ground in one pass. Both robot vacuums have a height of 3.6 inches, allowing them to go under furniture and to clean underneath.
Despite the differences in dimensions, both the Roomba 890 and Roomba e5 use the same three-stage cleaning system, vacuuming technology, and navigation. With iAdapt sensors and AeroForce technology, both robot vacuums are able to deliver the same level of cleaning for your floors. These robots can easily clean both carpeted and hardwood floors.
Wi-Fi connectivity
The Roomba e5 and the Roomba 890 deliver the same connected features in that they can both connect to your Wi-Fi network, enabling you to control these robots via the mobile app or by using voice commands. They also have the same features that you can activate from the mobile app, like scheduled cleaning runs. You cannot set customized cleaning preference, see coverage maps, and get cleaning reports with either the Roomba e5 or Roomba 890.
Battery
The Roomba 890 and Roomba e5 can both find their way back to the charging dock when their lithium-ion battery runs low. However, the Roomba e5 delivers a longer runtime at 90 minutes, while the Roomba 890 can only clean for a maximum of 60 minutes.
Look elsewhere if…
iRobot has been coming up with great technologies for its robot vacuums, and they now have a model that can empty out its own trash bin, or that allows you to set up cleaning schedules by room. If you are looking for these top-of-the-line features, then the Roomba 890 and Roomba e5 are not what you are looking for as they do not offer these features.
Instead, go for the Roomba i7+, whose charging base acts as a second vacuum to clean out the robot’s trash bin. The Roomba 890 and e5 are mid-range robot vacuums and they are not compatible with the Roomba i7+’s charging dock.
These robots also cannot scan your floors to create maps that it will use for navigation. And if you have carpets, you will have to choose another model with the carpet boost feature, like the Roomba 980, i7 and i7+.
Also, these robot vacuums are great for smaller house or apartments because the Roomba e5 and the Roomba 890 do not resume cleaning after recharging. If you have a large house, you cannot expect the Roomba 890 or the e5 to clean it all. After an hour or so, the robot vacuum will just go back to its charging dock without finishing the job. Unless you manually tell it to start cleaning again, these robot vacuums will stay on their dock.
A side-by-side comparison of the Roomba 890 and Roomba e5
To make it easier for you to choose, here is a side-by-side comparison table detailing the features of both Roomba 890 and Roomba e5.
| Model | Roomba e5 |
Roomba 890 |
| Price | (Check out the latest price here!) |
(Check out the latest price here!) |
| Dimensions (inches) | 13.3 x 13.3 x 3.6 | 13.9 x 13.9 x 3.6 |
| Weight (ounces) | 115.2 | 134.4 |
| 3-Stage cleaning system | Yes | Yes |
| Cleans carpeted floors | Yes | Yes |
| Cleans hardwood floors | Yes | Yes |
| Battery run times (minutes) | 90 | 60 |
| Auto recharge | Yes | Yes |
| Auto resumes | No | No |
| Dirt Detect | Yes | Yes |
| Navigation system | iAdapt | iAdapt |
| Vacuuming technology | AeroForce | AeroForce |
| Aeroforce filter | Yes | Yes |
| Side brush | Yes | Yes |
| Wi-Fi connectivity | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes |
| Wroks with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant | Yes | Yes |
| Dual mode virtual wall barriers | Yes | Yes |
| Dual multi-surface rubber brushes | Yes | No |
| Strong suction | Yes | Yes |
| Ideal for pet hair | Yes | Yes |
| High efficiency filter | Yes | Yes |
| Washable dustbin | Yes | No |
| Cleaning reports | No | No |
| Coverage maps included in the cleaning report | No | No |
| Schedule cleaning by room | No | No |
| Smart mapping | No | No |
Final recommendations: The Roomba e5 vs. the Roomba 890
There is not much difference between the Roomba e5 and the Roomba 890. They both use the same cleaning system, vacuuming, and navigation technologies. They even have the same Wi-Fi connectivity and other features. Both are also not ideal for large homes.
However, there are minor differences between these two that can help you decide which one to go for. What are these? For one, the Roomba e5 offers you a washable dustbin, a feature that you can find on the company’s top products, the Roomba i7+ and the Roomba i7. The Roomba e5 also has a longer runtime, giving you 30 minutes more than the 890. It also uses the same brush used by the currently available Roombas, while the Roomba 890 uses the debris extractor.
It is hard to root for the Roomba 890 when the company has already phased it out. Even with all the updates, the 890 is still a two-year-old device. The Roomba e5, meanwhile, is still supported. What’s more, you can get the newer Roomba e5 at lower prices. The Roomba 890’s lowest price on Amazon is more than the suggested retail price of the e5. You can save more if you chance upon a price slash sale on iRobot’s online store, which happens often.
Further read:
Patrick Sinclair is a geek; make no mistake about that. He runs All Home Robotics in his spare time so he doesn’t have to think about his depressing cubicle and it gives him an excuse to buy expensive gadgets to review!
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