About the iRobot Roomba j9+ robot vacuum
Credit:
Reviewed / Jonathan Chan
The iRobot j9+ has a camera that allows it to navigate and avoid obstacles.
- Weight: 9 pounds
- Dimensions: 13.7” x 3.4” (W x H)
- Extras parts: 1 filter, 1 dirt disposal bag
- User manual
The round iRobot Roomba j9+ is black and gold colored. It comes with a lithium ion battery, an automatic base unit for dirt disposal, an extra high efficiency filter, a dirt disposal bag and a line cord.
The Roomba j9+ has an automated Carpet Boost feature that allows it to adjust its suction on the fly as it roams around your home. It is fitted with a forward-facing camera powered by object recognition. Through a process of machine learning, this Roomba is capable of seeing and avoiding common hazards like power cables and pet accidents.
The iRobot Roomba j9+ also has a charging base that automatically suctions out dirt from the robot’s dust bin and places it in a self-sealing bag.
What we like
It offers users superior floor cleaning
We test robot vacuums on a specialized obstacle course with simulated furniture legs, shelves, and carpets. The j9+ is a crumb-seeking champion. On average, it picks up around 9.45 grams of our testing debris per run. That puts it in the top 10% of all the robot vacuums we’ve tested.
It also did well on our pet hair test, suctioning up long Bernese mountain dog hair without any signs of it clogging or getting tangled.
We also like the fact that the j9+ automatically adjusts its suction when it detects carpet versus bare floors. As it roams your home, the vacuum is making notes of the areas where it finds the biggest messes and gives those areas multiple passes.
This kind of cleaning ability paired with learning is what sets iRobot’s Roomba j9+ above its competitors—it has the ability to go back and make sure rooms are clean.
Navigation is crazy advanced
The iRobot Roomba j9+ has a forward-facing camera and a variety of other sensors to help it navigate your home. The camera allows the Roomba to recognize obstacles that it should avoid entirely and features of the room it should try to navigate through.
For example, the j9+ knows to avoid headphone cables, but it’ll roll right up and against some desk legs.
The j9+ also comes with P.O.O.P—the Pet Owners Official Promise. iRobot is so confident that its j series of robots will avoid pet accidents that the company has stated it will replace your j9+ if it rolls through poop within the first year after purchase.
We’ve tested the j series’ ability to avoid pet poop thoroughly, and we think this confidence is well founded.
The app offers human-centric smart features
Credit:
Reviewed / Jonathan Chan
The iRobot OS app has plenty of useful features like the Careful Driving mode.
Apps for robot vacuums are all the rage. However, app developers sometimes forget that what they’re creating is meant to be used by actual people.
The j9+ uses the iRobot OS smart platform, and it clearly hasn’t lost sight of the households it’s made for. Everything within the app is clearly labeled and explained, so anyone can easily pick it up and use it intuitively.
We also unearthed a few really good ideas we haven’t seen any other brands do.
For example, the Drive Carefully option allows you to set the j9+ to avoid bumping into anything when you start a new cleaning job. You won’t get as robust a clean, but in exchange, you won’t have to worry about your cat’s water bowl spilling, antique furniture getting scuffed, or toppling a house of cards your husband and his friends have been working on for nine hours.
What we don’t like
This Roomba can be startlingly loud
We should start off by saying that you can set the Roomba j9+ to self-empty when you’re not around. However, if you are in the same room as your dock when the scheduled empty kicks off, you will be startled by how loud it can be—68 dBA by our measurements. This level of noise is approximately the same as a full-sized upright vacuum or a blender.
The j9+ is also fairly loud when you set it to its highest suction setting. We wouldn’t say it’s disturbingly loud—like you can still watch a movie with it cleaning—but you’ll know it’s there.
We want a wooden tray!
Credit:
Reviewed / Jonathan Chan
It’d be nice if the j9+ had the same storage tray as the Combo j9+.
During its launch announcement for the Roomba j9+, iRobot also unveiled a brand-new vacuum-mop, the Roomba Combo j9+. The Combo’s charging dock has a pretty wooden tray on top of it, where you can store things like your TV remote, a potted plant, or a Tom Brady bobblehead. Unfortunately, the Roomba j9+ vacuum-only base lacks this tray, and we think it’s a shame.
The j9+ still looks like the previous j7+ model—iRobot did not change up the look at all. We think that adding the wood tray would have brought this model’s aesthetics up a notch, and truly, it’s a simple addition.
What owners are saying
At the time of this review, the iRobot j9+ has been on the market for less than one month. No consumer reviews are posted on iRobot’s site or Amazon at this time. We will update this section in months to come.
Warranty
iRobot offers a 1-year limited manufacturer’s warranty on all its robot vacuums (including the base/charging dock), with an extended 3-year time period for some promotional timeframes.
Should you buy the iRobot Roomba j9+ robot vacuum?
Yes, it’s the best robot vacuum you can buy
The iRobot Roomba j9+ is an extraordinary piece of cleaning technology. It sits at the perfect meeting point between substance and style. The robust performance combined with a sleek app UI means it’ll work in and for just about any household.
But iRobot might be a victim of its own success. The gap in performance between the j9+ and the previous iRobot Roomba j7+ is not huge. If you have a Roomba j7+ that’s in good working order, it’s not worth upgrading.
iRobot Roomba j9+
The iRobot Roomba j9+ features excellent cleaning, an easy-to-use app, and has excellent navigation.
Meet the tester
Jonathan Chan currently serves as the Lab Manager at Reviewed. If you clean with it, it’s likely that Jon oversees its testing. Since joining the Reviewed in 2012, Jon has helped launch the company’s efforts in reviewing laptops, vacuums, and outdoor gear. He thinks he’s a pretty big deal. In the pursuit of data, he’s plunged his hands into freezing cold water, consented to be literally dragged through the mud, and watched paint dry. Jon demands you have a nice day.
Checking our work.
Our team is here for one purpose: to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own. Our writers, editors, and lab technicians obsess over the products we cover to make sure you’re confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we’ll compare notes.
