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Roomba robot vacuums are a popular brand that you've probably heard of and are manufactured by iRobot. We've featured these bots several times here at Home Vacuum Zone, including Roomba versus Neato's Botvac and also in our Robot Vacuum Reviews.
Our latest robot vacuum review will cover Roomba versus bObsweep, a little less well-known robot vacuum that we haven't looked at previously. Both of these robot vacuums have some pretty great features and we will go over them all as well as the pros and cons of each.
The lowdown on bObsweep
Since we've not covered bObsweep before, let's first give a brief overview of the company behind the brand. BObsweep are actually the name of the company as well as the robot vacuums they manufacture.
They are a much younger company than Roomba's iRobot having been founded in 2011 in Toronto, Canada. The company operates in both the US and Canada.
Whilst iRobot make a range of robotic cleaning products including robot mops, pool cleaners and gutter cleaners, bObsweep focuses solely on robot vacuums.
Need to know more about the company behind the Roomba?
If you want to know more about the iRobot and the Roomba brand we recommend checking out our Neato vs Roomba article.
BOBSWEEP VERSUS ROOMBA
We’re here to review two specific models of robotic vacuums today, the bObsweep Pet Hair Plus and the Roomba 980 Wi-Fi Connected Robot Vacuum.
In case anybody is unclear on what a robotic vacuum is, it is nothing more than a computer-controlled vacuum that you can program to clean various areas of your home. They run with smart technology and clean wherever they see fit, or they can be programmed to clean exact spaces as you see fit.
Other than that, there is not much to say about these convenient little things, so let’s get to the review part of it all.
bObsweep Pethair Plus vs Roomba 980: The comparison
bObsweep Pethair Plus
iRobot Roomba 980
Ok, so now it is time to take a specific look at both of these robotic vacuums and compare the most important features of each.
FEATURE COMPARISON AT A GLANCE
Feature | bObsweep Pethair Plus | iRobot Roomba 980 |
|---|---|---|
Price | ||
Area coverage | 1,000 square feet | 2,000 square feet |
Battery | 24V Lithium-ion 2200mAh battery | Lithium Ion |
Filter | HEPA Filter | HEPA-Style* (It's not a HEPA filter.) |
Run Time | 3 hours | Up to 2 hours** |
Recharge Time | 4 hours | 3 hours |
Recharge and Resume | Auto recharge only | Yes |
Side Brushes | Yes | Yes |
Dirt Bin Size | 1 litre | 0.6 litre |
Warranty | One-year limited warranty; Five-year subsidized repair; plus lifetime after sales support | One-year limited warranty |
Dimensions | 13.8 inches in diameter, 4.5 inches in height | 13.8 inches in diameter, 3.6 inches in height |
Entire Level Cleaning | No | Yes |
Wifi Enabled | No | Yes |
UV Light Disinfection | Yes | No |
Mopping Attachment | Yes | No |
Accessories | Remote Control, charging dock, mop attachment, 2 x micro-fiber cloths, | 2 Dual Mode Virtual Wall Barriers (batteries included), charging stand |
*The iRobot HEPA Style Filter uses E11 HEPA media which was tested to capture 99% of particles as small as 1 micron passing through the filter per IEST RP CC001.5
**Tested in iRobot's Home Test Lab on hard floors. Run times may vary.
Pros
Bobsweep PetHair Plus
iRobot Roomba 980
Cons
Bobsweep PetHair Plus
iRobot Roomba 980
The Roomba 980 is a fantastic model to consider for a variety of reasons.
First off, this model is specifically designed to deal with pet hair, or all kinds of hair for that matter. Pet hair can be a real pain for normal vacuums, but not for the Roomba 980, because that is more or less its main purpose.
To add to its versatility even more, the Roomba 980 can handle all kinds of flooring with ease. Tile, laminate, carpet, and wood can all be vacuumed with this one robot. What is also quite neat about this model is that when it hits a carpeted area, it automatically increases suction power by ten times in order to really get the carpet clean.
Even though the Roomba 980 is round, it has spinning side brushes to effectively deal with the corners in your home. You might also like the fact that the special filter can capture up to 99% of allergens, pollens, and other particles to help increase the air quality in your home.
Navigation
The really neat part about the Roomba 980 is that it is super smart. It uses iAdapt 2.0 navigation combined with high-quality visual localization to navigate your home and keep track of its location. It can literally vacuum a whole floor without you ever having to tell it what to do.
It comes complete with high-quality sensors and smart-cleaning patterns to clean rooms with ease, plus it easily adapts to rooms filled with furniture. On that same note, the Roomba 980 has a very low profile and can easily clean under sofas and other such things.
Furthermore, the cliff-detection sensors on the Roomba 980 are also very useful because they will stop it from falling off of an edge or crashing down the stairs.
iRobot Home App
Of course, you can also program the Roomba 980 to clean only certain areas or rooms in your home. The Roomba 980 comes with the iRobot Home App, which lets you connect your smartphone to it.
With this app, you can choose custom cleaning preferences, plus get detailed reports of what the Roomba 980 has done throughout your home. It can even be programmed to just vacuum your home seven days of the week.
Charging
Finally, the Roomba 980 can run for up to 2 hours on a single charge, at which point it will automatically go to the docking station and recharge. If it has not finished cleaning at this point it will resume where it left off after recharging (known as recharge and resume).
Video Review
To help in evaluating which robot vacuum is better, the Roomba 980 or the bObsweep PetHair, we recommend watching the video below to get a full understanding of the Roomba's capabilities. Then read our review of the bObsweep below to see how it compares against the mighty Roomba.
bObsweep PetHair Plus Robotic Vacuum Cleaner and Mop
The bObsweep PetHair Plus is also another good option to go with, especially if you need to deal with lots of hair all over the place. As the name implies, this model is very good at picking up hair, as well as other dirt and debris.
The bObsweep PetHair Plus does have a pretty good battery life, as it can run for up to 75 minutes on a single charge and can cover up to 1,000 square feet, at which point it will return to the charging station.
The bObsweep PetHair Plus is meant to be fairly low profile so that it can easily clean under beds and sofas. However, that being said, it is still quite large, larger than the Roomba 980. As a result, it is not as good for cleaning under hard-to-reach areas as the Roomba 980.
Yet, the bObsweep PetHair Plus does have special side brushes to clean corners, just like the Roomba 980.
Programming
The bObsweep PetHair Plus comes with a convenient screen and remote control for ease of use. You can choose from 6 different cleaning patterns to get all of the floors in your home.
Unlike the Roomba 980, the bObsweep PetHair Plus cannot be specially programmed to your liking, it does not have Wi-Fi connectivity with a special app, and it does not have cliff detection either. When it comes to programmability, the Roomba 980 definitely has the upper hand.
Cleaning performance
Just like the Roomba 980, the bObsweep PetHair Plus works on all kinds of floors including carpet, tile, and wood. Moreover, it uses 4x-boosted turbo-lift suction to get those really imbedded hairs and particles in carpets, making it a very powerful robotic vacuum.
This model also comes with a standard HEPA filter to keep the air quality very high. It even has a UV sterilization feature too, something which the Roomba 980 does not come with.
To keep the bObsweep PetHair Plus on track, you can create up to 2 special 10’ barriers in order to keep it away from sensitive furniture. This is a neat feature, but the Roomba 980 can actually navigate around furniture without the need to set up these barriers.
What is pretty neat about the bObsweep PetHair Plus is that it automatically reports problems with parts to you so you know if something is wrong with it.
Video Review
Still not sure about the bObsweep versus Roomba? Take a look at the following video courtesy of TipsNNTricks - this is a detailed 25 minute unboxing review of the bObsweep PetHair Plus which showcases all of its features.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, both the Roomba 980 and the bObsweep PetHair Plus make for really good robotic vacuums. That being said, the Roomba 980 is significantly more expensive, however it also comes with quite a few features which the bObsweep PetHair Plus does not have.
All in all, both are awesome for general cleaning, especially when pet hair is involved, but the Roomba is more versatile, has a better battery life, has Wi-Fi connectivity and a special app, and it is much better in terms of programmability too. As a result, that all comes with an increased price tag.
Last update on 2024-12-14 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API