iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max - Is it Worth $1399? REVIEW

[@TheFrenchGlow]

If you are interested, heres some links👇 for the Roomba and the Dreamebot X40. iROBOT Combo 10 Max: amzn.to/3WM2lRw Dreame X40: amzn.to/3WBbufy

[@nycmax2002]

Awesome review video! Thanks for being the first and posting the entire mop cleaning process. That's so weird that iRobot opted for such a loud system.

[@TheFrenchGlow]

Thanks for watching!

[@nicolassama2740]

3:05 They have this system they have invested decades worth of R&D and is highly attached to the vacuum itself, switching to lidar would require them to rewrite a good chunk of robotOS and change the manufacturing process, making it more expensive. It's an unfortunate choice from the customers point of view; the main argument for using cameras is that the robots can be shorter and reach under more furniture, it might also be able to handle larger rooms that lidar sensors wouldn't have the range for and aren't able to find walls but, even then I think robots just go on until they find a wall and can start to detect edges. It's not a bad vacuum but, urgh, surely they could do better if they let the engineers do actual engineering and not re-iterate over the same, old bases.

[@TheFrenchGlow]

Well said. 👏👏

[@Roomba4life]

I think they still wanna reuse the design from the j7 due to it working well and not failing. It also has a feature called check in where you could control the robot and check on your home but it’s only available in beta.

[@DTruong8]

Yes, but Shark and Yeedi have both converted over to lidar and now they both run much smoother with less interference.

[@Roomba4life]

@@DTruong8 they still won’t beat iRobots customer support/patient tho if you wanna put it that way. They know when to self empty instead of putting it every 30 min

[@jesselc2332]

I don't get why VSLAM is a deal-breaker. Mapping time is a non-issue, since it only needs to be done once. Both systems just work. My RR S6 pure also has the problem of not pushing through curtains or hanging bed sheets

[@jeremytine]

reusing parts across models also means a better supply chain for replacement parts down the road, which is a good thing.

[@BrianCunningham-kp1qt]

I purchased the J9+ Combo in February 2024 & it kept getting stuck. It was so loud. Sometimes, it would miss things & I would have to send him back on another cleaning mission . About 6 weeks ago, I accidentally broke the mop arm off. I just brought the Dreame x40 ultra last night & I can't believe that iRobot is selling this at £1,400.00 when the Dreame X40 Ultra pisses all over it.

[@TheFrenchGlow]

Thanks for sharing your experience. By 2025 next Gen robovacs are actually getting less expensive with more features.

[@Pustul]

My Roomba i7 destroyed the skirting boards of our basement by constantly hitting them for years. I wanted to buy a Roomba for upstairs but unfortunately that does not seem to have been fixed even on this one, will a Lidar based robot avoid that issue?

[@kasperplayer]

I’ve had a Roomba for years and I have switched to narwhal because of how terrible customer services and being screwed over on my S9

[@rotunnoe]

I recently purchased the iRobot Roomba J9+ to replace my Neato D5 after it stopped working. While the J9+ does offer some improvements, there's one feature my 10-year-old Neato had that the Roomba lacks: Lidarr. With Lidarr, my Neato could vacuum in low light or even in complete darkness and always find its way back to the dock without any issues. Unfortunately, there have been several instances where the Roomba J9+ has gotten lost and couldn't locate the dock. Overall, while the Roomba J9+ has some nice upgrades, I feel like iRobot is still playing catch-up compared to other competitors, rather than leading the way in innovation.

[@BrianCunningham-kp1qt]

I purchased the J9+ Combo in February 2024 & it kept getting stuck. It was so loud. Sometimes it would miss things & I would have to send him back on another cleaning mission & about 6 weeks ago I accidentally broke the mop arm off. I just brought the Dreame x40 ultra last night & I can't believe that iRobot are selling this at £1,400.00 when the Dreame X40 Ultra pisses all over it.

[@patymar80]

I still use my S7+ and my braava jet m6 working together and they do better. I tried the combo J9+ which can both vacuum and mop, but it doesn't come closer to how well the S9+ and braava can do together.

[@Zcahm]

That base it seems extremely loud. How loud is it actually in person?

[@BlazingNina]

The mop drying is so loud it’s like a jet taking off

[@TheFrenchGlow]

It's the loudest mopping station out of the roborock, dreame, Ecovac. It's because the robovac also moves back and forth while washing along with noisier components.

[@DarthFurball]

Good review. The drain area on the base is going to have the same issue as the Roborock where dirt and water can pool (even with frequent wipe-downs), causing odors and clogs.

[@TheFrenchGlow]

Thank you!

[@andresitorocks]

If iRobot doesn't catch up with the new technologies in the new robots, they'll fall behind and go out of business, people call robot vacuums roombas even though theyre not a roomba, they're early in the game, but they'll be kicked out of their place if they don't innovate or follow the demand

[@TheFrenchGlow]

It feels like blackberry when the iPhone came out. IROBOT has to redesign their systems asap.

[@Domski777]

@@TheFrenchGlowI never thought about but this is probably the most accurate description.

[@CarterFawcett]

Hard to innovate when you spend million s on R&D to only have Chinese companies just steal the work. And put out a cheaper unit.

[@KhyronElric]

They just literally did

[@motoxrider295]

I have the J9 and while not perfect, for object detection it avoids a lot in my house. Individual socks, a cord, even toys further away than it needs to be concerned with.

[@alcapone5674]

My J9 combo is constantly ignoring all things, which are on the floor. Really disappointing

[@motoxrider295]

@@alcapone5674 reboot it for basics. Then if still not doing as it should, submit a support ticket. They have sent me 2 replacements for other issues that seem to have been resolved via software.

[@all8273]

I’m confused about the RGB camera. When my Roomba has me do the review of potential obstacles, all of the pictures are in color. Is that different from RGB or did they try to lower the COGS by putting in a BW camera at some point?

[@TheFrenchGlow]

hi! good question. VSLAM does not work the same as the RGB + LIDAR cameras in the Dreame X40. It's really because the Dreame is newer tech and the camera system is more advanced. From irobot: The Roomba® j series and Combo 10 Max robots utilize a front-facing camera and a front-facing LED, allowing the robot to accurately see and avoid objects on the floor during a cleaning run. The camera uses the front-facing LED to view objects on the floor better, but is not bright enough to allow the robot to run in the dark. This feature is PrecisionVision™. The robot can recognize objects on the ground and automatically avoid them by placing a temporary Keep Out Zone around the object. At the end of the cleaning mission, you can opt to run a “Tidy Up” mission if you would like. A tidy-up mission will have the robot clean the areas that it could not do to an object being detected; after clearing the object off the floor, a tidy-up mission can be run to clean those areas.

[@sdecherico]

So which brand is the best if price is not in the conversation

[@Hunterisadumb]

The drying's a bit loud, don't you think??

[@TheFrenchGlow]

It's louder than it's competition. The air drying is loud enough to be strangely distracting if you are watching TV in the same room.

[@ramanimahadevan8018]

Bro j9 plus combo they say that they wont do mop washing since it is not that clean and now...

[@kingskater4]

I’m so disappointed in iRobot, they used to be my favorite brand of robot vacuums in the past, but once mopping became more common in these robots, they really dropped the ball. I was hoping they’d really step up their game after the competition has been so strong with Roborock or Dreame.

[@Steelriter]

iRobot is just so much more durable and reliable than the other brands. Most of which break within a year. iRobot lasts forever I got a j9+ without mopping. Thing works great

[@kingskater4]

@@Steelriter I used to have iRobot Roombas in the past, but after moving to a place with pretty much all hard floors, a robot vacuum with a mop was very appealing. iRobot just does not put much effort into the mopping like the other brands do. If I still had as much carpet as I did at my previous place, I would’ve stuck with iRobot, but I ended up going with Dreame for the L20 Ultra and I am very satisfied with its performance on my floors, I have no regrets.

[@Steelriter]

@@kingskater4 how long have you had the dreame? I was on the fence between that and the j9+ and ended up with the j9+ because of durability and longevity. Read some reviews of people having issues with the dreame so was unsure

[@kingskater4]

@@Steelriter Almost a year now, I run it 4 times total a week, twice in my living room and twice in the kitchen. It’s still doing great, and all I’ve replaced on it so far is the dust bags and filter. I do regular maintenance on it such as cleaning it and making sure there are no tangles anywhere. I think many people neglect cleaning their robot vacuums and making sure parts are monitored normally

[@Steelriter]

@@kingskater4 I do the same for my roomba about a year too just replaced the air filter and sweeper once and bag a couple times. Agree people do not maintain them at all. I love freshening mine up. I’d be curious to see how it holds up but one year is really good at 4 times a week. Impressive

[@Matt-mq5ss]

Ok so I was wondering if the drying noise is normal so I’m guess it is. I contacted support and they said it is supposed to be a low hum. I sent them a video and said that is NOT a low hum. They are sending me a replacement since they thought it sounded weird. I also asked if they could send me video of one where the sound is actually a low hum. I might have to return as well if the sound continues along with it taking 4 hours or more to dry.

[@TheFrenchGlow]

Hi! I have ran the combo 10 max over 35 mopping sessions now plus multiple mop and dry sessions only. The sound is always like that. The fan air has no where to go.

[@biffhenderson1144]

While lidar is an expensive short-term solution, it has limitations and has pretty much reached it limit. Vision processing is the future. It is cheaper to implement and has none of the lidar limitations (except it can require .001 lumens of light in some cases). Tesla is right, vision is the future. We will see vision surpass the capabilities of lidar in the coming year.

[@derek400004]

"Vision will surpass the capabilities of Lidar in the coming year" - Elon Musk has been saying this for like 5+ years now, but Autopilot still can't get L3 certification which Mercedes with their Hybrid Vision+Lidar system has received last year.

[@animusorexis]

Tesla is not correct, the camera's get blinded by sun light, imagine driving with only one of your senses. 2020 Model 3 Performance owner tesla vision is a joke.

[@derek400004]

@@animusorexisAgreed!

[@jeremy_c9163]

I am between the Roomba 10 Max and the Roborock S8 MaxV. Money aside, which one would you prefer? TIA

[@TheFrenchGlow]

I close but the roborock is more advanced.

[@Luccplay]

Always roborock, its not even close lol

[@Silcanmakethings]

I’m sorry but I usually like iRobot products but what in the heck is the mop cleaning system 😭. It literally is like one cylinder and they called it a day.

[@bettyobpp3r]

"As iRobot CEO, [Gary Cohen] will lead the company's transformational strategy to re-orient toward profitability following a recent operational restructuring." definitely re-orienting torward profitability with a $1399 price tag! 🤣🤣

[@animusorexis]

Corp speak for use cheaper hardware.

[@thomasschabbach2736]

Drying sounds like a microwave running

[@NoFreeNapkinz614]

I know iRobots tech is lacking but nothing cleans better than it not even the high end Roborock I switched too. Ugh.

[@jimskyboy2]

This is the biggest POS I've ever seen. Revo pro here, and a master is on the way. I cannot believe this is acceptable. This company is going down the tubes. Twelve years ago, I watched it destroy my baseboards with an i530, and I can see that even after 12 years, they still run into everything and scratch themselves up.

[@As2Bax]

looks like they took the silver off the combo j7 and made it plain black lol

[@chrgeorgeson]

It's crazy how iRobot stopped innovating in this space.

[@esteve801]

There is a lack of imagination at this company that needs to be resolved. Get back to basics. Well made, good price and great customer service. Not impressed with software or 4x4 all terrain quality of roombas. My 980 is still awesome and love it to this day. Never gets stuck like the s9

[@tetoqx]

that sidebrush is still loud af

[@jeremiahraley1494]

i want it

[@BradVondaYoungkin]

It's crap. Do not buy it. I've had a 980 since 2017. Still going strong. Ever since the iRobot auto-emptys came out, I have read bad review after had review. I chose to pass. Then, in 2022, found 2 new in box 980s and they all rock. Even bought the JetMop, and it's decent. I saw other brands rate high, but I wanted to hold out for iRobot since the 980 is such a beast. Then I saw iRobot 10 Max came out and jumped in thinking they had to finally get it right, right?? I did read a single review. Wow, was I wrong. It's cheap. It feels cheap. With the tiny dust bin, it clogs up with the simplest dust and is incapable of sucking it out. Then, there is no sensor between the rollers like there is on the 980. The dust bin is incredibly small and compact, and jams up. It's just not a good product, at all. Twice a week I have to do something to it, and it's only scheduled two clean twice a week. It's a POS PITA. They need to go back to the 980 and start from there.

[@TheFrenchGlow]

The glory days of iRobot! My s9 still is the king of carpets.

[@krystianstepien5835]

Outdated since the premiere.

[@TheJohnny220]

Clean the robot before posting an unclose on the thing. It just looks messy. Otherwise great video

[@CollinLutz-p9e]

This was their chance to really get back on top. This is a pathetic attempt that will likely leave them still at the bottom. My x40 maps quicker and more accurately avoid obstacles better, refills water and cleaning solution, auto empties dirty water after washing the mop pads. They are acting like apple and releasing new models that aren't much different than the last. I agree with the other commenter. They should just pack it up if they aren't going to actually come out with something that compete with what's now available.

[@ImInTheDarkHere]

Do you need to replace your phone every year? What features are you missing? What features would prompt you to buy a new phone annually?

[@Domski777]

What a dreadful robot. They really need to start from scratch for the mopping and vacuuming products.

[@BlazingNina]

It’s so loud, not worth it. They should just go out of business if they aren’t going to compete. Shameful. Great video by you though.

[@Roomba4life]

Well, iRobot still has great vacuuming and although the map isn’t as accurate as Lidar bots, it still does it job and maps. The drying the mop part was kinda depressing to watch bc that’s gonna be on for like 5 hours.

[@CollinLutz-p9e]

​@Roomba4life That's the only reason I still run my i7+, s9+, and j7+. They still pick stuff up. But it's not enough to make me purchase anything else other than replacement brush rollers (generic ones wear out too fast). My x40 is the king now.