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Comment by whstl | Hacker News Reader

My Roomba.

It's ok-ish but too noisy, takes too long to do its job and as vacuum it kinda sucks I guess.

It also needs an app that doesn't really work at all. I was forced to install it to solve a random problem with the unit, but now it's useless. It doesn't trigger the Roomba sometimes.

I replaced it with a Bosch vacuum that has the bonus of using the same batteries as my cordless drill and other Bosch devices. Yay. The Bosch is also WAY quieter than the Roomba (also quieter than a Dyson, that was surprising), which is great since I have a cat. Also it doesn't have IoT capabilities so it's amazing.

Every device that requires IoT or an App needs to die die die.

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I'll second the Roomba. I've got several "highly-rated" models that were recommended by Wirecutter a few years ago, and I scooped them up on a sale. These things are pretty terrible. They regularly get stuck on common household obstacles such as the carpet, the rug, and even the wall. More often than not, our main floor Roomba's charging station is empty because the Roomba itself got stuck somewhere and died, or it just decided not to return to its base and powered off under the dining room table. We also have a recurring problem where the Roombas will sit on their charging stations but won't charge, depleting their batteries until we notice several days later and slightly adjust the contact points to get them charging again.

Terrible purchase, stay away from Roomba.

I bought Phillips robot cleaner specifically to have a device without any IoT features. It just works.

After 3 years, though, the experience tells me that it's not such a revolution -- in an apartment with kids, you have to move lot of things out of its way, and this only pays off if you wash the floors afterwards. Otherwise there's little gain compared to wiping the floor manually.

I guess, if it were slightly bigger and could do washing, it would have had much more value.

What Bosch did you buy? Does it use their P4A batteries? Is there anything you'd criticize about it?

It was the Bosch Unlimited 6. It was very cheap and surprisingly very quiet in the store even compared to the Dyson and other brands that have a reputation for being good.

The batteries seem to be PBA according to their website, which look the same as P4A! But I’m not sure! I only have a Bosch Drill and the mini-Drill/Screwdriver and they are the same!

So far no negatives, been using it daily for a month... it is great at vacumming pet hair and does a job as good as a regular noisy non-portable vacuum. The space for dust is quite good, much better than the Roomba, and very convenient to clean.

I use Roomba to vacuum under my beds. For everything else I use an old fashioned vacuum cleaner.

The roborock is pretty good. Although, it’s a Chinese company, so there’s that.

I upgraded from a Eufy (meh) to the Wyze Robot Vacuum and love it. I love it so much I got a second one for my basement and have evangelized my whole family on them. My two sisters and parents now have their own. We’re all big fans.

Which Eufy? We got a Eufy X10 Pro that mops/vacuums back in June. We love it. We have an older roomba for a different floor/level, and that thing is always getting stuck on something.

Just a quick note on my comment. We have mostly hardwood floors, so the mopping is really nice. The vacuuming is OK, def not the best. I can see if someone had mostly carpet they would be disappointed with it.

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