Roborock S7 MaxV vs iRobot S9: each has its own unique features and shortcomings, which I’ll delineate in the upcoming comparison. But cutting to the chase, the Roborock S7 MaxV reigns supreme overall.
The Roborock S7 MaxV is one of the most feature-rich and smartest hybrid robots available today, and of course, it isn’t something for budget-oriented users. This one is particularly well-suited for households with carpets thanks to its VibraRise mop-lift technology, and it is also a good choice for families with pets and kids thanks to AI-assisted obstacle avoidance (although it doesn’t avoid all items completely).
The iRobot Roomba S9 is also the ideal choice for those who want to spotlessly clean floors with minimal mess and effort on their part. Its distinct D-shaped design is perfect for tackling corners and edges, and the dual bristle-free brushes effectively prevent tangles. It doesn’t possess obstacle-detection capabilities, but it offsets this by having the capacity to store up to 10 maps.
Roborock S7 MaxV Vs iRobot S9: Comparison Chart
Roborock S7 MaxV Vs iRobot S9: Differences
The Roborock S7 MaxV wins 4-2 against the Roomba S9. My subsequent comparison will delve into the specific pros and cons of each bot that led to this outcome!
Cleaning Performance
Winner: iRobot Roomba S9
Hard Floor
| Roborock S7 MaxV | iRobot Roomba S9 |
|---|---|
| ≈ 98% | ≈ 99% |
They were impressive in my hard floor tests and picked up almost all of the debris. The S9, thanks to its wider dual brushes and superior airflow, left the floor almost immaculate and established itself as one of the most effective robots I’ve ever put to the test on hard surfaces.
Carpets
| Roborock S7 MaxV | iRobot Roomba S9 | |
|---|---|---|
| Low-pile Carpet | ≈ 97% | ≈ 99% |
| High-pile Carpet | ≈ 96% | ≈ 99% |
Both also did a fantastic job during our carpet tests, although the S9 slightly edged out its competition with an astonishing 99% removal rate on both low- and high-pile carpets. The S7 MaxV trailed a bit but still turned in a highly commendable performance.
Hair Pet
| Roborock S7 MaxV | iRobot Roomba S9 | |
|---|---|---|
| 5-inch Strands | ≈ 74% | ≈ 89% |
| 10-inch Strands | ≈ 68% | ≈ 78% |
My tests revealed their less-than-stellar performance when it came to gathering hair. There was a significant amount of hair accumulating on the edges of the dual brushes on the S9, but this turned out to be a small hiccup since the brushes could be quickly popped out for easy cleaning. Likewise, the S7 MaxV was a breeze to detach for untangling. Side brushes on both robots were also easily removable with the twist of a screwdriver.
Design & Usability
Winner: Roborock S7 MaxV
Dimensions & Weight
| Roborock S7 MaxV | iRobot Roomba S9 | |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions (W x H) | 13.9 x 3.8 inches | 12.25 x 3.5 inches |
| Weight | 10.36 lbs | 8.15 lbs |
They are both clever, premium-looking robot vacuums with distinct designs. The S7 MaxV comes in a classic round shape, while the iRobot S9 features a D-shaped frame. The advantage of the round shape is its good maneuverability in tight spaces, whereas the D shape gives it a leg up regarding cleaning edges and corners. The S7 MaxV also features a LiDAR laser tower, making it a bit taller than its rival, but it is still slim enough to get under most low-clearance furniture.
Extractor & Side Brush
The S7 MaxV uses a single 6.57-inch bristle-free brush, significantly shorter than the 9.5-inch dual brush rollers on the underside of the S9. Right off the bat, these silicone brushes have no bristles, effectively minimizing hair tangles—a frequent annoyance for anyone who uses lower-level robots with bristled rollers.
Instead of being situated between two wheels, the S9’s dual rollers are strategically placed closer to the front, covering nearly the entire width of the machine’s straight edge for superior edge cleaning. Not to mention, their broader design also allows them to cover more ground in each pass. They can be easily removed for tangle-free maintenance, and the same goes for the S7 MaxV’s single silicone roller.
These bots feature five-spoke side brushes. They are both firmly affixed to the robot’s body, so there’s no risk of them falling out during operation.
Navigation
Both smart robotic vacuums can remember the layout of your home and navigate in straight lines, but the similarity ends there. While the S7 MaxV uses a LiDAR navigation system, the iRobot S9 relies on vSLAM navigation technology to map out your home.
The LiDAR system involves a laser turret on top of the S7 MaxV that uses laser beams to rapidly and accurately scan and memorize the room layout. In my real-world test, it took just one test run to map out the entire floor, recognize furniture, and identify carpets. Meanwhile, the S9 needed as many as four initial runs for a comprehensive map. Another noteworthy edge of LiDAR is its capability to function efficiently in low-light conditions or even in a completely dark room.
Both the S7 MaxV and the iRobot S9 are ideal choices for multi-level homes due to their ability to remember multiple layouts. The S7 MaxV can remember four-floor plans, while the S9, with better memory, can store up to ten different coverage maps. So do you want to clean multiple floors? No problem! Just put these bots on the new floor, and they will automatically know that they have to create a new map instead of overwriting the old one.
The LiDAR laser-based navigation system is undeniably impressive, but the biggest selling point of the S7 MaxV, to my mind, is that it can actively detect and avoid obstacles thanks to an RGB camera and a 3D scanner. There is an LED headlight that kicks in under dim lighting, ensuring that the bot can still identify obstacles in any area. It’s a very practical feature since it obviates the need for a pre-cleaning sweep of the floor.
But that’s just on paper. How good is the obstacle avoidance ability of the S7 MaxV? Well, I could say it was great, but not perfect! In our tests, it could avoid and maneuver fake poop, a mug, a shoe, and a bowl. Still, unlike Roborock’s flagship models, this one struggled when it encountered a power cable, dragging it along until it got caught in its brush mechanism.
Either way, its ability to avoid pet waste is a feature that I’m sure many pet owners will appreciate as much as I do. This is a practical feature that is not seen in many robot vacuum cleaners. If cord avoidance is your be-all and end-all, I highly recommend the iRobot J7+. The front-facing camera on the S7 MaxV can also serve as a makeshift home security camera, but I’ll expand on that later.
Battery Life
| Roborock S7 MaxV | iRobot Roomba S9 | |
|---|---|---|
| Battery Life | ≈ 92–190 mins | ≈ 69–125 mins |
| Charging Time | ≈ 180 mins | ≈ 182 mins |
Both machines are equipped with a substantial 5200 mAh Lithium battery, but it’s clear that the iRobot S9 has a shorter working life between charges, requiring more frequent trips to the charging dock. I suspect that the shorter battery life of the iRobot S9 is due to its higher maximum airflow of 22 CFM compared to the S7 MaxV’s peak of 13.39 CFM. That’s one of the trade-offs for having a cleaner house.
These bots are built with a “Recharge and Resume” function, allowing them to autonomously return to their charging stations and then pick up where they left off once recharged. This makes the concern over battery life somewhat moot, as they’re engineered to complete the job regardless of how many stops they need to make.
Control
Winner: Roborock S7 MaxV
Manual Control
The S7 MaxV and iRobot S9 share a set of three buttons for manual control, including “Spot Clean,” “Power,” and “Home,” so you’re not tethered to the app for basic operations. Pressing the “Spot Clean” button will prompt the robot to clean a small zone around itself, which comes in handy when you spill some sauce in the kitchen, or your puppy leaves some hairballs in the bedroom.
App Connectivity
When it comes to interacting with these bots remotely, you can use your phone or your home assistant, such as Alexa or Google Assistant. During the initial setup, you have the liberty to split and merge rooms as well as name them to clean a specific room. The Roborock app offers room-specific cleaning settings, from vacuuming to mopping or a blend of both. Additionally, you can fine-tune the suction strength on both models and adjust the mopping intensity on the S7 MaxV, all from the convenience of your smartphone.
They also share some other common functions. You can set up no-go zones, schedule cleaning sessions in advance, review past cleaning activities, and even monitor the condition of essential components like the filter, main brush roll, side brushes, etc.
Regarding significant differences, the Roborock app provides a comprehensive 3D map of your cleaning space, along with the ability to create invisible walls and “no-mop” zones. Meanwhile, the iRobot app sets itself apart with its “clean zones” feature, designed for intensive cleaning of small areas.
The Roborock app also has a real-time remote viewing feature, enabling you to manually drive the S7 MaxV while seeing what it sees through the built-in surveillance camera. It has an onboard mic and speakers that enable two-way communication, so you can have conversations with others through the bot even when you are away from home. This feature comes in handy for checking on pets or inspecting objects on the floor while you’re away from home.
Cleaning & Maintenance
Winner: Tie
The S7 MaxV uses a 0.4-liter dustbin, a little bit smaller than the 0.5-liter on the iRobot S9. It is worth noting that they both only come with pure charging docks, which do nothing but charge the robot. This means that you will need to take their dust boxes out and empty them manually every time they get full.
Their dust tanks are on the small side and fill up rather quickly. If you find this to be a significant drawback, you might want to invest in an auto-emptying dock, available either separately or as part of their upgraded models: the S7 MaxV Ultra and the S9 Plus. With this addition, the robots will automatically return to their docking stations to empty their bins into a one-time-use dust bag, sparing you the hassle of daily emptying and only requiring bag replacement at much longer intervals – be it weeks or months.
Speaking of the built-in filtration system, the S7 MaxV and iRobot S9 are equipped with EPA 11 and HEPA filters, respectively. You can even keep tabs on the status of these filters, along with the main brush roll and side brush, via the apps.
Other Features
Winner: Roborock S7 MaxV
Noise
| Roborock S7 MaxV | iRobot Roomba S9 | |
|---|---|---|
| Working | ≈ 59-71 dB | ≈ 60-74 dB |
| Self-Emptying | None | None |
These robots sit somewhere between “quite” and “really noisy.” When operating in max mode, where the noise level ratchets up significantly, they become loud enough to overshadow nearby conversations. But unless you’re running them at midnight or dawn, it’s not a deal-breaker.
Mopping Ability
The S7 MaxV is a genuine hybrid robot, and thank God that Roborock gives it a mop unit that truly serves its purpose instead of merely serving as a price-inflating feature. Its mopping ability has a leg up on many other 2-in-1 bot vacuums on the market, thanks to standout features like VibraRise technology for a liftable mop and Sonic Vibration for advanced scrubbing.
Let’s start with VibraRise technology, which enables both floor and carpet cleaning in a single cleaning session. This technology shows that this bot is smarter than it may initially appear, or at least it can smartly sense when it rolls onto a carpet or rug, automatically lifting its mop 5 mm above the surface. It’s worth noting that this feature only works on low-pile carpets – if you have high-pile carpets, you’ll need to designate “No-mop” zones that the robot will bypass when the mop part is attached.
Adding to its list of smart features is sonic vibration technology. This enables the mop to vibrate for a more thorough clean, a clear advantage over robots like the Roomba J7+ Combo, which simply drags its mop pad across the floor. The Roborock app provides three levels of vibration speed: Low (1650 vibrations per minute), Medium (2300 vibrations per minute), and High (3000 vibrations per minute).
I believed that this one could get rid of most daily stains, or at least things like soda and coffee stains. It was easy to remove the former, while the latter wasn’t completely gone after the first pass. However, a touch of Roborock’s specialized detergent (available separately) in the clean water tank did the trick, completely eliminating the stain.
So the S7 MaxV mopping capability is better than most vacuuming-and-mopping bots I’ve used, but it still falls short of completely replacing a manual mop or a combo of a bottle of spray cleaner and a rag. That said, it’s an excellent interim solution for keeping your hard floors clean in between those deep-cleaning sessions that you can’t entirely escape.
Here, I once again recommend adding the all-in-one home base for the S7 MaxV to your arsenal. This station not only self-empties the robot’s dustbin but also automatically refills its water reservoir and washes the mop pad. It’s the ultimate in hands-free home cleaning and an essential addition for those craving complete automation.
Quick Rundown Of Roborock S7 MaxV
- ReactiveAI 2.0. With Roborock’s next generation of obstacle avoidance technology, ReactiveAI 2.0, S7 MaxV can navigate around common domestic hazards using its RGB camera and a new neural processing unit. An additional light turns on in dark rooms, making obstacle recognition as effective at night as during the day. 3D structured light systems supplement the RGB camera and can spot unknown objects, determine their size and location, and allow the robot to navigate around them.
- Next-Level Intelligence. Using its camera, S7 MaxV can now recognize the furniture in your home and place them on the map automatically. It can also identify your floors in each room and recommend cleaning patterns and scrub intensity accordingly.
- The Most Powerful Roborock Robot Vacuum Ever. S7 MaxV has more suction power than any previous Roborock robot vacuum, generating a maximum of 5100 Pa. That’s more than double the power of S6 MaxV. It quickly picks up debris, hair, dust, and more from hard floors and carpets.
Quick Rundown Of iRobot Roomba S9
- DEEPEST CLEAN - With 40X the suction power, the superior 3-Stage Cleaning System lifts, loosens, then eliminates debris & pet hair from deep within your carpets. Increases suction to clean even deeper into carpets with power boost technology.
- DETAILED POWERFUL CLEAN - PerfectEdge Technology with advanced sensors & a specially designed Corner Brush optimize cleaning deep into corners & along edges. Ideal for homes with pets. 30% wider Dual Rubber Brushes don't get tangled with pet hair.
- GUIDED BY SERIOUS SMARTS - With vSLAM navigation, the s9 learns the layout of your home & builds personal Smart Maps, enabling it to expertly clean & navigate in neat, efficient rows. If it’s running low on battery, it recharges & resumes cleaning.
- VACUUMS MESSES IN THE MOMENT - Cleaning crumbs is now as easy as “Roomba, clean under the kitchen table.” A simple request to your voice assistant or via the app enables the s9 to clean messes for you, right when they happen.
- COMPLETE CONTROL OF YOUR CLEAN - With Smart Mapping, your robot knows your kitchen from your living room, so you can decide where it cleans & when. & with Keep Out Zones, your robot knows to avoid sensitive areas like pet bowls or play areas.
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References:
- Roborock S7 MaxV: https://us.roborock.com/pages/roborock-s7-maxv
- iRobot Roomba S9: https://www.irobot.com/en_US/roomba-vacuuming/robot-vacuum-irobot-roomba-s9-plus/S955020.html
Richard B. Schmidt is a prominent figure in the vacuum cleaner industry, boasting over 15 years of expertise. Armed with a Robotics Engineering degree from Northeastern University and a Master’s in Consumer Science from Harvard, his unique blend of technical knowledge and consumer insights positions him as a sought-after authority in vacuum cleaner evaluation. Richard’s career began at Dyson, where he contributed to the development of innovative vacuum models. Transitioning to advocacy and reviews, he co-founded the first Vacuum-focused blog in 2008, offering comprehensive analysis and user guides for various vacuum cleaners. In 2020, he founded RoboMop.net, providing ongoing insights through columns and buyer’s guides.