Roomba J7+ vs Roborock S7: After considering and reviewing a variety of factors, the model that has my vote is the J7+, although the S7 is also great.
Right off the bat, both showcase exemplary cleaning performance across a variety of floor types, not to mention their exceptional mapping and manoeuvring skills. However, some distinctions set one apart as the superior choice, depending on your specific needs.
The Roomba J7+ can remember up to 10 maps and avoid objects (thanks to Precision Vision Navigation technology) – which makes it the perfect choice for families with children or four-legged friends. What’s more, this guy comes out of the box with a self-cleaning base for a hands-free emptying experience.
The Roborock S7 boasts an impressively long battery life, provides 3D mapping capabilities, and features real-time location tracking through the iRobot app. And when it comes to mopping, this model is head and shoulders above its predecessors.
Roomba J7+ Vs Roborock S7: Comparison Chart
Roomba J7+ Vs Roborock S7: Differences
The Roomba J7+ knocks out the Roborock S7 with a 3-2 win. Let’s read my head-to-head comparison between these two beasts to choose your next robot vacuum!
Cleaning Performance
Winner: Roomba J7+
Hard Floor
| Roomba J7+ | Roborock S7 |
|---|---|
| ≈ 98% | ≈ 95% |
Looking at my test results, you will find both perform excellently on this surface. They aren’t perfect, but they are impressive for round-shaped robots. I found the S7 to be the best option since it avoided the issue of side-brush scattering that I observed with the J7.
Carpets
| Roomba J7+ | Roborock S7 | |
|---|---|---|
| Low-pile Carpet | ≈ 91 % | ≈ 92% |
| High-pile Carpet | ≈ 94% | ≈ 96% |
While the S7 excelled on hard floors, the J7+ outperformed it on carpets, albeit with a marginal difference. The dual counter-rotating rollers on the J7+ were excellent at gathering debris, even when operating with lower airflow. As for the S7, I found that it worked best in Turbo mode.
Hair Pet
| Roomba J7+ | Roborock S7 | |
|---|---|---|
| 5-inch Strands | ≈ 76% | ≈ 72% |
| 10-inch Strands | ≈ 64 % | ≈ 56% |
With higher airflow, the S7 was better when it came to hair pick-up, with higher results on 5- and 10-inch hair. Although both models struggled with longer strands, the silver lining is that their main brushes remained largely tangle-free. Plus, their bristle-free design simplifies the task of removing any caught hair.
Design & Usability
Winner: Roomba J7+
Dimensions & Weight
| Roomba J7+ | Roborock S7 | |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions (W x H) | 13.3 x 3.4 inches | 13.8 x 3.8 inches |
| Weight | 7.49 lbs | 10.3 lbs |
They are round-shaped vacuums and basically don’t look much different from other robot vacuums. The S7 is slightly larger in dimensions, making the more compact J7+ better suited for navigating through tight spaces like chair legs and low furniture. The S7 looks classier and feels notably improved in terms of build quality, but it’s noticeably heavier in comparison.
The J7+ includes a Clean Base measuring 15.7 x 11.9 x 13.3 inches. It is somewhat bulky, but such a beautiful thing deserves a place in your living room to attract all the eyes of your guests. Roborock only offers a basic charging dock with the S7 but offers a self-emptying tower in its upgraded Plus version (or you can also buy this tower individually). Likewise, you can save some money by buying the J7 nomarl version, provided you don’t mind emptying its dustbin manually.
Extractor & Side Brush
The next noticeable difference is the brush roller design. The S7 is the first Roborock to have a single bristle-less rubberized roller for better tangle resistance, whereas the J7+ use dual bristle-free rollers to pick up grime and debris more effectively. Their multi-surface brushes are designed to maintain constant contact with the floor, ensuring that they are effective on different types of flooring.
Both utilize a single side brush to gather dust and dirt from corners and channel them into the vacuum’s main cleaning path. The J7+ uses a 3-prong side brush versus the 5-prong one on the S7. I found the J7’s side brush to spin quite fast, so it scattered large piles of dirt, hindering the robot’s potential for vacuuming debris. These corner-mounted brushes are attached to the robot with a screw, keeping them from popping off during cleaning runs.
Navigation
The Roomba J7+ uses Imprint Smart Mapping technology to map out the rooms in your home, while the S7 is more efficient with its LIDAR technology. Although the laser-base tower gives the S7 a bit extra height, I found it to be more efficient, scanning around faster and requiring just one initial run. It also boasts superior performance in low-light conditions, a scenario where the J7+, even with its LED headlight, tends to falter.
Once these little friends get used to your home, they can save maps and show you via the iRobot or Roborock app: the J7+ can save up to 10 maps versus Roborock with 4. They then move in straight lines to ensure the entire surface is covered.
Equipped with PrecisionVision Navigation technology, the J7 outclasses the S7 in obstacle detection and avoidance. As for the S7, it doesn’t have this luxury, and you’ll need to upgrade to the S7 MaxV Ultra with an RGB camera and 3D structured light for great scanning of obstacles and avoiding them instead of pushing forward.
A cutting-edge camera on the front of the J7 expertly navigates around obstacles like wires, thin cables, shoes, and even pet feces without any issues. iRobot is so confident about its obstacle avoidance ability that it came up with the P.O.O.P: a free replacement if the robot mistakenly contacts pet poops. So you can feel confident in allowing this robot to run unsupervised, even if your furry friends frequently leave messes behind or your children always leave toys scattered around.
Battery Life
| Roomba J7+ | Roborock S7 | |
|---|---|---|
| Battery Life | ≈ 98 mins | ≈ 91-194 mins |
| Charging Time | ≈ 120 mins | ≈ 234 mins |
One advantage the S7 has over its rival is its larger capacity, resulting in longer battery life – It uses a 5200 mAh Li-ion battery compared to the J7’s 2210 mAh battery. This makes this one get the job done a bit faster by minimizing interruptions for recharging.
In Quiet mode, the Roborock S7 can run continuously for more than three hours, which should be more than sufficient for most cleaning jobs. By the way, the S7 offers four distinct suction modes: Quiet, Balanced, Turbo, and Max, while the J7+ is limited to a single setting.
Both also do include the “Recharge and Resume” function. This means if they drain their batteries in the middle of a cleaning cycle, they will drive back to the Home Base for charging up.
Control
Winner: Roborock S7
Manual Control
The Roborock S7 boasts three intuitive buttons for easy control: Spot Clean allows for focused cleaning, Power serves to turn the device on or off, and Home directs the robot back to its charging station. A stylish, arc-shaped LED light on the top illuminates to give you a heads-up on the robot’s condition or to signal potential problems.
On the flip side, the J7+’s user interface is simple with just one button – Tap it once to start a cleaning trip, once again to stop the robot, and press and hold it to send it back to its base. That is great, but this one lacks the option for manually initiating spot-cleaning.
App Connectivity
When it comes to remote control capabilities, both robots have much in common but also some distinctions. Right off the bat, their respective apps—Roomba and iRobot—are free to download and compatible with both iOS and Android devices. Additionally, both can be paired with home assistants such as Amazon Alexa, Apple Siri, and Google Home, facilitating voice-activated commands like initiating or halting cleaning cycles, guiding the robots back to their charging stations, or specifying rooms to clean.
If voice control isn’t your cup of tea, you can take advantage of a wide range of options to control them through your phone. To begin with, you can merge, divide, and name rooms for targeted cleaning. This functionality is particularly useful for scenarios where you just want to clean up a spill in the kitchen without disturbing the rest of your home.
Have zones in your home you’d rather keep robot-free, like a child’s playroom or a bathroom? Both of these robot vacuums offer the capability to demarcate restricted areas using virtual boxes. Taking it a step further, the S7 introduces an “Invisible Walls” feature, allowing you to draw straight lines to set up boundaries the robot should not cross.
The S7 allows you to mark off carpeted areas as “no mop zones” (yes, the S7 is a hybrid robot). But I personally consider it a nice-to-have feature instead of a must-have ones. That’s because the S7’s intelligent Carpet Avoidance mode automatically discerns when it’s on a carpet, promptly lifting its mop unit and cutting off the water supply, thus ensuring your carpet stays dry while vacuuming.
You can schedule cleaning trips by day so they work automatically without needing attention. You can also monitor the health of certain components, such as filters and rollers, to know when they need to be replaced or maintained.
The J7+ provides the option to draw boxes on potential high-traffic areas to set clean zones in the same way as no-go ones. The Roborock app lacks this feature – instead, you’ll have to manually press the “Spot Clean” button located on the S7’s body. As an added bonus, the J7+ features a “Clean While Away” function, so it automatically starts cleaning the moment you step out of your home.
Like most Roborocks, the S7 uses a live map, showing the robot’s real-time location and the zones it has cleaned. Another nifty feature is the 3D map, which provides a different perspective to users beyond traditional 2D maps – 3D maps are integrated into the primary interface, so they are very easily accessible.
Cleaning & Maintenance
Winner: Roomba J7+
The dustbin on the J7+ has a capacity of 500 ml, which is a smidge larger than the S7’s 470-ml bin. Considering the included self-emptying base, the dirt tank volume, indeed, shouldn’t be a deciding factor for the J7+. As for the S7, there’s the option to buy an automatic emptying system separately, and it’s a feature I highly recommend. To my mind, at least, these dustbins feel purpose-built to work with a Clean Base since it’s annoying to empty them manually.
So, how does the Clean Tower work? Once the robot docks at the base, all the contents will find their way into a disposable dust bag hidden inside. The whole process is sealed, and people who suffer from allergies or asthma will appreciate it. The dust bag included with the J7+ offers a generous capacity that can last up to two months or even more.
About their filtration systems, the J7+ uses a HEPA-level filter, whereas the S7 comes with an E11 Filter to trap dirt and allergens. You should clean the former by tapping it against the side of a trash can twice a week, while the latter can be rinsed under the tap periodically.
Other Features
Winner: Roborock S7
Noise
| Roomba J7+ | Roborock S7 | |
|---|---|---|
| Working | ≈ 59 dB | ≈ 57–62 dB |
| Self-Emptying | ≈ 72 dB | ≈ 69 dB |
I found these robots didn’t scream like traditional vacuums, but weren’t really silent, either. However, their clean bases were quite loud when self-emptying. This process only engages for about 10 seconds, but it’s not something you’d want to activate in the dead of night.
Mopping Ability
It’s not often that I heap accolades on the mopping abilities of hybrid robots, but the S7 is a noteworthy exception. The mop capability of the S7 is improved compared to older Roombas and is really a game changer, at least in my book, for two main reasons.
First of all, you can toggle between four different mopping modes via the Roomba app: Close (no water), Mild, Moderate, and Intense. You can turn on the “Deep Cleaning” mode to leverage the maximum speed scrub setting.
It features a 3.3-liter water reservoir that is intended to keep the cleaning cloth moist throughout the mopping process. However, I found it performed optimally when starting with an already damp cloth, using the reservoir merely to maintain the cloth’s moisture level. Although the manufacturer officially dissuades the use of sanitizing solutions, my trial run with one yielded superior results.
As I previously pointed out, the mopping function serves as a double bonus, and here’s the first reason why. I appreciated its uninterrupted transition between carpeted and hard floors. What’s so special? It automatically lifts its mop unit 5 mm upon detecting the carpet, switches to vacuum mode, and then lowers it back onto hard floors to continue its mopping function immediately after all the dirt and hair are collected. That way, it is reassuring to know that your valuable rug remains untouched and pristine throughout the mopping process.
The second great thing about this function is that the mop pad subtly vibrates back and forth thanks to a metal lever. This results in a powerful stain-lifting action that tackles even the most stubborn grime, ensuring your home is spotlessly clean.
On the other hand, the Roomba J7+ can’t act like a mop. But you can buy the iRobot Braava M6 mop robot and link them together using the Imprint Link function to run two functions seamlessly.
Quick Rundown Of Roomba J7+
- CLEANS WHEN AND WHERE YOU WANT– Only iRobot brings you Imprint Smart Mapping allowing you to control and schedule which rooms are cleaned and when, while storing multiple maps for easier cleaning on each level of your home.
- AVOIDS PET ACCIDENTS – WE GUARANTEE IT - IRobot brings you P.O.O.P. (Pet Owner Official Promise). You can rely on your Roomba j7+ to avoid pet waste, or we’ll replace it for free. Additional terms and conditions apply – see iRobot website for details.
- IT DOESN’T JUST LEARN YOUR HOME; IT REACTS TO IT IN REAL TIME. With PrecisionVision Navigation and a camera, your robot identifies and avoids obstacles of all sizes like pet waste, charging cords, socks and shoes to get the whole job done.
- MORE THOUGHTFUL THAN YOU THOUGHT - The Roomba j7+ takes vacuuming off your mind with personalized cleaning suggestions powered by the unique intelligence of IRobot OS. Learns your habits and your routines.
- POWERFUL PERFORMANCE. The 3-Stage Cleaning System packs 10x the Power-Lifting Suction, an Edge-Sweeping Brush gets along walls and corners, and Dual Multi-Surface Rubber Brushes flex to adjust to different floor types. Compared to the Roomba 600 series.
Quick Rundown Of Roborock S7
- Sonic Mopping Technology. Roborock S7 robot vacuum mops with the power of sound, scrubbing up to 3,000 times per minute. Fed by a 300 ml electronic water tank, stains from coffee to mud and more can be cleaned deeply and effectively.
Product Videos
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References:
- Roborock S7: https://us.roborock.com/pages/roborock-s7
- Roomba J7+: https://www.irobot.com/en_US/roomba-j7plus-self-emptying-robot-vacuum/J755020.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.