8 ms·
iRobot says robot vacuums now represent 20% of worldwide vacuum market
- dudisbrie 10y agoiRobot can't really see the market need while competitor like neato and LG are offering better product with lower price. In China market, Xiao Mi and other local copycats are also selling well.
- stephengillie 10y agoWhere's the innovation at iRobot? Where are the self driving garbage cans and self driving beach coolers? Where's the quad copter that brings you a beer? This is a neat submarine article for them, but it seems to highlight a kind of complacency that other firms can innovate around.
- becewumuy 10y agoI owned an Roomba and it works fine until recently its battery is going down quickly. I'm watching Neato recently and yes it sure has an upperhand with its patent, but the marketing is way behind iRobot.
- DiabloD3 10y agoI do not own one, and I don't see the point of owning one until they can clean as well as a real vacuum. Can someone explain to me the draw?
- tinix 10y agoIf you have pets, and you or someone you live with has allergies, having a robot vacuum with a hepa filter is rather useful.
- vishnubansal 10y agoThe point is that you can setup the machine and leave home for your work. And after you come home it has already finished cleaning. However, as the restriction of the size and design, they will never clean as a vacuum like Dyson.
- UnoriginalGuy 10y agoMost people are really bad at vacuuming regularly. A robo-vac buys you more time between required vacuums. If you're happy to vacuum weekly and are already, don't buy one (seriously), but if like me you don't recall the last time you manually vacuumed then buy a $300 Xiaomi Mi and let it do your chore for you. Plus I've found that they get into places which people ignore (e.g. under the bed, bottom of the closet) and dust still acculates in those places.
- tibu 10y agoCan you share why you choosed the Xiaomi instead of a Roomba? Can it provide the same level of cleaning?
- UnoriginalGuy 10y agoIt costs $300. The Roomba "multi-room" 960 is $700 (and Neato $500). It isn't superior to the Roomba 900 series or Neato. It is just "Good Enough" and less than 1/2 the price. Ultimately it doesn't need to be better than the competition when it is cheaper than them, it just needs to basically perform its function.
- kgc 10y agoIt doesn't seem to be available in the US?
- 10y ago
- catbird 10y agoAh, they mean 20 percent of the vacuums sold this year. Since a vacuum is not something that gets replaced each year (or every 5 years even?), it will take quite a while for robots to reach 20 percent of all existing vacuums, if ever. Anecdotally the only person I know who owns a roomba used to work for iRobot.
- halimvohra 10y agoThat's a good call for pointing out the logical flaw. But basically from the people I know who owned a cleaning robot, generally it last no more than 2 years because of the new technology and the battery life.
- wott 10y agoAlso because of the amount of problems it has, and the er... "limited" quality of the result, people hope that it improves with the next versions.
- detaro 10y agoAlso seems to me like they are replaced more often than conventional vacuums (more bugs, technical progress, they run more and thus are more likely to fail, ...)
- adinambiar 10y agoThere should be a Moores Law for cleaning robot since they are upgrading too fast that many people don't want to buy it too early.
- prefect42 10y ago20% seems a bit high, now perhaps if it was "20% of the world's vacuums and Cat Antagonists" I might find that believable.
- wfunction 10y agoQuestion: how good are Roombas at actually cleaning? With an actual vacuum, I can turn it high or low, or press it harder or easier, or stick it at weird angles to make it clean. How good are Roombas in comparison?
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- stevekemp 10y agoA human can do a better job, but they are actually pretty good. I had one about five years ago, and so long as I pressed the "clean" button every day when I left my flat it was good enough that I only manually cleaned every two weeks or so. My place was ideal though, all on one floor, with no steps, and polished wooden floorboards + thin carpets only. I expect modern ones are better in terms of suction, battery life, and I know that you can schedule them so that removes the element of having to remember to press the button
- mulletbum 10y agoThe newest model, which I don't suggest, will schedule, but if you have a large space it will actually vacuum, charge, and vacuum some more till its algorithm thinks the entire room should be done.
- lobster_johnson 10y agoIt is actually very good, by virtue of running every day (unless you change its schedule to something else). So even though its suction doesn't compare well to a real big canister/bag vacuum, it makes up for that in sheer level of activity. It's not perfect. I have a single-floor apartment with no door thresholds, yet it keeps getting stuck. I keep cables and so on neatly organized and hidden, but sometimes I've left a temporary charger cord or something on the floor; this kills the Roomba. You also have to careful with plants -- it ate a whole branch of a plant once that was hanging low near the floor. It has issues with rugs, especially with black areas, but also just getting onto the rug. It also loves to close the door on a room so that it can't get out; I had to buy a couple of door wedges to prevent that, but I don't always remember to use them. Pretty much 50% of the time I come home to find the Roomba dead in a corner. Its dust compartment is quite small and must be emptied at least every 2-3 days. You also have to take out the little spindle things and remove hair which collects around the axles. Fortunately, the Roomba is really modular in design; you can take it apart completely, and there are replacement parts for absolutely everything. It is a rare product where the designers seem to have rejected the trend of planned obsolescence; I haven't really owned it long enough to be qualified to judge, or taken it apart, but everything I have seen indicates that it was carefully engineered to be repairable and last a long time. (It's probably hackable, too.) Despite its weaknessss, I am quite happy with it. It keeps my apartment clean and removes the mental burden of thinking about dust. A couple of times a month I take my Dyson to clear up some corners that the Roomba can't get to where dust bunnies pile up. I have a friend who combines it with the cleaning model, but I can't deal with two gadgets that leave their depleted, cable-choked corpses around.
- Mao_Zedang 10y agoAbout 5 of them are Dyson, seriously where is it already?
- phmagic 10y agoDominating the robot vacuum market has never been irobots problem. They still haven't figured out what's next. This is a similar story to Fitbit and GoPro, once you've own the market you're after, then what?
- mulletbum 10y agoFloor mopping with the Braava, which they are already breaking into. Gutter cleaning with Looj, pool cleaning with Mirra. Then on to lawn mowing. They have figured this out already, just none of them have as much name recognition as the roomba.
- freehunter 10y agoI would love a roomba lawn mower, but with as often as my roomba runs over my feet while it's going through its cycle, it would need some serious sensors. And when I'm mowing, I inevitably have to pick up some sticks that fell from my tree, or sometimes trash that people threw onto my lawn as they drove by. It's a harder space than the living room, you can't control the outdoors quite as much.
- JoeAltmaier 10y agoI think a slow-motion lawn mower could work. More like a turtle that crawls around cropping the grass. Always there; maybe solar powered; keeps creeping around and gently munching the tops off the taller stems.
- mulletbum 10y agoThey already have lawnmowers like this. They already work great too.
- lucaspiller 10y agoWhy does there need to be a 'next'? I've tried cheaper competitors and they aren't even close to how well Roomba's work. As long as they keep building the best quality robots, I'll keep buying them. If they divert resources to a new market and forget about their main product (kind of like Apple has with Mac), I have no issues in buying a competitors product if it's better.
- greenshackle2 10y agoMore like 5%. Let's say there's one vacuum for every 20 people (household of 4 or so, 1/2 households who can afford it own one, 1/2 households can afford it), that's 350 millions vacuums. They've sold 14 millions robot vacuums to date, let's say 25% are broken/not in use, that's 10 millions. 10/350 is 3%. According to some web page I just googled, IRobot has 60-65% market share, so accounting for competitors that's 5% of vacuums.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- DougN7 10y agoI have a roomba and never use it :( The tiny compartment that holds the dirt is too small. And I'm constantly having to dig out my wife and daughter's hair. Granted, it's 5+ years old - maybe they've improved. But in my experience it just doesn't have the strength and capacity to be something other than a conversation starter. Oh, and it keeps getting stuck in the living room...
- danudey 10y agoRoombas aren't for deep cleaning; they're basically for the light cleaning (crumbs in the kitchen, tufts of pet hair). Newer models are easier to maintain (no brush to cut hair off), but you're still expected to do a proper deep clean (with a more powerful vacuum) regularly. Also, newer ones are automated, so you come home every day, empty the canister, and that's your floors cleaned.
- kylehotchkiss 10y agoThe consumer in me wants to try Dyson's robot vac http://www.dyson.com/vacuum-cleaners/robot/360eye/360-eye-nickel-blue.aspx http://www.dyson.com/vacuum-cleaners/robot/360eye/360-eye-ni...
- donutz 10y agoI've got an old Dyson Animal vacuum, and I'm always impressed with how full of dirt the canister gets. So I've got high hopes for a robotic Dyson. That said, the reviews trickling into Amazon kind of deflate those hopes: suction is great, but otherwise it seems to have all the kinds of problems that all the robot vacuums have. Definitely not something I'd be willing to plunk down a thousand dollars for. Here's to hoping the next version is a marked improvement.
- jimjimjim 10y agowon't use one until someone includes a deep-learning image recognition module to stop it spreading a track of cat shit all over the room
- walrus01 10y agoI read a truly disturbing story last month involving a roomba, a puppy, diarrhea and a light beige carpet. Imagine 8 hours of unattended shit smearing.
- tinix 10y agoYep, we still ran our robot vacuum at a previous house even though it was hard wood floor (helps with pet dander and such) and there were definitely a few incidences of it running over cat throw up while we weren't home. The brushes actually clean it up rather well, but it still gets all over the vacuum, and leaves wet throw-up streaks all over the floor, it's horrible... but not as bad as diarrhea, and carpet.... good god.
- tinix 10y agoDoes your cat poop randomly everywhere? Or in one area? We had a Neato and it came with magnetic boundary tape, which worked rather well. I believe other brands have a similar concept with IR beams and such, which aren't as nice as the magnetic boundaries.
- mulletbum 10y agoI think he wanted it to clean up around the cat litter box, which I would say is not a smart endeavor when you are confirming there isn't soft shit laying around said box. Just as you said too, roombas come with an Infrared wall, basically to make a barrier between something. They also have a "hub" you can by, which if you sat between feeding bowls puts a ring around them the roomba wont cross.
- planetjones 10y agoBuying an irobot was one of the worst consumer decisions I ever made. It can only work with extreme supervision otherwise it mounts and scratches lamp bases, gets tangled in cords or assaults plants. What's the point of having it if you have to make the whole apartment inert before letting it loose. Worse still it never seemed to learn and would often finish its job leaving huge parts of the floor untouched. And even worse, just past the warranty period the side brush which rotates to flick dirt into the path of the irobot broke. I guess I am part of the 20% even though the irobot sits in my cellar doing nothing. We bought a dyson fluffy (battery powered) recently and that's a much better choice.
- deelowe 10y agoPretty much sums up my experience as well. The first step in using a roomba is cleaning the entire damn house.
- freehunter 10y agoSounds like poor expectation-setting by whoever sold you on a Roomba. I have two dogs and a cat and keeping up with their fur is a full time job. Much easier to run the Roomba once a day. Yeah I have to keep the floor free of large debris, but I should do that anyway so I don't mind.
- deelowe 10y agoCleaning up includes things like unplugging lamps and moving the cords. It includes taking all chairs off the floor and putting them on the table. It requires adding special devices to the floor to add barriers b/c the roomba has absolutely no learning capabilities. It includes removing rugs b/c the roomba gets stuck on them. I could go on. It's just a poor product. These things might be known issues, but when all of this is factored in, it really isn't a good solution for anything but gymnasiums and dance floors. If you have any stuff whatsoever, it takes more time and effort than a traditional vacuum.
- Bombthecat 10y ago
- mattbroekhuis 10y agoI bought one a few years back. It just gets pinned under the two pieces of furniture that have a clearance that closely match its height. I've googled and googled but there seems to be no way to solve it other than super glueing some sort of makeshift horn on it and praying it doesn't crack off. It sits in the corner now because I'm not sure what to do about it. It was a whimsical good time for a while but ultimately a waste of $300. I bought it at Costco so I'm considering just bringing it back, but I feel kind of guilty after waiting so long. I made the mistake of buying one for my parents soon after I got mine for Christmas. Theirs eats the low hanging drapes, so it sits in the corner as well. I always wince at it when I go over there for dinner. Don't do it.
- hawski 10y agoI have a couch that has clearance that is almost the height of my Roomba. It got stuck in there only once though. My idea is to increase the clearance with some pads under the couch. Then Roomba will be able to clean under the couch also. Lately I had to buy new furniture with no clearance at all or high enough so Roomba can go under.
- dharma1 10y agoIve been thinking about getting the Xiaomi robot hoover.. its got SLAM and is pretty cheap. Anyone tried?
- Derbasti 10y agoBuying a neato was one of the best things we did last year. Yes, it gets stuck under furniture ever now and then. Yes, it will freak out if you leave stuff lying on the ground. Yes, it won't get into every corner. Yes, it really only has 20W of power, and can thus only clean superficially. But it vacuums twice a week, without supervision. And it even vacuums under the bed. I'd say this has had a similar impact on our life as a dishwasher.
- davidgould 10y agoIt may not seem like it there has been much change, but the 800 series and later Roombas are vastly better than the older models. I had one of the early 400 series and it was problematic: it required a lot of picking up and it would get entangled on cords, carpet fringes, anything loose. It also would get stuck and the brushes would get jammed up with hair. So while it vacuumed ok, it required so much picking up and fiddling with that we gradually stopped using it. The new 805 we got at Costco (a bargain too) looks similar overall but everything is different in detail. The new rollers don't get tangled, it doesn't get caught on cords or fringes, it slows down and approaches walls cautiously instead of just crashing into them, and the algorithms for getting unstuck are effective. Now we have it set to run unattended twice a week and the house is cleaner than it has been for years. I recommend the 800 series (or up I guess) over the 650 that Sweethome liked because it has the new rollers and bin so it picks up better and needs much less hair removal and other fiddling around.
- oliwarner 10y agoBullshit. Headline should read, "Chap selling super expensive robot vacuum cleaners that take ten times as long as humans, and need just as much supervision, claims they're not irrelevant, really good Christmas present. Honest." I'd believe that 20% of the world's new robots are vacuum cleaners though.
- leecarraher 10y agoAnd 90% of partially broken vacuums sitting in the corner of your living room charging indefinitely in the hopes that some day it will find a purpose.
- pinaceae 10y agoHave one, relegated to cleaning the garage. Just too much issues in a household with toddler stuff lying around (toys). I'd pay serious money for a real cleaning robot though. Not a little disc but something that can navigate stairs, clean higher surfaces. Currently paying humans to do it. They have access to my house, etc. Once that cleaner robot really exists, imagine the extensions to it. Give it some other sensors and you have a fire alarm and firefighter. Even overall security. Close the doors behind you. Turn off something you forgot. Rather than put chips in every item and automate everything I'd rather have one big thing to automate my (legacy) house. Easier to upgrade, fix plus I'd have a fully functioning house if the logic fails. Looking at Japan, they seem to lead in this area. Can't wait.
- Lio 10y agoAs a former Roomba owner with allergies I have mixed feelings about current robots. The cleaning and coverage is pretty good. My Roomba didn't have massive cleaning power but because it revisits the same spot over and over it got the job done. It required quite a lot of attention though, both emptying it and removing hair and carpet fluff from it. However the real reason I got rid of it was that I suspected that the filtration wasn't very good and that it was just sucking up allergens and blowing them into the air as it went.
- izacus 10y agoDid you have one of the newer models with HEPA filters?
- Lio 10y agoI didn't, so hopefully newer Roomba's should be better in this regard. It's a difficult thing to measure though and I didn't want to take the chance again (in the short term). I found I got better cleaning (measured anecdotally by how much Ventolin I use) from a high-end handheld vacuum cleaner with HEPA and changing how I clean to include curtains, mattresses and pillows. Definitely not as cool as having a robot though. I think that Karcher used to make a robot with a base station that it would empty itself into, which is a neat idea. That would cut down on the emptying. [EDIT] I should add that the handheld vacuum cleaner has its own problems too since it's bagless. Great in principle until you empty it into a cloud of dust. I like seeing how much dirt is picked up but maybe disposable bags are the best solution after all.
- mrfusion 10y agoI wish they'd invent something to pick toys off the floor.
- aplomb 10y agoWhen he decides to lie about the share of robot vacuums within the market (which you can infer from iRobots "70%" marketshare) he should make sure their financial filings coincide - complete BS. There is no reasonable interpretation of the public data (and estimates for privately held vacuum mfgs) where 20% becomes true. Perhaps the dataset is their employees and found only 20% own their product? ;)
- fred_is_fred 10y agoUntil they solve the paint the living room with pet shit issue I can't buy it.