iRobot Roomba 980 Review

PROS / The iRobot Roomba 980 can be controlled remotely in a lot of different ways, including by a phone app and Amazon Alexa.

CONS / It has less suction than some robot vacs.

VERDICT / This is the most self-sufficient robot vacuum. It deftly navigates through obstacles and leaves your floors clean.


The iRobot Roomba 980 was one of the last models we home-tested for our robot vacuum reviews, and it put most of the others to shame. Nothing could stop our Top Ten Reviews Bronze Award winner from vacuuming for its entire battery charge. Competitors would stop at every rug's edge, every furniture leg, many a minor obstacle, and sometimes need human intervention to get started again. The Roomba 980 just kept going. It also had good suction on our cleaning tests, with a few exceptions.

No machine stopped less. In fact, it didn’t stop at all, making it one of the few that could really qualify to be left unattended. Some of the others stopped so often that it would be pointless to leave them running while you are at work, which is supposed to be one of the benefits of a robot vacuum. They would get stuck within five minutes and need human help to get going again. This one was unstoppable.

The iRobot Roomba 980 picked up more test messes than all but the very best robot vacuum cleaner, and it was so self-sufficient – the most self-sufficient, actually. This is the one you want if you are hoping to come home to cleaner floors. Most of the others got stuck too often, so they need constant attention. This one navigates through your home without your help. We emptied a very respectable amount of pet hair, cereal, kitty litter and other debris out of this unit, but there were others that removed even a little more. We think it is very competitive, even at its relatively high price, especially for busy people who want to be able to forget about their robot vacuum and simply come home to cleaner floors.