Roidmi Eve Plus vs iRobot Roomba i7 + It costs half and is better
It is undeniable how iRobot (those of Roomba) has led the way in Italy in the robot vacuum cleaner sector, but the others have not stood by and watched. Many brands are emerging, bringing so much innovation and quality, capable of undermining this monopoly. Let's find out if that's really the case in this Roidmi Eve Plus vs iRobot Roomba i7 + comparison.
Topics of this article:
Design
The difference in the design adopted stands out immediately to the eye. In the Roidmi a more classic look prevails thanks also to its white and discreet color. In the iRobot a more aggressive design prevails due to the black color and the hollow details.
However, both have the classic circular shape with almost identical dimensions: 35cm diameter and 9,8cm high the Roidmi; 34cm diameter and 9,2cm the iRobot
The dust collection compartment is accessible from the front on both robots but in the Roidmi Eve Plus the HEPA filter, in addition to being twice the size, is also washable.
Navigation
LDS Laser sensor on Roidmi Eve Plus Optical sensor on iRobot i7 +
In Roidmi EvePlus we find the LIDAR turret in the upper part. A laser technology (LDS) that allows you to map environments accurately and quickly through laser pulses. L'iRobot Roomba i7 + instead it relies on an optical sensor placed at the top which, together with the vSLAM algorithm, guides the robot in the environments.
The optical sensor of the Roomba, although still present in some economic models, it is an outdated technology due to obvious limitations. It is inaccurate and also requires 3 laps of the house to generate a detailed map. In low light conditions, despite the presence of an assist light, accuracy is even more approximate. It cannot recognize obstacles accurately enough to avoid them in advance. The result is that the iRobot Roomba i7 + it moves roughly, hitting any surface, going into crisis in the most complicated situations (eg under chairs). This implies a longer time spent cleaning, greater battery consumption, less precision in cleaning.
Instead in the Roidmi Eve More LDS laser technology does great and exactly the opposite of the Roomba. The map is generated (or regenerated) quickly and accurate to the centimeter. The robot is always perfectly oriented within the environments, managing to cover the area to be cleaned with great precision and sensible paths. All this even in the dark of course.
To clean my kitchen which measures approximately 12 square meters that can be walked on, the Rodmi takes 12 minutes while the Roomba takes 17 minutes with even more approximate results. Considering then that thebattery power of the iRobot i7 + is only 1830mAh (in the Roidme Eve Plus it is 5200mAh), all this extra time wasted in navigation, also occurs with a very limited autonomy.
The difference in favor of the Roidmi is enormous.
Suction
As for aspiration, we find similar solutions.
In Roomba, two opposing rollers send the dirt into the suction channel. On the side, a rotating brush helps to reach corners and concentrate the dirt towards the main brush. The suction pressure is only 1800PA but the double roller compensates for this deficiency.
Likewise the Roidmi Eve More it has a single roller as main brush and two side rotating brushes. Here it makes the difference the large suction pressure of 2700PA, able to obtain good results even on carpets.
Also in this case, the tests are in favor of Roidmi thanks to the greater power but above all to the better navigation system that guarantees more accurate results. The Roidmi also automatically recognizes carpets and increases power.
On the other hand, the greater capacity of the container of the poor of the Roomba is in favor, which is 400ml against the 300 of the Roidmi. But it is an aspect that weighs poco given the self-emptying function present in both products.
Washing
The mopping floor washing function is only present in the Roidmi which has a small 250ml tank and a cloth accessory that can be installed if necessary. Thanks also to the presence of a solenoid valve, it is possible to choose the amount of water to be used and to select areas on the map that must not be washed.
This is not suitable for difficult floor stains, but the result is nonetheless excellent system for freshening floors and keep them clean. On completely smooth floors, even better results are achieved.
THEiRobot Roomba i7 + does not have this function, so it was not possible to compare them.
Self-emptying base
On both products we find a base that empties the robot when it returns to office. They use a bag where the dirt is collected and which can then be trashed without getting dirty. In the Roidmi the capacity is 3L, while in the iRobot it is 2.8L.
La Roidmi for its base it has developed a very efficient system for collecting dirt from the robot by placing the attachment laterally instead of under the robot. This guarantees a shorter and more natural aspiration path resulting in less power loss and less risk of obstruction as well as a less bulky base. The base also has an advanced self-sterilization system which comes into operation after cleaning is finished and keeps the robot clean while the HEPA filter will start generating deodorant particles with active oxygen technology (also used for medical equipment), able to sanitize, eliminate bacteria and bad smells.
Also based on the Roidmi Eve More there is a comfortable touch display which indicates the residual charge, the countdown during emptying and can be used to force the emptying itself. Inside we also find a filter that can be removed and washed.
The basis of Roomba does its job, emptying dirt without problems. The operation can also be started via the app.
In general, both do their job efficiently but it is clear that the Roidmi has been able to propose something more.
Management application
Il Roidmi Eve More uses the Xiaomi app for home automation management Xiaomi Home. The app is well designed and intuitive to use. The main screen immediately gives us an overview of the map of the house and shows us the position of the robot in real time even during cleaning. There are many settings and functions available: creation of areas prohibited for cleaning or washing, infinite virtual walls and forbidden areas, creation of routines, carpet recognition, remote control, modification of maps, recall of robots for emptying, etc.
The iRobot app, iRobotHome, is structured in a different way, less intuitive for my taste, but includes the main functions such as map management, cleaning planning and various parameters of the robot. I notice only two big shortcomings: the visualization of the robot in the map and the creation of virtual walls / forbidden zones. For theiRobot Roomba i7 + a “physical” battery-powered accessory was designed to be placed in front of the forbidden area, but it is clear how much a less comfortable and limiting solution is.
Conclusions, Roidmi Eve Plus amazed me
I faced this confrontation with great enthusiasm and curiosity to understand at what point the "other brands" in the Robotics sector are compared to the American giant iRobot. I never imagined receiving results so unbalanced as to seem biased.
The big gap is certainly that of navigation system, enormously superior in the Roidmi Eve Plus thanks to LDS laser technology. This also negatively affects the quality of cleaning and autonomy, already penalized by the lacking technical specifications of the iRobot Roomba I7 +.
If you add the “washing” function which is present only Roidmi, the result of the comparison is all in favor of Roidmi.
As if this were not enough, the Roidmi Eve Plus is on sale on amazon at € 362 (using the discount code O8ZDTIDB), or less than half of the iRobot's € 899. There is poco more to add to this landslide victory.
