Roomba 780 Vs 790

If you are considering purchasing a Roomba, the debate tends to come down to the Roomba 780 Vs 790. Which one is right for you?

Comparing Roomba 780 To 790

Similarities between the Units

Both the Roomba 780 and 790 have room to room navigation and touchpad controls, which the cheaper Roomba model 770 lacks. All 700 series Roombas have a limited six month warranty on the rechargeable battery and one year warranty on the Roomba itself.

Pros of the Roomba 780

• The Roomba 780 does a good job essentially sweeping your floors, a massive time saver if you have many wood floors.

• The Roomba 780 is cheaper than the model 790.

• The Roomba 780 does just as good a job cleaning your carpets, wooden floors and bare floors.

• The Roomba 780 picks up dog and cat hair as well as the more expensive Roomba 790. Conversely, the units are equally subject to having pet hair get stuck in the roller.

Cons of the Roomba 780

• The unit has a tendency to get stuck on thick rugs, trapped behind furniture and get confused if stuck in a jumble of toys. You should lightly clean the rooms by picking up toys and trash cans before you run the Roomba, though this is a hassle if you hoped the Roomba would mostly eliminate your need to clean house.

• Depending on your home’s layout, the extra virtual light house you get with the Roomba 790 may make it harder to set parts of your home off limits to the Roomba.

Pros of the Roomba 790

• The Roomba 790 has a wireless command center. The Roomba 790 has one more virtual light house than the model 780, and three more sets of filters.

• The Roomba 790 gives you more extra brushes and side brushes. The manufacturer promotes the fact that they give you a screw driver and accessory storage with the Roomba 790, but this is less of a concern.

Cons of the Roomba 790

• For the extra $100, for a total price of $699, the primary difference is in extra brushes and tools. In a Roomba 780 Vs 790 comparison, there is no significant difference in performance. The primary difference comes down to the extra hardware.

• A kit of replacement brushes costs $30 to $40, while a set of replacement filters is about $15. The extra virtual light house is $40. The end total is that the extra $100 in models is made up for the retail cost of the extra items they throw in. Given the Roomba 790’s roughly $700 price tag, they ought to give more of a discount on the extras they throw in. Roombas on average last two years if used for their full battery life several times a week. You don’t want to pay extra for all the spare parts if the Roomba won’t last long enough to use them.

One exception may be if you are coping with a lot of pet hair. Both units do as good a job of picking up pet hair. If you purchase the Roomba 790, you can swap out the Roomba brush that is stuck due to pet hair wrapped around it and let the vacuum continue cleaning the house or throw out a caked filter without waiting for a replacement. In that regard, the extra parts prevent the unit from sitting idly in the corner.

Observations

Both the Roomba 780 and 790 are an upgrade over the Roomba 770 in terms of performance. For example, both the Roomba 780 and Roomba 790 have flexible brushes and side brushes; this gives the higher number Roomba models better performance than the model 770. For example, getting either a Roomba 780 or Roomba 790 gives you a similarly sized Roomba, three stage cleaning system underneath the robot, dual HEPA filters to remove dirt from the air as it cleans, sensors for dirt detection and fall prevention.

The wireless command center is designed to work with the Roomba it is sold with. This means that if the wireless command center doesn’t work properly, you may have to get a whole new Roomba.

The Roomba should have a rubber guard along the edges. Given the price of the unit and how cheap rubber bumpers would be, this is a small investment in improving the look of the Roomba by protecting it from scratches and dings as it literally bounces off furniture and walls.

Summary

If your home is mostly filled with wood, tile or concrete floors without obstacles, the Roomba is an amazing time saver. If you have thick carpets, the Roomba will wear out quickly and require tedious monthly maintenance. But for low pile carpets it works as well as it does on hard surfaces. Given these caveats, the Roomba 780 is a better choice for Roomba fans than the Roomba 790 because of the cost. If you need extra filters or brushes, buy them as you need them. The risk you take when buying the Roomba 790 is that the Roomba itself will fail before you use all the spare parts.

A Roomba, no matter what model number it is, will work well if you have a home cluttered with items that never seem to be picked up or is crowded with furniture. Extra virtual lighthouses and sensors will never compensate for an environment for which the Roomba is poorly suited, no matter its model number.

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