Robot vacuum and mop pioneer iRobot announced two new robots at IFA 2023: the Roomba Combo i5 and Roomba Combo j5. The two models vacuum and mop floors and are available with or without an auto-empty charging dock. Models with the self-emptying capability carry the Plus designation in their name.
Roomba Combo j5 and j5 plus (premium)
iRobot is taking orders for both new j5 robot vacuum and mop packages at Amazon. Of the new releases, the j-series robots are on the premium end.
Roomba Combo j5+
Roomba Combo j5
iRobot Combo i5 and i5 plus (mid-range)
The other two new robots are in iRobot’s value-priced mid-range i-Series. iRobot is taking orders for both new i5 robot vacuum and mop packages at Amazon.
Roomba Combo i5+
Roomba Combo i5
In contrast to last year’s Combo j7 Plus, both new Roomba models forgo the robot arm. Instead, when you want to mop, you switch the dustbin for a combination dustbin and water tank which has a mop pad attached to it.
Related: See our comparison of iRobot’s recent mopping robot lineup: Roomba Comparison: Combo j9+ vs j7+ vs j5+ vs i5+ and our Roomba Combo j9+ review.
The downside of this type of system is that it is less convenient than the Combo j7 Plus and competing mid-range models including the Q Revo and freshly announced mid-range priced Q5 Pro and Q8 Max from Roborock.
On the positive side both robots are more affordable than flagship Roombas. The Combo i5 Plus will retail for $549 and the Combo j5 Plus will cost $799. At time of release, the Combo j7 Plus cost $1,099.
Navigation for both Roombas comes by way of iRobot’s vSLAM navigation. The biggest departure in functionality between the two is that the j5 Plus has obstacle avoidance and object recognition, something not included in the new i-Series robot.
While some IFA 2023 robots like the new Roborock robots can’t be had until October, the Combo j5+ and i5+ are available for preorder today. Orders will ship on or before September 17th.
