Vacuuming is one of the most hated chores in existence. It is very boring, time consuming and incredibly laborious. The introduction of smart vacuum cleaners has completely changed this. These new robots can operate autonomously, allow for voice control and come with a long lasting battery that allows them to clean your house in one charge. The iRobot Roomba 890 comes with iAdapt navigation, is ideal for homes with pets and has a dust bin capacity of up to 0.75 liters while the iRobot Roomba 89 1 has automatic recharging, comes with an easy to use mobile application and has dirt detection technology. Which of the two smart vacuum cleaners beats the other? We will compare the two smart vacuum cleaners head to head and give a judgment as to which smart vacuum cleaner will best suit your unique needs.
Alternatively, just skip to either the Roomba 890 or the Roomba 891 on Amazon.
Table of Contents
Quick Comparison Table Roomba 890 vs Roomba 891
| iRobot Roomba 890 | iRobot Roomba 891 | |
|---|---|---|
| Image |  |  |
| Navigation | iAdapt® Navigation | iAdapt® Navigation |
| WiFi | Yes | Yes |
| Power Suction | 1 000 Pa | 1 000 Pa |
| Virtual wall barrier | Yes | No |
| Run time | Up to 90 min | Up to 90 min |
| Battery capacity | 1 800 mAh | 1 800 mAh |
| Ideal for homes with pets | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic recharging | Yes | Yes |
| Voice assistant support | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes |
| Dust bin capacity | 0.75 liters | 0.29 liters |
| Noise | 66.2 dB | 66.2 dB |
| Dirt detection technology | Yes | Yes |
| 3 stage cleaning | Yes | Yes |
| Weight | 8.4 pounds | 12.67 pounds |
| Price | Check Price | Check Price |
Key Similarities between the Roomba 890 and the Roomba 891:
- WiFi
- Suction power
- Run time
- Application
Key Differences between the Roomba 890 and the Roomba 891:
- Virtual wall barrier
- Dust bin capacity
- Weight
A Comprehensive Comparison between the Roomba 890 and the Roomba 891
Mobile Application
Both the iRobot Roomba 890 and the Roomba 891 come with mobile applications. Electronic devices that are being manufactured often come with mobile applications. These applications allow for you to control the electronic devices as well as for you to customize the device’s settings to suit your unique preferences. Both these devices have an intuitive, clean and easy to use interface.
WiFi
Most smart devices available in the market have wireless capabilities. Both the iRobot Roomba 890 and the Irobot Roomba 891 are equipped with the WiFi technology. This allows for them to be connected to your local home wireless network and you can control the settings of the devices through using a mobile application on your smartphone.
Battery Capacity
Both the iRobot Roomba 890 and the iRobot Roomba 891 come with 1800mAh batteries. These are rechargeable batteries and this means that you do not need to worry about changing them out after they get flat. They pack a lot of energy and are able to provide enough electrical energy to power the device for up to 90 minutes. This is enough time for the typical apartment or household. If you have a small room or apartment then you must not have any challenges with these devices. If you do have a large house then you may need to get two or more iRobot Roombas to get the job done in the least amount of time.
Voice Assistant Support
When it comes to convenience in the home, nothing beats voice assistants such as Alexa. Both the Roomba 890 and the Roomba 891 can be operated using voice assistants. This allows for you to control them from the comfort of your sofa as you do not have any buttons to press or remotes to look for. In addition, you do not need to worry about your mobile phone having enough battery power for you to use it to open the mobile app to control the device.
Automatic Recharging
This is a feature that is present in the iRobot Roomba 890 and the Roomba 891. When the robots are done vacuuming the house, they go to their docking station and get charged. If they have not finished their job but the battery is low then they still head over to the docking station and get charged. This means that you do not have to worry about looking for where the robots are after the battery runs out and manually carrying them to the docking station.
Power Suction
This is an important factor to consider when choosing a vacuum cleaner. You need a vacuum cleaner that can provide an adequate amount of suction power to remove all the stubborn dirt from your floors. The Roomba 890 and the iRobot Roomba 891 come with a suction power of 1000Pa. This is enough power to remove dirt from a typical floor in a typical home.
Dirt Detection Technology
Both the Roomba 890 and the Roomba 891 come with dirt detection technology. There are dirt sensors that are present in the smart vacuum cleaners and these sensors recognize concentrated areas of dirt, like in high traffic zones of your home and provide additional cleaning in those spots.
Cleaning Method
We are used to cleaning our homes in an orderly fashion. We clean one area at a time and then when we are done, we move onto the next. The iRobot Roomba 890 and the iRobot Roomba 891 do not operate that way. They use iAdapt 1.0 navigation technology which uses a responsive algorithm to navigate the cleaning area. Instead of a systematic cleaning pattern of back and forth, Roomba heads out to clean, and when it encounters an obstacle, it maps the location internally, and then moves in another direction. Roomba will continually clean and map in this fashion until the battery is low or there is no more new area to clean. Robots that utilize iAdapt 1.0 do not have a Recharge and Resume feature, meaning that they clean as much area as they can on a single battery charge. This Roomba will not create Clean Map reports to be seen in the mobile app.
Dustbin Capacity
The Roomba 890 is made with a larger dustbin than the Roomba 891. This means that if you have a relatively large room that has a lot of foot traffic, your smart vacuum cleaner will probably pick a lot of dirt each time it cleans the area and you will have to clean out the dust bin more often if you have the 891. If you have the Roomba 890 in that same room, you will have to clean out the dustbin a lot less often due to the larger dustbin capacity.
Virtual Wall Barrier
The Roomba 890 is easier to customize than the Roomba 891. This is because it comes with a virtual wall. This virtual wall is used to control the area that the Roomba 890 cleans. This makes it ideal for those who have portions of the room that they would not want the robot to mess around e.g. if you are an electronics enthusiast you may have diodes, resistors and screws that the device will end up sucking up.
Weight
The Roomba 890 is lighter than the Roomba 891. It comes at a weight of 8.4 pounds whereas the Roomba 891 weighs 12.67 pounds. This means that the 890 will find it a lot easier to travel across different surfaces e.g. from a hard floor to a carpet due to its lighter weight. In addition its lighter weight means that it will be easier for you to carry around if the need ever arises.
Our Pick
We fell in love with the Roomba 890. This is because it comes with a host of attractive features that are not present in the Romba 891. It comes with a virtual wall barrier that allows you to gain control over the areas where you do not want your smart vacuum cleaner to operate, has a larger dustbin that allows you to clean it much less often than your would if you had the Roomba 891 and it is lighter in weight which makes it more portable than the 891.
Why Do You Need a Smart Vacuum Cleaner?
No Need For Manual Operation
If you are one of the people who have mobility issues, have physical ailments or currently have a medical condition that restricts movement, a smart vacuum cleaner is the perfect cleaning device for you. It improves your cleaning routine without putting in any extra strain on you or your situation. You simply turn it on and let it operate autonomously.
Perfect for Busy People
If you are like any of us, you work at a 9-5 job and you do not have much time or energy to deal with cleaning your home. Smart vacuum cleaners can clean on their own without any supervision which means they can save you an astonishing amount of time. You do not have to oversee them which means you can turn them on before you leave the house. Both Roomba devices we reviewed are perfect for this.
Automatically Adjusts to Different Surfaces
Do you have a bare floor in one part of the room and a carpet in another? Well that is not problem at all. Smart vacuum cleaners are able to adjust to the different vacuum settings required by different floor surfaces. There is no need to think about carpet, wood and tile when you use these machines as they automatically adjust. In addition, they come with obstacle detection sensors that allow for them to avoid stairs, walls and other physical objects.
Self Charging
Smart robot vacuum cleaners are able to recharge themselves. You do not need to worry about manually hunting for them, locating them and then carrying them to the charging or docking station. These devices detect that the battery is low and automatically go to the docking station to charge themselves. After completing the cleaning task they immediately return to their docking stations.
Low Maintenance
When you compare the smart robot vacuum cleaners to traditional manual vacuum cleaners, the smart vacuum cleaners take a lot less maintenance than their older cousins. These machines are made from high quality materials and are built to serve you for years to come. All that you need to worry about is periodically replacing the bag, emptying the container and also keeping the floor clear of clutter and other potentially damaging objects. These are the two main maintenance tasks that you will be required to do during the life of your machine.
Factors to Consider When Choosing Between the Roomba 890 and the Roomba 891
Virtual Wall Barrier
One of the main concerns that people have about smart vacuum cleaners is that they fall down the stairs, damage walls or knock over décor and other things in the home. Although this is rather rare, features such as virtual wall barriers reduce the probability of this ever happening to almost 0 percent. The virtual wall barrier feature creates boundaries that your smart vacuum cleaner will not be able to cross. This removes the threat of broken machines, damaged furniture as well as the machine going outside or into off limit areas of your home. The Roomba 890 is the only one that has this feature
Maintenance
Unlike manual vacuum cleaners, you do not have to worry about doing a lot of maintenance. However, you will need to periodically empty the dirt bag. The Roomba 890 comes with a larger dirt bag than the Roomba 891. This means that you will do a lot less maintenance if you have the Roomba 890 as you will have a larger dirt bag that is emptied much less often.
Weight
The Roomba 890 comes at a much lower weight than the Roomba 891. This could be interpreted in different ways. One could say due to the larger weight, the Roomba 891 has more stability while another could say since the Roomba 890 comes at a lower weight, then it is able to move over different surfaces such as floors and carpets more easily than the 891.
Personal Preference
At the end of the day, it all comes down to personal preference. The Roomba 890 comes with all the latest technology and may allow for you to have a smoother experience while the Roomba 891 may be found to be better as users will be more used to it.
Roomba 890 vs Roomba 891 FAQs
Do I have to Have WiFi?
It will require WIFI to work with your phone remotely. Otherwise you can just press the buttons on the robot manually.
Can I Operate it from my Phone or do I need a special Remote?
You can use your mobile phone.
Do you need Alexa to use the Roombas?
Alexa is an optional feature. It is not required for the Robot to run. It is there if you wish to pair it and use it with your Roomba.
How Do I keep it from falling down the Stairs?
The devices have edge detection sensors. You do not need to worry about this.
Does it Scratch Floors?
No it does not. You do not need to worry about this.
Conclusion
In this article, we explored the similarities and differences present between the Roomba 890 and the Roomba 891. We found the Roomba 890 to be the clear winner as it comes with a larger dust bin capacity, a virtual wall barrier and a much lighter weight than its competitor.
We included a list of features to look out for when choosing between the two smart vacuum cleaners. This will help you to choose which smart vacuum cleaner best suits your needs. Check out the best smart vacuum cleaner, the Roomba 890 on Amazon.
