REVIEWS

iRobot Roomba 650 Vs. 880 – Detailed Review & Comparison

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MAIN DIFFERENCE: We had a quick look at the features of these two models, but we noticed one major  difference between Roomba 650 & 880 and that is –  ”The Multi-Room Navigationfunction featured on 880. This means  Roomba 880 can clean from room to room while Roomba 650

 will require you to lift it up manually and take it to another room.

iRobot Roomba 650 vs 880

OUR BEST CHOICE: We recommend **  Roomba 880 over Roomba 650 simply because of the following reasons:

(1) It transitions easily from hardwood floors to thick carpets easily yet 650 sees thick carpets as obstacles – so it just cleans around them. (2)  it cleans from room to room without any need for supervision.

Check Roomba 880 price on Amazon

 

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COMPARISON BETWEEN ROOMBA 650 & 880 ”CHART”

COMPARISON BETWEEN ROOMBA 650 & 880

 

Brief side by side comparison between iRobot Roomba 650 & 880

 

  Roomba 650 Roomba 880
Self-Charging Yes Yes
Multi-Room Navigation No Yes
iAdapt navigation Yes Yes
Entire Level Cleaning No No
Recharge & Resume No No
Scheduling Yes Yes
Auto Recharge Yes Yes
Tangle-Free Debris Extractors No Yes
HEPA Filter Yes Yes
Wi-Fi connectivity No No
Remote Control Yes Yes
3-Stage Cleaning System Yes Yes
AeroForce 3-Stage Cleaning System Yes Yes
Carpet Boost No No
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DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ROOMBA 650 & 880:

  1. 650 does not have Tangle-Free debris extractors while 880 has them
  2. 880 can clean from room to room using a ”Multi-Room Navigation system while 650 can’t clean from room to room.
  3. 650 is more affordable than 880

 

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SIMILARITIES BETWEEN ROOMBA 650 & 880:

  1. Convenient Scheduling – Choose time and day when you want 650 / 880 to vacuum your room.
  2. Self-Charging: Both iRobot 650 and 880 automatically dock and charge themselves once the battery is low.
  3. Easy to operate – all you have to do is to press ”Clean” button which is found at the top of the robot
  4. Both use a 3-stage Cleaning system which uses a combination of brushing, agitation and suction power to thoroughly remove dirt on floors & carpets
  5. Both models use the iAdpat Responsive Navigation technology – This technology enables them navigate your home easily without bumping into objects or falling over cliffs & stairs.
  6. Both iRobot Roomba 650 & 880 have low profile designs of about 3.6 inches – makes it easy for them to clean under the sofa and bed.
  7. Virtual Wall Technology – by default, both models come with Virtual Wall Barrier, this keeps the Roombas in the rooms you want them to clean.
  8. Spinning Side brush – 650 and 880 have a tangle free spinning side brush which cleans wall edges & corners.

 

Suggested Read: Roomba 960 vs 9800: Pros & Cons and Verdict

 

IROBOT ROOMBA 650 Series  (VIDEO REVIEW):

Read 650 Customer Reviews on Amazon >>>

 

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PERFORMANCE COMPARISON BETWEEN roomba 650 & 880:

 

Control and Usability:

Control and Usability

Roomba 650 and 880 are not Wifi-connected like 980 & 960 but you can control them via Bluetooth. All you have to do is to install Roomba mobile app – sync and connect to either 650 / 880 and press the ”Clean” button on your mobile to start the robot. You can as well create cleaning schedules via your mobile. This function makes it easier to use both models.

 

On the other hand, you can as well use the push button found at the top of the robot. Once you press the ”Clean” button on the robot – it will get off its dock station and start vacuuming your room.

 

Bottom line:- Since both models are very easy to use, I will give them the same rating for this.

 

Transition from Wood to rug:

Moves from hard floor to carpets

Both Roomba 880 and 650 can transition from floor to floor. However, after reading through customer reviews, I noticed that Roomba 650 finds it hard to transition from a hard wood floor to a thick carpet (it transitions very well if the carpet is thin). When it finds a rug / carpet which is thick, it assumes it is an obstacle, so it cleans around it but does not get on top of the carpet to clean it.

 

Bottom line:- So if your room has a thick carpet, you should consider buying Roomba 880 not 650

 

Cleaning Under Furniture:

Cleaning Under Beds & Sofas

Since 650 and 880 have a low profile design ”3.6 inches” – they can get under kickboards, beds and sofas. You don’t have to lift over your bed or furniture to create room for any of these two robotic vacuum cleaners; they will find their way under that bed, sofa and extract dirt which hides down there. They also feature a tangle free brush so they won’t lose suction when they get in contact with concentrated dirt under your bed.

 

Bottom line:- I give both models the same credit for the low profile design. Both can reach all hard to vacuum areas.

 

Cleans around clutter & objects:

Cleans around Clutter

Roomba 650 and 880 use iAdapt Navigation sensors to detect obstacles in your room. Once the robot gets close to an obstacle like a bag, it cleans around it and moves onto other areas which need cleaning.

For effective results, make sure the floor is free from obstacles like Bags, Toys, Wires and so much more.

 

Bottom line:- Since both models use the same iAdapt navigation technology to spot and avoid obstacles, I will give them the same credit for this function. Good thing is that they will clean around the obstacle.

 

Sweep dirt from Edges and Corners:

Sweep dirt around walls & edges

The spinning side brush featured on both models won’t leave any dirt on wall edges and in corners of your room. The side brush is tangle free – so it will squeeze its self in all tight places found on wall edges.

 

Effective cleaning:- To get good result, remove obstacles from wall edges. This will make it easy for the robot to do its job.

 

Move over Thresholds:

Move over Thresholds

The Roomba 650 and 880 robot vacuum-cleaners are also designed to go over small-items on the floor or carpets. In fact both the Roomba 650 and 880 are equipped with a 1-threshold and 3-risers which help them move over uneven floors that are about an inch, one-third inches and two-inches tall.

Bottom line:- Both the Roomba 650 and 880 can pass over small-thresholds and this implies that will be able to move from a tile/hardwood floors to carpets easily without stopping thus ensuring a thorough cleaning-process.

 

Avoid Stairs and Drop offs

Avoid Stairs and Drop offs

Both the Roomba 650 and 880 are equipped with iAdapt Responsive Navigation technology which facilitates for easy navigation within your unique home design without ramming into walls. In fact, this technology enables the Roomba 650 and 880 to clean around clutter easily while avoiding stairs and drop-offs.

Bottom line: – All robot vacuum-cleaners in the Roomba family feature iAdapt Responsive Navigation technology. So, it’s normal for the Roomba 650 and 880 to have this feature.

 

3-Stage Cleaning System

3-Stage Cleaning System

The Roomba 650 and 880 are equipped a patented 3-stage cleaning system which uses a combination of agitation, brushing and suction to pick-up dust, pet-hair and large debris like cereals from the floor or carpet. In fact, the 3-stage cleaning system works on all floor-types and carpets so as to keep your home clean at all times.

Bottom line:- Although both Roomba 650 and 880 feature a 3-stage cleaning system, the Roomba 880 features a 5x more powerful Aeroforce 3-stage cleaning system which performs better than the AeroVac 3-stage cleaning system found in the Roomba 650. So, the Roomba 880 is the winner here because it will use its debris-extractors coupled with a Gen-2 motor to grab more dirt from any floor type compared to the Roomba 650.

 

Concentrated Cleaning

Concentrated-Cleaning

Its only the Roomba 880 vacuum-cleaner that is equipped with Dirt-Detect Series II technology which helps to detect dirt that is missing and even uses optical and acoustic sensors to detect high-concentrations of dirt, pet-hair and dust in order to perform focused cleaning in such areas. However, the The Roomba 650 doesn have the concentrated-cleaning feature but it may surprisingly clean dirty-section on the floor/carpet for more than once sometimes.

Bottom line:- so, if you have kids and pets at home then consider buying the Roomba 880 vacuume-cleaner because it can detect high-concentration of dirt and pet-hair on the floor or carpets thus facilitating for a concentrated-cleaning in order to keep your home clean. But if you don’t have kids and pets at home, then you may go for the Roomba 650 since it provides a good cleaning-routine but without the concentrated-cleaning feature.

 

Remote Control:

You might not get a remote when buying the Roomba 650 and 880 but I have seen an iRobot remote control for series 500,600 and 800. in fact, both Roomba 650 and 880 require you to press the clean-button in order to enable them start the cleaning-process.

Bottom line:- Although both the Roomba 650 and 880 are not provided with a remote, you may schedule them using Bluetooth-connectivity with your Smartphone in order to conveniently vacuum your home for up to 7x per week.

 

Limitations:

The Roomba 650 and 880 vacuum-cleaners do not clean windows, stairs and areas that are shorter or narrow than it. In fact, these vacuum-cleaners feature a low-profile design that facilitates for cleaning under beds, sofa and tables but they won’t clean areas above like walls, windows, etc.

Bottom line:- Both Roomba 650 and 880 equipped with iAdapt Responsive Navigation technology coupled with low-profile-design of 3.6 inches tall. This implies that these vacuum-cleaners are designed to fit and clean under most furniture while avoiding stairs and drop-offs. So, if your home is has stairs then consider using a hand-held vacuum-cleaner to clean them you will also need to clean areas above the Roomba vacuum-cleaners manually like windows, walls, etc.

 

Stairs & Cliffs:

Avoid Stairs and Drop offs

Both Roomba 650 and 880 can easily avoid stairs and cliffs because they are equipped with an advanced iAdapt Responsive Navigation system which enables them to navigate within any home easily while cleaning around clutter while avoiding drop-offs and ramming into walls.

Bottom line: – if your home has stairs and cliffs then the Roomba 650 and 880 vacuum-cleaners will do the cleaning perfectly without experiencing any drop-offs or ramming into walls.

 

Battery Life:

Battery Life and Runtime

The Roomba 650 cleans up to 60 minutes and then it automatically goes back to the charging dock. On the other hand, the Roomba 880 cleans for up to 75 minutes before going back to its charging dock thus delivering more cleaning-cycles than the Roomba 650..

Bottom line:- Overall, the Roomba 880 vacuum-cleaner is the better than the Roomba 650 in terms of battery-life because the Roomba 880 provides you with more cleaning-cycles before recharging.

 

Returns to charging station:

Recharge

Once the battery runs low, both Roomba 650 and 880 return to their charging-stations. However, the Roomba 650 takes about 60-minutes of cleaning before returning to the charging-station while the Roomba 880 returns to the charging-station after 75-minutes of intensive cleaning. On the other hand, both Roomba 650 and 880 take the same charging-time but the only difference is that the Roomba 880 is equipped with a stronger battery that lasts for longer after recharging.

Bottom line:-  the Roomba 880 is the winner here because it makes cleaning-cycles before going back to the charging-station and even has an extended battery-life compared to the Roomba 650.

 

 

Clean and Schedule on the Go:

Clean and Schedule

You can schedule both Roomba 650 and 880 to vacuum for up to 7-times per week. This can be achieved with Bluetooth-connectivity and a Roomba-App downloaded onto your Smartphone thus facilitating easy and convenient operation of these vacuum-cleaners.

 

Bottom line:- Both the Roomba 650 and 880 can be easily scheduled and controlled on your Smartphone while at home and is actually a great feature for people who are always very busy during the weekdays.

 

Multi-Room Cleaning:

Navigates around your home

The Roomba 650 features a single virtual-wall that is capable of restricting it to cleaning a single-room equipped with one-door via an infrared-signal. However, the Roomba 880 features 2 virtual-wall lighthouse devices whereby under the lighthouse-mode these devices will keep the Roomba-880 cleaning in one-room and afterwards send it off to the next room thus facilitating for guided-cleaning in up to 3-rooms. Additionally, the Roomba-880 can also be kept in just the room that you want to clean and away from other rooms using the virtual wall mode.

 

Bottom line:- If you have a big-home with multiple rooms then the Roomba-880 will work perfectly for you simply using the lighthouse-mode to clean them all while the Roomba-650 only works for people with small-home because it cleans one-room at a time.

ROOMBA 880 ROOMBA 650
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WHAT WE LIKED ABOUT ROOMBA 650?

  1. A Low-profile design for quick and easy cleaning under beds, sofas and other hard-to-reach places.
  2. A Convenient Scheduling feature that enables you to set the vacuum-cleaner to automatically clean for up to 7x per week.
  3. A Self-charging feature which enables the vacuum-cleaner to automatically return to its charging-station when the battery is low.
  4. Gently cleans wall-edges corners using the integrated Spinning Side Brush.
  5. A 3-Stage Cleaning System that uses a combination of agitation, brushing and suction processes.
  6. Virtual Wall Technology which keeps the Roomba in only the rooms you want to get cleaned.
  7. Simple Operation by just pressing on the start-button to start the cleaning-process.

 

 

WHAT WE LIKED ABOUT ROOMBA 880?

  1. Guided Room-to-Room Navigation technology for guided cleaning in up to 3-rooms.
  2. Detects the dirt that could go missing using Dirt-Detect Series II technology.
  3. It Avoids stairs, obstacles and drop-offs using iAdapt Responsive Navigation technology.
  4. Scheduling-feature that enables you to set the Roomba-880 to vacuum for up to 7x per week.
  5. It detects high concentrations of dirt, dust and pet hair Optical and acoustic sensors.
  6. AeroForce 3‐Stage Cleaning System and Gen 2 motor for improved cleaning performance and lower maintenance.
  7. It facilitates for concentrated cleaning in areas where its need most.
  8. Maneuvers under and around most furniture, beds and curtains using iAdapt Responsive Navigation technology.
  9. An iRobot XLife Extended-Life Battery that delivers more cleaning cycles than previous Roomba batteries.
  10. Simple Operation by Just pressing on the Clean-button and the robot gets to work.
  11. Gently cleans wall edges and corners using the Spinning Side Brush.

 

CONCLUSION:

  • Big home / large apartment owners:  We recommend gettingRoomba 880 – (Check price on Amazon). It can move from room to room using its multi-room navigation system. Roomba 650 is absolutely good but it can’t move from room to room without your intervention.

 

  • Small apartment / home owners: We recommend gettingRoomba 650(Check price on Amazon). It is the most affordable Roomba robotic vacuum and one of the most popular models on the market. If you don’t mind uplifting it to the next room – think no further than this.

 

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Vanilla Farmer, Amazon Retailer & Tech Researcher. Yosaki is my personal blog but I'm working on some big tech project back doors. I will keep on posting various topics on things I have knowledge about.