what's up guys i'm ben from Authentech, and today's video super interesting
we're gonna be comparing to the current top-of-the-line robot vacs in the
industry right now I'm talking about the Neato Botvac D7 versus the iRobot
Roomba i7 plus first I want to cover all the unique features and benefits of each
model and then at the end we'll cover the pros and cons the major differences
between the two let's dive right in and check them out first massive shout out
to both Neto and iRobot for sending me the review units let's start with the d7
from Neto in the box includes the d7 bot vac charging base extra filters cleaning
tool and a 2 meter magnetic boundary marker the d7 has a D shaped design
which is quite unique compared to other robot Mac's out there the main idea is
so that it can get straight into corners better which is clever in my opinion
another feature I really appreciate in which more robot VAX would adopt is that
massive size of that main brush underneath it's 11 inches I believe it
spans almost the entire width of the whole unit and this simply makes sense
right it's more efficient just like a normal vacuum the less times needed to
go back and forth there's wider coverage area and it's great to have on a small
note I wish that little side brush was a bit larger it seems just so tiny
especially compared to competing models and then there's been times that a
larger side brush would have caught a few things that it scooted past the
overall design of the d7 looks sharp and nice to empty the dirt bin is easy and
straightforward and that bin can hold quite a bit of dirt and debris I also
appreciate the built-in carrying handle it makes it easy for carrying around
when you need to manually relocate on the sides and bottom are tons of sensors
and up top is lidar or what nito calls their laser smart technology it scans
and mattes your entire house creating a floor plan for the robot vac to follow
this allows intelligent navigation and creates those beautiful straight lines
in the carpet which is always a favorite of mine another major benefit of the
laser it allows the vac to run in the dark so entering rooms that are dimly
lit or even run late at night or early morning this
won't affect the laser navigation at all now I'm getting a little ahead of myself
to set up is fast and easy you download their app create an account
connect the bot back to your home Wi-Fi and that's basically it
it features over-the-air firmware updates seamless and painless the app is
slick and clean there's just a few small but nice touches I appreciate like tap
the battery gives you exact percentage plus time remaining to fully charge
they say the battery life can last up to two hours on a full charge you can view
a cleaning summary where the VAX cleaned on your floor plan plus detailed and
historical date of cleaning time area cleaned etc under cleaning options you
can select full house spa or manual also choose eco or turbo mode with extra care
available as well you can schedule cleaning days and times
my very first impressions the back is not very loud at all I could be on a
phone call with the vac cleaning in the room no problem the suction and cleaning
power also seemed very nice and sufficient when you first set up the d7
needs to complete a full cleaning run and then return to base and then you
save your created floor plan then it comes one of my top favorite features of
the d7 and that's what they call no go lines they're basically invisible
barriers or lines drawn on your floor plan to prevent the robot from entering
that room or area this is perfect for creating digital boundaries around those
shag rugs or cords on the ground areas you don't want the vac to go adding
these no-go lines on the floor plan is easy and straightforward a very helpful
feature to have another cool one you can add multiple floor plans as well perfect
for multi-level homes with a recent update they added a quick boost feature
which means if the BOTS vac runs low on power mid cleaning it'll return to the
charging base get the right amount of charge needed to resume that cleaning
job to finish the job fast very clever ok so no product is perfect here's a
couple hiccups I found one small issue I had with map creation is having to run a
full complete thorough job run in order for that map to be created this
took me a couple of tries as one time it got hung up on a shag rug and messed up
the map or a doorway was accidentally closed mid cleaning a feature request I
love to see allow me to remotely drive the bot vac around my house using my
phone as a remote it'll bounce that laser all around let me watch that map
being generated it in real-time and then BAM easy-peasy it's done seems way
faster in my opinion another issue I ran into once your map is created it's
currently a difficult task if you move that base station for example we just
got our Christmas tree so I need to move the base station over a little bit well
I first tried a perpendicular wall approximately eight feet away
no go when it goes out to clean that stays frozen mid spot like a lost puppy
I then tried to move it back to almost where it originally was about three feet
away right next to the Christmas tree but unfortunately still no good could
not proceed in the app it says that no floor plan match is found so
unfortunately my only options are to cancel the cleaning create a new floor
plan or clean without no-go lines I feel like I should be able to just set the
new base station location on the current map or it should be able to
automatically figure this all out that laser system is measuring all around
right fortunately almost all of these items
could be fixed with a future software update one big upcoming feature on the
nido is called zone cleaning the feature isn't available just yet for me right
now but it should be coming this fall 2018 we'll be able to draw zones on our
map name them and then we can target those specific areas hopefully we can
set custom schedules per specific zones as well that'd be awesome
ok so let's jump over to the Roomba i7 plus this is a robot's latest and
greatest and not to worry it has some awesome unique features of its own first
starting with a quick unboxing inside is the i7 robot vac one clean a base
automatic dirt disposal - dirt bags virtual wall barrier one extra filter
and 1 spare side brush design is always super premium and top quality with the
Roomba series they have a built-in carrying
as well which is convenient a few capacitive touch buttons on top there
app and setup is all very similar you basically connect the Roomba to your
home Wi-Fi fast and easy also in the app you can select Auto one or two pass for
deep cleaning job history with analytics and maps speaking of maps
unlike the lidar system iRobot has decided to stick it out with their
patented iadapt navigation and a/v slam technology by combining an assortment of
sensor data like wheel movement optical floor sensor and the camera on top which
is looking for landmarks and patterns not taking pictures like some people
think it paints it all together to create a virtual floor plan okay so the
i7 mapping process is slightly different as well you send the room out to clean
your home and as they say after 2 to 5 cleaning runs your smart map will be
Auto generated so as I set my now I could see the percentage grow with each
run which is pretty clever they also suggest to run the room by at different
times of the day so it can learn those visual landmarks in different lighting
conditions and this reveals one small negative of the V slam technology Roomba
can't see in total darkness I know it's not a large percentage of people but if
you're one of the few who like to run the Roomba in the middle of the night it
might have some trouble visually mapping out your house in the pitch-black just
keep this in mind on a positive note of the Roomba nav system they say if you
pick it up or drop it off on any floor it'll figure out where it's at on the i7
they say you can save up to ten at different floor plans which seems more
than enough interestingly I believe the laser systems have a more difficult time
with this specific task like I just mentioned if we're moving that base
station around it sort of breaks the map though it all seems software base right
either way there are pros and cons of each nav system ok so back to the
features and benefits one of my favorites and the most obvious feature
of the i7 plus is that automatic dirt disposal and charging station so the
Roomba climbs up the station not only to recharge but then with a massive suction
sounds like an awesome jet engine
it sucks up all the dirt and dust and nasty debris straight out of the roomba
and right into a disposable bag that holds up to 30 bins of junk so for a
quick math let's say you have a Roomba automatically run twice every week
that's gonna last you about 15 weeks or over three months for one bag that's
pretty good on the underside of the i7 is probably
my favorite roller system they use these two rubber brush is designed to stay in
constant contact with the floor from hard floors to carpets picking up dust
dirt even hair and then always staying at tangle-free those other brush rollers
always seem to tangle up over time with hair and strings which is just gross to
clean out now yes if you choose to manually empty the dirt bin on the i7
Roomba you can just press the eject button to pull it out empty clean the
filter or whatever I have to say though the freedom and efficiency of that
automatic emptying bin system is just amazing I can set the schedule and
forget it it'll automatically clean my house Auto empty the dirt bin all I need
to do every few months is effortlessly pull out that bag of debris which
conveniently closes down when you pull it out great attention to detail you
toss in the trash and insert a new bag one small and I mean a very small bummer
of that Auto emptying a base station well you don't get that satisfaction
I've seen exactly how much the robot vac just cleaned up on its last run again
not really a negative it's just sometimes fun to see how much junk that
robot actually picks up on a cleaning often it's a lot more than you think the
Roomba i7 cleans up very well good strong suction again not too loud which
is nice and has a slightly larger side brush for edge sweeping on to my other
favorite feature of the i7 is room-by-room tagging navigation and
cleaning with voice control Alexa or Google assistant scheduling or through
app control I can tell the Roomba to go clean just the kitchen area and bam
that's it so here's how its fleshed out once your smart map is created we're
able to label and create sections to areas and rooms then we hit clean choose
specific rooms or the whole house and hit go and that's why it's so awesome
because how Dhin is my formal dining room or maybe
my extra guest bedroom actually really dirty and needs a cleaning well not
every single time the room that goes out for a clean that's just a waste of time
and energy so under scheduling I can say every Tuesday Thursday and Saturday go
out and clean just these higher traffic areas and rooms I really need the
cleaning then add a second scheduled every single night right at 8:00 p.m. go
clean the kitchen as it will probably be a bit messy from cooking and eating
dinner the ideas are pretty endless and I really enjoy this clean up by room
feature now unfortunately the Roomba isn't perfect either and here's a few
wishlist items I found on both the Roomba and neato there's no real-time
mapping or path generation in the app this was found on my me vac that I
reviewed previously make sure you check it out in case you missed it and it's
slightly bigger deal than you might think to pull up a real-time location
tracking of your robot vac to see where in the house it's already cleaned or see
where it has to go maybe it's missed an area or an object it's struggled to
navigate around or its cleans just enough of the house so we can send it
back home these are just a few small examples of why I miss real-time at map
tracking and I'd really like to see the software feature come to both nieto and
Roomba it's definitely not a deal breaker for either model just something
I've really missed coming from the me vac thankfully this is all software
based so hopefully we can see it in a future update
another small negative the Roomba does not yet have those no-go zones or in-app
virtual barriers like the neato technically I found when you edit the
floor plan I could create a zone or section of a room like this area right
here it's a thick shag rug that hangs up the room but sometimes so instead of
no-go lines I call that zone rug and then simply tell the Roomba to never
clean that area so it's kind of like a workaround I also hear these at no-go
areas might be pushed out and they feature update for that Roomba so stay
tuned okay so those are just some of the key unique features and benefits pros
and cons of each robot vac on one hand I really like the neato super wide
cleaning head those no-go lines that upcoming
zone cleaning features going to be awesome it too has voice and smart home
control through a lexan Google assistant it uses laser tech firm mapping and
navigating all around for all lighting conditions on the other hand the Roomba
has those a dual rubber brushes that never tangle that auto emptying a base
station is super convenient and awesome to have on the neato and other robot VAX
out there I always hate having to pull out that dust bin manually shake all
that dust and dirt into the garbage can particles are flying up everywhere it's
pretty disgusting and somewhat of a hassle as I always forget to do it
I like their room by room at mapping technology and voice control to say
Google go clean the kitchen and it sends the vac right there it feels a little
futuristic coming down to price well it's always fluctuating so keep that in
mind the neato is currently on sale might be
a cyber monday deal 600 bucks which kind of seems like a steal though it's
normally around $800 the Roomba is quite a bit more up at 950 but that's the i7
plus if you don't want or need that clean base station that Auto empties the
dust bin well you could get just the i7 with odds other smart features for $700
so what do you guys think which one do you prefer and why I'd love to hear your
thoughts down in the comments and if you're new around here consider
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until next time let's live authentic