Compare iRobot Roomba 980 and 890: What Are the Main Differences?
 Roomba 980 in Action (Photo Credits: iRobot)
If you've been considering getting a Roomba vacuuming robot, you must have noticed that there are quite a few Roomba models out there to choose from. Indeed, Roomba was first introduced by iRobot in 2002 and many updated and improved versions have been released since, the latest and greatest ones belonging to the 800 and 900 series.
Two robots that are definitely worth of consideration are Roomba 980 and Roomba 890, respectively the top 900 and 800 series robots, but you will notice quite a bit of price difference between the two, due mainly to the additional features that come with the 980. While some users may find the additional features quite useful because of the size, shape and contents of their home, others will be quite satisfied with the results obtained with Roomba 890. This article will clarify these differences so you may choose the right robot for your home's vacuuming needs.
This article will compare the Roomba 980 and 890 vacuuming robots.
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Comparing the Roomba 980 and 890 Robots
The following pictures show the Roomba 980 and 890 robots that will be compared below:
ROOMBA 980
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ROOMBA 890
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Detailed Comparison of the Roomba 980 and 890 Robots
The following table compares iRobot Roomba 980 and 890.
The (N.#) notation used in the table refers to the clarification notes provided following the table. Please read these notes carefully in order to understand better the features that come with each Roomba.
The (N.#) notation used in the table refers to the clarification notes provided following the table. Please read these notes carefully in order to understand better the features that come with each Roomba.
Explanation of Notes 1 to 19 from Comparison Table:
N. 1:
The iAdapt responsive cleaning and navigation technology composed of sophisticated software and sensors allows Roomba 890 to clean thoroughly the room, making multiple passes, avoiding stairs, getting under and around furniture, and cleaning along wall edges and corners. The low profile design of the robot allows cleaning under most furniture. The robot also automatically adjusts to all floor types - carpet, tile, hardwood, laminate and more.
Note that all Roomba robots, except the 900 series robots, are designed with the original iRobot iAdapt navigation technology, while while the 900 series robots were designed with the more advanced iAdapt 2.0 technology. With Adapt 2.0, Roomba 980 features a visual localization camera used to map out your home in order to ensure complete coverage. It allows the robot to seamlessly and efficiently navigate an entire level of your home and keep track of its location. Roomba 980 uses a high-efficiency cleaning pattern and a full suite of sensors to adapt to real world clutter and furniture for thorough coverage.
An important feature of Roomba robots is Dirt Detection. Both Roomba 980 and 890 come with sophisticated dirt detection ability. They are equipped with both acoustic and optical sensors, and therefore they are very powerful and effective in finding dirtier areas.
Finally, note that both robots use Dual Mode Virtual Wall Barriers to be kept away from rooms or areas they are not supposed to enter. Please see the Roomba Navigation Control Section below for more detailed explanation of these stand alone little devices.
N. 2:
Both Roomba 980 and 890 use a 3-stage vacuuming system:
Both Roomba 980 and 890 are equipped with AeroForce High Efficency filters which can capture 99% of allergens, pollen, and particles as small as 10 microns.
N. 3:
Roomba 890 needs to be restarted after it recharges itself at its Home Base (unless of course it was previously scheduled to restart at a later time). On the other hand, Roomba 980 is able to resume automatically the cleaning job where it was interrupted before going to Home Base to recharge. It continues this way until the job is done and the entire level of your home is cleaned!
N. 1:
The iAdapt responsive cleaning and navigation technology composed of sophisticated software and sensors allows Roomba 890 to clean thoroughly the room, making multiple passes, avoiding stairs, getting under and around furniture, and cleaning along wall edges and corners. The low profile design of the robot allows cleaning under most furniture. The robot also automatically adjusts to all floor types - carpet, tile, hardwood, laminate and more.
Note that all Roomba robots, except the 900 series robots, are designed with the original iRobot iAdapt navigation technology, while while the 900 series robots were designed with the more advanced iAdapt 2.0 technology. With Adapt 2.0, Roomba 980 features a visual localization camera used to map out your home in order to ensure complete coverage. It allows the robot to seamlessly and efficiently navigate an entire level of your home and keep track of its location. Roomba 980 uses a high-efficiency cleaning pattern and a full suite of sensors to adapt to real world clutter and furniture for thorough coverage.
An important feature of Roomba robots is Dirt Detection. Both Roomba 980 and 890 come with sophisticated dirt detection ability. They are equipped with both acoustic and optical sensors, and therefore they are very powerful and effective in finding dirtier areas.
Finally, note that both robots use Dual Mode Virtual Wall Barriers to be kept away from rooms or areas they are not supposed to enter. Please see the Roomba Navigation Control Section below for more detailed explanation of these stand alone little devices.
N. 2:
Both Roomba 980 and 890 use a 3-stage vacuuming system:
- Counter-rotating dual multi-surface tangle-free brushes (also known as debris extractors) pick up dust, debris, dirt, pet hair from the floor.
- A spinning side brush cleans along wall edges.
- Finally, an efficient vacuum pulls dirt and hair off the brushes (or off the debris extractors) and directs it into the bin.
Both Roomba 980 and 890 are equipped with AeroForce High Efficency filters which can capture 99% of allergens, pollen, and particles as small as 10 microns.
N. 3:
Roomba 890 needs to be restarted after it recharges itself at its Home Base (unless of course it was previously scheduled to restart at a later time). On the other hand, Roomba 980 is able to resume automatically the cleaning job where it was interrupted before going to Home Base to recharge. It continues this way until the job is done and the entire level of your home is cleaned!
N. 4:
When Roomba 980 and 890 are connected via Wi-Fi to your smartphone or tablet, you can use the iRobot Home App for Android and iOS to invoke remotely operations (such as cleaning, scheduling, etc.) from wherever you are, using your smartphone or tablet.
When the App is used with Roomba 980, you can also see the status of cleaning jobs, and you can customize your cleaning preferences (such as setting the number of cleaning passes, choosing special edge cleaning action, etc.).
N. 5:
Wi‐Fi connected Roomba vacuuming robots, Roomba 980 and 890 are both compatible with Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant. Simply ask Alexa or the Google Assistant to start, stop, or dock your robot.
N. 6:
When on carpet, thanks to the Carpet Boost feature, Roomba 980 automatically increases its vacuum power to provide a deeper clean. Carpet Boost provides up to 10 times the air power by automatically increasing performance on carpet and rugs, where dust and dirt hide.
On hard surfaces, Roomba 980 reduces its vacuum power to decrease battery consumption while still delivering excellent cleaning performance. Carpet Boost feature is turned on by default and can be turned off from the App.
N. 7:
All Roomba robots are equipped with a side brush to clean wall edges. But Roomba 980 features special final edge cleaning action to make sure that stubborn dirt and debris along wall edges are all removed. After these robot finishes cleaning the open areas of your floor, it uses the Final Edge Clean feature to ensure that it has cleaned along walls and around furniture legs. If you prefer a quicker clean, you can disable Final Edge Clean from the App. Note that this feature is turned on by default.
N. 8:
When the bin gets full, Roomba 980 provides you with two options regarding the action to be taken by the robot:
- Finish Job: Even if the bin is full, Roomba will continue cleaning until it has covered the entire space. Once the bin is emptied, Roomba is ready for a new cleaning job. The full bin behavior is “Finish Job” by default.
- Pause Immediately: As soon as the bin is full, Roomba will return to where it started and pause its cleaning job. Once the bin is emptied, you just need to press CLEAN to resume.
N. 9:
Roomba 980 is equipped with a visual localization camera that maps out more thoroughly your home in order to ensure complete coverage. It allows the robot to seamlessly and efficiently navigate an entire level of your home and keep track of its location. Note that for the camera functionality to work properly some light in the room where the robot will be vacuuming may be needed.
N. 10:
Tangle-free brushes (also known as debris extractors) were introduced starting with 800 series Roomba robots and they replaced the brushes found in the previous 600 and 700 series robots. They grab and break down debris, eliminating hair tangles and jams. Together with debris extractors, an airflow accelerator that creates a sealed channel that concentrates airflow, sucking in more debris was introduced.
N. 11:
With all Roomba robots, scheduling can be pre-set up to 7 times per week. The robot starts vacuuming as soon as the scheduled time is reached.
N. 12:
In most cases, Roomba robots will remove dirt and debris with just one pass over each area of your home. With Roomba 980, two-pass cleaning can be requested and can be particularly helpful in homes with pets or for periodic deep cleaning. The number of cleaning passes is one by default. This feature can be invoked from the App.
N. 13:
When batteries run low, all Roomba robots return to their Home Base to dock and recharge.
Roomba 890 needs to be restarted after it recharges iteself at its Home Base (unless of course it was previously scheduled to restart at a later time). On the other hand, Roomba 980 is able to resume automatically the cleaning job where it was interrupted before going to Home Base to recharge. It continues this way until the job is done and the entire level of your home is cleaned!
N. 14:
Both Roomba robots are equipped with a Home button that can be pressed to force the robot to dock at its Home Base. The robots can be sent to Home Base using the App as well. Of course, the robot will also go automatically to Home Base tp dock and recharge when battery runs low.
N. 15:
Both Roomba robots can be asked to spot clean. When spot clean is invoked, the robot will spiral approximately 3 feet in diameter and then spiral back to where it started for an intense, localized clean for those quick fixes.
N. 16:
Both Roomba 980 and 890 are equipped with a Lithium-Ion battery. Lithium-Ion batteries are designed to provide longer cleaning sessions and last longer before needing to be replaced.
Battery Run Times:
iRobot has specified the battery run times for Roomba 980 as 120 minutes. For Roomba 890, the average time is about 60 minutes, but note that for all robots (including Roomba 980 and 890) run times can vary extensively depending on the amount of work the robot has to do to clean the floors. That is because different types of carpets, different floor plans and different amounts of dirt may require different amounts of effort from the robot and hence different amounts of ''juice'' from the battery.
N. 17:
Roomba 980 and 890 can be remotely controlled from your smartphone or tablet using the iRobot Home App. No explicit remote control device is provided.
N. 18:
The "d" in the dimensions refers to the diameter, and "h" to the height of the unit. All measurements are in inches.
N. 19:
The 1-year limited warranty is on the robot. There is also a 6-month warranty on the battery.
Roomba Navigation Control Devices
Roomba 980 and Roomba 890 use Dual Mode Virtual Wall Barriers as navigation control devices. These are battery run small standalone devices that can be used to block off an open doorway to prevent the robot from entering the room. But they can also be used as Virtual Wall Halos to protect some restricted area within the room, like for instance the area where the dog food might be.
Roomba 980 comes with two Dual Mode Virtual Wall Barriers, while Roomba 890 comes with one.
Roomba 980 comes with two Dual Mode Virtual Wall Barriers, while Roomba 890 comes with one.
The following picture illustrates how the Dual Mode Virtual Wall Barrier device protects the off-limit areas:
(Photo Credits: iRobot)
So which of these two Roomba robots should you get?
Roomba robots are high quality products as shown by the average rating of at least 4.5 stars (out of 5 stars) each Roomba robot considered here had received from Amazon customers at the time this article was written. As the above comparison table shows, the two robots come with some different features. So, we suggest you carefully study the above table and clarification notes before you decide which Roomba will respond best to your needs. However, keep in mind the following additional features that come with Roomba 980 and not found on Roomba 890:
The above listed Roomba 980 additional features can be quite useful in larger homes. But for the average home, you could definitely consider also Roomba 890 as it supports all the must-have features, such as Wi-Fi support, good floor coverage, avoiding stairs, self-recharging and scheduling.
You will find in the following section Amazon links for both Roomba robots compared above which you can click for exact price information or to purchase:
- It uses camera based visual localization which helps the robot seamlessly and efficiently navigate an entire level of your home and keep track of its location (note that for the camera functionality to work properly some light in the room where the robot will be vacuuming is needed).
- It has the capability, after it recharges itself at Home Base, to resume operation automatically where it had been interrupted.
So, if you have large areas in your home that require the robot to recharge multiple times, and you don't want to bother with having to restart the robot after each recharge, you might want to consider the 980, as it is capable of completing the job without human interference, except for emptying the bin when it gets full. And even if the bin gets full, and for some reason you aren't available to empty it, the robot will continue vacuuming until the entire space is covered and the job is finished, unless you have requested from the App to stop vacuuming at full bin. - Roomba 980 has also the ability to boost the vacuuming intensity up to 10 times when carpets and rugs are detected, a feature not available on the 890.
- Roomba 980 can run for about 120 minutes before going back to Home Base to recharge, while Roomba 890 can run for about 60 minutes before recharging (note that these numbers may vary extensively depending on the amount of work the robot has to do to clean the floors).
The above listed Roomba 980 additional features can be quite useful in larger homes. But for the average home, you could definitely consider also Roomba 890 as it supports all the must-have features, such as Wi-Fi support, good floor coverage, avoiding stairs, self-recharging and scheduling.
You will find in the following section Amazon links for both Roomba robots compared above which you can click for exact price information or to purchase:
Roomba 980 and 890 on Amazon
Please click the Amazon product link images below to see exact prices or to purchase.
Roomba 980 |
Roomba 890 |
Authentic Roomba Replenishment Kits on Amazon
Accessories and replacement parts manufactured by 3rd parties may have a negative impact on product performance and can cause damage to your robot. Always ensure that replacement parts such as batteries, filters, and brushes are Authentic iRobot Parts. Note also that the use of 3rd party replacement parts could void your robot's warranty.
Please click the images below to see price information or to purchase:
Please click the images below to see price information or to purchase:
Authentic Roomba
800/900 Series
Replenishment Kit
Roomba Dual Mode Virtual Wall Barriers
If needed, additional Dual Mode Virtual Wall Barriers can be purchased below:
Roomba Dual Mode Virtual Wall Barrier
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