Roomba Combo J7+ VS Combo J9+

The Roomba Combo J7 Plus and Combo J9 Plus are iRobot top-tier models that vacuum and mop simultaneously.

And the Combo J9 Plus is the most powerful in iRobot’s line-up.

Let’s explore what sets these Combo models apart and which suits your needs best.

Roomba Combo J7+	Roomba Combo J9+
Suction Power: Standard	Suction Power: Highest in Roomba’s
Auto-Fill Cleaning Solution: No	Auto-Fill Cleaning Solution: Yes
Cleans Dirtier Rooms First: No	Cleans Dirtier Rooms First: Yes
Weight: 7.35 Pounds	Weight: 8.97 Pounds
Bottomline: The Roomba Combo J9 Plus is with powerful suction. Its ability to clean dirtier rooms first and auto-refilling the cleaning solution is helpful but not a big deal.
Check on Amazon	Check on Amazon

Combo J7 Plus Pros & Cons

Combo J9 Plus Pros & Cons

Full Comparison Table

The Design

These high-end Combo models with docking stations look trendy and add magnificence to your house. If we ran a competition about the visual charm, the Roomba Combo J9+ glows because of its Clean Base.

The dock station of the Combo J9 Plus is the largest on the market, measuring 15.8 * 16.4 * 16.3 inches. You can place decorative items on it, like a table, and it has storage space to put all the J9 Plus accessories and cleaning solutions.

Speaking of the Roomba Combo J7 Plus dock station, it is with dimensions of 15.7 * 11.9 * 13.4 inches.

Keeping the docking station aside, the Roomba Combo J9+ robot is 0.3 inches wider than the J7 Plus.

In terms of weight, the Combo J9+ is 8.97 pounds, while the Combo J7+ weighs 7.35 pounds.

These Combos are of the same height, which is 3.4 inches. We love iRobot Roomba line-ups in this regard. They boast an impressively slim design, making them effortless to travel under sofas and low-clearance furniture. Most current robot vacuums, excluding the iRobot brand, typically have a height ranging from 3.8 to 3.9 inches.

Suction Power – Major Difference

The iRobot manufacturer typically doesn’t give specific numbers for suction power. Instead, they compare it to other lower-end iRobot models.

The Roomba Combo J7+ has suction power that’s ten times stronger than the basic Roomba series models (600 series).

In contrast, the Roomba Combo J9+ takes it even further with 100% more suction power than the Roomba i-series models. The i-series and j-series, except Combo J9+, have similar suction power. That means the Combo J9+ gives you double the suction compared to the Combo J7+. It is the most powerful robot vacuum cleaner in the iRobot’s line-up.

And here’s something impressive: the Roomba Combo J9+ has a feature called “carpet boost.” When it detects carpet, it will do two functions automatically. First, it raises the mop pad to avoid moistening the carpet. Second, it increases the suction power for effective carpet cleaning.

Even though the J9 Plus has double the suction power, we didn’t notice a big difference in the noise level compared to an i-series model. They sound pretty similar.

Let’s check now how these Combos operate:

Mapping

The first thing these Roomba Combo models do during the initial cycle is to move around your home to map your house layout using their imprint mapping feature. This map is saved and seen in the iRobot app.

This imprint mapping feature is not in the basic Roomba models. When you compare the mid-level Roomba vacuum and combo models, with the J-series combos, the latter are a step ahead: they map your home seven times faster.

The robots use this map and your cleaning preferences to suggest specific cleaning recommendations to make the cleaning process efficient and effective.

You can use this map for all the cleaning customizations, like commanding the Roomba which areas to clean or not, adjusting suction and water levels, and choosing specific rooms. Likewise, there are numerous possibilities you can set.

After the mapping, it is time to know how these Combo models navigate.

Navigation

These models move in an efficient row pattern, covering each row twice. 

In the robot’s front underneath, there’s edge-sweeping brush. In the middle, there are rubber brushes that suck the dirt in. And at the back underneath, there’s a mopping pad for mopping the floors. This design guarantees the mopping happens right after the dust is grabbed in.

Adding to that competent navigation, these robots have an intelligent technology named “precision vision.” It enables the robot to notice and sidestep things that might get in its way, like pet messes, pet food bowls, litter boxes, socks, etc. 

Unlike the ground and middle-range models, you don’t have to stress about things fibbing on the floor with these high-end Roomba Combo j-series robots.

The mapping and navigation technologies are the same in both of these models.

Zone Cleaning, Targeted Room Cleaning

With these models, you have a detailed range of cleaning choices:

1. You can tell the robots to clean specific rooms in your home.
2. And you can get even more precise. You can set the Roomba models to clean certain zones within rooms.

You can also do the contrary. Tell the Roomba not to clean particular spots using the feature “Keep Out Zones” through the app.

Voice Commands

Controlling Roomba models through voice assistants is a familiar feature, from the basic to the top-end. 

But here:

You can command like asking the robot to clean specific zones by name, clean particular rooms, or clean a room with higher suction power or options like that. The voice commands feature makes you command very precisely, allowing you to control every in-detailed setting the robot is armed with.

Dirt Detective in Roomba Combo J9+

The iRobot’s Roomba line-up commonly includes dirt detection. These robots have sensors at the front that recognize filthier spots and focus on cleaning those areas more.

The Combo J9 Plus and J7 Plus are with dirt detection, but there’s something special about the Combo J9 Plus. What is that distinction? The Combo J9 Plus has an upgraded version of dirt detection called Dirt Detective.

So, how does this latest feature help? 

Think of it as an advancement to regular dirt detection. After running a few cleaning cycles in your household, the ingenious iRobot OS inside the Roomba Combo J9 Plus understands which rooms tend to get dirtier more often. 

Based on that, the Combo J9 Plus automatically starts cleaning the dirtiest room first – ensuring that the cleaning process starts showing immediate progress and becomes more efficient. In most households, the kitchen accumulates dirt and grime more rapidly. So, usually, the robot cleans it first.

Mopping

These Roomba Combo models, J7 Plus and J9 Plus, are prominent for mopping.

They come with retractable mopping arms. You might wonder why they’re retractable instead of fixed underneath the mop pad, resulting in simultaneous vacuuming and mopping. Yes, we’ll talk about that in the coming carpet section.

When these Combo models mop, they offer two choices: a regular mode and a SmartScrub mode that you can activate through the mobile app.

When you turn on this SmartScrub, if the robot detects a stain while mopping, it will mop back and forth in that spot, ensuring it gets rid of that stain in one pass.

Even though these robots pass each row twice, they apply a mopping pressure of about 1.13 pounds, slightly below what’s adequate for effective cleaning. It’s best to keep the SmartScrub always on.

Auto Fill With Roomba Combo J9 Plus

Let’s uncover the primary difference between the Roomba Combo J9 Plus and the Combo J7 Plus.

The Combo J9 Plus has a dock station with a separate chamber for cleaning solutions, which the Combo J7 Plus doesn’t have.

In the Combo J9 Plus, when the mopping bin runs out of cleaning solution, the robot is designed to return to the dock station and automatically refill itself.

However, in the case of the Combo J7 Plus, you’ll need to refill the cleaning solution manually. 

For most homes, whether small, medium-sized or even large, you won’t usually need to refill the cleaning solution in a single cleaning cycle because the mopping bin can hold quite a bit.

If you don’t enjoy reloading the cleaning solution whenever it runs out, the Combo J9 Plus is the way to go. Its dock station’s cleaning solution area can hold enough for more than 30 days.

Here is the list of compatible cleaning solutions.

Carpets

We discussed that Roomba Combo J9 Plus comes with a carpet boost, promising one for vacuuming carpets, but what about while mopping?

Do these Combo models auto-detect and avoid carpets?

Yes, they do.

When these Roomba Combo J9 Plus and Combo J7 Plus are mopping+vacuuming, and they come across a carpet in their way, they’re intelligent enough to pause a second and auto lift their mopping pad, and then continue vacuuming the carpets. 

That’s why any simultaneous vac+mop robot models mustn’t have a fixed mopping pad underneath – it could cause issues when they encounter carpets.

No Mop Zones

No-mop zones are places where you don’t want the robot to mop. This feature is commonly used in basic combo models because they would not automatically detect and avoid carpets.

However, as the Roomba Combo J7 Plus and J9 Plus auto-avoid carpets, no problem. But that doesn’t mean this feature is not valuable for this duo. There would be situations – For instance, You might have areas with delicate flooring that you want to protect from moisture, like certain types of hardwood or laminate.

Self-Emptying – Docking Station

Both models are self-emptying, and the docks hold several days of dirt amount. 

There’s a noticeable difference in the docking stations of these Combo models. The Roomba Combo J9 Plus has a wider dock than the Combo J7 Plus. You might think it can hold more dirt, but that’s not the point.

The extra width of the J9 Plus dock is because it has a chamber on top for cleaning solutions, which allows the Roomba Combo J9+ to refill the cleaning solution automatically when it returns to the base for a reload. Inside the Combo J9 Plus dock, there’s a small space to store accessories.

It’s worth noting that these days, even though the robot has lithium-ion batteries, they work with a thoughtful system that automatically returns to the dock to recharge and then resume cleaning where they left off. However, lower-end models do not have this auto-resume feature.

Closing Thoughts

After comparing diverse robot vacuums for a while, we can say that iRobot still has some way to go in offering all the fancy features at a more affordable price, like one of its competitors, Roborock. However, it’s worth stating that iRobot never dissatisfies its customers.

Speaking of the current comparison, having double the suction power compared to the Combo J7 Plus makes the J9 Plus Combo a better choice. But traits like auto-filling the cleaning solution and cleaning dirtier rooms foremost are worthwhile only if your residence is above and around 3000-3500 square feet.

About Lingeshakumar

Hi! I’m Lingeshakumar, an engineer by day and a tech enthusiast by night. I’m all ears if you’re conversing about a smart door switch or a voice-controlled robot vacuum. Technology excites me so much that I ended up with Masters in Manufacturing Engineering and troubleshooting advanced production systems for a living. When the sun sets, I focus on my passion for writing about AI-based devices.

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