Appearance, Size, and Design

Irobot Roomba 960

You won’t notice much of a difference in the appearance between the 980 and the 960. There is but a minor difference in the appearance of these two robotic cleaners. Still, the difference is worth mentioning.

The Roomba 960 is mostly light grey while the 980 is darker grey with some light grey accents. The dimensions for both of these machines are the same; 13.9 x 13.9 x 3.6 inches.

From the available images, I didn’t notice any design differences that stood out to me. In fact, even going back to some of the older models, there is very little difference between these machines. The differences mostly lie in the way these smart vacuums clean.

Adapt 2.0 Navigation

Both of these machines are programmed with Adapt 2.0 navigation. The Adapt 2.0 navigation with Visual Localization is a very sophisticated system that helps your Roomba navigate a whole floor of your home. This enables your little helper to keep track of its location, then it knows how to find its way back to the recharging station. It then recharges and gets back to work until the job is complete.

Now, that’s automation!

I know, you’re jaw probably hit the floor in amazement, and I think that this certainly a game changer as most late generation Roombas cannot do this. But get ready for even more…

It gets better actually, both the 980 and 960 are capable of learning. With the iAdapt camera, your machine builds a map of your home and updates as it goes along. This makes your machine more efficient as time goes on.

Recharging and Resume…

One of the biggest differences between these two machines is the runtime. The 960 has a shorter run time; 75 minutes. On the other hand, the 980 runs for up to 120 minutes. You should note that the runtime for either of these machines is actually based on lab test on hard floors. It’ll probably take more energy and time to efficiently clean a carpeted floor. So, for example if your floors are a mix of hardwood and carpet, you probably will experience shorter runtimes.

Shaggier or thicker carpet can also lower the runtime. And do you have a lot of obstacles and stuff in the way on your floors? If you do, then you will probably experience shorter runtimes.

How big is your home? I think satisfaction in how long it takes to clean your home will also depend on how large your home is. Obviously a 500-square foot apartment won’t take as long to clean as a 2000-square foot home. I’ve come across some users that state in taking 4+ hours to vacuum their 2000-square foot home.

Roomba 960 – Click here for more details

Roomba 980 – Click here for more details

Sure, the recharging is cool and all, but how long does it take to recharge?

From what I can tell, there is no advantage that one has over the other in terms of charging. They both seem to charge in about 1 to 2 hours.

iRobot Home App…

The app is a huge game changer that both of these models carry over previous generations. It allows you the ability to schedule, and customize the cleaning patterns of your Roomba. For example, while at work, you can set your machine to clean your home. Do you want to do a deeper clean today? No problem, you can set it up to complete two passes. You can also do edge cleaning, which means that your Roomba will go to the edge and clean around it. Again, you do this with both machines, but there is a bonus when it comes to the 980.

With the 980, you can set it to use carpet boost. You’ll find out more about the carpet boost below, but it basically uses more power so that you get a deeper clean on carpets. This is a huge advantage for the 980, but it also uses more power which will require your robot to visit the charging station more often. And that means that your vacuuming jobs will take more time. You don’t have to use the carpet boost function every time your robot s running and you can turn it on and off from the app.

Carpet Boost/How well do these Machines Function on Carpets…?

The carpet boost is a great function and huge advantage for the Roomba 980. It specifically allows you to increase the power of your motor by a factor of 10 over the 600 and 700 series Roomba vacuum cleaners. This function can be set, and it automatically engages when you go over carpet.

I’ve come across users that say that the carpet boost is a really convenient and useful function that you can hear. There is an audible difference when you go from hard floors to carpets and/or rugs.

Are there any potential downsides to using the carpet boost function? Well, some users have actually complained of the 980 being rather hard on carpets as evidenced by what they claim to be excess carpet fiber in the dust bin. You might want to consider this if you have loosely woven carpet fibers. I haven’t come across too many of these complaints. Most folks haven’t reported this as an issue.

Another issue that I’ve come across when researching this model and other models has been that sometimes Roomba’s get caught on the tassels of carpets. What about shag rugs/carpets/hair/pet fur? From what I discovered reading through reviews, both of these machines function really well on all carpets, fur, and hair including the shaggier varieties.

Now, with that stated. As with any vacuum cleaner, you will have to clean off the roller when it becomes tangled with hair.

Without a doubt, I’d say that the Roomba 980 works better on carpets than the 960. But, that doesn’t mean that the advantage is so great that it’ll make such a huge difference that you should choose it over the 980. The truth is that both of these machines work very well on carpets.

Bin Capacity

Irobot Roomba 980

If there is a minus for either of these machines, then it has to be the bin capacity. Still, for most folks, the bin capacity is adequate. But for some, households with children and pets (particularly shaggy dogs), this bin capacity might not be enough.

For both the 980 and 960, there is a bin-full indicator light. When the bin is full they will stop cleaning and shutoff automatically. You can override this default and continue but you probably won’t want to do that. Without any bin capacity left you won’t be able to efficiently clean.

After reading through customer feedback I think that you may have to empty the bin more often at first. When you first start using your Roomba, you may notice that the bin quickly fills up at first. It will have to suck up excess debris and such. Over time, however, I believe that you won’t have to worry about this as much as your machine won’t have to “play catch up” with excess debris.

Features You’ll Find on All (Most) Roomba’s

• Navigation – all Roombas are able to avoid clutter, cliffs (stairs) and get around your unique home. This is essential because it allows your Roomba to keep cleaning even if you should happen to leave some clothes on the floor while rushing out of the house in the morning. If your children happen to leave their toys all over the place, don’t worry, your Roomba will keep cleaning.
• Profile – If you spend time researching these machines then are sure to notice that these machines have a low-profile. This allows them to get underneath sofas and beds. It’ll also allow you to get close to the edge and close to the base boards underneath your lower cabinets.
• Virtual Walls – All Roomba’s come with virtual walls. These devices allow you to set up barriers that tell the little cleaning machine, “Hey you, stay out of here!” This is convenient if you there is an area of your house that doesn’t need to be cleaned, or an area that has a lot of stuff your machine can get trapped on. If you have virtual walls from previous models you can use them with these newer machines.
• Easy Operation – All of these machines have an easy, push one button, cleaning mode. It’s the big obvious button located on the top of the machine.
• Self-Charging – When your Roomba needs to charge, it’s easy, and done on its own. With the 960 and 980, they not only self-charge, but also resume when they are finished cleaning.
• Scheduling – All of the models, 650 and later, are capable of being scheduled to clean 7 times per week. This makes it very easy to automate your cleaning schedule.
• 3-Stage Cleaning System – With a combination of agitation, brushing, and suction all of these machines clean very efficiently.
• Spinning Side Brush – The spinning side brush is perfect for getting into those hard to reach places like corners and other edges like base boards.

Customer Feedback

Both of these machines have a ton of positive feedback. And most of the positives are the same for both of these machines. Customers really appreciate that these machines, aside from bin emptying, are hands free.

Customers also love that these machines use that very convenient app that allows you to check on the status of the job and customize the cleaning job.

For the 980, customers report noticing a difference. This model has that carpet boost function which revs up when it goes over carpet. There is an audible difference.

Roomba 960 – Check reviews and ratings

Roomba 980 – Check reviews and ratings

As awesome as these automated vacuums are, they aren’t without flaws. I don’t think that there’s anything really wrong with these models over time they will get better and better generation to generation.

One of the most frequent complaints that I come across are the problems these machines sometimes encounter when going from hard floors to thick rugs. Some customers claim that they treat this transition like a virtual wall, avoiding the carpeted area altogether.

Sometimes these Roombas will get stuck on stuff like cords and carpet tassels. There are other users that complain that these machines sometimes have issues finding their way back “home” to the base. These may be issues based on where the charging center is located that blocks the signal.

Another more frequent complaint is that the bin gets full, particularly frequently, when you have dogs – especially of the long-haired variety. This means that you may have to empty the bin more often than you’d like to. In some extreme cases users report needing to empty the receptacle multiple times per cleaning session when dealing with dog fur.

Still, most users don’t seem to have these issues. But these little quirks are to be expected from any machine. I don’t think they are deal breakers and over time these little nuances will be easier to deal with.

Other lesser complaints, but still noteworthy, are more like a wish list. Some users really wish that these machines were compatible with home automation systems like Amazon’s Alexa.