Roomba 960

[SE_machine]

Thinking about making the jump to a 960. Besides carpet boost, are there any other differences between the 960 and 980 to justify the price difference?

[vic7767]

The 960 also has a smaller capacity battery.

[SE_machine]

Thanks for the reply. I thought they might have tweaked the vacuum power to get a longer runtime on the 980, but a larger battery definitely makes sense.

Still, with recharge and resume, I don't think the extra runtime would've been worth the price increase for my use. So, I picked up a 960 last night. It was able to cover the entire living room and kitchen with the charge it came with. It did go back and charge, saying it would resume in 75 minutes (I guess it didn't finish edge cleaning), but we thought the floor was clean enough, so I ended the mission with the app.

Now, the living was just vacuumed with an upright earlier in the day, and the 570 ran the day before (it filling a bin and a half with the bin mod), but the 960 still managed to fill its bin in one run. It was mostly carpet fibers, but still impressive. There was no hair caught in the extractors at all, which is a huge step ahead of my 530.

When I was picking up the 960 from Best Buy, the sales lady was trying hard to talk me into a Samsung Powerbot(?) instead. However, it was considerably taller than the Roomba and didn't have a side brush (flat front like the Neato, but still couldn't get right to the edge and under cabinets like the Roomba can).

Let the fun begin.

[Kolenka]

Yeah, I think the 960 is a fine choice. The 980 does manage to extract more out of carpets, but that doesn't matter at all with hardwood or tile floors.

We have one of each, one for each floor, and the 980 does help a bit in the high traffic areas, but I bought it used from Amazon's returns department for a steep discount (much steeper than they currently offer for used 980s). I wouldn't pay full price for it with the 960 available, IMO. The 960 is the better deal of the two.

Of course, you can have my 980 when it dies, now that I have one.

[SE_machine]

If my Roomba would pull any more dirt out of the carpet right now, it would be shutting down mid-cycle for full bin. I can't believe it pulls so much dust and dirt out of the carpet.

So far, cleaning our entire main floor only uses half a charge.

It certainly is quieter than my 570. Out of curiosity, since you have both, will the 980 bin work on the 960?

[RoboCup]

Agree with everyone above that the 960 is the better deal.

This is everything that is different between the two models:

1. battery - 980 lasts 45 minutes longer
2. accessories - 980 has 1 more virtual wall
3. carpet boost - 980 revs up the motor when it senses carpet
4. suction power - 980 is "10x" whereas 960 is "5x"
5. motor - 980 has a newer generation motor

source: https://smartrobotichome.com/wi-fi-conn ... 60-and-980

Although the 980 looks better on paper, you won't notice the difference in daily use. You can usually save ~$200 with the 960 over the 980.

[sam329]

Thinking about making the jump to a 960. Besides carpet boost, are there any other differences between the 960 and 980 to justify the price difference?

Yeah, there is a difference.

Besides Carpet boost, 980's with another major difference. It is the powerful motor Works with high power ten times more compared to the normal suction where....960's air power is five times.

If you are in-house with shedding pets and carpets 980 is a worthy one. Except that for everything 960 will satisfy you to the max extent.

Source: https://faceithard.com/roomba-960-vs-980-comparison/

[electrisio]

"The Roomba 960 and 980 are clearly the best Roombas due to superior control via the iRobot Home app and from having more powerful motors than their counterparts. Between these two models, the only difference which has which adds proper value is the motor power of the iRobot Roomba 980 being twice that of the 960. Due to this we prefer the Roomba 960 and think it the best option for most people, especially if you have hard flooring. "

The Roomba 980 longer battery life is partially made redundant by resume and recharge.
Hardfloors then 960 everytime.
The Roomba is much cheaper too.

Reference/read more: https://yoursmarthomeguide.com/smart-ap ... 960-vs-980