iRobot has introduced a new flagship robot vacuum, debuting at IFA in Berlin this week — its first major trade show appearance in years. The company is now exhibiting under its new owner, Picea Robotics, the contract manufacturer that acquired the once-struggling American robotics firm out of bankruptcy in January.
The $1,199 Roomba Max 875 Combo leads the lineup as iRobot’s most advanced robot vacuum and mop to date, joined by the $899 Roomba Plus 678 Combo. Both models are available now through iRobot’s website.
The standout vacuuming improvement is a new sealing system dubbed SealForce, which iRobot chief engineer Adam Pope says takes carpet cleaning “to a level beyond what’s previously been possible.” The mechanism lowers a skirt around the cleaning head when carpet is detected, creating a tighter seal that drives airflow deeper into fibers. Paired with a new vane-type blower motor moving 20 liters of air per second, SealForce enables three times deeper carpet cleaning than previous designs.
The 875 delivers 35,000 Pa of suction — the highest figure iRobot has ever published, marking a shift from the company’s historical reluctance to disclose detailed suction specifications. It employs a single rubber brush rather than the signature dual rollers, a change Pope says accommodates the enhanced carpet seal. Navigation relies on lidar and camera-based vision, while a slimmer profile compared to the Roomba 775 allows the unit to clear thresholds up to 3.5 centimeters high.
As a mopping robot, the 875 Combo features a self-cleaning roller mop system that applies greater downward pressure than its predecessor, plus a new heated mist function called ThermaMist that pre-treats stains ahead of the mop. A retractable mop cover extends during vacuuming to protect carpets and reaches along edges. The included auto-empty and wash dock cleans the mop with hot water and dries it with hot air.
While sealing technology isn’t new to the category — competitors Narwal and Dreame offer similar systems on their latest flagships — its inclusion in the 875, alongside ThermaMist, a hair-cutting anti-tangle main brush, and an anti-tangle side brush, signals iRobot is narrowing the gap with rivals more effectively than in its previous relaunch.
The midrange Roomba Plus 678 Combo incorporates the same roller mop and SealForce tech but reduces suction to 30,000 Pa and airflow to 18 L/s, omitting ThermaMist and the mop cover. Instead, it uses a SprayForce system that pre-soaks stains with cleaning fluid before returning to mop them. The 678 lifts its mop 10 millimeters on carpet detection. Both models support Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Siri Shortcuts, with Matter certification underway.
A robot vacuum that prioritizes better vacuuming over flashy appendages represents a practical evolution. Multiple manufacturers are now adopting sealing technology that upright vacuum makers have pursued for decades. The real test will be whether Roomba’s implementation solves the persistent challenge of deep carpet cleaning.