I've had a Roomba for 9 years (first a 'dumb' 560), recently the 'smart' 980, but despite my satisfaction with the Roomba, there was one thing that was missing all those years: if you don't empty the bin, then the robot useless (and practice showed that unfortunately we didn't always think about it either).
Emptying is not a big job, but also not the most pleasant: emptying the container still raises dust while you knock it over the garbage can, but the solution has come: the i7+. This is what I've been waiting for all these years.
i7 robot
The i7 itself is significantly quieter than its predecessors. This is probably because it has lost the extra suction motor from the bin to make way for the automatic emptying of the bin. At first we always wanted to avoid running the Roomba when we were at home, but with the i7 we can hear it, but it's easier to ignore it as background noise.
Nevertheless, the i7 (albeit based on 1 week of experience with it) still cleans as well as its predecessors. We have 2 cats and 1 dog, so frequent and good cleaning is essential to keep our house dust and hair free. The i7 (and its Roomba predecessors) is always a great help.
He also seems to have less trouble with our mid-high carpet. Something that the 980 could not always come up with, the i7 succeeds every day. Finally, the i7 has better buttons on top. Not mechanical where things can break faster, but touch buttons, which respond well (but which you rarely have to use if you have Alexa or Google home).
i7 base station
Yes, this thing just does what it was made for. He empties the bin and does so quickly. It makes a lot of noise, but that's as much noise as our Dyson, but the difference is that the Base Station is ready after 10 seconds and you don't have to do anything yourself. The collection bag is conveniently made, with the opening of the bag closing itself when you take it out (useful to prevent dust from being accidentally blown out of the opening when you replace it). After 1 week about a quarter full, so it can certainly last a month, but the cleaner the house becomes again, the less quickly this bag will fill up, I expect, we'll see in a few weeks and if it is possible I will update the review on this .
Software
Connecting for the first time is easy and the app is simple but gives you the options you need. If you're used to the 980 or other smart Roomba versions, the app won't be much different. However, the biggest difference is the new option to set up rooms and therefore to have rooms cleaned separately. It was difficult for me to estimate the added value in advance until you can apply it yourself. Why? With the 980 you could only do ALL rooms, or you had to pick up the roomba, bring it to the room and start it manually. With the i7 you imagine in the app, or at our house we say "Alexa tell Roomb to clean the office" and the Roomba drives straight to the room, cleans there and drives back to the base station, where the bin is emptied. Why this is useful is because you are now more inclined to have a room cleaned immediately (a small room takes about 15 minutes). Drop some cat litter on the floor: send Roomba there. This, coupled with the fact that the i7 is much quieter, means we can let it do its thing right now without it or the whole apt going through and running for 2 hours just because we want to get 1 room clean ( which is now only 15 minutes). With the 980 we just let it do its round in the morning the next day when we were not at home or we took a dustpan and dustpan ourselves. Gone are the days with the i7's new smartmaps.
Price
It's expensive, but the convenience is worth it.
