The iRobot Roomba i3 EVO pairs a dual rubber brushroll with floor-tracking navigation that cleans in neat rows rather than wandering. Vacuum Wars scored it 81 in their cleaning test, comfortably above the average robot vacuum, and ProductNotes called it one of the best-value robot vacuums on the market. What it gives up is control: no zone cleaning, no virtual walls and no multi-floor maps. It fits a single-level home that wants dependable pickup more than a configurable app.
Full review
Dual rubber brushrolls and Dirt Detect
The i3 EVO uses two rubber brushrolls instead of bristles, which is why pet hair tends to pass through rather than wind around the roller. Vacuum Wars scored it 81 in their cleaning test and noted that was quite a bit better than the average robot vacuum they run through it. Dirt Detect raises the effort where the robot senses concentrated mess, which is the feature that makes a single pass down a hallway worth something.
Rows, not a room plan
Navigation comes from floor-tracking sensors rather than lidar, so the robot cleans in neat rows and builds a basic map as it goes. It is dependable but unsophisticated: it will not target one room the way a lidar robot does, and it does not hand you a floor plan you can edit. Cliff sensors and bumpers keep it out of trouble, but obstacle avoidance is reactive rather than predictive, so cables still need picking up first.
No virtual walls and no multi-floor maps
The omissions matter more here than the suction does. There are no virtual walls or no-go zones, so a pet bowl or a nest of cables has to be moved rather than fenced off, and there is no multi-floor mapping, which ties it to one level of a house. Zone cleaning is absent too, so every run is a whole-floor run whether you wanted one or not.
Called the best-value robot vacuum of its year
ProductNotes rated it one of the best-value robot vacuums on the market in 2021, and that is still the right frame: strong pickup and a self-emptying bin, without the software. The Shark AI Ultra answers with lidar navigation and the control that comes with it, and that is the trade this purchase comes down to. Paired with the auto-empty base, the i3 EVO suits a single-level home that wants reliable cleaning and does not intend to fuss with the app.
Strengths
- +Features dual brushroll design for thorough cleaning
- +Includes auto-empty bin option for convenience
- +Provides digital mapping and smartphone app integration
Watch-outs
- −Lacks zone cleaning feature found in some competitors
How it compares
The iRobot Roomba i3 EVO Robot Vacuum offers digital mapping and smartphone app integration but does not support multi-floor maps, where the Roborock Q5 Pro Robot Vacuum has LiDAR navigation with multi-level mapping. It has an auto-empty bin option, and the Tapo RV30 Max Plus Robot Vacuum comes with an auto-empty dock. The eufy RoboVac 11S Max Robot Vacuum has no digital mapping.
Rating sources
“We think this is one of the best-value robot vacuums on the market in 2021.”
“the i3 was no exception scoring an 81 which again is quite a bit better than the average robot vacuum with this test”
Our 4.5 score is the average of the 1 scored review above; 1 more reviewed it without printing a score and is not in the average. Ratings marked * were derived from the reviewer’s written analysis or video transcript — the publisher didn’t print an explicit numeric score, so we inferred one from their own words. Click through to verify. More about methodology.
