iRobot Roomba 980 vs Samsung Powerbot R9350 – Extensive Comparison

iRobot is one of the biggest brands in the robot vacuum industry. Samsung is a respected domestic appliance giant. For these reasons, you can rest assured the iRobot Roomba 980 vs Samsung Powerbot R9350 matchup will be lit!

The world of robot vacuum cleaners was officially kick-started by iRobot. This is the first brand to market a robot that cleans your floors. The huge success of this robot vacuum spurred other brands to spring up.

So, you won’t be mistaken if you call iRobot the pioneer of this sub-industry. The brand certainly has not rested on its oars as there are now several others that are competing with it.

Samsung is one of such brands. The Samsung Powerbot also has been around for quite a while. With that much experience, you can rest assured this brand too has set its game right.

That’s not all, Samsung has been a trusted brand in the domestic scene for many decades.

Its prowess in other areas has already endeared it to a lot of users. Coupling that with the performance of the Powerbot series, these robots too have come to be trusted.

As we always say, you will be better off with this iRobot Roomba 980 vs Samsung Powerbot R9350 article if you first are sure of why you want a robot vacuum.

This will make it easy for you to tell which of these two robots will offer you the best value for your money.

 

To get yours, click here	To get yours, click here

 

 

 

iRobot Roomba 980 vs Samsung Powerbot R9350 – Comparison Overview

That you are reading this comparison means that what you want is a high-end robot vacuum.

The Roomba 980 is truly high-end as it offers a dirt detection technology and a dual brush roll that you won’t need to cut hair off. It will also give you a whopping 120 minutes of runtime.

The Powerbot R9350, on the other hand, proves its worth by featuring Easy Wheels that can climb over thresholds that will otherwise get other robots stuck. It also has a unique edge cleaning method.

At the end of this iRobot Roomba 980 vs Samsung Powerbot R9350 comparison, you will surely be able to make up your mind.

Without further ado, let us get right into the juicy part of this comparison. Shall we?

 

 

Comparison Table – iRobot Roomba 980 vs Samsung Powerbot R9350

	Roomba 980	Powerbot R9350
Battery Life	120 minutes	90 minutes
Navigation	iAdapt + Visual navigation	Visionary Mapping Plus and Full View Sensor
Filtration System	High-Efficiency filter	Washable foam filter
Weight	8.7 lbs	10.8 lbs
Dimension	13.9 x 13.9 x 3.6 inches	14.9 x 14.3 x 5.3 inches

 

 

 

 

 

 

What Situation Is Each Best For? – iRobot Roomba 980 vs Samsung Powerbot R9350

Roomba 980	Powerbot R9350
The Roomba 980 has one of the longest runtimes you will find on a robot vacuum.   Its 120 minutes of runtime is often sufficient for it to clean your entire home without needing to recharge. Of course, that will depend on how large your home is.   Even if it does not complete its routine before needing to recharge, it can resume from where it stopped.	The Powerbot R9350 has a D-shape unlike the circular shape of the Roomba and other robot vacuums.   This gives it an advantage at cleaning edges. It will pick up all the dirt in corners with relative ease because it will fit smack dab in there.   Though the Roomba has side brushes, it might not be able to match the edge cleaning ability of the Powerbot R9350.   This is because the shape is not all the Powerbot has going for it. It also has a dedicated device on it for edge cleaning. More on this later.
Having a robot vacuum that can help you clean up your floors without your intervention is a solid plus.   But then, cleaning out hair tangles on the brush roll is a job most people don’t like to do.   With the Roomba 980, you won’t have to bother. The robot uses a dual brush roll but they are both rubberized. Without the bristles, there will be no hair tangles to deal with afterward.	The Samsung Powerbot R9350 has a whopping 12.24 inches wide brush roll. That is more than some upright vacuums have to offer!   If you think about it, a wide cleaning path is a lot of advantage for a vacuum cleaner. For one thing, it helps it get its job done faster.   If you consider the quality of this robot’s combo brush and suction power, it can deep clean in just one pass.
The Roomba 980 can clean on both hard floors and carpets. One good thing about this model is that it will automatically detect when it is on a carpet.   As such, it will increase its suction power and spin its brushes faster so it can deep clean your carpet.	Another cool thing about this Powerbot is that it has 3 power stages. You can set the robot to clean on low, medium, and high suction power.   This allows you to conserve battery as you do not necessarily need to go high when cleaning hard floors.
If you have areas in your home that are highly trafficked, the Roomba 980 will serve you great.   This robot can detect the density of dirt on the floor.   This feature will make the Roomba 980 concentrate and put in more effort on areas with more dirt than those with less.	The Powerbot R9350 also comes with a remote controller aside from the fact that you can connect the robot to your smartphone and control it from there.   One of the things you can do with this remote control is awesome. We will give you details in a later section but for now, just know it takes spot cleaning to a whole new level.
We know that you would like to clean under your furniture often. However, you rarely do so because it takes too much effort.   Your vacuum either cannot get underneath or it is too much work to move furniture around just to clean.   Having a robot vacuum that can easily slide under your furniture is quite important. You will not be exerting any effort and your floors will be truly cleaned whether visible or not.   The Powerbot R9350 is not as low profile as the Roomba. At a mere 3.6 inches, the Roomba will get under even low profile furniture while the Powerbot cannot.

 

Common Features – iRobot Roomba 980 vs Samsung Powerbot R9350

While these two heavyweight robot vacuums do not look anything alike, they share things in common. Most of what is similar between these two are under the hood.

We will dive into them and explain to you how these robots approach their execution.

 

Advanced Navigation and Sensors

Both of these robot vacuums use advanced technology to find their way around your home. They use different navigation approaches though, they still get the job covering your floor space done.

The Roomba 980 uses the iAdapt navigation system in conjunction with an onboard camera to navigate.

The camera scans its surroundings and stores a map of it in its memory. It is this map that it uses to find its way and know exactly where it is going.

The Samsung Powerbot R9350 uses the Visionary Mapping Plus and Full View Sensor to do its job.

This is just a fancy way of saying it has a camera that scans your home and stores a floor plan of it too.

Furthermore, both robot vacuums follow a definite pattern of movement. This is where you know that these robots are smart and actually know what they are doing.

They both follow a serpentine type of movement which ensures that they cover the entire floor.

 

The Sensors

The Roomba 980 and the Powerbot R9350 both have a suite of sensors on them that they use to detect objects around them.

One difference (still on their approach) between them is how they react to obstacles.

The Powerbot has a visual sensor that knows there is an obstacle ahead and avoids it.

On the other hand, the Roomba, slightly bumps into the object, perhaps to be sure it really is there. Don’t worry, your robot and furniture are protected from the bump. Moreover, it’s just slight.

One cool thing about this is that they don’t just detect them, they will also clean around them the best way they can.

There is also a sensor under both robots that help it detect changes in floor heights. Once these robots get to a stair, for instance, the sensor detects the difference in height and it turns back.

 

Wi-Fi Capability

Both vacuums have Wi-Fi compatibility. If you are wondering how Wi-Fi can make a robot vacuum cleaner better, here it is.

Wi-Fi lets the robots connect to your smartphone so that you can use it to control and monitor it.

These robots have a dedicated app that you need to download on your phone (available for both Android and iOS).

Afterward, you will then need to pair your robot vacuum with the app which is where the Wi-Fi comes in.

The App

With this app, you can use your phone as a controller you can use to issue commands to the robot remotely.

That way, you can have the robot clean your floors before you get back home. You can also monitor the status of the robot and how much of the floors it has cleaned.

That’s not all, for both robots, you can also set a future date for your robot to do its job. For instance, on the Roomba 980, you can schedule the robot to clean at certain times for every day of the week.

With this, you only need to remember to empty the dust cup every once in a while.

Let us hope you are home when the indicator comes on. Otherwise, the robot will shut off and stop cleaning.

It is worthy of mention that what you can do on the app is different for both vacuums.

For instance, on the Powerbot R9350, you can select only one room from the map for the robot to clean. Whereas, on the Roomba 980, you can have it go over the floor twice for a deeper clean or just once.

The app won’t take up much space on your phone and it is quite easy to use.

 

Smart Home Compatibility

Everything is becoming advanced. Even robot vacuums were not this smart 5 years ago. Nowadays, even your doorknob can be smart, and there are those that are!

Smart homes are fast becoming commonplace and you can have your smart home appliances connected together.

Both of these robot vacuums are smart and do not want to be left out. So, if you already have a smart home, you can add either of these robots to your hub of smart things.

With that, you can talk to them and give instructions just with your voice! These robots can work with Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant.

 

Power Modes

The Roomba 980 will automatically increase its suction once it detects carpet. This will help it comb through the fibers of carpets and lift off the loosened dirt.

The Samsung Powerbot, on the other hand, has three power levels. You can go from low to medium, and then high when you need maximum suction power. However, you will have switch power levels yourself.

 

Virtual Barriers

Both robot vacuums have what it takes to keep the robots from where you don’t want them.

You can curb the movement of the Samsung Powerbot by using the magnetic tape that comes with it.

All you have to do is lay the tape on the floor and when the robot gets to it, it simply turns back. In the eyes of the robot, this is a barrier it cannot pass through. This is how it is supposed to work.

As for the Roomba 980, it comes with a couple of devices that creates a virtual wall barrier.

This works by placing the device in the area you don’t want the robot to get to. You can set the device to create a circular boundary or a line.

 

Recharge and Resume

This feature is one of the best features of the autonomy that robot vacuums have to offer.

Both the Powerbot and the Roomba 980 will spare you the effort of having to worry about charging your vacuum. This is because they will do that by themselves.

For instance, if your robot is going about its chores and its battery falls below a certain point, it will stop and find its way back to its dock.

There is another awesome part of either of these robot vacuums. Once it is done recharging, it simply goes back to where it stopped working and continues.

This is an awesome feature especially for those who will schedule the robots to work while they are not around.

 

Powerful Suction

Both robot vacuums have powerful suction. Though we really cannot tell which is more powerful between the two.

One reason is that these two robots are like apples and oranges. Things can quickly become relative. Another reason is that these brands only tested the suction against the previous generations.

Here is what each brand has to say. iRobot claims that the Roomba 980 has 10 times more suction than the 600 and 700 Roomba series. It was also claimed that it has 5 times more suction than its predecessor the 800 series.

Samsung, on the other hand, claims that the Powerbot R9350 has a whopping 70 times more suction than conventional robots (whatever that means). Samsung went ahead to tag this robot having the world’s most powerful suction.

In our opinion, both robots have powerful suction and they get their cleaning jobs done.

 

Multi-Room Navigation

The Roomba 980 and the Samsung Powerbot R9350 have the ability to navigate through multiple rooms to clean them.

iRobot says, the Roomba 980 can vacuum 2,000 sq ft of space. Although, in reality, there is really no limit to how much floor space it can cover. That figure, however, is a guarantee.

The Powerbot too will cover a lot of ground. It might not have as much runtime as the Roomba, but with its recharge and resume ability, it will cover your entire floor space without hassles.

So, you can be confident that whichever of these two robot vacuums you go for, you can have it clean all the rooms in your home.

 

 

To get yours, click here	To get yours, click here

 

 

 

iRobot Roomba 980 vs Samsung Powerbot R9350 – What’s Unique To Each Product?

Features Unique To Roomba 980

Dirt Detection

It is a good thing for a robot vacuum to clean floors on its own, it is even better when it can identify a concentration of dirt.

That is something the Roomba 980 can do. Whether it is on carpets or hard floors, it can tell what part of the floor has more dirt on it.

Once the dirt has been detected, it focuses on that area until it is clean. This will make the robot clean all your floors without leaving one part cleaner than the other.

 

Rubberized Brush Roll

The Roomba 980 uses a double brush roll located underneath it. Brush rolls can be problematic when they are often used to clean hairs. This is because hairs often tangle to the bristles of the brush rolls.

In this case, there are no bristles on the brush rolls. Instead of bristles, there are ridges on the brush rolls to comb through carpets.

The result simply is a good clean of pet hairs without tangles to deal with afterward. If you have had to cut through hair on a brush roll, this feature will excite you.

 

 

 

Features Unique To Powerbot R9350

Cyclone Force Technology

If you have been reading our reviews for a while, you will understand the cyclone technology in vacuum cleaners. However, we will touch on it again.

The cyclone technology refers to how a vacuum cleaner handles the dirt it sucks in. It is a method adopted by bagless vacuums and it is one of the most effective.

How it works is pretty simple. When dirt and debris get sucked in, the technology spins them at high speeds.

Something similar to the centrifuge machines used in labs. This causes the dirt and dust to settle at the base of the dust cup.

The purpose of this is to ensure that there is always sufficient airflow in the vacuum. The airflow is what is responsible for maintaining the suction power.

So, with the dirt and dust at the bottom, there is sufficient space for the airflow at the top. With airflow at optimum, the robot will not lose suction power even when the dust cup fills up.

Furthermore, this technology also reduces the rate at which clogging will occurs.

That way, you will get a good performance out of the Samsung Powerbot R9350 Robot from start to finish.

 

Easy Pass Wheels

The Samsung Powerbot R9350 has large and sturdy wheels underneath it to aid its movement across floor types.

These wheels help it to transition from one floor type to another. Some robot vacuums are known to get stuck often, but with these wheels, this one does not get into that kind of trouble so often.

Even if there are cords in the way, the wheels will scale over easily while other robots might get stuck. If your doorways have those ledges, they still won’t stop the wheels.

 

Point Cleaning

This is an awesome feature of the Powerbot R9350 we said we were going to explain.

I don’t know of any other brand of robot vacuum that has it. You can also find this feature of the Samsung Powerbot R7090.

It is similar to the spot clean mode you will find on the Roomba 980 but this works in a different way. You will need the remote control that comes with the robot for this.

Let’s assume that your floor has already been cleaned and your kid tracks in dirt. You can simply grab the remote control and point its light beam on the dirty area.

The robot will respond by following the beam and clean the floor as it moves. You could just point the light across the area you need to be cleaned and the robot obliges. That’s cool, right?

 

 

 

 

 

Wide Cleaning Path

Most robot vacuums come in a circular shape. This one has one curved end and the other end is flat and wide.

The wide end has a brush roll underneath. This is what enables the vacuum to clean more surface area at once than other circular robot vacuums.

With this design, the Samsung Powerbot R9350 will clean up your floors faster and more efficiently.

Since this robot uses cyclone technology, it will clean even more thoroughly, without losing performance.

 

 

 

 

iRobot Roomba 980 vs Samsung Powerbot R9350 – Unique Pros

Roomba 980

i. It automatically detects carpets and adjusts its suction power.

ii. It has longer battery life.

iii. The robot can detect a concentration of dirt.

iv. Its rubberized brush rolls prevent hair tangles.

 

Powerbot R9350

i. It has large wheels that help it move around smoothly.

ii. You can do a spot cleaning by pointing the remote to where you want the vacuum to clean.

iii. It has a flap on the side that helps it clean edges.

 

iRobot Roomba 980 vs Samsung Powerbot R9350 – Unique Cons

Roomba 980

i. The Roomba has to bump into obstacles to avoid it.

 

Powerbot R9350

i. It is too high at 5.3 inches and it might not easily get underneath furniture.

ii. There have been complaints about the smart app on iOS smartphones.

 

 

iRobot Roomba 980 vs Samsung Powerbot R9350 – Pros Common To Both Products

Roomba 980	Powerbot R9350
The Roomba 980 has powerful suction. Its suction is so good it did well in a crevice test.   The Roomba also did a massive job at our deep cleaning test. It cleaned up almost all the dirt thrown on a medium pile carpet.	Same as the Roomba 980.   When it comes to performance, this robot truly stands out. Its wide cleaning path, first of all, makes it remarkable.   Its suction power and combo brush roll make it a performer when it comes to cleaning on both hard floors and carpets. Oh! Don’t forget crevices too.
The Roomba has an impressive battery life which means that it will clean for a long time. If you have a smaller home, you might not even need to charge it that often.	Same as the Roomba 980.   It only has 90 minutes of runtime. However, if you combine that with its suction power, it can still get a lot of cleaning done in that time.
The Roomba 980 can be set to different cleaning modes. You can choose the house cleaning mode or the spot cleaning mode.   The spot cleaning mode makes the robot clean about 3 feet circumference and does that in a circular motion.	The Powerbot can also be used in different modes. The only thing is that the modes on this robot are not carried out in isolation as the Roomba 980.

 

 

iRobot Roomba 980 vs Samsung Powerbot R9350 – Cons Common To Both Products

Roomba 980	Powerbot R9350
There were complaints about the Roomba 980 having difficulty finding its charging dock.   This might not entirely be the fault of the robot vacuum. If you physically move the robot or the dock is not positioned properly, that can give the robot a hard time to find its base.	Same as the Roomba 980.
Another con is that this robot has issues with dark colored objects. This is due to its sensors misidentifying a dark rug for instance as a lower ground where it could fall.   You can look at the bright side of things and know that at least the cliff detection is working.	Same as the Roomba 980.

 

 

To get yours, click here	To get yours, click here

 

 

 

 

 

 

iRobot Roomba 980 vs Samsung Powerbot R9350 – General Feeling Among Users

Roomba 980	Powerbot R9350
Some users applaud the filtration system on the Roomba 980.   They also like how long the battery lasts claiming that their Roombas get its job done before needing a recharge.   Others find the Wi-Fi connectivity super convenient. One particular user even said it is way better than using a remote control.	A lot of users showered praises on the Samsung Powerbot R9350 for its powerful suction.   A certain user even compared this robot to a Dyson Cinetic Big Ball. That is an upright vacuum from Dyson!   He further said that the robot works great on high pile carpets as well as it deep cleans his rug.
A lot of users are happy with the cleaning performance of this robot vacuum. It also does great on both hard floors and carpets.   They like the fact that it can automatically boost its suction power when it detects carpets.   One user said that she loves the dirt detection and its spot-clean ability. She says that she uses this mode to clean the floor after her baby is done eating and spilling dirt on the floor.	Some users favor this Powerbot for how well it navigates. They said that once the vacuum gets the hand of your floor plan, it will not have any problem finding its way around.   Some said that this robot rarely gets stuck. That is probably because of its Easy Wheels which are large and sturdy.
	Other users are happy with the way the Powerbot R9350 cleans. They said that it works great on both hard floors and carpets. They also like the fact that you can raise its suction power so it can clean deeper on thick carpets.   Those who have carpets also like its performance with hairs. A certain user said that this Powerbot cleans dog hairs better than her Dyson V8.

 

 

iRobot Roomba 980 vs Samsung Powerbot R9350 – Bottom Line

Roomba 980	Powerbot R9350
You have read how the Roomba edges the Powerbot. If the areas where the Roomba is better matches the areas you need to be catered to, then you are in luck. This is the robot you need.	You must have noticed that the Samsung Powerbot has more unique features than the Roomba. Do those extra features make it more valuable to you?   If so, these two are almost the same price. That means you will be getting a lot more value from the Powerbot.