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Doing chores is boring. And picking out a new appliance, to do the chores with, used to be boring too. But that’s before the appliances became robots.
Nowadays, doing chores is as simple as pressing a button. And picking a new vacuum is as simple as reading this article to find out which one is the most suitable for you.
If you’re looking into Bobi Pet vs. Roomba then you’re not just looking into getting a brand new vacuum. You’re looking into getting a robot vacuum. And no doubt you’ve noticed that these are two of the leading brands when it comes to robot vacuums.
Roomba have been leading the way for a number of years, with many people using Roomba as a synonym, in much the same way that “Hoover” cornered the markets decades before.
However, these days it is being challenged from a number of brands, and bObsweep is one of the better contenders.
In this article, we are going to be reviewing bObsweep’s latest release, the Bobi Pet. Then to keep it fair, we are going to compare it with the latest release by Roomba too, the iRobot Roomba S9+ 9550.
They are both market leaders with all the latest-tech, and they will revolutionise your vacuuming.
But to make sure that you don’t get too overwhelmed, we’ll run through the main aspects that you need to consider, like the amount of power and running-time they each have, how big their dustbins are, and how good they are at navigating different surfaces.
By the end of this article, you’ll know all there is to know about these two robotic vacuums, and you’ll have no doubts about which is the better choice for you.
If you don’t have enough time to read the whole article, then just take a quick look through our quick comparison here.
But given that a new vacuum is a fairly considerable investment, we recommend that you read the article in full, to make sure that you choose the right vacuum for you.
Bobi Pet Advantages:
Bobi Pet Disadvantages:
Roomba S9+ 9550 Advantages:
Roomba S9+ 9550 Disadvantages:
Winner: Don’t want to read the full article? The editor’s choice is the Roomba S9 9550.
Okay, so now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s get stuck into what really sets these two vacuums apart, so that you can work out which one is the most suitable for you.
There is no doubt that the Bobi Pet and Roomba S9+ 9550 are two of the sleekest vacuums out there in terms of design. In fact, they just don’t even look like robotic vacuums. They are robot discs that deliver amazing cleaning performance.
The Bobi Pet is completely round and has a diameter of 12.6 inches (or 32 cm), and a height of 3.9 inches (or 9.9 cm), and it weighs around 6.4 lbs (or 2.9 kg).
So not only will it be super easy to move around, for instance if you need to move it upstairs, but it should also fit under low-hanging furniture, like sofas and beds, without any issues at all.
The Roomba S9+ 9550 has a D-shape and is a very similar size, measuring a diameter of 12.25 inches (or 31cm), and a height of 3.5 inches (8.9 cm), although it is quite a lot heavier at 8.15 lbs (or 3.7 kg).
However, that is still pretty light, so it should still be easy to carry around, and again it should easily fit under low-hanging furniture.
This heavier weight accounts for the Roomba being quite a lot more powerful. Not only does this extra power make it a more effective cleaner, but it also means that it is better on high pile carpets than the Bobi Pet.
Both the vacuums have very simple designs. The Bobi Pet comes in one block color, and you can choose between silver, red, baby pink, or pastel turquoise. The Roomba is black, and then has a chrome top panel.
They each put the control buttons on the top, and each limit themselves to three buttons. On the Roomba, these three buttons are clean, spot (so it just does a certain area), or home (to go back to the charging station).
The Bobi Pet has the same three functions, but it calls them Go, Waffle, or Juice. They also both have a double brush head of a similar size, but whereas the Roomba uses two counter-rotating extractor brushes, the Bobi Pet also comes with a rubber, squeegee brush.
This brush makes it better at dealing with pet hair and long hairs, which can be a real tough point for a lot of vacuums. The Bobsweep Pethair vacuum then also comes with a small mop feature. While it won’t work for a deep clean, it is great if a hard surface needs a little once-over.
Related Reading: Best-Selling Robot Vacuums for Hardwood Floors
We should mention a quick word about the dustbins, as this is a key design feature for any vacuum, whether old-school or high-tech robot. The Bobsweep Pet Hair robot vacuum has a 1100 ml dustbin, whereas the Roomba S9+ 9550 has half the dustbin size, at a mere 550 ml.
However, the S9+ 9550 has an automatic dirt detection and disposal system, by which it empties itself for up to 60 days. This is pretty impressive and definitely makes vacuuming even easier.
Verdict: Although it is cool that the Roomba can empty its own dustbin, and it is the more powerful design, the Bobi Pet is lighter and has an additional mop feature, plus it comes in really cool color options, that make it the winner of the design round.
The Bobi Pet has more than eighty sensors and uses a random path algorithm to clean a room. Although this is an effective way of cleaning an entire room, it does not have the intelligent system that allows it to remember where it has been after recharging.
The Bobi Pet also comes with the “Bobi Block”. This is a digital barrier that can be placed to prevent the Bobi Pet from going into certain areas, for instance if there are lots of toys or near the dog basket.
The Roomba S9+ 9550 really sets itself apart from the Bobi Pet when it comes to the navigation system. The Roomba has departed from its original random algorithm, which was effective but not so efficient.
It now has a back and forth pattern which allows it to work much more quickly. Plus it has a camera that allows it to track its position and avoid obstacles.
It is worth noting that the camera system means that it doesn’t do so well in the dark at avoiding things in its path, but this is fairly easy to overcome. It is also able to clean multiple rooms and has two virtual walls which can block the Roomba from areas that you don’t want it to go in.
When it comes to navigation, we have mentioned that the Bobsweep Pethair vacuum uses a random algorithm and has three buttons on its top, however it also comes with a controller.
This is a bit like a gaming console that allows you to direct the robotic vacuum and programme a multitude of cleaning functions.
Although this is a fun addition, it is nothing like as advanced as the Roomba. The Roomba S9+ 9550 comes with a smart home app. This app allows you to set customisable routines and maps.
It also allows you to name the features and rooms, so that you can get Alexa to tell the Roomba to vacuum “under the kitchen table” if there is a spill at breakfast time, or other such moments.
Plus you can programme it to clean with different programmes for different seasons or days. Even better, this can all be done from wherever you and your phone are, rather than where the robotic vacuum is.
So if you suddenly remember that you have guests coming that evening, or if you recall that you made a mess the night before and forgot to clean it up, you can get the Roomba to clean while you’re out of the house. Now that is a neat trick.
Verdict: The Roomba S9+ 9550 is hands down the better vacuum when it comes to navigation and remote control, and that’s what really sets it apart from the Bobi Pet and makes it the more high-end product.
Vacuuming used to mean that you would have to go around the home with the hose, wand and brush head under one arm, lifting the vacuum body up the stairs with the other, or trailing it behind you as you lugged it from one room to the next.
Then you would need to tactically work out which plug socket would allow you to reach the furthest, without having to switch plugs. But for all of the flaws in this situation, at least you had an unlimited energy supply.
Now that the vacuums run cordless, running time has become a very important feature. So how do these two vacuums compare?
The Bobi Pet runs for a full 75 minutes without needing to charge. Given that it can’t go up and down stairs on its own, 75 minutes should be more than enough to cover one floor of your home.
While the Bobi Pet does send itself home to recharge when it is low on battery, the charging base needs to have enough space on both sides and in front to make sure that it can dock and recharge without any problems.
Also, given the random mapping route, the Bobsweep Pet Hair robotic vacuum does not remember where it was cleaning before it charged, so if it still had more cleaning to do, you would have to manually send it back there.
The Roomba S9+ 9550 has an even bigger run-time of two full hours, thanks to its lithium-ion battery. It also returns itself home to recharge automatically, but due to its intelligent mapping, it is able to then go back to the same spot it was working on before to complete the clean, with no interference from yourself required.
There really should be no reason why run-time would affect the cleaning of your home for this vacuum.
Verdict: The Bobi Pet has a great battery life, but it has around 60% of the run-time that the Roomba has, plus the Roomba knows how to get back to carry on cleaning from the same spot after the automatic recharge, so the Roomba is definitely the winner of this round.
We are sure that if you are looking into robot vacuums, and in particular if you are looking into the high-end robot vacuums like these two, then you will be aware that they don’t come cheap.
These are two of the newest, most high-tech home appliances that you can get. I mean, they’re actual robots that you’ll be buying to do your chores for you. But while they are both quite expensive, there is still a price gap between them that’s worth mentioning.
It should come as no surprise to you that the Roomba S9+ 9550 is more expensive than the Bobi Pet.
Prices and differences vary, but it tends to be at least $300 more expensive, and sometimes even more.
So you need to evaluate whether or not you think that the extra features that you can get with the Roomba make it worth spending so much more.
Bear in mind that the Bobsweep Pethair robot vacuum also comes with a two year warranty (as well as a 60 day money back guarantee), while the Roomba comes with a one year warranty, which is reduced to just six months for the battery.
Verdict: There’s no doubt that when it comes to price, the Bobi Pet is the better option for your purse, especially given that the warranty lasts twice as long, but do you get a lot for your buck with the Roomba S9+ 9550.
The Bobi Pet robot vacuum is a truly excellent robot vacuum. It has a sleek design, large dustbin, additional mop, comes in a variety of colors, and has a fun remote control system.
However, the Roomba S9+ 9550 leads the market for a reason. It is more powerful, empties its own dustbin, has intelligent cleaning so that it can remember where it has already cleaned, and can be controlled remotely via the smart home app.
Although the price differential is big, we feel that the Roomba S9+ 9550 offers enough high-end features and cleaning performance to justify the price. But do you agree? Which one will you go for?
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