Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. This means that at no cost to you, we may earn a small commission for qualifying purchases.
If you are a busy person who wants a spotless home but doesn’t have time for constant vacuuming, a robot vacuum might just be your new best friend.
This independent little robot will wander around your home sucking up dirt and large debris while you get on with powering through your to-do list or spend time with family.
If you have ever looked into robot vacuums, you will know that Shark and Roomba are both leading brands. The Shark 750 and the Roomba 690 have both been around for a while, and are a great choice for a mid-range smart robot, each with a range of similar core features.
They are both WiFi-compatible and can be controlled through your smartphone, an improvement from older versions, while still being affordable. But is one of the two vacuum cleaners a better choice or better value for money?
Well to make things easy for you, we compare the features of the two bots in depth below. Let’s get started.
Want a quick overview of the pros and cons of each vacuum? We have listed them at a glance here. Make sure to read the full article for the in-depth review.
Shark Ion Robot 750 Advantages:
Shark Ion Robot 750 Disadvantages:
iRobot Roomba 690 Advantages:
iRobot Roomba 690 Disadvantages:
Winner: Don’t want to read the full article? The editor’s choice is the iRobot Roomba 690. Although both great choices, we love how the Roomba has an overall more sophisticated cleaning performance and features and comes with a virtual barrier wall.
Before we dig in, first let’s take a look at a quick rundown of each of the bot’s features to see what you get with each robot.
The Shark Ion Robot 750 has an impressive array of features that won’t disappoint:
Now let’s take a look at what the iRobot Roomba 690 has to offer:
Let’s see how the two robot vacuums perform when cleaning your home.
The Shark Ion is an effective robotic vacuum cleaner and works efficiently across various floor types. It can be used on hardwood floors, laminate flooring, vinyl floors as well as carpets and rugs.
Also Read: Best Selling Carpet Vacuums: Reviews & Buying Guide
We love that the Shark has a self-cleaning brushroll which makes it particularly well-suited for pet owners. This is because the brushroll can effectively pick up short and long hair, dust and dander without it getting caught and jamming up the brushroll.
It can also pick up allergens to help keep you and your family sniffle free. It has 2 spinning side brushes meaning that it can clean deep into corners and along edges.
So what about the Roomba 690? Like all Roomba iRobots, the 690 uses Roomba’s patented 3-Stage Cleaning System which works to loosen, lift and suction dirt, pet hair and large debris from your home.
It uses dual-multi surface brushes which can efficiently clean and adapt to any type of floor they might be cleaning, as the head adjusts its height to stay close to any surface. This ensures a smooth transition from hard floors, to laminate, to carpet, and the first brush loosens and lifts dirt, while the second brush helps direct it straight to the suction stream.
Roomba 690 also has an edge-sweeping brush that is on a specially designed 27-degree angle to target edges and corners.
Another pro of the iRobot Roomba 690 is that it uses patented dirt detection technology. This means it can detect areas with heavy dirt using sensors, and make sure it works harder to clean these areas.
Verdict: Roomba 690. While both have a similar cleaning performance, we love the Roomba’s dirt detection technology and auto-adjustable brush head for different floors.
Now let’s check out the navigation systems and see how each works and how they compare.
The Shark Ion Robot 750 uses Smart Sensor Navigation to navigate around your home. This essentially means that it uses sensors on the body of the robot to detect floors, walls and obstacles and seamlessly guide its way around.
This means that it won’t bump into walls and obstacles. Although it doesn’t have any mapping technology to map out your home, it should still work its way around the whole area of your home without missing anything.
Although the Shark Ion Robot 750 doesn’t have a virtual barrier wall like the Roomba 690, it does come with 9 feet of BotBoundary strips, which you can tape round obstacles or doorways to stop your robotic vacuum going where it shouldn’t.
Finally it also has a drop sensor, so it will not hurtle over any steep edges like stairs.
The Roomba 690 actually uses a pretty similar navigation system to the Shark Ion Robot 750. It has a suite of intelligent sensors that guide your Roomba around your home, allowing it to make 60 decisions per second to get the most optimal navigation.
Although again this does not smart map your homes floor plan, it should still successfully clean your whole home. Like the Shark Ion Robot 750, the Roomba 690 has a cliff detect sensor so it is stair-safe.
It also comes with a virtual barrier wall which can either create a straight or a radial barrier where your iRobot cannot go. This is portable so you can choose to place this anywhere like a doorway or round a pet’s bowl.
Verdict: Both robots use similar navigation technology and use a drop sensor and while the Shark Ion Robot 750 has BotBoundary strips, the Roomba 690 robot vacuum has a virtual wall.
Now let’s see how long each robot vacuum can continuously clean for.
The Shark Ion Robot 750 has a running time of 60 minutes, thanks to its lithium ion battery. This is pretty decent and matches many other robot vacuum cleaners on the market. It should be plenty of time to clean most small to medium houses or apartments but if you have a large home, you may prefer a robot vacuum with a longer run time.
If it does run out of charge mid clean however, don’t worry. The robot will head back to its charging base and charge up.
The iRobot Roomba 690 has a significantly longer running time than the Shark Ion Robot 750. It can work continuously for up to 90 minutes which gives you an extra 30 minutes to Shark’s one-hour run time.
This is a significant amount of extra cleaning so may be a good choice for people with larger homes. But be aware this can be reduced if the Roomba is working at full capacity.
Verdict: The Roomba 690 wins here with a longer running time of 90 minutes as opposed to 60.
Now let’s take a look at the design of each bot and how easy they are to use.
The Shark Ion Robot 750 has a sleek and attractive design in black and gray. It is also very compact and light weight with dimensions of 2.6 inches high, and a weight of just 5.51 pounds.
This low height means that your Shark Ion 750 can easily fit under low furniture and slide into corners with ease. This is perfect for people with lots of furniture that may be difficult to navigate around or under.
The light weight also means that the robot vacuum is super easy to carry and store, or move from room to room by hand. It has an intuitive interface with a simple 3 buttons to clean, charging dock and spot. A great thing about this is that it can also be controlled through the app to start and schedule cleans as well as voice control.
The iRobot Roomba 690 also has a sleek design, with Roomba’s traditional round design and a similar sleek grey and black color palette to the Shark Ion 750. The Roomba however is a little bigger and bulkier than the Shark Ion Robot 750 with a height of 3.7 inches.
This also means that it is also a bit heavier, weighing 7.8 pounds. This height difference is quite significant, so it is worth checking out the heights of your furniture to see if it would be worth getting the more compact bot.
It also means it is a little heavier to carry and move around, although many people don’t mind this as it is still not too heavy. The interface on the Roomba 690 is simple, with the main clean button as well as the home and spot button.
The Roomba too can be controlled through an app making life even easier, we will look at this in more detail next.
Verdict: The Shark Ion Robot vacuum comes out on top in terms of design with a lighter, more compact design which is easier to fit under furniture.
Unlike many lower-end robot vacuums, both of these models have WiFi capability which makes them smarter and easier to control. Let’s take a look at how they compare.
The Shark Ion Robot 750 easily connects to your WiFi. The best thing about this is that you can control the robot through Shark Ion Robot App meaning you have total remote control of your vacuuming.
This fully interactive app means that you can set your robot off cleaning, schedule cleans with precision and ease, and even monitor the current progress of your current clean.
You can select the mode you want your bot to clean on and pause your bot mid clean. This WiFi connection also means that your robot vacuum can be voice activated by Google Assistant or Alexa. Now you can clean without even picking up your phone.
The Roomba iRobot 690 is also WiFi compatible and easily connects to your smartphone once you download the iRobot HOME App. Like Shark’s equivalent, this app is super easy to use and means that it doesn’t matter where you are, you can conveniently start a clean or schedule one for whenever you want.
An added bonus is that the Roomba app also allows you to order accessories, replacement filters and other products directly through the app which can save you time, money and effort. The iRobot Roomba 690 can also be voice activated using Google Assistant or Alexa meaning you can go totally hands-free with your cleaning.
Verdict: Roomba 690. Both bots are actually pretty similar in this respect as they both connect up to WiFi, have remote app control and voice activation but the Roomba has an easy-order feature for replacement parts.
A quick note on price to see how the two bots compare and if one is better bang for the buck.
Well the Roomba iRobot 690 does come in at a higher price tag than the Shark Ion Robot 750. The price difference can vary depending on where you buy but is likely to be around $100.
The Roomba does generally have some improved and superior features to the Shark hence the price difference, but if you are on a budget, the Shark is a great alternative for the price and does still offer an competitive array of features.
Verdict: The Shark 750 comes out at a cheaper price.
So now we have looked at the two robot vacuums in detail, what is the bottom line? Well actually both these robot vacuums offer some impressive features and will work a treat to clean your home on a budget.
They are both WiFi Capable and app and voice controlled and offer a solid cleaning performance. But overall the Roomba pips it to the post with an extended run time, superior cleaning system and the virtual wall that is included.
However if you are on a budget or looking for a particularly compact model to fit under furniture, it is worth considering the Shark Ion Robot 750. Which one do you prefer?
Related Articles:
Join our newsletter for the latest updates!
