Most robot vacuums require you to remove the mop before they can clean your carpets, unless you like damp carpets.

Preorder the Roomba combo j7 Plus today and it will be available tomorrow. It will be available for purchase with the Clean Base at launch. The two-in-one vacuum mop uses a new combination of acoustic sensors to detect the different types of flooring in a home and "decide" when to lift its pad to avoid thread counts and when to lower it to clean hard floor types.

While other companies have mopping pads on their robot vacuums in most other instances, the user has to manually attach the mop to it. When they want it to vacuum carpets, they have to take it away.

This is accurate. One competitor bot that can lift its pad up is the $950 Roborock S7 Plus. It only increases by a small amount. There is no chance of a damp rug because the mopping pad is lifted up completely.

The j7 Plus is a robot vacuum with a mop. It has a small bin to hold the water tank and larger battery to power the mop. It is the same in most other ways. It has smart room mapping, scheduling, and virtual no-go zones that can be controlled in the app, and it can be used with Amazon and other voice assistants. Users have to refill the water tank manually, even though it comes with iRobot's Clean Base.

The bases of the robot vacuums can be used to empty the bin and refill the robot's water tank. If they have thicker carpets, users may have to remove and attach the mops to the robot.

The reusable mopping pad attaches with velcro and sits under the robot when it’s in use.
The reusable mopping pad attaches with velcro and sits under the robot when it’s in use.
Image: iRobot

The iRobot app can be used to send the new Roomba to vacuum the living room and then mop and vacuum the kitchen. For a deeper clean, water levels can be adjusted, and it can be set to clean twice. This is as effective as an oscillating motion, which some other robot vacuum mops use to scrub the floor.

iRobot decided to add a pad to its flagship robot vacuum rather than make a new vacuum and mopping bot. The design is simple and doesn't change the overall look of the vacuum much at all.

The Roomba Combo j7 Plus can go from vacuuming carpet to mopping hardwood floors without any user intervention.
The Roomba Combo j7 Plus can go from vacuuming carpet to mopping hardwood floors without any user intervention.
Image: iRobot

The Braava Jet m6, iRobot's dedicated mopping robot, was tested and found to be as effective as the combo. The Braava Jet and a robot vacuum are considered the ultimate cleaning experience as they can work at the same time.

The simplicity of the combo design makes it easy to incorporate into iRobot's other models. The j7 is iRobot's "smartest" robot.

It does a good job of avoiding most common household items thanks to an artificial intelligence-powered brain. It is less likely to get derailed and more likely to get the job done.

iRobot OS is an Artificial Intelligence platform that helps the robot's navigation system recognize more than 80 objects. iRobot is releasing an update to the OS that will allow it to identify more items.

According to the company, iRobot OS 5 brings recognition to pet toys, pet bowls, litter boxes, and backpacks, as well as the shoes, slippers, socks, cords, headphones, clothing, towels, and solid pet waste it was already able to spot and avoid.

The new robot vacuum and mop works with iRobot’s Clean Base to automatically empty the bin.
The new robot vacuum and mop works with iRobot’s Clean Base to automatically empty the bin.
Image: iRobot

A new ability to automatically detect and recommend areas that might need more cleaning has been added to the Roomba combo j7 Plus. New "Clean Zones" can be suggested by the mopping and vacuuming robot. The user can use the app or voice command to send the robot to clean the zone. The Braava Jet m6 is one of the smart-mapped Roombas.

The ability to skip a room during a cleaning job is one of the new features coming to compatible Roombas. You can tell the robot to skip this room if you want, instead of shutting down the whole job because the family is watching TV.

The FTC is investigating iRobot because of concerns about how the company's data on consumers' homes may be used by Amazon to gain an unfair advantage in the space.