Roomba 690 vs 960. Which is better?

Last updated on Aug 6, 2021 Robot Vacuum Cleaners
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Are you a pet lover with shedding dogs that leave quite a bit of hair lying around, often blown into corners and under couches? Well, this Roomba 690 vs 960 feature comparison is for you. It delves into the features these Roomba models have to offer and will therefore help you make the right choice.

If you prefer to get a quick and summarized take on our comparison, then here it is:

  • Buy the Irobot Roomba 960 for a feature rich robot vacuum with a variety of modern features. (intelligent room navigation, room mapping and memory of where it has cleaned and is yet it clean). It can resume work after auto recharging . It also comes equipped with a High-Efficiency Filter that captures 99% of allergens and dust.

  • Buy the Irobot Roomba 690, if you are not into all the fancy features that irobot has to offer but still want a decent robot vacuum that can get the job done rather nicely. If you prefer a basic roomba that can be controlled remotely with a smart phone. If you prefer one that does spot cleaning and is Alexa compatible with automatic recharging.

Differences in the Roomba 690 vs 960

Suction power

Roomba 960 has 5X the suction power of the Roomba 690. This because of the Roomba 960's advanced motor that gives it extra suction.

This extra suction means it can suck up more dirt and debris faster than its companion the Roomba 690.

Filter Type

The 960 roomba has a high efficiency filter while the 690 roomba has a normal aerovac filter.

The High efficiency filter traps most allergens from cats and dogs. This makes the Roomba 960 the better robot vacuum if you have cats and dogs at home.

Navigation

The Roomba 690 uses adaptive random patterns to find its way around your house while the Roomba 960 uses neat row patterns.

The Roomba 960 uses intelligent navigation and mapping which makes its navigation around your home more precise. It also uses floor tracking sensors to enable it clean an entire floor of your house. This navigation technology puts the irobot 960 ahead of the irobot 690.

image showing Roomba 960 navigation technology
Roomba 960 Intelligent Navigation

Recharge and resume

While both irobots have a recharge feature, only the irobot Roomba 960 has a recharge and resume feature.

This means that the irobot 960 can easily pick up from where it left off.  So when it is low on battery, it will go for a recharge and afterwards come back to resume cleaning automatically.

Brushes

The irobot 960 has rubber brushes that are tangle resistant and perform well against pet hair. Unlike the brushes of the irobot 690 that are more susceptible to getting entangled with hair. So, more often than not, you might have to keep cleaning the 690 brushes.

The 960 rubber brushes don’t get entangled that much with pet hair because of their design. The hair easily rolls off into the suction channel.

Similarities in Roomba 960 vs 690

Technology used

While both the irobot roomba 960 and 690 might have their differences, they also have similarities.

They both have dirt detection technology that is able to detect dirt and immediately instruct the Roomba to start cleaning. This feature is especially visible when the Roomba encounters areas with a lot of dirt. It will focus on these areas until they are clean.

Cliff detection technology is another shared technology between these two irobots. With cliff detection, the roombas are able to detect stairs and avoid them. So, your Roomba won’t be falling over stairs any time soon.

Smart Phone Control

Both the Roomba 690 and 960 can be connected to WIFI. The WIFI connection allows you to be able to control your robot vacuum using the Irobot smart phone application.

You can schedule the robot vacuum to clean your homes on specific days of the week using the app. With the mobile app, you can also monitor the robots cleaning progress and view its cleaning history as well.

Edge Cleaning

Both roombas feature a specially designed, edge sweeping brush. This brush sweeps dirt and debris away from edges and into the path of the vacuum.

After the dirt is swept away from the corner, the robot vacuum can then easily suck up the dirt.

A roomba cleaning the edge of a wall
roomba edge cleaning

Cleaning Multiple Surfaces

Both irobots have dual multi-surface brushes that work together to rid your surfaces of dirt and debris.

One brush loosens and pulls dirt while the other brush pushes the dirt into the vacuums suction channel.

The nature of the brushes is such that they can clean many types of surfaces. Some of these surfaces include; carpets, floors and other common home surfaces.

Check out our feature comparison table of the Irobot Roomba 690 vs 960 and conclusion

Roomba 690 vs 960 Comparison table

FeaturesRoomba 690
Roomba 960
Rubber Brushes
Will have fewer tangles with long hair or strings which means less maintenance
HEPA filter
Filters allergens and pet dander really well
Entire level cleaning
cleans an entire area and will continue to do so until it determines it is finished.
Multiple Pass Control
Allows for multiple cleaning passes
You start a second cleaning over a specific room or area in order to get a deeper clean
ideal if you have many pets, messy young children or anybody in your home with allergies
Edge Cleaning
Can clean corners or edges using the edge cleaning brush
Mobile App
Control to vacuum through a smartphone mobile application.
Voice Assistant
Use voice commands through the Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa to control your robot vacuum.
Cleaning PatternAdaptiveNeat rows
Cleans carpet and hard floors
Recharge and Resume
Dirt Detect Technology
Intelligent Navigation with Mapping
Navigates obstacles and stairs
Personalized cleaning recommendations
Cleaning reports with mapped coverage
Automatic Recharge
Spot Cleaning
With spot cleaning, you can direct the Roomba robot to a specific area for a deeper clean
Filter TypeAeroVacHepa
Virtual Wall Barriers

Our priority is to help you make the right choice in regards to robot vacuum cleaners that fit your needs. Please note that you should avoid any model less than the series 600 with a non-LION battery. Remember for the x90 models which include the 690, 890 and the 900's have the WIFI/App enabled. The 900 series additionally use mapping navigation and are generally good for large room(s) i.e. 3000 sqf+.

iRobot Roomba 690 Review

The Irobot Roomba 690 is a wifi connected robot vacuum cleaner that uses a patented 3 stage cleaning system and dirt detection technology to help thoroughly clean your floors. It also includes a dual virtual wall barrier that gives you greater control over where your robot cleans.  

The Irobot Roomba 690 also comes with an auto adjust cleaning head that automatically adapts its height to keep the multi-surface brushes in close contact with different floor surfaces. This allows it to effectively clean carpets and hard floors. This robot vacuum can pick up anything from small particles to large debris.

The dirt detection technology also recognizes concentrated areas of dirt like high traffic areas in your house and provides additional cleaning in those spots. With its full suite of intelligent sensors, the robot can be guided under and around furniture to help thoroughly clean floors. The sensors also allow it to clean around clutter and avoid stairs and drop offs.

The Roomba 690 works well with Alexa meaning voice control is very possible. It also comes with a self-charging feature which means you will always find it ready and fully charged. The Roomba 690 also works well on pet hair.

With the Roomba 690, you can clean and schedule from anywhere with the iRobot home app. It runs for upto 60 minutes before it automatically docks and recharges. The surface recommendation for the irobot Roomba 690 is hard Floors and carpets.

iRobot Roomba 960 Review

The IRobot Roomba 960 is a robot vacuum that is also Wi-Fi Connected with a room Mapping capabilities. It is designed to work with voice control by connecting to an Alexa device. It is as well ideal for Pet Hair, carpets and Hard Floors.

This irobot Roomba 960 won’t stop working until all its tasks are complete. This robot intelligently maps & cleans an entire level of your home. Using its irobot vslam technology , it gathers over 230,400 data points per second to create an accurate map that it uses to navigate and clean the room.

The Roomba 960 uses floor tracking sensors to navigate rooms in purposeful and logical neat rows. The Roomba 960 can therefore keep track of where it’s been and where it has yet to clean. It is ideal for homes with pets because of its unique dual multi-surface rubber brushes that do not get tangled with pet hair. The brushes adjust and flex to stay in contact with carpets and floors.

The Roomba 960 is a fully featured robot vacuum cleaner that learns your cleaning habits and can thereafter offer up personalized schedules. This is in addition to its voice assistant control that allows you to start cleaning using voice commands.

It comes equipped with dirt detection sensors that alert the robot about dirtier areas around your home including high traffic spots and cleans them more thoroughly. After vacuuming dirt spots like these, the Roomba can automatically signal the Braava jet m6 to start mopping those areas.

When the Roomba 960 is running low on battery it recharges & resumes, ensuring a complete clean.

The Roomba also comes packed with a power lifting suction of 5x the air power for improved dirt pick up performance. The recommended surfaces for this Irobot Roomba 960 are Hard Floors and Carpets.

Conclusion of Roomba 690 vs 960

After a thorough comparison of the irobot roomba 690 vs 960, we have weighed the features side by side and concluded that the Roomba 960 has quite a number of extra features that just aren’t available on the 690 model.

Therefore, our winner for this comparison is the Roomba 960. If you need some swanky features on top of having a robot vacuum cleaner to superbly clean your floors, the Roomba 960 is going to perfectly meet your needs. We believe the added features are worth it.

If all you want is a reliable robot vacuum cleaner with reasonable features, the Roomba 690 might be the choice for you. It will still get the job done.

Frequently Asked Questions

How well does the Roomba 690 handle pet hair?

It does clean up most hair but you might to clean the brushes and bin each time it completes a cleaning cycle.

Can the Roomba 960 be used for all levels of my house?

Yes, it can but the only catch is that you will have to manually carry it to the floor you want cleaned.

Can the Roomba 960 be scheduled to clean specific rooms?

No, it cannot. If you want it to clean a specific room, you have to take it to that room yourself.

Can the roombas move across different floor surfaces while cleaning?

Yes, they can. This is because of their auto adjustable head that allows the roomba to adjust its height accordingly. This adjustment ensures the roomba rolls over the different surfaces while keeping in contact with them.

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