iRobot’s newest Roombas focus less on raw suction and more on sealing to the carpet
iRobot’s two new robot vacuum and mop combos put a mechanical seal at the center of carpet cleaning, not just more suction power. Both the Roomba Max 875 Combo Robot + AutoWash Dock and the Roomba Plus 678 Combo Robot + AutoWash Dock use the company’s new SealForce Vacuuming Technology, which drops a skirt down around the chassis to press against carpet fibers. By sealing to the carpet, the robots concentrate airflow where dirt hides instead of letting it leak out around the edges. SealForce is rated for three times deeper carpet cleaning than vacuuming without the seal, with the seal, the airflow, and the suction all counting toward that figure.
The idea is to trap airflow in the carpet pile so it has “somewhere to go instead of escaping around the edges,” said Adam Pope, Vice President and Chief Engineer at iRobot. He added that “more suction helps, but the seal is what takes it to a level beyond what’s previously been possible.” On the Max 875, SealForce pairs that skirt with 20 liters per second of tornado-like airflow and 35,000 pascals of suction power. The Plus 678 uses the same sealing concept with 18 liters per second of airflow and 30,000 pascals of suction, but the core pitch is the same: the seal does the heavy lifting for deep carpet pickup, with suction there to back it up rather than carry the whole load alone.
Max 875: heated mist mopping and heavy duty floor scrubbing
The Roomba Max 875 Combo is the flagship model, and its mopping system is built around continuous heated mist instead of short bursts of water. It uses Ultrasonic ThermaMist Technology to spray a steady stream of heated mist while it mops, pre-treating and softening dried-on messes across the floor. ThermaMist is rated for two times better stain removal than mopping without the heated mist, which is aimed at sticky spills, tracked in dirt, and other dried stains that regular damp mopping struggles with.
Underneath, the Max 875 runs a PowerSpin Max Roller Mop that is both larger and more aggressive than iRobot’s standard roller. This roller is 44 percent larger than the standard PowerSpin roller mop, and it spins at 300 RPM, up from the 200 RPM roller on the Roomba Max 775. It also presses down with 18 newtons of downward pressure, rated for 3.75 times deeper scrubbing than the Max 775. The roller is continuously self cleaning as it works, so it is designed to scrub hard without turning into a dirty, dripping brush that just smears grime from one spot to another.
The Max 875 also focuses on keeping carpets dry while it mops hard floors. Patented AI-powered DriLift Technology detects carpet, raises the mop, and lowers a protective shield so the roller does not soak rugs or carpeted areas as it passes over them. For edges and corners, iRobot uses its PerfectEdge system, which extends the main roller up to 45 millimeters along walls and baseboards, and pairs it with an outward expanding Edge Sweeping side brush to chase dust and crumbs into the vacuum path. A dual anti tangle system combines that spiral Edge Sweeping side brush with a hair cutting main brush, aimed at homes with pets or long hair that usually wrap around rollers.
AutoWash Dock: hot water cleaning, drying, and hands free upkeep
Both new Roomba models ship with an AutoWash Dock that is designed to cut down on hands on maintenance. For the Max 875, the dock washes the PowerSpin Max roller with 176 degree Fahrenheit hot water, then dries it with 131 degree Fahrenheit heated air, so the mop is cleaned and dried between runs instead of sitting damp in the base. The dock also auto dispenses StayClean Mopping Concentrate to keep the right solution mix ready for each cleaning session.
On the dry side, the AutoWash Dock supports self emptying for up to 90 days of hands free maintenance, depending on how much debris the robot collects. Dirt and dust are pulled into a carbon AllergenLock debris bag inside the dock, so you only need to toss the bag when it is full instead of emptying a bin after each run. Both the washing and drying cycles are automated, which means users do not have to rinse rollers in the sink or leave them out to air dry. For people who want vacuuming and mopping without a lot of extra work, the dock is a big part of the pitch.
Roomba Plus 678: step down model with high pressure SprayForce mopping
The Roomba Plus 678 Combo Robot + AutoWash Dock launches alongside the Max 875 as a lower-tier option that keeps the SealForce carpet system but uses a different mopping approach. Instead of continuous heated mist, the Plus 678 uses a hands-free, two-step heated mopping system based on SprayForce AI pre-treatment. SprayForce AI delivers a concentrated 40,000 pascal burst of high pressure spray that targets dried on residue before the roller mop moves over it. Together, the pre-spray and the roller scrubbing are rated for up to 40 percent better mopping performance than mopping without SprayForce AI.
The Plus 678 uses a continuous self cleaning PowerSpin roller mop, which scrubs with heated water and 15 newtons of downward pressure. There is also automatic 10 millimeter mop lift on carpet detection to help keep rugs dry when the robot transitions off hard floors, though it does not use the same DriLift shield system as the Max 875. Like the flagship, the Plus 678 uses the same dual anti-tangle brushes and the same 45 millimeter PerfectEdge roller reach. The Plus 678 ships with the same AutoWash Dock, with the same hot-water washing, heated-air drying, and up to 90 days of hands-free debris emptying.
Shared navigation, obstacle avoidance, and app control
Both new Roomba Combo models share the same navigation and object avoidance hardware and software. Each robot uses ClearView Pro Dual Line LiDAR for room to room navigation, mapping spaces so they can clean methodically rather than bouncing at random. PrecisionVision AI helps them recognize and avoid common household objects, with the Max 875 rated for more than 300, including everyday clutter that might trip up older robots.
The Plus 678 adds Dirt Detect Technology on top of that, adapting to both wet and dry messes so the robot can focus more time where the floor is actually dirty. On the control side, the Roomba Home App lets owners set cleaning schedules, target specific rooms, and prioritize pet areas that see more hair and debris. Both robots work with Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant enabled devices for voice control, so you can start or stop a cleaning run without hunting for your phone. Both robots are available now on iRobot.com, and reach North American retail later in September 2026. For iRobot, which introduced the first Roomba in 2002 and has sold more than 50 million robots worldwide, these two models mark a push toward deeper carpet cleaning through mechanical sealing, paired with more aggressive mopping and lower-effort maintenance at the dock.
View the original press release.
