Editorial notes last verified: September 2026
When the Roomba i7 launched in 2018, it was one of the first models to introduce
iRobot’s Imprint intelligent mapping feature. The robot could now permanently
remember the floor plan of the house and receive room-by-room cleaning commands.
Introduced around the same time, the Clean Base automatic dirt disposal station also
launched a category that’s now standard on many premium models.
There’s a confusing point within the family: this review covers the base i7
model, and the Clean Base station isn’t included in the box. Automatic dirt
disposal only comes with the i7+ model from
the same generation; everything else is nearly identical.
With 1,700 Pa of suction power, it ranks 170th out of
182 models in today’s active catalog. In 2018, this
figure was considered reasonable. In the years since, the market has pushed the
suction power race considerably further, both between brands and across price
segments.
Today's active catalog, suction power (Pa)
170
Irobot Roomba I7
1,700 Pa
A similar picture emerges on the noise side. At 68 dBA, it ranks
48th out of 58 models in
today’s active catalog, on the louder end of the range. On the navigation side,
the i7 still uses a camera-and-odometry-based system rather than LiDAR; most of
today’s flagship models have since switched to LiDAR.
Today's active catalog, noise level in dBA (lower is better)
Highlights from user reviews
- In a farewell post shared on r/roomba, a user describes how their i7, used
regularly for years, stopped working not because of a hardware issue but because
of an old phone that had become incompatible with an app update. Another user in
the same thread says they solved a similar problem simply by upgrading their
phone.
- In the same discussion, a user says their seven-year-old i7 cleans better than
their six-month-old Roborock, catching spots the Roborock missed.
The i7 lags behind today’s standards in both suction power and noise, and its
LiDAR-free navigation is now considered an outdated approach. But its ability to keep
working flawlessly for years, along with cleaning performance that some users say still
outdoes much newer models, keeps the i7 a respected name.
See how robot vacuums have changed since 2016 →