
iRobot
iRobot Roomba Max 705 Vac
iRobot's post-reboot flagship vacuum finally adopts ClearView Pro LiDAR and claims 180x the suction of the 600 series, keeping the dual rubber anti-tangle brushes and a 75-day AutoEmpty dock — vacuum only, no mop to fail.
Specifications
Features
Pros
- ✓Strongest Roomba yet — dual rubber extractors still set the bar for pet hair on carpet
- ✓LiDAR navigation finally works in the dark, unlike every camera-based j-series
- ✓Obstacle avoidance is reliable day or night per owner reports
- ✓210-minute runtime roughly doubles the old j-series
- ✓Simpler vacuum-only design avoids the Combo's failure-prone mop dock
Cons
- ✗Reddit sentiment is lukewarm (about 56% positive) — fine dust on dark hard floors is a known miss
- ✗iRobot does not publish suction specs, making comparisons guesswork
- ✗New Roomba Home app is slow and less polished than Roborock's
- ✗iRobot's financial turmoil raises long-term support questions
- ✗No mop at all when similarly priced rivals include full wash docks
Owner Insightssummarized from Reddit and owner forums
The Max 705 Vac is iRobot's comeback attempt: their strongest suction ever, real LiDAR navigation (finally), and the dual rubber brushes that made Roombas the default for pet owners. On the hardware it mostly lands — testers watched it clear long hair, crumbs, and coffee grounds in a pass or two, and the ClearView Pro LiDAR mapped a two-floor 1,400 sq ft house in under nine minutes, on par with a Roborock Q Revo. But Reddit sentiment sits at just 57% positive, the lowest of the current flagship crop, and the reasons are price and software rather than cleaning.
Day to day, this is a vacuum-only machine that leans on its dock. The AutoEmpty station stretches bag changes to around 75 days, obstacle avoidance handles cords, toys, and staged pet waste reliably, and the anti-tangle brushes live up to the name — though hair wrap still builds up over time and needs occasional cleaning. The friction is the iRobot Home app: owners report glitches, buried settings, and firmware updates that occasionally break things and lock the robot up for half an hour. One outlet also measured debris clearance at 80%, under the 90-95% expected at this price.
Who should buy it: pet households that want maximum vacuuming with zero mop maintenance, and specifically people burned by combo robots' wet systems — skipping the mop sidesteps the Max 705 Combo's known clog-and-fail failure mode entirely. But the price has to be right. At the $899.99 list you can buy a Roborock or Dreame flagship that vacuums comparably and mops too; at the recurring $499 sale price (Walmart has listed it at $699, and sealed units float around eBay for less), it becomes a defensible pick for Roomba loyalists.
What owners like
- +Strongest Roomba yet — iRobot claims 180x the suction of the 600 series, and testers confirmed long hair, crumbs, and coffee grounds gone in one or two passes
- +Dual anti-tangle rubber brushes are still the best in the business for pet hair — shedding-dog households are the happiest owners
- +ClearView Pro LiDAR mapped a two-floor 1,400 sq ft home in under 9 minutes and avoids cords, toys, and (fake) pet waste, day or night
- +AutoEmpty dock runs up to 75 days between bag changes
- +No mop is a feature, not a bug — Redditors deliberately picked the Vac over the Max 705 Combo because the Combo's wet system clogs with pet hair (one owner went through 4 replacement units)
Common complaints
- −$899.99 list price is not serious — even fans say only buy at the frequent sales that have hit $499 on iRobot.com and lower elsewhere
- −App glitches that, per one owner, "shouldn't occur in a $899 robot" — confusing layout, buried settings, occasional setup failures
- −Firmware updates have introduced glitches of their own and can tie the robot up for 30-minute processing sessions
- −One testing outlet measured an 80% debris clearance rate — below the 90-95% typical at this price tier
- −Edge cleaning is inconsistent and the onboard bin is small, so you're leaning on the dock constantly
- −Just 57% positive Reddit sentiment — the weakest of the current flagships, with no mop and no feature answer to similarly priced Roborock and Dreame machines
Common Questions
Max 705 Vac or Max 705 Combo?
Is it worth $899?
How does it handle pet hair?
Did iRobot fix their navigation?
What are the app problems people mention?
Compare the iRobot Roomba Max 705 Vac
Related vacuums
More from iRobot →
iRobot
iRobot Roomba j7+
The tried-and-true Roomba j7+ with PrecisionVision navigation, P.O.O.P. guarantee, and Clean Base self-emptying — a proven workhorse for pet owners.

iRobot
iRobot Roomba j9+
iRobot's premium vacuum-only robot with P.O.O.P. (Pet Owner Official Promise) guarantee, smart home integration, and proven carpet cleaning performance.

iRobot
iRobot Roomba 694
iRobot's entry-level robot vacuum with Wi-Fi connectivity, Alexa/Google support, and proven three-stage cleaning system at a budget price.