Overview
The direct answer to the question What is the difference between Roomba 690 and Roomba 960 is that Roomba 960 has more advanced features, especially the smart navigation system of Roomba 960 is very efficient, allowing the robot to learn the floorplan and optimize cleaning performance over time. Besides, Roomba 960 has HEPA filter, less-tangling brushless extractor, big dust bin (2 fold more than Roomba 690), lower noise level.
If possible, we highly recommend you to opt for the Roomba 960 over the 690. It can clean in dark environment, smarter and more effective when picking up hairs and clean thick carpets. In 2021, the Roomba 960 price is now very affordable.
On the contrary, the Roomba 690 is still a nice option if you are in a budget. This robot vacuum is suitable for homes with bare floors, thin carpet, wide areas (it can run up to 90 minutes), short hair and can be controlled via Alexa Voice. Despite being an older model and a bit hard to find, it continues to
However, if you are looking for an entry level Roomba, the iRobot Roomba 675 Robot Vacuum with Wi-Fi Connectivity is a good budget friendly price and much more readily available since it is still being made.
Read Full Reviews
- iRobot Roomba 690 Review
- iRobot Roomba 960 Review
- iRobot Roomba s9 Review – the latest and most advanced Roomba
- iRobot Roomba 690 vs 890 Comparison
Comparison chart of Roomba 690 vs 960
| Roomba 690 | Roomba 960 | |
|---|---|---|
| Mapping / Path planning | no | yes |
| Mapping Sensor Type | ascoutic | camera |
| Recharge & Resume | no | yes |
| Automatically Docks and Recharges | yes | yes |
| Noise Level | 68 db | 62 db |
| Side Brushes (one or two) | 1 pcs | 1 pcs |
| Voice Prompts | yes | yes |
| Cleaning Features | ||
| Suction Power | 600 Pa | 900 Pa |
| Сleaning Area | 1292 ft 2 / 120 m 2 | 1615 ft2 / 150 m2 |
| Home Size | small, medium | medium, big |
| Cleaning Modes | auto, spot cleaning | auto, spot cleaning |
| Dustbin Capacity | 600 ml | 600 ml |
| Wet Mopping | no | |
| Barrier-cross Height | 0.63 in / 16 mm | 0.79 in / 20 mm |
| HEPA Filter | no | yes |
| Сarpet Floor Types | low-pile, medium-pile | low-pile, medium-pile |
| Bare Floor Types | hardwood, marble tile, vynil, ceramic tile, laminate, linoleum | hardwood, vynil, marble tile, ceramic tile, laminate, linoleum |
| Battery | ||
| Battery Capacity | 1800 mAh | 2600 mAh |
| Runtime | 90 min | 75 min (Works longer than 21% of robots) |
| Charging Time | 120 min | 120 min |
| Control | ||
| Scheduling | yes | yes |
| IR Remote Control | no | no |
| Wi-Fi / Smartphone App | yes | yes |
| Amazon Alexa Support | yes | yes |
| Google Assistant Support | yes | yes |
| Virtual Wall | yes | yes |
| Sensors | ||
| Carpet Boost | no | no |
| Anti-drop / Cliff Sensor | yes | yes |
| Dirt Detect | yes | yes |
| Full Bin Indicator | no | yes |
| Other Specifications | ||
| Robot Weight | 7.72 lbs / 3.5 kg | 8.38 lbs / 3.8 kg |
| Robot Width | 12.99 in / 33 cm | 13.78 in / 35 cm |
| Robot Height | 3.66 in / 9.3 cm | 3.50 in / 8.9 cm |
| In the box | charging station, line cord, extra filter, cleaning tool, owner’s guide, documentation package, dual-mode virtual wall | charging station, line cord, extra filter, cleaning tool, owner’s guide, documentation package, dual-mode virtual wall, extra side brush |
| Warranty | 12 months | 12 months |
Side-by-side comparison of Roomba 690 vs 960
The cleaning effectiveness of Roomba 690
Roomba 690 cleans bare floors surfaces and thin carpets very well. It is capable of picking hairs, however, Roomba 690 uses a couple of classic brush, causing the hair to tangle around. After cleaning for a while, you have to use scissors to cut the hair and remove manually.
When dealing with high traffic areas or large debris, Roomba 690 uses its Dirt Detect I sensors to concentrate cleaning. Because the Dirt Detect I technology is based on acoustic noise, you will notice the model will move around the area several times.
Because Roomba 690 uses a weak motor (600 Pa), it is unable to perform deep cleaning. If you have thick carpets, Roomba 690 may fail to clean fine dust, pet hair completely.
The cleaning effectiveness of Roomba 960
Roomba 960 cleans both bare floors and medium-pile carpets very well. The unit successfully picks up fine dust, pet hair, human hair, thanks to the use of a standard motor (900 Pa), combined with the brushless extractor. You will still have hair tangling issue with long hair, however, removing wrapped hair out of a brushless extractor is quite easy.
Unlike other series, the Roomba 960 model uses a VSLAM technology, a camera on the top of the robot, to record and identify the surrounding environment. This is the crucial advantage of Roomba 960. Thanks to the VSLAM, Roomba 960 can map the floor plan, enable quicker, more efficient cleaning by days when it is familiar with your floor plan.
The VSLAM also lets you clean in a dark environment which is a great benefit to users who live in some states during winter.
Usage benefits of Roomba 690
Roomba 690 is wifi connected. You can schedule cleaning on iRobot app via your smartphone.
To limit the no-go zone, you can use the dual-mode virtual barrier included in the package.
Roomba 690 does have automatic recharging feature, but it does not have resume feature like Roomba 960.
You have to check for the dust bin of Roomba 690 manually because it does not have a full-bin indicator feature.
On overall, Roomba 690 works nicely if you have time to babysit the unit for a few cleaning processes to see its cleaning patterns, its issue and how to resolve it (for example, removing wire and cord, removing thick carpet, close the door and so on)
Usage benefits of Roomba 960
Roomba 960 has more advantages when talking about usability. The unit is wifi connected, Alexa skill and Google Assistant compatible. It has automatically recharged and resume feature. Therefore, the robot can clean for the whole floor until it finishes without the need for constant checking like Roomba 690.
When dealing with medium pile carpets, the Robot will identify the surface and activate its carpet boost feature to give more suction power. Dirt, allergen, pet hair are trapped in a HEPA filter to ensure air quality. We highly recommend you to pick Roomba 960 if you have asthma or breathing problems.
Coupon for Roomba 960
When we last checked, we didn’t find any specific coupons for the Roomba 960. However, we often see it on sale at Amazon, especially around Black Friday and for the holidays.