Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Newest Update : Jan 2018***, here: I still love this thing and have no regrets. Often "you get what you pay for" and a lot of times, you don't. In this case, I feel like I've gotten my money's worth even after a year+. Acquired a new puppy in October this past Fall and I'm finding this to be FAR more useful at this point. I'm running it about every other day, mainly in my kitchen and living space and I'm still amazed at how full that bin gets EVERY time it runs. I ran it the day after my cleaner vacuumed and damp mopped my floors and it STILL came back full after doing my whole place. (In my reviews below, I noted I have a very conscientious cleaning person and a top of the line Oreck vacuum.). So in the end, I haven't felt the need to spend the extra on the 980, and I'm finding this unit to be reliable and very efficient at doing what it's supposed to do. I can also say "Alexa, Tell Roomba to Clean" or "Tell Roomba to Go Home" and it follows my instructions... that's kinda cool, but what's more important is that this thing cleans well without wasting time and without breaking - in my own experience. What else matters? New Update Posted January 2017*** After a few months, I like this as much as when I originally reviewed it, maybe more. It stuns me how much this little guy picks up every time he runs. It continues to pick up everything on the surface of my 1/2 carpet, 1/2 hardwood single story 3BR place. It runs, and continues to run for the advertised 70-80 minutes before it heads back to recharge. Then it picks up where it left off and finishes the job. Point is, after 60-70 minutes, the bin is almost ALWAYS full, so getting the upgraded battery in the 980 doesn't seem necessary. One thing that impresses me also is it's ability to ALWAYS find it's home and it very rarely gets hung up. However, it can only find its home if it starts and runs uninterrupted - not moved manually for any reason. In that case, it loses it's way. It gets hung up occasionally on my bathroom mats, on the corners - but rarely. I'd say 1 in 8 times it runs, maybe less. Once in a while, it wedges itself under one side of my sofa, but again almost never. I can forgive the occasional mishap. One thing that REALLY impresses me is that I have back to back doors in my hall bathroom and the bedroom. If I leave both doors at a 45 degree angle, it figures out to do both rooms and to simply navigate around the doors - it's pretty amazing, in my opinion. A few lessons I've learned. The app is actually fine, it's completely functional. It's a vacuum cleaner, not a game. I like the reminders to do the maintenance on it, which is super-simple and a necessary activity everyone should perform. It's just clearing the hair out of the rollers, etc. Nothing is terribly complicated and the pictures in the app are perfect to help. Also, since my place takes about two full cycles to clean the entire floor, then I usually just start it in the middle of the home, the one one day, I'll put the lighthouse/virtual wall on one side, and the next day, I'll put it on the other side - and it works perfectly, taking about 1 full battery cycle and filling the bin. I find this to be a simple activity and I probably run it about 4 times a week, total - so it cleans the place twice in a week. I have a really good Oreck vacuum and a hired cleaner every two weeks, so the carpets and floors get a deep cleaning on that interval... And I'm STILL always just amazed at how much the Roomba still comes back with, even a day after the cleaner is here. So, if you can afford the luxury of a robot vacuum, I think this is probably one of the best buys out there - and certainly one of the most entertaining since it's not always just bumping into things in a circle - it continues to be "smart" and to navigate in a very intentional manner, which still impresses me. Original Fall 2016 Review*** I am really quite smitten with this little guy. I actually purchased an 880 on sale "used from Amazon Warehouse." It seemed like a good deal, but then it wasn't such a deal when I realized the debris door hinge was broken on arrival!!! Regardless, I figured I'd see how well it can work. I had a 1st generation roomba many years ago and it was basically an okay floor sweeper, hardly a real vacuum. Well, the 880 was pretty impressive in both cleaning power as well as improved navigation. I must have filled that debris container up about 6 times in my 1,300 ft2 apartment when it arrived. I was amazed at how much it actually got up and although it doesn't "deep clean" anything per se, it does a really, really fantastic job of getting the surface of everything, including carpets, clean. Here's the issue with the 880 - since it was broken on arrival - I figured, why not try the 960? Should be same guts and I didn't see the extra $200 clams worth the price for the 980 for my purposes. I think I was right - the 960 cleans just as well as the 880, but of course it's FAR more intelligent!!! The 880 kinda bugged me - I have a 3BR/2BA apartment with a utility room - small, but I'm a single guy with a few dogs that don't shed too much. The 880 was a little "too random" for my tastes and often went through the same room twice while neglecting another room altogether before it would just head home for a recharge - NOT finishing the job I asked it to do. The 960 is COMPLETELY different. It actually figures out the layout pretty darn well. It's a little random at times, but to see it INTENTIONALLY head out of one room, go down the hall, and then hit the Kitchen is truly inspiring to me. Yep, it's actually doing some basic thinking here - nothing magic, just better software and a camera to help it map where it's been and how to get home. When the bin is full or the battery runs down, it literally takes about the shortest path back to home base and pops right back into it's charger - then it picks up, literally, where it left off. The 880 sometimes roamed aimlessly, looking for the charger which wasn't in a prominent, main room. Sometimes, the 800 would just run out of juice on it's way meandering to it's charger. I have the 960's charger under a desk in my office and it simply finds its way right back without a second thought. If you can get the 880 for $500, and the 960 is $700, is it worth it? Up to you. For me, with the complexities of my apartment here - and to ensure it actually does the job , finishes it, and gets all the nooks and crannies that Roombas do - I think the 960 is a worthy update. The app is okay - I like it better than no app and find it entirely useful. If you're like me, with a 1-level place that's sizable enough to make you not want to pull out the full-size vacuum often enough, then this could be a little dream come true. On a side note, I also considered the Dyson - but reading the reviews it seems like the 900 series was gonna be a bit smarter... And I will say, the 960 truly does seem a heck of a lot smarter than anything I've seen in our emerging tech world. It may not be a driverless car, but it ain't bad for the money. I've had this for about 2 weeks and I'll be sticking with this one - and will send an update if anything comes up in the next month or so.