Robot vacuum cleaners are amazing for their ability to clean the house without much effort. There are also plenty of options out there based on what you want to achieve such as Shark IQ Robot Vs Roomba i3 that are great for owners who want a reliable suction power as well as ease of use. These vacuums are convenient and ideal for those whose house is mostly of hard flooring and low pile carpet but, let’s see below before you decide to choose one.
In this comparison, we are going to talk about:
- What are Robot Vacuums
- What are Shark IQ Robot and Roomba i3
- How are the Design of Shark IQ Robot and Roomba i3
- How are the Cleaning Ability of Shark IQ Robot and Roomba i3
- How are the Convenience of Shark IQ Robot and Roomba i3
- What else Shark IQ Robot and Roomba i3 can offer
- Shark IQ Robot Vs Roomba i3
Contents
Robot Vacuums
Our house is never clean because there are many openings where other debris or dust from the outside gets inside the house and some are what our body is carrying after we are done with daily activities. This is why the more people living in the same space, the more often we have to perform the cleaning. It is best to do daily cleaning but, if you don’t have the spare time, we can tailor it as needed such as once every other day or once a week.
For those who are living a busy life but want the flooring to always clean without much effort, getting a robot vacuum will be beneficial. They may used to be a niche product in the past but today this smart home appliance is more mainstream. As the name suggests, the vacuum is now featured with a robotic function which lets it operate almost autonomously or with less assistance from the owner. The key is their sensor which can navigate around the flooring to perform the cleaning.
The suction will be activated once the vacuum is deployed from the base which also acts as their charging port so we don’t have to worry about battery life unlike with common stick vacuums that also work based on the battery. Robot vacuums have computers inside and sensors to detect obstacles or virtual limitations that can be set by the owners such as to prevent them from entering a certain area in the house where robot vacuums may get tangled or sucking small items on the flooring.
Their mechanism is very simple so you can just do an initial setup and let the machine work on its own. What we need to pay attention to besides how well they will navigate is the dust bin because there is only so much a small canister can contain at a time. In some vacuums, the charging dock will also act as a dust collector which means the vacuum will automatically dump the dust in the canister and we only have to clean this compartment every once in a while.
In general they are also not perfect for everyone and specifically when cleaning thick carpet, there is not enough clearance on the unit to perform the best at such areas. They also get tangled a lot if you have small items like cables laying around on the flooring. Our tip is following the vacuum in their first attempt of cleaning to see the area where they may struggle a lot and if possible limiting the access or tidying up the floor so they can move and clean easier.
| Shark IQ Robot | Roomba I3 | |
|---|---|---|
  |   |
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| Product Dimensions | 38.9 x 26.3 x 49.6 inches | 13.34 x 13.26 x 3.63 inches |
| Shipping Weight | 5.87 pounds | 11 pounds |
| Best offer | Check price | Check price |
About Shark IQ Robot and Roomba i3
If you are here then we assume that robot vacuum will be very useful in the house and for a vacuum that works on daily basis, it is wise to choose for the most reliable options your budget can afford because it is frustrating to clean with something that is not working properly and it may increase your workload in the house. If you don’t have a favorite vacuum yet, it is just convenient to buy based on the brand which you are trusting more.
Among those options, Shark and Roomba are two great companies to buy your robot vacuums from. These brands are very famous for their vacuum cleaners and in comparison Roomba is probably still the synonym of robot vacuums despite how many other companies are offering the same products. This is because they do have a wide range of options from the entry-level to the high-end robots for a wider range of customers. Shark on the other hand is known for their affordable alternatives including with the robot vacuums.
Some of their reliable and richly featured vacuums are the Shark IQ Robot and Roomba i3 which are quite popular in the market. These two placement are similar to each other when it comes to the pricing and the features they are coming with but, if you are here because the i3 also has the self-emptying dock, this system is actually coming on the i3+ which is more expensive than the i3 but you can get the same feature on the IQ Robot.
What we like the most from Shark IQ Robot and Roomba i3 is their suction power and ability to tailor the cleaning so we can make sure that the two are working properly. It is not very common for robot vacuums to have plenty of suction power but these two are satisfying especially on hard flooring and low pile carpet. They are also connecting to your smartphone to allow you see the robot’s status and sending commands even when not at home. Read also: Shark IQ Robot Vs Roomba 960.
Shark IQ Robot and Roomba i3 Design
As you can see, both of them are looking like any robot vacuum cleaners out there with a round shape and a very thick or tall build. We are a bit concerned about the height of these robots in which side by side measures about 3.5 to 3.6 inches so if you have any furniture with lower clearance such as a sofa or cabinet, they won’t be able to clean below the area. The overall housing is made of plastic but they are very robust.
The RV101AE model of IQ Robot we have today is their XL variant so in terms of size and capacity the Shark can contain more than twice of what the i3 dustbin can contain at a time. If you lift the robots, here we can see the cleaning path of both and the prominent difference will be the IQ has two rotating brush but only with one slot of brittle while Roomba has one rotating brush but has three slots of brittle.
Shark IQ Robot and Roomba i3 Cleaning Ability
Now for the most important part, let’s see how good the Shark IQ Robot and Roomba i3 are in terms of cleaning. They have no dedicated measurement that we can use as a base to the claim but in performance the two are working really well. In comparison however, it seems the IQ is working faster from edges to edges with snake-like navigation to make sure there is no untouched spot. It is also working longer compared to Roomba measured with how long they have to come back to the dock.
In general we are satisfied by how well these vacuums are cleaning the floor because the two are successfully navigating around furniture and as long as there is enough clearance they will be able to work below them as well. What can be a bit annoying is that IQ Robot also carry an ample of power which makes the vacuum can knock something away from its previous spot instead of just nudging it.
Shark IQ Robot and Roomba i3 Convenience
Next we want to talk about convenience of using the Shark IQ Robot and Roomba i3 because we all want an easy to use appliance. Our complaint with i3 here is the app which can be confusing since not all Roomba have the same menus on the app and what we look for in the menu is room selection since this i3 can only do one cleaning mode which is working on every area unlike the i7.
The IQ is better in this side despite you have to run the robot several times until it memorize the whole map of the house. At least we can choose not only when to schedule the robot but also deciding which room to clean. In many houses there are rooms with higher traffic and less visited places so it is just convenient to work daily on those rooms while the other can be reduced in frequency.
Shark IQ Robot and Roomba i3 Features
Lastly on the additional feature, as we have mentioned above, between Shark IQ Robot and Roomba i3, only IQ comes with self-emptying base and if you want the Roomba with the same feature, the i3+ or i7+ will be the options. In addition the i3 also don’t have no-go zone in the app and the product don’t comes with virtual barrier accessories as well which you will need to prevent the vacuum from entering an area. IQ do comes with a strip we can use to make a border-like area so it won’t cross.
Shark IQ Robot vs Roomba I3
Both Shark IQ Robot and Roomba i3 are reliable in terms of suction power so they are going to work well on different types of surface but, we are not a fan of Roomba’s limitation with this robot because you can’t choose the area where to clean and it also don’t come with the barrier which mean we have to buy it separately. The i3 is cheaper than IQ but also comes with less capabilities, most importantly on the convenience we as users are looking for.
Conclusion
You can pick any of these vacuums based on which sounds better or fit the house the most yet, we highly recommend getting the IQ Robot from Shark because this vacuum is not only powerful in suction but also convenient to use and to tweak with when cleaning the house.