The Roomba Duo is a floor-cleaning behemoth that can pull a tiny robovac from its hat and it's iRobot's attempt at rejecting the 'spec wars' and trying 'something different, something new'

Date:
Thu, 10 Sep 2026 08:12:36 +0000

Description:
I saw the iRobot Roomba Duo is action, and it's a two-in-one robot vacuum in the truest sense.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter The iRobot Roomba Duo is a
robot vacuum concept One chunky, powerful mopping and vacuuming robot... ... with a regular, small robovac docked in its hat, for detail work When it
comes to robot vacuums, size matters. Robovac makers need their bots to be powerful, but also small enough to get into tight spots. The two things are often incompatible.

iRobot has come up with an imaginative solution. The iRobot Roomba Duo is a two-in-one bot in the truest sense. In its full form, it's a big, chunky
floor cleaner, with a bulky body is large enough to contain everything you need for serious cleaning oomph. Then, in the upper part hides a regular
robot vacuum that's compact enough to take care of detail work. (Image
credit: Future) I spoke to Adam Pope, Chief Engineer & Vice President of Product Planning & Development at iRobot, to get some more insight into the unusual creation. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here:

"The large base robot is really for heavy-duty cleaning," he tells me. "It's big enough to be able to have lots of water inside, and it can also have stronger vacuum. It's designed for heavy-duty cleaning and more open spaces and high-traffic areas in your home. You get that heavy-duty clean that you might use a stick vac or a wet-dry vac on today." (Image credit: Future) He explains that on top of all that, the base also deploys the companion bot which is similar to the Roomba Plus 575 robot . That smaller robovac will clean under furniture, around chair legs, in corners and essentially "all those other spaces that the larger robot can't get to". You may like The new flagship Roomba has a unique mopping feature for tackling dried-on dirt
'It'll light up your home like a bowling alley' Dyson's new robovac has a UV light to see invisible spills I took a deep dive into the future of robot vacuums here's what the big brands have cooking "They work together," he adds. "They each have their own job, and they kind of split the job up and go do those activities." I saw a demo of the iRobot Roomba Duo in action at IFA 2026 . The dock was lifted off the top of its cleaner base like someone taking their hat off and lowered gently to the ground, where the smaller robot vacuum exited. This then went on to successfully complete an obstacle course that looked far too tight for it to navigate, before returning to its hutch, to be lifted back to its charging home on top of the base bot. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Image 1 of 7 (Image credit: Future) (Image credit: Future) (Image credit: Future) (Image credit: Future) (Image credit: Future) (Image credit: Future) (Image credit: Future) Image 1 of 7 View Original Image 2 of 7 View Original Image 3 of 7 View Original Image 4 of 7 View Original Image 5 of 7 View Original Image 6 of 7 View Original Image 7 of 7 View Original Unfortunately, for those who like
the sound of this, the iRobot Duo isn't going on sale quite yet. "It's a cool little innovation concept we're just showing here at IFA to see how the
market reacts to it and if there's interest in that type of product," Pope tells me.

I suggest it's quite difficult to stand out in the robot vacuum market these days, given the speed at which brands are releasing new models. "There's a
lot of spec war in that category," he responds. "Not as much innovation as we'd like to see. So this was our way of trying to get something different, something new. But it still does the job the job that customers actually need." Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to
get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/home/robot-vacuums/the-roomba-duo-is-a-floor-cleanin g-behemoth-that-can-pull-a-tiny-robovac-from-its-hat-and-its-irobots-attempt-a t-rejecting-the-spec-wars-and-trying-something-different-something-new


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