iRobot Roomba Max 505 Combo Review

introduction

The past few years have been tough for iRobot, the brand that once defined what a robot vacuum should be. After a turbulent year in 2024, including the resignation of the company’s founder and CEO and the collapse of its plan to acquire Amazon, it was surprising to see eight new robot vacuum cleaners announced last March. One of them is the Roomba Max 505 Combo, which is the focus of this review.

These new models were clearly not business as usual. It has a completely new design compared to previous Roomba models, and is the first in the lineup to feature LiDAR navigation and mapping.

Behind the scenes, iRobot had moved to Picea’s co-design and manufacture model, effectively handing over the design and manufacturing of its robot vacuums to a third party.

Its partner Picea is also involved in manufacturing brands such as SharkNinja, Eufy, and Wyze.

The relationship took a further step in December when iRobot entered pre-packaged bankruptcy proceedings and Picea stepped forward as a buyer.

So the Max 505 Combo doesn’t look like a traditional Roomba because it’s not actually a traditional Roomba. While that change may ultimately be a good thing, the arrival of the 505 may be a little too soon to restore the brand’s reputation.

Read our full review of the iRobot Roomba Max 505 Combo.

design and components

Like the rest of the new products, the Max 505 Combo is one of the sleekest looking Roombas released by iRobot.

The circular shape is familiar, but the finish is sleeker, with a layered texture across the top and just two physical buttons neatly placed on the sides. All you have control over is the power supply and your home, and that simplicity works to your advantage.

Available in two colors, black and white, it easily blends into a variety of interiors.

Although it is 10.6 cm tall because the LiDAR unit is mounted on the top, this is not a low-profile robot. It doesn’t slide under low furniture like Roborock or Dreame’s slimmer models, and visually it feels closer to the robots those brands were shipping years ago.

It is also heavy at 4.3 kg, which you will notice when moving between floors.

Underneath, iRobot has abandoned the dual rubber roller system it has used for years. In its place is a single rubber main brush combined with fixed side brushes.

This feels less like a downgrade and more like a transition to modern conventions, and during use it does an admirable job of sweeping debris toward the suction path, especially along the edges.

Inside the box are four rotating mop pads, an extra dust bag for the dock, and the usual paperwork. The dual rotating pad extends outward during cleaning, which becomes important once mopping begins.

dock

The AutoWash dock is arguably the most powerful part of the Max 505 Combo package. It automatically empties the robot’s trash can, cleans and heats the mop pad during and after cleaning, and runs a self-cleaning cycle to prevent dirt from building up inside the base.

iRobot says the dust bag can last up to 75 days before needing to be replaced, and the water tank requires about four weeks of mopping and cleaning the pad before it needs attention.

Four status LEDs on the dock indicate charging, clean water and waste water levels, waste capacity, and illuminate when something needs to be done.

Setup and in use

The setup itself is not difficult. Pair your robot with the redesigned Roomba Home app and the 505 will set out to map your home. For my downstairs open plan, mapping took about 15 minutes, and then I was able to divide, name, and customize the rooms.

Adding no-mop or no-go zones is easy. The robot is supposed to automatically lift the pad when it detects a carpet, but I created a no-mop zone on top of the living room rug.

It turns out that that extra precaution is necessary. The Max 505 Combo tends to wet thick rugs and carpets even with the pad up, and unlike more premium rivals like the Dreame X50 Ultra Complete and Roborock Saros 10R and Saros 10, you won’t leave the mop pad on the dock for a vacuum-only run.

The Max 505 Combo is the only model in the new lineup with dedicated obstacle avoidance. iRobot’s PrecisionVision system combines a forward-facing camera with LiDAR and has pretty good performance.

Cables, socks, and most household clutter were avoided with no problem, but small toys occasionally caused problems.

There are four cleaning modes available: vacuum only, mop only, vacuum and mop together, or vacuum first and then mop.

You also get four suction levels, repeated cleaning passes for high-traffic areas, and SmartScrub for a more aggressive reciprocating mop.

app

The app is easy to use, but it does have some frustrating quirks. There are many settings to adjust, including a robot health section that tracks the remaining life of filters, bags, brushes, and mop pads, and links directly to ordering replacements.

Cleaning jobs are oddly labeled as “routines,” and while you can create custom jobs, you can’t reliably save them. It was also unclear how to set different cleaning modes for different rooms within the same routine.

Status reports are inconsistent. The app repeatedly displayed the robot as “connecting” even though it was clearly online, or flagged it as “needing help” even though it was safely parked at the dock.

Stability is another weakness. Many times the app crashed during cleaning and lost live location tracking until I forced it to close and reopen. You’ll definitely recover, but it’s not a good experience.

Voice control with Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri is supported and works as expected. Support for Matter was reportedly added in recent months, but I was unable to get the 505 to appear on Apple Home, which is supposed to be the first step in the process.

performance

On hard floors, the Max 505 Combo performs better than its modest 7000Pa suction rating. While these numbers may seem overwhelming compared to similarly priced competitors like the SwitchBot S20 and Xiaomi X20 Pro, the actual results are impressive.

It reliably captures dust, crumbs, and everyday debris in one pass, and thanks to improved navigation and fixed side brushes, edge cleaning is much improved compared to the old Roomba.

Carpet performance tells a different story. Low-pile rugs will handle well, but thicker carpets will quickly put limits on both the suction power and the mop pad’s lift height.

If your home has a lot of carpet, you may want to step up to the 705 model. For hard floors with rugs, the 505 does an acceptable job.

Noise is also an obvious drawback. The noise at maximum suction is very loud and the automatic emptying cycle at the dock is especially annoying. This is not suitable for running while watching TV or making phone calls nearby.

mopping

Mopping is where the Max 505 Combo does most of its work. Instead of a simple drag pad, it uses dual spinning mop heads that spin at 200 RPM, combining downward pressure with the back and forth motion of the SmartScrub.

The PerfectEdge system extends one mop pad outward to clean close to walls and corners, making it effective in kitchens and hallways. Light spills, dry footprints and general dirt are effectively handled, and the robot automatically lifts the pad when it detects carpet.

After a few weeks of regular mopping, the sewage tank begins to smell strange and becomes unpleasant to empty. Adding a small amount of disinfectant can help.

The dock’s pad washing and heated drying keep mop pads fresher than air drying systems, but spare pads can’t be stored neatly with spare dust bags.

final thoughts

The Roomba Max 505 Combo feels like the beginning of a reset for iRobot, but it might be worth holding on to. This feels like an early product from the Picea era, and early adopters may encounter some rough edges.

It looks more modern than the old Roomba, but it can’t quite compete on key specs and doesn’t outperform similarly priced mid-range rivals.

The dock is great, the mopping is really effective, the obstacle avoidance is reliable, and the overall experience feels more modern than any Roomba in recent years. Still, this app is best suited for homes with a lot of hard floors, and this app needs more than a few improvements.

Roomba remains famous despite the turmoil behind the scenes, but for now, there are better places to spend your money.

Test method

When we publish a review, you can rest assured that it is the result of long-term testing.

Robot vacuums typically exist in an ecosystem, or a variety of products that all work in harmony. It is also designed to offer a variety of cleaning options. Therefore, it is impossible to use a robot vacuum cleaner for a week and give a verdict.

We test smart home kits all day every day, so we know what’s important and how a particular smart vacuum compares to the alternatives you’re considering.

Our reviews are comprehensive, objective and unbiased, and of course we don’t receive direct compensation to review devices.

For more information, read our guide on how to test robot vacuums.