It is very likely that if you take a look at your applications pending update (whether you are on iOS or Android), you will have a notification from iRobot. Yes, the official app of your dear and beloved Roomba has just been updated and it is going to change the way you relate to her (or she with you, depending on how you see it). I tell you what its news are and how you can activate and take advantage of them .
An upgrade in style
iRobot has managed to create a very useful and intelligent platform with which to equip its robots. The company, mother of the famous Roomba, currently has a fairly solid ecosystem to which millions of people around the world connect every time they use their robotic cleaning equipment. This environment, yes, is susceptible to improvements and that is just what the American company has done: tighten the nuts in a remarkable way in its application, including notable novelties that will transform the way you use your robot vacuum cleaner (or your robotic floor scrubber, remember that the firm also has the Braava line).
The good news is that these changes are available to everyone. Therefore, it is not necessary to buy a new robot to enjoy them, although it is true that depending on the model you have at home, you will be able to enjoy them all or not, for reasons of implementation of certain technology. But before I detail all this to you and explain how to update (I’ll let you know: it is overwhelmingly simple), I will tell you in a summarized and very simple way what news you are going to find.
Interface renewal
The first thing you will see is that the appearance of the application has changed completely. Now it is more modern and better focuses the options you need to have on hand when cleaning. A section of favorite routines leads this new approach, being one of the most notable novelties. Scrolling down you will find the programming options, the cleaning history of your robot, the system notifications and finally the usual configuration sections (nothing has changed inside) and help.
Favorites
I just told you that the first thing you are going to have on hand are the Favorites. This is one of the most notable new features of the update. And now you can combine cleaning zones and organize them in the order you want to bring them together in a kind of master widget that activates everything with a single touch of the finger (or by programming, of course).
Do you want the Roomba to clean the children’s room, the living room and your bedroom only and do it in that specific order? Wish granted. Now you can customize the path your robot will follow and create favorite cleaning profiles to run the way you want them.
Clean only when you are away
Another of the most interesting news is its new compatibility with other smart home equipment. The robot can now be synchronized with a smart lock, so it will only clean when it detects that you have left home – and when you return, it will return to its base.
There are several compatible brands (I imagine the list will be expanded later) and everything is configured from the central menu, in the Automation section of “Smart home” with just several taps.
Precision Clean Zones
It’s possibly the crown jewel of the update. The Precision Clean Zones are certain points on the map of your house that you can identify so that the robot can only pass through without making the entire room. The clearest example you will possibly find in your living room: instead of telling Roomba to vacuum the room (which at most you could divide by environments but nothing else), now you can ask it to clean only around the dining table or in front of the sofa .
It works of course with Alexa and Google, so you don’t even have to reach for your mobile. You say “Ok Google, clean in front of the couch” or “Alexa, clean under the table” and you’re done. As for its configuration, it is as simple as when you exclude zones: you enter the house map and in the “Zones” section you will now see the possibility of marking the aforementioned exclusion points and cleaning points. You touch, mark the area (adjustable, as always), name it and save. That easy.
Other novelties
iRobot boasts that now its Roomba and Braava are smarter than ever and is that, in addition to the novelties described, they are also able to suggest the creation of favorites when they detect that you always program a certain cleaning pattern, let you know if it always finds difficulties to clean in a corner or even recommend specific cleaning tips if you have pets or during allergy season.
It has also incorporated integration with IFTT into the app (before you had to go to the web and everything was more complex), so that everything is more comfortable and does not require so much configuration knowledge from the user.
Compatible models and how to update the app
As I pointed out at the beginning of this review by the novelties of the application, the update of iRobot will reach all the cleaning equipment of the brand but not in the same way . The star feature, the choice of precise cleaning areas, requires house mapping technology and this is not integrated into all robot vacuum cleaners (the most basic ones do not include it).
Taking this into account, this is the update for the different models:
- Ranges 900, ey 600 (Roomba) and 300 and 200 (Braava): they receive the update of the app but without the features that the mapping technology requires as they do not have support.
- Range s and range i (Roomba) and m (Braava): they do receive the update with all the features described.
If you haven’t updated your app yet, the only steps you have to follow are the following:
- Go to your phone’s application store (App Store on your iPhone or Play Store on Android).
- In the search engine, type “iRobot Home” and tap on the result.
- Click Update and download the update.
From the application itself, you will not get the notice that there is a new version (at least it did not come out for me), so you either have the automatic update of apps on your phone activated or, failing that, you follow the steps I have just given. tell you for download.
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