The iRobot Roomba i4 is a robot vacuum with a versatile performance. It automatically adjusts its height and suction power depending on the surface type, so it can easily move between carpet and bare floors. It's best suited to cleaning high-pile carpet, where it clears pet hair and debris like sand. This vacuum also comes with a Dual Virtual Barrier Device, which lets you mark areas for the vacuum to avoid by setting up a boundary that it won't cross. It has a very good build quality and comes with an allergen-trapping HEPA filter, but it's difficult to maintain and incurs a lot of recurring costs.
Our Verdict
- Easily picks up small and bulky debris on bare floors.
- Sturdy build.
- Automatic surface-type adjustment.
- Many recurring costs.
- Struggles to pick up fine debris on carpet.
The iRobot Roomba i4 is a fair option for dealing with pet hair on floors. It does quite a good job of cleaning pet hair from low- and high-pile carpets but struggles more when picking up pet hair on bare floors. It comes with an allergen-trapping HEPA filter, which is useful if you have a pet that sheds heavily. Also, you can easily remove its brushroll, letting you clean any hair that gets tangled around it. Unfortunately, a lot of parts need regular cleaning, especially if you have pets.
- Easily picks up small and bulky debris on bare floors.
- Sturdy build.
- Comes with a HEPA filter.
- Automatic surface-type adjustment.
- Long battery life.
- Many recurring costs.
- Difficult to maintain.
- Struggles to pick up fine debris on carpet.
- Doesn't pick up pet hair too easily on bare floors.
- Easily picks up small and bulky debris on bare floors.
- Sturdy build.
- Automatic surface-type adjustment.
- Many recurring costs.
- Struggles to pick up fine debris on carpet.
- Easily picks up small and bulky debris on bare floors.
- Sturdy build.
- Automatic surface-type adjustment.
- Many recurring costs.
- Struggles to pick up fine debris on carpet.
- Easily picks up small and bulky debris on bare floors.
- Sturdy build.
- Automatic surface-type adjustment.
- Many recurring costs.
- Struggles to pick up fine debris on carpet.
- Easily picks up small and bulky debris on bare floors.
- Sturdy build.
- Automatic surface-type adjustment.
- Many recurring costs.
- Struggles to pick up fine debris on carpet.
Performance Usages
Changelog
- Updated Jun 05, 2025: We've converted this review to Test Bench 1.0, which updates our performance testing to include new tests to evaluate Obstacle Adaptability, Obstacle Avoidance, Height Clearance, and Threshold Clearance. We've also introduced new performance usages. For more information, see our changelog.
- Updated Aug 26, 2024: We've updated the scores in the Hard Floor Pick-Up, High-Pile Carpet Pick-Up, Low-Pile Carpet Pick-Up, and Pet-Hair Pick-Up tests to align with a broader data set. For more information about the reasoning for this update, you can look at our forum post.
- Updated Aug 13, 2024: We've added text to this review for the new tests added in Test Bench 0.7 and Test Bench 0.8.
- Updated Jul 30, 2024: Converted to Test Bench 0.8.
Check Price
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The iRobot Roomba i4 comes in one color variant: Black. You can see the label for the model we tested here. Another variant of this vacuum, the iRobot Roomba i4+, comes with an external dirt bin/charging station for automatic debris disposal. We can't confirm that this model performs similarly, as its automatic dirt emptying capabilities could impact performance.
If you come across another variant not listed here, let us know in the discussions, and we'll update our review.
Popular Robot Vacuum Comparisons
The iRobot Roomba i4 has a very similar design to the iRobot Roomba i3+, though it has a better performance on low and high-pile carpet. It also comes with a Dual Virtual Barrier Device, which lets you mark areas that the vacuum will avoid. Like the i3+, It follows an efficient cleaning route and cleans a room by sections, rather than following the same pattern for the entire area. However, it doesn't have an external dustbin attached to the docking station, so it can't empty its dirt compartment automatically. Like many robot vacuums, it's quite difficult to maintain and has a lot of recurring costs.
If you want to see more options, check out our recommendations for the best robot vacuums, the best robot vacuums for hardwood floors, and the best robot vacuums for pet hair.
The iRobot Roomba i7 is a better vacuum than the iRobot Roomba i4. The i7 does a much better job of clearing pet hair from all surface types, and it has a larger dirt compartment. Also, it uses the iAdapt 3.0 with Visual Navigation system to follow an efficient route, and it learns its environment as it cleans. There's an external dustbin attached to the docking station, so it can automatically empty its dirt compartment. That said, the i4 doesn't have an external dirtbag, which results in fewer recurring costs, and it has a longer battery life.
The iRobot Roomba i4 and the iRobot Roomba j7+ each have advantages, meaning one might suit you better than the other, depending on your needs. Both vacuums are compatible with self-emptying stations. That said, the j7+ does feel better built, delivers better performance on high-pile carpets, and has a more advanced navigation system that allows it to identify hazards like pet waste. Meanwhile, the i4 charges faster while offering similar battery life, incurs lower recurring costs, has fewer parts that need regular cleaning, and clears more debris on low-pile carpets.
The Shark IQ Robot RV1001 and the iRobot Roomba i4 each have their own advantages, so one may suit you better than the other depending on your needs. The Shark has a bigger dustbin and performs better on both bare floors and low-pile carpets. It also has a longer maximum runtime, though this can vary in the real world. Meanwhile, the iRobot charges much faster, has an automatic surface type adjustment feature, feels better built, and incurs fewer recurring costs. It also does a better job of maneuvering around obstacles.
The iRobot Roomba i4 is better than the eufy RoboVac G30. The iRobot is better built, recharges much faster, has an allergen-trapping HEPA filter, does a better job of maneuvering itself, and delivers better performance across all floor types.
Test Results
The iRobot Roomba i4 has a very good build quality. Its design is similar to that of the iRobot Roomba i3+, and it's mostly made of hard plastic with rubber wheels and brushrolls. Although it feels sturdy overall, the dustbin feels like it could break if you drop it. There are three buttons on the top to start a cleaning cycle, spot-clean an area, or return to the dock. The vacuum comes assembled, so you just need to set up the docking station.
The iRobot Roomba i4 requires quite a bit of maintenance. Several parts need regular servicing, but fortunately, most of them are easy to access.
- Dirt compartment: The dirt compartment can be easily removed by pressing the button on the side of the vacuum. Once you empty it, you can clean it with water. It must be dry before you use it again.
- Brushrolls: The rubber brushrolls are easy to take out since you only need to remove the brushroll guard. You can remove any tangled hair, but they're somewhat difficult to put back as you need to carefully align them. iRobot suggests that you clean the brushrolls once a month or twice if you have pets.
- Filter: The filter is located inside the dirt compartment. To clean it, you have to gently tap it on the side of a garbage can since you shouldn't wash it. It needs cleaning once a week or twice a week if you have pets.
- Side brush: The side brush can be difficult to remove since you need a screwdriver to take it out. You should clean it once a month, or twice if you have pets.
- Wheels: The omnidirectional wheel in front can be removed. It needs cleaning every two weeks.
- Sensors: The sensors on the vacuum should be cleaned once a month with a dry cloth.
The iRobot Roomba i4 has a lot of recurring costs. Although it's bagless, quite a few parts need to be replaced periodically.
- HEPA Filter: The HEPA filter should be replaced every two months.
- Rubber Brushrolls: The brushrolls should be replaced every 12 months.
- Side Brush: The manufacturer recommends replacing the side brush every 12 months.
- Front Wheel: The front wheel should be replaced every 12 months.
Thankfully, iRobot sells a 'Replenishment Kit' on its website that includes brushrolls, three side brushes, and three HEPA filters. You can also purchase these parts individually.
The iRobot Roomba i4 has pretty small dimensions. The absence of a LIDAR hump allows it to fit under most couches and chairs, and it has a marginally smaller overall footprint than many other robot vacuums. It comes with a low-profile docking station, which it can return to on its own. The vacuum itself is fairly small, so it shouldn't take up too much space in storage.
This vacuum's internal dustbin is on the smaller side. It's a little larger than that of some other iRobot vacuums, such as the iRobot Roomba i3, but not by much, and you'll need to empty it at the end of the cleaning session.
The standard iRobot i4 only has a simple charging dock. You'll have to upgrade to the pricier i4+ model if you want a vacuum bundled with a self-empty station, which is the same as the one bundled with other models '+' models in the manufacturer's lineup, like the iRobot Roomba i3. Like those other models, its self-empty docking station contains a 2.4L dustbag, advertised as being large enough to hold 60 days' worth of debris.
- iRobot Roomba i4 robot vacuum
- Docking station
- Charging cable
- 3x HEPA filter
- Dirt compartment
- 2x Multi-surface rubber brushrolls
- Dual Mode Virtual Wall Barrier + 2x batteries
- User guide
The iRobot Roomba i4 has an incredible battery performance. It provides around 100 minutes of continuous runtime, and it takes roughly an hour and a half to recharge. The vacuum automatically adjusts its suction power while in use, so its battery life may vary depending on your floor type. When the battery is low, the large button on top of the vacuum changes from white to red, and there's also a battery indicator in its companion app.
The iRobot Roomba i4 4150 has a few extra features. It senses how much dirt there is around it and concentrates on those areas. Also, it automatically adjusts its power and height setting based on the surface it's cleaning. However, you can't adjust either of these settings manually.
This vacuum does an impressive job of cleaning hard floors. It's capable of dealing with bulky and medium-sized debris like cereal or rice. That said, it does struggle a little bit with smaller materials like sand that's piled up against walls and corners.
This vacuum delivers good performance on high-pile carpets. It's very effective when it comes to dealing with medium-sized and large debris on this surface type like rice or cereal. That said, you'll probably have to clean along walls and in corners with a conventional vacuum to fully clear away finer debris like sand.
This vacuum's performance on low-pile carpets is decent. As with its performance on high-pile carpets, it has little trouble dealing with large and medium-sized debris like cereal pieces or rice, but you'll probably have to clean up any finer debris left along walls and in corners yourself.
This vacuum does an excellent job of dealing with pet hair on low-pile carpets. Within a single cleaning cycle, it can clear away the majority of strands, with barely anything remaining.
This vacuum's airflow performance is pretty low, even for a robovac. It's noticeably less powerful than higher-end models, like the iRobot Roomba S9, and will have a slightly harder time dealing with especially heavy debris.
This vacuum is remarkably quiet. Even with the vacuum running nearby in its most powerful setting, you won't have to raise your voice too much to be heard by someone standing nearby.
The iRobot Roomba i4 has good maneuverability. It automatically adjusts the height of its head, making it easier to clean a room with different surface types. Similar to the iRobot Roomba i3+, it follows a smart path and cleans a room by sections, rather than using the same pattern for the whole area. It also produces a map of its cleaning coverage, which you can see in the companion app. This vacuum is small enough to fit under most couches, but it may occasionally get stuck on a rug tassel or drag an electric cord. If you're looking for a robot vacuum that does a better job of maneuvering itself, try the Roborock S6 MaxV.
This vacuum does a good job of sealing in fine particles, thanks to its on-board HEPA filter.
This vacuum has poor crack-cleaning performance. It struggles with drawing up fine debris wedged deep within crevices, but at the very least, its side brush doesn't spread around debris.
This vacuum isn't designed to clear away liquid spills.
The iRobot Roomba i4 has decent physical automation features. It comes with a Dual Virtual Barrier device, which lets you mark boundaries for the vacuum not to cross. You can use the physical buttons on the vacuum itself to start cleaning, spot-clean, or have it return to the dock. Unfortunately, unlike alternatives like the Shark Matrix Plus, it isn't bundled with a self-empty docking station that would cut down on maintenance requirements.
The iRobot HOME app is good. With it, you can schedule cleaning times, view the battery status, or return the vacuum to its docking station. The app is compatible with Alexa and Google Home for voice commands, though we don't currently test for this.