No, this model doesn’t offer a self-emptying base option, so you’ll need to manually empty the dustbin after every few runs, especially if you have pets.Let’s be real: you didn’t get into home ownership or apartment life because you love vacuuming. You got into it because you wanted a cozy space to live your best life, and somewhere along the way a dog, a cat, or just the general chaos of existing indoors started leaving a layer of evidence all over your floors. Enter the iRobot Roomba Vac Essential — iRobot’s most accessible entry into the robot vacuum world, priced to actually make sense for regular humans.The Roomba Vac Essential strips away a lot of the fancy bells and whistles you’ll find on its pricier siblings, and honestly?

For a lot of busy people, that’s perfectly fine. It still carries iRobot’s well-known 3-Stage Cleaning System, connects to the iRobot Home app, and works with Alexa and Google Assistant so you can boss it around from the couch. It’s not trying to be a genius — it’s trying to do one job and do it well enough that you stop thinking about it.We tested it across hard floors and low-pile carpet, in a home with one very enthusiastic golden retriever and a disturbing amount of crumbs near the snack cabinet. Here’s our honest, sparkle-free (well, mostly sparkle-free) take on whether this little disc deserves a permanent spot in your home.

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