Our readers have bought thousands of entry-level Roomba 650s, but today we’ve spotted a great low price on the upgraded 690, which adds a few welcome features.
As far as vacuuming performance goes, this should be essentially identical to the 650; the difference all comes down to connectivity. Built-in Wi-Fi allows you to schedule and start the Roomba from anywhere via a smartphone app, or even control it with your voice via Amazon Alexa or Google Home.
I know “smart” features on a lot of products are basically just an excuse to charge more, but as a Roomba owner, I think these make a ton of sense. I can tell you from experience that programming a Roomba without an app is something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy, and the ability to start it remotely means you can run the Roomba while you’re out of the house, and come back to clean floors.
$280 is the best price we’ve seen since the holiday season, when it was available for $275.