The Roomba 675 vs The Roomba 690 – IRobot Comparison Battle

Overall Similarities

In general, both these are budget friendly, Wifi enabled robot vacuums. The Roomba 675 and 690 have the same suction power, filter, battery, runtime, size, dustbin, navigation technology, Bristle Brush roll, drop detection, spinning side brush, and both can connect to Wifi.

Physical controls

The buttons are the same including a central Clean button, a Spot clean button, and a Dock return button. There are more settings and features that can connect with the IRobot app on your smartphone. Both the 675 and 690 have the same filter which isn’t super high-end but it is sufficient.

Size Comparison

In addition to having the same runtime of 90 minutes, the Roomba 675 and 690 are identical in size. They are 13 inches in diameter, 3.7 inches tall and both weigh 7.8 pounds.

Accessories & Parts

In terms of the accessories included, both the Roomba 675 and 690 include the robot vacuum charging station, one battery, two filters, a cleaning tool, a spinning brush, and the user guide.

Brushroll Style

Functionally they are the same, both models use a bristle style brush roll, which is different from the rubberized brush roll in advanced models like the Roomba 980 and I7 plus.

Filtration System

Both the Roomba 675 and 690 use the aerovac filtration system which is Room’s older style filter. They both come with the same 1800 mAh battery and use the same motor.

Cleaning performance

Cleaning performance ranged from good to excellent depending on the debris type and the floor type. These robots gave the same cleaning performance when being tested due to its identical specs. These vacuums had to work against four different debris types and three different floor types. 

Hardwood Floor Cleaning Tests

The Roomba 690’s performance on hardwood floors was excellent.

The Roomba was able to remove 100% of cereal, 96% of kitty litter, 99% of rice and 95% of sugar.

Low Pile Carpet Cleaning Tests

On low pile carpet, the 690 scored 100% on cereal, 98% on kitty litter, 100% of rice and 72% on sugar. 

Cleaning performance on sugar wasn’t great, but this is still a good score for most robot vacuums at this price range. The ultrafine sugar particles are difficult for robot vacuums to remove. In general, in order for a robot to remove sugar particles and carpets, we have to step up to a more expensive pricing tier. 

High Pile Carpet Cleaning Tests

For high power carpet, the similar results were shown with the 690 removing 99% of sugar, 99% of kitty litter, 99% of rice and 66% of sugar. 

Maneuverability

Maneuverability on the Roomba 675 and 690 is the same due to their identical sizes and navigation technology.

Navigation (Iadapt technology)

They operate with Iadapt 1.0 technology, which is the more basic version compared to more advanced technology available and later Roomba models. These robots do not include imprint smart mapping, digital floor plans, zone cleaning or keep out zones which are available on more advanced Roomba models.

Roomba Usability

Both the 675 and the 690 have identical usability with the same buttons along the face of the vacuum and the ability to connect to the Irobot app.

Starting a cleaning cycle is as easy as pressing a clean button on the vacuum itself. 

Wifi Connectivity

We can also connect either robot to the Irobot home app for full wireless control. Using the app we can start or stop a current cleaning view, cleaning history or schedule a cleaning in the future. 

The Roomba 675 and 690 are also both compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google assistant for hands-free voice control so we can simply say Roomba clean and It will get started.

Drop detection

The 675 and 690 have drop sensors that prevent the robot from falling off stairs or ledges.

Differences

Design

Regarding the specifics on their features and categories, the design of the Roomba 675 and Roomba 690 is basically identical with only slight differences in the color and dustbin tray. 

Aesthetics

The 675 is a mostly black aesthetic while the 690 is a silver and black two-tone. 

Dustbin tray

The dustbin is the same size though it has a different button release mechanism on the two models. They have a slightly different latching mechanism for the dustbin.

Virtual Walls

The accessory that separates these two models is a virtual barrier wall, which the 690 includes while the 675 does not. The virtual barrier is used to block off certain areas of a floor plan that Roomba is not allowed to access. It can block off a linear path up to 10 feet long or a radial area up to 4 feet in circumference. This can be a useful tool when cleaning larger floor plans or complicated layouts with numerous obstacles.

Price

The Roomba 690 is slightly more expensive under normal pricing conditions.

Summary

To take into account, both of them are considerably less expensive than other Roomba models. The trade-off is less advanced technology, specifically with navigation and raw suction power. 

However, cleaning performance is quite solid, especially at this price point. It can be explicitly stated that the Roomba 675 and 690 are both going to deliver great clean performance at a very reasonable price. 

The only major difference between these two models is that the Roomba 690 includes the virtual wall while the 675 does not. Those with a smaller floor plan or less complicated layout may not need the virtual wall at all. However, if we consider keeping the robot out of certain areas of your home or certain rooms, the 690 is a better option.