iRobot’s Roomba Mini can clean where its larger robovacs can’t reach

The Roomba Mini was originally developed for smaller Japanese homes, but iRobot is expanding its availability to the United Kingdom where it’s now available for £379, and the rest of Europe for €399. Color options include back, pink, white, and mint. The company also plans to make the Roomba Mini available to US customers through its TikTok Shop in the summer, but pricing and a specific launch date haven’t been announced yet.

Despite its smaller size, the Roomba Mini still features a LiDAR-based navigation system to avoid obstacles like people, furniture, and rugs, depending what mode it’s in. It can be used as a robot vacuum, sucking up dust and dirt on hard floors and carpets using a spinning brush on the underside. Or you can switch to mopping mode by attaching a disposable wet pad that instead traps dirt and absorbs wet spills.

The robot is compatible with iRobot’s Roomba Home app that can be used to schedule cleaning routines, but you can also activate it by voice using separate Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant-enabled smart devices. If you want to skip online connectivity altogether or don’t have access to Wi-Fi, the Roomba Mini can be manually started with a button press.

The Roomba Mini comes with a dock matching its smaller footprint that both charges the robovac and empties its dirt bin. The dock does rely on bags which you’ll have to remember to keep stocked, but with enough capacity for up to three months of dust and debris.

Although it’s the first small robovac from iRobot, other companies already offer autonomous cleaners designed for smaller spaces. Dyson’s first robovac, the 360 Eye, was much smaller than the other options already on the market when it was announced in 2014, although its bots have grown in size over the years. The Roomba Mini will also be going up against the comparably-sized SwitchBot K11 Plus that includes Matter smart home support.