iRobot Unveils Roomba Max 875 Combo: New SealForce Mechanism Seals Against Carpet for 35,000 Pa Suction, Priced at $1,199

On September 2, iRobot announced its new flagship robot vacuum and mop, the Roomba Max 875 Combo Robot + AutoWash Dock, alongside a mid-range model, the Roomba Plus 678 Combo Robot + AutoWash Dock. The headline feature shared by both is SealForce, a new mechanism that lowers a skirt from the underside of the robot to press against the carpet. Rather than simply raising the suction figure, it blocks the escape path for air so that suction reaches deep into the pile. The Max 875 is priced at 1,199 USD (about 190,000 yen) and the Plus 678 at 899 USD (about 143,000 yen), with sales starting on the company's official site for North America.

SealForce Competes on Contact, Not Just Suction

Robot vacuum spec sheets tend to compete on Pascal figures, but iRobot has this time rethought how that force is applied. With SealForce, a skirt hidden in the chassis lowers while the robot runs and presses against the carpet fibers to close the gap. Because the drawn air can no longer slip out around the edges of the body, the airflow concentrates deep in the fibers, making it easier to pull out embedded debris.

On the Max 875 Combo, this sealing mechanism is paired with 20 liters per second of airflow and 35,000 Pa of suction. That 35,000 Pa figure is the highest in any iRobot robot to date, and the company says it removes dirt from carpet 3 times deeper than cleaning without SealForce. Suction itself is 5 times that of the Roomba 505 used as the comparison point.

Adam Pope, Vice President and Chief Engineer at iRobot, explains that changing how the force is applied to the carpet matters as much as the increase in suction. According to him, airflow has the biggest impact on pickup performance, and giving that airflow somewhere to go through the seal is what pushed performance beyond the previous trajectory.

Warm Mist Softens Dried-On Messes Before Mopping

The new mopping feature is the ultrasonic ThermaMist. It continuously sprays heated mist onto the floor while mopping, softening dried-on and stuck residue before wiping it away. iRobot claims stain removal is 2 times better than mopping without ThermaMist.

Wiping is handled by the newly designed PowerSpin Max roller mop. It is 44 percent larger than the standard roller, spins at 300 RPM, which is 2.5 times faster than the Roomba Max 775, and presses down with 18 Newtons of force. The result is scrubbing 3.75 times deeper than the 775 and coverage per pass 1.2 times wider than the standard roller. The roller cleans itself continuously while the robot runs.

Use alongside carpet has been considered as well. When the AI-driven DriLift feature detects carpet, it lifts the mop and lowers a protective shield so rugs stay dry. Along walls, the PerfectEdge design extends the roller up to 45 mm and uses an outward-expanding side brush to reach corners. The main brush and side brush are designed to resist tangling, with pets and long hair in mind.

The Dock Handles Washing, Drying, and Emptying

The included AutoWash Dock washes the roller mop with hot water at about 80 degrees Celsius and dries it with heated air at about 55 degrees. It also automatically dispenses the dedicated StayClean mopping concentrate and empties the robot's bin, storing debris in a carbon AllergenLock bag for up to 90 days of operation without maintenance.

Navigation uses ClearView Pro, a dual-line LiDAR that maps rooms and plans routes. The camera-based PrecisionVision recognizes and avoids more than 300 common household objects. The body height is kept to 9.98 cm, allowing the robot to slip under low furniture and climb thresholds of up to 3.5 cm. The smartphone app lets users set schedules, target specific rooms, prioritize pet areas, and control the robot through voice assistants.

The $899 Plus 678 Combo Takes a Two-Step Approach to Mopping

The Roomba Plus 678 Combo, announced at the same time, includes SealForce with slightly lower figures. Airflow is 18 liters per second and suction is 30,000 Pa, and iRobot says the carpet cleaning benefit is likewise 3 times deeper.

Mopping takes a different approach from the 875, using a pre-treatment called SprayForce AI. A 40,000 Pa high-pressure spray breaks down dried-on messes first, and then a heated-water roller mop wipes them up with 15 Newtons of pressure in a two-step process. iRobot says this pre-treatment improves mopping efficiency by up to 40 percent. When carpet is detected, the mop lifts 10 mm to protect rugs. The body is 9.95 cm tall, handles 3.5 cm thresholds like the 875, and shares the dock's hot-water washing, heated-air drying, and 90 days of debris collection.

Availability and Pricing

The Roomba Max 875 Combo Robot + AutoWash Dock costs 1,199 USD (about 190,000 yen), and the Roomba Plus 678 Combo Robot + AutoWash Dock costs 899 USD (about 143,000 yen). Both are available to order now on iRobot's US official site, and they are scheduled to reach North American retail stores later in September. The two models are also being shown at IFA 2026 in Berlin. This announcement targets the North American market, and no information about a Japanese launch is included.

※1 USD = 159 JPY

Summary

The core of the Roomba Max 875 Combo is SealForce, which seals against the carpet with a skirt so airflow does not escape, rather than competing on suction figures alone. It combines that with ThermaMist, which softens dirt with warm mist, and a large, fast roller mop, while the dock takes care of washing, drying, and emptying. At 1,199 USD it sits at the top of the lineup, but the 899 USD Plus 678 also carries SealForce, making it a plausible entry point for trying the new mechanism.