The most affordable self-emptying Roomba has dipped below $400

Affordable automation is here: As of Nov. 18, the Roomba i3+, iRobot's most affordable self-emptying Roomba, is on sale for $399.99 at Amazon. That's a savings of $200, or around 33%.

The biggest robot vacuum news this Black Friday isn't just about cheap robot vacuums. 2021 is the year of actually affordable automatic emptying.

One of our favorite self-emptying deals so far this Black Friday season is on the Roomba i3+, which has dropped $399.99 — a repeat of its lowest price ever at Amazon. (The non self-emptying i3 is on sale for $299.99, but FWIW, its sale price was $349.99 up until this week— so pretend you're getting the automatic emptying dock for just $50 more.)

Even without smart mapping, the Roomba i3+ makes its way around with some sort of method behind the straight lines that it cleans in. Reactive sensor technology helps the i3+ to assess the situation ahead and steer clear of tight spaces where it won't fit. Though it can't be sent to specific rooms, it does keep tabs on areas that get dirtier faster and makes sure to return to those.

It does have underwhelming battery life, but this kind of makes up for it: It automatically retreats to charge and then returns to where it left off to continue cleaning. A trip to refuel also triggers a loud (yet fast) unloading of its debris into the canister on the dock. It can hold up to two months' worth of gunk before you'll need to deal with it.