iRobot Went Bankrupt. Its Product Scores Explain Why.

iRobot, the company behind the Roomba, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2025 and emerged the following month as a wholly owned subsidiary of Shenzhen Picea Robotics, the Chinese contract manufacturer that had been building its hardware for years. The financial collapse was driven by a combination of a blocked Amazon acquisition, post-pandemic revenue declines, and punishing import tariffs. But underneath all of that was a simpler problem: the products had stopped being the best option in the category iRobot itself created.

Criticaster tracks professional critic reviews across every major robot vacuum brand. We aggregate reviews from outlets like CNET, TechRadar, and Tom's Guide and then normalize their assessments to a 0–100 scale. Across iRobot's 11 qualifying products, the brand averages a Critic Score of 73.1. Every significant competitor scores higher.

The gap is especially pronounced at the high end of iRobot's lineup, which is where most buyers assume they're getting something premium. The Roomba Max 705 Vacuum/Mop Combo with AutoWash Dock costs $999 and scores 62. The Roomba Plus 405 Combo is $399 and scores 51. For comparison, Roborock's Q10 S5+ is $229 and scores 82. The most expensive Roomba in the database scores worse than a mid-range Roborock that costs less than a quarter of the price.

There are good Roombas. The i3+ EVO ($317) scores 81, and so does the Roomba 105 Vac. But those tend not to be the ones that brand-loyal shoppers end up buying.

Here's hoping the Picea acquisition means iRobot has finally fired all its MBAs and is letting its engineers get back to building products worth recommending.