Neato Botvac D7 Connected smart home vacuum enhances iPhone, Apple Watch command options
The new Neatmo Botvac D7 Connected and a concurrent software update allows users with an iPhone and Apple Watch to configure when to clean -- plus when and where not to.
After the Neato Botvac D7 Connected scans the home in Discovery Mode or through a normal clean, the robot creates the user's personalized MyFloorPlan in the new app. The Cleaning Summary Map in the app demonstrates where the robot has ventured, as well as a summary of obstacles that may have stopped the device.
The new "LaserSmart" technology allows for the mapping and navigation. Neato claims that the D-shaped design in the new robot allows for closer approach to walls than previous models.
The Botvac D7 Connected is not HomeKit compatible. It has integrations with Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Neato Chatbot for Facebook, and IFTTT. Connectivity for Apple users is through a general iPhone app with the aforementioned Apple Watch version.
The app update applies to the entire Connected line, including the Botvac Connected, Botvac D3 Connected, and Botvac D5 Connected.
The Neato Botvac D7 Connected will retail for $799 and be available on shelves in the US and Europe in the holiday quarter.
After the Neato Botvac D7 Connected scans the home in Discovery Mode or through a normal clean, the robot creates the user's personalized MyFloorPlan in the new app. The Cleaning Summary Map in the app demonstrates where the robot has ventured, as well as a summary of obstacles that may have stopped the device.
The new "LaserSmart" technology allows for the mapping and navigation. Neato claims that the D-shaped design in the new robot allows for closer approach to walls than previous models.
The Botvac D7 Connected is not HomeKit compatible. It has integrations with Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Neato Chatbot for Facebook, and IFTTT. Connectivity for Apple users is through a general iPhone app with the aforementioned Apple Watch version.
The app update applies to the entire Connected line, including the Botvac Connected, Botvac D3 Connected, and Botvac D5 Connected.
The Neato Botvac D7 Connected will retail for $799 and be available on shelves in the US and Europe in the holiday quarter.
Comments
First, from reading Neato's site it sounds like the regular Neato Botvac Connected has a feature that maps the floorplan called "Cleaning Summary with Coverage Map". Is MyFloorPlan replacing this? What is different between the two mapping features?
Second, it looks like all of the Connected models use LaserSmart technology, so that is not "new". Have there been improvements made to this technology specific to the D7 model?
Third, the entire Botvac line is D-shaped, so I am not sure how this will allow the D7 to approach walls closer than previous models. Is there something specific to the D7 that allows it to do this?
Lastly, it is not clear what "the app update" that "applies to the entire Connected line" actually provides, since most of the features in the article are hardware and not software related. Is it the MyFloorPlan feature? Is this allowing D5 and D3 to now provide coverage maps?
I am not trying to be super critical, but it just seems like there are several misleading statements in the article and more time could have been spent to look into the current line and how this new product fits in, etc.
Source: https://www.neatorobotics.com/compare-robot-vacuums/