iRobot Roomba 205 vs Narwal Flow

The Narwal Flow wins overall: it mops as well as vacuums, self-empties at its dock, runs about 200 minutes per charge and is Matter certified for Apple Home, SmartThings and Home Assistant. The Roomba 205 is vacuum-only, and its main appeal is a smaller charging footprint.

The Roomba 205 skips a bulky auto-empty dock by compacting debris inside the robot itself, but it never mops. The Narwal Flow uses a conventional self-emptying dock and adds a full rolling-track mop that washes and dries itself.

No. Mopping, detergent compatibility and all the auto mop features are unsupported on the Roomba 205, since it is built purely as a vacuum. The Narwal Flow mops with a hot-water rolling track mop that also self-washes at the dock.

The iRobot Roomba 205 has the smaller footprint, since its internal DustCompactor lets it use a compact charging base instead of a dock with a dust bag. The Narwal Flow uses a full auto-empty, mop-washing dock station.

Buyers who want to avoid a bulky auto-empty dock, only need vacuuming, and are fine with Google Home, Alexa and IFTTT as their smart-home options.

Buyers who want vacuuming and mopping handled together, a dock that empties and washes itself, and Matter-level smart-home support across Apple Home, SmartThings and Home Assistant.