Wirecutter's 'Budget Pick' is $350. Their 'budget' isn't your budget.
The Original Review
“After more than 100 hours of research and testing, we're confident the iRobot Roomba Combo j7+ is the best robot vacuum for most people.”
First of all, Wirecutter, let's talk about what '100 hours of research and testing' actually means when every single one of your top picks happens to have an affiliate link that pays you a commission. You tested these vacuums on what — a clean hardwood floor in a Manhattan office? Because I bought your 'Best Overall' pick and it gets stuck on my area rug EVERY SINGLE TIME. The rug is not exotic. It's from Target. But does your testing include a house that actually looks like a house? No, because that would require acknowledging that people have furniture, pets, and thresholds between rooms that are more than a quarter inch high.
Your review mentions pet hair exactly twice — both times as a vague reassurance that the vacuum 'handles it well.' Handles it well HOW? My Golden Retriever produces enough fur to knit a second dog every week, and your top pick's dustbin fills up in one room. You don't mention dustbin capacity in any meaningful way. You don't test what happens when the vacuum encounters a sock, a charging cable, or a child's Lego minifigure. You know, the actual conditions in an actual home. Instead, you test on controlled surfaces and declare victory.
And here's what REALLY gets me: the price. Your 'Budget Pick' is $350. Three hundred and fifty dollars is your idea of budget? You have a 'Best Overall' at $800 and an 'Upgrade Pick' at $1,100, and at no point does anyone at Wirecutter stop and ask whether a robot vacuum at ANY of these price points actually replaces a $40 upright that you push yourself. The answer, by the way, is no. Every robot vacuum owner also owns a regular vacuum. Your review should lead with that fact, but it won't, because 'you'll still need a real vacuum' doesn't generate affiliate clicks.
Wirecutter doesn't review products for consumers. Wirecutter reviews products for revenue. The entire business model is recommending things people buy through their links, and the 'testing methodology' exists to give that process a veneer of credibility. But does it actually WORK? Ask my Roomba, currently wedged under the couch for the third time today.
