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Trying to decide between a Shark ION 750 vs. a Roomba 890?
You’ve come to the right place!
This in-depth comparison of the Shark ION 750 and the Roomba 890 will help you decide which of the two robot vacuum cleaners is right for your home.
Both are WiFi-connected robot vacs with remote app control as well as Alexa/Google Assistant compatibility.
But does the bargain-priced Shark ION clean as well as the Roomba 890?
Let’s find out!
What’s In This Robot Vacuum Comparison?
In our reviews of the best robot vacuums for pet hair, the Roomba 890 was our top pick for multi-room cleaning.
The 890’s powerful AeroForce suction system picks up debris with ease on all kinds of floors.
So… Can the Shark ION 750 hold its own against the cleaning power of the Roomba 890?
The 750 is the first robot vacuum cleaner from SharkNinja, although they have been making manual vacuum cleaners for a while now.
To be frank, we did not expect to be blown away by fancy features or powerful suction.
But you’ll be surprised at how good the Shark ION can be on the floor especially for its price.
It’s not as capable as the Roomba, but if you are looking for an affordable robot vacuum, it’s hard to beat the Shark ION 750.
Shark ION 750 vs. Roomba 890: How Do They Compare?
Shark ION 750 | Roomba 890 |
Pros | Pros |
| • Affordable price range • Good cleaning performance on carpets and hard floors. • Smart features – remote app control and Alexa/Google assistant voice control • Can clean under furniture without getting stuck.
| • Excellent cleaning performance. • Best for thick and shaggy carpets • Picks up pet hair easily • Smart mapping & navigation • Away from home control via app • Smart home integration
|
Cons | Cons |
| • No dedicated edge cleaning mode • No recharge & resume
| • Expensive • Battery life could be better |
Bottom Line | Bottom Line |
| A surprisingly affordable robot vacuum cleaner given its smart features and cleaning ability.
The best choice for those looking for a cheaper Roomba-like robot vacuum.
There are a few features missing including smart mapping and automatic recharge & resume. | If you want the best robot vacuum, the Roomba 890 is a great choice.
It has excellent cleaning performance and plenty of smart features. Ideal for large homes and homes with pets.
But all this comes at a steep price. |
 Read My Review | |
Design
Like almost every other robot vacuum cleaner, the Roomba 890 and Shark ION 750 are round.
Only Neato robot vacs stand out from the pack with the D-shape design that gives them an advantage in edge and corner cleaning.
Both the Shark and Roomba have a minimalist design with only three buttons each for cleaning, docking and spot cleaning.
All other functions are in the app.
Shark ION 750
At 2.6” in height, the Shark ION 750 is one of the slimmest robot vacuums I have ever reviewed. It is a full inch lower than the Roomba 890.
The low profile design gives it a huge advantage when it comes to ducking under furniture for a thorough cleaning.
Regarding color and aesthetics, the Shark has a more eye-catching design. It uses silver, metallic and black trims on the top with a bit of contouring to create an interesting finish.
The three large buttons are set near the top with large easy-to-see labeling on each.
On the underside, the vacuum has two spinning side brushes plus the main brush roll.
Roomba 890
The Roomba 890 is 3.6” tall. While it is an inch taller than the Shark, it can still navigate under most furniture without getting stuck.
The Roomba’s aesthetics are a bit more understated.
It’s black and brown with a flat top. The buttons are smaller and set right in the center of the vacuum.
Turn the vacuum over, and you’ll find the usual dual roller brushes and single side brush setup that is signature to Roomba vacuums.
Cleaning Ability
SharkNinja has done an excellent job with their first robot vacuum. It does a great job on both rugs and hard floors.
But the Roomba 890 still has a slight edge over the Shark ION 750 when it comes to pet hair and thick carpets thanks to its more powerful suction and dual brush design.
Note that none of these robot vacuums can mop. If you want a robot cleaner that can mop, see our reviews of the best robot mops including the iRobot Braava and iLife V8s.
Shark ION 750
The Shark ION 750 is not exactly a Roomba-killer, but it comes close, at least when comparing it to the cheaper Roombas in the 600 and 800 series.
For its price and considering it is SharkNinja’s first foray into the world of robot vacuums, it does a great job.
The dual spinning brushes boost its cleaning performance on hard floors. It can sweep in dirt and pet hair for easier pickup by the roller brush and suction system.
One feature I wish it had is a dedicated edge-cleaning mode.
It misses some debris along the wall edges and in corners despite having side brushes.
But it has no problem picking up pet hair and tiny pet dander. The roller brush collects pet hair without getting all tangled up.
It does struggle a bit on medium and high pile carpets especially when picking fine debris like flour or sugar. Don’t expect a deep clean.
Roomba 890
The Roomba 890 is not the top Roomba vacuum cleaner. So don’t expect the same cleaning performance as you would get from a Roomba 980 or the new Roomba i7+.
But it still does a great job compared to other robots in the $300-$400 price range.
Its powerful Aeroforce suction system handles all kinds of debris with ease on any type of floor.
One of its biggest advantages over the Shark ION is the dual roller brush system that picks up pet hair and other debris much more efficiently.
The effectiveness of the roller brushes is apparent on thicker carpets where the Shark struggles but the Roomba cleans without a problem.
So if you have a large carpeted area, I recommend the Roomba 890 over the Shark ION.
Another advantage of the Roomba 890 is its large dustbin.
At 750ml, it is almost twice as large as the 380ml bin in the Shark ION. It can collect more debris and pet hair without having to be emptied as frequently.
As a bonus, it comes with a ‘full bin’ indicator which the Shark ION lacks.
Like the Shark robot, the Roomba 890 also lacks a dedicated edge cleaning mode. But it does a better job sweeping and vacuuming debris hiding along the wall edges and in corners.
Navigation
Neither of these robots can map your floor layout, which makes them less than ideal for large and multilevel homes.
But even without smart mapping and scanning, they are still able to cover most of the floor without missing many spots.
The Roomba 890 has better navigation overall because of its multi-room cleaning ability, and the included Dual-Mode Virtual Wall Barrier (which works better and looks cooler than Shark’s ugly boundary strips).
Shark ION 750
The Shark ION 750 doesn’t have any sort of floor mapping or scanning technology. But that’s to be expected at this price point.
When you hit the CLEAN button, it moves around cleaning in a random pattern.
It is not as efficient compared to a robot vacuum with smart mapping, but it gets the job done though it takes longer to clean the same area.
The company says the robot is equipped with Smart Sensor Technology. This is just fancy talk for “multiple sensors to detect furniture in the way and keep the robot from tumbling down the stairs.”
Thanks to its slim design, the Shark ION can clean under just about any furniture no matter how low it is.
If you don’t want it to clean a particular area, use the included BotBoundary strip.
You can break up the 9-foot strip into smaller pieces of at least 18” in length.
To completely cordon off an area such as the pet feeding area, use the included connectors to make a closed loop.
The magnetic strips work reasonably well though some customers say they are not exactly the prettiest things to have on your floor.
When the robot finishes cleaning, it will automatically dock into the charging base. But it will not resume cleaning after charging up.
I recommend the Shark ION for small and medium-size home and apartments.
It cannot navigate efficiently from room to room to clean an entire level. It would be tedious to use in a large home since you have to move it manually.
Battery life is also not long enough to cover an expansive floor space without having to recharge (and remember there is no auto-resume).
Roomba 890
The Roomba 890 is slightly smarter than the Shark ION when it comes to navigation, but I would still recommend it for small and medium-sized homes.
The lack of mapping, recharge & resume and the short battery life makes it unsuitable for large homes.
But at least, it can navigate around multiple rooms without getting stuck or lost.
The Roomba 890 is equipped with iRobot’s iAdapt Navigation system which consists of several intelligent sensors to guide the robot around (and under) furniture, away from the stairs and along the wall.
It also has a Dirt Detect sensor that can detect areas with concentrated dirt and direct the robot to spend more time there.
To keep the robot away from places you don’t want it to clean, use the included Dual-Mode Virtual Wall Barrier.
It’s easier and faster to set up and looks cooler than Shark ION’s brown strips.
The Roomba 890 has an automatic locking feature when the battery runs low. But like the Shark ION 750, it does not resume cleaning.
Control and Scheduling
Both robots are WiFi-connected meaning you can control them using your smartphone – whether you are at home, at the office or on vacation.
They both are also smart home ready. They are compatible with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.
Shark ION 750
Setting up the Shark ION is easy.
It may take a couple of tries to connect the robot to the app, but once you are done, there are no issues of dropped connections, which are common with other WiFi-connected robots.
The app is well laid out and easy to use.
You can start or pause cleaning, find the robot, send it to the charging base and see cleaning history.
It’s also where you set the conveniently flexible schedule.
Unlike most other robots that only let you set a single cleaning time every day, you can set different cleaning times on different days with the Shark ION.
I love that they included some basic functions on the robot rather than putting everything on the app.
If you don’t want to keep reaching for your phone when you are home, the buttons are handy. You can start and stop cleaning, activate spot cleaning and send the robot to the dock.
Note that the Shark ION 750 doesn’t come with remote control. You can only control it via the app or the physical buttons.
Roomba 890
Roombas are usually easy to set up, and the 890 is no different. It takes no more than 10 minutes to set up the charging base, download the app and link it to the vacuum.
On the app, you can start/stop cleaning, monitor the robot’s status, get alerts and set a schedule.
Roomba’s scheduling is also flexible. You can set it to clean on all days or specific days and set a particular cleaning time for each day.
For those times when the phone is out of reach, you can activate/stop cleaning using the button on the vacuum. There are also a couple of other buttons for docking and spot cleaning.
Similar to the Shark ION, the Roomba 890 does not come with remote control.
Accessories
Here are the accessories included with each robot vacuum.
Shark ION 750
- The robot vacuum itself
- A lithium ion battery
- Charging Dock
- Two side brushes
- One filter
- One cleaning tool for the brushes
- 9-foot magnetic strip
Roomba 890
- The robot vacuum itself (with a lithium-ion battery already inserted)
- Charging station
- Line cord for Home Base
- One spare filter
- A Dual Mode Virtual Wall® Barrier with 2 AA batteries included
Value
The two robots have many great features and they both clean well. They are also not too expensive.
Ultimately, we think the Shark ION 750 provides better value for your money. It is cheaper yet has most of the features of the Roomba 890 and cleans almost as well.
But if you have 2 or more pets and you have a large carpet, I would recommend the Roomba 890 instead.
It is the better choice for pet hair and carpet cleaning.
Shark ION 750
For a debut robot vacuum, the Shark ION 7500 is impressive.
We love that it is WiFi connected, which makes it super convenient to use wherever you are.
But most of all, we love that it cleans well on all types of floors. It collects a surprising amount of debris, dust and pet hair.
Our only quibbles are the lack of an edge-cleaning mode and the reduced cleaning performance on thicker carpets.
But for the price, the Shark ION is a great bargain.
Roomba 890
The Roomba 890 brings with it the excellent cleaning ability, convenience and ease of use Roombas are known for.
We especially love how it handles pet hair and its ability to navigate in and out of multiple rooms.
If you have heard great things about Roombas, but you think they are too expensive, the Roomba 890 is a great entry-level model with close to the cleaning performance and smarts of pricier Roomba models.
Specifications Comparison
Shark ION 750 | Roomba 890 | |
| Dimensions | 12.6 x 12.6 x 2.6 inches | 13 x 13 x 3.6 inches |
| Cleaning time | 75 mins | 60 minutes |
| Floor types | all except shaggy carpets | all except shaggy carpets |
| Remote control | yes | no |
| Remote app control | no | yes |
| Smart home compatible | no | yes |
| HEPA filter | yes | no |
| Bin size | 1000 ml | 350 ml |
| Scheduling | yes | yes |
| Smart mapping & navigation | no | yes |
| Virtual wall/barrier | yes | Available separately |
| Auto recharge and resume | No | No |
Shark ION 750 vs. Roomba 890: Which One Should You Buy?
The Shark ION 750 is your best choice if:
- You want an affordable robot vacuum that cleans well on all floor types.
- You want to be able to control the vacuum away from home using an app or smart assistant.
- You live in a small to medium size home and own one pet.
The Roomba 890 is your best choice if:
- You want an affordable Roomba robot vacuum cleaner.
- You want to be able to control the vacuum away from home using an app or smart assistant.
- You have a carpeted home and/or 2 or more pets.
