Neato brings smarter features to lower-cost robot vacuum cleaners

Neato has today brought two features from its top-of-the-line D7 Connected robot vacuum cleaner (review) to two lower-cost models …

Virtual no-go lines allow owners to tell the robocleaners to avoid certain areas. For example, if you have kids, you may want to tell it to avoid a playroom where there are usually toys all over the floor. Or you might want to tell it not to go beneath a sofa where you’ve hidden a bunch of cabling out of sight, and want to ensure it doesn’t unplug half your home.

Quick Boost Charging allows for intelligent recharging if the cleaner runs low on power midway through a clean. It allows the cleaner to calculate how much power the remaining clean will need, then return to its docking station just long enough to get that juice, before carrying on where it left off.

Neato is adding these features to two new lower-priced models, the Botvac D4 Connected and the Botvac D6 connected. The D6 also gets a third D7 feature: multiple floor plans, allowing it to memorize the layout on more than one floor of a home.

If you own the D7 and are feeling a little annoyed that you’ve paid for features no longer exclusive to the flagship model, Neato is offering one new feature that only the D7 will get: Zone Cleaning.

With Zone Cleaning, you can now target those trouble areas in your home more frequently. Make a zone for the dinner table, and take care of all those crumbs that fall to the floor. You can create your zones on the Neato app, with a few swipes. Then select that zone when you want it cleaned, giving more freedom and control over how you clean your home. The Neato Zone Cleaning feature will be available this Fall for new and existing Botvac D7 Connected owners.

So your existing D7 will receive this feature through a firmware update. D3 and D5 owners will get the No-Go Lines and Quick Boost Charging at the same time.

Look out for the new models shortly. The D4 is priced at $499, the D6 at $699. The D7 remains at $799.

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