Should I buy a Roomba in the Black Friday sales? No – here's why

Black Friday is fast approaching, and if you were considering using the annual sales event to pick up a cut-price robot vacuum, one brand that might be on your radar is Roomba. This was the original robovac (or at least, the first commercially viable, consumer grade model) and has graced TechRadar's best robot vacuum ranking ever since it changed the floor-cleaning game all those years ago. (Until recently, at least – more on that in a second.)

What might not be on your radar is that Roomba's parent brand iRobot is in the middle of some serious financial difficulties – so much so that it's looking increasingly like the Roomba's days are numbered. If the brand is unable to secure emergency funding or a buyer, it could go bankrupt in a matter of weeks. So, should you still consider buying a Roomba this ...