A practical comparison
Roomba 105 Vac + AutoEmpty or 105 Combo + AutoEmpty?
The Roomba 105 Vac + AutoEmpty (Q352020) and Roomba 105 Combo + AutoEmpty (Y354020 Black or Y351420 Smoke) share a small LiDAR-mapped platform and a bagged dust dock, but their floor routines are not interchangeable. Choose the Vac package when you want dust pickup and no wet-cleaning setup. Choose the Combo package only if you will actually use its removable cloth mop and accept the care that goes with water and a pad.
Start with the work you want the robot to do
Q352020 is vacuum-only. The exact U.S. product page lists the Roomba 105 Vac robot, AutoEmpty Dock and an extra filter. Its bristle main brush and edge-sweeping brush collect dry debris; the dock moves that debris into a bag. There is no mop pad, water tank or combination-mopping mode in its listed package. That keeps the routine simpler and avoids the need to fill or empty liquid after a mop run.
The Y354020/Y351420 Combo set adds a removable microfiber pad and a bin/tank that can support vacuum-only, mop-only or combined vacuum-and-mop runs. iRobot’s owner guide says to dampen and attach the pad, fill the tank, reinstall the bin and empty the tank after mopping; it also recommends cleaning the dust bin at least weekly. The included extra mop pad and hair-cutting tool are shown in the Combo page’s box list. These models still use an AutoEmpty dust dock—not an AutoWash station—so the dock does not wash or dry the cloth for you.
What stays similar?
Both exact packages use ClearView LiDAR, app-based scheduling and keep-out zones, need a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network for setup and operation, and include an AutoEmpty dock. iRobot advertises up to 75 days of dust-bag attention for both family packages. That is an upper maker claim, not a promise that every household can avoid service for that long. Their map and suction figures are also manufacturer specifications, not comparative pickup tests: the 105 support chart lists 7,000 Pa, up to 120 minutes on hard floors, up to 2,500 square feet of map coverage and three maps for the series. Actual runtime can vary, and none of these figures establishes a high-pile carpet limit.
The package-specific dimensions and included bins do differ. The exact Q352020 page lists a 13.23 × 13.19 × 4.09-inch, 6.24-pound robot. The exact Y354020 Combo page lists the same body height and footprint but 6.45 pounds, and the compatibility chart separates the 600 ml dry Vac bin from the 400 ml dry/200 ml liquid Combo bin. A lighter or larger bin does not by itself predict cleaning results. Leave practical margin beneath furniture and verify an entire route; neither package has a documented threshold maximum or published carpet-pile height in the reviewed U.S. sources.
Which finder choices change the result?
If “vacuum only” is essential, Q352020 fits that plan; the Combo models do not, even though they can run a vacuum-only mode. This finder treats the Combo's additional mop hardware as a different supplied system rather than pretending the Combo is an identical vacuum package. If you require a removable microfiber mop, the opposite applies: the Y354020 Combo package documents the pad and water delivery, while Q352020 does not have a mop.
For automatic dust emptying, both packages can qualify. For a 5 GHz-only network, neither should be selected—the 105 family is 2.4 GHz only. The Max 715 Vac + AutoEmpty is a separate vacuum-only Roomba that supports 2.4 and 5 GHz; compare it if that network requirement cannot change. Clearance is also a hard filter: the published 4.09-inch height clears a nominal 4.25-inch opening but not a 4.00-inch opening. Unknown thresholds and high-pile suitability should remain unknown rather than being rounded into a positive match.
A short decision rule
Pick Q352020 if dust transfer is the attraction and a mop would be an unused extra. Pick Y354020 or its documented Smoke finish variant Y351420 if a basic flat-pad wipe is worth handling the pad and water yourself. If you want the dock to wash or dry the mop, neither AutoEmpty package is the answer; compare an exact AutoWash configuration instead. If you simply want a 105 Combo without automatic emptying, the charge-only Y314020 offers that configuration, with more frequent manual bin work. Keep the manufacturer claims in their lane: mapped navigation and auto-emptying describe functions, not evidence that a particular rug, threshold or debris load will be handled perfectly.
Manufacturer references: Roomba 105 Vac + AutoEmpty Q352020, Roomba 105 Combo + AutoEmpty Y354020, Smoke finish Y351420, and iRobot model and compatibility chart.