Yeah, but R2 saves the day every time! ...plus he can serve drinks!

Of course BB-8 is a technical improvement! He’s, what, sixty years newer?

BB units are certainly an upgrade but Artoo seems to be the more useful droid. He was constantly making repairs, participating in the heroes' plans, and even saves the day occasionally. BB-8 is cute and a great contribution to the Star Wars universe but he's not the little bad ass we got with R2-D2. At least, not yet.

R2-D2 is a trash can. And I love him endlessly! :-)

In the Phantom Menace R2D2 was seen using magnetic grips to walk on the surface of a ship. R2 units can also house more tools and are more stable when using them.

R2D2 has a jet pack Your argument is invalid

The R-series is ment for repairing ships like the X-WING but the BB-series isn't as seen in The Last Jedi. Note that BB-8 did repair the X-WING but didn't use any tools, but instead banged his head into the ship.

You know when BB8 is sitting in Poe's X-wing how his head sticks out the top? What I think would be really cool to see is his head coming off of his ball body and magnetizing to the outside of the X-wing so that it can move around and repair things as it sort of glides across the X-wing's surface the same way it glides across its own ball.

The bulkier astromechs probably contain more raw computing hardware, able to solve more complex problems and think faster. Or they contain more tools/devices, so able to repair more things or get things done faster. Massive mobility isn't much of an advantage for a droid designed to just sit in a socket, hang around engineering tubes, and sometimes be used as a rolling computer cart.

One thing I really liked about TFA was the advancement if technology, it felt like an actual 40 years on

How the hell did I never notice R2-D2 trying to walk down the stairs in a new hope??

R2 Has superior internal memory storage. He also has more tools overall than BB-8 As an individual R2 is a far superior Slicer / Hacker And also as an individual he may be able to hold more Hyperspace routes in memory Artoo has little danger of "Literally" loosing his head - if shot in the head like Artoo was in the trench run - BB-8's head would have flown off completely - he's also possibly more likely to fall out of a droid slot. BB-8 could potentially loose control of his own body on ice or oil or suffer issues with keeping his head in place (like in a strong wind when flying in an atmosphere). I would imagine Artoo is a far superior swimmer. But for out of atmosphere repairs Artoo is likely way superior (that is partly what he's built for after all). BB-8 may be able to get out of an X-wing Astromech slot more easily and using his grapple he can load himself- he's also just about light enough to physically lift into place manually too. Even it's it's just picking him up and putting him on the nose and letting him roll up the hull. BB-8 is like an Apple product of Astromech - he's more for fashion than function - he's also likely HUGELY expensive with all that miniaturisation and likely requires a lot of personal attention - so he's more like having a pet in some ways. You'd need to recharge his fuel reservoirs for some of his tool more often as he's smaller. But as a companion and multi-role droid he has a number of advantages over a humanoid body or a Traditional Astromech body. Most of the R-series droids have a secondary optical piece that moves so that can allow them to look up or down (it's essentially a holo-recorder lens) but it's also a sensor so can function as a eye as well as the main static one does - just with a narrower field of view. So yeah they can look up and down without moving their whole head a fair bit. R2 Units might be better in Zero Gee too (though this has only rarely been demonstrated - they usually just roll with their wheels magnetised) - I can see how BB-8 might have some trouble maintaining a magnetic lock on things in zero Gee - but he'd pretty much have to be able to do that or he'd simply be a pretty poor repair droid - as he'd not be able to get out of his slot and trundle over the ship hull otherwise. Perhaps they will add jets to him that will answer a lot of his problems. I do think it's possible BB-8 might be able to leap off a cliff to save someone if he has little thrusters and his grapples - but it seems risky - but I think if he fell of a cliff into water he might suffer no harm and might even float.

Along with the many, many reasons already given in the comments, I have three more to add. -Adding speculations not seen as proof of superiority is a crap move. And invalid. -R2 units are at least 70 years older than BB units, and also much larger. Thus they may be out of date, but have room for a LOT more tools without wiggling around to get to them. -The Last Jedi showed BB-8's greatest weakness: you can easily kick the head right off and throw it away. Its main sensor cluster is easy to remove or lose by blunt force. R2-D2 has been shot by TIE Fighters and held together, but BB-8 LOST HIS HEAD AFTER A HARD KICK. WINNER: R2-D2.

I could see height being an issue. BB-8 is noticeably shorter and may have difficulty reaching control ports R2 would otherwise easily plug into.

I thought neil degrasse tyson pointed out that a single sphere like BB-8 wouldn't have traction on things like sand in the real world. Was that disproved?

R2: I saved my friends butts so many times that you need more than a memory chip to remember all the times I did It BB-8: I'm not even the mechanic droid of the squad because Rey does all the job

R2 units are meant for mor computational tasks like planning hyperspace routes and controlling subsystems they may be bigger but that just lets them fit more high power electronics, also it's allot easier to modify and repair an r2 unit cause you don't have to stabilize the ball and there's more space to put things like grappling lines or modifying the built in flare launcher to fire anything from a lightsaber(luke skywalker) small missile/explosive or a package carrying medical supplies spare ammo or illegal data so you can send it just where it needs to go from quite a ways away, r2's may have trouble with stairs ad stability but they are really meant to be technicians and basically co-pilots for small fighters and other one person ships doing things like making in-flight repairs or even counter attacking parasite-like combat droids cause you don't need much balance when you're in an astromech socket running systems and doing repairs, and they have a built in life sensor and a periscope type thing and they can look up they have sensors to do so the felid of view is just a bit narrower, i love the r2 units they're one of my top 3 droids I guess I just see the potential in an r2 rather than the flat out factory new stuff but meh \•~•/ Also they are adorable bb's are as well but just not as cute as my little trash can co pilots that i love to bits, did you know that they can raise their domes up from their chassis which was a feature designed so they could fit in the tall sockets in the naboo star-fighters, neat •^• I'm not denying that bb's are a useful droid but to the standard individual an r2 is probably going to be allot more useful, I recommend this video to see just how many things an r2 can do kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jaqjoLaGqcnInGg.html

R2-D2 is far more superior!

I love how many of the comments before me are trashing the BB series, and loving on the R series. The Natural evolution of the R-series was going toward something akin to the BB series. the disadvantages of the BB series, namely the fact that it's body is a ball, is also its advantage: it's low center of Gravity. R series droids have a center of gravity that is already high. being centered just below their head, this top-heavy design is exacerbated by the instability of the legs they stand-on, which (by the way) also increase the height of the center of gravity. a BB unit rolls along its center of gravity, this making it impossible to tip over. the head is of minuscule mass compared to the body, thus why it wouldn't affect the ability of the droid to keep itself upright. Remaining within a droid socket is a matter of the droid possessing magnetized locomotion, namely it has special pads, or hard-points it can energize to lock its body to a magnetic surface, like the hull, or droid socket of a starfighter. it doesn't need an adapter, it is designed and built with a solution to that very "problem".

R2-D2 can fly using an in-built rocket pack, that automatically makes him superior because he can go anywhere. He can also contain far more tools and equipment due to his size - go to Wookiepedia and check out all of the kit he has in comparison to BB-8. Our favorite trash can is second only to a sonic screwdriver in terms of utility. He can even hold spare weapons and gear for his owner AKA Luke's lightsaber. Sorry, R2 may flounder in some aspects, but you are not convincing me that he is better overall.

Can you look at T3-M4 compared to R2 and BB-8.

yeah, but how does bb8 get the right tool/hatch in front of the thing he wants to control/fix/etc. Try painting a dot on a bal and then, without picking up the ball, getting it to line up exactly where you want it to be. And it doesn't look like all the hatches are the same and so probably have different tools.

The grapnel hooks the BB units have also have an advantage for combat maybe? And the take up less space (hehe) in general.

Okay. I'm back after seeing the Last Jedi with the admission that BB-8 is superior to R2. My concern was the function of BB-8 in the intended role of astromech, which was clearly shown in the opening act of The Last Jedi. BB-8 is now superior in every way except in the realm of nostalgia.

R2-D2 can fly, set things on fire, and is more experienced. R2 can fly up stairs and r2 is overall a much better droid and character

R2 is the Chosen One. Sure BB-8 is better technology wise, but character wise, R2 wins hands down.

But there's one way R-series is superior: starfighter flight. An R-series seems naturally suited as an onboard mechanic, but BB units seem to be haphazardly put into the Astromech socket, risking just flying off during flight. There would have to be some sort of special harness exclusive to the BB series or built into the starfighter that R-series have as a standard.

Honestly the BB units are of the few things I like about the new movies, the ships being other things I like. I’m a huge logistics and technological nerd so military and robot equipment from the lowly astromech to the largest dreadnought have me giddy

I know it may be hard, but you gotta go over the perks of R2 against BB-8

You missed an extremely big flaw in the spherical design of BB 8. If he wants to use a tool in a certain area, lets say a wall panel or access point, or whatever, he has to roll there from exactly the right distance to position that tool in the right place. That is a chance in a million. So he would actually be completely useless, unless he has a possibility to cover a certain distance without rolling.

Balderdash! R2 units have sensors to "see" 360 degrees. It's not required to move the head to look up or down. Maybe this is a limitation of the BB series? Also TRACTION! BB series have little to no traction. If a BB unit gets stuck somewhere it's dead in the sand. An R2 unit can still WALK. Amongst the many superior qualities of an R2 unit you CAN'T steal their head and run away with it. There. 'Nuff said.

*Watch The Whole Video First*

R2 Is like 60 years old by TLJ Of course people are going to advance astromech tech of that span of time

I mean, I'd hope so, BB-8 is about 50 years newer than R2

But i don't think that bb-8 can hold and fire lightsabers 😂

BB8 alternative stairs descent: Getting thrown down (Last Jedi reference) BB8 weapons: coin shooting R2D2 superiority: Not losing head

But shouldn't BB-8 be skidding like crazy on sand?

Bb-8 is adorable and hilarious, but R2 is a war hero, he fought through all of the clone wars and seems to end up saving everyones lives all of the time, even going on missions on his own. He can fly too with little jet feet. It’s hard because I’d totally have a BB unit if I could, but R2 is the one you’d want to watch your back.

one advantage that r series droids could have over bb series would be experience, like with the fact that r2 has never had a memory wipe throughout his life in the franchise as stated in the clone wars series. Like captain rex said in the clone wars, "experience outranks everything"

Something that was missed. R2 can cling to a ship's hull while it is in flight and repair systems using magnetic feet. He can also move about a hull while in space due to these dedicated contact points. That's not to say that BB8 couldn't, but a dedicated magnetic shell to allow him to "Roll" across a ship;s hull would be dangerous for him as his contact footprint would be very small to the point that adding such a feature would be a waste of space. And BB unit's are already very small to begin with. BB could use his grapples to move about a hull, but this is again is risky in a fight as a moving ship would drag a BB unit around like a wrecking ball as the ship changes vectors. So in summary, R2 is a more reliable space model, while BB is arguably a better ground based model due to small contact footprint with surface that helps it in gravity, but does not help outside of gravity, to the point that it would need an internal system to compensate that would remove space for tools and interfaces., which is the entire point of an Astromech .

In which way BB-unit design is better ? -He can roll fast on asphalt or sand. -he can roll faster on ice without moving an inch away -He can gather dust, dirt an mug on his whole body faster. -He can Stay stuck faster in the mud, dive faster in any swamp or Quicksand -He can look under any skirt but cannot see what on a table (worst spy ever) -He can't serve any drinks, cannot reheat coffee or make popcorn (try R2D2 coffee press/popcorn maker) Basically BB-8 is an infantery foot soldier where R2D2 is a 12 stars General. But I prefer BT-1 : He is way much more cooler.

One thing that gets shown in the Last Jedi is that the BB Series droid can operate without its head. So instances where the head gets knocked off (but even this requires a large amount of force), the droid's ball segment can continue its work unimpeded. Unlike the R Series where like Obiwan's R4, getting your head ripped off is sort of the end.

I will admit, this is a very well thought out and fair video. I thank you for not just shitting all over my favorite character for three minutes. Personally, I feel like comparing the r and bb series is kind of like comparing pepsi and coke: same product, different packaging. It all just depends on what you're looking for in a droid.

BB-8 is also extremely resilient. He was caught in the Exterminatus that Kylo Ren carried out in the Raddus's hangar and lost his head, but simply reattached it.

Bb8: i am best R2: no i am the best Amateurs Who are you punk Chopper:amateurs

R2-D2 saved the day more than BB-8.

One potential disadvantage to the BB series is the magnetic neck joint attracting grit, and the need to maintain a smooth outer surface reducing the potential for grip on slick terrain.

I would agree that BB units are far more adaptable to almost any situation they could come up against, but due to their smaller size I'd wonder if they were more limited in tool capacity compared to the larger R2 units.

Great analysis and breakdown. One thing to note is that R2 DOES have a good range of ‘sight’ as his optic scanner thing is a moderate angle uh turret base? R2’s Dome also seems to be able to rotate very quickly allowing for change in orientation as quickly as BB8.

Beyond absolutely hatting BB series, your not wrong. Side note, if BB-8 would I don't know, get shredded in the next movie, I would rate it 10 out of 10.

OMG I never noticed how r2 goes up stairs in the movies!

The gonk droid is superior to both.

Somehow, you just had me crying when you displayed you’re take on BB-8’s potential flight mode there. I find myself now really hyped to see BB-8 develop across this franchise like R2-D2 did. Great video 👍

BB-8 is also almost 50 years more advanced when it comes to special effects, which is probably the reason. R2-D2 was made with the technology of the 70s and had not CGI to help it nor was robot technology very advanced back then. He was played by an actual person, Kenny Baker so they had to make a costume he could fit into and they then also had a remote controlled version which drove on 3 wheels. BB-8 however didn't have to fit anyone inside because by the time shooting for The Force Awakens started real world robot technology had advanced significantly, we had gone for them purely being in sci-fi to them being a very real thing. BB-8 is still mostly a practical prop but alongside that they also had the assistance of massive leaps in special effects and especially CGI in order to round off the edges. And he was probably designed like this in order to solve many of the problems that came with shooting with R2-D2, BB-8 as a robot is obviously just more flexible and they needed that for a more modern movie.

I’m sorry BB-8, but I will never pick you over R2-D2

You can’t judge value based off speculation! If he’s not shown going up stairs, then you can’t just assume “yeah he’s better at it”. That’s just you using biased headcanons.

Dude - nothing can replace R2’s wit, charm, loyalty, bravery, and just ‘da man’!! .... R2 all the way!!!

I realize this is a very, very old video at this point. BUT. For BB series droids you have to entirely restructure the way that ships are built. No longer are there terminals at waist height for astromechs, now you have to have them at near foot-level, which means that mechanics or computer specialists working without BB units have to get on their hands and knees, or potentially even lay down, to install dataspikes, repair units, and upgrading devices manually. Also, BB series droids simply cannot use older models of starships, or even new models that don't account for them. If every access terminal and charging port in your ship is at waist height, you can't buy a BB unit. Not without refitting everything.

Screw that, R2 will always be #1 "No need to listen to me, I'll just be back here fixing the hyperdrive and saving all your asses"

I still disagree each tool pod is supposed to have a different set of tools while R2 has all his in one place. BB needs to reorientate to get a different tool. R2 can reach high and low stuff with ease. BB needs grappling hooks which combined with said reorientation would suck. To sum it up, BB is smaller more compact, has better field of view has conquered stairs, but would take twice as long on complicated repair jobs that requires more then one tool. WHICH IS THE PRIMARY REASON FOR ASTROMECHS. On a spaceship there is probably very little need for stairs while stairs are primarily found on planets.

My main concern with the BB series is... What the hell is holding their head in place!? Also, since the entire surface of the sphere not only has all the tool hatches, but also is a potential contact point with the ground used for locomotion, any mechanical problems with the tools, hatches, or just the surface of that sphere hinders the droid's mobility. Which is to say, any damage at all to nearly any part of a BB unit will potentially cripple their ability to move. On the other hand, an R2 unit's legs are innately more vulnerable, so perhaps that's a moot point in the end.

I disagree. The BB unit isn't really the best evolution of the Astromech. The best evolution, in my opinion, would be a droid capable of anti-gravitational hovering (for despite his supposed mobility, BB-8 in reality would struggle to move through rough terrain due to his body not being treaded). I point to B.O.B. and V.I.N.CENT from the movie the Black Hole as visually representation. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/l5uphqWWqLzDqoE.html

Some pretty amazing modeling and animation on his part

you forgot to factor in the purpose of these droids, while in the films they mainly just hang around with the heroes, thats not what they were designed for, For applying force on a object R2D2 is far superior given his two legs and a fairly wide base, its easy to imagine him turning some kind of space wrench, but for BB8 It would be close to impossible for It to get the traction needed for apply signifanct force while repiaring a ship

Bb’s head is held by magnets and can be thrown down very easily which partially disables the droid, especially during flight in the x-wing. Also if R2 would get shot in the body he could escape because only small part of him is used for movement while Bb’s main part is his ball which will immobilize him if it gets damaged.

BB units are probably designed to go out onto the field rather than stay in the ship, and despite R2 units being able to do that too, mobility isn't their primary function. BB units seem to be made to accompany their owner to the field during a mission and perform more minor repairs if needed, evidenced by the simplicity and reduced mobility of their tools when compared to R2 units.

Cute as BB is, he can never replace Artoo. No matter how desperately Disney wants him to.

Fun fact (if im remembering correctly) the bb droids were originally designed to be like robotic pets

As much as I've grown tired of Disney Star Wars, BB-8 is still a pretty cool character to me. He's the perfect evolution of R2 like you said, but he also fulfills the same role as R2 in being a technical marvel on screen. Just as people were blown away by R2 and his effortless charm in 1977, so too were people amazed by BB-8 in 2016. I think it's a pretty cool parallel.

Being small, you favor portability vs flexibility. R2 stays cleaner because BB rolls in everything. R2 has tools, power, and flexibility on its side. E.g small computer cases can't compete with large cases. You can upgrade couple ways vs 10k ways, respectively.

R2d2 is the only reason why any of the main characters are alive, including darth vader.

I have watched the prequels and the original trilogy so much so that I can now speak fluent R2

man I never thought a trash can would evolve into a soccer ball.

So I know this is ancient but I do have a couple points to add. I would not argue the majority of the points you bring up in the video, particularly about its mobility and stability. They're all legitimate and well reasoned. I am primarily looking at this from the point of view of an Astromech droid designed to support starfighters, which the R2 series was designed to do, and not as a general ship maintenance droid. In addition, I am making the assumption that similar levels of technology are in use. An R2 unit designed for the same level of technology as BB-8, which is strongly suggested to be a more *advanced* droid. Making a comparison of older droids to newer droids is unfair and not valuable in my opinion. The obvious thing that the R-series has over the BB-series, is size. Once you're locked into the ship, the mobility is of limited importance. The R-series would simply have access to more tools, more space for computer equipment and more room for a powerful generator. The R-series is shown having a multitude of different tools and equipment including manipulator arms, cutting and welding tools, data access tools and even power transfer capability. In the heat of combat, one of these tools might make the difference between restoring a critical system or not, so having access to a greater number of specialized tools is valuable. From the point of view of computer equipment, I would imagine the BB-series and the R-series would have comparable processing and bandwidth. However, with its greater size, the R-series would likely have room for additional onboard memory to store additional star charts, astrogation logs, combat data, etc. That being said, this is probably the weakest point of my arguments, as both would probably have plenty of room to spare to handle all of their expected duties. The last, and least "canon" is the idea that I have a hard time imagining a BB-series being able to power an X-Wing's systems for in hanger operations. One of the core purposes of an astromech droid (described most commonly in the X-Wing series of the Legends canon) is to assist mechanical crew in operation of the starfighter while *outside* of combat. To whit, the R-series was designed with a generator powerful enough to run the X-Wing's repulsors for hangar maneuvers while the fusion engines are offline. Running up the powerful fusion engines every time you needed to move an X-Wing from work pad to hangar bay was described as potentially hazardous and at the very least, inefficient. Such a generator would be necessary to create thrust enough to carry the droid in the scenes where it flies (as silly as that idea is to me.) While it's certainly *feasible* that the BB-series could do all of the above, I find it hard to believe that it could do *all* of the same things *at the same time* without being significantly more expensive or more advanced. Even if we just look at the grapplers and the internal volume that must be taken up by the spindle and line, the BB-series seems like its making a number of design sacrifices to achieve the mobility described. Ultimately my "issue" with BB-8, and a lot of the series after the original trilogy, is that it doesn't seem to be fit for purpose and kills so much of the gritty, lived in feel that the original Star Wars trilogy had.

I’ve always been torn between my love for BB-8 from a technological standpoint and my hatred for the design being made just to sell toys

I know not many people here read xkcd, but I feel like the laptop hamster ball toy he thought up is probably direct inspiration for it.

Ok bb8 may have the ability to look almost anywhere but... Does he have a jetpack to make him fly?

Me seeing the title like: Erm, ECSUSE ME?

BB-8 can't smuggle a lightsaber.

The BB series is a massive improvement in stability and reliability, but the R series seems to be more robust, and seems to be outfitted with a wider array of tools. Of course, when talking about space-ship repair robots, inertial mass is a consideration. In low or zero gravity situations, you'll want the robot to remain stable relative to the ship. R series droids have magnetic feet capable of keeping themselves stable on a moving ship. BB series droids have dinky little Spider-Man grabblinghooks. For comparison, imagine you have to fuel up your car while it's moving. You can either lean out the window or dangle behind the car on rollerblades while tied to it.

Your forgetting the fact that R2 actually has rockets built in which makes mobility not a problem, plus a faser array. Making it far superior to BB8, It can essentially turn into a weaponised flying drone if it has to. Refer to the prequels

WHY DOES EVERYONE FORGET THE JET THRUSTERS? (EDIT) forgot to mentions Star Wars the Clone Wars animated tv series, season 5 episode 10: R2 receives improved "rocket boosters" which also come with a highly accurate control/navigation system

The R2 unit line is the most effective unit when it comes down do the duties of an Astromech bb8 is completely unqualified to be attached to most Fighters that would go into dog fights and requiring a real Astromech to do basic repairs where a bb-8 could not it did not even fix an X-Wing loose wire issue it just simply shot its head into the wiring short-circuiting its own systems and possibly did irreparable damage to itself as well as the ship The R2 unit it would make a simple repair another advantage and R2 unit have its ability to extend its head yes in Canon the Arts unit can extend its head revealing much of the underbelly and mechanical tools that would be required to route to basic repairs in the more sensitive areas near the cockpit as well as connect to the navicomputer or oftenly act as an the central Nava computer when there is no never computer available or it's been damaged during a battle besides all that an R2 unit can be modified and equipped for hundreds of other purposes that go beyond that of a simple repair drone since R2 units are used in different variations of ways between being a drink mixer a messenger to even being a pilot there are no limits to what a R2 unit could do if you do the appropriate modifications and upgrades which is really available anywhere you just need to go to a junk world and fly all the necessary parts to do whatever modification A bb-8 is too small and divide very little modifications opportunities perhaps you could switch out its head for something more advanced or provide a little bit of jet packs but that's all you could do it has no Central Access to an hyperspace navican computer when it's attached to a ship and given on it compact size the Central Computer probably wouldn't even be able to handle the massive amount of calculations that would be required Jamaica jump into hyperspace

Bb8 might not be able to latch onto sides of ships for repair like R2

*I LOVE R2 MORE THAN AN ADORABLE ORANGE ROBOT WITH FEELINGS* *HE IS DA BEST!!*

R2 D2 is a grizzled, aging veteran of the clone wars. BB-8 is the rookie starting to come into his own. He has only begun his journey into maturity.

Also for everyone who watches his video and sees my comment bb-8 Astromech it's a simple bug repair Droid given its small size is able to fit in corridors or small passageways doing small and minor repairs in subsystems only

While the video was playing, I envisioned R2 coming up to BB-8 and extending one of his arms and flipping BB's head off his ball and it landing upside down on the ground with its little magnetic wheels spinning as the head settles motionless. Then R2 laughs with beeps and static that sounds like snorting and goes away whistling.

People going to kill me for this, i've completely succumbed to BB's adorability, and the way it uses its tools (E.g. Grapple hooks and the "thumbs up") (1:42) (2:35) (3:00) and it's just increased 200% If I lived in the Star Wars universe, I would have to go for a BB (though if I could, I would have both! They could cover for each other's shortcomings haha)

Where do you get your 3D models from?

Sure, the rolling is a neat mode of movement, but as a result they are literally running every tool hatch on their body through Sand, mud, water, and whatever other terrain they happen to be rolling through. Another potential issue with the BB units is that because they have tools on the 6 different sides, The issue arises where they may come up to a a port, and the tool the need is on the wrong side of their body. My final issue is that It’s unable to use any tools on its body while it’s in motion.

But is BB8 tall enough to access the computer connections ports that R2 uses (and which seem to have been the standard interface for droids 30 years ago) ?

The BB series does have a canonical failure mode that I personally think is more crippling than falling over: their heads can fall off. That said, I don't think the R series' locomotion method is inferior, since the system was designed for space ships and not planets. We actually see R2-D2 and others gripping to the exterior surface of ships to perform repairs, and I think this is the intended environment of operation for the R series. The BB series was most likely developed to be appealing to the trending market of droid owners that wanted a travelling companion just as much as a mechanic and flight computer.

The only Star Wars things i collect are Astromechs, its weird how something 45 years old still looks fresh and not cheesy design wise.

Watching someone explain why bb-8 is better is like someone trying to explain why a three wheel motorcycle is better. You kind of missed the point.

It may be an improvement from a technical standpoint, but not from a character standpoint. BB8 is mostly there to provide cuteness for the audience and drop off the mcguffin in the first film. He’s barely even used outside of those situations, whereas R2 had several purposes in the films. He could mess with tech, provide comedic banter with 3PO, store data and objects (such as Luke’s Saber), and plenty more. He was a key part in many of the plans the Rebels has and could always find a way to be of some use. He even holds plenty of Data all the way back from the Clone Wars era (maybe even farther back). He and 3PO have been featured in all three sagas since the first movie and have built up so much character and personality that it’s ridiculous. (Edit): got rid of the joke I stole, and I’m not even sure if most of this info is even right. Like, didn’t R2 and 3PO get their data whipped at the end of episode 3? Not to mention I was a little harsh on BB8. The thing’s cute, he’s done a good bit, and he’s a fun enough character. Comparing him to a character like R2 really wasn’t fair of me

BB-8 should be able to travel on water, assuming his sphere is hollow and air-tight. R2-D2 has been shown to be able to move in water but not on top. R2-D2 might have a better stealth/spying role given his periscope attachment in the dome. We've no info on any similar attachment BB-8 might have.

Well, R2 should be able to use jetpack to fly up and down the stairs, also it has got more gadgets (look when he frees Anakin and Obi Wan on Gerivous's ship)

Big disadvantage: being able to have your head knocked off. This happens several times in canon where BB units lose their head.

with star fighters like the X-wing an R2 unit is quite large and cannot access most of its tools at the front instead they have to rely on tools that it can use in its head to fix things a BB unit can access all tools at all time whilst in the ship and is smaller so can actually get in there and fix problems, and because of it being smaller it is logical to assume that it is lighter and less of a drag on a ship, an A wing is too small for an R2 unit to fit but i am willing to bet a BB unit could fit in an a wing quite snugly and provide assistance. something that was shown in the star wars shorts animations was that BB-8s head can pop off and it wont hurt it, and it is still online and can control its body to pick its own head up and put it back on an Rd cannot however one downside i can see is it must roll on its body that is metal and unless it has some sort of gripping agent BB-8 should be more pron to slipping and wheel spin (well ball spin) / running on the spot, and does BB-8 also have a magnetic system that lets it cling to the sides of a ship in 0-g? will it simultaneously doesn't screw with its circuits by putting a magnet to its head ? also the BB units grapples could give it a sort of advanced mobility in the same way as spiderman so would jets be needed?