It vacuums, mops, and lives in a dock that self-empties the robot and cleans the mops.
All of that sounds promising, and it does some things quite well…
I wish it were better at the actual cleaning part.
© Brent Rose
Pros
Cons
Narwal Freo Z Ultra Review: Design and Features
Lets start with the basics.
At a glance, the Freo Z Ultra looks much like any other high-end robot vacuum.
Its a round bot about 14 inches in diameter and roughly 4.5 inches tall.
© Brent Rose
In front are the aforementioned dual RGB cameras.
It also has a separate cube where it’s possible for you to install a detergent cartridge.
The robot and base look sleek and modern.
© Brent Rose
The setup is pretty easy.
The map it created, though, needed some work.
Luckily, it was straightforward enough to edit that in the app.
© Brent Rose
Narwal Freo Z Ultra Review: Performance
The cleaning, however, could use some work.
I guess cleans better than regular water?
It glowed and looked cool, anyway.
© Brent rose
It then meandered for a bit without mopping or vacuuming.
It just kept turning itself around in a corner by my bed.
Eventually, it started vacuuming and did some weird zigzag pattern that didnt make much sense to me.
© Brent Rose
It went back and vacuumed that spot again later, seemingly without reason.
Then it moped it again.
Then vacuumed it again, then mopped it again.
© Brent Rose
Mind you, there was no discernable dirt or debris in this spot.
The pattern it chose to clean my apartment seemed almost comically inefficient.
I will say that it did a fairly decent job of cleaning areas once it got to them.
© Brent Rose
It was nice and quiet, too, which I appreciated.
The mops did a nice, quick job of cleaning up some spilled milk on my kitchen floor.
It tended to choke on the pistachio shells and disgorge them elsewhere.
© Brent Rose
I found a few almost-whole Goldfish on the other side of my apartment from where Id left them.
There was just so much left on the floor after it thought it was done.
For a comparison, I tested it against the Roborock Qrevo Curv.
© Brent Rose
The Roborock formed a much more efficient cleaning pattern and appeared to be much more powerful.
I also found that the Roborock mops are much closer to the edges than the Narwal.
One of the Roborocks mops extends outwards to clean under small overhangs.
The one place the Narwal beats the Roborock is in object avoidance.
I suspect the camera needs more contrast (which the bare floor provides).
It wasnt quick, but it always made its way in and out.
One weird thing is this bot goes back to its dock to clean its mop a lot.
Not only does this make cleaning take a lot longer, but it goes through water quite quickly.
Sure enough, it was dry, and the dirty water tank was full.
But my apartment was pretty clean, and only 161 square feet of hardwood wasnt covered by rugs.
I could see that the water wasnt very dirty, either.
This all adds up to a slower, clumsier-seeming robot.
Narwal Freo Z Ultra Review: Verdict
Ultimately, theres a lot to like here.
During testing, I often wished for the best of both worlds.
For now, though, Im sticking with the Roborock.
News from the future, delivered to your present.
Too bad it arrived at the same time as an even better one from Roborock.
This vacuum goes places others cant.
