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Narwal Freo Z10: Two-minute evaluate
I’ve examined fairly just a few manufacturers of robotic vacuums within the final decade, however that is my first Narwal. I used to be fairly excited to strive it out as I’ve learn good issues concerning the firm’s earlier robotic vacuums from TechRadar’s different reviewers. That features our Narwal Freo Z Ultra review, the place it “smashed [its] mopping checks”.
The Narwal Freo Z10, a barely cheaper model of the Freo Z Extremely, may be very a lot minimize from the identical material – it too is a incredible mop however, like its costlier sibling, carpets usually are not its forte. Truly, I’ll go as far as to say that vacuuming basically isn’t its forte.
It’s 15,000 Pa suction seems good on paper, nevertheless it took two consecutive vacuum runs at its highest suction setting for it to cross my vacuuming checks. And that’s simply exhausting flooring. It struggles much more on carpets, though in case you are affected person, it should clear about 80% of hair off the fibers, however that’s not rather a lot contemplating there are different robotic vacuums I’ve examined not too long ago that do a greater job.
The opposite huge problem with the vacuuming is the self-cleaning of the onboard dustbin. Regardless that I can hear it say “self-cleaning began” and it makes the suitable noises, mud and particles from a number of vacuuming periods simply stored compacting contained in the onboard bin to some extent the place I needed to pull out the hair and filth myself to extend suction.
And whereas its anti-tangle brushes do what they promise, I discovered that the hair strands it invariably misses sucking up from exhausting flooring get collected by the mop pads as clumps that I’ve to choose up myself.
So whereas I query the Freo Z10’s vacuuming prowess, I can’t fault its mopping – and the proof is there to see within the colour of the soiled mop water. The type of tiles I’ve in my condo require excessive waterflow charges, and the Narwal Freo Z10’s Moist Mopping setting was good – nevertheless, this mode guzzles water. I needed to refill the clear water each time I did a full-home cleansing. In case you have wooden flooring, although, you shouldn’t want to fret because the decrease water settings will deal with the planks kindly.
Whereas I didn’t thoughts refilling recent water in the midst of a cleansing session, I can’t fairly forgive how primary the map within the app is. It may be edited, after all, however that’s fiddly to do in case your rooms aren’t exactly positioned squares or rectangles.
Even that may be a small problem in comparison with my expertise with single-room cleansing. This defaults to the Custom-made Mode choice within the app and I feel it is badly named. The belief can be you can arrange customized cleans right here (these are, in actual fact, saved as Shortcuts, by the best way), however you must preserve enhancing it for each room clear you need to do – your front room might not want as a lot cleansing as your eating room, for instance, and switching from one to the opposite means you’re continuously enhancing that mode.
Then there’s the Freo Thoughts computerized cleansing mode which, in principle, makes use of AI to find out the perfect clear for the room or full home, however oh boy, does it get it fallacious more often than not. Throughout my testing, it invariably cleaned my front room a number of instances earlier than shifting on to do only a primary cleansing in the remainder of the condo. In a single such session, it mopped the lounge 4 instances, the eating room twice, whereas the entry hallway and the house workplace bought only a single mop!
The one actually benefit of the Freo Z10 is its clever use of detergent. It robotically takes some solely when it thinks a flooring house wants deeper mopping. This computerized detergent use occurs within the Freo Thoughts mode and I might inform when it was utilizing the cleaning soap by maintaining a tally of the dirty-water tank for suds after every room’s mopping was achieved over a number of periods.
Regardless of its wonderful mopping capabilities, it’s exhausting to recover from the truth that the onboard dustbin doesn’t self-empty correctly and the app isn’t properly thought out both. For only a robotic mop, it’s priced too excessive.
Narwal Freo Z10 evaluate: Value & availability
- First proven at CES in January 2025; launched April 2025
- Out there within the US and Australia, however not within the UK
- Record value: $1,099 / AU$1,999
Regardless of being cheaper than the flagship Narwal Freo Z Extremely (which retails for $1,499/ AU$2,499), I can’t actually say that the Freo Z10 is ‘inexpensive’ at its full value of $1,099 / AU$1,999. I can’t even say it’s competitively priced as a result of it’s not fairly the environment friendly cleaner I hoped it could be.
The one different robotic vacuum cleaner that is available in at this value level that I might suggest is the Ecovacs Deebot T30 Omni (£799 / AU$1,749), nevertheless it isn’t extensively accessible and it is bought no detergent dispenser. This cheaper Deebot even beats out the Freo Z10 by way of efficiency too, vacuuming and mopping properly, though the Narwal is the higher mop regardless of boasting larger suction (15,000 Pa vs 11,000 Pa).
If you would like extra clever options, which the Freo Z Extremely can present, you’re clearly going to wish to spend extra. For instance, the Dreame L40 Ultra accessible within the US and the UK with 11,000Pa suction has a listing value of $1,499.99 / £999 (unavailable in Australia), however take it up a notch and the 12,000Pa Dreame X40 Ultra with removable mop pads will set you again a whopping $1,899 / £1,299 / AU$2,799. Equally, the Eufy Omni S1 Pro, with its attention-grabbing slimline design however with a most of 8,000Pa of suction prices $1,499 / £1,499 / AU$2,699.
After all, as with every all-in-one robotic vacuum, additionally, you will have to think about the continuing price of sustaining the Freo Z10. Substitute mud luggage will price you $19.99 within the US for a set of two, whereas it’s AU$29.99 for a set of three Down Beneath. Equally, in terms of changing the mop pads, a pair will price you $19.99 / AU$39.95. That mentioned, every mud bag will final you as much as 120 days and the mop pads rather a lot longer.
What you may require extra regularly would be the detergent, which is able to set you again $29.99 / AU$59.95 for the 19.6oz/580ml pack. Once more, I say ‘may’ want regularly – this may depend upon how usually the machine thinks it wants to make use of cleaning soap in your exhausting flooring. In order that 19.6oz/580ml bottle may properly final months.
• Worth rating: 3.5 / 5
Narwal Freo Z10 evaluate: specs
|
Suction energy: |
15,000Pa |
|
Onboard bin capability: |
As much as 1L (compressed) |
|
Mud bag capability: |
2.5L |
|
Clear water tank capability: |
4.5L |
|
Soiled water tank capability: |
4L |
|
Reservoir capability: |
N/A |
|
Mop elevate: |
12mm |
|
Noise degree: |
as much as 55dB |
|
Battery capability: |
5,200mAh |
|
Runtime: |
as much as 210 minutes |
|
Charging time: |
as much as 2.5 hours |
|
Dimensions (L x W x H): |
Robotic = 355 x 350 x 107.7 mm; base station = 431 x 426.8 x 461.5 mm |
|
Weight: |
Robotic = 4.6kg; base station = 11.3kg |
Narwal Freo Z10 evaluate: Design
- Curvy however stable base station
- Robotic tucks proper inside base station
- Incorporates a detergent dispenser
The Freo Z10 robotic vacuum isn’t very completely different from different vacuum bots, that includes a small turret on prime to deal with a few of its sensors, and it is fairly much like the one provided with the Narwal Freo Z Extremely. The principle distinction between the 2 siblings is that the Freo Z10 lacks the digital camera that the Extremely mannequin has.
I do love the curvaceous look of the bottom station, although, which is exclusive to the Freo line. It’s fairly completely different.
What I didn’t anticipate is how heavy the entire thing can be to take out of the field it got here in. You see, the robotic is already tucked inside the bottom station within the packaging, so that you’re primarily making an attempt to elevate about 11 kilos in a single exit of the field. Different robotic vacuums include numerous elements packed individually, making them simpler to arrange out of the field.
Properly, should you’re ready to haul out a heavy machine, the remainder of the setup is easy. You simply want to suit the cleansing tray inside the bottom station, slip the robotic in, then connect the bottom station extension ramp.
In comparison with another robotic vacuums I’ve examined not too long ago, the Freo Z10’s base station is broad, so make certain you might have sufficient house round it for the robotic to securely maneuver out and in of the bottom station.
Picture 1 of 4
What units the Freo Z10 aside from many different manufacturers is that it has two aspect brushes reasonably than only one. Each characteristic two tufts of bristles, however one has them positioned nearer collectively, whereas the opposite is additional aside.
The aspect brushes flip at completely different speeds typically, relying on what the Freo Z10’s DirtSense expertise is telling it, or if it’s alongside a room edge. On paper, the various speeds ought to assist it push hair and filth extra successfully in the direction of the central bar brush beneath the robotic, however in actuality, that doesn’t work in addition to I had hoped (extra on this within the Efficiency part).
The central bar brush is anti-tangle and, within the six weeks I’ve used the Freo Z10, I’ve by no means needed to clear it. It pulls the whole lot right into a small onboard dustbin that, in contrast to different such robovacs, doesn’t have a lid, however the filter will be taken off for cleansing.
Whereas it’s purported to self-empty every time it finishes a vacuum run, I discovered that filth simply stored compacting inside and I needed to manually pull all of it out by way of the 2 holes (one going through the bar brush, the opposite in the direction of the bottom station) because it was starting to have an effect on the suction.
The mop pads are barely triangular in form to assist them get into corners, which they do higher than many of the rounded mop pads on different related robovacs.
Picture 1 of 2
The curvaceous base station includes a deep cavity that virtually engulfs your entire robotic when it’s docked, one thing I have not seen on some other model of robotic vacuum I’ve examined. I like that the bot is barely seen, it is a clear aesthetic.
As with related fashions, the bottom station has the potential of emptying out the onboard dustbin right into a 2.5L mud bag which, by the way, is meant to compact the filth to accommodate about 3L. As I’ve talked about although, the self-empty didn’t work for me and the mud bag stays practically empty even after six weeks of use on the time of writing.
Beside the cavity for the mud bag is house to suit a bottle of detergent and one comes within the field – the Freo Z10 will robotically take detergent solely when it’s wanted, which is an clever operate I admire.
On the highest of the bottom station are just a few buttons that will let you management the robotic without having to achieve in your cellphone every time. And beneath the highest cowl are two plastic tanks – one for clear water and the opposite for the soiled mop water.
With some silver accents on the white unit, the Freo Z10 is a well-designed robotic vacuum – I simply want it carried out pretty much as good because it seems.
• Design rating: 4 / 5
Narwal Freo Z10 evaluate: Efficiency
- Wonderful mopping and good impediment avoidance
- Excessive suction on paper doesn’t translate in efficiency
- Auto-emptying of dustbin doesn’t work; mops get washed even when not used
Beginning off with utilizing the Narwal Freo Z10 was an exquisite expertise – it linked to my dwelling’s Wi-Fi immediately and was arrange inside a minute, able to map my condo.
Mapping took about six minutes for the one-bedroom house, however I’ve to confess I wasn’t fairly enamored with the ultimate map that was created (extra on this later within the App Management part).
The check house for this evaluate, which measures roughly 40sqm, consists of wall-to-wall carpet within the bed room, with the remainder being tiled flooring all through.
The Freo Z10’s first cleansing run was incredible! It did a good sufficient job on the carpet (though I’ve examined others that did barely higher), however I used to be thrilled with how properly it mopped.
Vacuuming
My preliminary vacuum run with the Freo Z10 was passable, so I went into full testing mode with excessive expectations from its 15,000 Pa of suction.
It has 4 vacuum settings – Quiet, Regular, Robust and Tremendous Highly effective – and you’ll select to have it vacuum as much as 3 times in a single session. One factor I’ve to notice proper up entrance: even on the Robust setting, the Freo Z10 is relatively very quiet. It’s solely whenever you change to Tremendous Highly effective that it really makes its presence felt.
In my testing, I wasn’t notably impressed with the Quiet and Regular settings because it barely sucked up something – hair strands and visual mud remained on the exhausting flooring and carpets seemed untouched. Robust, although, is ok for exhausting flooring, though I discovered it wanted to be set to Tremendous Highly effective for the absolute best vacuum on carpets.
Working example: whereas performing TechRadar’s customary checks of vacuuming oats and tea on carpets and exhausting flooring, I discovered that the Freo Z10 wanted two periods within the highest suction setting to choose up all of the oats from tiles, however I might nonetheless see some tea on the tiles (to be honest it’s tea from a bag, so superb particles). I additionally sprinkled some talcum powder to check suction of very superb particles and it wasn’t in a position to do an excellent job even after two passes. I had to make use of my Dyson V15s Detect Submarine to wash the remaining tea and talcum powder off the tiles.
It was an identical expertise on carpets, though right here it even struggled to wash up the bigger oats items too. Within the bed room, the place my hair collects on the carpet fibers every day, it managed to wash about 80% of the strands, so a bit disappointing in comparison with the Ecovacs Deebot T30 Omni and the Roborock Qrevo Edge I’ve beforehand examined in the identical space.
Lengthy story brief, I’m actually not impressed with the Freo Z10’s vacuuming prowess, nevertheless it works in a pinch should you want a fast job achieved earlier than visitors arrive – supplied the onboard dustbin is not already full to scale back total suction.
Mopping
Curiously the Freo Z10 robotic doesn’t have a water reservoir onboard – it simply goes again to the doc to repeatedly moist its mop pads. Regardless of that I used to be fairly impressed with how properly it mopped – a pleasing aid after seeing its lack of vacuuming power.
Its barely triangular mop pads can handle to get into corners, however mood your expectations for nook cleansing as there’s simply not sufficient strain exerted on the perimeters of the mop pads to be efficient. On the remainder of the ground although, the 8 Newtons of strain it exerts can mop up dried and moist stains properly, though the waterflow price you select will decide how properly.
On the type of tiles I’ve in my condo, the Moist Mopping choice was finest for dried-up dusty stains and moist sauce spills. A single run was ok to wash up the previous however I discovered it typically wanted to be run twice in an space to wash up the latter. It is a barely completely different story if there’s dried sauce spills on the ground – three turns within the Moist Mopping mode did the trick throughout my testing, though it should depend upon what precisely it is cleansing up.
For on a regular basis mopping, nevertheless, I discovered the Regular waterflow choice to work properly and, you probably have wooden flooring, the Low setting will deal with them kindly.
One factor to notice although: the Freo Z10 guzzles water way more than different robotic vacuums I’ve examined, notably on the Moist Mopping mode, and I needed to refill the clean-water tank each time it did a full-house mop. It isn’t a deal breaker as a result of it actually does an excellent job.
One other factor to bear in mind about its mopping is expounded to its lack of vacuuming: as a result of it does not all the time decide up all of the hair or fur from a flooring, I discovered the mop pads collect the strands and depart them on the ground as damp clumps. Not very best in any respect and which means it is exhausting to suggest it for households with pets.
Navigation and impediment avoidance
Complementing the mopping is the Freo Z10’s impediment avoidance. It is the primary robotic vacuum that I’ve examined that was in a position to keep away from cables in its path. Whereas it tried to swallow up a really slim Lightning cable for an iPhone, it simply prevented three different USB-C cables I put in its path whereas testing.
Something a bit larger and that is a fair simpler job for the Freo Z10 to keep away from. Footwear, slim furnishings legs, even little tea-light holders (I’ve a floor-height shelf beneath my leisure unit that almost all robovacs climb onto) are all left in peace. Nevertheless, beware the sock on the ground – the Freo Z10 will try to swallow little booties or no-show socks, like virtually each different robotic vacuum.
Its navigation is a blended bag, although. It is superb as lengthy you do not transfer issues round after its map has been created, however shift a chair even a bit bit and it does are inclined to get confused.
I seen this primary after I left a big bundle in a nook that was cleaned on a earlier run. Whereas it prevented banging into the field, it moved round it just a few instances to determine it could not get to that house it had beforehand roamed. To check this once more, I moved my front room chairs a bit (simply by a few inches) and, lo and behold, the exact backwards and forwards motion the Freo Z10 normally employs was tousled and that additionally meant it went round in circles just a few instances earlier than getting again to its dock after its job was achieved.
It by no means bought misplaced throughout my testing, nevertheless it positively does not fairly like issues misplaced.
Base station efficiency
Like many different related robovacs, the Freo Z10’s base station is multipurpose, requiring minimal human intervention and, for probably the most half, that is true. All you want to do is keep in mind to refill the clear water as wanted and empty out the soiled so it does not start to develop its personal little ecosystem.
It is mop washing is arguably the perfect I’ve seen in any robotic vacuum. Even after six weeks of use, the mop pads nonetheless look fairly pristine regardless of the colour of the soiled water being, properly, very soiled. I used to be impressed with the Deebot T30 Omni’s washing, however this surpasses even that. Narwal’s use of hot-water washing and hot-air drying may be very efficient certainly.
This might maybe be attributed to the truth that the mops get washed even when they did not get used. Each time I did a vacuum-only run (whether or not it was a single room or the complete home), the mops all the time bought washed. I hadn’t skilled this with the earlier robovacs I might examined, so it took me abruptly. This additionally meant that the bottom station was consuming extra energy than was needed because the hot-air drying can take just a few hours.
Picture 1 of 2
One other characteristic I admire right here is the ‘disinfecting’ of the bin and dirt bag. It makes use of sizzling air to maintain issues dry in order to keep away from rising micro organism and fungus inside and, after weeks of use, there isn’t any odor anyplace to point in any other case.
Now, I can forgive the extreme mop washing I suppose however, as I’ve already talked about, the dearth of self-emptying of the robotic’s dustbin is worrying. The place most robotic vacuums return to their docks to repeatedly empty their bins in the midst of a vacuum run, the Freo Z10 does not – it waits until the job is completed to take action. I can hear the robovac say “self-cleaning began” and the bottom station suction will be heard however, clearly, no emptying takes place and this subsequently begins affecting the suction energy of the bot.
Upkeep of the unit includes needing to refill and clear out the tanks and, each few days, washing and drying the filter on the bin of the bot. What ought to be minimal intervention, nevertheless, additionally included emptying the bin myself after just a few makes use of, which is way from very best.
Battery life
Narwal says that the Freo Z10’s 5,200mAh battery will run as much as 210 minutes on a single cost, however that after all is determined by what settings you employ.
Regardless of having it set to max suction (Tremendous Highly effective within the app) and on the highest waterflow price, I discovered the Freo Z10 might do a single full-house vacuum-then-mop session without having to return to the mains to cost.
It wanted to prime up when it was set to 2x vacuum and 2x mop within the Meticulous cleansing sample.
The Freo Z10 runs all the best way right down to about 5% earlier than making its method again to the bottom station and, in my case, juices up until it is about 45% to finish a job if might have left unfinished.
So in terms of battery life, I actually cannot complain.
• Efficiency rating: 3 / 5
Narwal Freo Z10 evaluate: app management
- Fundamental map that is fiddly to edit
- In a position to save loads of Shortcut routines
- Freo Thoughts AI mode shouldn’t be environment friendly
If there’s one factor all robotic vacuums have in frequent is a subpar app expertise. I’ve mentioned this earlier than with the Ecovacs app and a colleague has complained about it with Dreame too. The one model that has an exquisite, albeit over-the-top, app expertise is Roborock.
Sadly the Narwal Freo app cannot compete with Roborock and is much more disappointing than the Ecovacs Dwelling app.
Now, do not get me fallacious, it is completely useful, however the map may be very primary and if your private home is not divided into near-perfect squares and rectangles that align properly, it is exhausting to edit the map to accommodate rooms completely. In my case, I could not edit the entry hallway in my condo to the proper measurement, which I used to be in a position to do within the Roborock and Ecovacs apps.
That is not a deal breaker, to be trustworthy, and the Narwal Freo app really does one factor higher than Ecovacs – provide a Shortcuts checklist that accessible from the gadget’s dwelling web page. You possibly can arrange a number of routines on this checklist and it makes for fast and easy accessibility for regularly used cleansing runs (for instance, carpet-cleaning solely or after-dinner cleansing).
What’s complicated is a Custom-made Mode throughout the app that it defaults to whenever you decide a room or zone cleansing. Whereas I can see why it is there, it is reasonably annoying as you continuously must edit that one choice for every room or zone clear.
Working example: I clear my eating room extra usually than the remainder of the condo however every run has completely different necessities. I might need set it to do a vacuum-then-mop session one afternoon, however the subsequent time I’d need simply mopping and I’ve to edit the Custom-made Mode for every. The following day I’d have to vacuum my bed room solely (which is carpeted) and I’ve to delve into the Mode to alter issues.
It does not take lengthy, however when utilizing it every single day or two, it does turn into reasonably annoying. Different manufacturers have a extra seamless room or zone cleansing app expertise in my view.
Picture 1 of 2
Like different premium robotic vacuums launched within the final yr or two, the Freo Z10 additionally options an AI mode referred to as Freo Thoughts. In principle, this robotically picks the perfect cleansing choice in your dwelling based mostly on earlier periods however, in actuality, I discovered it to be very inefficient.
Within the six weeks of testing, it has cleaned my eating room greater than some other house within the condo, nevertheless it does not leverage that information. As a substitute, it chooses to do a number of cleansing periods in my front room, which infrequently will get soiled (the eating room is the place everybody congregates), however does possibly one or two cleans elsewhere.
This implies it is utilizing up its battery life, so chances are high it should take your entire day to complete cleansing a house when set to Freo Thoughts because it might want to repeatedly cost itself. It can additionally require you to refill the clear water repeatedly if it mops one house a number of instances.
After making an attempt out Freo Thoughts just a few instances, I gave up on it and by no means went again – Narwal might want to work on it to make it a bit extra environment friendly.
• App rating: 3.5 / 5
Ought to I purchase the Narwal Freo Z10?
|
Attribute |
Notes |
Rating |
|---|---|---|
|
Worth |
It isn’t low cost, however in comparison with related choices, it is properly priced. Nevertheless, taking its total efficiency under consideration, it is an costly mop. |
3.5 / 5 |
|
Design |
It is a well-designed, sturdy robotic vacuum with a curvaceous base station that I am personally keen on. |
4 / 5 |
|
Efficiency |
Whereas its mopping and impediment avoidance are good, the fundamental process of vacuuming is not its finest attribute. Furthermore, the dearth of self-emptying is regarding. |
3 / 5 |
|
App management |
With a fiddly map, an annoying Customized mode and subpar Freo Thoughts efficiency, the Narwal Freo app wants work. |
3.5 / 5 |
Purchase it if…
Do not buy it if…
Narwal Freo Z10 evaluate: Alternate options
How I examined the Narwal Freo Z10
- Used 3 times every week for six weeks
- Arrange completely different customized routines and carried out room cleans
- Tried completely different suction and waterflow settings
As beforehand. talked about, I examined the Narwal Freo Z10 in an condo with blended flooring, which gave me an excellent alternative to evaluate each vacuuming and mopping prowess.
I attempted all 4 suction modes and the completely different waterflow charges for each choices, I arrange numerous Shortcuts (or customized routines) and tried room cleansing too. I additionally delved into the settings within the app to regulate numerous choices, notably for the bottom station, and repeatedly checked the dirty-water tank for detergent use.
I additionally carried out TechRadar’s customary checks for each vacuuming and mopping, scattering oats and tea from a bag onto each a carpet and tiles, and permitting a dollop of ketchup to dry.
I’ve beforehand examined a number of robotic vacuums, together with two in 2025 previous to the Freo Z10, giving me loads of expertise to check efficiency and consumer expertise.
Learn extra about how we test vacuums
[First tested July 2025]