Shark PowerDetect Robot Vacuum and Mop two-minute review

The Shark PowerDetect 2-in-1 Robot Vacuum and Mop with NeverTouch Pro Base isn’t the first robot vacuum on the market that can mop and vacuum at the same time, but the fact that it’s outfitted with lots of smart technologies makes it stand out. In fact, it has wide range of detection capabilities, some of which are borrowed from today's best Shark vacuums, including the ability to detect what kind of floor it's on and how dirty it is, as well as being able to spot wet or dry spillages and stains, and automatically adjust its cleaning behavior to suit.

In my testing, I found the PowerDetect robot vacuum did a great job with different types of stains and debris of varying sizes, and the detection features worked as advertised. Expect the best clean when the vacuum and mop work together. Unfortunately, the suction wasn’t strong enough to completely pull up super-fine materials like flour from hard floor or a thick rug, and you'll almost certainly need to supplement it with a manual vacuum for occasional deep cleaning – but that's not unusual, even with the very best robot vacuums.

The mopping is effective, but left my wood floors wetter than I would have liked. Unfortunately, you cannot opt out of the automatic cleaning and instead manually choose vacuum or mopping settings, which is frustrating in situations like this.

One standout feature is this robovac's ability to roam over high thresholds; I've never seen a robovac that can lift itself as high as the PowerDetect can. It also has a novel approach to edge cleaning: when it gets near an edge, the robot blasts air to move debris into the cleaning path. Unfortunately, over-sensitive object avoidance means that it doesn't always get close enough to the edges of rooms to make this feature as effective as it could be. On the plus side, the companion app is easy to use and very accurate.

Shark launched its PowerDetect robot vacuum in summer/fall 2024. The combination robot vacuum-and-mop is available with a NeverTouch Pro base, which self-empties, cleans its own mop pads, and refills its own water tanks. That's the priciest option and the one I tested for this review, and I appreciated how it took care of so many maintenance tasks for me. However, if you're on a budget, you can opt for a model with a NeverTouch base (no 'Pro'). It's the exact same robot vacuum, but the dock doesn't self-clean and it doesn't have an anti-odor puck.

(Also in the PowerDetect range is an even cheaper robovac that doesn't have mopping capabilities at all, and various manual vacuums – head to TechRadar's Shark PowerDetect Cordless Stick Vacuum review to see how we got on with one of those.)

Read on for my full Shark PowerDetect Robot Vacuum and Mop review.

Shark PowerDetect Robot Vacuum and Mop review: price & availability

• Price with NeverTouch Pro Base: $999.99 / £799
• Price with NeverTouch Base: $899.99 / £699
• Launch date: September 2024
• Availability: US and UK

The Shark PowerDetect 2-in-1 Robot Vacuum and Mop launched in the US and UK in September 2024. It's available to buy direct from Shark, as well as via third party retailers like Amazon.

For this review, I tested the most expensive option: the PowerDetect robot vacuum and mop with NeverTouch Pro base. This has a list price of $999.99 / £799.

Alternatively, you can pick up the same robovac but with a slightly less advanced base (the NeverTouch base – no 'Pro'). This one doesn't self-clean its mop pads, and there's no anti-odor puck. This is currently available in the US for $899.99 and the UK (although, weirdly, not currently on the Shark UK website) for £699.

There's also a basic version, which still self-empties but doesn't mop. In the US this costs $599.99 (product code RV2820AE). It's also available in the UK for £499.99 (RV2820VEUK).

On my review model, an extra mop pad, odor neutralizer cartridge, and multi-surface cleaning solution were included. Further replacements are available direct from Shark.

At TechRadar, a robot vacuum that costs more than $800 / £650 is considered a premium model, so the 2-in-1 PowerDetect falls into that band. Generally, self-empty robovacs, and combination vac-mops do sit at the upper end of the market, although it is possible to pick them up for as little as $350.

Overall, this robot does a great job in a lot of areas, especially in terms of mapping and ease of use. Do I think the model I tested is worth $999? I’d say a fairer price might be $799, as I’ve tested other robot vacuums with more features, such as live camera, voice control and so on.

Even though it's very new, you might still be able to snag a discount. The Black Friday deals often deliver particularly good robot vacuum deals, and until then it's worth keeping an eye on TechRadar’s Shark coupon codes for other ways to shave a few dollars off.

• Value for money score: 3.5 out of 5

Shark PowerDetect Robot Vacuum and Mop review: design

• Circular robovac with vacuuming and mopping abilities
• Base charges, self empties and (if Pro version chosen) self-cleans
• Robot controlled via companion app

The Shark PowerDetect 2-in-1 Robot Vacuum and Mop with NeverTouch Pro Base is a black circular robot vacuum that’s 13 inches in diameter and has a cleaning path width of 5.69 inches. At 2.7 inches tall, it can fit under most cabinets.

My review model came with the NeverTouch Pro base, which is has a dark gray – almost black – in color. It stands 17.5 inches tall, 18.8 inches wide, and 14.33 inches deep. This dock charges the robovac, cleans its mop pads, empties its onboard dust cup and dirty water, and refills the onboard water tank. It also has an anti-odor puck to prevent bad smells building up.

The Pro base is pretty compact compared to other robovac-mops I've tested, but if you'd prefer something smaller, take a look at the regular NeverTouch base (RV2820YE). It lacks self-cleaning capabilities and doesn't have the anti-odor puck, and it looks a little different in that the water tank on the base is visible.

The robot itself has a side brush (an extra is included in the box) for gathering dirt and debris, as well as a half-circular mopping pad and a dust cup with a capacity of 0.33 quarts. It’s also outfitted with LED lights and has NeverStuck Technology which means the robot is designed to be able to lift itself over obstacles, thresholds, and thick carpets; I’ve never seen a robot vacuum lift itself as high as this one can.

When mopping, the robot also lifts the pad when moving over rugs. To assist with edge cleaning, the PowerDetect robovac blasts air to pushes debris from the edges of rooms and into its cleaning path. It can also extend the mopping pad up to an inch out from its sides for better edge mopping.

The base itself has a bin designed to last 60-days (no actual capacity is provided), while the water tank is capable of filling the robot with water for 30 days (again, no specifics from Shark). Thanks to felt and washable foam filters, as well as a HEPA filter, you can rest assured that the vacuum contains the dust and allergens it picks up.

Setting up the robot was fairly easy. It doesn’t take more than connecting the ramp to the base, filling the tank with water, attaching the side brush to the bottom of the robot, inserting the odor cartridge on the top of the base, and leaving everything to charge. I downloaded the app and connected the robot vacuum to my Wi-Fi. It took a few tries but not so many that I was concerned or frustrated. This is pretty typical for me during the testing of products with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connectivity.

Although it's far from basic, this Shark robot vacuum lacks some features I'd expect in the premium price bracket – for example, voice control (it will emit voice commands to let you know when it needs to charge or if it gets caught on something, but you can't issue instructions back), the ability to move the robot vacuum with controls in the app, and live camera footage.

• Design score: 4 out of 5

Shark PowerDetect Robot Vacuum and Mop review: performance

• Great at object avoidance and climbing thresholds
• Decent job at vacuuming and mopping
• NeverTouch Pro base takes care of most maintenance

After connecting the Shark robot vacuum to the app, it mapped my house. I was very surprised by how quickly it mapped the house and how accurate the map was. I think it’s the most accurate initial map that I’ve seen from a robot vacuum, especially considering that the robot didn’t go to every room in my house. While I’ll go more into detail about the app in the following section, I found it really easy to control the Shark robot vacuum in the app.

To begin my testing, I set the Shark robot to vacuum and mop my entire house so I could get a good sense for how it would work on a regular basis. I noticed a few things during this process. For one, the robot does a great job of object avoidance. I never saw it hit a wall or any of my furniture. This was impressive. I think the only drawback to this aspect is that it may impact the edge cleaning.

The robot seemed intent on not hitting a wall or an object, and because of that, it didn’t get as close as I would have liked it to get for superior edge cleaning. Yes, with EdgeDetect technology, the robot vacuum blasts air to move debris near the edges into the cleaning path. However, it needs to get closer to an edge to even effectively use such technology.

EdgeDetect is just one of a range of detection capabilities offered by this robovac. Another key one is 'DirtDetect', which essentially means the vacuum can sense how dirty a floor is and automatically adjust suction in response. However, on Shark's manual vacuums, you also have the option to manually set a suction level, whereas there's no manual control option here.

As someone who has a house with a lot of tall thresholds, I was curious to see how well the robot would be able to climb over them. It easily lifted itself over all my thresholds except for one, which I’ve never seen a robot able to do (it’s about two inches tall, so that's understandable).

The base took more time than I expected to fill the robovac's onboard water tanks. Since it’s a hands-free process, it’s not the biggest concern but something I wanted to note. I didn’t think I’d be impressed by the Shark’s robot’s mopping capabilities, because I am not a fan of the type of mop pad this robot uses. It’s a half circle pad that sticks to the bottom with Velcro. I prefer rotating circular pads as I think they clean better.

That said, I was pleasantly surprised with the Shark PowerDetect robovacs mopping abilities. This is due in part to the fact that the robot can move the mop pad from side to side offering enough friction to pull up dirt and stains from the ground. Thankfully, the robot lifted the mop pad significantly when it went over the rugs.

One of the biggest drawbacks of this robot vacuum is that it left behind too much water on my floors. Because I have historic wood floors, I have to be especially careful when it comes to mopping (water can damage wood floors). I was disappointed that I could not adjust the water level of this robot vacuum in the app.

Because the robovac is able to vacuum and mop simultaneously, it can clean your entire house in half the time it would normally take (for instance, if you had to vacuum first and the mop after). In most cases, it's actually better to instruct the robovac to mop and vacuum at the same time, because vacuuming doesn't always completely remove fine dust, and the mop can deal with any remnants.

Cleaning tests

To accurately gauge the Shark's cleaning prowess I ran some standardized tests. I placed a ground coffee and flour mix on my laminate floor and the same mixture on a rug and used the spot cleaning feature of the robot to send it to both spots to see how well it vacuumed the area. I like that there is a spot cleaning option, but unfortunately, you can’t adjust the size of the spot in the app.

On the laminate flooring, the robot had a sound rating of 69dB. It picked up the coffee with ease. When it came to the flour, it did a pretty good job, though it wasn’t completely perfect. Rather, it left behind a small dusting of flour, which leads me to say that, if you drop fine materials on hard flooring, such as flour, you should probably use the vacuum and the mop function in conjunction to clean it completely.

When I sent the robot to the rug, the noise level increased to 70dB. It actually did a better job of vacuuming the rug than I thought it would. Like on hard floor, the robot picked up all of the coffee, but it left a round patch of flour. The brush also flung some of the flour out of the spot-cleaning zone, and thus it was not vacuumed.

Next, I tested the mopping capability by placing a puddle of water and some dried syrup on the floor. With a sound rating of 69dB, the robot picked up the liquids easily. I couldn’t tell if the robot pushed the water around as it leaves a good amount of water behind anyway, but it seemed to clean the syrup well. After the floor dried, I noticed a very slight (and I mean very slight) stickiness to the floor, and just to be safe, I had the robot mop the spot once again.

This Shark robot takes about 3.5 hours to fully charge and then runs for about 2 hours and 20 minutes before it needs to recharge again. If it runs low on power in the middle of a cleaning job, it just recharges enough to finish cleaning your house. The robot isn’t able to clean my 1,600-square-foot home completely on a single charge. This is not really a concern for me since the robot vacuum takes itself to the base, recharges, and then finishes the cleaning job when it’s ready. I don’t have to do anything but sit back and let it clean on its own time.

My favorite aspect of this Shark vacuum is the hands-free cleaning. The NeverTouch Pro base lived up to its name. It not only pulls the dirt and debris from the vacuum and stores it in a sealed 60-day capacity bin, but it washes and dries the mopping pad after every clean. I should also add that the water tank holds 30 days’ worth of water, which is impressive considering how small the base appears from the outside.

Maintenance

As for other elements of maintenance, the vacuum and base need to be cleaned about every 30 days. You’ll have to use a dry dust rag to clean the sensors and charging contacts on the robot and in the base. The base can be cleaned with a wet rag and then dried with a cloth. The brushroll and side brush need to be cleared of hair, string, or debris. The mop pad should be washed and/or replaced every three months. The base’s dustbin should be emptied once a month.

The filter in the robot and the filter at the top of the base should be cleaned once a month, by shaking them free of dust and debris over a trashcan and then rinsing the foam filters with cold water and allowing them to air dry for 48 hours. On the bottom side of the base there is another filter, the post-motor filter, that can be cleaned every 6 months. You’ll also want to clean the water container with soap and water before refilling it.

• Performance score: 4 out of 5

Shark PowerDetect Robot Vacuum and Mop review: app

• Easy-to-use app with great mapping and instructional tips
• Whole house clean, room clean, or spot clean options
• App contains schedule and cleaning history

I love a simple and easy-to-use app, and the Shark app is just that. The map that was created of my house is quite accurate. Take note that it’s only 2D; there are no 3D mapping options. The map shows the different rooms in my house and even has some shadow areas that indicate furniture or things like a bathtub.

I can easily adjust the map – which I did by merging two rooms together that the robot separated and then splitting two rooms that the robot determined as one. I can also label my rooms and create no-go zones. Unfortunately, you can’t customize a no-go zone. For instance, I would like to create a no-go mopping zone for a specific area of my house, but the app doesn’t allow that.

The app is where you can see the battery life and instruct the robot to return to the dock, pause, or set it to vacuum, mop, or vacuum and mop at the same time. I can choose to have the Shark robot clean the entire house, one room, or to spot clean in a certain area. Unfortunately, with the spot clean feature, I can’t adjust the spot cleaning box to be smaller or larger. It seems to be a set size that I have to move on the map to the area I want cleaned.

Not only can I schedule the robot to clean and look at the cleaning history, but there is a support section that answers all of my questions related to the use and care of the robot vacuum. I also like the little notifications found on the main page as they can be helpful in knowing if there was an issue while cleaning or if the robot used some particular function to improve the cleaning experience.

This app would benefit with a few additions, such as the ability to adjust the water flow and vacuum suction power. As it is, the vacuum adjusts the suction and mopping functions based on its ability to detect dirt on the ground. While this is impressive, it would be nice to have some more control in some situations.

• App score: 4 out of 5

Shark PowerDetect Robot Vacuum and Mop specs

Should you buy the Shark PowerDetect Robot Vacuum and Mop?

Buy it if…

Don't buy it if…

How I tested the Shark PowerDetect Robot Vacuum and Mop

I tested the Shark PowerDetect 2-in-1 Robot Vacuum and Mop with NeverTouch Pro Base for over a week in my historic home. My house is outfitted with laminate and historic wood flooring, and some large thick rugs. To adequately rate and review the vacuuming and mopping capabilities of this robot, I ran the robot vacuum throughout my home and used various features like spot cleaning. I also conducted controlled tests where I had the robot vacuum flour and coffee from hard floors and rugs, as well as mop flour, water, and sticky materials from the laminate floor.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed September 2024

iRobot Roomba Combo J5 Plus two-minute review

The Roomba Combo J5+ is a combination robot vacuum and mop launched in summer/fall 2023. It is cheaper than many of the best robot vacuums, officially priced around $650 / £479 / AU$1,299, but often found on sale. The packaging is mostly cardboard, making components easy to identify. Setting it up involves unboxing, downloading the iRobot app, and mapping your home.

Its sleek design measures 13.8 by 3.6 inches and includes additional parts such as mopping cloths. The unit has bright green rubber brushes and a single-side sweeper, and the dustbin can be swapped for a mopping unit. It features an integrated light and camera for navigation. It is user-friendly but noisy, and you can control it via the iRobot app and integrate it into a smart home system if you use one.

Due to its single-brush design, it performs well on rugs but less so on hardwood floors. So, while it'll keep things generally clean on a day-to-day basis, you'll still need one of the best vacuum cleaners on hand to give your home a proper deep clean. 

The mopping function requires swapping the vacuum bin for the mopping one and, unfortunately, doesn't match traditional mopping in thoroughness. The vacuum also struggled with larger particles during our tests. While the vacuum navigates obstacles well, it may struggle with smaller objects and isn't flawless at obstacle avoidance. One helpful feature is its ability to return to its charging dock when the battery is low and resume cleaning afterward.

iRobot Roomba Combo J5 Plus review: price & availability

• List price: US$649.99 / £479 / AU$1,299 
• Launch date: September 2023
• Availability: UK / US / AU / worldwide

The Roomba Combo J5+ is available from most online stores, including Amazon, Best Buy, and iRobot's site. It is also available in the United States, Australia, the UK, and other regions where iRobot products are available. 

Because it's no longer the most recent model in iRobot's Roomba range, you can grab it slightly cheaper than the most up-to-date products that would set you back. In the US, the vacuum is just under $650, but you'll find it on sale periodically and during large sales events like Black Friday.

The J5+'s relative age doesn't diminish its features, as it still boasts all of the pros inherent in the Roomba range. It sits in TechRadar's mid-range price bracket for the wider robot vacuum, and is decent value for a self-empty robot vacuum from a well-known and highly respected brand.

•  Value for money score: 4 out of 5 

iRobot Roomba Combo J5 Plus specs

iRobot Roomba Combo J5 Plus review: design

• Not particularly lightweight
• Easy to set up
• Vacuum and mop bins need to be swapped for different functions

The Roomba Combo J5+'s packaging is mostly cardboard, with only the unit in a plastic bag. Smaller boxes neatly contain additional parts, including mopping cloths. This makes it easy to identify each component, which is particularly helpful for robot vacuum beginners. 

Setting up the Roomba Combo J5+ is a straightforward process that involves unboxing the vacuum, downloading the iRobot app, creating an account to link the device, and mapping your home for future navigation. The iRobot app controls the vacuum, letting you start cleaning sessions, view and edit your home map, and set specific room-based cleaning tasks. It can also be integrated with any smart home system, allowing automated routines.

The Roomba Combo J5+ looks great, with a sleek, contemporary design that mirrors the signature shape and style of other vacuums from the brand. Measuring 13.8 inches across by 3.6 inches high, it's the right height to navigate under sofas and cabinets. The top panel features a single clear button to avoid confusion. The black finish with a stocky dustbin adds to the premium appeal, even if the unit is quite large.

The underside features bright green rubber brushes and a single-side sweeper. Whenever you need to change modes, you can swap the bin for the mopping unit (included in the box).

There's also an integrated light and camera that help the vacuum intelligently navigate and avoid obstacles. The overall setup is user-friendly and intuitive, though the relatively compact size of the vacuum unit does not automatically mean this is an ideal choice for small spaces. The dustbin accounts for much of the footprint, but the unit is also heavy. The weight contributes to noise levels as the vacuum moves across rooms, particularly in homes like mine. These homes have lots of furniture, corners, and raised wooden dividers between rooms.

If you plan to use the mop function, you must first swap out the vacuum bin for the mopping one. Fill the tank with your chosen solution and attach the mopping cloth. This is a key difference between the J5+ and Roomba Combo J7+, which can vacuum and mop simultaneously without swapping out any parts. If you don't want the hassle of switching bins during your cleaning routine, you may want to opt for the newer model.

The Roomba was tested in the household of a black cat who sheds hair absolutely everywhere. The vacuum doesn't disappoint in this regard, as it successfully picked up the abundance of pet hair from my floors. There was no issue with pet hair clogging the mechanisms, but I found that my longer human hair did wrap around the brushes, and they needed manual de-hairing after a while. I'd consider this one of the best robot vacuums for pet hair.

• Design score: 4.5 out of 5 

iRobot Roomba Combo J5 Plus review: performance

• Good at picking up larger particles but struggles with dust
• Obstacle avoidance feature only works for some items
• Mopping functionality has limitations

The Roomba Combo J5+ performed well during general use and specific tests, living up to the promise of its feature set. Dual multi-surface rubber brushes adjust to maintain constant contact with carpets and hard floors, and it promises to pick up everything from tiny dust particles to large debris, courtesy of a 3-stage cleaning system.

The device features a navigation system that maps your home, allowing it to transition smoothly between different floor types and navigate obstacles. The Roomba also boasts cliff-detection sensors that prevent falls down stairs or ledges, though I couldn't test this in my ground-floor apartment. Notably, it can return to its charging dock automatically when its battery is low and resume cleaning afterward.

One useful feature of Roomba vacuums is the audio error messages. These messages suggest why your vacuum stopped operating in the middle of the hallway instead of leaving you to guess. So, if you find your vacuum stuck in a corner, you can hit the button and have it tell you what the problem is.

It's worth mentioning that the Roomba Combo J5+ can be noisy during operation, especially when emptying the bin. It operates at an average noise level of 48dB, which is not overly loud but becomes significantly noisier during docking and emptying its tank.

Interestingly, the vacuum works more consistently on rugs than hardwood floors. This is mainly because robot vacuum brushes sometimes scatter loose dirt around the room, potentially missing some debris. However, rug cleaning performance remains stellar. Just note that the Combo J5+ might struggle with edges due to its single brush design, limiting its ability to reach corners and crevices.

Its obstacle avoidance feature is generally successful but not flawless. While it successfully avoids clothing, shoes, and pet droppings, it struggles with smaller objects like curtains and small toys. To be safe, you'll still need to pick up various items before letting the Roomba loose.

The Roomba Combo J5+'s mopping functionality is adequate for surface-level dirt cleaning of hard floors. However, it doesn't match traditional mopping thoroughness, especially for more stubborn or ingrained dirt.

In testing, the Roomba Combo J5+ struggled with fine dust while performing well with larger debris. For instance, it picked up biscuit particles easily but struggled with finer particles like flour. It also needed to empty itself multiple times when dealing with large amounts of debris, like rice spread across the floor.

After extended use, though, the Roomba Combo J5+ needs minimal maintenance. This included removing the main rubber brushes to clear them of hair and ensuring the side brush was obstructed. Occasionally, it should also be wiped down to keep its sensors clean. 

• Performance score: 3.5 out of 5

iRobot Roomba Combo J5 Plus review: app

• Easy-to-use interface
• Accurate and customizable mapping feature
• Real-time updates on the vacuum's progress

The iRobot app, available on iOS and Android, significantly enhances the Roomba Combo J5+ user experience with its various controls and features. Users can schedule cleaning sessions, view their cleaning history, and customize cleaning preferences in one place. It also offers access to Clean Map reports, where you can track the areas cleaned after each session.

The J5+ is compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, offering voice-activated control for hands-free operation. The mapping feature accurately rendered the layout of my home. I regularly played with features like customizable room dividers and real-time updates on the vacuum's progress. The app also allows for specific room cleaning and virtual barriers.

The app works remarkably well, providing an estimated time frame for task completion. Once everything is set up, you can select which rooms you want and don't want to be cleaned. For example, if you command it to clean the kitchen, it will complete the task swiftly. It will send a push notification to your device and then return to its charging base.

• App score: 5 out of 5 

Should you buy the Roomba Combo J5 Plus?

 Buy it if… 

Don't buy it if…

How I tested the iRobot Roomba Combo J5 Plus

I sprinkled crushed digestive biscuits and flour on my kitchen floor to test the Roomba Combo J5+ on different surfaces in my one-bedroom apartment. The vacuum successfully picked up the biscuit particles but struggled with the flour, leaving some behind. I also spread rice on hard floors and carpets to simulate larger debris.

I observed how the vacuum and its accompanying app performed over several weeks, and thankfully, it only required occasional major cleaning interventions at this time.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed August 2024

• View at Narwal
• View at Amazon US

Narwal Freo X Plus two-minute review

The Narwal Freo X Plus is a budget-friendly robot vacuum and mop that does many things well, but a few things fairly badly. If you're just looking at the pros and cons list, the score of this review might not make sense as there are plenty more positives than negatives – but those few negatives can make for a frustrating experience. 

If you're willing to put in the time to understand this model, it could potentially be one of the best robot vacuums for you, especially if you're on a budget. After all, most of the best vacuums that include mopping ability are not going to be this cheap, unless you get something manual like the Bissell CrossWave OmniForce. When it comes to robot vacuums specifically, the price tag for great performance, feature set, and overall functionality goes way up.

The vacuuming performance of the Narwal Freo X Plus is very solid. However, like most budget models that just pull a single stationary pad across the floor, its mopping capability is just passable. Still, you'll generally end up with clean floors. 

However, the Narwal Freo X Plus seems to have a mind of its own. Unless you just set it to clean your whole space in the most thorough way possible, you'll end up with incomplete cleaning cycles. Or it might decide to head off on a different, unassigned job.

At least it has a tiny base station, so that the Narwal Freo X Plus is easier to place than most robot vacuums. Another added benefit is that it's possible to pair and use through a voice assistant like Alexa. All in all, the Narwal Freo X Plus is a somewhat capable robot vacuum that comes with some frustrating aspects, such as its erratic cleaning behavior. But they may be worth dealing with if you're on a budget, or just want to be able to do a basic, whole-home clean.

Narwal Freo X Plus robovac review: price & availability

• List price: $399.99 / AU$899 (about £310)
• Launch date: March 2024
• Available: US and Australia

The Narwal Freo X Plus is available in the US and Australia, with a list form of $399.99 / AU$899. That puts it in TechRadar's budget price bracket, which is particularly significant when you consider it offers mopping as well as vacuuming functionality. Of course, whether it's a good value buy or not will depend on whether you're okay dealing with its navigational quirks. It will still deliver fairly clean floors, but can be a pain to deal with.

This is not necessarily unique to the Narwal Freo X Plus, as the recently reviewed Ecovacs Deebot N10 Plus came with its own quirky frustrations, not to mention weaker suction power than the Narwal, and it comes with a higher $649.99 / £499 / AU$999 price tag. It is, however, available in the UK unlike the Narwal, and comes with better mopping ability.

One of the strange things about the Narwal Freo X Plus is the fact that the company's flagship, Narwal Freo X Ultra, offers much better cleaning performance along with a range of other bells and whistles. Granted, that one is far more expensive (the Ultra costs $1,399.99 / AU$2,299 – about £1,110), but it's strange to see issues with the software given that it's coming from the same company.

• Value for money score: 4 out of 5

Narwal Freo X Plus specs

Narwal Freo X Plus robovac review: design

• Compact base station
• Two side brushes and an anti-tangling brush roll
• Single, stationary mop pad

When taking a look at the Narwal Freo X Plus' design, the first thing that jumps out is in regards to its teeny, tiny base station. Since its only function is to charge the robot vacuum and give it a place to rest, it doesn't need to do a lot. Still, it's cute in its own way, not to mention makes it easier to find a good place in your space for the robot vacuum. Bigger models with self-emptying dustbins and water reservoirs, such as the flagship Narwal mentioned earlier, need a lot more space (although, of course, there are benefits of having these capabilities built-in).

As far as the robot vacuum itself, it has the typical rounded shape. There are two side brushes instead of one, giving it a leg up on the vacuuming front compared to models that only have one side brush. The main brush roll is of the anti-tangling kind so you won't find it wrapped with hair, something that's not always considered on budget robot vacuums.

The mop pad is of the single, flat variety that sits along the bottom back half of the unit. While it does apply some downward pressure, it doesn't do much in the way of scrubbing. I'll talk a little more about how this affects its performance below, but just know that this is normal for budget models and that more expensive ones seem to completely abandon this approach in favor of dual spinning mop pads.

Regarding the manual controls, there are just two buttons – a power button and a home button, each with a secondary function (start/pause/resume cleaning and child lock, respectively).

The Narwal Freo X Plus is a fairly sleek looking robot vacuum in its all-white aesthetic. That's partially because it covers its small water reservoir and dustbin with a glossy white top that stays in place due to some cleverly placed magnets. Both the reservoir and dustbin are easily removable and easy to fill up or empty, respectively.

• Design score: 4 out of 5

Narwal Freo X Plus robovac review: performance

• Very good vacuuming
• Mopping is just okay
• Erratic behavior in how it cleans

There are a couple different factors to consider with a robot vacuum's performance, but the core one is vacuuming. Luckily, the Narwal Freo X Plus does a very good job here. Thanks to having two side brushes, it's able to get debris on either side of it. Since it has an anti-tangle brushroll, it's able to tackle aside from charge cords (the kryptonite of all robot vacuums).

I ran this robot vacuum in a house with two French Bulldogs as well as four adult humans, two of whom have long hair, and it did a great job keeping the floor clean, picking up everything from smaller dust-like particles to debris the size of a leaf. It also picked up hair without issue and without any tangling. I even tested it with a pile of sugar and cereal and it took one pass to suck it all up. 

I used it on tile, hardwood floors, and a small but thick bath mat. In terms of just vacuuming, this robot vacuum has the goods regardless of the surface. The Narwal Freo X Plus has 7800 Pa of suction power, which isn't the highest on the market, but based on my tests is still enough to deal with most household cleaning requirements. 

Its mopping capability is a little less stellar. I would actually describe it as okay. Since it has the one pad, it's only applying downward pressure. So, somewhat dried pieces of mud in the foyer that a robot vacuum with spinning mop pads would pick up are unaffected. More frustratingly, unless I used the highest mopping humidity setting, it didn't always wet the entire area it mopped, leaving slightly streaky results. If you are going to use this robot vacuum for mopping, my recommendation is to use the highest settings and be prepared to regularly refill the water reservoir.

As far as getting to the edges, it does well with vacuuming, thanks to those two side brushes, but doesn't really get all that close when mopping.

The object avoidance, on the other hand, is pretty good. It won't necessarily give a wide berth to any randomly placed object but it will brush up against it. When I placed the bath mat down, the Narwal Freo X Plus vacuumed right up to it on all sides before deciding it could tackle it. Only then did it vacuum it.

Where the Narwal Freo X Plus falls short is in how it decides to clean. When I use the Freo Advice setting in the app, it will take the strangest path. Maybe it's only picking up certain debris on its sensor, but it will clean up maybe 20% of the area that it should. Also concerning, when I run to only clean a particular room, it will decide to move onto another room after finishing its initial job and start vacuuming there instead of returning to the base station. It's frustrating enough that I would rather have it clean the entire space instead of attempting to do any kind of spot cleaning.

• Performance score: 3.5 out of 5

Narwal Freo X Plus robovac review: app

• Easy-to-use app
• Mapping has some shortcomings
• Works well with third-party voice support

The Narwal Freo app is pretty straightforward to use, from setup to choosing the kind of cleaning you want to accomplish (vacuum only, vacuum and mop, and vacuum then mop). It's also a fairly attractive looking app. I didn't ever feel lost navigating to various settings, whether it's adjusting the specific cleaning settings such as suction power or mopping humidity or opening up the schedule to plan a cleaning.

The map is pretty easy to use, and you can even see a 3D representation of your mapped space. Of course, it suffers from the same editing shortfalls of a lot of robot vacuum apps, where you're limited on how you partition your space. If you have an open or semi-open floor plan like the space that I often test in, you'll only be able to partition once as you can't section a partitioned space in half.

On the bright side, setting it up with third-party control – I tested it with Amazon Alexa – was fairly easy to do. The only quirk is knowing the very specific phrases that it can understand. “Alexa, run the robot vacuum” doesn't work, while “Alexa, ask my robot to start cleaning” does.

• App score: 4 out of 5

Narwal Freo X Plus robovac review: battery

• Very long battery life
• Will return to base when getting low

Possibly because the Narwal Freo X Plus is a bit lighter on features than more expensive units or possibly because it doesn't have spinning mop pads, its battery life of up to 254 minutes is quite a bit longer than what I usually see with robot vacuums. For reference, most units these days have up to 210 minutes of use.

While that's more than enough battery life for even fairly large spaces, the robot vacuum will return to its base when necessary for an extra charge before continuing on with its task if it's running out of juice.

• Battery score: 5 out of 5

Should you buy the Narwal Freo X Plus robot vacuum?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Narwal Freo X Plus robovac review: also consider

How I tested the Narwal Freo X Plus

To test the Narwal Freo X Plus, I used it for a couple weeks to vacuum and mop the hardwood floors and a bath mat (to simulate carpeting) in my house. I also tested all the features listed in the app, from mapping to scheduling. I took note of how well the vacuum cleaned the edges of a room as well as around obstacles, not to mention running how the handheld vacuum performed.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed September 2024