Narwal Freo X Ultra Robot Vacuum Review

Build quality is impressive. The vacuum is made of thick, high-density plastic with a mix of glossy and matte finishes. Premium touches abound, including its mop pads, which are made from silver ion cloth, which supposedly has anti-microbial properties. There's no door to access the dustbin compartment. Instead, the entire top cover is held in place with magnets and can just be lifted off.

It isn't all good news, however. The optional disposable dustbag that can be mounted in its dirt compartment is made from a thin, fragile material that rips very easily.

In testing, following two mop wash cycles, the dirty water tank within the self-clean station started to overflow due to a deformed rubber gasket around its intake. As a result, water pooled around the dock (another view can be seen here), which is obviously undesirable if you were to set this unit up on a wooden floor or near a rug or carpet, and prevented the mop pads from drying properly. Narwal has a troubleshooting guide on their YouTube channel to help identify the cause of this issue and rectify it. That said, let us know if you also have a Narwal Freo X Ultra and run into the same issue.

User maintenance requirements are fair overall. There are quite a few parts that need to be cleaned periodically, but for the most part, everything is very easy to get to. Even components like the side brush and castor wheel, normally components that require quite a bit of force to remove on other units, can be pulled free without the need for any tools. The dustbin opens from the bottom and can make a bit of a mess when emptied. Thankfully, the optional dust bag makes this process a little more hygienic. Since the docking station handles the mop-washing process, you won't have to do this yourself. While the brushroll does a good job of resisting hair wraps, it's worth noting that it doesn't take much hair to jam the inlet to its dirt compartment. If you'd like to see a full breakdown of the maintenance procedures for this unit, you can view a PDF copy of its user manual here.

Similarly, the docking station has quite a few parts that need regular cleaning, but they're all readily accessible. You can remove its clean water, dirty water, detergent tanks, and cleaning tray with minimal fuss. Beyond rinsing the tray, dirty water tank, and filter sponge, there isn't that much to actually do in terms of regular maintenance. Narwal's YouTube channel also has a trio of video guides explaining how to take care of the dock, which detail how to install the tray, add detergent, and wash the dirty water tank. The manufacturer also offers a kit that allows you to hook up the dock for continuous water supply, so you won't have to fill up its clean water tank manually.

This unit incurs high recurring costs.

• Brushrolls: The brushrolls need replacing after 300 hours of use. Replacements can be purchased here.
• Side brush: The side brush has a service life of 150 hours or approximately after three months of use. You can buy a pair of replacement brushes here.
• Dustbin filter: No specific replacement interval is given for the dustbin filter, with the manufacturer stating only that it needs to be replaced regularly. You can buy a replacement here.
• Dustbin dirtbag: The optional dirtbag for the vacuum's dustbin has an advertised capacity of seven weeks, partly due to the docking station's debris compression system. That said, you're likely going to need to replace it more often than that, especially if you have a heavily shedding pet. You can buy a three-pack of replacements here.
• Mop cloths: You should replace the mop cloth after 150 hours of use. Replacements can be bought in packs of two, as seen here.
• Detergent: If you're using detergent, you'll need to buy a fresh bottle when the reservoir runs out. You can buy a 31oz (930ml) bottle here.

If you'd prefer to buy these parts as part of a bundle, Narwal offers two types. Accessory Pack 01 comes with:

• 6x Dirtbags
• 1x pair of Side brushes
• 2x Docking station sponge filters (not listed as a part that needs to be replaced)
• 2x Dustbin filters
• 6x Mop cloths
• 2x 31oz (930ml) Detergent bottles

The cheaper Accessory Pack 02 comes with:

• 6x Dirtbags
• 4x Mop cloths
• 2x 31oz (930ml) Detergent bottles

The Narwal Freo X Ultra takes up a fair amount of room, though admittedly less than some other alternatives with multifunction docks. The dock is very wide, but it doesn't actually stick out that far, with the vacuum berth being very deep.

This vacuum's dustbin has a relatively good capacity. The optional disposable dirtbags have a capacity of 800ml, a little less than the advertised capacity of 1L but still way more than the majority of other conventional robovacs on the market. If you don't use the dirtbag, the dustbin still has a relatively substantial 700ml capacity, far more than most other robot vacuums on the market. The dock's debris compression system supposedly allows the vacuum to hold seven weeks' worth of debris, but you likely need to empty the vacuum out far more regularly than that if you have a heavily shedding pet.

Note: The Narwal's dirt compression system doesn't slot neatly into our conventional testing methodology, but to provide anecdotal data, we conducted our own real-world multi-week test to determine its efficacy. The location of this test was an apartment with an approximate floor space of 1100 sqft (≈102 sqm), with three occupants and two cats, one of which sheds heavily and the other that does not. The vacuum's dirtbag was completely filled after 25 days, at which point it could no longer collect any more debris. Within that period, the Narwal collected 84.5g of hair and debris. This falls well short of the advertised claim of the dustbin having room for seven weeks' worth of debris from regular cleaning sessions.

The docking station doesn't have a self-empty functionality like a lot of other robot vacuums in a similar price bracket. The Narwal instead compresses debris within its own dustbin, with the end goal of minimizing mechanical complexity, noise, and the chance of clogs. The dock instead serves to wash and dry the vacuum's mopping pads. Unfortunately, it doesn't heat the water to help sanitize those pads during the wash cycle.

Vacuum components

• Narwal Freo X Ultra vacuum
• Vacuum dustbin
• 1x Cyclonic Deflector Tangle-free Roller Brush
• Brushroll cover
• Robot top cover
• 3x Disposable dirtbags
• 1x Dustbin filter
• 2x Mop pad mounts
• 2x Mop pads

Base Station components

• Base station
• Clean water tank
• Dirty Water Tank
• Cleaning base with tray
• Dock power cable

Various accessories

• 1x 31oz (930ml) Detergent bottle
• User Manual

The Narwal Freo X Ultra has great battery performance. It can run for just under an hour and a half in its 'Super Powerful' setting. Setting it to the low-power 'Quiet' mode extends its battery life to over four hours, which is more than sufficient for cleaning larger spaces. It also recharges much faster than alternatives like the Dreame L10s Ultra. Unfortunately, there's no way of quickly checking battery status at a quick glance; you'll need to open the app to do that.

This is a pretty feature-packed device. The standout feature is its 'Freo Mind' system, which enables a number of 'smart' features. With this setting enabled, the unit will return to its dock to wash its mop pads after cleaning every room to avoid cross-contamination, repeatedly mop an area if it identifies there's heavier soiling, turns on an edge-cleaning mode to wiggle around edges, change its suction setting depending on the surface it's on, and even adjust the water flow to its mop pads depending on ambient humidity. If you'd like to tweak parameters individually, there are four levels of suction power, three levels of mop water flow, and three different pathing settings.

This vacuum does a good job of cleaning hard floors. It can clear away the majority of bulky debris like cereal and does fairly well with medium-sized debris like rice as well. That said, it does tend to leave behind some material against walls or in corners.

This vacuum delivers decent performance on high-pile carpet. It's good at dealing with medium-sized and large debris like rice or cereal on this surface type. However, it really struggles with finer debris like sand.

We initially encountered some difficulty testing this vacuum on our black sample carpet, as its cliff sensors would trigger and cause it to stop moving. To get around this issue, we covered the sensors with two layers of paper and gaffer tape. This isn't a solution we recommend for actual day-to-day use, but it's worth keeping in mind if you have a home with especially dark-colored carpets.

Performance on low-pile carpet is poor. As with its performance on high-pile carpet, it really struggles with finer debris like sand, though it does do fairly well in clearing away larger material.

We initially encountered some difficulty testing this vacuum on our black sample carpet, as its cliff sensors would trigger and cause it to stop moving. To get around this issue, we covered the sensors with two layers of paper and gaffer tape. This isn't a solution we recommend for actual day-to-day use, but it's worth keeping in mind if you have a home with especially dark-colored carpets.

This vacuum does a poor job of dealing with pet hair on low-pile carpet. It does very little to lift away hair that's been gently pressed into carpet fibers.

This vacuum doesn't exert all that much in the way of suction force, though this isn't unusual for a robot vacuum; its suction inlet is positioned too high above the ground to generate a tight seal on bare surfaces, so real-world suction measurements are quite low.

It's worth noting that this vacuum's 'Maximum Head Suction' was achieved using the 'Super Powerful' suction setting. There's an even more potent 'Vortex' mode, which is only accessible when the vacuum's Freo Mind feature is enabled, but we were unable to have the vacuum run properly on our test rig with the latter feature enabled.

We weren't able to evaluate the Narwal Freo X Ultra's airflow performance on our test rig, as it doesn't start if the vacuum is unable to determine its current position and move.

This vacuum is fantastically quiet. You'll hear what people nearby are saying even when the vacuum is running in its most powerful suction mode.

This vacuum has decent maneuverability. Its LIDAR mapping sensor allows for reasonably quick mapping performance, and it's impressively thorough overall. It's capable of cleaning close to obstructions like furniture legs or coat racks. It's fitted with structured light sensors that allow it to spot obstacles: it's fairly accurate in practice, correctly identifying a thick carpet as a potential obstacle, but that didn't stop it from getting close to said carpet and getting stuck. It's also worth noting that its LIDAR sensor is a little taller than the norm, and it can get stuck when trying to clean under especially low tables and chairs.

We weren't able to evaluate the Narwal Freo X Ultra's particle filtration performance on our test rig, as it doesn't start if the vacuum is unable to determine its current position and move. For what it's worth, Narwal claims the built-in filters for the disposable dirtbags are HEPA-rated.

This vacuum does a poor job of cleaning crevices in its 'Normal' suction setting. It isn't quite powerful enough to draw debris out of deeper cracks, and its side brushes can fling some lighter debris outwards. Running the vacuum in the 'Super Powerful' suction results in a minor improvement in performance.

This vacuum's stain-clearing performance is mediocre with the mop dampness level set to 'Normal,' pathing set to 'Standard,' and opting for two passes. The vacuum will return to its dock periodically to re-wet its pads during a mopping job. It doesn't do that much after running a single job, but running a secondary job does result in improved overall performance.

If you use the Freo Mind setting, the vacuum will automatically give more attention to areas with higher soil and only stop mopping after it's been cleaned.

At the end of the unit's cleaning cycle, it'll return to its dock to have its mop pads cleaned and dried. You can see how the pads looked before the automatic clean cycle here, and after the clean cycle here.

It's worth noting that we encountered several navigational issues while testing this vacuum within the confines of the boundary box. We repeatedly conducted several runs with detergent, but they didn't adequately reflect its overall performance with the unit moving in an inconsistent, erratic pattern that caused it to miss the stain in the middle of the floor. It exhibited far more consistent navigational behavior in a second run. The cause of this issue is likely partly due to the relatively small dimensions of the boundary box. We were only able to achieve the results posted above following 18 separate re-tests. Still, let us know in the discussions below if you also have a Narwal Freo X Ultra and have run into a similar set of issues.

The Narwal Freo X Ultra isn't designed to deal with large amounts of standing water. Its mop cloths can only absorb a small amount of liquid.

The Narwal Freo X Ultra has relatively few physical automation capabilities. There are just two buttons on the vacuum itself, though the dock also has some physical controls. The 'Start/Stop' button also works as an on/off switch, while the 'Recall' button sends the vacuum back to its dock. On the topic of the dock, it washes and dries the vacuum's mop pads and compresses debris within its internal dustbin.

The Narwal Freo app is impressively feature-rich. After the vacuum has mapped your home, you can use the app to view the robot's position, add no-go zones, split, merge, and label rooms, add furniture to the map, or set surface types (you can choose between carpet, tile, general floor, hardwood floor, tatami, marble, or cobblestone). The robot will automatically adjust mopping pressure based on floor type or lift its mop pads on carpet. You can also tweak the dock's behavior, configuring it to automatically add detergent to the cleaning mix, air dry debris in the dustbin, set the intensity of the mop pad drying feature, or adjust the order in which the vacuum approaches mixed cleaning jobs (vacuum and mop simultaneously, vacuum then mop, vacuum only, or mop only). You can also enable push notifications for general maintenance and cleaning, check cleaning history, or enable more specialized cleaning settings, like 'Stairless Mode,' which disables the cliff sensors for improved climbing performance, or 'High-Altitude Mode,' which boosts fan power and is intended for use in homes that are 2000 meters above sea level.

Unfortunately, the app is also saddled with an unintuitive interface and a few annoying quirks. Not only does it not automatically adapt to different stored maps when moved to another floor, it can also have trouble recognizing the very same map it just finished mapping. There's no way of adjusting the sensitivity of its obstacle avoidance system to weed out false positives, and it doesn't display detected obstructions on its coverage map. The unit can also only store a single 'primary' map that supports the use of the 'Freo Mind' mode; secondary maps don't support this feature. You also can't make changes to the cleaning parameters while the vacuum is running on a secondary map. It also doesn't automatically update changes like moving furniture, rugs, or other obstacles. In testing, for instance, it refused to mop an area where a carpet had previously been set up, even after the floor type was changed from carpet to general flooring.