Narwal Freo Z Ultra

In 2025, the largest robot cleaner brands have thousands of engineers working on just a few products. Most of the top flagship models share similar core functions and the development teams are turning to exotic features which often don't affect the cleaning performance. I really appreciate that on the Freo Z, the Narwal team have focused their innovation on things that make it a better a) robot, b) cleaner. These 'boring' fundamentals are more difficult to explain in writing but are very evident on the floor after the Freo Z has been working.

It is a very premium quality product, both in hardware feel and appearance. It has a weight and sturdiness to it which builds confidence.

The navigation, set-up, and general intelligence are incredible. Many reviewers have chosen the Freo Z Ultra as the best at detecting objects lying on the ground, thanks to its advanced cameras and AI software.

The vacuuming performance is exceptional on both carpets and hard-floors. Most robot vacuums use rubber roller brushes to minimise hair-tangling, however this compromises on cleaning performance on carpet as the bristled pull hair and dust from thick pile carpet. Narwal's unique anti-tangle technology allows the Freo Z to clean deeper into carpet without ever getting any hair tangled around the brush. Without this technology, you would have to remove the brush after most cleans and remove the hair caught with a pair of scissors, so this is vital for hands-free cleaning.

Narwal has revolutionised robot mopping, and as you'd expect on their flagship, the rotational mopping pads are very impressive. They automatically detect the floor type too, raising up on carpet.

The Ultra dock empties the dust from the vacuum and washes the mops. Without this self-washing function, a robot mop tends to smear dirt around the house, however the Freo Z will return to base to wash itself mid-clean. The dock allows for hands-free cleaning for up to 6 weeks (depending on the area of hard-flooring).

12,000 pascals of suction is more than enough. Only a couple of years ago we were impressed by 2,500pa on the S7. That's not to say the Freo Z is 5x better at vacuuming than the S7, however 12,000pa is plenty and as the suction is right on the floor, not going up a tube, it cleans better than most handhelds.

You will still need to clean the skirting boards, and while it has arguably the best object detection in the industry, it's still advisable to pick up cables or any small items.

It can detect pet messes, however there is no robot which is 100% reliable, particularly if the aforementioned mess's shape is not well defined. Issues are very rare but the cleanup is unpleasant.

It is ~$1,000 more than the Freo X Ultra. It has some performance benefits (auto-emptying, on-board water tank, improved object detection), however if budget is a key factor then there may be diminishing returns in most homes.

People who want the best possible result (clean floors, with as little human help as possible). It's a very capable robot in large homes, and equally impressive on both hard-floors or carpets. If you're a first-time robot owner, its intelligence and cleaning performance will certainly impress.