Narwal Freo X Ultra Review: A Powerful Robot Mop Combo With Excellent Navigation

Introduction

The Narwal Freo X Ultra is the annual flagship robot update from Narwal. This new model brings increased suction, additional sensors, a new brush design, and a larger collection bin. Across the board, it is an excellent device. It cleans well, creates incredibly accurate maps, and offers a wide feature set to improve usability.

The only major downsides are less than great low-pile carpet vacuum performance and an inability to empty its own dust bin. Despite these limitations, the overall experience with the Freo X Ultra is fantastic. Mopping performance is arguably the best on the market, and the ability to wash its own mopping pads greatly reduces maintenance.

Who This Product Is For

The Narwal Freo X Ultra is ideal for whole-home cleaning. Its highly customizable features make it a strong fit for households that want to set their own level of cleanliness. It is especially well suited for homes with hard floors, where its mopping performance shines, and for anyone who wants a robot that can navigate around furniture and objects without getting stuck.

If you have significant low-pile carpet areas, this may not be the best choice, as its vacuum performance on that surface was less than ideal. It is also worth noting that the robot requires a complete mapping run before its first cleaning cycle, which adds a small amount of setup effort.

Main Strengths

The Narwal Freo X Ultra performed well across most cleaning tests. In the debris test, it removed 95.5% of debris by weight, which is 3% more than the average of 92.5% based on all debris tests to date. In the edge cleaning test, it removed 97.6% of debris by weight. While the side brushes pushed some debris along the base of the wall, the robot collected it as it traveled down the wall.

In the long hair test, it left only a small amount of hair on the testing surface and had no tangled hair in the roller. The mop test showcased exceptionally good cleaning performance, keeping the office and studio totally dirt-free. The robot also has the ability to lift its mopping pads 12 mm when it detects carpeted surfaces, helping to keep carpets dry during cleaning. This is still a fairly rare feature that appears only on the highest-end robot vacuum mop combos.

Things to Consider Before Buying

There are a few trade-offs to consider before purchasing the Narwal Freo X Ultra. The most notable drawback is in hands-free maintenance. Many robot mop combo vacuums on the market currently come with debris self-emptying base stations. The Freo X Ultra only has the ability to wash its mopping pads but not empty its own dust bin.

Cleaning performance on low-pile carpet was also less than ideal. Additionally, the robot cleaned a bit slower than the average robot vacuum, coming in at 90 minutes for a full cleaning session, compared to the average of around 63 minutes. One small inconvenience noticed during testing was the speed at which the side brushes spin, pushing debris across hardwood floors, though the robot collected the debris with later passes.

Navigation and Mapping

The Narwal Freo X Ultra has exceptional navigation around rooms with lots of furniture or other objects. This is likely because the navigation and mapping systems are extremely accurate. The robot has three sensors: forward, edge, and top radar positioning sensor. Each is equipped with lidar, using what Narwal calls their Lidar SLAM 4.0 to navigate and map the cleaning area. Additionally, the robot comes with an infrared sensor and a structured light sensor to help improve navigation and mapping.

Setup was simple and easy, taking no more than 10 minutes to get the robot unpacked, connected to Wi-Fi, and tanks filled for its first mapping. While most robots can perform a quick mapping sequence while first cleaning, the Narwal requires a complete mapping before the first cleaning cycle. This extra effort leads to an incredibly accurate map, one of the most accurate mappings of the office to date. The companion app is useful and houses many features that aid in controlling the robot, including many customizable cleaning preferences.

Noise Levels

In the noise test, the Narwal Freo X Ultra generated 58.7 dB of noise on the max power mode. This is 9.92 dB lower than the average of 68.6 dB based on all noise tests to date. This makes it a relatively quiet option, especially at higher suction power.

Buying Advice

The Narwal Freo X Ultra is an exceptional robot vacuum mop combo that gives the user the power to set their level of cleanliness. It cleans well, never gets stuck, and returns to base nearly every time. The accurate mapping and wide feature set make it a strong whole-home cleaning system.

If your home is primarily hard flooring and you value excellent mopping performance, this robot is a compelling choice. However, if you have significant low-pile carpet or want a robot that can empty its own dust bin, you may want to weigh those trade-offs carefully.

Conclusion

The Narwal Freo X Ultra is a fantastic robot vacuum mop combo with excellent cleaning performance, standout mopping, and incredibly accurate navigation and mapping. The main downsides are less than great low-pile carpet vacuum performance and the lack of a self-emptying dust bin. For homes with mostly hard floors, this is one of the most capable options available.