Narwal got its start a few years back having the world’s first self-cleaning robot mop & vac. Since then, we have started to see this apply to various other robovac companies. Narwal’s flagship the Freo X Ultra looks to do that and a lot more. Can it be considered one of the best of the slew of robovacs?
Setup
When I initially received the large Freo X Ultra box I’m like this will be huge. But to my surprise unboxing it, the base station is compact and sleek with its curves. It is glossy so the light hitting makes it pop and is easy to wipe off. This makes it stand out from your typical base stations you see for robovacs. It has handles on the sides if you need to move it around and on top is a touch panel for simple controls.
As far as assembly it required me to connect the power plug, remove the clean water bucket, and add the Floor Cleaner that goes in a compartment on that same side. Also making sure to fill the Clean Water bucket with water and placing it back in. The robovac just needed some protective foam to be removed and then attaching its side brushes. The mop pads were already connected. Once all this is done you want to position the robovac in the base station for charging and any updates that may occur.
Narwal Freo X Ultra comes with Floor Cleaner, Side Brushes (2), Mop Pads (2), and Dust Bin. There were also (3) disposable Dust Bags as well.
Freo’s Mind Set to Clean
This robovac has a lot going for it to make sure you have the cleanest space possible. When setting it up for a clean if using the app, you will see it illustrates a cool looking algorithm and then off it goes. It has features such as DirtSense which will be able to identify just how dirty any area is and if necessary, will repeatedly go over it till satisfied. There is EdgeSwing which will have the mop heads extend out a bit and get those sides and corners. It uses LiDAR 4.0 which will give you a 360 scan of your area and then mix that with its tri-lasering it is a recipe for success.
On its initial run the Freo X Ultra will navigate your whole living area not cleaning but just scanning and taking in data. As I see with other vacs it broke it down into five sections. That would be the kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, and my living room 2x. After that it will go back to base and prep itself for its first cleaning with mopping and vacuuming. You have options later to do Vac & Mop, Vac then Mop, Vac Only, and Mop Only.
Freo Puts in that Mop & Vacuuming Work
This device is sufficient in getting the job done. I watched it go in one room and mop multiple times with it going back to clean the mops, refill, and continue for several trips showing its dedication to DirtSense. Its suction power is 8200Pa and it manages to get debris in front, the sides, and even from the back sometimes. Its Zero Hair Tangling brush is nice but since I don’t have long hair, it was more useful for saving myself from vacuuming any unwanted items. I didn’t find the vac to be loud either while cleaning or you can put the suction levels if you like.
When dumping the dirt water, I was expecting a foul smell but surprisingly it wasn’t as the lemon scented floor cleaner neutralized it. I have been using dust bags which you don’t have to change for 7 weeks, and it holds true as it compacts all that debris. But there is a Dust Bin option if you want to use that after running out of bags.
I like how the Freo X Ultra navigates around corners and obstacles with ease besides two things. There were some wires under my TV stand it just couldn’t detect and sucked up a couple times (I ended blocking it off), and my Withings scale in my bathroom which is made of glass and looks in similar color to the floor. It would end up vacuuming right on top of it (I removed it). I will it would tell me sometimes when its in peril.
The app itself gives you options on how to clean but it also will give you notifications and status bars of when to replace the mop heads, the dust bin, refill the floor cleaner, etc. It will tell you how many cycles items are left which is helpful.
Verdict
Narwal’s Freo X Ultra impressed me. It has a cool droid-esque looking base station, and it oversees mopping and vacuuming fantastically. DirtSense is quite the sight as it focuses on an area till its deemed clean and it sufficiently cleans the mop heads and compacts debris which leaves little maintenance on your end. While all is great it is one of the costliest robovacs I have used retailing at $1399. There are deals where I have seen it drop as low as $1099 if you keep your eyes peeled on Amazon and other retailers. But if you are looking for the ultimate cleaning machine… this might be it.
Unboxing of the Narwal Freo X Ultra can be seen on TikTok / Instagram
