Narwal Freo Z Ultra raises the AI bar for Gen 5 robot vac/mops (cleaning review)

The Narwal Freo Z Ultra has raised the bar even higher for AI cleaning and obstacle recognition – arguably even higher than other Gen 5 2024 robots. Brains and beauty as well.

CyberShack has defined robot vacuum/mops in our guide Five tips for choosing a robovac/mop (2024 cleaning guide) to help you understand the differences between Gen 1 Dumbots to Gen 5 Brainybots and the latest techniques to achieve one-pass, whole-of-home cleaning nirvana.

The guide helps you to decide what features you need and sets price expectations accordingly.

Gen 5 denotes a high level of intelligence, sensors and reliable unattended cleaning ability. Narwal Freo Z Ultra surpasses all expectations for a premium, unattended, reliable, one-pass, whole-of-home robot vacuum/mop.

It competes with the best: Ecovacs Deebot X5 Pro Omni and Dreame X40 Ultra. Frankly, while Ecovacs and Dreame are excellent, and you would be ecstatic with either, this has the edge.

Why has Narwal Freo Z Ultra raised the bar? All panellists commented:

• The mopping was the best yet. It relentlessly attacks dirty floors and cleans/mops until they are clean. It removes more dried-on stains than others.
• AI gets to know the home and adopts smarter cleaning patterns after a few uses.
• While it lacks an extendable mop pad and whiskers, the triangle-shaped rotating mops and its ‘crabwalk’ get very close to the edges on hard floors.
• It has both a left and right whisker and left and right edge sensors.
• Obstacle detection was amazing! Shoelaces, USB cables, power cables, small building blocks (as small as 5 x 5mm) and much more. The dual RGB cameras and dual AI chips identify 120+ objects, including pet poo!
• It seems to have a mind of its own, lifting the mop over dry messes and lowering it for wet messes. The whiskers can independently start and stop spinning. It will detect messes and adopt a cleaning strategy, including rotation over the mess, XY cleaning (dual directions) and more.
• The lift-out ‘dry’ robot dustbin is interesting.
• The app is comprehensive and yet easy to use.
• The base station has electrolysed water (Ionised), a detergent dispenser, 45-75° mop washing and sterilising.
• Zero tangle brush handled the longest pet hair very well. There is also a Pet Program.
• 12mm mop lift over carpets is excellent.
• 12000 Pa suction is excellent.
• The cute furry baseboard cleaners are not a gimmick and remove dust from the edges.
• On looks alone, it beats the rest.

As a reviewer, I am more objective, but I have never had each of the four panellists lobby so hard to ‘keep it’. My take: Seriously, the best implementation of AI yet.

With apologies to the Narwal Freo X Ultra

We reviewed its predecessor Narwal Freo X Ultra – robovac/mop has an exciting design in August 2024, and we said it was a damned sexy-looking beast with svelte and curvy lines of its cleaning station – on looks alone, it is a winner.

However, we were disappointed that the hype did not match reality. We downgraded it to a Gen 4 because it did not compete with entry-level or premium Gen 5 robots. It was overpriced and underfeatured.

Narwal has addressed every issue we found, making the Narwal Freo Z Ultra the best Gen 5 robot of 2024.

Australian Review: Narwal Freo Z Ultra robovac/mop/cleaning station

Website	CyberShack tech cleaning news and reviews
RRP 9/12/24	$2499 but seen as low as $2299
Colours	White or Gray
From	Narwal, Bing Lee, Woolworths Marketplace, Big W, Amazon
Warranty	Two years (30-day return and 45-day replacement)
Support	WeChat, SMS, Call, email
Company	Narwal Robotics Corp is a Chinese company located in Dongguan and managed by founder Junbin Zhang. It was a startup in 2016, and its first products were crowdfunded in 2019. Its investors include DJI, Tencent, and ByteDance (TikTok).
More	CyberShack tech cleaning news and reviews

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed. You can click on most images for an enlargement.

First Impression – Exceed

All four panellists commented on the Narwal Freo Z Ultra exquisite design and finish. Its soft curves, thoughtful design, and ability to house the robot fully inside the base are bonuses.

CyberShack handles the tech side, and panellists raved about the dual AI cameras, exceptional obstacle recognition, 12000 Pa suction, and the best clean yet. Although it was slower than other robots (we will explain why later), its comprehensive cleaning more than compensated.

Frankly, it is a round robot-approx. 350mm round x 110mm high x 4.5kg. It is a little higher than competitors, so if you have lower overhanging cupboards, you can find lower ones like the Ecovacs Deebot X5 Omni.

The base station is 30.8 x 462 x 388.3 mm x 12.3kg.

Sensors – Exceed Gen 5 requirements

• 3D, 360° LiDAR turret
• Dual RGB front AI cameras that give a 3D binocular image and dual AI NPU chips for Dual AI dodge (no other has this)
• Tri-laser structured light to aid cameras
• Left and right Laser IR edge detectors
• Bumper Sensor
• LED headlights
• Ultrasonic carpet/floor detection
• IR cliff detectors
• Various sensors in the base
• AI DirectSense 2.0 has various sensors to detect wet and dry messes, vary wetness, suction power, etc.
• Freo Mind AI-driven cleaning

Quick map – Exceed

Panellists reported that 100-120m2 maps take about 6 minutes to complete. The map is very accurate, and it attempts to name the rooms, identify floor types, and identify furniture (like beds). You can edit floor types, room names, heavily soiled rooms, split, merge, set zones, etc.

We had one issue with the master bedroom. It would enter and sniff around but not vacuum the carpet. The map had identified it as ‘Cross Carpet,’ meaning it was not to be vacuumed. Once we figured that out, we changed it to vacuum, which it did very well.

App – Pass+

• Device: Location, area unit, network, privacy
• Freo Mind: Intensive cleaning for dirty areas, mopping passes, edge mode, base station detergent, suction power, coverage precision
• Clean: Mop wash by area or room, house clean sequence
• General: Stairless mode, Do Not Disturb, High altitude mode, Child Lock, Pets
• Base station: Detergent, dustbag bacterial control, dustbag health, mop drying options, default cleaning modes, smart temperature wash, smart robot dustbin empty
• Map editing: Create maps for multi-story homes, Add furniture and obstacles to maps
• Create a custom cleaning schedule
• View cleaning history
• View through camera
• Manually control the robot
• Manage accessory life

Obstacle recognition – Exceed

It recognises 120+ obstacles and objects as small as 5mm, including furniture (sofas, beds, tables, chairs, carpets, etc.), obstacles (wires, plastic bags, paper, dirt), dirt (liquids, cat litter, pet faeces), and pets.

It has two settings: Intelligent and Safe. Safe increases the bypass distance to reduce the chance of collisions but can leave a larger, uncleaned area. Since it did not seem overly boisterous or bumpy, we selected intelligent.

To achieve this, it has dual 1600×1200 1080p FHD 136° FOV cameras that provide a wide-angle view of its surroundings and a Tri-IR cross-path laser. Paired with dual AI chips, it makes real-time and precise navigation and cleaning decisions. It also has LED lights for dark areas.

It also recognises hazards, including pet waste and delicate objects, and adjusts the cleaning path accordingly.

The map can include real images of obstacles that are encrypted and deleted once no longer needed.

We also ran the mop through a torture test, leaving all manner of small obstacles. It found and avoided them all. It also passed all our unattended cleaning tests.

Camera Mode – Pass+

The camera’s video footage remains on the device—not in its cloud. The camera is important to help identify unknown obstacles or where the device may get stuck—not that it did.

It can act as a sentry or record a video of your clean.

Carpet recognition – Pass+

It can recognise carpets up to 20mm thick. The mop lifts 12 mm and vacuums a less than 7mm pile length. It will ‘cross over’ thick carpets without mopping, but the pads may leave some moisture. You can also set it to ignore feature rugs.

Mop – Pass+

Unlike most robots, it does not have an internal water tank. I can’t debate whether that is good or bad as some robots only have 50ml and some 250ml.

 The main downside is that it returns to the base every 8/10/12m2 or after each room (user-selectable) for a mop wash. This adds about 2 minutes per mop wash and takes cleaning time to about 2 minutes per m2. Of course, the Freo Mind also adds time – it won’t give up until an area is clean.

The main upside is that it is much cleaner than a mop with an internal reservoir that covers two to three times the area before returning to the base for a wash.

Mop efficiency – Exceed with or without floor cleaner

All panellists commented on the excellent mopping – perhaps the best yet. The 180RPM rotating mops have a 1.2kg downward force (like most Gen 5), but the Freo Mind make the most of cleaning and repetitive cleaning.

Its AI mopping is impressive. We have relatively clean floors (as we test robot vacuums all the time), but its sensors found dirt and grime that others had left. After several runs, it stopped focusing on specific areas—they now met its standard.

I particularly like the water electrolysis feature, which passes DC through the water to create ionised water for mop washing and mopping. It is highly efficient, and you can see the indicator light and bubbles through the base station window.

Mop Drying – Exceed but lengthy

Strong Drying takes 4 hours. Silent Drying takes 5 hours. You can also choose Smart Drying, with Strong Drying for daily use and Silent Drying during Do Not Disturb hours.

Floor cleaner – not absolutely necessary with ionised water

The Narwal Lemon and Basil floor cleaner comes in a 580ml tank that fits into the base station. Our engineer panellist says it is safe, non-irritant and contains a 5% solution in water of non-ionic surfactants (detergent/grease cutting and won’t leave a soap scum), Limonene (perfume), and Phenoxyethanol (germicidal). His only gripe is that it is not refillable!

There are settings to use the solution every time or every 7/14 days. We have no stats on how long it lasts (dilution ratio) or the current A$ pricing (expected under $30 from AliExpress)

Base station – Exceed

Apart from its curvy looks, it is one of the few that houses the robot inside the station. It also dries the dustbin bag to reduce odours and mould.

The station intelligently adjusts the mop washing water temperature based on the dirt (optical sensor) in the wastewater and the mop washing cycle without needing manual adjustment.

It frequently washes the mop using the 4L clean water tank in about 100m2. After each use, you must refill and empty the waste water tank.

• Adaptive hot water 45-75° heat mop washing
• 40° heat dry
• Floor solution dispenser
• Ionised water
• 2.5L dustbin empties 300ml robot internal
• 5L clean water – no internal robot water tank
• 4.5L wastewater tank
• Base station Up to 71dB

The robot’s removable collection bin has another plastic bin inside it. There are spares of this bin, a spare filter, and a base station bust bag inbox.

Edge clean – Pass

There are two forms of edge cleaning.

Vacuum only where the 15cm brush can reach within 100mm of an edge. Two side whiskers sweep detritus into the vacuum path, so they are better than one. The left side whisker increases speed. However, you still need a stick vacuum for the edges.

Mopping uses two rotating triangle-shaped mop pads that have an edge 10-12mm outside the robot. A crab-walk wiggle (called EdgeSwing) is relatively successful in mopping within 1cm of the wall.

An interesting furry baseboard cleaner pad attaches to the robot’s right side and electrostatically captures baseboard dust.

AI DirtSense 2.0 and Freo Mind – Exceed

These deserve special mention because whatever they are and however they work – they do a great job. Narwal calls this Human Vision – AI decisions.

Essentially, the dual AI chips have over 4 TOPs (trillion operations per second) to decide on the best way to clean an area. This could include mop lift (for dry messes), mop down (for wet messes), rotating brush stop, horizontal and vertical cross-path cleaning, 1 or 2X passes (or more), circular cleaning, and more.

Pet Mode

Pet-Friendly Cleaning Mode allows the robot to avoid areas where pets are resting or playing. It will prioritise other areas and return to pet zones when they are unoccupied.

Voice control – basic

It has Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, or Apple Siri commands. These include start/pause/stop/resume, specific room cleaning, finding a robot, and returning home.

Supported room names include master bedroom, guest bedroom, living room, kitchen, bathroom, restroom, balcony, study, dining room, closet, hallway, children’s room, entertainment room, and storage room. To use room cleaning commands, ensure the room names in the map match the supported names.

Cleaning tests – Exceed

Tests are on defaults with single and dual pass modes

• Hardwood vacuum/mop 94/96% (minor edges only)
• Low pile vacuum 78/90%
• High pile 76/87%
• Long hair 90/96%
• Edge Cleaning crabwalk mop – within 1cm of the edge
• Edge cleaning vacuum only – 10cm of the edge
• Corner cleaning: Like all round robots cannot do corners.
• Sill negotiation: 20mm

Noise – Pass+

Power Level	Noise Level
Ambient	42 dB
Quiet	51 dB
Normal	53 dB
Strong	65 dB
Super Powerful	66 dB
Self Empty	69 dB

Energy use – Pass+

• Charging: 45W
• Water heating:1100W
• Dustbin empty: 450W
• Mop drying: 45W
• Battery 14.4V/5A/72Wh
• Charge time: About 3 hours
• Run time (defaults): Claim 160 minutes maximum but typically about 100-120 minutes

Inbox – Pass

• Side brush (pair)
• Base station power cord
• Floor detergent
• Extension ramp
• Dustbin filter
• Base station dustbag
• Baseboard cleaning module
• Baseboard rags (3)
• Replaceable insert bin
• Product Manual

Maintenance – Pass, but watch out for expensive consumables

Narwal AU only has a $399 accessory pack with 6 mop pads, 3 dustbags, 2 pairs of right/left whiskers, 1 roller brush, 2 internal bin filters, 3 dry dustbin boxes, and 2 floor cleaning solutions.

We can’t assess if this is good value but have used Narwal US pricing (.6 A$ plus 10% GST) estimates below:

 We advise you to look to AliExpress, eBay, or Amazon, where prices seem far more reasonable.

Task	Description	Est. Cost
Robot Dust Bin	Empty dust bin as needed	$35 (2)
Brush roll	Remove tangles and any obstructions	$55
Filter	Periodically clean and replace as needed	$65 (2)
Dock Debris Bag	Replace as needed (2-3 times a year)	$35 (2)
Mopping Detergent	Replace as needed (optional)	$55
Mop Pads	Wash and replace as needed	$35 (2)
Spinning Side Brush	Clean and replace as needed	$55 (2)
Dock Water Tanks	Fill the clean tank and empty the dirty tank as needed	N/A
Baseboard antistatic pads	Wash and replace as needed	$35 (4)

Build quality – Exceed

It is well-made and designed for a long life. Although it does not list a replacement battery, third-party batteries are available for about A$150.

CyberShack’s view: Narwal Freo Z Ultra surprised us all – it takes Gen 5 to the next level

The four panellists use the best from Ecovacs, Dreame, Eufy, Roborock, and more. They know what to expect.

The current top Gen 5 is the Dreame X50 (Dreame X40 Ultra – adds a new dimension to cleaning), with the Ecovacs X5 Omni (Ecovacs Deebot X5 Pro Omni – its best yet for one-pass, whole-of-home cleaning) not too far behind. These two have proven that they can do unattended, one-pass, whole-of-home vacuuming and mopping, giving excellent results. You would be happy with either.

Narwal takes Gen 5 to a new level with far better obstacle recognition and handling, mopping performance, AI Dirt Sense 2.0, a better app, and much more.

Its downsides are that it is slower (but does a better job) and does not quite match the Dreame X40’s or Ecovacs X5 edge/corner cleaning prowess. On default settings, you may not see the results we obtained. For example, we set dual passes on carpets and tweaked a few settings. Overall, Freo Mind got shaper the more we used it.

Ironically, as I have said on many occasions, today’s news is tomorrow’s fish and chip wrap. While Narwal now holds the lead, you can bet that the others plan to eclipse that and announce new innovations at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2025 (which we won’t see in stores for several months after).

Narwal Freo Z Ultra Ratings

• Features: 95 It takes Gen 5 to a new level
• Value: 90 – Fair and comparable price
• Performance: 95 – exceeds mopping and meets vacuum standards
• Ease of use: 85 – The app is comprehensive and easy to use, but you can get better results from tweaking some settings.
• Design:  85- It is a round robot with a wider cleaning roller, and the base station is a work of art.

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