We first spotted the Narwal Freo X Ultra at CES earlier this year and finally got our hands on one to review. The Freo X Ultra has some standout features, particularly in its mopping capabilities, but also a few shortcomings that are worth noting. Today, we’ll take a closer look at its performance, who should buy it, and if its mopping performance earned it a spot in our coveted Top 20 Best Robot Vacuums list. (Spoiler alert – it did!)
The Narwal Freo X Robot Vacuum Mop Combo is an impressive choice for those with mostly hard floors who prioritize mopping performance. Its standout feature is its mopping ability, using two uniquely shaped spinning mop pads that deliver high downward pressure, achieving a top 10 score in our mopping tests. Its auto mop wash station, capable of washing, drying, and replenishing its mop pads with water and detergent, adds to its convenience. Additionally, its battery life is excellent, allowing extensive coverage in a single charge. It does have some shortcomings, but despite the cons, it offers strong suction and efficient debris pickup, making it a solid choice for those focusing on mopping.
- Active hair removal
- Lifts mop on carpet
- Mops to edge
- Washes and dries mop
- Tri-Laser obstacle avoidance
- Advanced mapping technology
- AI DirtSense technology
- Room Select
- No debris auto-empty
- Struggles with deep carpet cleaning.
- Struggles with certain furniture types
Mopping Performance
Right off the bat, it’s clear that the Narwal Freo X Ultra was designed with mopping in mind. It uses two spinning mop pads that are somewhat oddly shaped, which is all part of Narwal’s patented system to prevent missed spots while mopping. Narwal states that these pads exert 12 Newtons of downward pressure, double that of many competitors.
We put the Freo X Ultra through various mopping stain evaluations, including our new standardized stain evaluations, where it got a 113 out of 176—which is higher than average.
Mopping Features
Some of the mopping features include its auto mop wash station, which automatically washes and dries its mop pads and replenishes the water tank with clean water and detergent. It also has a self-cleaning feature and a removable tray for periodic deep cleanings.
Additional useful mopping features that come with the Freo X Ultra include:
- A sensor that can monitor how dirty the mop pads are and initiate more washings if needed.
- Its mop pads lift up 12 mm automatically (which is higher than average) when it senses carpets so it can vacuum carpets and mop hard floors in the same run—an important feature to have.
When we total its mopping features with its stain evaluation scores, the Narwal Freo X Ultra landed squarely in third place on our Top 10 Best Robot Mops. Keep in mind that this list only takes into account mopping-related data, unlike our overall Top 20 Best Robot Vacuums list, which scores all features.
Battery Life
The Narwal Freo X Ultra impressed us with its long-lasting battery life. Narwal claims it can run for up to 208 minutes on low power, which is much higher than average. And in our real-world battery efficiency evaluations, it got a top-two score at almost two minutes per percentage point, which averages out to about 1,438 ft² per charge—a top-three score, though your mileage may vary.
Power Scores
Its raw power was also a pro. The Freo X Ultra had higher-than-average suction in our evaluations. It also had an average amount of airflow and an average score in our crevice pickup assessment.
Its surface debris pickup was also good. We evaluated it on both hard floors and carpets with large and fine debris and found that it was very good at sweeping up all the types and sizes we threw at it. The Freo X Ultra even did well with pet and human hair.
The Narwal Freo X Ultra is an impressive choice for those who prioritize mopping performance. Its powerful mopping capabilities, advanced mop station, and solid battery life make it a standout for homes with primarily hard floors.
Vacuum Wars
Cons of the Narwal Freo X Ultra
Our Narwal Freo X Ultra review wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t discuss the potential drawbacks. Here are some considerations.
Obstacle Avoidance
One possible drawback is the obstacle avoidance system.
Narwal calls theirs the “TR Laser System,” which is mounted on the front of the robot, and it performed poorly in our evaluations. It scored just 5 out of 12 points in our standard obstacle assessment and 3 out of 12 in our torture assessment. It ranks among the worst for avoiding objects on the floor.
Robot Vacuum Navigation
Another con was its navigation. While it did make a good map of our floor plan and was generally smart with its path selection, it was slow. It took longer than normal to complete its job, especially when mopping.
It also showed some evidence of Narwal being a newer company that’s still working out some of the bugs. For instance, it constantly got stuck on a table base in our evaluations, which we attribute to an algorithm issue. It should have been programmed to give up trying to cross that base.
One way to quantify this is by taking into account their app scores on Apple and Google Play. This is something that we’ve started adding to the algorithm for our top 20 rankings. The Narwal Freo app has one of the lowest scores we’ve seen, at least for its iOS app.
Carpet Deep Cleaning
The Narwal Freo X Ultra struggled in our carpet deep cleaning evaluations. When vacuuming sand from carpets, it delivered a below-average performance. This is compounded by its lack of a carpet boost mode, a feature that would have allowed it to increase suction power on carpets to better leverage its long battery life.
Missing Key Features from the Station
Finally, a big con for us was its lack of an auto-empty dust bin. Most flagship robot vacuums these days (See our Top 20 Robot Vacuums) have the ability to automatically empty their dustbin into a bag or bagless bin, but the Narwal’s model doesn’t have this. Only its mop-washing features are part of its base station.
It does have an innovative system called “self-contained dust processing,” which is supposed to compress the contents of the dustbin into a disposable plastic bin. It also comes with a regular old-style dustbin for manually emptying the contents if you choose.
Another thing that hurt this robot vacuum’s rankings was the lack of hot water mop pad washing, which is a popular feature found in many competing models’ automated stations.
Narwal Freo X Ultra Review: Final Thoughts
The Narwal Freo X Ultra is an impressive choice for those who prioritize mopping performance. Its powerful mopping capabilities, advanced mop station, and solid battery life make it a standout for homes with primarily hard floors. However, its limitations—such as the absence of an auto-empty dustbin, less effective obstacle avoidance, and limited carpet cleaning performance—mean it’s not the best fit for those seeking an all-in-one cleaning solution.
It just made the cut for our Top 20 Robot Vacuums list, landing in 18th place out of over 100 models evaluated, which is still a commendable achievement. For users who can look past its shortcomings and mainly need a top-tier mopping robot, the Narwal Freo X Ultra could be a great fit.
We’re looking forward to what Narwal brings to the table in the future, as they have the potential to become a major player in this market.
