Roborock Saros 10 vs 10R: Which is Better?

Roborock recently released two similarly priced and named robot vacuums: the Saros 10 and 10R. Both are Roborock’s current top-of-the-line models, and we bought them for ourselves and conducted various evaluations over the past few weeks to see which one is the best. Each has its pros, cons, and different use cases. And while they are both ranking among the top 5 robot vacuums as of the time of this Saros 10 vs 10R review, one is definitely better than the other.

Today, we’ll explain everything we found during our assessments to reveal what sets them apart.

Our Pick: Roborock Saros 10R

Roborock Saros 10

Saros 10 vs 10R: Common Features

The Saros 10 and 10R are premium robot vacuum mop combos, which means they can vacuum hard floors and carpets and mop floors simultaneously. Since the two models have a lot of features in common, let’s start by looking at those.

Automated Docks

They both come with a fully featured auto-empty bin/charging dock, which automatically empties the contents of the robot’s dust bin, washes its mop pads with hot water, dries its mop pads with hot air, and refills the robot’s internal mop tank.

Both mop stations have self-washing, fast-charging, detergent filling, and sensors that monitor how dirty the mop water is so the robot vacuum knows how much to wash the mop pads. Essentially, it has everything you could want in a multi-function dock.

Sweeping and Debris Pickup

The Saros 10 and 10R use the same Duo-Divide main brush, a flexi-arm, and an automatically extending side brush for better edge coverage.

We evaluated their sweeping ability extensively on both hard floors and carpet and found them both significantly better than average. They were able to pick up all types and sizes of debris very efficiently.

Resisting Hair Tangles

The new Duo-Divide brush is also exceptionally good with tangles. For example, they were both able to completely resist hair tangles in our 7″ hair evaluation, where the average tangle amount is about 40%.

Threshold Crossing

Both robot vacuums have an impressive new feature that lets them lift to get over larger thresholds in homes. They were able to clear the 20mm and 26mm thresholds in our evaluation. Roborock says they can clear up to 30mm thresholds straight up, or up to 40mm if the threshold is multi-tiered—a new feature in the robot vacuum world.

Feature-Rich App

The Saros 10 and 10R use the same powerful app with all the same features, such as:

• Customizable cleaning tasks
• Virtual barriers
• Real-time status monitoring
• Multi-level mapping
• Granular control of features like bin-empty behaviors and obstacle avoidance settings
• And more.

The Roborock App is also one of the higher-rated apps on the app store (see App Store and Google Play) and one of our favorite apps in general.

See Also: Our full review of the Roborock Saros 10R: Saros 10R Review: The Best We’ve Seen So Far

Saros 10 vs 10R: What’s Different?

Part of why you’re here is probably to find out the differences between these two premium robot vacuums, so let’s get to it!

Mopping Systems: VibraRise 4.0 vs. Spinning Mop Pads

Probably the most obvious difference is the mopping systems. The 10R has two spinning mop pads, and the 10 uses Roborock’s VibraRise 4.0 system, which is a single mop pad that vibrates to scrub stains better.

Interestingly, they both have the option to detach their mop pads and leave them at the dock to vacuum carpets first and then go back for the pads to mop floors. That means you can be extra sure your carpets are kept dry.

And as noted earlier, you can let the mop pad systems lift up automatically to avoid carpets. The Saros 10R raises 8mm (two spinning pads), while the Saros 10 raises 18mm (single VibaRise pad)—which are both higher than 5mm for an original Roborock VibraRise like the S7.

Dried-On Stain Mopping and Water Usage

One big practical difference was in our dried-on stain mopping evaluation, where we do one run on the low water setting and another on the high water setting. The Saros 10R with spinning mop pads was significantly better than the Saros 10, which has the VibraRise system. The 10R got 103 points compared to 57 points for the Saros 10, and the average is around 94.

We also assess how much water they leave behind in this evaluation to see how prone they are to streaks, and the Saros 10 left behind about half as much as the 10R. But even though the 10R puts out more water, it wasn’t too much, either. It was only a touch more water than average. However, the 10 left way less water than average, which is probably the reason it didn’t do as well in the dried-on stain evaluation.

Obstacle Avoidance: StarSight vs. Traditional Sensors

The 10R was better in obstacle avoidance, which is another key area. Both robot vacuums have front-mounted obstacle avoidance sensors, which include cameras and the new VertiBeam infrared light sensor. However, the Saros 10R is the only one with Roborock’s new StarSight obstacle avoidance system, which uses time-of-flight technology and other sensors to detect and avoid household objects.

In our obstacle avoidance evaluation, the 10R was the first robot vacuum we evaluated that got a perfect score. While the Saros 10 was much better than average with obstacle avoidance, receiving a very respectable 21 out of 24 (the average is 13), it was not as good as the 10R.

Navigation Efficiency: Auto-Retractable Lidar

The Saros 10 did slightly better at navigation than the 10R. In fact, one of the main selling points of the Saros 10 over the 10R is its auto-retractable lidar. Both robot vacuums don’t have a traditional top-mounted spinning lidar, which almost every premium Roborock has had in previous years. This is because the traditional top-spinning lidar makes them too tall to get under certain furniture.

So, both robot vacuums have been made much slimmer but in different ways. The Saros 10R uses an internal lidar system, and the 10 uses a retractable top lidar. The retractable top lidar is extended most of the time, except when it senses low furniture and retracts to get under it.

In our navigation efficiency evaluation, which we do by running the robot vacuum on a fixed floor plan several times, the Saros 10 was slightly better than the 10R. Though they were both better than average.

Also, they both have very similar battery life efficiency numbers, which were quite a bit over average. However, the Saros 10 did end up getting a higher square-foot-per-charge estimation because of its faster navigation. Both of these numbers are better than the competition on average, so neither navigation nor battery life should be a concern with each product.

Navigation and Battery Efficiency Scores

	Saros 10R	Saros 10	Average
Official Battery Life (Low Power)	180 min	150 min	155 min
Battery Efficiency*	1.69 mins per %	1.63 mins per %	1.30 mins per %
Square Feet per Charge (Estimated)*	1218 ft²	1333 ft²	991 ft²

Practical Performance and Bench Evaluations

One area that really made the Saros 10R stand out over the Saros 10 was in the various practical performance and bench evaluations. For instance, even though they both have the same official suction power numbers, this number can vary in practice due to differences in the way they are constructed. And in this case, it seems to make a difference.

The Saros 10R had slightly higher suction and airflow scores in our evaluations, as well as a higher carpet deep clean score and a higher crevice pickup score. In the 2.5-inch pet hair pickup evaluation, they were very easily matched, just like with other pickup assessments.

Performance and Bench Evaluation Scores

	Saros 10R	Saros 10	Average robot tested
Suction*	.58kpa	.33kpa	.80kpa
Airflow*	15cfm	13cfm	16cfm
Carpet Deep Clean Test*	80 pts	71 pts	75 pts
Crevice Pickup Test*	5 pts	0 pts	9 pts
2.5 Hair Pickup Test*	21.46 pts	19.17 pts	13.9 pts

Vacuum Wars Scores and Final Thoughts

With current prices and online ratings taken into account, the current Vacuum Wars scores for both robot vacuums are:

The Saros 10R at 4.79 stars and the Saros 10 at 4.63 stars, where the average is 3.13.

So, it’s no surprise that both remain in the top 5 of our Top 20 Best Robot Vacuums list. But the Saros 10R has a better mopping system, obstacle avoidance system, and generally superior performance—even if it has slightly less efficient navigation.

Plus, considering they are selling at the same or nearly the same price as of the time of this review, the 10R wins, all else being equal.