Narwal Freo X Ultra: a robotic vacuum cleaner that's not afraid of long hair!

Hello to all readers of the project! This review will examine the Narwal Freo X Ultra robot vacuum cleaner. The manufacturer is new to the Russian market, but has long been well-known abroad. As far as I know, Narwal was the first to introduce a cloth washing station back in 2019, along with two rotating floor cleaning pads. Now, Narwal has officially entered the domestic market with several robots. The mid-price Freo X Ultra model was reviewed. This robot vacuum cleaner is equipped with a cloth washing station, a tandem lidar and bumper sensors for precise floor cleaning, and an effective cleaning module featuring two side brushes, a turbo brush, and floor cleaning pads. The official retail price is $749.90. However, a promotional price of $549.90 will be in effect from August 25th to September 21st, offering a significantly better deal. So, below, I'll be thoroughly testing the Narwal Freo X Ultra, highlighting its pros and cons based on the test results, and then expressing my own opinion. So, let's get started!

Equipment

The robot vacuum cleaner arrived in a branded box like this:

The package includes:

1. The robot itself with the station.
2. Three disposable bags for installation in the robot, one of which is already installed in the robot.
3. A classic dust collector that can be installed instead of disposable bags.
4. Power adapter.
5. Two side brushes.
6. A bottle of branded detergent with a volume of 930 ml.
7. Operating instructions translated into Russian.

Appearance

Now let's take a look at the Narwal Freo X Ultra's design. Let's start with the robot vacuum itself. It's round, white, and stands 107 mm (4.1 in) tall.

That is, it is higher than lidar analogues and it is already becoming clear that the robot will not fit into the standard 10 cm clearance.

Navigation is handled by a lidar system and a bumper-mounted sensor system that accurately navigates around objects on the floor. The lidar is equipped with a spring-loaded cover to prevent it from getting stuck under furniture. Two mechanical control buttons are located next to the lidar.

The top lid is held in place by magnets. A spacious, 1-liter disposable waste bag is located underneath, right out of the box.

The manufacturer even claims to have a function for compressing the waste in this bag. The design is interesting. It even includes a HEPA filter.

Instead of a disposable bag, you can install a full-size dust container like similar products. The filtration system uses a HEPA filter and a mesh. The contents fall out of the container through the bottom, which is secured with a mechanical button. It's important to note that the robot doesn't have a water tank. The wipes are only moistened at the station.

The robot's underside is equipped with five fall protection sensors and a carpet sensor. Interestingly, the familiar swivel caster has been moved to the rear and installed between the mats.

There are two side brushes, each with a dual-beam design, which prevents hair and fur from tangling. The brushes are quick-release.

The central brush unit is floating. That's a plus. The brush itself has a very interesting design. It's a familiar combination of bristles and silicone blades, but Narwal engineers gave one edge a beveled edge. This, again, serves to prevent hair and fur from tangling around the brush. The suction channel was moved to the edge so that hair and fur are discharged directly into the dust collector.

The wipes deserve special attention. They have a unique shape: triangular, not round like all other similar products. The wipes are attached to the holders with Velcro. The wipes themselves are very thick, much thicker than those of the robots previously reviewed.

We see that there is no mechanism for moving the napkin to the edge. Instead, the rear part scrolls as it passes around the perimeter.

Another interesting fact is that the pressure of the cleaning pads depends on the type of flooring. On wood floors, the pressure on the floor is 7N, while on tiles, it increases to 12N. Furthermore, when carpets are detected, the cleaning pads automatically lift 12 mm, allowing the robot to vacuum and mop the floor simultaneously, leaving carpets dry and clean.

Let's move on to the station. Here, the Narwal Freo X Ultra washes cloths and air-dries them. The water doesn't get hot during washing, but the air temperature during drying reaches 40 degrees Celsius. Moreover, it dries not only the cloths but also the contents of the dust container.

It's also worth noting that the station can automatically detect the degree of soiling of the wipes and mix in detergent from a separate reservoir. While a water connection is technically supported, this version is not available in Russia—only the version with a water tank is available on the market. This model does not feature a traditional self-cleaning dust container.

The wipes' washing tray is removable, which is a plus. It also contains a comb module that can be removed for easy cleaning.

At the top there are spacious water tanks with a capacity of 4 liters each.

A bottle of branded detergent is installed behind the clean water tank to be mixed into the water when washing napkins.

And behind this cover there are outlets for installing an automatic water fill/drain module.

Another convenient feature is the station's touchscreen control panel with a display. You can start automatic cleaning from the station, activate Freo Mind cleaning mode, return the robot to charge or exit the station, and even activate the cloth wash function. Additionally, a key combination can be used to activate other modes, which are described in detail in the instructions.

The pros and cons of this design will be discussed during the final review. Let's move on!

Technical specifications

The main characteristics of Narwal Freo X Ultra, as stated by the manufacturer:

Robot vacuum cleaner:

• Li-Ion battery 5200 mAh.
• Suction power up to 8200 Pa.
• Dust collector 1000 ml.
• Water tank in the robot: absent.
• Obstacle clearance up to 20 mm.
• Dimensions: 350*107 mm.

Station:

• Clean water tank: 4 l.
• Dirty water tank: 4 l.
• Detergent tank: 930 ml.
• Dimensions (W*H*D): 415*370*434 mm.

Functional capabilities

Speaking of features, the robot vacuum cleaner is controlled via the proprietary Narwal Freo app. Connecting to the network is seamless. The interface is in Russian.

The main functions are displayed on the screen:

• Washing napkins (without heating water).
• Automatic addition of detergent.
• Drying napkins with warm air (40 °C).
• Drying waste in a dust collector with warm air.
• Automatic detection of the degree of contamination of napkins at the station.
• Identifying objects on the floor.
• Rotating the body while walking around the perimeter.
• Increased suction power on carpets.
• Saving multiple cleaning maps in memory.
• Automatic zoning of premises into rooms.
• Selecting areas and rooms for cleaning.
• Virtual walls and no-go zones (and for wet cleaning mode).
• Suction power adjustment.
• Adjusting the degree of wetting of napkins.
• Setting the frequency of washing napkins.
• Cleaning log.
• Setting up cleaning according to a schedule.
• Freo intelligent cleaning mode.
• User mode.
• Yandex.Alice support.

In addition to the basic cleaning settings, there's a smart, proprietary Freo Mind mode, which automatically detects the degree of soiling of the wipes, rotates the back of the wiper while cleaning the perimeter, and adjusts the pressure of the wiper to the floor depending on the flooring material.

One of the unusual features is the high-altitude mode. If you live at an altitude above 2,000 meters, the robot automatically operates at a higher power level.

Overall, the app allows you to flexibly customize cleaning parameters to suit your needs. That's a plus!

Testing

A detailed video review of the Narwal Freo X Ultra, including all tests, has already been prepared and published on the channel:

Navigation

And finally, let's move on to the tests. First, we'll test the Narwal Freo X Ultra's navigation in a room with obstacles. First, the robot navigates the perimeter of the room, then cleans the entire accessible area in a serpentine pattern. It didn't get stuck on the dryer's legs, but instead swiped neatly around them. It also swept around the box and the outside of the table's legs, then returned to its base.

Speaking of navigation within the house, the robot cleans room by room, following the perimeter, then in a serpentine pattern. After each room, as I've set in the settings, it returns to the station to wash the wipes. There are no uncleaned areas, and the cleaning speed is standard, so I have no complaints about the robot's navigation!

Passing under low furniture

The minimum clearance height of the robot was also tested. Considering the robot itself is almost 11 cm tall, it's physically unable to fit into a standard 10 cm clearance. I created an 11 cm clearance under the furniture, and it fits in without a problem.

Autonomy

I also tested the battery life when running the robot at maximum power with wet cleaning enabled. It lasted 103 minutes, cleaning 85 square meters of usable space. In reality, that's just over two full cleanings of a two-bedroom apartment. The robot's battery life is average.

Identifying objects on the floor

Regarding the object avoidance system, in good lighting the robot was only able to avoid two of six objects—a toy and a shoe—and barely touched both. It ran over everything else, chewed it, and then made a mistake. However, it didn't make a mistake when avoiding socks. It even avoided one without moving it, and moved the other two without chewing them. Of the four wires, it moved all four, chewed one, and then made a mistake. It also moved or chewed all six traps shaped like imitations of pet surprises.

Overall, the object detection system is very weak and requires serious improvement. I didn't even bother testing it in the dark, given the results in good lighting.

By the way, this robot is not able to detect stains on the floor, for those who care.

Cleaning behind the curtains

I also tested whether the new navigation system can clean behind curtains and drapes, something most lidar robots can't do. No, this robot, like most other robots, doesn't clean behind curtains.

Suction power

In terms of suction power, the robot was able to partially clean a 2 mm-deep crevice in "Quiet" mode. In "Medium" mode, it performed slightly better in the same crevice. In "Powerful" mode, the robot vacuum completely cleaned the 2 mm mark. In "Super Power" mode, the robot was able to partially clean even a 4 mm-deep crevice, and in "Maximum Suction" mode, it performed slightly better in a 4 mm-deep crevice. Overall, the robot's suction power is slightly stronger, but it doesn't quite reach 8200 Pa.

Dry cleaning

The quality of debris collection on laminate floors was good, including various debris from the rack, including cat litter pellets, which often clog the turbo brush. Only the corners were left unswept, as the robot is round and its side brush does not extend. The robot also failed to sweep outer corners, which would be a good idea to improve.

Let's look at the condition of the cleaning module. The side brush took the brunt of the impact, and some hair got caught on the central brush. Further testing is needed to assess its effectiveness.

Anti-tangle Hair Protection

I also tested how the proprietary turbo brush design prevents hair and fur from tangling. I laid hair of varying lengths on the floor. The robot picked it up, and we saw that the side brush was slightly tangled, but the center brush was completely clean!

I also checked the condition of the turbo brush after a week of use in a domestic environment. And we see that it's completely clean. Bravo, Narwal engineers!

Carpet cleaning

Additionally, debris was scattered on the carpets. And I can say that the Narwal Freo X Ultra thoroughly cleaned both low- and medium-pile carpeting. This robot's dry cleaning performance is excellent!

Wet cleaning and carpets

When it comes to wet cleaning on carpeted floors, the robot offers several different modes of interaction. It can carefully navigate around the carpet during wet cleaning, or it can enter and touch the carpet with its cleaning pad if you want to clean it with the robot. It can also clean carpets during wet cleaning, automatically lifting the cleaning pads when entering the carpet. The latter option is the most efficient.

Wet cleaning

The cleaning performance is excellent. The cloths adhere well to the floor and absorb dirt. Moreover, thanks to the Freo mode and dirt detection sensors inside the station, the robot recognized that the floor, and therefore the cloths, were dirty and needed to be washed, followed by a second cleaning.

The only caveat here is that the cleaning cloth doesn't extend to the edge, and rotating the body doesn't completely solve the problem of cleaning right up to the baseboard without leaving blind spots. A few centimeters remain along the walls. It's not critical, but that's the difference with a sliding cleaning cloth. The robot also doesn't reach corners with its rear end, so it doesn't clean them very well.

Removing stains

When it comes to removing tough stains, the robot was able to remove even dried-on coffee and sauce stains. Granted, it didn't take the first try. To be precise, most of the stains were removed after the sixth attempt. However, a few small stains were completely removed after the seventh attempt. In any case, this is one of the best results, and the robot demonstrates high-quality wet cleaning.

Washing and drying test of napkins

I'd like to immediately talk about the effectiveness of the station itself. Let's start with the cleaning quality of the wipes. Even after extensive testing, the wipes look significantly better after washing at the station. The automatic detergent dispenser and the well-designed self-cleaning combs certainly help here. After daily cleaning, the wipes also look clean after washing at the station.

I'd also like to point out that the wipes are also dried effectively. They dry completely on the station, thanks to the warm air drying!

I decided to check the temperature myself – in my case, the peak temperature in the drain area was 26.8 degrees. There really was no heating.

But during drying, the temperature sensor showed a value above 40 degrees, so the air heating temperature corresponds to the declared value.

The station itself is easy to clean. Remove the tray and drain, rinse them in the sink, and then return them to the sink.

Obstacle clearance

The robot has good maneuverability. It can cross 2 cm thresholds!

Driving on black surfaces

There are some issues with driving over black carpets. The sensors detect the carpet as a height difference, causing the robot to back up on it in places. This issue is partially solvable. If you don't have any height differences or stairs, you can disable the fall protection feature in the app. This will prevent the robot from being affected by black carpets. However, this only works if your floors are level. Hard black surfaces are no problem, even with the fall protection feature enabled.

Noise level

Regarding the noise level, it ranges from 59 to 68 dB, which is standard. Since the robot doesn't have a noisy self-cleaning dust bin, I tested the station's noise level while washing napkins. It's around 44 dB, which is normal.

Personal opinion

The Narwal Freo X Ultra robot vacuum cleaner has been thoroughly reviewed and tested. According to our rating system, it achieved a score of 181 points and this is a good result for a model in the brand's lineup that is average in price and functionality.

Overall rating of tested robot vacuum cleaners: https://robovac.washerhouse.com/en/rejtingi/robovac-obshhij-rejting-robotov-pylesosov-robo.htmlI'll highlight the pros and cons I've discovered, and then share my own opinion about the robot.

I liked the following:

1. High-quality floor cleaning over large areas. The cloths are thick enough to be thoroughly moistened at the station. They also apply more pressure to the floor than most similar products, removing even stubborn stains, and automatically adjust the pressure to the floor material. The unique shape of the cloths also eliminates the risk of leaving unwashed streaks between the cloths.
2. A convenient and efficient napkin washing station. It efficiently washes napkins and mixes detergent into the water. It also features a touchscreen control panel, large water tanks, and a removable tray for easy hand-rinsing.
3. A special advantage is the technical ability to connect the robot station to both sewer and water lines. However, at the time of writing, these modules are out of stock. I hope they will be available soon.
4. The robot vacuum cleaner rotates with its rear end as it passes around the perimeter, allowing it to clean the floor more thoroughly along walls and furniture.
5. Automatic lifting of napkins when driving onto carpets.
6. The robot's central brush doesn't tangle up fur and hair. It's very well designed.
7. Two side brushes, for those who still find this important.
8. High-quality dry cleaning on various surfaces.
9. Slightly increased suction power, both in the stated figures and when tested on the bench.
10. A large number of functions in the branded mobile application.
11. The robot is fully localized. The paper manual, app interface, and voice prompts are all in Russian.
12. Good cross-country ability.
13. Availability of a warranty and service from official representatives on the market.

There are also quite a few comments. Among the main ones, I would like to highlight:

1. The robot doesn't have a water tank. The wipes are only moistened at the station.
2. The body is 10 cm higher than the standard.
3. There is no self-cleaning dust collector at the station.
4. There is no heating of water when washing napkins.
5. Doesn't sweep out debris in the corners.
6. There is a small blind spot along the baseboard when washing the floor, because the cloth does not extend to the body, but only the body rotates.
7. The object recognition system requires significant improvement. It's worth noting that Narwal is also releasing a new model, the Z Ultra, and its key advantage is its ability to recognize over 120 objects.
8. Doesn't clean behind curtains and drapes.
9. There are problems with driving over black carpets when the fall protection function is enabled.

So what's the bottom line? The robot certainly has its fair share of shortcomings, but it's worth noting that some of them are typical of most robot vacuum cleaners, while others are forgivable, as this isn't a flagship model, but a more streamlined one, and its price is still lower than that of its more advanced counterparts.

In terms of cleaning quality (both dry and wet), ease of use and maintenance, and the robot's design, I think it's very interesting and could be competitive if the price drops to the $500-$600 range. But even at that price, and with its unique features, I'm confident the robot will find its buyer.

My first experience with the brand was very positive, primarily because the robot itself is unlike any other. The brand's unique developments are clearly visible, and they can successfully compete with alternative solutions on the market. This applies to both design and functionality. I'm confident that the flagship models have the potential to achieve high rankings overall, as many of the issues mentioned in the Narwal Freo X Ultra have already been addressed in the company's more senior robots.

On that note, I'd like to end this review. If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments. Happy shopping, everyone. Bye!