Among robot vacuums, the well-known manufacturer Narwal introduced its latest and most advanced model - Freo Z Ultra - in the fall of 2024. After the first reviews appeared, this model was not only praised, but also won awards (vacuum wars), such as the best obstacle avoidance and the most pet-friendly.

Freo Z Ultra is not only a robot with vacuuming functions - it can also wash the floors, and after finishing its work, wash its own mops. It seems that we can describe this robot as a completely autonomous assistant. Praise, praise and awards must be verified, so we tested Freo Z Ultra. After about a month of intensive vacuuming and washing, we share our impressions.

Unboxing

I was a bit scared by the large enough crack in the box and it was just a crack. The pump and its station are packed in thick layers of foam, and where there are none - there is a large enough space left between the product and the box, so there was no damage.

The Freo Z Ultra box includes a robot vacuum cleaner, a docking station (and a driveway), two side brushes, two skirting boards, a cleaner (for mopping floors), a docking station dust bag, an extra filter, and a replaceable container for the robot itself. That's all you need to get started.

First impressions

I'll start my first impressions with the robot itself. It's a standard-sized vacuum cleaner, featuring a LiDAR sensor on top, a bumper with shock absorption in the front, two cameras, and an LED light. The bottom is covered by two side brushes, which are easily inserted into the designated places according to color.

The roller is tapered on one side (this should help with hair collection), silicone with bristles in every other row. Once the protection is opened, it is easy to remove and replace. The other side boasts two round cloths for washing floors. The skirting board brush inserted on the side is passive, meaning the skirting boards are cleaned simply by wiping them.

Visually, the station looks minimalistic. All additional accessories are hidden under the cover on top and the magnetically attached front wall. On top is a touch-sensitive screen with 5 functions - Freo Mind function on and off, start and stop, cloth washing and drying, return to the station, and child lock. This screen starts working only with a single touch, and after a while it turns off.

When you open the top, you will find the operating instructions, which can be easily glued to the bottom of the lid. This is a great idea to save those who are constantly looking for instructions. Under the lid are two containers, 4.5L (for clean water) and 4.1L (for dirty water). The handles built into their tops allow them to be easily lifted and filled or emptied.

Under the front cover is a 2.5L dust bag, which, according to Narwal, is enough for 120 days. A more powerful detergent is placed next to it (not included, intended for cleaning heavily soiled areas), and in the cavity on the right side is a floor cleaner.

When I first saw the box at home, I thought it was a very large device and would look simply cluttered in our small apartment. Once everything was put in its place and placed in a permanent place, the view changed significantly. Because of how well everything is hidden, the station does not attract attention at all and looks quite elegant. The only thing that slightly distracts from the “premium” look is the translucent plastic driveway, which looks quite cheap.

App

The Narwal Freo Z Ultra is controlled by the Narwal Freo app, which we already wrote about in the Freo X Ultra review. With this app, you can control all the functions of the robot vacuum cleaner, monitor the processes being performed, create cleaning schedules, order, rooms to be cleaned, zones, etc. The truth is that there are an infinity of functions here and when you turn it on for the first time after pairing it with the vacuum cleaner, everything seems too much.

It's great that Narwal didn't leave the user in the dark here, and a guide mode is enabled for new users, which explains the main functions. It's also great that the app also includes user instructions and an FAQ section. Those who prefer visual explanations will not be disappointed, as YouTube is full of tutorials for this pump. Turning on the pump and connecting it to the app and home network takes a few minutes. A few more important options during connection are marked whether there are stairs in the house and whether there are pets.

Mapping

Freo Z Ultra's first job is to create a home map. After selecting this function, you need to open the doors of all the rooms that you want the robot to clean. It took about 7 minutes to create a map of an apartment of approximately 68 sq.m. The map separated the areas where there is a carpet and marked the furniture (bed, table), but not all, and some of the room spaces were not captured.

Corrective map corrections can be made on the map itself. Although it's a bit confusing, we managed to add missing areas, connect certain rooms, add furniture, and mark areas that the robot is prohibited from entering.

When you start using the vacuum cleaner, you may wonder why it doesn't vacuum carpets? I had to search the forums for the answer. It turns out that carpets are skipped "by default", assuming that all carpets are thick and have long pile. Skipping is to avoid getting stuck. To change this, when editing the map, you need to select the carpet and change the function to "power boost" and only then will the carpets be vacuumed.

Overall, this Narwal did a pretty good job of creating a map. The rooms are properly named (bedroom, kitchen, hallway), and a good portion of the furniture is labeled correctly. With editing, the whole process took about 20 minutes.

Pumping

So, let's start with the most important function of this robot vacuum cleaner - vacuuming. I would like to highlight two main methods of vacuuming. The first is using the Freo Mind function. With it, Narwal decides several things for itself - power, coverage (how thoroughly it vacuums) and intensive cleaning of dirty areas. 

These solutions are based on artificial intelligence, taking into account the dirt detected by the cameras during operation. The second method is manual, meaning we can determine the number of times the room will be vacuumed, the power and accuracy.

During daily use, I mostly used the Freo Mind function, which turned out to be extremely accurate. When vacuuming with this function, normal intensity suction is usually selected, and when areas with more dirt are detected, the intensity changes to a stronger one. Also, one vacuuming cycle is usually selected. This is probably because houses are vacuumed daily and dirt simply does not have time to accumulate.

Perhaps the only noticeable drawback of the vacuuming is that it sometimes leaves dirt near the edges of thicker carpets. By turning on the stronger suction (which can be done at any time while the vacuum is running), the latter are sucked up better.

The carpets are vacuumed perfectly, without leaving hair or noticeable debris between the bristles. Of course, there are some nuances here. The carpets in the house are quite thick and short-pile - it copes with these perfectly. However, the carpet in the child's room is very thin and light. When I first started vacuuming it, the robot's wheels caught on the carpet and the robot got stuck, throwing an error message in the app.

This carpet is also a problem when using a regular vacuum cleaner, so the Narwal Freo Z Ultra does not get a reprimand here. So, if the carpets in your home are thin and move easily, I recommend pulling them out before vacuuming, or marking them to skip during vacuuming.

Those who have pets at home know very well that hair becomes the biggest enemy of the rotating brushes of vacuum cleaners. After 3 weeks of intensive vacuuming, I turned the Freo Z Ultra over for inspection - apart from a small piece of candy wrapper and small accumulations of dirt in the corners, I did not find a single stuck hair. This is a huge advantage.

In practical terms, the house has never been as clean as with the Narwal Freo Z Ultra. The floors, both laminate and tiles, and carpets are vacuumed really well. The vacuum cleaner has never encountered the problem of climbing over the ~3cm high baseboard between the kitchen and the living room. In unsuccessful cases, as if a little angry, the Z Ultra accelerates a little, raises its body and drives away.

Washing

No less important, but less frequently used, the washing function is one of several pre-configured functions (vacuum with washing, washing after vacuuming, vacuum only and washing only). Here the choice is the same. You can use the Freo Mind function, which will automatically select the best washing parameters, or set everything yourself.

Available settings include: wash cycle, moisture level (how wet the wash will be), and coverage (how precise the cleaning will be). Additional settings include how often the cloths will be washed - every 8, 10, 12 sq. m. or after finishing a room.

Similar to vacuuming, I mostly used the Freo Mind function, as it fully met my expectations. The room or area is washed at least 2 times, less often 3. The intensity and frequency of washing (how many times it will be washed) are decided based on the information recorded by the sensors. These are not only cameras, but also water contamination sensors.

The latter is activated at the station when washing the cloths and changing the water. If it is noticed that the latter is still contaminated, the floor is washed again. When washing twice, the washing takes place in two stages. The first wash washes all the corners and the floor in one direction (e.g. in the x-axis), and the second wash washes in the other direction (e.g. in the y-axis). This avoids washing streaks and everything is washed a little more thoroughly.

One of the more interesting features when cleaning corners is that the robot turns to the side after traveling a few centimeters, thus reaching all corners with the mop. If the skirting board mop is installed on the side, it also cleans existing dust.

If the Freo Z Ultra has to cross a carpet during cleaning, it can raise its mops up to 12mm. This feature helps prevent wet mops from touching the carpet. During all our tests, we did not encounter a situation where the carpet was even slightly wet after the robot passed by.

Laminate floors are washed well, but not so well with tiles in the kitchen. On tiles that vary between matte and glossy, cleaning marks are faintly visible (round, according to the mop). However, once the floor dries, it is not very noticeable, and only attracts attention when you look closely.

Freo Z Ultra coped well with stubborn stains on the tiles in the kitchen. Using the Freo Mind function, fresher and stubborn coffee stains were recognized and the kitchen area was marked as heavily soiled in the app. As a result, the robot chose to wash the floor twice. After washing, the aforementioned cleaning marks and some lighter dust remained, but the stain was completely cleaned.

Obstacle avoidance

And now for what makes this robot vacuum so appealing to those with small children, pet owners, and those who simply like to leave small items on the ground. Two cameras, two processors, and artificial intelligence that connects everything.

Today, the term artificial intelligence is often used by manufacturers in an overused way, with the AI label being applied to devices that perform only a few functions. If there were a phrase to describe the Narwal Freo Z Ultra's artificial intelligence and its ability to avoid obstacles, it would be "ooo, good."

A wire lying on the ground? A dog's play ball? Toys? This robot vacuum cleaner "ate" none of the above items. It goes around everything beautifully, leaving a gap of just a few centimeters. For those who wish, the photography function can be enabled.

When the pump detects an obstacle, it takes a picture of it and shows it in the story. The photographed object is identified, which is almost always successful. Wires, shoes, towels, and other things are identified as such. Anything that is not understood is marked as “other.” Identification is not necessary, but it is always fun to see how this artificial intelligence is doing.

During its entire lifespan, I have only noticed 1 time when this pump hit the leg of a chair. However, I can't even call it a hit, because it was just a gentle touch absorbed by the front bumper.

Of course, there were also some glitches. A leaf bag lying on the ground was “eaten”, and the vacuum cleaner did not notice this and continued its work. Smaller, transparent dog toys (2-3 cm in diameter) sometimes also overcome artificial intelligence. Does that make the result bad? It’s up to you to decide, but in my opinion, these are complete trifles.

The most fun part is the vacuum's ability to recognize your pet. While the latter can walk around the vacuum or lie in the middle of the path, the vacuum has never stopped him. Even in cases where the dog runs straight in front of the robot. For this, the Narwal Freo Z Ultra gets a big plus from me.

I used keys, a wire, a slightly larger Lego piece, and the aforementioned dog toy specifically for the test. I laid out all the items in the room, leaving large gaps for the vacuum cleaner to pass through. So what happened and what was eaten?

Absolutely nothing. The Lego piece was caught on a broom and knocked down, and the fabric key chain was pushed to the side a little. I liked that when the Z Ultra detects a small object, it turns off the broom on that side, trying not to get in the way of that object. It doesn't always work, but it's great that such a potential problem is thought out.

Automatic cleaning station

I would like to immediately praise the Narwal Freo Z Ultra docking station. It is a real technological marvel that performs many functions. Unlike its predecessor, the Narwal Freo X Ultra, the Z Ultra is able to empty the robot’s trash can into a disposable bag located in the docking station. As I mentioned, this bag should last for 120 days, so you can simply forget about cleaning the trash can in the robot itself. Also, after each vacuuming, the latter is automatically disinfected.

One of the more amazing functions of this station is the washing and drying of mops. Yes, the robot not only washes the floor, but also washes and dries its own mops. The truth is that this seems quite unbelievable, so after the first wash, I turned the robot over to check - both mops looked like new. In addition, this station also has a water ionization function. Ionized water becomes cleaner and more sterile, and therefore there is less chance of spreading bacteria into the environment during washing.

Inside the station, where the robot vacuum cleaner parks, there is also a separate tray, which is easily removed for cleaning. So if it gets dirty during any process, it is easy to clean. After two weeks of use, I found only a few small stones in this tray, so this station does its job perfectly.

Additional benefits

In addition to its main functions, there are a few additional ones that left a good impression. First of all, the integrated lighting allows this vacuum cleaner to work more effectively in complete darkness. It turns on its light effectively, whether cleaning under a dresser or a closet.

The camera is not just for the robot itself. Users can turn on the camera at any time through the app and see what the robot sees at that time. You can also control it yourself with the controller, although there is a noticeable delay between pressing and the pump responding. All this reminds me of some kind of game that a child liked the most.

Perhaps the most memorable feature related to the cameras is the built-in microphone and speaker. Yes, now you can talk to others remotely using the vacuum cleaner. It may not be the most useful feature, but it's very nice that the manufacturer paid attention to it.

Sometimes it happens that questions arise for the manufacturer, whether due to a malfunction or some technical details. I had to face this too, and after writing a request to Narwal, I received a response with a solution within 5 minutes. This is another plus for Narwal.

What we didn't like?

Very rarely, but there are products whose negative aspects make you think twice. Freo Z Ultra is in this category. The driveway could be nicer. The floor cleaner used is recommended only by the manufacturer (this is understandable, because some cleaners can foam a little too much or contain too many harmful acids). Once I received an incomplete error message, which was eliminated by a simple reboot. Basically, these are all my complaints.

Verdict

Narwal Freo Z Ultra - the first robot vacuum cleaner in my house. Did it leave an impression? Without a doubt, the impression is only in the good side. After growing up with it, I realized that only every other week I have to vacuum places inaccessible to the robot. Washing the floors by hand has become a thing of the past. During the entire testing period, I only had to change the water in the robot vacuum cleaner a couple of times and that's it. This vacuum cleaner works practically autonomously and requires my own intervention only very rarely.

I have always been guided by the principle that a good thing costs a lot. Freo Z Ultra is really expensive, but it justifies its price with a bang. The saddest thing is that this review is coming to an end and the pump will soon have to be returned.. and I seem to see sand in the corridor, I need to hurry up and send my assistant to work!