A new robot vacuum cleaner is in town. Big brother to the Narwal Freo, theNarwal Freo X Ultrasteps up the game by introducing 8200Pa suction power, certified zero hair tangling, and tri-laser navigation and avoidance.
After putting the Freo X Ultra through its paces, I’m confident this is the robot vacuum cleaner that’s going to take the market by storm. It’s rectified my annoyances with the original, and now I’m struggling to find anything I don’t like about it.
Narwal Freo X Ultra
With 12N mopping pressure, 8200Pa suction power, a zero-tangling brush, 1L disposable bag, and dust compression, the Narwal Freo X Ultra is the latest and greatest robot vacuum and mop to hit the market.
Out With the Old, In With the New
When Ireviewed the Narwal Freo, I found the experience to be pretty great. There were a few things that bothered me, like the extended mop drying time, and the pre-clean cleanup I’d have to do to remove obstacles and wires. Would the follow-up fix these issues?
To look at them, you’d think the Narwal Freo and Narwal Freo X Ultra were the same product. On the face of it, I can’t see any obvious differences. However, it’s under the hood where the Narwal Freo X Ultra comes into its own.
Below is a table highlighting only the differences between the two models.
Narwal Freo
Suction Power
Roller Brush
Zero-tangling floating brush
Rubber and bristle brush
Dust Bin/Emptying
1L disposable bag Dust compression Stores dust up to 7 weeks
500ml dust bin
Dust Bin/Bag Drying
Sensor Arrays
Tri-laser structure light Infrared Ultrasonic
LDS Infrared Ultrasonic
Freo Advice
Auto-detection of heavy dirt zones
As you can see, with the Freo X Ultra, you get more than double the suction power over the Freo. But what I was excited about was the zero-tangling brush. With two cats in the household, finding clumps of fur around the place is fairly common. And, as a long-haired person, my house is no stranger to stray hairs.
I’ve had my new robot friend for several weeks now, and the picture above shows the results after running the vacuum and mop cleaning task every day. There isn’t a single build-up of hair, fur, or dirt. The zero-tangle brush actually does what it says!
I’ve included the same image above, this time with the Freo that I tested previously. The difference in dirt, hair, and general maintenance is astounding. I was blown away by this, especially since many brands claim to do X, Y, and Z, when really, they don’t do any of them.
This One Doesn’t Enjoy the Taste of Objects
One of the biggest gripes I had with the Narwal Freo was that I had to prepare the area before sending it on its way. Stools would have to be lifted up, cat food bowls removed, and wires firmly out of sight.
The Freo X Ultra, however, seems to have been upgraded with additional sensors that ensure it avoids obstacles. My cat’s bowls are placed on a mat, because frankly, they must drop more food on the floor than they consume. That silicone mat would cause no end of issues when the Narwal Freo was on the loose. Now, the mat can stay where it is because the X Ultra carefully skirts around it with no issues.
Narwal claims that the new model features LiDAR SLAM 4.0 technology which enables a 360-degree scan of the surroundings. The side and front sensors avoid obstacles and neatly clean against edges. A big sigh of relief here as now I can schedule the device without worrying about what it might eat up.
It Adapts to Different Floor Types
Rather than rolling up the rug on my floor and putting it out of harms way, the Freo X Ultra cleverly detects the type of floor it’s on, and adjusts the mop pads and pressure.
If you have programmed your robot to vacuum and mop—rather than vacuum, then mop—the floor type adaption is especially useful. Instead of getting your carpets or rugs soaked with a wet mop, the Freo X Ultra lifts the mop pads by 12mm to initiate suction-only mode.
The map, which is visible on the app, even updates to show the different floor textures. This is a neat feature since you can then add no-go zones for specific areas and floor types.
It’s Still Incredibly Quick
The base station hasn’t had much of an upgrade. In fact, if anything, there are fewer options on the touchscreen panel now. As an app user, this doesn’t bother me, but it might be a problem for some users.
Once the Narwal Freo X Ultra is plugged in, it takes a matter of minutes to get set up. And, like the Freo, first-time mapping took seconds to discover the downstairs of my home.
There are additional options and settings in the app that allow you to set the detergent, drying intensity, cleaning mode, and more. You can easily schedule tasks so that the Freo X Ultra cleans at certain times of the day, throughout the week.
When a cleaning cycle has finished, the robot will return to the base station to wash and dry the mops.
Easy Maintenance for the Win
Instead of a lift-flap design like the Freo, you can easily remove the Freo X Ultra’s top cover to access the dust bin. You can either empty the dust bin when it gets full by hovering it over your household bin, or you can use one of the included disposable dust bags.
The dust bags come with a filter attached to them to ensure the same level of cleaning and filtration. Unlike the Freo’s 500ml dust bin, the disposable bags can carry up to 1L of dirt and dust.
Personally, I’m not fussed about the disposable bags. It’s easy to press the clip on the side of the dust bin to release the waste. And since the Freo X Ultra cleans and dries the bin when it returns to the base station, dirt doesn’t build up quickly like the Freo.
As the vacuum neatly compresses what it sucks up, you might not have to empty the dustbin for up to 7 weeks, which is very impressive. As you can see, the vacuum has efficiently collected plenty of dust, dirt, and hair.
The compression process neatly packs debris into a dust ball form. This takes up less room and also picks up anything left over from the base station and rollers. The HEPA filter also reduces the need for regular maintenance, which is a leaf other robot vacuum cleaners should take out of Narwal’s book.
Removing the robot from the base station for emptying is easy thanks to the built-in handle. A word of warning, though, it’s quite heavy, so I’d recommend the handle for simply moving the device rather than carrying it too far.
Like the Freo, the Freo X Ultra’s base station is effective at supplying fresh water to the Narwal, cleaning the mops regularly when it returns. The dirty water is dispensed into the subsequent canister, allowing you to easily pour it down the sink when it needs emptying.
Again, there is no self-emptying function here, but that’s really the only thing that this robot vacuum/mop combo is lacking.
Simplified Cleaning at a Cost
I’ve been really impressed with the Narwal Freo X Ultra. If you want to give it a whirl, you can at a cost of $1,399.00. It’s a hard pill to swallow because it costs a small fortune. But if you want to invest in a robot that’s going to keep your home clean and requires minimal maintenance, then this is the one to go for.
If you purchase the Freo X Ultra, you’ll also need to consider additional costs that you might incur along the way. For example, if you need to replace the mop pads, vacuum bag, HEPA filters, brush, or detergent, you’ll need to purchase these separately.
Should You Buy the Narwal Freo X Ultra?
With a demanding job, pets, and a young child, vacuuming and mopping my home easily gets pushed down my list of priorities. But with theNarwal Freo X Ultra, I’m able to stay on top of the cleaning with very minimal effort required.
If you’re looking for a vacuum cleaner that does the hard work for you by intelligently mapping and cleaning your home, and mops the floors along the way, this new friend of mine can certainly help.
