The Narwal Freo X Ultra is a hybrid robot vacuum/mopping unit with a uniquely designed multifunction charging dock. This station washes and dries the unit's mopping pads, but it differs from similarly-sized multifunction docks in that it doesn't suck out debris from the vacuum's dustbin into a separate high-capacity container. Instead, the Narwal compresses the debris within itself to cut down on mechanical complexity. It boasts another unusual feature in the form of its dustbin, which can be fitted with a HEPA-rated dustbag.
Our Verdict
The Narwal Freo X Ultra is decent for bare floors. It does a good job of picking up solid debris and offers a wide range of cleaning configuration options, even if its companion app can have a few minor quirks. It also feels very well-built, and its docking station does take some of the sting out of everyday maintenance. That said, its mopping system is nothing special as far as performance is concerned. The vacuum also does a terrible job of dealing with debris in cracks and crevices.
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Great build quality.
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App is feature-rich.
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Good performance on bare floors.
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Annoying in-app quirks and restrictions.
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Mediocre mopping performance.
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Incurs high recurring costs.
The Narwal Freo X Ultra performs adequately on low-pile carpets. Performance on this surface type is pretty poor, so it's really best used for light cleaning sessions, especially when there's minimal soiling. Barring a few annoying quirks, its companion app provides a broad range of cleaning configuration options. Its docking station doesn't extract debris from its dustbin; instead, it compresses it further inside: this system is intended to minimize the risk of clogging and tamp down on odors. The flip side of this is that you'll still have to dispose of debris more often than you would with a higher-capacity docking station dustbin.
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Great build quality.
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App is feature-rich.
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Long battery life.
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Annoying in-app quirks and restrictions.
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Incurs high recurring costs.
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Poor debris pickup on low-pile carpeting.
The Narwal Freo X Ultra is a passable choice for high-pile carpets. It delivers relatively decent performance on this surface type, and its structured light sensor allows it to spot and avoid super-plush carpeting where it might get stuck. Its docking station does take some of the sting out of everyday maintenance, but it also incurs its own set of added costs and maintenance. The Narwal's companion app offers a pretty broad range of features, and as long as you're working within the confines of its primary map, you can adjust the floor type for different rooms to have it automatically adjust its suction mode with no intervention afterward.
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Great build quality.
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App is feature-rich.
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Long battery life.
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Annoying in-app quirks and restrictions.
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Incurs high recurring costs.
The Narwal Freo X Ultra is a poor choice for pet owners. It struggles with pet hair on carpeted floors, and its mopping system does a mediocre job of handling any mud or dirt that your pet can track inside. On the upside, it's very quiet, which is good for easily startled animals, and its self-cleaning brushroll does a good job of minimizing hair tangles.
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Self-cleaning brushroll is effective overall.
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Mediocre mopping performance.
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Sub-par pet hair pickup performance on carpeting.
The Narwal Freo X Ultra is a robot vacuum and isn't designed for use on stairs.
The Narwal Freo X Ultra is a robot vacuum and isn't designed to clean the inside of your car.
The Narwal Freo X Ultra is a robot vacuum and isn't meant to clean the inside of your workshop.
- 7.0 Bare Floor
- 6.3 Low-Pile Carpet
- 6.4 High-Pile Carpet
- 4.5 Pets
- 5.6 Stairs
- 4.6 Cars
- 4.3 Workshop
- Updated Sep 24, 2024: Review published.
- Updated Sep 05, 2024: Early access published.
- Updated Aug 26, 2024: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Aug 22, 2024: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated Aug 19, 2024: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Narwal Freo X Ultra is only available in a single colorway: 'White.' You can see the label for the model we tested here.
Let us know in the discussions below if you come across another variant of this vacuum.
Compared To Other Vacuums
The Narwal Freo X Ultra is a hybrid vacuum/mop with a uniquely designed docking station, which only washes and dries its mop pads and dustbin on occasion. Instead of a self-empty station, the vacuum itself can compress debris within its dustbin, effectively increasing its overall debris capacity, with the promise of avoiding clogs and foul odors. However, you'll still need to empty out its dustbin more often than you would a dirtbag within a self-emptying base station, like the one included with the Roborock Qrevo. In terms of raw performance, the Narwal is alright overall, but its mopping performance lags behind some segment leaders. While its companion app is pretty feature-packed, you'll need to work around some annoying quirks and restrictions, too.
If you're looking for alternatives, look at our list of recommendations for the best robot vacuums, the best robot vacuums for hardwood floors, and the best robot vacuums for carpet.
The Roborock Qrevo is better than the Narwal Freo X Ultra. The Roborock delivers better overall debris pickup performance, does a better job of maneuvering around obstacles, has a more effective mopping system, and an easier-to-use and even more feature-rich app. The Roborock's multi-function dock also won't have to be emptied as often as the Narwal's debris-compressing dustbin.
The Roborock S8 Pro Ultra is a better overall vacuum/mop than the Narwal Freo X Ultra. In terms of physical design, the Roborock feels even better built, and it charges faster, too. The Roborock also delivers better debris pickup performance on bare floors and carpets, and its dual roller head is far more effective in clearing away pet hair. Its ReactiveAI system does a better job of spotting and avoiding obstacles compared to the Narwal's hazard-avoidance system, and the Roborock companion app provides a bigger range of features and a more intuitive interface. The Roborock's multi-function dock also has a more conventional self-empty feature, which you won't have to empty as often as the Narwal's debris-compressing dustbin.
The Dreame L10s Ultra and Narwal Freo X Ultra each have their own strengths, though ultimately, the Dreame is the slightly more well-rounded option. The Dreame feels even better built, incurs fewer maintenance requirements, does a better job of navigating around obstacles, and has a more effective mopping system. Its companion app is also better overall, with an even bigger feature set and a more intuitive interface. Meanwhile, the Dreame charges faster while offering a longer battery life. It also incurs a slightly lower cost of ownership.
The Narwal Freo X Ultra is better as a vacuum than the eufy X10 Pro Omni. The Narwal recharges faster while offering similar battery life, and it delivers superior debris pickup on bare floors as well as low and high-pile carpeting. On the other hand, the eufy is the smarter overall appliance, with a better overall in-app experience. Its more conventional multi-function dock also has a much greater debris capacity than the Narwal's unique built-in debris compression technology.
Test Results
Build quality is impressive overall. The vacuum is made of thick, high-density plastic with a mix of glossy and matte finishes. Premium touches abound, including its mop pads, which are made from silver ion cloth, which supposedly has anti-microbial properties. There's no door to access the dustbin compartment. Instead, the entire top cover is held in place with magnets and can just be lifted off.
It isn't all good news, however. The optional disposable dustbag that can be mounted in its dirt compartment is made from a thin, fragile material that rips very easily.
In testing, following two mop wash cycles, the dirty water tank within the self-clean station started to overflow due to a deformed rubber gasket around its intake. As a result, water pooled around the dock (another view can be seen here), which is obviously undesirable if you were to set this unit up on a wooden floor or near a rug or carpet, and prevented the mop pads from drying properly. Narwal does have a troubleshooting guide on their YouTube channel to help identify the cause and rectify this issue. With that being said, let us know if you also have a Narwal Freo X Ultra and ran into the same issue.
User maintenance requirements are fair overall. There are quite a few parts that need to be cleaned periodically, but for the most part, everything is very easy to get to. Even components like the side brush and castor wheel, normally components that require quite a bit of force to remove on other units, can be pulled free without the need for any tools. The dustbin opens from the bottom and can make a bit of a mess when emptied. Thankfully, the optional dust bag makes this process a little more hygienic. Since the docking station handles the mop-washing process, you won't have to do this yourself. While the brushroll does a good job of resisting hair wraps, it's worth noting that it doesn't take much hair to jam the inlet to its dirt compartment. If you'd like to see a full breakdown of the maintenance procedures for this unit, you can view a PDF copy of its user manual here.
Similarly, the docking station has quite a few parts that need regular cleaning, but they're all readily accessible. You can remove its clean water, dirty water, detergent tanks, and cleaning tray with minimal fuss. Beyond rinsing the tray, dirty water tank, and filter sponge, there isn't that much to actually do in terms of regular maintenance. Narwal's YouTube channel also has a trio of video guides explaining how to take care of the dock, which detail how to install the tray, add detergent, and wash the dirty water tank. The manufacturer also offers a kit that allows you to hook up the dock for continuous water supply, so you won't have to fill up its clean water tank manually.
This unit incurs high recurring costs.
- Brushrolls: The brushrolls need replacing after 300 hours of use. Replacements can be purchased here.
- Side brush: The side brush has a service life of 150 hours or approximately after three months of use. You can buy a pair of replacement brushes here.
- Dustbin filter: No specific replacement interval is given for the dustbin filter, with the manufacturer stating only that it needs to be replaced regularly. You can buy a replacement here.
- Dustbin dirtbag: The optional dirtbag for the vacuum's dustbin has an advertised capacity of seven weeks, partly due to the docking station's debris compression system. That said, you're likely going to need to replace it more often than that, especially if you have a heavily shedding pet. You can buy a three-pack of replacements here.
- Mop cloths: You should replace the mop cloth after 150 hours of use. Replacements can be bought in packs of two, as seen here.
- Detergent: If you're using detergent, you'll need to buy a fresh bottle when the reservoir runs out. You can buy a 31oz (930ml) bottle here.
If you'd prefer to buy these parts as part of a bundle, Narwal offers two types. Accessory Pack 01 comes with:
- 6x Dirtbags
- 1x pair of Side brushes
- 2x Docking station sponge filters (not listed as a part that needs to be replaced)
- 2x Dustbin filters
- 6x Mop cloths
- 2x 31oz (930ml) Detergent bottles
The cheaper Accessory Pack 02 comes with:
- 6x Dirtbags
- 4x Mop cloths
- 2x 31oz (930ml) Detergent bottles
The Narwal Freo X Ultra takes up a fair amount of room, though admittedly less than some other alternatives. The dock is very wide, but it doesn't actually stick out that far, with the vacuum berth being very deep.
This vacuum's dustbin has a relatively good capacity. The optional disposable dirtbags have a capacity of 800ml, a little less than the advertised capacity of 1L but still way more than the majority of other conventional robovacs on the market. If you don't use the dirtbag, the dustbin still has a relatively substantial 700ml capacity. The dock's debris compression system supposedly allows the vacuum to hold seven weeks worth of debris, but it's likely that you need to empty the vacuum out far more regularly than that if you have a heavily-shedding pet.
Vacuum components
- Narwal Freo X Ultra vacuum
- Vacuum dustbin
- 1x Cyclonic Deflector Tangle-free Roller Brush
- Brushroll cover
- Robot top cover
- 3x Disposable dirtbags
- 1x Dustbin filter
- 2x Mop pad mounts
- 2x Mop pads
Base Station components
- Base station
- Clean water tank
- Dirty Water Tank
- Cleaning base with tray
- Dock power cable
Various accessories
- 1x 31oz (930ml) Detergent bottle
- User Manual
The vacuum's range is limited only by its remaining battery life, though it can't climb or descend staircases.
This is a pretty heavy robot vacuum, which can make it a bit of an annoyance to carry up and down flights of stairs.
The Narwal Freo X Ultra has great battery performance. It can run for just under an hour and a half in its 'Super Powerful' setting. Setting it to the low-power 'Quiet' mode extends its battery life to over four hours, which is more than sufficient for cleaning larger spaces. It also recharges much faster than alternatives like the Dreame L10s Ultra. Unfortunately, there's no way of quickly checking battery status at a quick glance; you'll need to open the app to do that.
This is a pretty feature-packed device. The standout feature is its 'Freo Mind' system, which enables a number of 'smart' features. With this setting enabled, the unit will return to its dock to wash its mop pads after cleaning every room to avoid cross-contamination, repeatedly mop an area if it identifies there's heavier soiling, turns on an edge-cleaning mode to wiggle around edges, change its suction setting depending on the surface it's on, and even adjust the water flow to its mop pads depending on ambient humidity. If you'd like to tweak parameters individually, there are four levels of suction power, three levels of mop water flow, and three different pathing settings.
This vacuum has a pair of two-armed side brushes to direct debris into the path of its roller. It also comes with a pair of washable mop cloths that are velcroed onto magnetically mounted rotating base plates.
This vacuum does a good job of cleaning hard floors. It can clear away the majority of bulky debris like cereal and does fairly well with medium-sized debris like rice as well. That said, it does tend to leave behind some material against walls or in corners.
This vacuum delivers decent performance on high-pile carpet. It's good at dealing with medium-sized and large debris like rice or cereal on this surface type. However, it really struggles with finer debris like sand.
We initially encountered some difficulty testing this vacuum on our black sample carpet, as its cliff sensors would trigger and cause it to stop moving. To get around this issue, we covered the sensors with two layers of paper and gaffer tape. This isn't a solution we recommend for actual day-to-day use, but it's worth keeping in mind if you have a home with especially dark-colored carpets.
Performance on low-pile carpet is poor. As with its performance on high-pile carpet, it really struggles with finer debris like sand, though it does do fairly well in clearing away larger material.
We initially encountered some difficulty testing this vacuum on our black sample carpet, as its cliff sensors would trigger and cause it to stop moving. To get around this issue, we covered the sensors with two layers of paper and gaffer tape. This isn't a solution we recommend for actual day-to-day use, but it's worth keeping in mind if you have a home with especially dark-colored carpets.
This vacuum does a poor job of dealing with pet hair on low-pile carpet. It does very little to lift away hair that's been gently pressed into carpet fibers.
This vacuum doesn't exert all that much in the way of suction force, though this isn't unusual for a robot vacuum; its suction inlet is positioned too high above the ground to generate a tight seal on bare surfaces, so real-world suction measurements are quite low.
It's worth noting that this vacuum's 'Maximum Head Suction' was achieved using the 'Super Powerful' suction setting. There's an even more potent 'Vortex' mode, which is only accessible when the vacuum's Freo Mind feature is enabled, but we were unable to have the vacuum run properly on our test rig with the latter feature enabled.
We weren't able to evaluate the Narwal Freo X Ultra's airflow performance on our test rig, as it doesn't start if the vacuum is unable to determine its current position and move.
This vacuum is fantastically quiet. You'll hear what people nearby are saying even when the vacuum is running in its most powerful suction mode.
This vacuum has decent maneuverability. Its LIDAR mapping sensor allows for reasonably quick mapping performance, and it's impressively thorough overall. It's capable of cleaning close to obstructions like furniture legs or coat racks. It's fitted with structured light sensors that allow it to spot obstacles: it's fairly accurate in practice, correctly identifying a thick carpet as a potential obstacle, but that didn't stop it from getting close to said carpet and getting stuck. It's also worth noting that its LIDAR sensor is a little taller than the norm, and it can get stuck when trying to clean under especially low tables and chairs.
This is a robot vacuum, and therefore, it can't be used to clean furniture.
We weren't able to evaluate the Narwal Freo X Ultra's particle filtration performance on our test rig, as it doesn't start if the vacuum is unable to determine its current position and move. For what it's worth, Narwal claims the built-in filters for the disposable dirtbags are HEPA-rated.
This vacuum does a poor job of cleaning crevices in its 'Normal' suction setting. It isn't quite powerful enough to draw debris out of deeper cracks, and its side brushes can fling some lighter debris outwards. Running the vacuum in the 'Super Powerful' suction results in a minor improvement in performance.
This vacuum's stain-clearing performance is mediocre with the mop dampness level set to 'Normal,' pathing set to 'Standard,' and opting for two passes. The vacuum will return to its dock periodically to re-wet its pads during a mopping job. It doesn't do that much after running a single job, but running a secondary job does result in improved overall performance.
If you use the Freo Mind setting, the vacuum will automatically give more attention to areas with higher soil and only stop mopping after it's been cleaned.
At the end of the unit's cleaning cycle, it'll return to its dock to have its mop pads cleaned and dried. You can see how the pads looked before the automatic clean cycle here, and after the clean cycle here.
It's worth noting that we encountered several navigational issues while testing this vacuum within the confines of the boundary box. We repeatedly conducted several runs with detergent, but they didn't adequately reflect its overall performance with the unit moving in an inconsistent, erratic pattern that caused it to miss the stain in the middle of the floor. It exhibited far more consistent navigational behavior in a second run. The cause of this issue is likely partly due to the relatively small dimensions of the boundary box. We were only able to achieve the results posted above following 18 separate re-tests. Still, let us know in the discussions below if you also have a Narwal Freo X Ultra and have run into a similar set of issues.
The Narwal Freo X Ultra isn't designed to deal with large amounts of standing water. Its mop cloths can only absorb a small amount of liquid.
The Narwal Freo X Ultra has relatively few physical automation capabilities. There are just two buttons on the vacuum itself, though the dock also has some physical controls. The 'Start/Stop' button also works as an on/off switch, while the 'Recall' button sends the vacuum back to its dock. On the topic of the dock, it washes and dries the vacuum's mop pads and compresses debris within its internal dustbin.
The Narwal Freo app is impressively feature-rich. After the vacuum has mapped your home, you can use the app to view the robot's position, add no-go zones, split, merge, and label rooms, add furniture to the map, or set surface types (you can choose between carpet, tile, general floor, hardwood floor, tatami, marble, or cobblestone). The robot will automatically adjust mopping pressure based on floor type or lift its mop pads on carpet. You can also tweak the dock's behavior, configuring it to automatically add detergent to the cleaning mix, air dry debris in the dustbin, set the intensity of the mop pad drying feature, or adjust the order in which the vacuum approaches mixed cleaning jobs (vacuum and mop simultaneously, vacuum then mop, vacuum only, or mop only). You can also enable push notifications for general maintenance and cleaning, check cleaning history, or enable more specialized cleaning settings, like 'Stairless Mode,' which disables the cliff sensors for improved climbing performance, or 'High-Altitude Mode,' which boosts fan power and is intended for use in homes that are 2000 meters above sea level.
Unfortunately, the app is also saddled with an unintuitive interface and a few annoying quirks. Not only does it not automatically adapt to different stored maps when moved to another floor, it can also have trouble recognizing the very same map it just finished mapping. There's no way of adjusting the sensitivity of its obstacle avoidance system to weed out false positives, and it doesn't display detected obstructions on its coverage map. The unit can also only store a single 'primary' map that supports the use of the 'Freo Mind' mode; secondary maps don't support this feature. You also can't make changes to the cleaning parameters while the vacuum is running on a secondary map. It also doesn't automatically update changes like moving furniture, rugs, or other obstacles. In testing, for instance, it refused to mop an area where a carpet had previously been set up, even after the floor type was changed from carpet to general flooring.