Tested: The Narwal Freo Z10 Robot Vacuum – Stylish and Powerful, But Is It Smart Enough?

Although Narwal is a newcomer to the French market, it has already made a name for itself globally. The brand gained attention in France with several high-quality products, including the Freo Z10 Ultra. We are now testing its sibling, the Narwal Freo Z10.

This robot vacuum-mop retains most of the qualities of its predecessor. However, to drop from a product priced at 1,299 euros to another at 899 euros, some sacrifices had to be made. Here, the camera and AI features appear to have been scaled back, while the suction and mopping capabilities remain identical to those of the older model. Let’s see if this Freo Z10 is worth the 400 euros less than its elder sibling.

Technical Specifications

This review was conducted with a product lent by the manufacturer.

Design: Aesthetic Yet Slightly Bulky

The Narwal Freo Z10 boasts a sleek design. The cover slightly extends at the back, creating an elegant line and a thoughtfully designed slight relief. This is complemented by a single backlit button that changes color according to the robot’s status: blue, white, orange, or red.

With a diameter of 35.5 cm and a thickness of 10.96 cm, its size is standard… except in height, where most of its competitors average between 9.5 cm to 10.5 cm. Thus, this Z10 will have difficulty fitting under as many pieces of furniture as its competitors.

For navigation, the Z10 relies on a laser telemeter housed in its dome and infrared sensors. Here, unlike the Z10 Ultra, there is no RGB camera.

Under the hood, we find a well-designed multifunctional bin that combines dust and water. This bin is even detachable and has a capacity of 300 ml. Note a high suction power, with no less than 15,000 Pa under the hood!

Turning the robot over, we discover two side brushes and a central brush (with rubber blades and nylon threads), all three designed to be anti-tangle. At the rear, two rotating pads ensure washing. Their triangular shape is supposed to optimize cleaning compared to round pads. The right one even extends outside the robot to better fit the edges of furniture and walls.

The Base: A Refined Design and Optimized Construction

The docking station of the Narwal Freo Z10 is not the most compact on the market (46.2 × 43.08 × 38.83 cm for 11.3 kg), but it makes up for it with a very sleek design. The all-rounded block avoids the usual unsightly access ramp that unnecessarily extends the floor space occupied. Here, everything is integrated into a coherent and visually successful monobloc.

The white shell alternates between matte and glossy materials, enhanced by a few silver touches. On top, backlit buttons allow for the manual launch of the mopping function.

Inside the alcove where the robot rests, a bin is dedicated to cleaning the pads.

This system is passive. It’s the pads themselves that rub against a crimped plastic base, without an active brush to scrub them.

On top of the base, two water tanks are accessible by lifting the upper cover. One of 4.5 liters for clean water and the other of 4.05 liters for dirty water.

In the front, a discreet cover hides a dust bag, supposed to offer up to 120 days of autonomy. Just to its left, a reservoir for cleaning solution is integrated, with automatic dosing in the washing water.

Application and Management: Simple and Direct

The Narwal app is essential to take advantage of all the Z10’s functions.

From the home screen, we are introduced to a neat interface, with a modern and clean design. Here, we can add a new robot by pressing the “+” icon. The robot’s detection is automatic, then you just need to enter the Wi-Fi password. Pairing takes between 3 and 5 minutes.

Once connected, the main screen dedicated to the Freo Z10 focuses on mapping. At the top right of the map, three icons provide access to settings, the knowledge base, and the home return. To the right of the map, two additional icons appear: one customizes the map display, the other opens the functions specific to the base.

Also on the right, but at the bottom of the map, a switch allows you to choose between treating rooms one by one or defining a custom area. Without selection, the app will initiate a cleaning of the entire home.

Below the map, we have the predefined cleaning modes: simultaneous suction and washing, suction followed by washing, suction alone, washing alone, custom mode, and finally a floor maintenance mode designed to apply specific maintenance products. Once a mode is chosen, two options are available to the user. The first, called FREO, activates the robot’s artificial intelligence. This automatically adjusts all parameters according to the environment. The second allows for complete customization.

In this case, it is possible to adjust the number of passes (one or two), the suction power (silent, normal, strong, or super powerful), the number of passes for washing (1 or 2), and the mop’s moisture level (3 levels available). The final setting allows you to choose the precision of movement: standard or meticulous. Once the settings are done, just press Start Cleaning or the Play button to start the operation.

After each cleaning, a report is displayed. It shows the cleaned surface and other useful data. The Settings menu allows access to advanced options, including customizing the FREO mode. It is possible to limit or not the use of the mop, adjust the number of passes, activate or deactivate the use of detergent, adjust the suction power, the mop’s moisture, the level of precision, or leave everything in automatic mode.

The same goes for the maintenance of the rotating pads. You can choose a cleaning every 8, 10, or 12 m², or trigger a wash after each room. It is also possible to activate an edge cleaning, define a specific order in the sequence of rooms, or activate the special mode for granular waste, which cat owners should appreciate.

The base also offers several settings, including the disinfection of the robot’s dust bin and the base’s bag. They are then dried to prevent bacterial proliferation. The same applies to the rotating pads after washing with hot water. Drying is then done with hot air at 40 °C.

As for obstacle detection, there is no camera here. The Freo Z10 relies only on its laser telemeter and the mechanical bumper at the front, which perhaps explains the absence of dedicated options. Finally, while voice assistants are well supported, fans of Matter will be left wanting. An update for this protocol is announced for the end of the year.

Maintenance and Accessories: Straightforward and Effective

On the robot side, maintenance is quite simple. The central brush, equipped with an anti-tangle system, performs very well daily. Cleaning every two months should suffice, unless you have pets or several people with long hair in the household. In this case, plan for monthly maintenance, and it is unlikely you will need more. The two side brushes are easily removable if needed, but here too they rarely get dirty.

The dust bin benefits from regular automatic disinfection via the base. Despite this, occasional manual cleaning is still recommended, especially for the HEPA filter, which is rinsed with clean water.

On the base side, the clean water tank easily lasts a week if you run a daily cycle. The 2.5 L dust bag will need to be replaced every 90 to 120 days, less than 90 if your household is very lively.

The pad washing system adapts to the level of dirt on the pads. These are analyzed to wash at 45°, 60°, or 75°. The result is excellent, even if traces can accumulate over time, mainly around the attachment system. For a less active household, monthly machine cleaning may suffice. In a very busy house, two washes per month will not be too much.

The cleaning system relies on triangular pads rubbing against spikes. This retractable mechanism must be washed manually about once a month to prevent material accumulation, which will impair mop maintenance.

One downside, the integrated ramp tends to retain residues from the central brush. These sometimes accumulate excessively, but a simple vacuuming is enough to remove them.

Usage: Not Always Smart

Mapping

The Freo Z10 offers excellent quality mapping. Thanks to its laser telemeter, space detection is precise and fast. In our tests, the robot detected our trap room, accessible only through a slightly open door, and integrated it without error into the overall map.

The map display combines two approaches, a simplified one, similar to iRobot or Ecovacs, and a more detailed one, close to what we find with Roborock,

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Maya Singh

Maya Singh is a senior editor covering tablets and hybrid devices. Her work explores how these tools reshape digital productivity and learning. She also contributes to feature editorials on emerging tech.