Saros 10R Is Roborock's Thinnest, Smartest Mopvac Ever

Roborock brought us closer to our R2-D2 dreams at CES this year with the unveiling of the Saros Z70, a mopvac with an articulated arm that can clear small debris out of its path. And while having a mopvac zip around cleaning up socks and cat toys rather than running over them is certainly welcome, the technology that makes that possible has benefits for all Roborock devices.

For obvious reasons, the Z70 doesn't have the traditional LDS tower of traditional robovacs. Instead, the bot uses next-gen dual-light 3D Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensors and AI-empowered RGB cameras. Roborock calls it the StarSight Autonomous System 2.0 (rolls right off the tongue, doesn't it?) and claims that it's the most accurate mapping and obstacle avoidance system they've ever produced.

What's even better is that this new system isn't exclusive to the high-end Z70. Roborock is giving the technology a home in the Saros 10R—a dual spinning mop robovac without an arm that packs in all the power of a larger bot and uses the new StarSight system to pack it all into a slim package that's barely over 3 inches tall.

What Is It?

The Roborock Saros 10R is a dual spinning mop robovac with the company's next-gen StarSight autonomous navigation system. Instead of a hump on top of the robovac that has a spinning LIDAR sensor, the 10R uses AI-powered, side-mounted cameras and 3D sensors to accurately map its surroundings and identify and avoid obstacles.

What does all that mean? It means that at just 3.14" tall, the 10R can fit under even more furniture and cabinets while staying clear of things like socks, toys, and, for the first time, cords that are to the side of the robot.

It has an impressive 19,000 Pa of suction power, paired with the tangle free side and main brush seen on their QRevo Curv. There’s even a comb around the rotating wheel in the front of the unit to keep long fibers from wrapping around the axle. The result is even better cleaning capability with none of the hair and fiber tangles that traditionally plague robovacs.

The 10R packs a new host of tricks in addition to the improved obstacle avoidance. It's the first Robovac device that can independently lift the chassis, mops, side brush, and main brush. The chassis lifts to get over even high doorway dividers, the mops automatically lift when the 10R senses carpet or rugs, and the brushes lift when in mop-only modes or cleaning high-pile carpeting. The mops and brushes also lift when the bot is returning to the dock to prevent cross-contamination between rooms.

Speaking of docks, the 10R has a fantastic multi-purpose dock. Roborock has had incredible docks for a while now, so it's no surprise that this one is its best yet. It has auto-empty and refill tech (and refills the 10R with warm water, which is new). It can also automatically remove and store the mops when the bot is in vacuum-only mode. The dock heats water to 176° when cleaning the mops and uses 131° hot air drying to prevent mold and mildew growth.

The new dock also enables 2.5-hour fast charging so that the 10R can top itself back off and keep cleaning.

But How Does It Clean?

All of that technology means nothing if the bot can't clean. Thankfully, the Saros 10R met and exceeded my expectations.

As far as cleaning effectiveness, I found the 10R to be reliable and thorough. I have a cat and two long-haired humans in my house (including one teenager), so it doesn't take long for dust bunnies to accumulate and debris like litter and snack crumbs to be deposited. Over the holidays, it was noticeable when I didn't have the Saros 10R running daily.

The obstacle avoidance is truly next-level. There's no bumping into chairs or colliding with unexpected impediments (like my legs) to figure out what is and isn't something it needs to avoid. The onboard AI system recognizes 108 types of objects and has routines for avoiding them. What that translates to is smooth pathing around anything you put in the robot's way and almost complete elimination of robot rescues.

Cable detection is noticeably improved as well. I almost always have issues with robovacs grabbing power cables that run along the wall, sucking them in and dragging them out of place. Not so with the Saros 10R. It avoided them completely, tracing their length without disturbing them thank to the new side-mounted cameras.

The Saros 10R does take its time, though. When set to clean the mops after each room, there's a lot of back and forth (you can also set this to be a fixed interval). All of this travel means that it usually requires a charge to clean the 1,300 (ish) sq. ft. of open floor space in my home.

What's nice is that you have control over just about every aspect of how and when the Saros 10R cleans via the Roborock app. It remains the easiest to use and most intuitive, letting you easily opt in to beta features like pet avoidance (where the bot won't disturb sleeping pets it detects).

Other than having to refill and empty the water reservoirs once per cycle, there's far less maintenance to be done with the Saros 10R and its dock than any other robovac I've used. The dock even has a self-clean cycle.

Is It Worth It?

At a retail price of $1,599 ($1,399 pre-order), the Saros 010R is an investment. The good news is, it's an investment that pays off. The new obstacle avoidance system means you don't have to be constantly rescuing the robot from spots where it's gotten stuck or pull socks and toys out of the vacuum.

The shorter height means that the 10R can get under furniture and cabinets that other robovacs can't (or insist they can and then get themselves stuck). I had bathroom cabinets that I'd given up on cleaning under, only to have the 10R zip under on its first run.

It cleans impressively and cleans itself when it's done so that you don't have to worry about your robovac being the source of any contamination. Simply put, it's Roborock's best vacuum yet to the point where I wonder if I even need a version with an arm. I'll be curious to see what the Z70 brings when it comes out later this year.

In the meantime, the Saros 10R is up for pre-order on the Roborock site and is currently $200 off its MSRP. If you're looking for a reliable, autonomous mopvac, this is the one to get.