I used this robot vacuum on a mechanical arm for 3 months and it’s a hard cell for $2,600

• The Saros Z70 costs $2,599, making it one of the most expensive robot vacuums I’ve seen. You can purchase two robot vacuums at this price.
• The most notable feature is the Omnigrip mechanical arm, designed to pick up and sort items. It also has powerful vacuum cleaners and mopping capabilities, excellent mapping, and ability to exceed thresholds.
• Mechanical arms have several issues, including object pickup, navigation issues, and software bugs. There was also a connection issue during setup.

Strong Points

• Good vacuum cleaner with hardwoods with 82.5% sand pickup
• Very inconspicuous and fits almost all underneath
• Quiet operation
• Works well at home with your pet
• The chassis lift will most often prevent it from getting stuck

Cons

• The dust bin is too small
• The water tank is too small
• There is not much mopping performance
• Some improvements are needed to avoid obstacles
• It’s expensive for $2,600 for the full price

I’ve been using the Roborock Saros Z70 for 3 months and it’s great in many ways The robot vacuum. This is the first robot vacuum with a mechanical arm that helps you pick up objects and clean the vacuum cleaner and mop. As someone who owns three cats that leave toys everywhere, I found this incredibly attractive. I’ll test and write about vacuums for a living, and the Saros Z70 is really that kind of thing. CNET chose it as one of us Best of CES AwardsIt gives high hopes for that possibility.

I tested it in a cluttered apartment for three months and my colleague, Reed lab tester, Jared Hannah, did the same at his home. In reality, the Saros Z70 certainly has many promises. Vacuum cleaners and mops can effectively cross thresholds and obstacles Dream x50 Ultraand there is great mapping and pet recognition in my home.

However, its signature feature, the robot arm – turns out to be unprepared for Showtime. Currently, the Saros Z70 has a fairly limited ability to pick up very small objects, such as pet toys and children’s toys. Sometimes it recognized and tried to pick up cat toys that I found scattered around my house, but never succeeded. Often, it unfolds the arm, detects and freezes nearby cats or other objects, sounds “error 69” and forces the arm to reset manually. At one point, I even tried to pick up my standing desk mat before realising that it wasn’t a compatible object and would give up.

We tested the Saros Z70 in June and July with the latest software update from RoboLock aimed at improving performance. Here’s my impression after three months of testing and whether it’s worth the $2,600 price tag:

My experience with the Saros Z70

I tested the SAROS Z70 for CES 2025. I’ve tested live demos, office spaces in New York City, CNET’s test lab in Louisville, Kentucky, and recently at home for three months. My biggest takeaway from real-world home tests and other experiences with vacuums on this robot are various problems with mechanical arms, struggle to pick up objects, navigation issues, software bugs. It was nice as a regular robot vacuum cleaner and MOP, but I couldn’t rely on my arm sorting ability to ensure that I pick up shoes and socks, let alone cat toys.

“Yeah, it’s basically like a beta version of the arm,” said Jared, who was testing the Z70 at the same time. “They should do a little more development when the public is ready. If the arm hits something while moving an object, they get an error. I think they’re doing what was supposed to be, because they felt there was too much resistance, but that’s what I think is going to be a common occurrence.”

• Vacuum cleaner and mop: Powerful performance, good sand/trash/hair pickup. Wipe clean/dirty tanks and hot air drying.
• Special features: The Omnigrip arm is currently unreliable, but it is an outstanding special feature. An operational problem was found during home testing. I struggled to get certain objects, especially pet toys, but I was far more fortunate with socks. The Saros Z70 identified his wife’s purple socks and not only could they pick them up from the hardwood floors of the bedroom, but also began carrying them to designated shoe drop areas set up in the foyer. The problem was during this journey I gave up somewhere between the hallway and the kitchen, dropped my socks, and acted as if the work was done and continued my normal cleaning cycle.
• Mapping and navigation: It generated 2D and 3D maps of my spaces and was automatically tagged to rooms (bedrooms, bathrooms, living rooms, kitchens), flooring types (hard surfaces, carpets) and identifiable specific furniture (sofas, TV stands, beds). I also marked a prominent threshold for my space. There, extra effort was required to cross. If you are not satisfied with the outcome, you can tell them to remap a particular room, but for the first time it did a great job for me.
• Software and Apps: This app is not the easiest tool to use, but has a wealth of settings and nested menus to allow you to empty your dust bin, mop cleaning frequencies, clean obstacle photos, enable robot arms, and adjust everything the robot can do. Everything the robot can do is customizable, but I hope that all of these features and settings are a little more front and center, rather than hidden in the long settings menu.
• Design and Aesthetics: The understated design is good for fitting under furniture, but trying to wedge yourself under something like a wife’s office chair can lead to scratches.
• Ease of Use: The setup had connectivity issues. Once set up, the basic functions are simple, but the advanced settings are complicated.

specification

• price: $2,599
• Object Weight Limit (Omnigrip ARM): Rated load of 300 grams. During the test, the actual load capacity is approximately 700 grams.
• Threshold crossing height: The maximum threshold of approximately 2 inches can be exceeded.
• Cleaning time: (Ajay’s Apartment, 850 sq ft): 1.5-2 hours for full vacuum and MOP sessions.
• Cleaning time: (Jarred’s House, 1,200 square feet): 2.5-3 hours for full vacuum and MOP sessions at the main level.
• Mapping time (Ajay’s Apartment, 850 sq ft): 16-18 minutes for initial mapping.
• Sand pickup performance on hardwoods: 82.46%, this is an excellent hardwood performance and shy of the Ecovacs Deeboth T30S combo (85%).
• Carpet (midpile) sand pickup performance: 51.77%, which outperforms Dreame X50 Ultra (44% midpile)
• Carpet Sand Pickup Performance (Low Pile): 51.06% are approaching a match with the Shark Power Detect NeverTouch Pro (54.5%).
• Voice Command Compatibility: This app can connect to Amazon Alexa for voice commands.
• Customizable: This app allows for a variety of customizations, including dust bin discharge frequency, mop cleaning frequency, cleaning patterns, obstacle photos, and robot arms enabled/disabled.
• Mapping features: The app displays 2D and 3D maps generated by the robot, allowing you to tag rooms, identify furniture, and set up “no go” zones. It also identifies the pet area and allows for “pet area cleaning.”
• Wi-Fi connection: The robot must connect to Wi-Fi for setup and app control.
• Dual spinning mopping pads: The robot uses dual spin mopping pads that are mounted and separated from the docking station.
• Clean and dirty water system: Use clean water for mopping and collect dirty water in another tank to ensure cleaner mopping.
• Mopping pad cleaning and drying: The mopping pads are washed at the base station during the washing session and are hot-dried.
• Mopping mode: “Vacuum + Mop” mode will vacuum first, then mop the entire space. There are options for deep cleaning, pet areas and SmartPlan with AI.

CNET Buying Advice

The Roborock Saros Z70 is excellent at vacuuming, mopping and navigation, but the core feature, Omnigrip Arm-, is not reliable enough to recommend it if you’re just trying to use the Omnigrip Arm well enough. Recent software updates in June and July have made several improvements, including improved grab points optimization, smarter sort optimization, and new pickup categories such as sports shoes, but consistency is still desired.

It’s hard to ignore the $2,599 price tag. For the price, I claim you can buy two or three great standard robot vacuum cleaners and MOPs. Yeedi M12 Pro Plus,or, Dream x50 Ultra It has the ability to exceed the threshold – both CNET’s Best Robot Vacuum Cleaners Best List. At the end of even lower prices, iRobot is new Roomba 205 DustCompactor Combo The best new robot vacuum for under $500, and it’s a unique mechanical paddle with solid performance and 60 days of dust storage in a dust bin.

If what you care about is a strong vacuum cleaner, mopping, avoiding obstacles: Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo Currently, CNET’s “best comprehensive robot vacuum” and Roborock’s own Saros 10r It offers similar or better vacuum and mopping performance with more space for dust bins and water tanks, as there is no need to attach a mechanical arm inside the body.

Without a fully operational and reliable Omnigrip ARM, its value cannot be justified at this time.

“The arms are a decent feature to look at, but personally I don’t think it’s very useful,” Jared says. “If the robot is smart enough to avoid obstacles like shoes, socks, etc., you don’t have to try them out and move them. As long as the robot doesn’t get clogged anything during the cleaning cycle, that’s enough for me.”

If Omnigrip Arm is the main reason to consider the Saros Z70, we recommend waiting for future software updates or a few years before Roborock and other companies enter the market with a new generation of technology.