Roborock Saros 10R Review

Introduction

To simplify its product line-up, Roborock has introduced the Saros name for the high-end robot vacuum cleaners, with the Roborock Saros 10R the first I’ve seen.

Confusingly, there’s also a Saros 10 robot, which is very similar only it uses a different navigation system, a different mopping system and slightly more powerful suction.

Packed with the latest in Roborock’s technology, this robot vacuum cleaner and mop is designed to go where other robots can’t, with AdaptiLift also letting it tackle deep-pile carpet and navigate over thresholds, although the ability to do this does seem to depend on how the map is configured.

Design and Features

• Uses StarSight Autonomous System 2.0 for navigation
• Can drop mop pads off
• AdaptiLift chassis for threshold climbing and carpet cleaning

Although the new high-end robot, the Roborock Saros 10R shares quite a bit with the Roborock Qrevo Slim, ditching LiDAR for the company’s StarSight Autonomous System.

Here, it’s version 2.0 of that navigation system, using 3D ToF sensing to build a 3D view of the world around the robot. It does this via the sensors on the front, so there’s no need for a LiDAR dome on top.

That makes the Roborock Saros 10R just 7.98cm tall, so it will squeeze under most sofas and sideboards without getting stuck, letting it clean areas that other robots can’t.

With the sensor at the front, the Roborock Saros 10R can mostly see what’s going on in front of it, rather than having a 3D view as with the Dreame X50 Ultra Complete. Dreame’s robot can drop its sensor into the robot’s chassis when it wants to pass under low objects (something that the Roborock Saros 10 can also do).

In practice, I didn’t see that this made much difference in terms of navigation accuracy and the ability to avoid objects using the camera and AI object recognition.

On top, the robot looks much like any other robot, with shortcut buttons to start and pause a clean and to send the 10R back to its docking station.

The top panel comes off to allow the bin to be manually removed and emptied, plus you can wash the filter when required.

Flip the robot over, and the first thing that stands out is the DuoDivide brush, which has two shorter rollers designed to funnel hair into the middle and into the bin without tangling.

A FlexiArm brush sits on one side, and it can flip out to tease dirt out from the edges of rooms.

FlexiArm is also used on one of the two microfibre cleaning pads, to clean right up to the edges of rooms and even around furniture, such as chair legs.

The version of the Roborock Saros 10R that I have on review is with the Multifunctional Dock 4.0. This is a self-emptying, self-cleaning dock. It takes 2-litre dust bags, which should hold close to two months of dirt before needing replacing.

Dual water tanks sit on top, one for clean water and one for dirty water. They hold 3 litres of water apiece, and shouldn’t need emptying/refilling too often.

This dock uses 80°C water for mop washing, which helps remove dirt. In addition, there’s a detergent tank to boost cleaning performance. Roborock doesn’t provide any detergent in the box, so you can use the one of your choice or buy the approved one.

Once mops have been cleaned, 55°C air is used to dry them, preventing odours or bacteria growth.

With this robot, the mop pads are held on magnetically, so they can be dropped off at the dock when the Roborock Saros 10R is put into vacuum-only mode. That prevents carpets from getting wet, although the robot can also lift the pads by 12mm, letting it move over many carpets with no danger of soaking them.

In addition, the roller brush can also be lifted, preventing dragging dirt across a freshly mopped floor. And, the side brush can be lifted for the same reason, or when it’s not needed, such as when the Roborock Saros 10R is in open space.

New to this model is Roborock’s AdaptiLift chassis, which lets the entire body lift 10mm. This can be done altogether, or the robot can individually lift the front, rear or either side.

AdaptiLift also allows the robot to cross 2-to-4cm thresholds, and to help it navigate over deep pile carpet.

Control of the robot is via the Roborock app, which is one of the easiest to use. Once connected, the Roborock Saros 10R goes on a mapping run to discover the layout around it. This is fast, and generates a map with suggested rooms. If the layout is wrong, it’s easy to adjust the map, splitting and merging rooms.

Once complete, there are some advanced map controls, including telling the robot where the carpet and hard floor are, which helps it make the right cleaning decisions..

Adding furniture is a neat way to quickly clean later on. For example, I added my dining table, and then could select this for a clean after eating.

No-go zones can be placed on the map, if there’s an area you don’t want the Roborock Saros 10R going, or a place you find it gets stuck. There’s not an option for a no-mop zone, which is a shame, as there may be delicate floors that you’d like to protect.

There are advanced carpet settings in the app that allow you to tweak how the Roborock Saros 10R approaches soft flooring. The default is to use Dynamic Lift, lifting the mop pads and turning off water flow; however, you can also tell the robot to ignore, avoid or cross when necessary only.

Additional settings include carpet boost, using maximum power when carpets are detected; Deep cleaning where carpets are targeted after a room is cleaned; and to vacuum carpets first before wetting the mop.

It’s worth using the latter setting with the option to automatically detach the mop cloths, as the Roborock Saros 10R will leave the mopping pads behind when it cleans carpets first.

I’d also turn on the Automatic Re-Mopping option, which sees the Roborock Saros 10R return to a very dirty area for a second mop.

Jump into the AI Laboratory settings and there’s an option to spot stains and turn on deep cleaning mode automatically, and to extend FlexiArm to get under crevices, such as to clean under an appliance that the robot can’t fit under.

Cleaning options are in-depth. SmartPlan is a hands-off approach, where the robot learns from your habits and preferences, and creates a cleaning plan automatically. However, you can also take control, and choose to clean your entire home, a room or a zone that you draw on the map.

For each selection, you can then choose to Vac & Mop, Mop or Vacuum only. Strangely, there’s no option to vacuum first and then mop, although you can do this if you set up a Routine. Routines can be scheduled, or can just include a common clean, such as cleaning around a worktop after preparing dinner.

There are four main vacuum modes (Quiet, Balanced, Turbo and Max), but in the vacuum-only mode you also get Max+.

There are three levels of water flow for mopping, but in mop-only mode you also get two more routing options, which see the Roborock Saros 10R take tighter turns and cover the same area multiple times.

Finally, you can choose to clean each area once or twice.

As with previous Roborock vacuum cleaners, you can set this one to allow remote viewing of the camera, even allowing for a two-way call.

Matter support will be available via a firmware update at some point in the future when there are Matter systems that actually support robot vacuum cleaners.

Performance

• Excellent navigation
• Threshold climbing needed some tweaking
• Needs settings tweaked to get the best mop clean

First up, the Roborock Saros 10R is an excellent navigator. I littered the lab with common hazards, including cables, shoes and some fake pet mess, and it ably avoided all of them.

It also managed to get under my tricky corner sofa, which is higher at the front than the back, as has seen many a robot wedge itself tight.

I did struggle with the threshold climbing at first. Laying some kitchen plinth down between rooms, the Roborock Saros 10R failed to climb over this on the first go, complaining that it couldn’t make its way to the dining room.

I had to go into the app and draw the threshold on the floor. The next time the robot went out, it lifted its front and climbed over the mess. I didn’t have to draw any thresholds to get the Dreame X50 Ultra Complete to do the same thing.

With a thick-pile rug on the ground, the Roborock Saros 10R managed to lift its front and climb onto the rug, with AdaptiLift letting the robot continue to vacuum, even if it moved a little slower than before.

With 19,000Pa suction power, the Roborock Saros 10R is one of the most powerful robot vacuum cleaners available, and 9000Pa more powerful than the previous flagship, the S8 MaxV Ultra.

This level of suction shows in my tests. With my carpet test, I added a teaspoon of flour to my test carpet, and then set the Roborock Saros 10R off, giving it two passes of the room. At the end, the mess was mostly gone, bar a couple of tiny spots.

It’s hard to get better than this, and an additional pass on maximum power sorted out the last little bits that the robot missed the first time around.

Hard floor cleaning is easier, and the Roborock Saros 10R had no trouble picking up my flour spill in the middle of the floor, with not a trace left.

Edge performance was just as good, with the robot able to clean right to the edge of the kitchen plinth and pick up most of the mess.

I then set the robot to work with my dried on stains, to see how well it could mop the floor. For this test, I set the robot to mop mode, and gave it two passes with the maximum water flow, and the advanced dirt detection features turned on.

Starting with my coffee stain, with everything turned on, the mess was scrubbed from the floor pretty easily.

The same was true with my red wine stain, which the Roborock Saros 10R dealt with pretty easily.

Next, came my very tough ketchup test. A couple of passes were enough to dramatically reduce the stain, but the tough cluster in the middle remained.

I sent the Roborock Saros 10R out again for two more passes, and this time it managed to remove the mess (the mark on the floor is an inground stain that won’t come out).

With the mud test, I also found that the two passes weren’t quite enough to clean the mess, leaving a clear outline.

I had to send the robot back for another couple of passes, which did the job.

Overall, mopping is very good, but for the toughest of stains, you might need to send the robot out for multiple passes. For general stains, if you use the robot daily as a maintenance cleaner, you shouldn’t have an issue.

To see how well the robot dealt with human hair, I added some long strands to the test carpet and then let the robot loose. With its side sweeper lifted up, this didn’t get tangled, and the hair was collected by the main brush. At the end of the clean, flipping the robot over showed that no hair was wrapped around the brush.

I measured the Roborock Saros 10R at 58.6dB, which is pretty quiet given the level of power available.

Battery life is rated at 180-minutes on the lowest setting, but the truth is that runtime is not an issue on higher settings. The Trusted Reviews Home Technology Lab has a larger footprint than a floor of an average home, and the Roborock Saros 10R managed two passes on high power settings with plenty of battery life left for another go.

Should you buy it?