I reviewed the Narwal Freo Z10 Turbo, and it’s a great mid-range option

So, when Narwal offered a mid-range solution that could put up a fight, I decided to give it a shot.

7.5/10

Dimensions

Robot – 13.98 X 13.78 X 4.24- inches

Battery Life

1 year

Weight

9.92 lb

The Freo Z10 Turbo is a decent mid-range option for those looking to take the pressure off daily cleaning. The mops work very well, and polish floors up, and the vacuum suction is decent. However, for extremely busy households, it may struggle.

Pros & Cons

• Great at mopping
• Obstacle detection was great
• Very quiet cleaning, so pet-friendly

• The app is a little frustrating
• Big, clunky dock
• Initial start-up issues

Price, availability, and specs

The Narwal Freo Z10 Turbo is available on Amazon and Narwal’s site for $800, but as of posting this, you can get the unit for $600. It comes with a dock, cleaning solution, and a dust bag, and it’s available in white.

Narwal Freo Z10 Turbo — Design and setup

It definitely makes a statement

I thought the Omnicyclone was, but the Freo Z10 Turbo feels bigger. Its doc takes up quite a bit of space, considering the wire doesn’t really fold into the machine. The plug makes it difficult to put the base station flush with the wall, so it’s going to need a bit of room to breathe.

Set up was pretty easy, at least physically. The steps in the manual were clear, and the visual aids helped, so putting the dock together wasn’t difficult. However, you do have to make sure the bottom tray is set perfectly, otherwise it will cause you problems in the future. Case in point: I placed the tray, and it was “slightly off,” but visually, it looked just fine. This caused a few charging and connection problems that really messed with my experience.

Also, the labeling isn’t super clear. While the unit has pictures and different-colored tanks, it’s not immediately clear which is the clean water tank. Of course, with some context clues (the fact that the purple one was right above the solution), I was able to figure it out.

Narwhal uses a dust bag. I personally hate that — bagless all the way for me — but it’s got a bag you can empty, and it’s easy to install. The downside is that you have to eventually replace the bags.

Finally, the until does stick out like a sore thumb. I’m not a huge fan of white, since it tends to get scuffed pretty easily in my household, but if that’s your aesthetic, this unit will work for you.

As far as cleaning tools, it does have edge-to-edge cleaning and an SGS-certified DualFlow Tangle-Free system, and everything else is taken care of in the app.

Narwal Freo Z10 Turbo — Performance and testing

Quiet and chaotic

After a rough start (more on that later), I was pleased with the Freo Z10 Turbo’s overall performance. While the path it took to clean all the floors was vastly different from other vacuum models, it really took its time and went through each room. The Freo Z10 vacuums and mops, and it self-cleans, so you can set it and forget it for the most part.

However, it does perform one task better. While the vacuum did get a lot of dirt and dust, it left some behind. With 25,000(Pa), I expected to perform better on the vacuuming.

I didn’t expect it to pull a lot of dog hair out of the rug; no robot vacuum has done that, but it left dirt and missed corners, and I did have to go back over some areas with a manual vacuum. It still did a decent job picking up most of the dirt on a double-run.

I do want to mention it runs nice and quiet; it didn’t upset my animals at all, and they go running at the mere sight of the big vacuum. You can change the vacuum to more powerful modes and to run the cycle multiple times. However, you have to really dig into the app to find those modes.

Mopping is another story. The dual mop design did an excellent job of scrubbing and cleaning the floors. I actually experienced a clean, which I only get by manually mopping, though there were some tough spills I had to fix.

While it ran, I could never figure out what it was actually planning, since it seemed to jump from room to room at random. I’d forget it was running, and it would pop up and scare me, which is a little funny. But I tracked it on the app, and I guess its cleaning method didn’t matter as long as it was done well!

Narwal Freo Z10 Turbo — App and AI

You have to dig for the settings you want

While the physical setup was easy, working with the app was a bit more annoying. I downloaded the Narwal app, tried to pair the Freo Z10 Turbo, and the app was having trouble actually finding the unit.

What I liked about the Deebot X12 Omnicyclone was that it just had a QR code that took me right to where I needed to be. The Narwal QR code took me to the help page and told me to download the app.

When I did get the app uploaded, I couldn’t find my vacuum. Took me a few minutes to get it settled on the dock just right and hear the tone. The robot connected, but I didn’t show up until I fixed the tray and put it in the dock.

It mapped out the downstairs well enough. It was actually neat to see that it ran into some shoes in my office. Once it finished mapping everything, it gave a pretty clear picture of the house. It also mentioned moving wires and things off the floor.

However, it got stuck on nothing multiple times, which was annoying. It’s clear you have to babysit this one, and it definitely kept running into doors and walls.

The first mapping didn’t work, so I had to do it again. Finally, a notification popped up for a much-needed update, and it was finally able to map the room — only getting stuck once— and when returning to the dock. I had to fix the tray again, so it would stop backing into the dock, and finally it settled in properly with very few issues.

The app itself is a little difficult to navigate. While all the immediate options are there, you have to click around to find different vacuum modes, and “customize” your clean. You can do a general clean of the whole map, zones, or just a room. It has a pet-friendly mode, a child lock, and alerts for your dust bin/ bag control.

You can schedule the Freo Z10 Turbo to run using the app calendar, check cleaning records, or use the “Freo Mind” AI option to clean based on dirt level. It’s nice to have options.

Narwal Freo Z10 Turbo — Maintenance

Easy clean up

I, like many others, am busy. I need low maintenance, and the Freo Z10 Turbo is, for the most part. You don’t have to clear out the little bin when it gets full; you just replace the bag in the dock and empty the dirty water tank. You do have to clean the tray after a few cleanings, but that’s a small price to pay for not having to vacuum and mop all the time.

However, since it’s not bagless, you do have to purchase more bags on Narwal’s site. It comes with one starter bag, but once that’s full, you’re going to need to buy more. It also includes a solution, which can also be replaced at Narwal’s site. Depending on how often you run your vacuum, that can add up fast.

Narwal Freo Z10 Turbo — Battery life

It keeps going

The vacuum wasn’t fully charged when I started, but it keeps itself pretty charged and monitors its own battery. I didn’t have to save it at all, so it was very aware of which tasks it was able to complete with the amount of battery it had.

Battery life itself depends on which mode you run it on; obviously, the more work it has to put in, the more battery it will drain. But the Freo Z10 Turbo maps out a bizarre plan to hit different areas with planned stops to get the whole job done.

Narwal Freo Z10 Turbo — Should you buy it?

So, there’s a little give and take with the Freo Z10 Turbo. Grabbing it at the sale price of $600 is very worth it, especially if you plan to put the robo vac through its paces. It vacuums well and mops very well, but there are a few hiccups. While it is cheaper than models like the Deebot X12 Omnicyclone, you do have to take a few things under consideration, like how easy the app is to use, the size of the unit, and the fact that you’ll always have to buy bags for this thing.

However, $1500 is a lot. So, if you are looking for a decent vacuum that does just about everything for a lower price, the Narwal Freo Z10 Turbo might be worth your hard-earned cash. Just make sure you do the update first.

7.5/10

Dimensions

Robot – 13.98 X 13.78 X 4.24- inches

Battery Life

1 year

Weight

9.92 lb

The Freo Z10 Turbo is a decent mid-range option for those looking to take the pressure off daily cleaning. The mops work very well, and polish floors up, and the vacuum suction is decent. However, for extremely busy households, it may struggle.