At a glance
Expert’s Rating
Pros
- Voice control
- Uses floor detergent
- Knows its position
- Good carpet cleaning
Cons
- Doesn’t avoid smaller objects
- Schedules difficult to set
- Can become trapped
Our Verdict
Roborock’s Saros 20 robot vacuum offers remarkable cleaning efficiency, significantly reducing the need for manual vacuuming and mopping. Distinguished by its use of detergent, it can detach and reattach its mop pads, clean corners effectively, and identify larger obstacles. With the ability to climb over thresholds and rugs, it handles various surfaces without difficulty. However, during a two-week test period, it only completed a clean without issues a few times.
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Best Prices Today: Roborock Saros 20
Roborock has been producing quality robot vacuum cleaners for a while, ranging from the budget-friendly Q5 Pro to the compact Qrevo Slim. All of these models seem to have led up to their latest flagship product: the Roborock Saros 20 robot vacuum and mop.
Much like the Qrevo Slim, this model includes voice control and maintains a similar appearance. However, it provides a superior cleaning experience, handling carpets and thresholds by elevating itself and identifying objects such as wires, furniture, and even cat litter boxes.
The mopping feature is also enhanced, using detergent and allowing its mop pads to detach for vacuuming alone. This, along with a comprehensive docking station, makes it ideal for busy households seeking more than basic cleaning.
Design & Build
- Can climb up to 8.8cm
- Dock only needs emptying every two months
- Cleans with hot water
Despite the technology packed into the Roborock Saros 20, it is surprisingly not bulky. It measures an average size of H7.98 x W35 x D35.3cm but is heavier than some at over 5kg. Its dimensions allow it to navigate beneath and around most furniture effortlessly. Underneath, it is designed for a thorough clean with a sweeping side brush, two rubber rollers to avoid hair tangles, and a pair of extending arms that help the robot climb up to 8.8cm.
Rachel Ogden / Foundry
On top, two buttons control basic functions like returning to the dock or resuming cleaning if paused. Voice control enhances its functionality. Once configured in the app, a simple ‘Hello Rocky’ can prompt it to perform various tasks without needing to use a device or smart speaker (it is compatible with Alexa, Siri, and Google Home). A card listing the many possible commands is included.
The dock is the hub where the robot vacuum empties its contents into a bag, refills with water and detergent for mopping, cleans at 100°C, dries its two mop pads at 55°C, detaches and reattaches them, and charges.
Rachel Ogden / Foundry
Despite its capabilities, the docking station is relatively compact, measuring only H48.8 x W38.1cm. However, its depth of 47.5cm, along with the need for some clearance in front, might make it a bit cumbersome in smaller spaces. Access to the top for adding clean water and removing dirty water, as well as the front for detergent refills and vacuum bag changes, is necessary.
Performance & Features
- Simple, advanced mapping
- Scheduling was more complicated
- Effective cleaning
Setting up the Roborock Saros 20 is impressively efficient. It quickly connected to Wi-Fi, mapped three areas in under two minutes using the Intelligent StarSight System 2.0, and the app made it easy to modify room configurations. An initial challenge was positioning the dock due to its 110cm power cable, which requires a nearby socket.
Adjusting the map is straightforward, allowing for the addition of no-go zones and invisible walls. This feature is user-friendly, even on smaller device screens.
The robot boasts features like altering floor types if wrongly identified, ignoring temporary obstacles, identifying over 300 objects, and capturing color images of obstacles. It also includes a light for cleaning in dim areas, and the battery performance remains strong during intense cleaning.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
However, scheduling cleaning tasks isn’t as intuitive. The settings are somewhat hidden and lack user guidance, offering options from a smart mode to custom settings. I mistakenly set it to drag wet, static mop pads across the carpet during vacuuming, which shouldn’t be possible.
Additionally, the default for scheduled cleaning is set to occur once, which is counter-intuitive since schedules are typically recurring. Once executed, these schedules disappear, so neglecting to set them for daily recurrence means starting over. This process should be more straightforward for users who prefer a set-and-forget approach. ‘Routines’ presets, like post-meal cleaning for kitchens and dining areas, were more beneficial.
Despite app-related frustrations, the Saros 20 excels at cleaning hard floors and carpets. Using flour to simulate fine dust and oats for larger debris, it effectively cleaned hard surfaces. Minimal flour became trapped in the wheel treads, dropping back onto the floor upon returning to the dock.
On mid-pile carpet, all oats were collected. Some flour embedded itself, and even maximum suction couldn’t lift it, but this was minor compared to other models. Floury tread marks were occasionally left behind. The spot cleaning feature is particularly useful for re-cleaning dirty areas and can be activated by holding the home button or saying, “Clean here.”
On hard surfaces, mopping performance surpassed competitors as the pads can pivot to clean corners and awkward spaces. However, mopping is more suited for frequent, light cleaning rather than heavy dirt. When tested with dried-on sticky sauce, the first pass removed some of it while spreading the rest. Returning to the dock to clean the pads and retrying on the deepest clean setting removed all visible mess. However, once dried, some stickiness remained and required manual cleaning.
While its obstacle detection and ability to free itself when stuck are advanced, the Saros 20 isn’t flawless. Cat toys were often sucked up, with strings wrapping around the rollers. A no-go area was needed to block a fireplace hearth as it attempted to climb it, becoming stuck. It also knocked off a mop pad during one cycle. Loose curtain threads were caught and wound around its rollers, halting cleaning.
The robot frequently climbed a doormat, dragging it along. It also became wedged between a stool and a chair, a sofa and a scratching post, and occasionally on piano pedals. However, it successfully avoided pets, a scrunched-up paper ball, cat trees, wires, larger furniture, an extension lead, and a litter tray.
Price & Availability
The Saros 20 is available in the UK for £1,099, reduced from its initial price of £1,299. It can be purchased from Amazon or directly from Roborock. In the US, its launch price is $1,599.99, available from both the Roborock website and Amazon.
This pricing places it among the premium robot vacuums, which is expected given its flagship status. While it offers a competitive feature set, similar functionalities can be found in older models at a lower cost. More options are available in our comprehensive review of the best robot vacuums we’ve tested.
Should you buy the Roborock Saros 20?
The Roborock Saros 20 represents a significant advancement for mopping robot vacuums. Its setup is exceptionally user-friendly, the technology for identifying and categorizing objects is impressive (though smaller items may be overlooked), and voice control is beneficial for those looking to reduce device usage.
However, this cutting-edge technology comes at a high cost, and the basic scheduling feature is unnecessarily complex. If you’re willing to invest time in adjusting boundaries, adding no-go zones, and keeping it away from items that could be chewed, it delivers an excellent clean with minimal intervention required.
