Roborock Saros 10R: Innovation Without Compromise
Robot vacuums have come a long way from the clumsy devices of the past that used to fall off stairs, drag dirt everywhere, and get tangled in cables or our furry friends’ tails. Today, they not only offer now-standard features such as self-emptying, automated washing, and drying, but they have also become true household assistants, allowing us to see what our dog is up to while we’re at work and even alerting us in case of intruders. Soon, they may even be able to “pick up socks” (coming soon…).
They will be launched around the same time, have the same price, and share much of the same technology, but the Saros 10R has some significant differences compared to the Saros 10. It features an innovative and award-winning navigation system that set apart the Qrevo Slim, making this Saros 10R its rightful successor. Additionally, it replaces the Saros 10’s Vibrarise 4.0 with a rotating mop cleaning system. In this early review, we will analyze in detail the technologies and how Roborock has managed to create a true flagship model without compromises.
Disclaimer: At NonSoloRobot™️, we received the device as a preview without any compensation or obligations. My review is impartial and independent: the goal is to provide a comprehensive overview of the product based on an objective analysis. I will only share my personal preferences where necessary, highlighting what I believe are the strengths and areas for improvement, to help you make an informed decision that aligns with your needs.
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Unboxing and First Impressions
In recent years, the design of robot vacuums has undergone one of the most significant evolutions in this product category. Gone are the days of anonymous and uninspired shapes—today, robots are increasingly designed to blend harmoniously with home decor. Of course, there are still models with a purely functional look, but fortunately, the Saros 10R, like its sibling Saros 10, stands out with a refined and modern design.
At first glance, several interesting features stand out. The base has a similar design to the Saros 10 and shares all its main functions, but with some differences: the front panel is made of tempered glass polished to a mirror-like finish, elegantly reflecting the robot positioned below. The water and dust tanks are visible, and the access panel for the 2.5L dust bag and 590ml detergent container is no longer a press-to-open mechanism but must be manually removed.
The robot itself has identical dimensions (350×353×79.8mm), but this time, the ultra-low 7.98cm height is achieved not with a retractable turret but with the evolution of the pioneering Starsight™️ navigation system. The aesthetic resemblance to the Qrevo Slim is evident, but on the top, in addition to two differently shaped function buttons, four sleek LED lights add a futuristic touch.
I personally find the Saros 10 more elegant, but the 10R has its own appeal, and the materials and finishes, just like the Saros 10, are among the best I’ve seen to date.
The Roborock Saros 10R arrives in a well-designed package typical of the brand, featuring solid packaging. Inside the box, you’ll find:
Assembly is simple and well-explained in the quick guide: connect the base, install the ramp, fill the clean water tank, fill the detergent container, place the robot in the base, turn it on, install the proprietary app, and start the initial mapping or first cleaning (the robot will map the environment simultaneously).
A slight disappointment is that even for flagship models at this price range, Roborock does not include spare mops or at least a trial pack of their detergent. Providing these extras would not only allow users to appreciate them but also make sense of the dedicated detergent container, ensuring the product is fully functional out of the box.
Technology and Performance
The Base
The 4.0 multifunctional station measures 381×475×488mm and is not only aesthetically pleasing but packed with advanced technology. It requires minimal maintenance and cleaning—almost completely hands-free. Let’s explore what this multifunctional base can do:
Automatic dust emptying into the 2.5L dust bag, with adjustable frequency and intensity settings. I prefer the smart mode, which automatically adjusts the emptying time based on the amount of collected dirt—it works well, as the robot’s dustbin is always emptied properly.
Hot water mop washing at 80°C, ensuring hygiene and cleanliness. This means you’ll rarely need to wash the mop pads manually. You can also choose to wash them with warm or room-temperature water. The clean and dirty water tanks hold 4L and 3L, respectively, and a built-in limescale inhibitor is included in the clean water tank.
Self-cleaning of the mop washing tray, again using 80°C hot water. This is one of the most effective self-cleaning systems I’ve tested, even better than previous Qrevo Slim and Curv models.
Completely removable mop washing tray, making it easy to rinse in a sink, keeping the base clean without requiring you to kneel down for scrubbing.
Mop drying with 55°C warm air, preventing mold and bad odors. I find that 2 hours of drying is enough, but you can adjust it to 3 or 4 hours depending on humidity.
Automatic detachment and reattachment of mop holders, allowing the robot to handle high-pile carpets and rugs without wetting or staining them.
DirTec®️ automatic dirt detection, analyzing the water’s dirt level in real-time to extend the mop washing cycle and send the robot back to re-clean extra-dirty areas.
Automatic detergent dispensing from the 590ml tank, ensuring proper mixing for mop cleaning and robot tank refilling.
Hot water refilling of the robot’s water tank, likely improving cleaning efficiency alongside the thicker and stiffer mop pads compared to previous models.
Fast charging in just 2.5 hours, with a setting to charge during off-peak hours for energy savings, ideal for solar panel users or dual-rate electricity plans.
If the points mentioned above aren’t enough, I can only add that this base, for ergonomics, ease of maintenance and cleaning (maintenance is usually limited to emptying and refilling the tanks when necessary, because for the rest we can truly forget about it for a long time), and efficiency, has effectively become my new favorite base. Aesthetically, we are, as with the Saros 10, in the realm of design products.
The Robot
StarSight™️ Autonomous System 2.0: We couldn’t start talking about anything other than the main feature that debuted on the Qrevo Slim, which continues to be improved and distinguishes the Saros 10R, and which will also be found in the upcoming Z70. This innovative mapping and navigation system uses, for the first time in the industry, a dual-transmitter solid-state LIDAR with 3D Time-of-Flight (ToF) technology. What these sensors do is project a cloud of points into the environment, which are then read to create a three-dimensional representation of the environment itself, reading distances with extreme precision. To give you an idea, this is similar to the technology used in cinema to scan the faces of characters and reproduce them in 3D. With over 21,600 detection points, it has an environment sampling frequency 21 times higher than the current technology of lidar turrets. I can’t really tell you what magic the engineers worked, but this robot maps with incredible precision and navigates environments with great security, as if guided by human vision—never a hesitation, and I’ve never seen it bump into an obstacle.
Guiding the object recognition and AI is not only the StarSight™️ technology but also an RGB camera, with which the Saros 10R can recognize over 108 objects and display them on the map, plus the VertiBeam™️ system, which projects a laser beam vertically, allowing the robot to detect obstacles at heights that were previously ignored, such as uneven furniture legs or stretched cables. This same structured light system is integrated into the side sensor, while a front LED illuminates dark areas, ensuring optimal visibility for the RGB camera.
A real round of applause to Roborock for what I believe to be the mapping and navigation technology of the future.
DuoDivide®️ consists of two half-brushes with a floating and concentric design. This particular setup allows hair and fur to be channeled toward the center, where they are efficiently sucked into a dedicated space. The result? An impeccable anti-tangle system. From a cleaning performance standpoint, I still prefer the double brush, which, however, tended to get tangled with hair.
FlexiArm™️ Riser, unlike the classic three straight arms, uses two curved arms with an asymmetric design. This choice prevents hair from accumulating. Additionally, it extends to clean corners and tight spaces under furniture, but with an extra advantage over common extendable side brush systems: it can lift to avoid getting wet on liquid spots, bumping into furniture, or moving carpets. Want the cherry on top? For the first time, a system that completely retracts the arm inside the chassis to avoid hitting or scratching surfaces.
Hyperforce®️: With nearly 20,000Pa of suction power, a number that would make many cordless vacuums on the market pale in comparison, the power on paper is slightly lower than the Saros 10, but I believe this is simply due to a different filter design and internal components. From my field tests, I didn’t notice any difference compared to the 22,000Pa of the Saros 10. It sucks up hair, dust, and crumbs very well, even on my carpet.
AdaptiLift™️: Inherited from the Qrevo Curv, this technology allows the robot to lift itself to easily overcome single thresholds up to 3 cm and double thresholds up to 4 cm. But that’s not all: the system also allows it to adapt to long-pile carpets and overcome obstacles like drying rack feet or certain types of chairs, ensuring even more efficient navigation without getting stuck on common obstacles.
4 different setups for each cleaning situation: the Saros 10R can independently lift and lower the main brush, side brush, mops up to 22mm, and the frame to adapt to every situation—solid dirt, liquid stains, low-pile or high-pile carpets, overcoming thresholds and obstacles—this “Darwinian” adaptation makes it truly autonomous in managing cleaning tasks.
Efficiency and Battery Life
In terms of battery life, the Roborock Saros 10R performs slightly less than its sibling, despite having the same 6400mAh battery. The company claims 180 minutes of operation for a maximum coverage of 200m². In my case, it can clean and mop about 110m² on a single charge with medium settings, but for larger surfaces, there will be no issues, as if the battery runs out before completing a cleaning cycle, the robot returns to the base and recharges just enough to finish the interrupted task.
Efficiency is guaranteed by the new SmartPlan®️ 2.0, which can recognize floors and environments and automatically adjust settings. This system, driven by complex AI algorithms, optimizes energy consumption and cleaning, deciding where more or less power is needed, cleaning rooms that haven’t been cleaned in a while, and re-mopping very dirty areas. Both in AI-guided mode and settings, it’s possible to use a mixed cleaning pattern, so the robot mops in different directions each time, improving cleaning efficiency.
App and Smart Home
The Roborock app remains one of the most comprehensive on the market. The functionalities and customization options are so numerous that a separate review would be needed to explore them all in detail, but I assure you, everything you need is there… and much more. Once connected, the Saros 10R performs a quick mapping of the environment, automatically identifying rooms and allowing easy modifications like dividing or merging spaces.
You can add furniture to the map to improve cleaning algorithms, set forbidden zones, or create virtual walls. Advanced settings allow customization of how the robot handles carpets, lifting the mops or detaching them from the base, or increasing suction power on carpets and cleaning them twice by crossing paths. You can also choose to vacuum carpets first and activate automatic re-mopping for the dirtiest areas.
The robot also has smart options, such as recognizing stains and activating deep cleaning automatically. Additionally, the FlexiArm can extend to clean under furniture. You can also choose to clean specific areas, rooms, or the entire house, with the option to vacuum and mop, vacuum only, or mop only. As with all Roborock models, the “mopping after vacuuming” option is still missing, although you can use workflows, which are more complex and not for everyone. Also, if you want to choose rooms to vacuum and then mop “on the fly,” you need to redo a new workflow. It would definitely be simpler for the average user to have it as a mode.
There are also various suction modes (Silent, Balanced, Turbo, Max) and 30 water flow settings, with options for more or less intensive cleaning paths and shortcuts called “workflows.”
Finally, you can choose to clean an area once or twice, and, as in previous models, there’s the option to see remotely what the robot is doing.
Pet owners will particularly appreciate the dedicated options: the robot can automatically recognize dogs and cats, allow you to take pictures of them, make video calls, and even patrol to find and monitor them remotely. It also adjusts cleaning when it approaches their areas (such as beds and feeding areas) and, thanks to its quietness, minimizes disturbances.
Roborock doesn’t disappoint on the home automation front either: the app is compatible with Alexa, Siri, and Google Home, and soon it will receive an update for Matter and Apple Home.
A special mention for Rocky, the built-in voice assistant that lets you control the robot with voice commands and use almost all its functions without opening the app. You can ask the robot directly to clean or mop a specific room, the whole house, or even the area from where you’re calling it—it’s quite fun to see the robot understand where the voice is coming from and come find you.
In summary, the Roborock app not only offers full control over the robot but does so with a level of automation and intelligence that makes it one of the most advanced solutions available today.
Personal Conclusions
It was difficult to find a real flaw during my testing. You can let it work without worry and expect the job to be perfectly done every time. With its elegant and modern design, the robot is also a piece of furniture, so much so that you might want to display it instead of hiding it. The Saros 10R is designed to free you from the worry of floor cleaning and robot maintenance, like few others have been able to do, allowing you to dedicate your time and energy to other things.
Personally, out of all the Roborock models I’ve tested so far, this is undoubtedly my favorite, satisfying every aspect I could ask for in a modern vacuum and mop robot: autonomy, performance, adaptability, safety, minimal manual interventions, and a design that “decorates.”
The Saros 10R and Saros 10 will be available in Italy from March 20, with a list price of €1499 for both, but at launch, they will be offered at a discounted price, which will be revealed on the launch day.
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