Roborock Saros 10 review: the best hybrid robot vacuum on planet Earth, at least for now

Welcome to T3's review of the Roborock Saros 10, a cutting-edge and premium-priced hybrid robot vacuum-cum-mop that’s designed to elevate your home cleaning experience so you don’t have to. Unveiled at CES 2025 along with its new stablemate, the Saros 10R, the Saros 10 combines advanced navigation technology with high suction power to deliver exceptional performance on both hard floors and carpet.

And because it is just 79.8mm in height when its retractable LiDAR turret is down, it will go where no robot vacuum has ever gone before. The Saros 10 also happens to be equipped with the best looking charging dock-cum-cleaning station that this writer has ever clapped eyes on and that’s a major bonus when it comes to household aesthetics. If ever there was a surefire winner for our best robot vacuum guide, this is it.

Roborock Saros 10 review: price and availability

If you live in the UK, head straight for the Roborock online store where the Saros 10 is shifting for £1,399.99. Alternatively, try Amazon where it sells for the same price.

Living Stateside? Visit either the US Roborock store or Amazon where the Saros 10 retails at $1,599.99.

Roborock Saros 10 review: unboxing and set-up

Robot vacs are among the easiest of products to set up and this model is no different. Simply take the dock, the dock’s entry ramp and robot out of the box and find a suitable place to position it. Robot vac manufacturers usually suggest leaving six inches or so either side of the dock when installing it but I’ve had no issue positioning any of mine with just an inch or so of space either side.

Once you’ve found a good spot, plug in the dock, clip on the front ramp and push the bot towards the rear of the dock with its camera facing towards you. It will automatically spring to life. Now pull the robot out of the dock, remove the flat magnetic lid to expose a QR code, launch the Roborock app, tap the ‘plus’ sign and a camera screen will pop up. Next focus the phone's camera lens on the QR code and follow the on-screen instructions. It should run through the whole setting up process of logging on to your wi-fi with no hiccups though you will need your wi-fi password. And that is that. Simples.

Roborock Saros 10 review: robot design and features

Along with the Saros 10R, the Saros 10 is one of two new flagship models in Roborock’s burgeoning catalogue of brilliant robot vacuums and mops – and it’s a handsome brute to boot, with clean, minimalist lines, a pretty LED info bar across the top and three touch-sensitive buttons for manual access to start/pause, dock and spot clean commands.

Available in black or white – and also as a plumbed-in model for those with swish fitted kitchens – the Saros 10’s short sub-8cm stature means it will scoot under the lowest of furnishings like TV cabinets and any low overhangs with consummate ease. It does this by automatically retracting its LiDAR navigation turret whenever it approaches a piece of furniture with minimum clearance, and when it’s underneath the furniture it will use its front-mounted RGB camera and VertiBeam lateral obstruction avoidance system to see what it’s doing.

Measuring in at 35cm across and just 7.9cm in height with its LiDAR turret retracted, the Saros 10 bot is one of the most futuristic models on the market right now and one that’s equipped with a mind boggling amount of tech.

Let’s start with its navigation system. The Saros 10 uses a combination of LiDAR (Roborock calls it ReactSense), Reactive AI 3.0 Obstacle Recognition, a side-mounted VertiBeam sensor to help with lateral obstacle avoidance, a front-mounted, wide-angle RGB camera for help in detecting obstacles and when under low-slung furnishings, an upward-facing range finder for advance detection of low clearance areas, a top contact sensor to prevent the bot from jamming itself against sloping furniture, plus the usual array of cliff and carpet detecting sensors. Enough navigating tech, in other words, to compliment a Mars rover.

The upshot of all this scientific paraphernalia is that the Saros 10 will very quickly map an entire floor plan in mere minutes while avoiding a diverse range of obstacles in its path. Add to this Roborock’s proprietary AdaptiLife chassis – which allows the bot to ride over thresholds up to 3cm in height – and you have true go-anywhere ability for complex households.

Having an excellent navigation system is one of the most crucial facets for any bot that’s worth its salts, but the ability to clean flooring of all types with as little fuss as possible is also of paramount importance. In this regard, the Saros 10 is a sterling stalwart of the carpet and hard floor world.

Turn it over to the business end and you’ll see one of its key weapons against hair tangling: a DuoDivide brush system comprising two ribbed rubber-and-brush rollers with a gap in the middle. This clever innovation works wonders at coaxing pet hair towards the centre gap where it’s sucked into the robot’s 270ml dustbin for subsequent emptying into the dock’s larger two-litre dust bag. But more on that below.

For improved cleaning in corners and around chair and table legs, the Saros 10 is also fitted with a tangle-free side brush that pops out of the side by a couple of inches to grab any wayward detritus lurking in corners. This side brush also raises automatically when on carpet to prevent any tangling on rug tassels. Combine the Saros 10’s inventive brush system with a whopping 22,000 Pascals of suction power – arguably the highest on the market – and you have one of the most efficient and effective robot vacuum cleaners a lot of money can buy.

Like so many robot vacs these days, the Saros 10 can also mop hard floors using a slightly old-fashioned wet mopping pad and a tiny onboard 70ml water container to feed it. I say old fashioned because most modern hybrid models – including this model’s stablemate, the Saros 10R – use two revolving mop discs which are considered physically better at mopping, especially on uneven flooring. However, the good thing about this particular mopping pad system is that the mop itself vibrates 4,000 times for better-than-average stain removal. The robot also exerts a force of 8N of downward pressure for good measure.

No need to worry about dirty edges with this model because the mini circular mop on the side makes a very good fist of keeping edges and the bottom of skirting boards spick and span. Although the mop will raise automatically when on carpet and rugs, Roborock has also given the Saros 10 the ability to automatically detach the mopping pad from the robot when in the dock so its left behind whenever the bot is out on a vacuum-only session. That way there is zero chance of a damp mop ever touching carpet, no matter how deep the pile is.

Like almost all Roborock robot vacuums, the Saros 10 can also be activated using your voice. Hence, if your phone is elsewhere or your internet system is down, you can simply say ‘Hey Rocky, empty the dustbin’ and it will do so. Likewise, the Saros 10 will also provide voice prompts whenever it’s about to perform a task and, rather handily, you can change it to an English-accented voice if that is your preference.

Roborock Saros 10 review: dock design and features

I’m already enamoured of the Saros 10R’s shiny mirrored dock but this fully enclosed model is even better looking. Yes, at 47cm in height, 40.9cm in width and 44cm in depth it’s a large unit to have sited in the lounge but you probably won’t mind because its reflective black glass fascia makes it almost disappear from view.

Like the vast majority of mopping bots, the Saros 10’s dock contains a two-litre dust bag in the lower section which is accessed via a tactile spring-loaded door and, hidden beneath a flip-up lid, two large 3-litre water containers, one for fresh mopping water and the other for the dirty stuff that’s automatically removed from the mop every time a mopping run is completed. It also comes with a separate liquid detergent dispenser which automatically adds hard floor cleaning solution into the mix whenever the bot is about to head out on a mopping run.

In essence, whenever the bot returns to its charging dock after a vacuum session, all the debris in its small onboard bin is sucked into the dock’s 2-litre dust bag for disposal when its completely full – usually after a couple of months' use in a relatively clean home and within a few weeks if your home contains shedding pets.

Likewise, whenever the Saros 10 has completed a mopping run, it will return to its dock to have the mops washed using fresh water at a temperature of 80˚C. It will then dry the mops over the course of a few hours using a warm 60˚C airflow. Since mopping is quite a messy business, the dock’s base will need some maintenance from time to time to remove clumps of stray hair and other debris but thankfully this is done automatically using hot 80˚C water to wash the base and then port the mucky stuff into the dirty water tank.

The only maintenance you will ever be required to do is occasionally throw away the dock’s dust bag when full, empty the contents of the dirty water container into the loo and refill the fresh water container.

Roborock Saros 10 review: vacuum and mopping performance

I’ve had the Saros 10 running for the past 10 days and, like the Saros 10R, it has performed impeccably well on my rugs and hard floor. In fact, I tested it on both surfaces to see how well it would collect a variety of ingredients including raw oats, orzo pasta and rice cereal and it performed the tasks with cool unflappability.

For both vacuum tests I set the suction power to Turbo – there are five power options from Quiet to MAX+ – and two passes, and on both occasions the Saros 10 collected every last item of detritus. Full marks in this respect.

I then set up a mopping task on the kitchen floor using a splash of milk and some soy sauce. I set the robot to dispense the minimum amount of water – there are five levels from Mild to Extreme – and tapped Start in the app. The Saros 10 attached its mopping plate, filled its small water tank with warm water and headed out to the offending area whereupon it proceeded to remove all traces of the spill in a single pass.

Since I have engineered wooden flooring, I’m always a bit concerned by the amount water left behind by most robot mops but this model was extremely gentle on the floor leaving just a very fine film of moisture in its wake. In fact I’d go so far as to say that this model might just be the most suitable of any others I’ve tested when it comes to mopping delicate wooden flooring. Incidentally, I was also impressed by the little side mop that spun at 220 rpm while cleaning right to edge of skirting boards, even giving the beading a good buff in the process.

Roborock Saros 10 review: obstacle performance

The Roborock Saros 10 uses front triple-structured light, an RGB camera and a side-mounted VertiBeam light sensor for detecting obstacles directly in front and to the side. As per usual, I scattered some dog toys – including a small nylon bone that catches out the majority of robot vacuums – and made sure that the ‘Pet’ option was selected in the app’s Reactive Obstacle Avoidance menu. The Saros 10 duly avoided every item, including the small nylon bone. In fact, I’ll stick my neck out and say that this model has the most accurate obstacle avoidance system of any robot vacuum I’ve ever tested. And I’ve tested loads.

Roborock Saros 10 review: Roborock app

No robot vacuum app comes close to this one for comprehensiveness, variety of customisation and ease of use. Aside from all the usual options like schedules and routines, no-go zones and extensive map editing, there’s also a shedload of robot and dock settings available at your fingertips, including the wherewithal to adjust the direction of your flooring, the frequency of the dock’s auto dustbin emptying and mop washing, and whether you want to take advantage of off-peak charging after midnight. It even provides a full history of its working life.

Likewise, when it comes to choosing a specific task, you’re also offered a range of options like suction power, scrub intensity and water flow when mopping, plus something called Smart Plan which lets the robot’s AI decide on how it should best treat your environment based on the data from previous cleaning cycles. I personally never use this option because I’d rather be in full control.

Roborock Saros 10 review: verdict

I have enjoyed ownership of a slew of Roborock products over the years and have never experienced anything wayward or, for that matter, any breakdowns. These bots are built to last as long as you keep on top of some of the light duty maintenance that’s required of any complicated piece of tech. Roborock provides a one year warranty on all its products.

So, what do I ultimately think of this new household helper? To be frank, I’ve been blown away by the entire package, from the pleasant aesthetics of the robot itself and its gorgeous mirrored dock to the robot’s performance in all disciplines. Whether it’s successfully traversing thin rugs, dodging obstacles, deep cleaning an especially hairy dog rug or occasionally mopping the kitchen floor, this bot has never ceased to surprise me. Hence I have no hesitancy in giving it a resounding high five!