Narwal Freo Review: The Best Choice for Hard Floors

The Narwal Freo surely isn't nan astir affordable robot vacuum and mop around, but that's because it's not basic. It does a batch much than you mightiness expect, and it gets nan occupation done—well.

With its first robot that boasted self-cleaning properties being released backmost successful 2019, Narwal has travel a agelong measurement complete caller years. Thanks to DirtSense technology, nan Narwal Freo is capable to observe nan level of ungraded connected your floors, returning to areas that request a small much attraction and attention. Not only that, but it self-washes and self-dries its mops truthful they are caller for nan adjacent information of cleaning.

Narwal Freo Robot Vacuum

The Narwal Freo is simply a self-washing and self-drying robot vacuum and mop combo. It efficiently cleans floors, and acknowledgment to DirtSense technology, will return to stubborn areas to guarantee nan occupation is done.

Dimensions 18 x 16.1 x 25.59 inches

Dustbin Capacity 480ml

Battery Life 3.5 hours

Brand Narwal

Weight 9.57lbs

Surface Recommendation Hard floor, carpets

Connectivity Wi-Fi

Integrations App, Google Home, Amazon Alexa

Battery 5000mAh

Suction Power 3000pA

Pros

• Great mopping results
• Quiet operation
• Easy to setup
• LCD power panel
• Logical mapping

Cons

• Takes a agelong clip to cleanable nan mops
• Not self-emptying

Simple Setup

Most smart devices require a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi set to complete nan setup process, and nan Narwal Freo is nary different. Standing by nan robot vacuum and position pinch your smartphone connected to your Wi-Fi web is apt nan easiest option, eliminating immoderate imaginable issues. Unfortunately, location is nary 5GHz support, but this isn't thing I had expected location to be.

Downloading nan Narwal app was easy since location was only one. Some smart devices connection aggregate apps (for immoderate chartless reason), truthful I was pleased to spot this wasn't nan case. Although you tin usage nan Narwal Freo connected its ain without nan app, location are tons of benefits to utilizing it, speech from it being convenient for lazy users for illustration myself.

You tin easy sync nan app to nan robot vacuum utilizing nan easy-to-use LCD sheet connected nan guidelines station. Once done, it's clip to merchandise nan Narwal into nan world to commencement mapping your floors.

Intricate, Yet Quick Mapping

As you tin seen from nan screenshots above, mapping a 235-square-foot area took conscionable 2 and a half minutes. The Narwal Freo zoomed crossed nan crushed level of my location insanely quickly. I've owned different robot vacuums and I can't opportunity immoderate of them were this speedy to representation nan full downstairs of a house.

Narwal uses LiDAR technology—a laser connected apical of nan portion that uses scope discovery to build an meticulous 2D representation of its surroundings. Although it doesn't remap areas arsenic it goes—which immoderate robot vacuums tin do—you tin delete nan representation and inquire nan Freo to remap areas should you request to. And, since nan process is truthful quick, it's not really a troublesome task.

Once nan mapping is complete, you tin spell into nan app and explanation areas for nan Narwal to clean. You tin besides abstracted identified rooms into unsocial areas; I person an unfastened scheme kitchen/office, truthful I further divided this up successful lawsuit I want to person nan room cleaned, but not my agency while working.

It’s Smart(ish), but It Cleans Well

Georgie Peru / MakeUseOf

The Narwal Freo is easy to control, either from nan touchscreen sheet connected nan guidelines position aliases via nan app. You person various modes to take from, including Vacuum Mode, Mop Mode, Vacuum and Mop Mode, and Vacuum nan Mop Mode. These are beautiful self-explanatory.

Alternatively, you tin initiate Freo Mode. Here, nan Narwal vacuums an area, past mops it utilizing its DirtSense technology, adjusting nan mopping aliases vacuuming to lucifer really soiled it is.

While Freo Mode is decidedly nan astir effective astatine cleaning, I did find it took acold excessively agelong to complete a cleaning cycle. My go-to action is Vacuum and Mop Mode—the Narwal Freo does some things I want it to do, cleaning its mops aft each room has been tackled. If nan mop heads are excessively dirty, nan robot will return to its station, and past travel backmost to nan aforesaid spot, ensuring nan occupation gets finished.

Georgie Peru / MakeUseOf

Cleaning nan full downstairs mostly takes betwixt 25 to 40 minutes, depending connected really soiled nan floors are. In immoderate cases, nan Narwal Freo tin usage almost nan full vessel of h2o successful 1 run—again, this is wished by really often it needs to return for a refill and really soiled your floors are.

Emptying nan soiled h2o vessel is beautiful grim. In fact, nan h2o stinks. How brownish nan h2o gets really is simply a testament to really bully of a occupation nan Freo does. It's incredibly effective astatine really cleaning and scrubbing floors, alternatively than conscionable making them wet. This intends you'll request to quiet and supply cleanable h2o much frequently, but I don't mind if nan results are positive.

Lacking AI-based entity discovery did beryllium frustrating astatine times, mostly because I person cats, and a child, each of whom thin to time off things wherever they're not expected to be. Rather than being capable to unfastened nan app and group nan Freo to clean, I person to guarantee nan downstairs area is clear of things for illustration feline nutrient mats, shoes, cables, and truthful on.

The Narwal Freo does person a inclination to chew up things successful its path. While it has nan accustomed cliff sensors, redeeming your robot from taking a dive down nan stairs, thing other is simply a imaginable hazard. Even nan meal barroom stools person to beryllium removed from nan floor; otherwise, nan Narwal Freo gets excessively cozy pinch nan stool's feet, getting itself mislaid and stopping it successful its tracks.

High Performance Despite nan Specs

On paper, nan Narwal Freo features 3000Pa suction power, which is acold from nan likes of different robot vacuums boasting up to 8000Pa. However, this doesn't mean capacity suffers. In fact, it performs well, because suction isn't nan only facet to see erstwhile cleaning floors.

Yes, suction helps region embedded ungraded and lifts it up from carpets and hard-to-reach areas, but galore robot vacuums person a inclination to propulsion up ample clumps of dirt, and past time off it trailing down them.

Georgie Peru / MakeUseOf

Underneath nan hood, nan Narwal Freo features 2 mop pads, dual V-shaped broadside brushes, and a roller brushwood pinch existent bristles. The roller brushwood is much akin to thing for illustration a Shark vacuum, capable to prime up stubborn dirt. Just beryllium judge to cleanable nan roller barroom regularly, arsenic I was faced pinch a astonishment nan first clip I looked astatine it.

Unlike immoderate self-emptying robot vacuum stations, nan Narwal Freo doesn't self-empty. If location was 1 point I wish it did, it would beryllium this. It's not nan astir pleasant occupation having to assistance nan flap connected nan apical of nan Narwal Freo and propulsion retired its small dustbin. Granted, it's not nan worst either, but successful an perfect world, it would aforesaid empty, too—especially considering nan value point.

Is It Worth Buying nan Narwal Freo?

Priced astatine $1,400, nan Narwal Freo isn't thing you'll determine to acquisition connected a whim. This is simply a large investment, truthful you person to guarantee it's right.

For nan price, I would person preferred it to connection a self-emptying function, but not capable that it would sway my purchase. With 2 ample h2o tanks, a abstraction for an further cleaner, and a robot vacuum and mop that intelligently senses really soiled floors are, erstwhile to assistance nan mops while vacuuming, and erstwhile to cleanable them, I do deliberation it's worthy buying.

Although I don't personally usage it, nan added action of controlling nan Narwal utilizing Amazon Alexa aliases Google Assistant is simply a bully touch (though Apple HomeKit isn't supported). For now, nan app and touchscreen sheet are adjuvant capable to beryllium capable to entree whenever I request them.

In position of mopping performance, nan Narwal Freo did a awesome job; I really couldn't responsibility it. Yes, you still request to tidy up beforehand acknowledgment to nan deficiency of AI entity identification, but you can't person everything. For carpet use, it could do pinch a fewer improvements, particularly if you person cats. On nan difficult floor, it's easy capable to prime up ungraded and scrub thing near down pinch nan mops, but embedded ungraded is difficult to get retired pinch that little suction power.

Depending connected what you want your robot vacuum and mop to do, nan Narwal Freo whitethorn aliases whitethorn not beryllium nan 1 for you. But for me, it useful really well. I tin get nan downstairs cleaned each time successful little than an hour.

Narwal Freo Robot Vacuum

The Narwal Freo is simply a self-washing and self-drying robot vacuum and mop combo. It efficiently cleans floors, and acknowledgment to DirtSense technology, will return to stubborn areas to guarantee nan occupation is done.