The Roborock Saros Z70, with its robotic arm, seems to be every little thing I might need in a robotic vacuum. It was our Better of CES decide, chosen unanimously by CNET’s staff of dwelling editors. The robotic does greater than merely navigate round obstacles; it could possibly attain out and bodily transfer objects, together with socks, footwear and finally different objects, to a chosen location or basket.
Nevertheless, at $1,899, you may additionally pay a fairly penny. The Saros Z70 is the most costly robotic vacuum available on the market at launch. But when, like me, you might have cats that depart toys in all places (or youngsters that do the identical), you are doubtless already imagining how helpful the Saros Z70 might be in selecting up muddle in your home. Considered one of my largest ache factors in holding issues clear is spending time decluttering earlier than I can bust out my cordless vacuum. Having a robotic do it for me can be an enormous time saver.
The Saros Z70 comes with a storage field the robotic can acknowledge simply.
The excellent news is that after spending 3 hours on a Wednesday afternoon with the Saros Z70, I am right here to let you know that the robotic arm largely works as promised — with some key caveats. The arm is actually a flashy and helpful characteristic on paper. Nonetheless, in terms of the nuts and bolts of vacuuming and mopping, it stays to be seen if it matches top-tier robotic vacuums from Dreame, Ecovacs, iRobot, Eufy and Roborock itself.
We have now a pair of evaluation items on the way in which, and we’ll be placing it to the check to search out out if the Saros Z70 and its robotic arm are price its princely price ticket.
The Saros Z70 can deal with objects as much as 300 grams.
Utilizing the Omnigrip robotic arm
Step one is activating the arm. In response to Roborock, the robotic arm is disabled by default as a security measure. To allow it, you’ll want to activate it within the app and bodily press a button on the Z70 earlier than it begins working.
“That you must comply with a collection of steps, like urgent totally different bodily buttons on the machine to activate it,” mentioned Ruben Rodriguez, senior supervisor of worldwide PR and communications at Roborock. “And [only] as soon as there’s a affirmation within the app and on the bodily machine that you simply really need to activate it, it is activated. It is a fairly simple course of, but it surely’s an essential security characteristic that this factor can’t be remotely activated. You’ll be able to solely activate it from your own home with entry to the robotic itself.”
The Saros Z70 has bodily buttons that must be pressed to activate the Omnigrip arm.
This characteristic is to maintain any nefarious actors from hacking your armed robotic and to warn you when it is about to unleash its arm in order that you recognize to remain away from it. This is not a lot a hazard for you, however Roborock is anxious about injury to the arm if it will get bumped or blocked.
The Omnigrip arm pops out of a panel-covered compartment on the highest of the robotic vacuum. When it is in common vacuum or mopping mode, it stays tucked away, however when it is time to decide up muddle, it deploys the arm and goes to work.
The Saros Z70 efficiently picked up a 298 gram shoe.
In response to Roborock, the arm can carry the burden of an object as much as 300 grams. Roborock additionally advised me that it has been “examined for sturdiness.” Nevertheless, they did not specify the kind of exams they ran for it or a sturdiness score.
I watched the arm efficiently decide up a spread of objects, together with papers, socks, slippers and a shoe that weighed 298 grams, simply shy of the 300-gram restrict. Roborock additionally talked about to me that if the Omnigrip encounters an object it could possibly’t decide up on the primary strive, it will strive a number of occasions earlier than giving as much as proceed cleansing and protect battery life. If it could possibly’t decide one thing up, it snaps an image of the article with its digital camera and notifies you within the app.
The Saros Z70 doing automated sorting and selecting up objects it marked on the map.
What can the Saros Z70 really decide up?
Here is the place the caveats are available in. Proper now, the Saros Z70 is pretty restricted within the objects it could possibly decide up and the places the place it could possibly place objects in its automated sorting mode.
“Proper now, we help two varieties of objects,” Rodriguez mentioned. “Considered one of them is a miscellaneous class, which incorporates socks and papers and small objects. The opposite [type] that we help is sandals or footwear.”
The Saros Z70 can acknowledge and decide up 5 objects when utilizing automated sorting.
There are 5 acknowledged objects, however no cat toys, youngster toys, or mainly something unfamiliar that the robotic vacuum would not acknowledge. Whereas AI object recognition is at play, it is also not actively studying about new objects both. In response to Roborock, the Saro Z70 is skilled within the manufacturing unit, and the brand new objects it learns about might be pushed out as a software program replace sooner or later.
“[T]his will all be expanded and we hear plenty of suggestions about two objects, specifically. Considered one of them is child’s toys; the opposite is pet’s toys. So there is a widespread thread right here, which is toys, and that is good as a result of it means our improvement staff can give attention to picture recognition for these,” Rodriguez mentioned. “That may take a bit of extra time; it is the value of innovation, sadly.”
Meaning you may solely get the 5 acknowledged objects at launch, with extra to come back sooner or later following distant updates. It is a fairly vital limitation, and personally, it guidelines the Saros Z70 out for me as an early adopter. A superb 90% of the muddle in my condominium at any given time is cat toys, so till the Saro Z70 will help me sort out it, there is not a lot place for it in my condominium.
The Z70 can map the situation of objects and can return after cleansing to select them up.
How do storage areas work?
The opposite limitation is the storage or dropoff space for various objects that the vacuum collects.
There are at the moment two varieties of storage: the Roborock Storage Field and Shoe Storage Space. The Z70 comes with a customized basket (storage field) that you could configure to kind numerous miscellaneous objects like socks and papers, however you may as well designate an space in your home for it to place away footwear and slippers.
“You should use every other field or basket sooner or later to retailer your objects, however initially, we advocate customers to make use of this one as a result of the robotic is skilled to acknowledge this sample and acknowledge this field,” Rodriguez mentioned.
The Saros Z70 placing a serviette into the storage field.
The field is not significantly enticing to take a look at (it would not match my decor anyway), but it surely labored nicely through the demo. The Saros Z70 appeared to simply acknowledge the place it ought to be dropping the socks and papers. I did discover that it normally most popular to strategy the field from the aspect slightly than immediately in entrance, however this might need had one thing to do with the eccentricities of mapping on a stage.
How the robotic decides when to tidy and when to wash
The Omnigrip can be utilized for automated or handbook sorting. With automated sorting, the robotic vacuum does its common cleansing cycle, identifies the objects that may be sorted as potential pick-up objects and marks them on the map. When it is completed vacuuming or mopping, it will return to the objects, decide up the acknowledged objects and put them within the designated storage areas.
The Z70 can navigate to the storage field and lift its arm to drop objects in.
If automated sorting is not activated, the robotic will clear because it normally does, but it surely’ll nonetheless create a map of your area and mark the objects it could possibly probably decide up. At that time, you’ll be able to manually go into the app and instruct the robotic to select up and kind a number of of the objects marked and have it put within the storage space.
It might put objects again the place it discovered them after cleansing the flooring
There’s even a characteristic referred to as follow-up cleansing that permits it to maneuver 5 acknowledged objects to wash underneath them however then return them to the unique location — useful when you have a toddler or cat who will get upset if their toys are moved.
The Saros Z70 leaving its dock carrying a slipper. It might transfer objects to wash round them earlier than returning them to their unique location.
The Saros Omnigrip has made huge beneficial properties since we final noticed it
After we first noticed the Omnigrip forward of CES 2025 in January, it struggled to select up sure objects and even had hassle exiting its dock.
On this newest demo, Roborock arrange its stage with crumpled papers, socks, sandals and its included storage field. The Saros Z70 did much better at navigating across the stage, selecting up and sorting objects. Notably, it additionally by no means fell off the stage regardless of coming precariously near the sting. The navigation appeared stable, even in a difficult atmosphere.
As for choosing up and sorting objects, the vacuum did a terrific job tackling the duty routinely. Admittedly, it wasn’t almost as quick as I might have been selecting up issues with my very own two arms, but it surely’s simple to go away it puttering away when you do different issues. A couple of minutes of dialog later, the robotic was executed placing every little thing it wanted into the basket.
The Saros Z70 has made nice enhancements within the actions of its robotic arm.
Distant management
The robotic may be managed remotely by the app, virtually like a drone. Enabling the distant management to select up places the app right into a digital camera view from the robotic vacuum’s viewpoint. From there, you should utilize the joystick-like touchscreen controls to maneuver the robotic and the arm bodily.
As a result of the distant management offers you entry to the robotic’s cameras (one on the physique and one on the arm), you may have to allow a code or sample earlier than beginning the distant management. The robotic may also announce “distant viewing lively” and point out it recurrently. It is a bit of annoying however an comprehensible security characteristic because you by no means need a stranger to have the ability to entry cameras in your house.
The Roborock app offers you the flexibility to manage the robotic remotely to select up objects by activating the cameras.
On the plus aspect, you may as well use the Z70 as a bit of patrol droid whereas away from dwelling. Whereas it will not report clips, you’ll be able to remotely verify on pets and issues at dwelling. That mentioned, Roborock cautioned me that its major objective is just not as a safety machine, so do not depend on it as a substitute of dwelling safety cameras or pet cameras.
I obtained to check the Omnigrip with blended outcomes
I gave the distant management a spin and figured it out on the primary strive. I moved the robotic to select up and drop a paper right into a storage field. After I tried to do the identical with a slipper, it was extra of a problem. I struggled to get the robotic arm accurately rotated and positioned so it might seize the slipper. It took maybe a minute of repositioning earlier than I might get a grip on it.
Whereas it is a enjoyable thought and implementation, it is pretty time-consuming, and I personally would not be spending my time remote-controlling a robotic vacuum to slowly decide up objects. The one huge promoting level right here is that you should utilize distant management to select up any object slightly than simply the checklist of 5 acknowledged objects the Z70 can deal with in automated sorting.
The distant management helps you to decide up any object slightly than simply the 5 acknowledged ones.
Is the Roborock Saros Z70 well worth the value?
At $1,899, barring any adjustments attributable to tariffs, the Saros Z70 prices $300 greater than just about every other robotic vacuum available on the market, together with the just lately launched Saros 10 and Saros 10R ($1,599). Notably, the Saros Z70 makes use of the identical dock because the Saros 10R, so basically, you are paying an extra $300 for the robotic arm.
It is also extra pricey than many different prime robotic vacuums, together with the $1,699 Dreame X50 Extremely which has legs that allow it scoot over obstacles. If all you are on the lookout for is mopping and vacuuming performance, there are many robotic vacuums that may do it for half the value, like iRobot’s new entry-level lineup that brings premium options to the vary.
Whereas the Saros Z70 impressed me on this demo and decluttering a room to permit for complete cleansing is a lovely proposition, I will maintain my official take till I’ve had an opportunity to totally check and evaluation the Saros Z70
The Saros 10R can put footwear and slippers in a chosen space in your house.
Like all robotic vacuums, the Saros Z70 is a time- and labor-saving machine. It’s going to do its factor, selecting up muddle, vacuuming and mopping when you can are likely to different issues. A few of the utility is at the moment restricted, however there are extra developments to come back when you’re prepared to be affected person.
For a deeper dive into the Roborock Saros Z70, we’ll be testing it within the CNET vacuum lab in Louisville, and I will even be personally placing it by its paces in our NYC workplace and at my dwelling, a lot to the chagrin of my three cats.
