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A new generation of Roborocks have arrived: the Saros line. While many of us are waiting for the Saros Z70, with its automated arm, the Saros 10 and 10r are likely more utilitarian offerings. Both are more affordable, still packed full of cutting-edge technology. Despite being packed full of features, in my individual reviews of each, I decided I still preferred previous models of Roborocks, like the Curv and S8 MaxV Ultra. This doesn't discount that the 10 and 10r are both great models. Despite the names, they're actually fairly different. The 10 takes after the S8 line, with a singular mop pad. The 10R features two spinning mop pads, a nod to the QRevo line. And these aren't the only differences.
Appearance
The Saros 10 and 10R are both gorgeous robot vacuums. While most companies have made great efforts to create modern-looking, artistically designed towers, the Saros line blows them away. The mirrored finish on the Saros towers gives these models an expensive, premium feel. The front has been kept deliberately free of buttons or compartments. Even the logos are minimized.
From the top of each tower, the lid will allow you to access the clean and dirty water towers, each holding a generous four liters. By pressing on the lower front panel, you’ll be able to access the vacuum bag and detergent container. Unfortunately, in doing so, you’ll leave fingerprints on the mirrored surface, which is one of my only complaints about the tower itself (it’s a pain to keep clean of smudgy prints). Additional points to Roborock for making these merely containers, not cartridges. Use any cleaner you choose (though they’d prefer you choose theirs, of course.)
The tower isn’t the only design change: Both robots have been pancaked within an inch of their lives. Roborock wants these robots to be able to slide under any furniture presented in front of them. The main challenge to shortening a robot is the LiDAR navigation tower, and here, Roborock has made some smart choices. In the 10, the tower has the ability to pop up and then retract into the robot in order to slide under furniture, and while the tower is in lockdown, the robot relies on AI-assisted cameras. In the 10R, the tower is gone, LiDAR being yeeted altogether in favor of the AI-assisted cameras. Below, I'll say more about how this affected performance.
The 10 is available in black and white, but the 10R is only available in black. Both towers would look impressive in any corner of the house.
App experience
It’s not only that these are both Roborocks: they’re also sibling models. They not only use the same app—I couldn’t find a single app feature particular to one model over the other. And the Roborock app has remained one of the best for ease of use.
Initial setup is a breeze. Plug the robot in, open the Roborock app, and it will find the robot in moments using Bluetooth. Scan a QR code, and then stand by the robot to push a few buttons as you’re guided through the setup. In fewer than five minutes, the robot will be ready to head out on an initial mapping mission.
The Roborock app allows you to watch mapping in real time and see where the robot is on that map. The robot’s path is displayed, and there are detailed stats on cleaning history. Though one of Roborock’s charms is that there are fewer error messages and problems than you might experience with other robot vacuums, the notification system tells you clearly what the problem is, and how to fix it.
I love additional features like Pin and Go, which allow you to place a pin on a map, where the robot will proceed and then clean, and remote control. Most premium robot vacuums have remote control now, which means you can direct a robot out from under the couch if it’s stuck. (I will never stop talking about how great this function is.)
Because both models share the app and functionality within the app, this is a draw.
Navigation
In 2024, LiDAR became the industry standard for robot vacuums, with little exception (iRobot was late to LiDAR). This light-measuring navigation method was simply more effective than any previous navigation method, giving precise accuracy to maps and obstacles, even without the robot having to be within close proximity. From a small tower atop the robot that resembled a button, the robot could map a room within seconds by letting the LiDAR do a 360 spin of the room.
Still, LiDAR has drawbacks. First, the tower itself is cumbersome. Second, LiDAR can tell a robot how big and near an obstacle is, but not what it is. Enter AI. Like everything else in our lives, robots now have AI on board in many implementations, and identification is one of them. Robot vacuums have cameras on board and are constantly analyzing what the cameras see using AI. This technology turns out to be so good, many companies have expressed to me that they see LiDAR being transitioned away from, and robots will rely on the cameras alone. Roborock confirmed this thinking to me earlier this year before the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), and these Saros models are proof: The Saros 10 has LiDAR on board, but the 10R has ditched it altogether.
The Saros 10 performed precisely as expected, because again, LiDAR is still fantastic, and the 10 has cameras on board to assist. I was even more impressed with the navigation on the 10R, which relied solely on cameras. I saw the robot act a lot more adventurously by going into smaller spaces than robot vacuums usually do in my home: tiny spaces between planters, for instance, and under the dropping leaves of an asparagus fern. The 10R navigated around cords, a notorious robot menace, with ease. Never once did the the 10R misidentify dog toy floof as pet waste (a common occurrence with LiDAR).
The 10 has those same cameras on board, but I found that it seemed to rely on LiDAR when the tower was up, only getting the benefits the 10R had when the tower was retracted for height reasons, like under my couch. That’s not the say the 10 had poor navigation, but it wasn’t as brave going into small spaces or with obstacles. The Saros 10 was adventurous in a completely different way: height. The Saros 10 is able to use its chassis to lift itself over obstacles, like thresholds as high as 30mm. In my home, it not only made it over transitions like doorways and rugs, but attempted to huck itself over an actual six-inch stair multiple times. (It almost made it.) I'm sure we'll see more of this kind of feature going forward (I've already seen it with the stair-climbing Dreame X50 Ultra). The 10R has the same chassis on board and should be able to do the same—but it never tried, not even once.
What I couldn’t help but find myself thinking of was why there wasn’t one super model that allowed the robot to both get into small spaces and tackle vertical challenges. Why can’t we have the best of both?
If I had to choose, I give the 10R a slight edge in navigation because identification of obstacles is incredibly useful in getting an accurate clean in your home. Still, if you’ve got tall transitions in your home, the 10 should be on your radar.
Vacuuming performance differences
These two vacuums are a perfect demonstration of why suction power isn’t the best way to determine how effective a vacuum will be. While the Saros 10 and 10R have differences in their mopping hardware, their vacuums are precisely the same—with the exception of suction power.
Both robots feature a split-design roller in the center of the undercarriage of the robot. I became a big fan of this design; it very rarely got caught on debris, and like most Roborocks, was good about vacuuming up medium- to large-size debris in addition to dust and other micro debris.
Saros models have a new sweep design, which has two arms instead of three, and while I don’t find this as effective as the gigantic sweeps of the 3i S10 and the iRobot Roomba 205, they accomplished their stated goal, which was to not get hair wrapped around them. They also effectively worked to move debris towards the rollers.
The 10R features 20,000Pa of suction power, to the 10’s 22,000. These are giant numbers, regardless of the 2,000Pa shift between them. In practice, they both vacuumed the same micro debris with no difference, to my eyes.
Where I saw a difference is in what they were willing to vacuum, which had little to do with the suction power, and more to do with the navigation telling the robot it was safe to vacuum. In this way, the 10 gets the edge. I saw it take on mulch and pet toy floof without hesitation, while the 10R navigated around larger pieces of debris like the aforementioned floof and even a fortune cookie paper.
Mopping hardware
If the Saros 10 and 10R are the same in vacuuming hardware, their mopping hardware is where they diverge. The 10 has the S8’s singular vibrating mop pad, while the 10R has the spinning mop pads on independent arms so they can extend out beyond the robot.
Most of the industry has shifted to these spinning pads; in theory, they should work better, by degrees of magnitude and agitation. But I believe that singular, stationary mop pads are better than two spinning pads at getting out grime and dirt. I might be alone among other professionals on this, but the proof is in the pudding. I have filthy floors from a dog tracking in mud, as well as me tracking in garden dirt and being a messy cook, and it all plays out on pitted white tile. I had forgotten how much I liked the singular mop pad of the S8 until I got to enjoy it on the Saros 10.
The same chassis that allows the Saros 10 to “climb” over objects also exerts pressure on the back end of the robot where the mop pad lies, and in combination with the vibration on the pad, it results in cleaner floors.
While the robots worked similarly on surface puddles and spills, effectively mopping up moisture without dragging it all over the floor, the dual spinning pads were no match for the singular pad on stains or any grime ground into the floor, whether on tile or hardwood.
Point: Saros 10.
And the Winner Is...the Saros 10
If I had to choose between the Saros 10 and 10R, I'd choose the 10. Yes, I might have preferred the navigation of the 10R, and should you have a lot of tight spots and fewer thresholds in your home, it would be worth considering the 10R. While it's a tight race, with little distinction in terms of robot design and the app, the Saros 10 worked slightly better on the floor itself as a vacuum and mop. But in truth, as good as both models are, I still think there are better Roborocks out there, like the Curv and S8 MaxV Ultra.
