Narwal Freo Z Ultra Review: Self-Emptying, AI-Powered, and Nearly Effortless

Geardiary

The Narwal Freo Z Ultra is a robotic cleaning powerhouse designed for busy households juggling pets, kids, and a constant battle against dust and spills. With powerful vacuuming, precision mopping, and smart adaptive cleaning, it tackles everything from stubborn coffee stains to pet fur—all with minimal effort on your part. Its ultra-quiet operation, obstacle-avoiding AI, and advanced self-cleaning base station make it a true “set-it-and-forget-it” solution that learns your space and keeps your floors (almost) effortlessly pristine.

Until recently, the Narwal Freo X Ultra was my go-to robot vacuum for the 7,000-square-foot back room of our warehouse renovation. It handled the space well, but swapping out the 1L dust bags every few weeks became a chore. In a typical 2,300-square-foot home, this wouldn’t be as big of a deal, but a self-emptying dustbin would have been a game changer in a space this size.

Enter the Narwal Freo Z Ultra. Not only does it add that much-needed self-emptying feature, but it does so without sacrificing water tank capacity—something I had initially worried about.Narwal Freo X Ultra on the left; Narwal Freo Z Ultra on the rightNarwal Freo X Ultra on the left; Narwal Freo Z Ultra on the right

The Freo Z Ultra doesn’t just add self-emptying—it brings a suite of upgrades. Compared to the Freo X Ultra, it boasts:

• Stronger suction: 12,000Pa vs. 8,200Pa
• Smarter obstacle avoidance: TwinAI dodge + side sensors vs. the X Ultra’s laser-based system
• More precise cleaning: Detects 120+ objects and cleans within 8mm of obstacles
• Upgraded DirtSense 2.0: Automatically adjusts cleaning intensity based on mess severity
• Enhanced base station: Uses AI Adaptive hot water washing (113°-167°F) for deep cleaning

Unboxing and What’s Included

The Freo Z Ultra arrives in well-organized packaging with everything you need: the robot, base station, side brushes (color-coded for easy installation), a zero-tangle roller brush, mop cloths, a baseboard cleaning module (pre-installed with a rag), floor detergent, an extension ramp, and a pre-installed dust bag. Extras include three more baseboard rags, an additional dustbag, a dustbin filter, and a replaceable insert bin. A user manual and quick-start guide are also included.

Be sure to check all compartments when unboxing—some accessories are tucked into the styrofoam for safe transport.

A Look at the Hardware

The Narwal Freo Z Ultra is available in two finishes: Galaxy Silver and the Space Gray they sent me for review. With the extension ramp installed, the dustbin measures approximately 18″ tall by 16.75″ wide by 16.5″ deep. Like the Freo X Ultra’s base station, the Z Ultra’s base station is sleek and will look good in just about any room.

An additional styrofoam insert is in the area of the base station where the robot will park and charge; it holds some of the included accessories.

Opening the lid on top of the base station reveals the quick guide.

Under the insert are the 5L clean water tank and 4.5L dirty water tank; the purple tank is for Dirty Water, and the clear tank is for Clean Water. If you remove both tanks and forget which goes where the color-coded icons on the base station will help you remember. An added fail-safe is that the tanks will only fit back in the correct respective spots, so you can’t accidentally reverse them.

You might be wondering where the 2.5L disposable dustbag goes. I certainly was until I realized that the front panel is removable.

Inside the Narwal Freo Z Ultra’s base station, which is slightly deeper, taller, and wider than the X Ultra’s, there are cleverly hidden compartments for the floor detergent and the self-emptying dust bin, which comes with a pre-installed dustbag.

To complete the base station’s setup, you’ll add clean tap water to the clear tank and insert the floor detergent into its slot.

Once you have the robot placed where you plan to keep it, you’ll add the extension ramp, which slides under the front of the base station.

The top of the Narwal Freo Z Ultra’s Base Station has an inset circular touch panel on the lift lid that you can use to control the robot if your phone isn’t handy.

The base station has an intuitive touch panel on the lid for easy control when your phone isn’t handy. You can:

• Start, pause, or stop cleaning with the “Play” button
• Send the robot home by tapping the “Home” button
• Enable child lock (handy for kids and curious cats) by holding the “Home” button for two seconds
• Activate Freo Mode for adaptive cleaning with a tap of the ghost icon
• Start mop washing/drying with the “Water Drop” button
• Enter pairing mode by holding “Home” and “Play” together

The port to power the base station is located at the back at the top of the recessed area.

Let’s examine the Narwal Freo Z Ultra robot, which measures approximately 13.75″ wide and 4.5″ tall, including the protruding circular radar sensors in the center.

The robot has two buttons on the top side; when pressed, the “Power” button starts or stops the robot, and the “Home” button recalls it to the base station.

Lifting the magnetic top cover reveals the removable dustbin and the reset button.

Unlike the self-contained and disposable dust bag-accepting dustbin on the Freo X Ultra, the Narwal Freo Z Ultra’s dustbin has a filter and a replaceable insert bin, which gathers debris and holds it until the robot returns to the base station and empties.

The Narwal Freo Z Ultra’s front has a binocular vision obstacle avoidance sensor. Like some other top-of-the-line robots, including the Roborock S7 Max Ultra we use at our house, the Freo Z Ultra also offers a built-in camera that allows for security monitoring, live viewing, and pet check-ins via the Narwal app.

During the initial setup, you’ll flip the robot over to install the labeled side brushes onto their color-coded pegs. The velcro-topped mop modules come with the installed mop pads; they can be easily pulled off for washing and replacement. The zero-tangle roller brush is tapered and unconnected at one end for better pet hair management.

The initial setup for the cleaning process is easy to accomplish as you are guided step-by-step through the Narwal app. I did a deep dive into setting up the app and using it for the Narwal Freo X Ultra review, and the process is the same for the Freo Z Ultra, but there are some new options and features.

For instance, when the robot is mapping the space for the first time, it will mark areas on the map where it finds obstacles and cables, which is pretty cool.

Adaptive and Intelligent Cleaning

Through the Narwal app, you can customize cleaning schedules, define no-go zones, and select from various cleaning modes: vacuum only, mop only, vacuum and mop simultaneously, or vacuum first and mop after.

This completed map shows the no-go areas I’ve added to keep the robot out of any particularly tricky spots.

The Freo Mind Mode is a cool feature because it adapts the robot’s cleaning strategy in real-time based on any messes it encounters. Detecting dry debris like dust or crumbs boosts the suction, while wet spills increase mop pressure.

Using its dual RGB cameras and AI-powered obstacle avoidance, the robot easily navigates around furniture, phone chargers, cables, and—importantly for pet owners—even a surprise pet accident.

The Freo X Ultra kept our concrete floors clean, but the Freo Z Ultra took things a step further. When the robot encountered a particularly soiled area, it would automatically scrub that spot multiple times, returning to the base station to clean its mop pads in between passes until it deemed the space spotless. Unlike competing models that require pre-filled hot water, the Freo Z Ultra actively heats its mop water to temperatures between 113°-167°F for better stain removal.

The zero-tangle roller brush works flawlessly, allowing the Freo Z Ultra to glide over carpets, rugs, and concrete floors without a hitch. It also lifts its mopping pads automatically when transitioning onto carpets, so no damp mess is left behind.

On our low-pile rugs, the vacuum performed well, but like most robot vacuums, it struggles with deep-cleaning thick, medium- to high-pile carpets. If your home has mostly plush carpets, you may still need a traditional upright vacuum for deeper cleaning.

Like many robot vacs, however, the Narwal Freo Z Ultra struggles with fringed rugs. I had hoped the Freo Z Ultra’s improved AI would recognize and avoid fringe, but unfortunately, it still tries to eat it. So keep in mind that if you have rugs with fringe, your best bet is to create no-go zones and vacuum them separately.

That’s probably the only real negative I found, but it has also been an issue with every other robot vacuum I’ve tried.

Should You Buy the Narwal Freo Z Ultra?

At $1,499.99, the Narwal Freo Z Ultra is a serious investment, but it delivers serious results. If you’re tired of vacuuming and mopping—or constantly cleaning up after pets and kids—this is as close as it gets to a fully autonomous floor-cleaning solution. With powerful suction, AI-driven cleaning strategies, and a nearly hands-free maintenance system, it’s one of the smartest robot vacuums you can buy.

The Narwal Freo Z Ultra retails for $1499.99; it is available directly from the manufacturer and other retailers, including Amazon.

Source: Manufacturer supplied review sample

What I Like: Truly autonomous cleaning with smart adaptive features; Quiet operation; Advanced base station that self-cleans and dries mop pads; Zero-tangle roller brush is ideal for pet owners; Impressive performance across hard floors and rugs

What Needs Improvement: Like every other robot vacuum I’ve tried, it still struggles with fringed rugs