Roborock Saros Z70 review: an innovative robot vacuum with a robotic arm that just can’t get a grip

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The Roborock Saros Z70 is the most innovative robot vacuum I’ve ever tested. Along with the ability to vacuum and mop, this unique gadget is equipped with a robotic arm. As it cruises around your home, it’ll pick up objects left on the ground, move them to a designated area, then continue with its cleaning routine. Or rather, that’s what it’s supposed to do. In reality, things are a bit of a mixed bag.

First and foremost — the Saros Z70 does an excellent job of cleaning all types of floors. With heaps of suction and a premium spinning mop setup, it’s designed to tackle spills and debris with ease. But the robotic arm is the big selling point here, and it doesn’t do enough to justify its eye-watering price tag of $2,600 (inflated from the original price of $1,900 due to tariffs).

Roborock offers products at a much lower price point capable of cleaning just as well as the Saros Z70. And because the robotic arm isn’t quite ready for the modern household environment, it’s hard to recommend to anyone except those who need to be on the cutting edge of the robot vacuum industry — which is a pretty niche crowd.

Still, I’m excited to see where the technology goes. The Saros Z70 might not be ready for the spotlight just yet, but its successors will most definitely learn from its mistakes.

It’s all about the arm

The Roborock Saros Z70 can automatically vacuum, mop, detach and reinstall its mopping pads, empty its dustbin, and wash itself — but the reason you’re even thinking about spending $2,600 is because of its wild robotic arm. No other robot vacuum on the market offers this functionality.

One of the biggest limitations of current robot vacuums is that they must clean around your mess. Forget to pick up a sock, shoe, or other object, and that portion of your home will be missed. The Saros Z70 attempts to fix this pinch point. Forget to pick up your dirty socks? It’ll pick them up for you, then return them to a specified point in your home. This should, in theory, result in a more comprehensive clean, as it doesn’t have to work around your mess — instead, it’ll simply clean up for you.

It’s a remarkable idea for a robot vacuum, and the Saros Z70 is a fine first attempt at bringing this idea to life. Much like any new technology, it’s quite rough around the edges, but the proof of concept is there. It successfully picked up socks, slippers, and crumpled paper left out in my home. It would then bring them to a designated spot before continuing with its cleaning routine. When it works, it’s one of the coolest things you’ll ever see in the world of robot vacuums.

But the successes of the robotic arm are overshadowed by its limitations. To be clear, Roborock is quite transparent with its restrictions. For example, detection doesn’t work very well (or at all, in some cases) on carpet. The grip is only capable of picking up items of 300 grams or less. If the robot detects furniture above it, the arm won’t fully deploy — protecting itself and your belongings from a collision.

This means you’re essentially limited to picking up small, lightweight objects like socks and slippers from hard surfaces.

Even if the robot detects something it should, theoretically, be able to handle, the grip often struggles. Designed as a set of prongs that reach down to lift objects, it frequently misses the object or grabs it awkwardly and later drops it. Simply put, the system takes way too long to be an effective solution for your home.

When not in use, the arm stows away into a chamber at the front of the robot vacuum. This results in a streamlined footprint capable of slinking under most furniture for a robust cleaning. The entire system looks nice (as is par for the course with Roborock), though the functionality of the robotic arm leaves much to be desired.

Mopping and vacuuming

While the robotic arm is a bit of a letdown, this isn’t the case for the rest of the Roborock Saros Z70. It’s essentially a superpowered version of the fantastic Saros 10R, featuring 22,000 Pa of suction, the accurate StarSight Autonomous System 2.0 for navigation, an anti-tangle system to keep brushes free of debris, and detachable mops that can automatically be left behind in the dock while vacuuming.

Several secondary features are bundled in for added convenience, such as the ability to check in on the device remotely via video calls and a child lock to prevent curious kids from meddling with the expensive robot. Toss in a side brush capable of rotating outward for enhanced coverage and a mopping pad capable of the same, and you’ve got a robot well-suited for providing one of the best cleans on the market — plus a few fun extras.

Verdict

As innovative as the Roborock Saros Z70 is, it’s not the right fit for most customers. Its combination of price and lackluster robotic arm performance means it’s just not capable of living up to expectations, and you’d be better off with the Roborock Saros 10 or Saros 10R. Both products provide similar cleanings at a fraction of the price.

Having said all that, the Saros Z70 is still an exciting product. The first time its robotic arm deployed to pick up a sock, I literally shouted in excitement. It’s hard to overstate how cool this technology is — and how it could seriously revolutionize robot vacuums. The Saros Z70 is (hopefully) the first step on a much longer journey, and I can’t wait to see where Roborock takes us.