The vacuuming performance of the Narwal Freo X Plus is very solid.
Still, you’ll generally end up with clean floors.
However, the Narwal Freo X Plus seems to have a mind of its own.
Everything you’ll find in the box
Or it might decide to head off on a different, unassigned job.
Another added benefit is that it’s possible to pair and use through a voice assistant like Alexa.
It will still deliver fairly clean floors, but can be a pain to deal with.
Because it doesn’t have self-empty capabilities, the dock is compact
It is, however, available in the UK unlike the Narwal, and comes with better mopping ability.
As far as the robot vacuum itself, it has the typical rounded shape.
While it does apply some downward pressure, it doesn’t do much in the way of scrubbing.
The underside of the Freo X Plus, with side brushes unclipped
The Narwal Freo X Plus is a fairly sleek looking robot vacuum in its all-white aesthetic.
Both the reservoir and dustbin are easily removable and easy to fill up or empty, respectively.
Luckily, the Narwal Freo X Plus does a very good job here.
Remove the magnetic cover to reveal water reservoir and dust cup
Thanks to having two side brushes, it’s able to get debris on either side of it.
It also picked up hair without issue and without any tangling.
I used it on tile, hardwood floors, and a small but thick bath mat.
The dustbin is easy to empty
In terms of just vacuuming, this robot vacuum has the goods regardless of the surface.
Its mopping capability is a little less stellar.
I would actually describe it as okay.
The Freo X sucked up both fine debris and chunkier spillages with ease
Since it has the one pad, it’s only applying downward pressure.
The object avoidance, on the other hand, is pretty good.
Only then did it vacuum it.
Mopping performance is a little weaker
Where the Narwal Freo X Plus falls short is in how it decides to clean.
When I use the Freo Advice setting in the app, it will take the strangest path.
It’s also a fairly attractive looking app.
It gets nice and close to the edges of rooms when vacuuming
The only quirk is knowing the very specific phrases that it can understand.
For reference, most units these days have up to 210 minutes of use.
Should you buy the Narwal Freo X Plus robot vacuum?
It took a little time, but the Freo X eventually realized it could vacuum my bathmat
4/5
Design
Small base station, comes with two side brushes, but uses a rudimentary mop pad.
3.5/5
App
Easy to use, though the mapping has some deficiencies when dealing with open plan spaces.
Battery
Very good and more than most people would ever need.
(Image credit: Future)
So, you might still use this robot vacuum even if you’re short on open space.
If you need better spot cleaning or a more quirk-free experience, look elsewhere.
It has better mopping as well, not to mention a self-emptying base station.
(Image credit: Future)
It’s also much, much more expensive.
I also tested all the features listed in the app, from mapping to scheduling.
Read we test
First reviewed September 2024
Erratic route-planning in action (left) and issues with open-plan spaces (right)
