You can currently get the Narwal Freo for €802.03 from Amazon with the €70 voucher on the product page and the narwalrobot voucher.
Voucher: Activate narwalrobot & 70€ voucher on the product page
- Very good wiping function including edge cleaning
- Surprisingly good suction results
- Alternative control via the screen at the station
A mopping function that also gets to the edge , while a cleaning station always ensures clean mops. The narwhal Freo is particularly good at mopping, but can of course also vacuum the apartment. An alternative to the established manufacturers?
Narwal Freo Review, Specs & Price
- Narwhal Freo
- at Amazon for €802.03 (Apply €70 coupon on product page & voucher: narwalrobot ) | Narwhal for €829
- Accesories
- currently not available at Amazon (accessory package)
- single accessories at narwhal
- Start in Germany / USA
In 2021, Narwal secured the success of being the first vacuum robot with a self-cleaning wiping function. The technology became standard for devices in the higher price ranges, but it was rather quiet with Narwal. But now they are starting with the Narwal Freo in Germany and, in addition to rotating mops, they also bring a few special features with them.
Design & Processing
The Narwhal Freo’s station is a white box made of shiny plastic. Everything is slightly rounded and looks high quality. On the top, however, we find the first special feature. There were often screens at vacuum robot stations, but here we even have a real menu including the cute little ghost mascot .
The vacuum robot is otherwise designed quite classically. Here we get a circular vacuum robot with a laser tower, which has purple as an accent color inside. Under the flap we find the dust chamber, which is also important here, because an extraction station was not included in the station.
All components of the Narwal Freo appear high-quality and robust. No wonder, because in China and other countries you have been able to gain a few years of experience.
A LiDAR-based laser tower is used for navigation. Other sensors on the front and on the side act as an additional data source, but there is no real object detection on the front. During the first map creation, the brisk pace of the Freo and the volume generated are noticeable. Apart from the movement and engine noises, you hear nothing here. Normally, a blower runs along with it, but that is not the case here.
Basically, the navigation works unsurprisingly reliable. The environment is recognized and a precise map is created from it. Only our bar stools with round legs or small objects in front of the vacuum robot cause him problems. With a little preparation of the household, however, he zips through your four walls and cleans them without any problems.
Cleaning
- Suction Function
A look at the data sheet reveals the suction power of only 3000 pa. Actually quite little by today’s standards, but in practice it is surprising. Such a suction power is usually sufficient for hard floors, only carpets can become a problem here. But as already indicated, the narwhal surprises Freo in the carpet test. Because it vacuums the carpet almost completely clean, only a few spots remain dirty. The cleaning is not as good as with the top models, but it is much closer than expected.
Maybe it’s the roller, which here has plastic lamellae and bristles, but maybe you just measure Narwal differently and less advantageously than the rest. In the Narwal Shop I was also able to discover another roller that is only made of rubber. This should reduce the amount of hair that gets caught there. So this might be worth a look for pet owners and anyone with long hair.
It’s a pity that, despite the station, no suction station has been integrated. Of course there are still models without, but there are also models in the Freo price range with a cleaning and suction station.
Wipe Function
The clear highlight here is the wipe function. For this purpose, rotating mops are used in combination with a cleaning station. In Freo mode, he also masters the novel function of rocking his back towards the edge, which cleans them more thoroughly. Since he always has to stop briefly for this, the cleaning takes a little longer. This function is also only available in Freo mode, which is the automatic mode here. You can also set a regular interval for the rocker function. So you can z. B. only wipe the edges once a week.
So much for the theory. How well does he wipe? Thanks to the rotating mops, thorough cleaning is carried out here, which can also remove stains. Lighter soiling could already be removed in the first go, stubborn stains only went away in the second and third process. In the end, however, there were still a few stains left, but the Dreame H12 Pro battery vacuum cleaner had to fight a bit. Compared to the competition with rotating mops, however, it delivers similarly good results and better edges, as only a few models so far support rocking.
Actually, in Freo mode, he should also be able to recognize when he hasn’t gotten all the dirt cleaned. For this purpose, a sensor should analyze the water when cleaning the mops and send the robot off again. At least in the case of the stains, the threshold did not seem to have been reached here . On the second pass, however, he then decided directly for a third wipe pass, there may still be a need for some fine-tuning here.
A function that shouldn’t be missing is the mop lift. All the better that this has been integrated here and that the vacuum robot can also vacuum low carpets while it is wiping.
After Dreame released the included detergent dispenser in the L10s Ultra last year, I actually expected every manufacturer to do it this way. After all, you can make money here again with a consumable. So far, however, nothing has come of it and the Narwhal Freo is only now the next model with this function.
Actually also quite practical, insert the cartridge and only replace it after a while. Meanwhile, the robot always gets water mixed with detergent. At the moment we cannot say how long a cartridge will last. Of course you can also simply add detergent yourself when you refill the water, so it’s just another step in comfort.
After the final mop wash, a hot air blower starts , drying the mops. This means that no unpleasant odors or bacteria can form.
Fortunately , cleaning the base plate is also easy here , because you can pull it out of the station and clean it easily at the sink. A simple solution to the problem, but not all manufacturers can do it.
App & Screen
There are two ways to interact with the vacuum robot. You either control it in the classic way via the app or use the on-screen menu at the station . However, it is necessary to set it up in the app at the beginning, and the screen cannot be used for anything else beforehand.
The app offers the usual options. You can make various settings, customize the map and start cleaning. At the moment there is no German menu navigation, maybe an update will follow there. With a little knowledge of English, however, it is quite easy to use. The little animation that comes at the end of the Freo cleaning is really nice . With this, the little ghost shows where it cleaned and indicates, for example, whether it washed the mops through at the end. Absolutely not necessary, but maybe one or the other likes this touch.
You can start the different cleanings on the screen and even adjust some settings in the menu. For example, whether detergent should be added. During the cleaning it serves as a status screen and shows which cleaning is running and how long it has been there. Relatively simple and similar to other models, implemented with just a few buttons, but it’s a nice extra.
There is also a child lock for all parents, so that the offspring does not constantly send the robot off. My first thought when looking at the screen was that an extremely slow interface awaited me there, which I don’t want to use for that reason alone. To my surprise, however, it runs smoothly and is very functional. Xiaomi can cut a slice from devices where the screen is actually very important.
Conclusion:
The narwhal does what it can do really well. The suction function in particular, which you could have written off directly with 3000 pa suction power in this price range, works surprisingly well. The wiping function is at a very high level and does something with the edge cleaning that not every vacuum robot can currently do. It is definitely superior to a Dreame L10s Ultra when it comes to edge cleaning.
The cleaning station is also practical with its mop wash, hot air drying and easy cleaning of the base plate . It becomes more problematic, however, with what the narwhal Freo does notcan. The navigation via the laser tower is not supported by object recognition and unfortunately there is also no suction station here.
The Narwal Freo is priced at an RRP of €899. Right at the start you give a discount and end up at 849€. Dreame ‘s direct competitor with the L10 Ultra is currently even cheaper and comes with a suction station and a similarly good wiping function. The advantages of the Narwal Freo are the edge cleaning and the screen, but the included suction station from the Dreame could convince some more. There is also direct competition for edge cleaning at ECOVACS with the T20 OMNI, which is €100 more expensive, but also has an extraction station and object recognition.
Pros
- Very good wiping function including edge cleaning
- Surprisingly good suction results
- Alternative control via the screen at the station
Cons
- No suction station
- No object detection
In summary, one can say that Narwal has built a good vacuum-mopping robot here , which perhaps should have been given at least one suction station given the big competition. So it is currently still the price-performance winner, especially when it comes to edge cleaning, but then it also has to do without the extraction station. Another positive thing to mention is that we now have another capable vacuum robot manufacturer on the German market, who is also putting pressure on the competition again.
Narwhal Freo vs Roborock S8 Pro Ultra
The Narwal Freo starts at a lower price and offers the rotary mops including edge cleaning. In contrast to the Roborock model, it has no object recognition and no integrated suction station.
Where can I get new bottles of Narwhal Cleanser?
Narwal offers individual bottles in its own online shop. Alternatively, you can purchase them in an accessory pack from Amazon.
