The Roborock vacuum robot with a mechanical arm is super cool. I'm certain it's the future, just not yet

The Roborock Saros Z70 robot vacuum and mop expands the cleaning prowess of the best robot vacuums with the addition of a robotic arm alongside its arsenal of sensors and brushes. The idea is that it'll pick up objects in its way and go the extra mile to fully tidy up by actually moving items around. Once you see it in action, the articulating arm is instantly intriguing. It's a potential huge leap forward for robot assistants.
After an editor got an early press preview of the Roborock Z70, I spent several weeks with the Z70, putting it through dedicated tests, as well as just letting it perform daily scheduled cleanings. I'm hopeful that its functionality will increase over time, but at the moment, it's strictly a novelty. The exciting potential remains, but the reality is much duller. The robot has a very limited list of items it's allowed to lift and move, including pieces of paper and light slippers. Even within that scope, it didn't always accomplish its tasks. The Z70 is a top-notch vacuum and mop, but its arm is just an added expense that probably won't be helpful to many people just yet.
A machine loaded with features and specs
The Saros Z70 is wholly feature-complete. Between the adaptive AI cleaning schedules and the video calls you can use the robot for as it does a patrol of the house, it's hard not to be overwhelmed by it.
Of course, the elephant in the room is its OmniGrip mechanical arm, which even has an embedded camera and is capable of lifting up to 300 grams. That's 0.66 pounds, or the equivalent of an iPad mini (with cellular). The arm will emerge on its own while vacuuming or mopping, but it can also be activated manually while in its remote control mode if you want to play around with it.
The Roborock Z70 retails for $2,599 and is at the tip top of the price spectrum for this category of products. Even without the OmniGrip arm, however, it would still be a high-end product because of all the other tech loaded up inside.
It features up to a tremendous 22,000 Pa of suction, a multi-function dock with hot water mop cleaning, an extending brush and pad, and class-leading mapping and navigation sensors. It packs a lot into its compact, 3.14-inch tall frame. So, in addition to knowing where it should and shouldn't go, it can actually fit under more couches and between more chair legs.
The unit has a rated 180-minute run time on its quiet mode. In my testing, I got more than 115 minutes with the higher power balanced mode. Observing the battery in real-world use, the battery estimate seems highly accurate. Extrapolating my usage out, the Z70 was averaging about 170 minutes in the higher setting. For times of extended demand, the dock will fast-charge the robot in an advertised 2.5 hours.
Mapping and navigation are stellar, helping it avoid bumping into most household items
Despite a functional robot arm tucked away into its top, the unit remains compact and nimble. Part of the Z70's ability to scoot through tight spaces like between furniture is its StarSight Autonomous System 2.0. It has forward-facing detection, along with VertiBeam for lateral object avoidance to the side and above. These sensors and cameras help it see 3D depth information and identify more objects, so it knows how to move around household items delicately.
On its first mapping, the Z70 instantly created an accurate map of my downstairs rooms. Like other Roborock models, it correctly identified room dividers and even noted things like a table and living room seating. Over the last several years, I've been highly impressed with the cleaning paths Roborock robots take and their general ground coverage. The Z70 is no different in this regard. But from my constant oversight, this year's tech does seem to be at the top of its game. It's highly thorough while remaining efficient.
The Roborock app has even added Routines to try to allow you more flexibility in how you clean. One of the recommended options is to clean after a meal. This Routine cleans the kitchen and dining room after the time you set for dinner.
Here's what you want to know about a vacuum that has an arm
Far and away, the most interesting thing about the Roborock Saros Z70 is its OmniGrip mechanical arm. It can move certain objects out of the way or move them to designated areas. That's the promise, but the reality is much more limited than it initially appears.
First, you have to explicitly activate the OmniGrip in the app to turn it on. It won't work by default until you take the step to acknowledge its presence. Secondly, at launch, it's only authorized to pick up tissues, sandals/slippers, and socks — but only certain types of each. So what's the point? Roborock is optimistic that this will help tidy up socks that get left close to closets or tissues that don't quite make it to a trash can. I'm more skeptical.
Even if the mechanical arm does gain the ability to pick up new objects in the future via a software up, it ultimately has a physical weight capacity that it can't exceed. It can't go around lifting anything it wants to, including heavy footwear like boots. Plus, there will likely always be some objects like scissors that remain off-limits for safety reasons. Additionally, in regards to safety, there is an emergency shutoff button on the vacuum to stop the arm, and the grip does have a pinch sensor.
In terms of the OmniGrip's actual performance, it hasn't been great in my testing. Maybe unsurprisingly, I've needed to manufacture a lot of the testing scenarios because the items it will handle are so limited. I wouldn't have seen it work much, if at all, if I didn't artificially start dropping balls of tissues on the floor.
Even when ideal-sized and shaped balls of paper towels were left on the floor in central locations, the results were mixed. Sometimes the robot would pick up one of the tissues and put it in its designated bin, while ignoring the others.
I used paper towels, brown packing paper, and bathroom tissue to see if it would identify each of them. Usually, it would take care of one but not the others, with seemingly no logic to which one it handled. The paper towels I left lying flat didn't get any acknowledgment.
I also resorted to placing Crocs in the middle of the room, while the Z70 ran its nightly schedule. Doing that usually resulted in one of the clogs being moved to the designated shoe spot while the other one remained untouched. Sometimes the robot would move the sandals out of its way to finish cleaning the area it was assigned to, but then just leave them in a different, inconvenient spot.
It's hard not to be disappointed by the results of the OmniGrip mechanical arm. When it works like you assume it will, it's magical. It's easy to see how this functionality will be improved and could spread to be prominent in two to three years. But it's not there yet. It's too limited in nearly every way to be anything but a fun distraction.
The Saros Z70 cleaning performance didn't disappoint
If you're willing to pay the OmniGrip arm tax, you'll still get a good vacuum and mop. Its side brush and extending mop pad help it pick up crumbs and dirt around chair legs and scrub right up against baseboards.
I tested the Z70 on hardwood floors using coffee grounds, flour, and crushed up cereal to see how it vacuumed and mopped up the messes. Using the vacuum and mop on its highest suction level with two passes, it got around 90% of the flour, 90% of the coffee grounds, and 98% of the cereal in a spot, zone cleaning. These results are in line with other high-end robot cleaners.
Using the vacuum on carpet with the same simulated spilled food items, the Z70 got an estimated 87% of the flour, 89% of the coffee grounds, and 100% of the crushed up cereal. Again, its results in this area are in line with other premium robots.
To see how well the Z70 could get into tough-to-reach areas, I taped off a corner of my room with hardwood floors and sprinkled some flour in the square. The vacuum picked up nearly all of the visible mess. Its corner results were quite remarkable, especially compared to other robots.
All of these tests confirmed my general observations of the daily scheduled cleanings I had it doing. It's really good, though not perfect. There were still the occasional crumbs left under the cabinet toe-kicks in the kitchen, but all around the kitchen table, around chair legs, and up against baseboards were free from debris after it finished.
The anti-tangle system, a combination of the side and roller brushes, worked well enough that I only saw a few strands of hair from time to time. There was never a collection of hair wrapped up that needed to be cut off. Nearly all of the hair found its way into the dustbin.
I don't have a high threshold in my home that I need robot vacuums to cross. However, I do have a mid-to-high pile rug that a lot of vacuums have had a hard time traversing. Thanks to the AdaptiveLift chassis, the Z70 can roll over a threshold as tall as 1.57 inches, which, in my case, made it much easier for the bot to climb onto the carpeted rug and vacuum it without getting stuck.
Although the unit can raise itself high off the ground, the Z70 can also detach its mopping pads and leave them behind in the charging dock when doing vacuum-only jobs. This means it won't drag wet pads across the carpet. This isn't a unique feature to Roborock, but one of my favorites that I've come to look for from any premium cleaner.
The Z70 isn't the only new vacuum and mop that Roborock released in 2025. It also released the Saros 10R and 10. Putting the 10R through its paces revealed it has a similar performance. It also employs a sleek exterior with a low profile for nimble navigation, along with a FlexiArm side brush and an extending mop pad. Its suction is powerful, and its scrubbing is thorough. The 10 and 10R, varying in minor ways, aren't as flashy as the Z70, but nearly as capable.
The bottom line
The Roborock Saros Z70 is a great vacuum and mop but not because it has a robotic arm. It performs well at cleaning floors despite its headline feature. The functionality of its arm is just too limited to make it a useful part of the cleaning experience. If the cost doesn't deter you, it's a fine choice with a wow factor that will intrigue anyone who comes across it. But most people in search of a high-powered, premium robot vacuum and mop will find a better value with the Saros 10R.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Gizmodo

a day ago

• Gizmodo

Apple iPad 11-inch With A16 Chip Hits Its Lowest Price as Amazon Clears Out Top Tablets

We're about to have huge wave of humidity hit all across the United States. That means its the perfect time to just stay inside, playing Fortnite on an iPad, or streaming the new season of Love Island. Amazon right now has the Wi-Fi only model of the Apple iPad with the A16 chip on sale for $50 off as part of a limited time deal. The brings down the tablet to just $299 from its original price of $349. See at Amazon Liquid Retina Display The Apple iPad is an 11-inch tablet built for the everyday user. It's thin, but powerful thanks to the A16 chipset. The screen uses a liquid retina display with a resolution of 2360 by 1640 pixels that show accurate, stunning color thanks to True Tone which can adjust the color temperature based on its surroundings, making it comfortable to view in any lighting conditions. The Apple iPad Air comes in a handful of color options. You can choose between silver, blue, pink, or yellow to best match your sense of style. The iPad is equipped with a 12MP rear camera as well as an ultra-wide 12MP front camera. You can FaceTime or hop into Zoom calls with your friends, family, or colleagues with ease. Center Stage This is an Apple feature that using built-in intelligence to watch as you move within the frame to recenter yourself. This way you and anyone else in the room with your on camera stays optimally in view for everyone else on the call with you. Additionally, the rear cameras uses True Tone flash which makes it capable of scanning documents. Take your iPad even further with some additional accessories. The Apple Pencil can turn your tablet into a drawing canvas or handwritten note-taking device. The Magic Keyboard Folio is a versatile two-piece detachable keypad that also serves as a protective back panel to the iPad. Keep your iPad secure with Touch ID. It's built into the top button so you can just use your fingerprint to unlock your iPad as well as to sign into into apps or authenticate payments using Apple Pay. With support for Wi-Fi 6, you'll be able to access all your files and cloud-saved photos fast and stream your favorite TV shows and movies seamlessly in high-quality. For a limited time, you can scoop up the 11-inch iPad for a $50 discount. It's normally priced at $349, so with the Amazon deal, you'll be getting the Apple tablet for only $299. See at Amazon

CNET

a day ago

• CNET

The iPad Is Almost a Mac Now. Time to Finish the Job

What's a computer? It's whatever helps me get my work done. I love new ideas for what computers can be, but traditional work tools still win out. For my job, it's generally a PC or Mac. When I travel, an iPad is often convenient, but it's not the same, so I often bring both. The "why not both" approach is exactly what Apple has been pitching with iPads and Macs for years, but Apple has also been adamant that these platforms will never merge. I remember the stage announcement that said as much back in 2018. And back then, I said MacOS and iOS needed to combine. I'm willing to take the long game here, a game Apple is often playing with its tech. And I'm ready to step a few years down the path and wait for this merge moment to happen. But really, this moment should be happening right now. And it is: I thought the latest iPad Pro was the Mac I wanted in another form, minus the software I was looking for. That software is coming now, but things need to go even further. Watch this: The One Thing Keeping iPads from Killing the Mac 04:35 iPadOS 26 is a strong sign that the merge is already underway. Lo and behold, the more Mac-like experience is already here if you explore the developer beta. (A public beta is coming this summer, ahead of a fall release, I'd suggest you wait for before downloading.) While Apple always kept conversations about Macs and iPads very separate, this WWDC, Apple described iPad OS 26 as Mac-like quite a few times. Added support for more windows, a mouse pointer that's now an arrow and not a large circle, menu bars, a Preview app that shows files just like a Mac does, and folders that can be organized like a Mac — mostly — are some of features that already have me nodding my head in appreciation. With a trackpad/keyboard attached, the iPad can now start feeling even more flexible, able to multitask, and possibly, able to get serious work done efficiently. What concerns me, though, is it's still not a Mac. The closer anything gets to an expectation point without fully getting there is a zone that's ripe for uncanny valley disappointment. When will I use the latest iPadOS 26, get into a flow, and suddenly realize there's a part of the OS that's not quite the same as a Mac, and it throws me off? I don't know yet. Maybe it'll never happen. But my suspicion is that this new almost-Mac-like iPadOS will still, in some important ways, not be a Mac. The iPad Pro with the developer beta of iPadOS 26 is already getting so much closer to being a Mac. Scott Stein/CNET It's so close now. You can finish the job, Apple! Most iPads and Macs share the same M-series hardware and work with similar-feeling keyboards and trackpads. There's absolutely no reason I can see why an iPad couldn't also be a Mac, other than Apple deciding the software should be functionally different. (As for a Mac being an iPad, well, you'd need a touchscreen for that, and you'd need Pencil support, so it would be more complicated.) Getting all the Mac and iPad apps to be truly cross-compatible across an OS that would recognize both wouldn't be easy, but Apple can do it. Mac apps had to transition from Intel to ARM-based hardware, and before that from PowerPC to Intel. This time, at least, the hardware is the same…but the goals of the apps are different. Yet, the missions are converging. Macs and iPads and iPhones and everything else are getting similar visual designs with Liquid Glass and increasingly similar notifications and widgets. I don't want every single Apple device to work exactly the same, but when it comes to iPads and MacBooks — two product lines designed to be carried around and put in a bag — I feel their overlaps are getting pretty heavy now. iPad Pro vs MacBook Air side by side in 2024. The convergence is clearly already here. Numi Prasarn/CNET I don't think iPads should stop being simple. I agree with Apple: Let the basic iPad flow be the same, and trigger the multi-windowed work mode with the press of a button. But I don't want that multi-windowed mode to just approach being a Mac. I want it to absolutely, positively become a Mac. Let me leave my laptop behind. Let the Pro models and a certain line of MacBooks converge. This convergence is going to be necessary for another reason beyond just budget and packing convenience. If Apple really wants to make future Vision headsets or lighter-weight connected glasses that become essential devices, then it should compress its product line to make room. I could see myself carrying an iPad-slash-MacBook in my bag and a lightweight pair of Vision glasses that work with it. I don't ever see myself carrying a Vision, an iPad, and a Mac. Something has to give. As I said, I'm patient. In fact, I've waited for these changes — and written about them over and over — for over a decade. I can wait another year, maybe even two, for the next moves. I'm glad the ones I've waited forever for have finally arrived, but I still don't understand why iPad Pros can't also be Macs. Apple's latest moves make me more confident of my feelings than ever, but once again, I'm probably going to have to get used to waiting a bit longer one more time.

Time Business News

2 days ago

• Time Business News

10 Laptop Hacks Every User Wishes They Knew Sooner

Whether you're a remote worker, frequent traveler, event planner, or IT professional, your laptop is your lifeline. Yet, most users only scratch the surface of what their machines can do. From extending battery life to boosting performance, these ten laptop hacks can significantly improve productivity and ease of use — no new hardware required. Let's dive into the hacks every user wishes they'd learned years ago. Too many background apps starting with your laptop can drastically slow boot times. To streamline performance: Windows : Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager → Startup tab → Disable non-essential apps. : Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager → Startup tab → Disable non-essential apps. macOS: System Settings → General → Login Items → Remove unwanted apps. Real-World Example: A marketing agency noticed reduced boot time from 58 seconds to just 18 seconds by disabling Slack, Zoom, and Dropbox from startup. Battery life is precious, especially on the move. Nearly all laptops have built-in power-saving settings — but most users don't optimize them. Actionable Tip: On Windows , go to Settings → System → Power & Battery → Enable 'Battery Saver.' , go to Settings → System → Power & Battery → Enable 'Battery Saver.' On macOS, enable 'Low Power Mode' from System Preferences → Battery. Pair this with reduced screen brightness and Wi-Fi toggling when offline for even longer battery sessions. Using your laptop as a second screen boosts multitasking without spending on an external display. On Windows : Use the Project to This PC feature. : Use the feature. On macOS: Use Sidecar with an iPad or Luna Display for cross-device display. Example: Event organizers often use this trick to monitor registration tools on one screen and control digital signage from another. Running out of space? Don't rush to delete photos or documents — reclaim it intelligently. Try These: Windows : Use Storage Sense (Settings → System → Storage). : Use (Settings → System → Storage). macOS: Use Manage Storage in About This Mac → Storage tab → Optimize Storage. Clear temporary files, duplicates, and cached data. Tools like CCleaner or CleanMyMac can automate the process. Cutting down on mouse usage can significantly boost your workflow. Popular Shortcuts: Alt + Tab (Windows) or Cmd + Tab (Mac) : Switch between apps quickly. or : Switch between apps quickly. Windows + V : Access clipboard history. : Access clipboard history. Cmd + Space (Mac): Launch Spotlight search. Pro Tip: Learn shortcuts for your favorite apps like Excel, Zoom, or Adobe Creative Suite — it pays off fast. Juggling multiple projects? Use virtual desktops to separate workspaces by task or client. Windows : Press Windows + Tab → Add Desktop. : Press Windows + Tab → Add Desktop. macOS: Use Mission Control → '+' sign in the top right. This setup helps IT staff or freelancers isolate browser sessions, presentations, or development tools without clutter. When your touchpad fails — or you want hands-free control — turn your smartphone into a trackpad. Apps like Unified Remote, Remote Mouse, or Apple's Remote App allow seamless control for presentations, media, and navigation. Use Case: At corporate events or training sessions, users often pair phones to control slides without standing near the laptop. Most laptops default to 'Balanced' mode, but you can create custom profiles for performance, meetings, or travel. On Windows : Control Panel → Power Options → Create a power plan. : Control Panel → Power Options → Create a power plan. On macOS: Use third-party apps like Turbo Boost Switcher or set up automation via Shortcuts. Hack: Create a 'Zoom mode' with reduced screen brightness, camera optimization, and Wi-Fi preference for smooth video calls. Overheating causes throttling, reduced performance, and shorter hardware life. Tips: Use a laptop stand to improve airflow. Clean out vents monthly with compressed air. Avoid placing your laptop on soft surfaces like beds or couches. Bonus Tip: Keep Task Manager (Windows) or Activity Monitor (Mac) open to spot resource-heavy apps heating up your system. Many users delay backups because they don't want another subscription. But Windows and macOS offer built-in, free solutions. Windows : File History → External drive or network location. : File History → External drive or network location. macOS: Time Machine → External drive setup. Schedule weekly backups, especially before travel or updates. If you're using laptop rental devices for events or short-term projects, backups become even more critical to prevent data loss. Laptops are more than just mobile computers — they're powerful tools, often underutilized. Whether you're managing a team, running a business, or organizing a conference, these laptop hacks can save time, improve performance, and simplify your tech life. Explore which ones fit your routine and start implementing them today. And if you're working temporarily or organizing an event, laptop rental services can help you access high-performance devices without the long-term investment. TIME BUSINESS NEWS