In a fresh development, the Roborock Saros 20 is a premium robot vacuum that cleans well and makes life easier, but it’s expensive and probably more than what most people need for their homes.
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The report highlights that it’s got just about everything you’d expect. Mopping, vacuuming, obstacle detection, a self-cleaning dock, the whole nine yards. Let’s get one thing straight up front: Roborock’s Saros 20 sits on the premium side of the robot vacuum category.
In a fresh development, my greyhound, who has a strange habit of standing like a statue in the hallway, gave the obstacle avoidance capability plenty of practice. It cleaned consistently, that’s for sure, but the bigger question isn’t whether it works… it’s whether it does enough to justify the $1,599.99 price tag. I spent time testing it in my split-level home on both hard floors and rugs.
According to the latest update, in the box, the parts are all there and laid out in a straightforward way. There’s a single sheet of instructions (Quick Start Guide) that explains everything and the visuals are easy to follow. Getting everything ready didn’t take long at all.
The report highlights that it’s bulky and heavier than I expected—not impossible to move (robot lawn mowers are much heavier), but it’s not some tiny charging dock either. The biggest challenge was moving the base station around.
In a fresh development, after cleaning upstairs, I wanted to try it downstairs where I get a lot more foot traffic, especially between the dog and me. (My dog tracks in a never-ending stream of leaves and dirt.) This meant I had to physically carry the entire base station down to the basement so the robot could make another map. Oof. One thing I wasn’t crazy about is how the app handles multiple floors.
The report highlights that i expected it to remember both. And when the Saros 20 finished the fresh map, the original map had been replaced by the fresh one.
The report highlights that getting to the right page isn’t exactly straightforward, so I’ll tell you where to go: Settings, tap Manage Maps, and change Home Layout to Multi-Level. I later found out that the Saros 20 can remember different floors, but it just takes some noodling around in the app.
In a fresh development, you don’t ever have to touch the mops with your hand, which is nice if you’re sensitive to textures like I am. At the end of every cleaning cycle, the Saros 20 doesn’t return to base just to charge—it also empties debris into a dust bin (disposable bag included!) and cleans its mops with boiling hot water before drying off.
In a fresh development, it’s much quieter than the roar of my upright vacuum. That said, when it goes back to the base station to empty debris and wash the mops, it makes this big whooshing sound, which is pretty darn loud. The Saros 20 is fairly quiet when it’s out cleaning.
According to the latest update, i found myself emptying the water tank more often than the dust bin because I don’t like the idea of dirty water sitting around for days at a time. The dirty water tank and dust bin are also easy to empty.
Industry observers note that the app is surprisingly approachable considering how many options it gives you.
Industry observers note that there’s Deep, Deep+, After Meals, Intensive Sweeping, and so on. It feels complicated for the sake of being complicated, you know? I mostly stuck with Full Cleaning (vacuum plus mopping) since that covered everything I needed. There’s no shortage of cleaning modes.
Industry observers note that it’s probably more power than I needed most days, but it’s nice having the option. If you really want to crank things up, you can max out the suction power using the little tornado icon.
In a fresh development, it built an accurate layout of my house, although it wasn’t particularly good at naming the rooms. Somehow the hallway in my basement ended up labeled as the kitchen. Thankfully that’s easy enough to fix since you can rename the rooms yourself and even create barriers or no-go zones. The mapping system worked well overall.
The report highlights that it’s very intentional in where it’s going, too. That’s because it’s got an internal lidar system (no turret on top) and obstacle-recognition sensors (Roborock’s StarSight Vision Recognition System). This means it’s always scanning the room while it cleans. For the most part, the Saros 20 moves carefully around the house.
The report highlights that i expected at least a little curiosity, but after the first few minutes he acted like it had always been around. My dog didn’t seem to care much about this thing zooming around the house, which surprised me.
In a fresh development, that area has a Ruggable rug beneath it, and getting a traditional vacuum under there is always awkward. Fortunately, the robot slipped under without much trouble. It even closely hugged the legs of the table, ensuring a pretty thorough clean. It also did a better job cleaning under my low IKEA coffee table than I usually do myself.
The report highlights that i think it wrongly identified it as a floor ledge. It also bumped into a framed picture that was leaning against the wall, knocking it over. At one point, it grabbed hold of a loose charging cord left out on the floor. That one was mostly on me. The robot tells you (in a very stern-sounding voice) to clear loose objects before it starts a cleaning cycle, and I completely forgot about that. I’ve got a side table in the office with a metal frame and the Saros 20 tried to climb over the metal part.
As part of the ongoing story, in this price range, robot vacuums are supposed to vacuum and mop with minimal oversight or intervention from the humans they serve. Vacuuming is the highlight here—as it should be!
As part of the ongoing story, 36,000 Pa of suction. The Saros 20 is in a different tier entirely as far as power goes. Budget robot vacuums, on the other hand, usually have a suction power of 2,000 to 5,000 Pa. They also tend to struggle with hair buildup because the brushes aren’t designed to handle it well. Not the Saros 20! 6,400mAh battery.
Industry observers note that i didn’t see much buildup after running it a few times. Most of the hair in my house comes from my greyhound. He doesn’t shed much, being a short-haired breed, but it does accumulate, especially if I haven’t vacuumed in a while. The Saros 20’s DuoDivide anti-tangle brush keeps hair from wrapping around it.
The report highlights that by full cleaning, I mean both vacuuming and mopping. The robot followed a consistent back-and-forth pattern, and it didn’t rush through it. It also finished with plenty of battery to spare. A full cleaning downstairs took about 35 minutes.
In a fresh development, instead of immediately sucking it up, it left it sitting on the floor like a cat with a dead bird.
As part of the ongoing story, it pulled a giant dust bunny out from somewhere under my furniture. But instead of sucking it up, it left it sitting on the floor like a cat with a dead bird. Once I nudged it directly into the robot’s path, it disappeared instantly. One funny thing happened during testing.
The report highlights that it’s not going to get all the nooks and crannies squeaky clean, but it’s fine at daily upkeep. That’s normal for models in this category anyway. As for the dual mop capability, spinning away at 200 RPM, it works.
In a fresh development, it also pauses vacuuming when it detects wet floors. One thing I appreciated is that the robot automatically lifts its mop pads whenever it crosses over carpet, so I never worried about anything getting wet.
In a fresh development, i left a streak of red jelly on the floor to see how it would handle something sticky. I also conducted a “jelly test” in my kitchen.
The report highlights that i was expecting it to struggle more or leave behind some evidence, but it is a $1,599.99 robot vacuum and it sure acts like it. The mops cleaned up all the jelly in one pass, leaving no residue behind.
As part of the ongoing story, after only a couple of mop washes, the water looked absolutely disgusting. Those mops do a pretty good job! One thing that genuinely surprised me was the dirty water tank.
As part of the ongoing story, i found that I had more time to dedicate to other chores. While the robot was doing its thing upstairs, I finally got around to breaking down the mountain of cardboard boxes that had been sitting in my basement for weeks. The biggest benefit wasn’t the cleaning itself, though.
Industry observers note that there’s no getting around it. It’s honestly overkill for my house size and my lifestyle. I’ve got no kids, just a dog and a husband. My space doesn’t get very dirty often. The Roborock Saros 20 sits at the high end, both in performance and price.
The report highlights that it cleans very well. The $1,599.99 price tag is just hard to ignore. Honestly, I didn’t hate using this vacuum.
The report highlights that if you’d rather not drop that amount of cash (fair), I’d spring for the Roborock Q7 M5+, which is currently $299.99 on Amazon. It mops. It vacuums. It even comes with a self-emptying base station. The main trade-off I’m seeing here is the reduced suction power. It’s got a suction rating of 10,000 Pa, so it’s weaker than the Saros 20. If you don’t mind sacrificing a bit of performance for the price, then the Roborock Q7 M5+ is the way to go. If you’ve got a larger home or money isn’t a concern, the Saros 20 makes sense.
As part of the ongoing story, she's been covering consumer tech since 2016, and her work has appeared on USA Today, Reviewed, Polygon, Kotaku, StarWars.com, and Nerdist. In her spare time, she enjoys playing video platform releases, reading science fiction, and hanging out with her rescue greyhound. Ashley Biancuzzo manages all laptop and Chromebook coverage for PCWorld.