Roborock Saros 10 vs. 10R: My pick after at-home testing

One Roborock Saros robotic vacuum, the Saros Z70 that has a mechanical arm, has gone barely viral on the web. However it’s not even the Saros mannequin that most individuals needs to be contemplating.

The actual Roborock showdown of 2025 is definitely between the Roborock Saros 10 and Saros 10R — the 2 extra sensible CES 2025 releases which have robotic vacuum threads on Reddit in a chokehold.

After testing each of them in my house for 3 months, I am going to say this: Roborock made two of the very best robotic vacuums of the yr right here, however completely fumbled naming them. The addition of a single letter to an in any other case similar title nearly insinuates that one is the weight loss program model of the opposite, and that is removed from the case. In case you’re confused in regards to the distinction between them, that is legitimate. They’ve the very same $1,599.99 worth, in any case.

After testing each in my house on a near-daily foundation for 3 months, listed here are my ideas on the Roborock Saros 10 vs. Saros 10R debate.

Saros 10 vs. 10R: Design

Roborock was impressively capable of squeeze an entire lot of brains into these super-slim robotic vacuums. Each the Saros 10 and Saros 10R are barely greater than three inches tall, and might match below low-hanging home equipment just like the fridge and extra low-clearance furnishings than thicker robotic vacuums I’ve examined.

Beneath, although, the Saros 10 and 10R have one large distinction: the mopping pad scenario. And this ended up being my deciding issue between the 2.

Winner: Saros 10R

Saros 10 vs. 10R: Vacuuming expertise

The Roborock Saros 10 and 10R are two of essentially the most highly effective robotic vacuums in 2025. The Saros 10R hits 20,000 Pa, whereas the Saros 10 cranks it as much as 22,000 Pa. To be actual, each of these figures are depraved — just a few different robotic vacuums in the marketplace match 20,000 Pa. So that you’re getting a fairly top-notch clear with both mannequin.

I personally do not suppose the Saros 10’s additional 2,000 Pa of suction energy makes that a lot of a distinction. It did provide barely higher pet hair pick-up on a couple of rugs, as confirmed by a self-emptying Shark stick vacuum that begins each cleansing session with an empty mud bin. As soon as a robotic vacuum has completed cleansing a rug, I run the super-strong Shark over it to see how a lot cat hair the vacuum missed. The Saros 10 fared barely higher on this check than the Saros 10R did.

Different particles on rugs, like crumbs in the lounge or spilled rice on the kitchen runner, was hardly ever left behind by both vacuum.

The Saros 10 and 10R share the identical divided brush roll system, and it is a completely stellar design for stopping tangling. As a substitute of 1 lengthy brush roll throughout the underside of the vacuum, a gap in the course of two smaller brush rolls provides pet hair and lengthy human hairs someplace to go earlier than they’ll get tangled across the brush. I have never ever needed to take scissors to a nest of hair constructed up below both vacuum.

On onerous flooring, each the Saros 10 and 10R decide up between 90 and 95 p.c of the particles, together with the mess in entrance of two litter bins, unfastened kibble by the meals bowls, crumbs from completely different snacks, grime, and dirt bunnies. Roborock’s FlexiArm can be current on each Saros fashions, which extends out from below every vacuum to push hidden edge particles into the cleansing path extra deliberately than a conventional stationary aspect brush.

However the Saros 10R’s edge precision persistently boosts its total particles pickup fee on onerous flooring. In an unfair manner, the Saros 10R’s mopping pad design makes it a greater vacuumer. Its hinged spinning aspect mop slides out to lap up mud and advantageous particles (like salt pushed off the counter) that the Saros 10’s pure power alone cannot suck up, particularly in opposition to a wall.

On a number of events, I despatched the Saros 10R right into a room that the Saros 10 had simply been in — the Saros 10R reliably scooped up nearly the entire rogue crumbs or items of kitty litter that the Saros 10 left within the edges of the room. In case you have absolutely carpeted rooms, this may clearly not be as useful.

Winner: On paper? The Saros 10. In my expertise? Saros 10 on pet hair, Saros 10R on dry particles

Saros 10 vs. 10 R: Mopping expertise

The Saros 10R is inarguably higher at mopping than the Saros 10.

The Saros 10’s one giant, pressurized mopping pad simply would not present the identical depth of bodily agitation because the Saros 10R’s twin spinning mopping pads. In my testing, the rotating design was much less prone to depart streaks of spills like wine or ranch dressing behind — it form of mimics the motion of a hand scrubbing with a sponge reasonably than the singular wipe that solely magically works in paper towel commercials.

Although the Saros 10’s vibrating pad is not precisely stationary, the scrubbing diameter remains to be restricted to the circumference of the robotic vacuum. That makes the Saros 10 (frustratingly) miss lots of mud and droplets near wall edges or in corners. The tiny round pad that Roborock added as a complement to the massive pad is comically small — like the dimensions of 1 / 4 — and borderline nugatory.

In the meantime, the Saros 10R has fully mastered nook mopping and edge mopping. When a nook or onerous edge is sensed, a kind of spinning mopping pads flexes out on a hinge to wash previous the place the spherical fringe of the vacuum can attain. I am speaking practically two inches of additional protection in comparison with the quarter-sized spinning pad on the Saros 10.

Winner: Saros 10R

Saros 10 vs. 10R: Good mapping and navigation

The kind of small impediment avoidance expertise is one other foremost distinction between the Roborock Saros 10 and 10R. The Saros 10 makes use of Roborock’s established Reactive AI expertise, which acknowledges and steers away from objects in actual time. The Saros 10R will get slightly fancier utilizing StarSight 2.0, which makes use of expertise that collects extra knowledge factors from across the room and permits for extra predictive impediment avoidance.

The extent of element the Saros 10 and 10R achieved within the map of my house is wild. They know {that a} shoe is a shoe and a twine is a twine — they may even differentiate between a litter field, a cat tree, and different assorted items of furnishings, and routinely label every part as such within the app.

I do not suppose the Saros 10R’s system is any higher at avoiding obstacles than the Saros 10’s. Socks and hand towels have been protected 100% of the time round these two vacuums, with pet toys like stuffed mice and crinkle balls coming in round 85 p.c. Skinny white cords, like iPhone or laptop computer chargers, have been eaten as a rule, sadly.

However each are gentle years forward of any robotic vacuums that get caught in desk legs or below a mattress. The Saros 10 and 10R are tremendous nimble round furnishings and easily know the place they are going, making the probabilities of coming residence to a misplaced or caught botvac slim to none.

My greater gripe navigationally stems from the room restrict that the Saros 10R randomly imposes on the house map. Opposite to every part Imply Ladies taught me, the restrict does exist, and it is annoying.

Positive, this might be a non-issue in small areas with only a handful of rooms. However in bigger one-story houses or multi-bedroom and toilet flats like mine, it is so clutch to have the ability to break up up and label rooms in line with your most popular cleansing schedule — it is form of the entire level of good mapping and particular room cleansing.

At any fee, the Saros and the Saros 10R each have an impeccable sense of path. Neither obtained misplaced in any respect throughout my testing and all the time made it to the room or zone I chosen within the app.

The Saros 10 and 10R each have a digital camera that may livestream every part the robotic vacuum sees within the Roborock app — a characteristic that sounds comically additional till you are away from residence and questioning what your pets are doing. (No, actually, the Saros robotic vacuums have a “Seek for the pet” characteristic.) You may also “name” somebody at residence from the Roborock app.

Winner: Saros 10 (narrowly)

Saros 10 vs. 10R: Dock

The Saros 10 and 10R charging docks are, functionally, practically similar. Each auto-empty the mud bins, wash and dry the mops, and routinely dispense detergent. Each have a clear water tank for refilling the onboard tank, and a grimy water tank to carry the gross water rinsed out of the soiled mopping pad. In comparison with another eardrum bursters I’ve examined, the auto-emptying noise of each Saros fashions is fairly tolerable.

However aesthetically, I might reasonably have the Saros 10 out within the open in my residence. I admire that its water tanks are coated by a lid — this makes the Saros 10 dock flat on prime in case you wish to embellish it a bit. I do not even care that it’s important to transfer that vase or stack of books for a second when the tanks must be crammed or refilled.

However, the uncovered water tanks of the Saros 10R are simply rounded sufficient for decor to probably slide off. Although the mirrored exterior of the Saros 10R has a ton of curb attraction, the seen tank scenario simply loses stylish factors.

Roborock additionally made an odd determination with colour selection right here. The Saros 10 is accessible in black and white, however the Saros 10R is simply obtainable in black. That in the end did not sway my determination, however I can not say that the shortage of a white Saros 10R choice would not bitter my decide a bit. While you hire an house that absolutely performs into the entire “minimalist all white every part” design, a robotic vacuum in the course of the room is way much less abrasive when it blends in with the partitions.

Winner: Saros 10

Saros 10 vs. 10R: Value

The Roborock Saros 10 and 10R each price $1,599.99 — undecided if that makes your determination simpler or more durable. The scales may tip if one will get its first massive low cost earlier than the opposite.

Winner: Tie

Our winner: Roborock Saros 10R

In case you’re actually going to make me decide between them, I might decide the Saros 10R over the Saros 10. On the finish of the day, if I wanted a vacuum to reliably clear up the litter field space or take care of a moist or dry spill close to the kitchen counter, I might ship the Saros 10R each time.

The slight edge that the Saros 10 has in suction energy is not practically as game-changing as the sting that the Saros 10R has in mopping. In case you’re a finicky clear freak like I’m, the Saros 10R goes to get your flooring to a extra comforting stage of barefoot-ready, together with the nasty edges and corners that preserve you awake at evening.

You are in good palms both manner — the Saros 10 and Saros 10R are two of the very best robotic vacuums I’ve ever examined. They’re retaining some respect on the Saros legacy amid the Saros Z70’s flop of a launch. If Roborock correctly combines the very best options of the Saros 10 and 10R subsequent yr, that beast will likely be onerous to beat. However as of mid-2025, both is a implausible alternative — and a greater worth than the Saros Z70 by an extended shot.