📖 Read more: Ecovacs vs Roborock: Which Robot Vacuum Wins in 2026?
🤖 The Arm: OmniGrip
The Z70's big innovation isn't the suction or the mopping — it's the OmniGrip robotic arm. It's a foldable pincer arm hidden inside the robot's body, under a semi-transparent cover. When needed, it emerges, identifies objects on the floor, and picks them up.
What It Picks Up
Socks, flip-flops, small towels, crumpled tissues. Objects up to 300g (10.58 oz). The object list is expanded through firmware updates.
Arm-Mounted Camera
Built-in camera on the arm for object detection. Also works as a secondary home security camera.
Remote Control
Through the app, you drive the robot like an RC car. Manually control the arm's angle and tilt. Much more reliable than autonomous mode.
Limitations
Only works on hard floors (not carpet). Objects can't be too close to walls. Socks need to be balled up.
Roborock includes a cardboard sorting bin and a shoe zone tray. There's also an emergency stop button on the robot's top edge.
📊 Key Specs
The Z70 uses StarSight 2.0 navigation — two embedded time-of-flight sensors instead of a traditional LiDAR turret. This keeps the robot at just 3.14 inches tall, low enough to fit under most furniture. The AdaptiLift Chassis independently raises and lowers its wheels to cross thresholds up to 1.6 inches.
🧹 Vacuuming & Mopping
Beyond the arm, the Z70 is also a full-featured — if expensive — robot vacuum-mop combo. It has dual spinning mop pads, with one unit extending sideways (FlexiArm Riser Technology) to clean corners and edges. The pads lift 0.87 inches off the ground when carpet is detected.
Cleaning Test Results (PCMag)
Cleaning Performance
| Test | Z70 Score | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Rice on carpet | 100% | Perfect |
| Rice on hardwood | 93.5% | Very good |
| Sand on hardwood | 82.05% | Excellent |
| Sand on carpet | 29.08% | Disappointing |
The sand-on-carpet performance is notably weak — even the cheaper Saros 10 scores 40.7% on the same test. A full home is cleaned in 92–98 minutes, and during testing it never got stuck.
🏠 The Dock
The Z70's dock is a self-contained maintenance station. It auto-empties the dustbin into a bag (holds about 7 weeks' worth), washes the mop pads with water heated to 176°F (80°C), dries them with hot air at 131°F (55°C), refills the water tank, and has a dedicated detergent compartment. Full recharge takes 2.5 hours.
📱 Extra Features
- Home security camera: Live streaming, automated patrols, pet snapshots
- Voice assistant: Wake word “Hello Rocky” — built into the robot
- Smart assistants: Works with Alexa and Google Assistant
- Matter support: Planned via a future OTA update
- AI Smart Plan: Automatically optimizes cleaning settings per room
📖 Read more: Top 5 Robot Vacuums 2026: Complete Buying Guide
⭐ What Reviewers Say
Early reviews were mixed — impressed by the innovation, skeptical about the reliability.
Review Scores
"Spectacular Innovation, for Early Adopters Only."
— PCMag, May 2025Key findings: the OmniGrip arm is innovative but unreliable in autonomous mode — it works much better when operated manually through the app. PCMag's first review unit needed a full replacement due to malfunctions. TechRadar's unit made creaking noises during cleaning (from the arm mechanism). Both reviewers suggested waiting for future generations, or at least firmware updates, before buying.
👥 The Saros Family
The Z70 didn't arrive alone. At CES 2025, Roborock unveiled three Saros models:
Roborock Saros Lineup (CES 2025)
| Model | Price (US) | Key Feature | Suction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saros Z70 | $2,599 | OmniGrip arm | 22,000Pa |
| Saros 10 | $1,599 | Retractable LiDAR | 22,000Pa |
| Saros 10R | $1,599 | StarSight 2.0 + dual spinning pads | 20,000Pa |
The Saros 10 earned better scores (4/5 TechRadar) thanks to its retractable LiDAR puck — it fits under furniture between 3.3″ and 4.5″ tall, dusting spots no robot could reach before. The Saros 10 turned out to be the most practical pick of the lineup.
🦿 The Walking Vacuum — CES 2025 Concept
Beyond the commercial models, Roborock stole the show at CES 2025 with a concept robot vacuum with mechanical legs, informally known as the "Saros Z90″ or “Saros Rover.” The idea: a vacuum that isn't limited to a single floor — it climbs stairs, overcomes obstacles no wheel can handle, and cleans the entire house across every level.
The concept had no price, no release date, and no detailed specs — it was a prototype. But the idea itself shows where the industry is heading: from robot vacuums to home robots that move freely through the entire house. Roborock isn't alone — Ecovacs (Deebot X8) and SwitchBot (K20+) are exploring similar directions.
The Big Question
The shift from “vacuum” to “robot” isn't just an engineering problem — it's a perception problem. A $300 vacuum that gets stuck on a threshold? Acceptable. A $2,599 “robot vacuum” that can't reliably pick up a sock? Much less so. Roborock needs to prove these features aren't a gimmick — and that will ultimately come down to firmware updates.
🏢 Roborock: The Company
Beijing Roborock Technology was founded in 2014 in Beijing, backed by the Xiaomi ecosystem. It went public on Beijing's STAR Market in February 2020, raising roughly $640 million. Annual revenue exceeded CNY 4.5 billion (~$630M) as early as 2021. Today it competes globally against Ecovacs, Dreame (both Chinese), iRobot (now Amazon-owned), Narwal, and Eufy.
🎯 Is the Z70 Worth It?
The honest answer: it depends. If you want to buy what the robot vacuum of the future will look like — today, in early form — the Z70 is the only option. If you want the best-cleaning vacuum for your money, both PCMag and TechRadar point elsewhere: the Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni (PCMag 4.5/5 Editors' Choice) costs about half as much and cleans just as well or better. Even Roborock's own Saros 10 ($1,599) is a better buy without the arm.
The Z70 is a statement of intent — the first vacuum that dares to become a robot. The next few years will tell whether Roborock can turn this prototype into a reliable everyday tool.