At CES 2026 earlier this year, Roborock announced its new flagship robot vacuum, the Saros 20. The Saros 20 incorporates everything the Saros 10 included but with new smarts and improved features.
The Saros 20 sports Roborock’s new AdaptiLift Chassis 3.0, which allows it to cross double-layer thresholds that are up to 4.5 + 4.3cm high. The mapping and recognition system has been upgraded to the new StarSight Autonomous System 2.0.
The mopping system features dual spinning mops that can apply a downward pressure of 13N and can be detached from the docking station and left in the dock when using vacuum-only mode.
Other features include 3D ToF Navigation System, Dual-Transmitter Solid-State LiDAR, AI-powered Obstacle Recognition, VertiBeam Lateral Obstacle Avoidance, and DriTech Technology.
I’ve had the Saros 20 cleaning my house for the last couple of weeks and have been impressed with its cleaning prowess, although there are still a couple of issues that I came across, something that no robot vacuum manufacturer has truly solved just yet.
The Roborock Saros 20 is available for pre-order in Australia now for RRP $2,999AU at Roborock’s Official Online Store and other Participating Authorised Retailers with units shipping in April. Preorders will receive a Roborock F25 wet-and-dry vacuum valued at $699AU and an extra year of warranty on the Saros 20 (for a total of 3 years).
Design and setup
The design of the Saros 10 dock was incredibly stylish and different, with its mirror finish and hidden water tanks. The Saros 20 RoboDock, not so much. The matte look combined with the water tanks fully on display is back, and I’m not a massive fan.
Although it’s not ugly, it just isn’t the stylish finish from last year. I’m not sure why they would go backwards but I assume there is some data somewhere where people didn’t love the mirror finish of the dock – they certainly didn’t ask me, though.
The dock is ever-so-slightly more compact than last year though, so that’s a win – maybe Roborock went for the smaller dock over the stylish dock because both weren’t possible?
The vacuum itself looks nice with a new shiny section and the removable plate is still made of matte plastic and it is even slimmer at 7.98 cm high. Interestingly, the pop-up periscope for LiDAR etc is missing on the Saros 20 but all the features still seem to be present so technology rolls on it seems.
Once the dock and vacuum are all installed correctly, the setup with the app is super simple. The connection to the vacuum from your smartphone can be via Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth, or Nearby Devices. I love how easy it is to set up, a far cry from what it was just a few years ago.
Mapping
Once you have logged into the app and the vacuum, the app automatically displays the option to perform a quick mapping. It certainly is a quick mapping, taking only about 5 minutes.
The app then draws and names the furniture and rooms it finds. Of course, you can change any of these if you prefer. If you name it correctly, you can easily use your smart home speaker to tell the vacuum to mop a certain room.
The app supports multi-floor maps so you can use it for any number of floors at your house. One thing to keep in mind that sometimes the robot may get confused if you leave the areas outside windows etc that get mapped on the map. I had to pop a border in for them to get it working at one stage.
Cleaning
The Saros 10 was and still is an impressive cleaning tool but the Saros 20 is next level. The vacuum suction has been increased even further to a massive 36,000 Pa – the highest of any robot vacuum I have used. The difference is definitely noticeable – not that my carpets are that dirty but you can see the carpet has been cleaned deeper in the way it sits afterwards.
Of course, not content with just testing it by eye on a relatively clean floor, I spread various substances over the carpet and set the robot vacuum to work – on max power:
As you can see in the pictures below, the carpets have been cleaned well in the centre of the floor, but struggled in the areas where the carpet tapers off to sit underneath the drawers. This is not surprising and for such fine material as this it may be best to run the robot over it a few times or get a small handheld vacuum out to hit these hard-to-reach spots.
Of note, as I set the robot to vacuum only, it left the mops back in the RoboDock to prevent them from getting dirty.
One thing I often dislike about robot vacuums, especially when I am working from home, is the noise that they make. The Saros 20 is one of, if not the quietest robot vacuums I have used. I often hear it start but then struggle to hear it and sometimes wonder if it is still going – it is.
The Saros 20 features StarSight Autonomous System 2.0 to help it avoid obstacles. This works for many things but may fail with dark cables on carpet – mine did. Stick that cable on hardwood or use a white cable on the carpet and it worked just fine. An easy fix is to avoid leaving cables lying on the ground and to tidy up a bit beforehand.
For debris closer to the skirting boards etc, the Saros 20 sports a FlexiArm Arc Side Brush for those harder to reach places. This works best on hard floors where the floor is flat all the way to the sides but with carpets, they tend to angle down to the skirting boards so it may not clean as well in those areas – as you can see, the robot struggled with the small powdery debris (fine cornflake crumbs) closer to the edge of the carpeted area.
For lifting to higher areas, above rises from one room to another, onto higher carpets or rugs, the Saros 20 features the aforementioned AdaptiLift Chassis 3.0 to lift across not one, but two different heights – see video below. I’m still waiting for one to climb my stairs, but given what we saw at CES, I doubt that is far off.
The Saros 20 can achieve a double-height lift of 4.5 + 4.3cm by using a double-lift technique with its wheels. You can tell the vacuum to do this on the map in the app.
For those with excessive amounts of pet hair in the house, the Roborock Saros 20 features the best anti-tangle system I have used. The Dual Anti-Tangle System features two small brushes opposite each other (DuoDivide Main Brush), and I’m yet to have to untangle any hair from it, which is unusual.
Mopping
When mopping, the Saros 20 lifts the vacuuming rollers out of the way to prevent them from getting wet while the floor is wet. Then it applies its dual spinning mops that spin at 200RPM (fast) with a downward pressure of *N for standard pressure but when it detects tougher stains it will increase the downward pressure of the mop heads to 13N for “deeper scrubbing.”
The mops can also move outward using Roborock’s FlexiArm technology to reach the edge of the floor/wall.
Testing the mopping on my hard floors, it cleaned up liquid spills and for tomato sauce, but it did struggle a bit. I first tried mopping the sauce and cordial spill using a standard mop pass and that wasn’t quite enough to get the sauce mopped up. Changed the setting to a deep clean and a higher water flow and it removed the sauce.
This is something you need to keep in mind – it’s like a manual mop, for some spills you just need more elbow grease.
I also need to mention that the robot vacuum had an issue with mopping at one point. It is possible that the robot all of a sudden got confused by what it thought was a room outside the decking glass or something was corrupted. I reset the robot and remapped and it worked perfectly – luckily setup is super simple and quick – and I was up and running in under 10 minutes. There was also a firmware update applied when I set the Saros 20 up again so it is possible that has fixed the issue.
The RockDock
As mentioned above, the RockDock has taken a backwards step in its styling but it is more functional now with the ability to clean the mops more thoroughly, leave the mopping pads behind when vacuuming only and dust bag drying to prevent bacteria build up.
The improved washing of the mopping pads uses hot water heated to 100℃, which kills any surviving bacteria for a more hygienic clean in the future. The pads are then dried with warm air at 55℃. This process is not unusual for a flagship dock in 2026 but it is just pushing the envelope a bit more with the temperature increase.
The dock still thoroughly dries the mops, automatically empties the robot, dispenses detergent, and refills your robot’s water tank with warm water.
Software
The software is the same as it has always been, but there are just a few more smarts to this robot vacuum, with the ability to detect dirt and spills on the floor, assess how stubborn they are, and adjust the cleaning process as befits a spill or mess of that level.
For this reason, I leave the software on its “SmartPlan” where it “learns and adapts to your space, habits and preferences to customise the optimal cleaning plan.” If I need a specific area cleaned, then I will adjust it as required.
There are all the usual software adjustments, including adjusting clean strength, cleaning specific rooms or zones, adding a different floor to the map, scheduling cleans, and more. Of course, you can do all this remotely as well.
The Saros 20 also includes remote video “checkins” where you can check out what your pets are doing or use as a sentry where you can check for intruders etc. This camera can also be used to capture photos of obstacles and pets, if you wish.
Final thoughts
The Roborock Saros 20 is a nice upgrade from the Saros 10 and Saros 10R. It offers more settings and some technology upgrades, including a bigger climbing ability, a thinner design and better mop cleaning. The vacuum suction gets an upgrade, as does the power downward pressure, making it effective at cleaning your everyday messes.
While it did struggle with some of the more difficult messes on standard, you can adjust the vacuum and mopping settings to handle heavier messes. The Saros 20 is full of advanced tech and has everything you have ever seen in a robot vacuum, including a camera to view your home remotely.
The dual anti-tangle brush system ensures your pet’s hair won’t clog the brushes, making it ideal for all households.
The Roborock Saros 20 is available for pre-order in Australia now for RRP $2,999AU at Roborock’s Official Online Store and other Participating Authorised Retailers with units shipping in April. Preorders will receive a Roborock F25 wet-and-dry vacuum valued at $699AU and an extra year of warranty on the Saros 20 (for a total of 3 years).
Scott is our resident open technology expert. If you can mod it, or want to use it your way, Scott has probably done it. From Laptops to phones, headphones and game consoles, he’s played with it and wants to see the next generation.
