LAUNCHES · JAN 5, 2025
Roborock shows Saros Z70, the first robot vacuum with a folding arm to pick up socks
A five axis arm folds out of the top to move small items under 300 grams. It is a real first, but early reviews found the arm slow and unreliable.
By Riley Hart · 3 sources linked below
Buy the Saros Z70 as a top vacuum and mop, not as a tidying robot. Its arm lifts only light items under 300 grams, and at least one detailed review found it rarely finished putting things away. If the arm is not the main reason you want it, Roborock's similar models without the arm cost much less.
Roborock announced the Saros Z70 at CES on January 5, 2025. It is the first consumer robot vacuum with a built in robotic arm, a five axis arm called OmniGrip that folds out of the top of the robot.
Roborock says the arm moves small things out of the vacuum's path and picks up items under 300 grams, about two thirds of a pound, such as socks, tissues and light slippers. According to TechCrunch, the robot first does a normal cleaning pass, then circles back to deal with objects it found, using its camera and sensors to find them.
The arm is off by default. Owners switch it on in the Roborock app, where they choose which objects it handles and in which rooms, and set where collected items should go. TechCrunch reported a child lock and a safety stop button in the app. At CES, TechCrunch also flagged open questions about how well the arm would work day to day and how easy it would be to repair.
Pricing changed between the show and the store. TechCrunch's CES report gave $1,600 and a February 10 ship date. US preorders opened in March 2025 at $1,899.99 with a free second vacuum, and Notebookcheck reported shipping from May. Android Authority's review lists the regular price as $2,599, about $1,000 more than the near identical Saros 10R without the arm.
The vacuum itself is a flagship. Notebookcheck lists suction up to 22,000 Pa, a body just under 8 cm, about 3.1 inches, tall to fit under low furniture, and a lifting chassis that climbs obstacles up to 4 cm, about 1.6 inches. It comes with an all in one dock that empties the bin and washes the mop pads.
Hands-on reviews were mixed on the arm. Android Authority found it could lift socks and paper but never saw it drop items into the bin on its own; things ended up next to it. A shoe over the weight limit was lifted, but the robot crept along, refused to cross a threshold and put it down. The review also found the robot often logs objects for a later run instead of clearing them right away. It called tidying a non-starter while still rating the Z70 Roborock's best vacuum, and advised skipping the arm until it improves rather than buying on promised updates.
The Saros Z70 still marks a turning point. It moved robot vacuums from only cleaning floors toward clearing them, and rivals have since shown their own arm models. For now, the arm is an early version of an idea, not a reason on its own to pay extra.