Choosing which robot vacuum cleaner is right for your home just got a little bit harder, with the arrival of the Narwal Flow in Australia. First announced at CES in January, the flagship model is built around its capacity to thoroughly vacuum and mop your home's floors.
It's a beast of a unit, despite its comparatively small size. You get 22,000 Pa of suction, and AI mapping software, and the auto-empty station promises up to 120 days between empties thanks to the 2.5L bag on board.
But the hero feature is the mop, which uses 45ºC heated water, 12N of downward force and dual water reservoirs to ensure your floors get a proper clean.
The FlowWash mopping system ditches the traditional dual rotating mop pads for a track-style design that Narwal says delivers more consistent cleaning performance. The system infuses water in real time, cleans the mop track as it goes, and extracts wastewater into a separate reservoir so you're not just spreading dirty water around.
For edge cleaning, the EdgeReach extension mop can reach within just 4.8mm of walls and corners. It uses 16 angled nozzles, reverse-rolling mopping action and that same 12N of pressure to tackle the spots that most robot vacuums struggle with.
CarpetFocus technology for deeper carpet cleaning
One of the more interesting innovations is CarpetFocus technology, which Narwal claims is an industry first. When the robot detects carpet, it automatically lowers the brush cover to create a more sealed environment, boosting suction to the full 22,000Pa and helping to lift embedded dust and hair from carpet fibres.
The side brushes also get smarter on carpet, with a dynamic auto-detangling design that shifts between V-shaped and parallel configurations to release trapped hair. Narwal says this delivers 100% detangling efficiency, with SGS certification to back up that claim.
Navigation is handled by TwinAI Dodge Obstacle Avoidance, powered by 10 TOPS of edge computing. The system can recognise over 200 objects in real time with 5mm precision, allowing the robot to adapt its cleaning strategy on the fly depending on what surface it's on and what obstacles it encounters.
DirtSense technology takes things a step further by detecting dirty areas during mopping and adjusting cleaning intensity accordingly. The robot can mop in both directions for more thorough coverage when needed.
Pricing and availability
The Narwal Flow is available from today with a retail price of $2,999. It'll be available through Narwal's official website, Amazon and Harvey Norman.
If you're keen, there's an early bird promotion running from until the 31 October that drops the price to $2,499 – a $500 saving on the regular retail price.
The real test will be whether that track-style mopping system and CarpetFocus technology deliver meaningfully better results than the competition.
I've been testing the Narwal Flow for a few weeks now, and early indications are that this could be a new candidate for the best robot vacuum in Australia. Stay tuned for the full review.
