Smart Home Assistant

Roborock Saros Z70 Review UK: Is the Robot Arm Worth It?

SepehrBy Sepehr· 4 September 2026· Updated 4 September 2026
✓ Independent — no paid placements✓ UK-tested in real homes✓ Cited sources
Roborock Saros Z70 Review UK: Is the Robot Arm Worth It?
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The Roborock Saros Z70 is the first mass-produced robot vacuum with a built-in robotic arm, and it's a genuinely different device from anything else on the market. Its five-axis OmniGrip arm folds out to pick up socks, tissues and other light clutter under about 300g before the robot starts cleaning, on top of strong 22,000Pa suction and a self-washing dock. The verdict: the vacuuming and mopping performance is excellent and among the best Roborock has produced, but the headline arm feature is inconsistent in practice and can't be triggered or automated from Home Assistant — it only runs as part of Roborock's own cleaning routine. At UK pricing north of £1,500, it's a hard sell unless the arm itself is the reason you're buying it.

What does the OmniGrip arm actually do?

The OmniGrip arm identifies small objects with an onboard camera and LED, then unfolds to lift and relocate items weighing under roughly 300g — things like socks, tissues, small towels and sandals — clearing them out of the vacuum's path before a cleaning run. Roborock announced it as the first mass-produced foldable five-axis robotic arm on a robot vacuum, unveiled at CES 2025 and rolled out to UK buyers through the first half of that year. In independent testing, reviewers found the arm thoughtfully engineered and easy to set up, but limited in what it reliably achieves without supervision — it doesn't always spot or successfully grip clutter, and its usefulness depends heavily on how tidy a floor already is before a run starts.

How well does the Saros Z70 actually clean?

Strip away the arm and the Saros Z70 is one of Roborock's strongest all-round cleaners. It runs 22,000Pa of suction alongside dual spinning mop pads that lift automatically on carpet, and its AdaptiLift chassis raises the robot's body to cross thresholds and small steps up to roughly 40mm — useful in older UK homes with raised door strips between rooms. At just 79.8mm tall, it's noticeably lower-profile than most flagship rivals, which helps it fit under furniture other robots can't reach. The dock handles the maintenance side: auto-emptying the bin, washing the mop pads in hot water, warm-air drying them to stop mould smells building up, and automatically refilling its own water tank. One recurring weak point flagged by reviewers is the anti-tangle brush roller, which several testers found still matted with hair faster than its marketing suggests.

Is the Roborock Saros Z70 worth the money in the UK?

Not unless the arm specifically appeals to you. UK pricing sits around £1,499–£1,799 depending on retailer and promotions, which is a significant premium over Roborock's own Saros 20 — a model with no arm but stronger 36,000Pa suction, a similarly capable self-washing dock, and a typical UK price nearer £999. If you just want the best all-round cleaning and mopping Roborock currently sells, the Saros 20 is the better buy. The Z70 only earns its price if the idea of a robot that tidies loose objects off your floor before vacuuming is worth paying a four-figure premium for on top of an already expensive category — and reviewers are split on how reliably it delivers that in daily use. Always check current pricing directly with retailers, since robot vacuum prices move frequently around UK sales events.

SpecSaros Z70Saros 20
Robotic armYes — OmniGrip, 5-axis, lifts items under ~300gNo
Suction power22,000Pa36,000Pa
Threshold crossing~40mm (AdaptiLift)~88mm (adaptive lift chassis)
Height79.8mm79.8mm
DockAuto-empty, hot-water mop wash, warm-air dry, auto water refillAuto-empty (up to 65 days), hot-water mop wash + dock self-clean, warm-air dry, auto-detergent dispense
Typical UK price~£1,499–£1,799~£999

Does the Saros Z70 work with Home Assistant?

Yes — it uses Home Assistant's native roborock integration, the same one that covers the rest of Roborock's Saros, S, QV and Qrevo ranges. Once linked through your Roborock account, it exposes a vacuum entity with start, pause, stop and dock-return controls, fan-speed and mop-intensity selects, a live map, battery and cleaning-progress sensors, and consumable-replacement tracking. Like other Roborock models, this runs on a hybrid model: Home Assistant polls and sends commands locally most of the time, but setup and some fallback control still depend on Roborock's cloud account — there's no fully local, account-free option. Crucially, the OmniGrip arm itself isn't exposed as any Home Assistant entity or service, so it can't be triggered by an automation; it only runs inside Roborock's own app-controlled cleaning routine. If comparing robot vacuums for a Home Assistant setup more broadly, our Dreame vs Roborock comparison covers how the two brands' integrations differ beyond this one model, and the robot vacuum finder lists verified entity support across the wider market.

Roborock Saros Z70 verdict

The Saros Z70 is a genuinely impressive vacuum wrapped around a still-unproven headline feature. As a cleaner, it's near the top of what Roborock currently sells: strong suction, thorough mopping, a low profile that reaches further under furniture, and a dock that needs minimal manual upkeep. The OmniGrip arm is a real engineering achievement — the first of its kind to reach mass production — but it's inconsistent enough in day-to-day use that it shouldn't be the deciding factor unless you specifically want a robot that can pick socks and tissues off the floor. For most UK buyers who just want Roborock's best cleaning performance for less money, the arm-free Saros 20 is the more sensible purchase.

Roborock isn't alone in pushing floor care automation forward: at IFA Berlin 2026, Tineco unveiled a 230°C steam mop lineup and a self-sealing vacuum dock under its "The Future Cleans Itself" theme, though UK pricing and Home Assistant support remain unconfirmed for both brands' newest hardware.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Roborock Saros Z70 work with Home Assistant?
Yes. The Saros Z70 uses Home Assistant's native roborock integration, the same one used by the rest of Roborock's current lineup. After linking your Roborock account, you get a vacuum entity with start/pause/stop/dock controls, fan-speed and mop-intensity selects, a live map, battery and cleaning-progress sensors, and consumable tracking. Commands and polling happen mostly locally, but setup and fallback control still rely on Roborock's cloud account, so it isn't fully local. One important caveat: the headline OmniGrip robotic arm is not exposed as any Home Assistant entity or service — it only runs as part of Roborock's own app-controlled cleaning cycle, so you can't trigger it from an automation.
Is the Roborock Saros Z70's robotic arm worth the extra cost?
It depends on how much you value the novelty. The Saros Z70 typically costs several hundred pounds more in the UK than Roborock's own arm-free Saros 20, which has stronger suction and a comparably capable self-washing dock. Independent reviewers found the OmniGrip arm well-engineered but inconsistent — it doesn't always detect or successfully grip small objects, and results depend heavily on how cluttered the floor already is. If you specifically want a robot that clears socks and tissues off the floor before vacuuming, it's a unique feature no rival offers. If you just want the best overall clean for your money, a cheaper arm-free flagship is the more sensible buy.
How much does the Roborock Saros Z70 cost in the UK?
UK pricing for the Saros Z70 typically sits in the region of £1,499 to £1,799 depending on retailer, promotions and whether you buy direct from Roborock or through Amazon. That's a significant premium over Roborock's other 2026 flagships, such as the Saros 20 at around £999, largely reflecting the cost of the OmniGrip arm rather than the core cleaning hardware. Robot vacuum pricing moves frequently around UK sales events, so always check current pricing directly with retailers before buying rather than relying on a fixed figure.

Sources

Sources verified 2026-09-02

  1. Tech Advisor — Roborock Saros Z70 review
  2. Roborock (PR Newswire) — Rock a New Era: Roborock Revolutionises Smart Home Cleaning at CES 2025 with Robotic Arm-Equipped Saros Z70
  3. Home Assistant — Roborock integration documentation
  4. Roborock UK — Roborock Saros 20 flagship robot vacuum cleaner — product page
  5. Roborock UK — Roborock Saros Z70 product page (hero image)
How we researched this

Claims in this article are checked against primary sources — manufacturer specifications, official documentation, Which? research, Ofgem guidance, or gov.uk — rather than forum threads or video reviews. Where the author has direct hands-on experience with a product (most Home Assistant, Zigbee, and home-networking gear is running in his own homelab), that is stated explicitly in the text.

For categories outside that personal setup — such as boilers, heat pumps, and other areas that are traditionally a heating engineer's domain — verdicts are built from cross-referenced manufacturer data, published lab results, and vetted expert and owner reviews rather than a claim of personal hands-on testing. See the editorial policy for the full methodology.

Sepehr

Written by

Sepehr

10+ years hands-on with Home Assistant & networking · Research-backed elsewhere · No brand deals

Smart home specialist with 10+ years running a self-hosted Home Assistant setup — Zigbee2MQTT, Frigate NVR, and local-first automations. Independent coverage for UK homes, no brand deals.

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