Narwal Flow 2 Robot Vacuum and Mop

The Flow 2 is Narwal's headline act for 2026 — a CES debutante that arrives loaded with the kind of spec sheet that makes rival flagships look conservative: up to 31,000 Pa of suction, dual HD cameras feeding a 10-TOPS on-board AI processor, a roller-style mop fed with continuously refreshed water heated to 140F, and a completely redesigned dock that empties the bin, washes the mop in 212F water and blows it dry. It's Matter-compatible, offers app, video and voice control, and can be bought with either a basic dock or a plumbed-in version with automatic refill and drainage.

What makes it interesting isn't the raw numbers, though — it's the ambition behind them. The Visual Language Model setup is pitched as recognising a near-unlimited range of objects down to 5 mm, judging how dirty a floor actually is and adjusting suction and water accordingly, and even helping you find misplaced keys or a wallet. That's a meaningfully different pitch from the usual "we added another thousand pascals" upgrade cycle.

At $1,499.99 this is unambiguously a premium purchase, and the profile it suits is fairly specific: a large, mostly hard-floor home with a mix of low-pile rugs, high thresholds (it'll climb roughly 38–40 mm without drama) and an owner who genuinely wants to run the thing hands-off for weeks at a time. If your floors are mostly deep carpet, look elsewhere.

Independent testing backs up the vacuuming side of the story. Sand removal from carpet measured 84%, flattened pet hair pickup was excellent, and — the standout figure — the brushroll recorded 0% hair wrap in a 7-inch hair test against a 26% average. That last number matters more day to day than any pascal rating, and it's the single best argument for the Flow 2. Obstacle avoidance was strong too, with 20 of 24 test objects dodged and above-average navigation efficiency despite a cleaning pattern that looks odd while it works. Quiet operation and long battery life round out a genuinely capable vacuum.

The mopping is where the enthusiasm cools. The self-refreshing roller system is elegant in principle, but dried-on stain removal scored 68 points against a 108-point average — well below par for a machine at this price, and awkward for a product whose mopping system is its signature feature. The 10 mm mop lift is also modest; anything beyond low-pile rugs risks damp fibres, and the robot struggles on high-pile carpet regardless. There's no way to leave the mop at the dock for a vacuum-only run, which removes the obvious workaround.

Edges and corners are a recurring complaint across testing, with the centre of a room consistently cleaner than its perimeter, and fine debris needs several passes. The robot's height may keep it out from under lower cabinets, the dock's front ramp protrudes into the room, and there are scattered reports of mapping and connectivity wobbles in the app — a nagging concern when so much of this machine's value rests on its software.

Taken together, it lands roughly where other reviewers put it: a strong, innovative machine with real rough edges rather than a flawless flagship. The dock is excellent, the hair handling is class-leading and the AI is more than marketing garnish, but $1,499.99 buys an expectation of consistency that the mopping and edge cleaning don't quite meet. Worth it if you're buying it primarily as a vacuum with good mopping attached; frustrating if you expected the reverse.