The 6 best robot vacuums for high thresholds you can buy in Germany

The MOVA Mobius 60 is a flagship with a station that swaps automatically between three kinds of mop pads, one for kitchen grease, a soft one for wooden floors and an all-rounder, and washes the pads in boiling-hot water, sanitises them with UV and dries them along with the dust bag. The robot has retractable legs for thresholds up to eight centimetres, a retractable lidar, an extending side brush and an extending mop. Vacuum Wars ranks it 3rd of 20.

In the tests it lifted 88 percent of the embedded sand out of carpet, one of the highest scores on record, and 94 percent of the pressed-in pet hair against an 81 average, both better than the pricier Dreame Matrix10 Ultra Vacuum Wars compared it with. A flap that drops on carpet half-seals the intake and raises suction there, which showed in crevices too. The split main brush channels hair to one side, and the side brush extends for corners.

The reservations are limited: the station is big, the 3.2-litre bag is rated for only about a month of daily use, and it recognises obstacles with 3D structured light rather than a camera, which is less certain with socks and cables. There is no water-line hookup. For anyone wanting vacuuming, mopping with swappable pads and high thresholds in one robot, this is one of the best-tested models of the year.

Based on tests by Vacuum Wars.

The MOVA Z60 Ultra Roller Complete is the flagship of Dreame's sister brand MOVA and nearly the same robot as the Dreame Aqua10 Ultra Roller: a self-rinsing roller mop, an extending side brush, a split main brush, obstacle recognition with a camera and 3D structured light, and a station that washes the roller in hot water, dries it with hot air, doses cleaning solution and empties the bin into a bag. The Complete box holds a generous supply of rollers, brushes, filters and solution. Vacuum Wars bought it to set it against the Aqua10.

In the measurements the two were almost identical: both slightly below average in suction, average in airflow, and both above average on carpet with 85 percent of the sand removed. The difference was hair: the Z60 came out of the long-hair test without a single wrap where the Aqua10 kept half the hair on the brush, and where the Aqua10 twice got hair stuck in its intake, the Z60 cleared everything. Pressed-in pet hair was picked up at 87 percent. The retractable lidar fits under low furniture and the obstacle recognition is, in the testers' view, one of the strong points.

The reservations: more was left in crevices than average, bench suction is not impressive and the price swings a lot against the Aqua10, which is often cheaper. Choosing between the two, the Z60 brings the better hair handling and the big accessory box; at the same price it is the better buy.

Based on tests by Vacuum Wars.

The Roborock Saros 20 is a flagship with an embedded lidar and no turret, keeping it under eight centimetres tall, a lifting chassis that carries the robot over thresholds of more than four centimetres and adapts to thick carpet, two spinning mop pads that detach automatically, and a station that washes in boiling-hot water, dries with hot air and doses detergent. TechRadar names it the best robot for carpet, Tom's Guide the best for pet hair, and Vacuum Wars ranks it 11th of 20.

All three testers see the same strength: embedded pet hair and sand in carpet. Tom's Guide measured the effect of the 36,000 Pa of suction, the highest in their guide, and saw the twin anti-tangle brush stay clean even after heavy runs; Vacuum Wars lifted 89 percent of the sand out of carpet and 88 percent of the pressed-in pet hair, with a perfect score in the long-hair test. Obstacle recognition dodged toys and bowls reliably, and the low build takes it under furniture a turret cannot. The pads press with adaptive force and use less water than average, which limits streaks.

The criticism targets mopping and price: Tom's Guide saw patches missed and visible streaks in the lab, TechRadar still finds sticky spills a job for a cloth, and both call it more machine than many homes need, at a price to match. TechRadar also saw the odd strange behaviour on certain tasks. For homes with plenty of carpet, thick rugs, high thresholds and shedding pets it is one of the best choices; if mopping is the priority, look at a roller-mop model.

Based on tests by TechRadar, Tom's Guide and Vacuum Wars.

The MOVA V50 Ultra Complete is an all-in-one robot with two spinning mop pads of which one extends, an extending side brush, a retractable lidar and a climbing system for thresholds up to six centimetres. The station empties the bin into a 3.2-litre bag good for about a hundred days, washes the pads in hot water, dries them with hot air and doses cleaning solution or a pet-odour formula. Vacuum Wars put it first in its own top 20 after testing; it now sits 19th, overtaken by newer models.

In the tests it lifted 88 percent of the sand embedded in carpet, a top-ten score of all time at Vacuum Wars, and pressed-in pet hair was picked up at 88 percent against an 81 average. The twin main brush channels hair to one side and came out of the long-hair test spotless. The extending side brush made corners noticeably cleaner, and the testers praised the price, clearly below similarly equipped Roborock and Ecovacs models.

The criticism is limited and mostly relative: rivals have since mopped better and climbed higher thresholds, and Vacuum Wars publishes no threshold measurement for this model. Without a water hookup you refill the clean tank yourself. For flagship equipment at a mid-range price this remains one of the better buys.

Based on tests by Vacuum Wars.

The Dreame Matrix10 Ultra is Dreame's most elaborate model: a station that swaps automatically between three mop pads, a soft absorbent one for the bathroom, one with nylon bristles for scrubbing and a standard pad, with three separate compartments of solution for wood, general use and pet odour. The robot itself has retractable legs, a retractable lidar, an extending side brush and mop, and a station that washes in boiling-hot water and dries with hot air. Vacuum Wars tested it for weeks and compared it with the far cheaper L50 Ultra.

Pad swapping worked reliably in practice, bar one error message that vanished after a restart. Bench suction was above average and well above the L50 Ultra, nothing was wrapped around the split main brush after the long-hair test and pressed-in pet hair was picked up at an above-average rate. Debris of every kind came off hard floors and carpet, and the complete station takes almost all maintenance off your hands.

The criticism is mainly the price: nearly every feature is also on the L50 Ultra, which Vacuum Wars names the best robot under a thousand dollars, and the Matrix10 costs a lot more for the swapping station alone. The testers also reserve judgement on the durability of all those moving parts, as user ratings were still scarce. If you want a different pad and solution per room without lifting a finger, this is unique; if you do not, buy the L50 Ultra.

Based on tests by Vacuum Wars.

The Narwal Freo 20 is a roller-mop robot from 2026: its FlowWash roller is flushed with fresh water while it mops, and the dirty water is sucked away at once, so it is not spread over the floor again. It has 31,000 Pa of suction, DualFlow main and side brushes built against hair wrap, obstacle recognition with two cameras and TwinAI that, according to Narwal, knows more than 300 types of household object, and it takes double thresholds of up to 4 centimetres. The station washes the roller in water of up to 100 degrees, dries it with air of up to 60 degrees, refills the robot and holds up to 120 days of dust.

On paper it matches the Narwal Flow 2, which TechRadar and Vacuum Wars tested, in several places: the same 31,000 Pa, a self-rinsing roller, a two-camera obstacle system, a wash of up to 100 degrees and 120 days of dust. Our specifications do not show whether it doses detergent or can be connected to the water supply, both of which the Flow 2 can.

None of our test sources has measured the Freo 20. Whether it avoids the Flow 2's weak spots in the tests, dried stains and edges, is not yet known. At 95 millimetres the robot is of average height, and our specifications list no battery or run time. Anyone who wants a Narwal with a roller mop and camera recognition on the strength of test results can look at the Flow 2.