Narwal Flow 2 review: The robot vacuum that finally perfected obstacle avoidance

Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.For the last few years, Narwal has been working to improve the navigation and obstacle avoidance of its robot vacuums. It has enhanced its devices' ability to navigate around objects, recognizing what they are as they go -- even taking photos to let you know what it avoided.Also: 5 smart home gadgets I actually recommend, after years of testingThe is the robot vacuum and mop that actually delivers on the manufacturer's promises, cleaning effectively while carefully avoiding important items and obstacles that could get caught in its roller brush. In both our controlled lab tests and in-home experiments, the Flow 2 outperformed most similarly priced competitors. Expert-level obstacle avoidanceDuring our tests, the Flow 2 avoided every single obstacle placed in its path, including cords, tissues, socks, small toys, and even pet waste. The Flow 2's navigation is powered by two 1080p cameras, a LiDAR sensor, and AI-powered object recognition software.Also: 90,000 Flock cameras have quietly gone up in the US: What they track and how to check your cityNarwal says this technology enables the robot to achieve millimeter-level precision and avoid obstacles as close as 0.2 inches. I followed the Flow 2 around my house during its first five cleanings, and I can assure you it gets this close, often even closer. As you can see in the image below, the robot approaches obstacles without touching them. In this photo, the robot is so close to the table leg that it looks like it's touching it, but its bumpers aren't depressed, and it never actually touched the leg. This robot did the same for every single obstacle I used, even pencils, which means it hasn't once needed me to rescue it during a cleaning session, earning top marks from me.Track mop vs. roller mopNote that the Flow 2 has a track mop instead of a roller mop. Not sure of the difference? A roller mop is a cylindrical mop pad that spins continuously while it's sprayed with clean water and scrubbed clean as it turns, sending the dirty water to a separate tank. The track mop also spins and is constantly washed as it turns, but often outperforms roller mops, as with the Narwal Flow 2.Also: I set up a solar panel security camera in my yard - and the image quality beat my RingThe track mop has a larger contact patch with the floor than a roller, so it distributes downward pressure more evenly across the track. A track mop is like a moving microfiber belt rather than a rotating roller, which Narwal calls a treadmill-style design. Inside the Flow 2, the mop is sprayed with hot water to effectively remove everything it picks up. In my tests, this combination of features produced the most effective mop for dried messes I've tried thus far. I recently tried the Eufy Omni S2, which has a fantastic roller mop. As you can glean from that review, the S2's roller mop is quite effective at removing dried-on messes. However, the Narwal Flow 2 outperforms the S2's mopping power, particularly at removing sticky substances, like syrup and dried juice.The only downsideThe Flow 2's vacuuming feature left me only slightly disappointed. In our lab tests, the is the most effective vacuum cleaner on hardwood, achieving 99.27% pickup. The iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max is our top performer on low-pile carpet, with 73.62% of pickup efficiency. For comparison, the Narwal Flow 2 averaged 81.02% of vacuuming efficiency on hardwood and 43.38% on low-pile carpet.Also: The best robot vacuums for 2026: Expert tested and reviewedOur in-home tests give us the real-world experience to better interpret the lab results, and they often coincide, but not always. I found the Flow 2 to live up to its lab tests, and it did surprisingly well on low-pile carpet. The vacuum's suction power is very strong, and, while it didn't outperform the Roomba 10 Max Combo on carpets, it did well removing visible pet hair and most dust. ZDNET's buying advice With such a fantastic track mop, I'd recommend the to buyers with mostly hard floors. In my home with three children and a dog, the Flow 2 kept up without stuttering when it encountered small toys or wadded-up paper towels. It paid special attention to dirtier areas, like spills, and cleaned them up without issue.The Flow 2 likely isn't a great fit for mostly carpeted homes, since the mopping feature would be largely wasted, given how central it is to its feature set. If you have a mix of carpets and hard floors, I definitely recommend the Narwal Flow 2 for your cleaning.