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Saros 20 vs Saros 20 Sonic

Buy the Saros 20: its spinning mops beat the Sonic's vibrating pad on dried stains. The Sonic suits a carpet-heavy home where mopping is light upkeep.

Updated

The short version

Saros 20Our pick

The one to buy if you mop as much as you vacuum. Its spinning pads lifted dried coffee without leaving the floor wet, and every tester rated its hard-floor cleaning highly. There's no turret on top, so it's 7.98cm tall everywhere. What you give up: a lab found its carpet pickup only decent and its avoidance of pet mess unreliable, so tidy the floor first.

Saros 20 Sonic

The one for carpet and raised doorway thresholds. Two testers measured climbs of around 5cm, and its carpet deep-clean scored well above average. It uses a pop-down laser turret instead of the Saros 20's built-in sensors, and it dodged clutter well. What you give up: the vibrating pad left most dried-on stains behind for two of three testers, and it isn't sold in the UK.

What reviewers found

Saros 20

Every test found it clears hard floors well, with Expert Reviews getting a perfect result and RTINGS seeing very little left at the edges. Vacuum Wars called the mopping a big step forward for Roborock. Carpet splits them: Expert Reviews saw it lift itself over thick rugs without rucking them, but RTINGS rated carpet pickup decent rather than exceptional. Avoidance splits them too, with Expert Reviews calling it the best it has tested while RTINGS found it unreliable with pet waste. TechRadar mostly just filled and emptied the water tanks over a month.

Saros 20 Sonic

All three testers rate the vacuuming and threshold climbing highly. SmartHomeAssistent gave vacuuming its top grade, and Vacuum Wars measured 92% on its carpet deep-clean test, though embedded pet hair came in a little below average. The mop is the compromise: Senses.se found it cleared everyday dirt in one run, but Vacuum Wars and SmartHomeAssistent left most of their dried-on test stains behind. Senses.se also had the dock sometimes fail to empty the robot, with no warning in the app. No other tester saw that.

Where they differ

  1. 01

    Mopping: the Saros 20's spinning pads win

    This is the main reason to pick one over the other. Vacuum Wars tested both and found the Sonic's vibrating pad mopped clearly worse than the Saros 20's spinning pads on dried stains. SmartHomeAssistent also rated the Sonic unsatisfactory on stubborn marks. On the Saros 20, Expert Reviews saw dried coffee and ketchup scrubbed away, though the toughest stains still took extra passes.

  2. 02

    Carpet: the Sonic has the stronger results

    Vacuum Wars measured 92% on its carpet deep-clean test against a 78% average, and SmartHomeAssistent saw strong results on deep-pile carpet. The Saros 20's carpet record is more mixed, with RTINGS calling it decent. Pet hair runs the other way: Vacuum Wars found the Sonic a little below average on embedded hair, while Vacuum Wars rated the Saros 20 above average on flattened hair.

  3. 03

    Navigation: turret against no turret

    The Saros 20 has its sensors built into the body. The Sonic has a laser turret that pops down for low gaps, plus a camera and side laser. Both are 7.98cm tall. The Sonic's avoidance was more consistent, with 19 of 24 obstacles avoided at Vacuum Wars. The Saros 20 ranged from the best Expert Reviews had tested to unreliable with pet waste at RTINGS.

  4. 04

    Climbing: same claim, only the Sonic measured

    Roborock claims 8.8cm for both, over a threshold with two rises, not a single step. Vacuum Wars saw the Sonic cross a 5.7cm single rise and SmartHomeAssistent got it over 5cm, though Senses.se saw some crossings take minutes of retries. TechRadar watched the Saros 20's chassis adapt mid-clean, but nobody has measured its maximum yet.

  5. 05

    Availability: the Sonic isn't sold in the UK

    The Saros 20 is sold in the UK, US and Europe. The Sonic is sold in the US and Europe but not the UK. If you're in the UK, the Saros 20 is the one of these two you can buy new.

Prices

Up to five shops for each, cheapest first. We read every price on the shop’s own page.

Saros 20

Not currently sold in the US.

Saros 20 Sonic

  1. US$1,499.99roborock.com
    In stock · checked September 28, 2026Go to retailer

Specs side by side

SpecSaros 20Saros 20 Sonic
Suction (claimed)36,000Pa36,000Pa
Doorway threshold climb (claimed)Up to 3.5in (8.8cm) over two risesUp to 3.5in (8.8cm) over two rises Roborock gives 4.5cm + 4.3cm
Height3.1in (7.98cm)3.1in (7.98cm) 7.95cm with the laser lowered
NavigationBuilt-in sensors, no turretPop-down laser turret, camera and side laser
MoppingSpinning pads, arm reaches edges and cornersVibrating pad that extends to edges
Dock212°F (100°C) mop wash, 131°F (55°C) drying, auto-empty, refill212°F (100°C) mop wash, 131°F (55°C) drying, auto-empty, detergent
Released24 August 2026March 2026 in Europe, April 2026 in the US

Questions people ask

What is the difference between the Saros 20 and Saros 20 Sonic?

The mop and the navigation. The Saros 20 has spinning pads and no turret on top. The Sonic has a vibrating pad that extends towards edges and a laser turret that pops down for low gaps. Both claim 36,000Pa and 8.8cm over a threshold with two rises, and both are 7.98cm tall.

Is the vibrating mop as good as spinning mops?

Not on dried stains. Vacuum Wars gave the Sonic a clearly lower mopping score than the Saros 20, and SmartHomeAssistent rated it unsatisfactory on stubborn marks. Senses.se found it fine for everyday dirt, so it suits light upkeep rather than a sticky kitchen floor.

Which is better for carpet?

The Sonic, on the evidence so far. Vacuum Wars measured well above average carpet deep-cleaning, while RTINGS rated the Saros 20's carpet pickup decent. For pet hair buried in carpet the order flips, with Vacuum Wars rating the Saros 20 above average and the Sonic a little below.

Can I buy the Saros 20 Sonic in the UK?

No. It's sold in the US and Europe but not the UK. The prices above show what's on offer where you are, and in the UK the Saros 20 is the one to look at.

Which is better at avoiding cables and pet mess?

The Sonic was more consistent. SmartHomeAssistent saw it spot 15 of 16 test objects and Senses.se never had it tangle in a cable. The Saros 20 dodged cables and fake pet mess for Expert Reviews, but RTINGS found it unreliable with pet waste. Tidy the floor first with either.

Sources

How we check specs and prices

Keep going

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