At the end of September 2025, Roborock held pop up stores in Sydney and Melbourne to showcase the “House of Tomorrow“. I got to meet with a few of the Roborock team, got chatting about the upcoming products and having a play with them. Now is the time for the in-depth review of the Roborock F25 Ultra which was launched yesterday 15 October 2025.
The Roborock F25 Ultra wet-dry vacuum cleaner was launched at IFA 2025, and is billed as the highest performance handheld device in the F25 family. The key upgrade is the high-temperature cleaning technology:
“VaporFlow” mode unleashing a high-volume, 150°C steam from six optimised outlets to shift dried-on messes and stubborn stains without the need for chemicals
“WaveFlow” mode that provides hot water for cleaning at 86°C
I love having a wet-dry vacuum cleaner around as there is plenty of floorboards at home. It is particularly handy to mop up the kitchen floor after cooking, especially if it’s after the rare occasion the kids did the cooking.
The one I have been using has been good in cleaning up fresh spills and lighter duties, but it has not been a match for the mess the cats makes at their food station. Also, despite keeping up with general maintenance, the self cleaning leaves the unit a little on the nose from time to time.
When the Roborock F25 Ultra arrived, I had a few things I would be keeping a close eye on. And do I have the perfect test for these claims!
Unboxing and Quick Assembly
Having recently reviewed the Roborock H60 Hub Ultra, I was familiar with how Roborock ships their units and some assembly is required.
There isn’t a lot to do with the F25 Ultra. The handle needs to be inserted into the main unit. Also the clean water tank needs to be removed so the packaging material can be taken out, and the mopping roller installed.
All up it only takes a minute or so to do. The insert inside the box takes you through the steps clearly.
The unit also comes with a spare debris filter as well as a bottle brush tool to clean various components such as the wheels.
You will need to set up the base with the power cord in order to charge the unit. Power is via a standard IEC kettle cord. To charge the F25 Ultra, you just need to sit the unit onto the dock.
Putting the F25 Ultra to the Test: Steam, Hot Water, and Auto Modes
First thing to do is the fill the clean water tank with clean water. You can detach this from the unit and take it to the sink.
The refilling doors are clearly labelled – one for clean water and one for detergent. You don’t need to fill the detergent reservoir in order for the unit to work.
To start, you need to tip the handle back to unlock the unit. There is a power button, and a mode changing button.
The available modes are:
- Auto
- Steam
- Hot Water
- Sponge
If you are just doing a maintenance clean, the Auto mode does a pretty good job without needing to change the settings.
For tackling tougher caked on dirt, there is the Steam or Hot Water option.
My cats are messy eaters, and they like to drag their food out of their bowls and eat from the mat. It doesn’t matter how big a mat I have, they always seem to drag it outside of it onto the floor. The crusty food mat was the exact thing I have in mind for the F25 Ultra for a title fight. Who would come out on top?
My previous wet dry cleaner is no match for my cats. I have always had to scrub the mat by hand to get it clean.
It was a grubby exercise but I allowed the mess to stay on the mat for a couple of days before I unleashed the Roborock F25 Ultra onto it.
The Power of VaporFlow Steam and WaveFlow Hot Water
With the F25 Ultra, the steam mode “VaporFlow” is absolutely invaluable in softening the caked on food and dirt, allowing the mop and roller to scrape it off. It was not magic, and it took a few goes at running over the areas, but the you can see the results in the photos below.
It is worth pointing out that the steam mode is not instant. You have to hold the F25 Ultra in the unlock position so the controls responds. It takes a couple of minutes to warm up and the screen will give you feedback as the counter gets up to 100. You can clearly see the steam rising from the roller head as it starts to reach temperature.
Yes the steam is real, and at 150°C you absolutely do not want kids and pets near it.
There is also a hot water “WaveFlow” mode that provides running hot water for cleaning at 86°C. This mode is designed to dissolve greasy build up, with hot water coming out of thirty-two outlets so all parts of the roller is evenly heated.
More Than Just Floor Cleaning: Lie Flat and Remote Control Features
A super handy feature of the F25 Ultra is the 180 degrees lie flat feature.
In this position, the F25 Ultra have a clearance of 12.5cm to get under the furniture that has been problematic before. Roborock claims it maintains full suction power, although they do recommend emptying the dirty water bin first as it does have a reduced capacity.
On the back of the handle is a small wheel which helps keep the unit gliding along.
But wait, there is more. Roborock has included a remote control feature in app which allows you to control the F25 Ultra’s movements via the app.
Why? I asked the same question until I realised that it is perfect for going under cabinets where you can’t reach all the way in by hand. For that you can position the F25 Ultra and use the app to guide it all the way down the length and clean those hard to reach places.
Smart Self-Cleaning and Drying with Odour Prevention
When you are done with cleaning your floor, you just need to pop the F25 Ultra back onto the base to recharge and self clean.
The system goes through a self cleaning process that uses both 150°C steam and 90°C hot water to deep clean the roller. The keep the roller from staying damp and resulting in odour, the system will put it through a dry cycle.
Here you have the option of a quick five minutes dry, or a quiet thirty minutes cycle.
The quick dry is quite noisy with hot air blasted onto the roller fabric. In contrast, the quiet cycle is barely a lot hum in the background.
It is also important, to empty the dirty water tank rather than let it sit too long. There are multiple layers of filtering going on so it is simple to separate the solids from the liquid which can go straight down the drain.
So far I have not had any debris stuck on the fabric filter at the very top of the tank. Everything has been trapped at the various other layers. It was actually quite impressive.
I went the extra mile with testing here, and left the dirty water in the tank for a couple of days. It wasn’t real pleasant when I opened it up to clean and rinse.
Where my previous unit would smell disgusting if I do not deep clean it pretty often after usage, the F25 Ultra is comparison is a breath of fresh air. The separation of solids from liquid is quite impressive, and the heated self cleaning process has been very effective at preventing odour.
Roborock App: Remote Control and Customisation
Whilst installation and connection to the Roborock app is not mandatory, it does have some handy uses.
The first of that is the remote control part which I covered off earlier.
Like most devices now, you can get firmware updates for your F25 Ultra.
Under Voice Alert Settings, you have the option to change the language from English.
You can turn the LED light on and off. Unlike the Roborock H60 Hub Ultra with the green LED, this one is a blue one.
There are options to adjust the Auto and Sponge modes in terms of suction force and water level.
You can adjust the adaptive drive wheels for mild, moderate or intense to suit your style and maneuvering during operation. You won’t feel like you are an F1 driver but we can dream right?
Minor Gripes
There is little to complain about here, I think the F25 Ultra works pretty well.
At first use, the steam function can be a little confusing. The indicator on the screen goes up to 100 to indicate that the steaming is at full power, but then it goes down to 40. I checked in with Roborock and was told that this was normal.
Also I notice that the screen defaults back to the battery remaining percentage after notifying you of whatever function you have chosen is ready. It is a little disconcerting initially as I was expecting it to stay with the function, but I suppose it does make sense. Just something to get used to.
There is no cleaning fluid provided, not even a sample bottle. That said, I am pretty impressed at what it can do with just water it it’s various forms. Regardless, it can be pretty effective at spraying your own cleaner ahead of the F25 Ultra, I do that with the enzymatic cleaner for cat urine.
Lastly the remote control mode, whilst is very handy, comes with some quirks. With the motor, the F25 Ultra naturally wants to pull forward which can result in the unit shooting forward.
In a similar vein, pulling the F25 Ultra backwards is a slow process because it is fighting against the roller wanting to pull it forward.
Ultimately the remote control mode has a use, but don’t expect to be able to sit on the couch and run it like a game.
Final Verdict, Price, Availability
There is a lot to like with the Roborock F25 Ultra. Compared to my previous unit it was significantly better at my pain point at the cat feeding station.
The clean water tank, being situated right on top of the roller lowers the centre of gravity and enables the unit to work in the lie flat position.
The operation of the unit is relatively quiet and with the quiet dry option, it means I can do the cleaning late at night when the little ones asleep and not worry about the noise.
The Roborock F25 Ultra has a RRP A$1499, and is available exclusively online and in store at Harvey Norman from 17 October (Pre-sale now available here).
DRN would like to thank Roborock for providing the review unit.
