I've seen most of 2025’s flagship robot vacuums and let me tell you, things are about to get weird - Related to are, get, new, i've, 4

I've seen most of 2025’s flagship robot vacuums and let me tell you, things are about to get weird

CES is the launchpad for many of the biggest upcoming tech releases, but this year you'd be forgiven for thinking it’s the new stage for Robot Wars owing to the sheer volume of whacky and innovative robot vacuums roaming the trade show's halls.

Robovac manufacturers from across the globe flocked to Las Vegas to give us the first peek at what’s to come in automated cleaning solutions, with everything from robotic arms to bunny-hopping legs making debut appearances at the show. I had the chance to see most of them in action in person, and it’s made me pretty excited – and just a little nervous – at what’s to come this year.

However, not all of these next-generation robots can win the title of the best robot vacuum we’ve tested, and in fact, I’ve got a sneaking suspicion only a few of the new flagships I’ve seen so far might fit the bill.

Best robot vacuums from CES 2025: robovacs now have arms, but at what cost?! - YouTube Watch On.

The most obvious and attention-grabbing development has been in obstacle clearance hardware, with both Roborock and Dreame flexing their design skills by adding limbs to their upcoming robot vacuums.

First up, there’s the one-armed Roborock Saros Z70, which won our award for the Best robot vacuum at CES for its retractable robot arm which can collect items weighing up to 300g / [website] (like socks and toys), and safely deposit them in an assigned area to allow for a fuller coverage clean.

Not only is the Z70 informed by its AI and obstacle detection, but there’s also a camera on the arm to help it with fine motor movements. This doubles as a secondary camera for home monitoring, allowing you to get a higher view at home by manually controlling the arm. It’s expected to launch in May or June of 2025, with no official pricing confirmed as of right now. Judging by the hardware and Roborock’s price history, expect anything upwards of $2,000 / £1,500 when it hits the market later this year.

Then there are models like the upcoming Dreame X50 Ultra, a robot vacuum with retractable legs that allow it to climb steps up to 6cm / 2-inches. While it didn't always behave exactly as intended during CES demos, I did manage to catch it in action, and was pretty impressed by its hop-and-pivot technique (less so by the almighty 'thunk' as it traverses back down steps). It will go on sale in the US from February 13 for $1,[website], and in UK from February 7 at a list price of £1,299.

Dreame X50 Ultra Complete descending a step - YouTube Watch On.

I’d be remiss to mention that really, this is an iteration on existing retractable wheel-based clearance hardware, with brands like Eureka demonstrating similar tech in its J15 model. It’s also of note that really, steps aren’t what this will be most useful for; small barriers in-between rooms, furnishings with feet that stand proud from the floor and particularly thick-pile carpets are most likely to benefit from this new clearance technology.

I'm testing the X50 Ultra out out as we speak, and am intrigued to see how well it differentiates between dangerous ledges and manageable ones on the descent – nobody wants a robovac that launches itself into the abyss.

The next trend rolling out across a range of robot vacuums is retractable LiDAR (or Light Detection and Ranging) or front-mounted sensors. LiDAR is one of the ways in which robot vacuums navigate – this remote sensing technology uses laser pulses to create 3D models of its surroundings, allowing robovacs to access hard-to-reach, dark spaces like underneath furniture.

The problem? Well, many LiDAR sensors are placed on top of robot vacuums, housed in a short beacon which can add anything from an average of [website] / 2-4cm to the vacuum’s overall height. Great, except for the fact that this also limits the robovac’s access to those very same hard-to-reach places.

This year at CES, a number of robot vacuum brands demonstrated their workarounds; models like the aforementioned Dreame X50 Ultra as well as the Mova V50 Ultra and Roborock Saros 10 all sport retractable LiDAR scanners, which sink into the device when it’s time to clean underneath low-clearance obstacles. Also great, except for that this might present its own challenges in that without LiDAR, these vacuums will now have lower visibility in the very spaces LiDAR presents the most benefit.

Of course, we won’t know until we’ve tested these bots in the months ahead, but my personal feeling is that models like the Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni, which opts for embedded LiDAR sensors without a periscope, might come out on top in the long run.

If you’ve been following robot vacuum news for more than a year or so, you’ll know all about the recent boom in combination robot vacuum and mops. More and more flagship devices feature mopping tech, or at least include a combination model as part of the product range.

The issue? Well, I’ve not encountered many robot vacuums that are particularly good at mopping. Whether due to poor on-board spill and dirt detection or just that some stains need a good amount of elbow grease, most combination robot vacuum and mops are decent at best.

That could all be about to change with new mopping form factors and software, however. Models like the new Narwal Flow series at CES opt for roller mops, which could offer faster rotations, improved in-motion mop pad cleaning and superior mobility for cleaning hard-to-reach areas.

The Flow’s fabric-covered roller constantly rotates, in the opposite direction to the movements of the robot. It's soaked with clean water by its onboard water tank, while dirty water is fed into a separate, dirty water tank, meaning the robovac cleans itself on-the-go instead of once it returns to the docking station.

It offers wood floor management and edge cleaning, jutting to the side when needed, meaning you can clean all the way up to your skirting boards – though as with vacuuming, those pesky corners are likely to remain an issue. The Flow series is also compatible with Narwal’s automatic water exchange module, which allows you to plumb Narwal robot vacuums for automated clean and dirty water management.

There are other roller mop devices out there, but Narwal’s is among the most detail-oriented I’ve seen. Plus, it also offers some excellent vacuuming aspects like CarpetBoost cleaning, wherein the device shuffles back and forth to dislodge even the most stubborn hairs and debris with its brushroll, and leverages a brushroll cover to increase the pressure and improve lift.

An honorable mention goes to Ecovacs’ Deebot X8 Pro Omni, which made its debut at IFA last year but had a strong presence at CES. It partners with vacuum-focused sister-brand Tineco to improve its mopping prowess, featuring an on-the-go self-washing mop much like the Dreame X50 Ultra, as well as improved edge cleaning.

Elsewhere, more iterative updates appeared in models like the Eureka J15, which now offers improved transparent spill detection and cleaning, thanks to its dual camera system using both an infrared camera and a full HD camera to create 3D images of your floor.

It’s exciting to see disruptive new technologies finding their way into robot vacuums. New mechanized and motorized parts bring more opportunities for intelligent design, but they also mean there’s a whole lot more that can go wrong with these devices.

I’ve seen countless costly robotic cleaners with jammed appendages, or robovacs suffering fatal injuries due to navigation miscalculation. And that’s not what you want from a robot vacuum that costs upwards of $1,500 / £1,000 / AU$3000.

That’s not to say I have any reason to believe the models coming up this year will be bad robot vacuums, but market-first functions with complex hardware and software are an easy recipe for a whole load of kooky behavior in real-world settings.

Whether it’s an arm, a leg, or a retractable sensor, I’m a little concerned that this next wave of robot vacuums are more flashy than they are functional. Still, it’s super exciting to see these advances, and competition drives innovation, so hopefully the robot vacuums I saw at CES 2025 are just the first step in improving automated home cleaning.

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Apple built a super-cute, expressive robot lamp that is giving us major Pixar vibes

Apple showed off a robot lamp in a new research paper.

The work here may hint at future product plans, and expression is front and center.

The robot lamp prototype reminds us of Pixar and Disney.

There have been plenty of rumors of Apple working on internal robotic projects, most notably a tabletop robot that could potentially move around and have a screen similar to an iPad, as Bloomberg reported. But thanks to a new research paper , we now have the first look at a robot built by the firm, and it’s downright cute.

In simpler terms, Apple has a robotic lamp that evokes major Pixar Luxo Jr. vibes, and I’d be super-happy to see it eventually come to market. Even at this early stage, it’s a much more playful and fun approach to robotics. Still, though, this is a prototype in a research paper from Apple Machine Learning, so it is still far from being something you can walk into a store and purchase.

The robot lamp is shown off in a video in a research paper titled “ELEGNT: Expressive and Functional Movement Design for Non-Anthropomorphic Robot.” It’s authored by Yuhan Hu, Peide Huang, Mouli Sivapurapu, and Jian Zhang.

That title certainly demonstrates Apple's thoughtful approach to robotics. It wants the robot to be expressive, similar to a human. This approach is akin to that of Anki’s Vector and Cozmo robots or the animated faces associated with Amazon’s Astro – still an invite-only robot.

In the video, you can see how the robot is both expressive and functional, allowing it to interact with the researcher and follow instructions from what appears to be gestures. At one point, it’s asked to move over via a finger flick and responds. Apple’s goal, or at least that of this research team, wants it to be an elegant robot, one that is inviting – critical for a device that will be in the home – expressive and ultimately functional.

At one point, almost leaning into Apple’s movements in the health space, it reminds a user to drink water by nudging the glass closer. It’s really cool, and watching the full video – it’s only four minutes and forty-six seconds long – is well worth it.

As a Disney and Pixar fan, I find the vibe seriously similar to that of the fun-loving, sometimes mischievous Luxo Jr. lamp we all know. The lamp seemingly does more than move or illuminate, though. In one scene, it’s shown moving along with an assistant playing a response – likely Siri – so it might have a speaker built-in. In another, it projects a video onto a wall to help with a project the researcher is conducting.

The opening where the lamp comes to life, swinging around, knocking over blocks, and performing a delightful wiggle is simply great. While this doesn’t give exact information on what a future product might look like, it does give us a first glimpse at a robot prototype made by Apple, and that certainly adds a bit more credence to a potential device.

It also exhibits how Apple is thinking about a device that could be used daily in more one-to-one interactions with people, and there’s a certain amount of care that goes into that. Apple’s ELEGNT is way less dystopian and more fun and welcoming, which is a improved way to think about the future.

Apple writes in the research paper, “Nonverbal behaviors such as posture, gestures, and gaze are essential for conveying internal states, both consciously and unconsciously, in human interaction. For robots to interact more naturally with humans, robot movement design should likewise integrate expressive qualities—such as intention, attention, and emotions—alongside traditional functional considerations like task fulfillment, spatial constraints, and time efficiency.”.

It’s clear that’s at the top of Apple's mind, and that very well could be a major differentiator for Apple in a space that is increasingly being billed with robots of all sorts. You can see the research paper in full from Apple Machine Learning Research here.

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Apple's iPhone SE 4 might arrive as soon as next week, according to a new report

Bloomberg is reporting that Apple might announce a new iPhone SE as early as next week.

The rumored fourth-generation would ditch the home button.

It's expected to be a big upgrade with a new design and a processor jump.

Apple has been rumored to be working on a next-generation iPhone SE for quite some time. We expect the fourth-generation, more affordable iPhone to arrive sometime in 2025, potentially in the spring, around March or April.

However, a new investigation from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman notes that Apple could announce the smartphone as soon as next week. He writes, “The organization expects to announce the device as early as next week, ahead of it going on sale later in the month.” That hints at a pretty imminent arrival, but one that likely won’t garner the occasion of an Apple Special Event. It would be more likely to be launched in a matter similar to the iPad Mini from late last year via a press release.

The iPhone SE has long been a part of Apple’s iPhone lineup, first arriving in 2016 and last updated as a third generation in 2022. Currently, it most resembles that of an iPhone 8 and is the only smartphone in Apple’s family that still elements a home button with Touch ID. However, this next generation of the iPhone SE should be a big leap in terms of looks and the hardware powering it.

It’s reported that the fourth-generation iPhone SE will look similar to that of the iPhone 14, with a larger, closer-to-the-edge screen design that ditches the home button and elements a notch containing Face ID. This means that you’d be able to unlock the iPhone with just a glance, and the same goes for authenticating purchases or using Apple Pay.

Gurman’s latest reporting notes that the device is codenamed “V59” and will be the first Apple product to feature a modem designed in-house. That would mean ditching another Qualcomm component for Apple, and the silicon would also be made by the tech giant, with this study noting it would be the A18 chip.

That’s the same processor inside the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus, which should make it plenty speedy and, maybe even more critical, is the fact that it could handle Apple Intelligence. This means you’d be able to use ‘Writing Tools,’ create a Genmoji, use Image Playground, and even remove annoying background objects or people from photos with ‘Clean Up.” It would also make it fit for a pretty long shelf life, something that’s become a need for the iPhone SE as it’s only typically refreshed every few years.

Along with removing the home button, the iPhone SE fourth-generation will likely make the switch to USB-C. While it’s still available in the United States, it was taken off the shelves and discontinued in the EU, partly in an effort to comply with the rules of ports. When it does arrive, Gurman believes it will be around the same price point of the current model. Right now, the iPhone SE third-generation starts at $429 / £419 / AU$719 and that’s a competitive price for the iPhone lineup, especially considering the iPhone 16 starts at $899. Some other reports have shown that the price could be a bit higher, though.

As far as an arrival as next week, that would kick off Apple’s 2025 product debuts. Also rumored to be arriving next week, as , and the much-anticipated Powerbeats Pro 2 from Beats. Gurman also notes that a MacBook Air with the M4 chip, a new entry-level iPad, and a new iPad Air should arrive in the first half of 2025.

Of course, as with all Apple rumors, nothing's official until the technology giant says it, so we'll see what next week brings. In the meantime, we can look at Apple's cute, expressive robot prototype.

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