I’ve just seen Roborock’s first robot mowers in action, and other lawnbot brands should be worried

Roborock has launched its first robot mowers: the RockMow Z1, RockMow S1 and RockNeo Q1
Extra blade attachment cuts right up to the edges of lawns
The most advanced has all-wheel drive and dynamic suspension

Roborock makes some of the best robot vacuums on the market, and now it’s bringing its considerable expertise outside, with its first foray into robot lawn mowers. I’ve just had a demo of the RockMow Z1, RockMow S1 and RockNeo Q1 at IFA, and they look just as impressive as I’d expect from one of my favorite robovac brands.

It makes sense: although robot mowers don’t operate in the same way as vacuums (there are usually satellites involved for one thing, and blades for another), there’s plenty of crossover. All these bots offer smart mapping, advanced navigation, strong obstacle avoidance, and intelligent scheduling options.

Roborock lawnbots — The PreciEdge is included as standard on the RockMow Z1 and S1 and an added extra on the RockNeo Q1 (Image credit: Future)

Perhaps the biggest standout here is how Roborock has approached edge-cutting. It has added a PreciEdge blade – a smaller, extra cutting deck just to tackle the edges of lawns. Roborock says this enables its bots to trim within 1.2in / 3cm of walls.

Having to crack out a separate manual edge trimmer has been one of the most annoying things about robot mowers, so this is a welcome advancement.

There are options for different kinds of terrain and different budgets. The RockMow Z1 is the most advanced of the bunch, and engineered for tricky terrain. Like the excellent Mammotion Luba 2, it has all-wheel drive and can handle slopes of up to 80%.

Unusually, there’s an Active Steering System, which means each of the wheels is powered by an independent motor. This means smoother turning, gentler maneuvering, and less chance your lawn is going to get churned up – even if the grass is wet. In the demo I could see how precisely the RobockMow Z1 made its way around obstacles.

There’s also dynamic suspension, which enables the bot to maintain a consistent cutting height, even if one or two of the wheels is, for example, propped up on a rock.

Finally, this robot mower can clear steps of up to 2.4in / 6cm. The ability to tackle tall thresholds is something that’s preoccupying the robovac industry right now, but I’ve never seen this spec called out on a lawnbot before. It’s helpful for the same reason – you want your bot to be able to reach everywhere you need it to without you having to pick it up and carry it at any point.

If you don’t have a wild woodland for a back yard, you might be better suited to one of the other options. The step down is the RockMow S1, which is similar to the Z1 except it’s not all wheel drive and is designed for flatter lawns – it can handle slopes of 45% and steps of 1.6in / 4cm.

The RockNeo Q1 is simpler (and cheaper) again. On this one, you adjust cutting height manually and edge cutting is an optional extra rather than being included as standard.