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CES 2025: Roborocks grabby new robot vacuum is a huge flex

Roborock‘s new robot vacuum-mop hybrid will grab your attention — and your stray socks.

The Chinese maker of high-end cleaning tech debuted the Roborock Saros Z70 Sunday at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas after about seven years in the making. The forthcoming hybrid robovac features a jointed, twisting “OmniGrip” appendage that can pick up and move certain small objects out of the way. Roborock calls it the “first-of-its-kind mass-produced foldable robotic arm.”

The launch marks a shift from conventional object avoidance technology to object removal technology, with the goal of making a robot vacuum that’s more autonomous than ever for care-free, do-everything-for-me cleaning.

In a demo, the Mashable team got to see the Saros Z70 depart its dock to fetch a balled-up sock and place it in a short basket before redocking itself. It’s pretty cool — but if you can afford it, ask yourself this: Why don’t you just hire a maid?

Roborock Saros Z70 design: The clawww

The Roborock Saros Z70 with its robot arm extended, about to pick up a sock. Its dock is in the background.


Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

Weighing in around 11 pounds, the Saros Z70 is a matte black disc-shaped device with a slim profile. It lacks a LiDAR tower — a protruding circular bump filled with sensors, common among modern robot vacuums — and instead navigates with the help of built-in “Starsight” sensors and cameras around its circumference. (This allows it to get under more spaces and clean beneath furniture.) These cameras turn off when it’s docked, per a Roborock rep, but users have the option to turn it on for surveillance purposes. The rep said its footage encrypted and stored on the Saros Z70 itself rather than through a connected service, so your data never exits the device.

The Saros Z70’s robotic arm is housed under a shiny door on its surface that automatically lifts and slides backwards to unleash the appendage. The arm has five axis that can twist, as well as a pinchy, two-pronged claw at the end of it. There’s a child lock and a safety stop button near the arm’s base in case of emergency.

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On the underside of the Saros Z70, you’ll find a new anti-tangle FreeFlow brush, a set of wheels that can elevate to overcome raised lips between rooms or the edges of carpets, and mopping pads. These pads are both retractable and removable — users can have the Saros Z70 ditch them in its dock if it’s only going to be cleaning hardwood floors, which is a new feature for the Roborock lineup.

How the Roborock Saros Z70 works

A close up of the Roborock Saros Z70 with its robot arm extended, holding a sock. Its dock is in the background.


Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

Roborock says the entire Saros Z70 cleaning cycle happens in three parts. First, it does a sweep of a room while marking any nearby objects it’s able to lift, then returns to its dock. Next, it heads out again to move the objects it has identified out of the way. It then wraps up the cycle by returning to clean the spots where the objects previously sat.

Users have to enable its OmniGrip arm in the Roborock companion app — it won’t be activated right out of the box — but from there, they can pick which objects the Saros Z70 grabs and exactly where it puts them. (Our demo did not include a run-through of these settings.) At present, the Saros Z70 is capable of listing four different kinds of objects weighing up to 300 grams: socks, paper, small towels, and sandals. Support for other types of clothing and shoes as well as pet toys are in the works.

The Saros Z70 boasts a whopping 22,000 Pa of suction power, which the company’s rep called an industry record. For reference, Mashable’s current favorite robot vacuum — another Robobock model, the $1,599.99 Qrevo Master — clocks in at 10,000 Pa of power. This thing sucks… apparently. We didn’t get a chance to see it actually vacuum anything up.

The potential is there — but the price is silly

The Roborock Saros Z70 with its robot arm extended, placing a sock into a basket.


Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

In our demo, the Saros Z70 was programmed to move out of its dock in a straight line, grab a sock, and place the sock in a short basket before returning to its dock. It was able to successfully put the sock in the basket — so long as the sock had been placed in a very specific spot, otherwise its arm would miss. Notably, it also struggled to properly redock itself every single cycle, getting close to its parking spot but never right on the mark. It would say something in Mandarin that roughly translated to “action failed” every time it tried to return home, and I kind of felt bad for it.

According to the Roborock rep, this programing was chosen because of the constraints of our setting: Our demo took place in a small hotel suite, and others were apparently being conducted in convention center booths throughout the week. It couldn’t be wandering off.

The Roborock Saros Z70 without its robot arm extended. Its dock is in the background.


Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

I think these circumstances sold the Saros Z70 short, because it really does seem like a neat device if it reaches its full potential from the standpoints of pick-up-ability and sheer power. That said, I’m not quite sure who’s going to be buying it: Roborock’s rep couldn’t tell us an exact price, but suggested that it would sell for around $2,000. (High-end robot vacuums that are on the market right now cap out around $1,600, such as the Qrevo Master.) If you’re someone who can afford such a luxury, I don’t see why you wouldn’t just hire someone to pick up your socks and vacuum for you. To own one seems like more of a flex than anything.

The Roborock Saros Z70 is currently in mass production and slated for an April release. We’ll have a full review of it once it hits the market.


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Best Mothers Day gifts: Show mom some love

Mother figures are the backbone of the world. Yours may be your biological mother, or maybe she’s your mother-in-law, your best friend’s mom, or simply someone whose motherly instinct has helped you through hard times.

Moms teach you the adulting necessities, give advice even if the problem is your fault, and above all, they put up with your shit and (almost) never complain.

The game plan here isn’t just to snag the last bouquet at CVS just so you’re not the kid who forgot Mother’s Day (but definitely also get flowers). And you don’t even need to spend a lot of money. (Peep our list of Mother’s Day gifts that cost less than $50. Want even more cheap gift ideas?

Skip the generic mugs and show your appreciation with a gift picked just for her: Whether it’s something to make a part of her life easier, something she’s mentioned wanting in passing, or simply something to make her feel like a damn queen, you can’t put a price on everything she’s done for you, but heartfelt gifts certainly help.

After all, they say “No matter how hard you try, you always end up like your mother.” But is that even a bad thing?


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Ban subscriptions and get Microsoft Office 2024 for life for just £121

TL;DR: Grab Microsoft Office 2024 Home and Business for PC or Mac for just £120.54 through June 1.


You wouldn’t keep paying for Netflix if you could own your favorite shows, right? So why are you still subscribing to Office apps you use every day? Microsoft 365’s price keeps going up, but there’s finally a way to break free — and it’ll cost you way less in the long run.

Microsoft Office 2024 is the answer you’ve been looking for. Instead of monthly payments, simply pay £120.54 once and be set for life (reg. £188.37). It’s that simple. And, yes, this lifetime download works for PC or Mac.

What’s included?

This license comes with: 

  • Word

  • Excel

  • PowerPoint

  • Outlook

  • OneNote 

The newest version of Microsoft Office is a little different from Microsoft 365. But just because you’re switching to a lifetime license doesn’t mean you’ll miss out on some of the most recent updates. Word and Excel both still have AI integrations for text suggestions and smart data analysis, and PowerPoint still has improved tools for recorded presentations. 

Once you’ve redeemed your purchase, you can install your apps on one computer. After that, they’re yours to use however you want. No more subscription fees or sudden price hikes to worry about. 

Why rent when you can own? 

Mashable Deals

Get a Microsoft Office lifetime license on sale for £120.54 with no coupon needed.

StackSocial prices subject to change.


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Wordle today: Answer, hints for May 9, 2025

Oh hey there! If you’re here, it must be time for Wordle. As always, we’re serving up our daily hints and tips to help you figure out today’s answer.

If you just want to be told today’s word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today’s Wordle solution revealed. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

Where did Wordle come from?

Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once

Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.

What’s the best Wordle starting word?

The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website’s creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.

Is Wordle getting harder?

It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn’t any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle‘s Hard Mode if you’re after more of a challenge, though.

Here’s a subtle hint for today’s Wordle answer:

Gibberish.

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Does today’s Wordle answer have a double letter?

There are no recurring letters.

Today’s Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with…

Today’s Wordle starts with the letter T.

The Wordle answer today is…

Get your last guesses in now, because it’s your final chance to solve today’s Wordle before we reveal the solution.

Drumroll please!

The solution to today’s Wordle is…

TRIPE.

Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.

Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Wordle.


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