There’s one surefire way to get somebody excited about a brand new vacuum cleaner: tell them it has lasers. But while the laser is marketed as the key feature for the brand new Dyson V15 Detect, the vacuum is far more than a gimmick.
With an excellent battery, great suction and plenty of accessories to clean any part of your living space, the V15 is your ticket to the perfect, spot-free home.
You will have to pay for the privilege, but if you’re looking to spruce up your home and bust every nasty dust mite in sight, the Dyson V15 Detect goes the distance and beyond it.
Dyson V15 Detect
What is it?
Dyson's latest smart vacuum cleaner.
Price
$1,399
Like
Excellent cleaning, great battery life, easy use.
No Like
Extremely heavy and unwieldy, expensive.
What is the Dyson V15 Detect?
The Dyson V15 Detect is the latest in a long line of cordless Dyson vacuums that aim to make cleaning fun and stress-free.
This iteration of the vacuum sports a brand new green laser that highlights dust and particles as you clean so you can see just how dirty your home really is. For those keen to know, there’s a handy LCD screen in the handle of the V15 that highlights just how many dust particles are being picked up, as well as how much battery life is left.
If you live in a clean home, the statistics won’t be too shocking but the laser can be very helpful for identifying those harder-to-reach places you might have missed on a regular vacuum.
As you go, the screen will keep track of how much battery you use (as well as tracking particles) so it’s a great indicator for monitoring how much work you’ve done and how long you have before the device needs a charge.
In addition to the screen and the laser, there’s also a bunch of accessories that come with the Dyson V15 Detect to ensure you can clean your home (and car) from top-to-toe.
So, what’s good about it?
Ease of use
The V15 Detect is a very convenient vacuum cleaner because it’s so easy to pick up and use. There’s so many different heads that you tackle any kind of cleaning project — and there’s a simple snap-and-lock mechanism that means changing accessories is easy. The whole package is very handy, and great for that next-level deep clean.
The thin head can be used to reach under couches, the brushes are great for cleaning car floors and the anti-tangle comb is fantastic if you live in a house of hair-shedders or pets. As somebody with bleached and dyed hair, I can tell you I lose a lot of hair — but it never caught or tangled in the vacuum.
Each head operates smoothly and glides across surfaces, and while you will need to put some muscle-power into your cleaning adventures, the shiny, dust-free results are impressive and make any surface shine.
It’s not too loud or obnoxious, and has a solid grip for any kind of manoeuvring.
Battery Life
Cordless vacuums are notoriously power-hungry, and often have issues maintaining battery life as you clean. Luckily, this isn’t the case with the V15 Detect.
You can select three battery modes when using the vacuum: Eco, Auto and Boost, each more powerful than the other.
Boost focuses on high-powered suction at the cost of battery life and Eco focusing on battery life over performance. With Eco, you can get up to 60 minutes of battery life at the cost of some suction power, but I found Auto was the most useful setting for the best clean.
Auto provided around 38 minutes of battery life on the first charge and 41 minutes on second, so you can expect a solid amount of cleaning time before the battery dies. In practical terms, this translated to two full cleans of the downstairs area of my house across carpet and tile. It probably would likely have done a single clean of the entire house).
For those living in smaller apartments, the V15 should manage a full sweep well and may even extend to two top-to-bottom cleans, depending on how large your living space is.
When it comes time to charge it, you will need to set aside at least 3 hours and 20 minutes, though. There’s no quick charging function here, meaning if you lose battery halfway through a clean you may have a significant wait to finish up.
It hit 25 per cent charge at the 45 minute mark and 60 per cent after two hours, so you will be able to squeeze some extra juice if don’t need a full charge — but be prepared to wait.
While that does seem like a long time to charge, it’s actually quite good when it comes to standard vacuums. Typically, you’ll have to wait closer to five hours to get going — so the V15 does perform rather well.
Our recommendation would be to get in the habit of popping it on charge after a large clean or overnight.
Variety of accessories
There’s an impressive array of accessories included with the V15 that prove useful for a variety of circumstances. The laser is particularly helpful for a more visual deep clean (and for seeing spots you’ve missed) but there’s also more useful heads like the heavier anti-tangle comb which deals better with hair and larger detritus, or the longer reach head which lets you slip under chairs and cabinets.
They all serve a purpose and can be interchanged at any time via the vacuum’s excellent lock system. The removable pole is particularly helpful because you can shorten the vacuum to clean interiors like cars or even mattresses. If you want to clean a certain surface, there’ll likely be a dedicated tool for that — and it’s great to have so many options.
Easy emptying
The Dyson V15 Detect has a 760mL bin which won’t fill up extraordinarily fast unless you’re living in a pigsty, meaning you shouldn’t have to empty the bin too often between cleans — but when you do, it’s incredibly simple and easy to do.
It’s just a matter of flicking open the red tab and pulling forward to flick open the lid and deposit the vacuum contents. It’s a small feature, but a very handy one if you just want to get on with your vacuuming as quick as possible.
Handy laser
If you’re somebody who likes to keep your house spot-free, it’s an easy-to-use accessory that perfectly highlights where you need to clean most and where you’ve already been.
As you clean, the laser will illuminate any missing spots by highlighting the edges of dirt and particles, making them easier to spot and destroy.
It’s particularly good while vacuuming in low light, but it also functions strongly in daylight meaning you can get your deep clean on any time you like. It does such a good job spotting particles you could even feel safe with licking the floor.
The laser gets dirty easily
While the laser is useful for pointing out detritus you may miss with a regular vacuum, its placement means it can be easily obscured as you vacuum. The more you use the V15 Detect, the more dust collects on the laser head, meaning your laser view quickly becomes obscured by imperfections and flecks.
It’ll still highlight the majority of dust particles as you vacuum, but you will end up missing some in its blind spots.
You are able to lean down and clean the head to prevent buildup occurring, but dirt builds up often and quickly becomes annoying.
What’s not so good?
Heaviness
The Dyson V15 Detect is a very top-heavy machine, and it means the weight distribution of the device is uneven. Most of this comes from the battery in the handle and is mostly unavoidable, but it means extended use of the V15 will lead to sore arms.
After about 15 minutes using the vacuum, my arms started to tire and I ended up having to swap between right, left and both hands to finish cleaning my living space.
It becomes particularly unwieldy when using the laser head because that’s quite thin and light, meaning the entire weight of the device is at the top of the pole and requires you exercising your upper-body strength to clean.
You also need to constantly press the trigger to keep the suction going, so you’ll end up putting more pressure on your arm muscles far more than you would with a regular cordless vacuum.
Cost
As mentioned, the Dyson V15 Detect is a very expensive vacuum cleaner with a high barrier for entry. The fact is, most people won’t have the budget to fork out a whopping $1,399 for a machine that’s more a necessity than something people will really enjoy.
While it boasts very handy features, it’s likely the cost will prove to be a massive bugbear. Also, given the small bin is more suited to apartment dwellers, it’s an odd choice.
Asking people to pay a month’s worth of rent for the privilege of the cleanest apartment on the block is a big ask, and one not many may be able to accommodate.
Final Verdict
At $1,399, the Dyson V15 Detect is a significant investment, and one that people may not be willing to fork out for. Vacuum cleaners are a necessary technology, but people aren’t typically excited by them. That being said, Dyson tends to be the exception here, and the V15 Detect is an exciting machine.
But the cost is a major barrier for many regular consumers, which can make it more of an aspirational product for some, rather than a realistic one.
If the cost isn’t a problem (or you stretch your budget to match), you’ll find a vacuum with excellent battery life, great ease of use and plenty of accessories to cultivate the perfect clean.
The laser isn’t as exciting as it should be, but the overall performance and convenience of the vacuum means this flaw isn’t particularly egregious. There’s plenty of other reasons to love the vacuum, and to justify the added cost.
For everyone looking for a thorough vacuum cleaner with results you can see, the Dyson V15 Detect is a great option. If you’re on a budget, it may be out of your price range — but unique, helpful features and great all-round performance mean it’s absolutely worth considering.