Dyson is one of the most respected appliance brands around, and has a reputation for invention. In my role as a TechRadar Homes Editor, I’ve had a chance to try out almost all of this brand’s gadgets and appliances (as well as plenty of competitor products, for added context). I’m consistently impressed with Dyson’s creativity and innovation… but not all of its inventions are quite as good as others.
Below, I’ve listed Dyson’s big innovations, ranked from best to worst. To narrow things down a bit, I’ve focused on the brand’s vacuum cleaners and haircare gadgets, though, of course, it also has significant stakes in the air purifier and fan markets. Read on for the Dyson features that truly blew me away, and those that turned out to be downgrades in disguise.
#1. A teeny tiny motor
Any handheld gadget typically benefits from being as compact and light as possible. For its Supersonic r hair dryer, Dyson shrunk the motor right down and put it in an incredibly compact shell. It looks weird, but it’s a dream to use, with the pipe-like shape directing air with precision – plus, it blasts out air with serious force for such a small gadget.
Perhaps even more impressive is the new Dyson PencilVac. This is a cordless stick vacuum, except all the internal mechanics have been shrunk down and tucked into the handle, which is 1.5 inches / under 4cm in diameter.
It looks like a broom handle, except inside there’s a tiny little motor, alongside filters, a battery, and even a dust cup. It almost defies belief. I’ve been busy testing this gadget at home, and it’s ultra-nimble and light.
#2. Lasers on vacuums
Want to be disgusted by exactly how dusty your floors are? Now you can! Dyson was the brand that first put dirt-illuminating laser headlamps on its vacuum floorheads. They’re ultra-bright and positioned at precisely the right angle to cast big shadows on the tiniest particles and finest hairs on your hard flooring.
They’re genuinely useful in making sure you get every last speck of dust cleared away. They’re also just generally really satisfying to use and helpful in highlighting (literally) the dirt-hotspots that are getting neglected.
These were first introduced on the Dyson V15 Detect, but appear on most of Dyson’s newest vacuums, including the Dyson Gen5detect and V16 Piston Animal. Lots of brands have copycat versions these days. I’ve tested plenty of headlamp-equipped vacuums from different brands, but very few come close to Dyson’s version in terms of effectiveness.
#3. Curl automation
Dyson deserves credit for pioneering a new way of curling hair with its OG Airwrap. Now my bathroom is full of Airwrap dupes, and the auto-wrapping, air-powered curling feels like old news, but Dyson has managed to capture my attention once again with a major upgrade to its iconic multi-styler.
The newest models – the Airwrap i.d. and Airwrap Co-anda 2x – have a little spring-loaded switch on the front that automates the curl sequence for you. Flick it upwards, and it kicks off a wrap – curl – cool shot process, so all you need to do is hold the styler in place while it works its magic.
The timings of each part are specific to your hair and determined by a quiz you complete in the companion app. Normally, I’m pretty opposed to apps for things that shouldn’t really need one, but here, Dyson gets a pass.
Now, this upgrade isn’t essential. I could achieve the same results on my own with some focus and clock-watching. It’s just that it makes styling so effortless. And because I invariably get bored or distracted when trying to curl without the automated sequence, the results on me always look more polished and last longer when the machine times it all out for me.
#4. Ultra-precise dust detection
Dyson’s newer flagship vacuums (from the V15 onwards) have the ability to detect exactly the size and number of particles they’re sucking up at any time, and report back on a screen mounted above the handle. They do this in real-time, via a colorful, moving bar graph, and a summary is provided at the end of the cleaning session. The vacuums also use the information to adjust suction to clean away the particles efficiently.
Let’s be clear: I do really like this feature. The reason it’s further down my list is that I’m not convinced all of it is strictly necessary. The particle detection and automatic suction adjustment is super-useful. I also enjoy watching the bars shift as I clean, and to some extent, it helps me do a more thorough job, as I can see where the floor is especially dirty.
However, the real-time reports are limited in their practical usefulness, and there’s certainly no need for them to be broken up by particle size. I have a sneaking suspicion the bar graph is mainly there for the gratification of the engineers who really, really wanted us to know what was going on under the hood and how much work it took to make it.
#5. Submarine floorheads
Another innovation I’m on the fence about is Submarine floorheads – mopping heads that can be swapped onto certain vacuums to enable them to wet-clean as well as vacuum. In fact, it might be more accurate to say I’m not sure Dyson has really found its way when it comes to wet cleaners in general.
I haven’t been blown away by any of the mopping gadgets I’ve tested from Dyson so far. The V15s Detect Submarine suffered from a poorly designed Submarine head that had an unfortunate tendency to leak dirty water when disconnected from the machine for emptying. And while the Dyson WashG1 is a very good cleaner, it doesn’t do enough to justify its sky-high price tag. There are similarly priced (and cheaper) models in my best wet-and-dry vacuum roundup that do more, and better.
I have a new Clean+Wash Hygiene on its way for testing, so Dyson may still redeem itself on the mopping front.
#6. Conical floorheads
My final entry in this list is one that I genuinely think is a downgrade. On its latest flagship – the V16 Piston Animal – Dyson decided to shake things up on the floorhead front. Instead of having one parallel brushroll, the new-look head has two cone-shaped rollers connected in the center. The idea is that any long strands of hair will make their way to the narrow end of the cone and away into the bin, rather than staying tangled around the roller.
The knock-on effect is that the front of the floorhead becomes slightly pointed. This is a major pain when it comes to cleaning the edges of rooms, because the head won’t sit flush to the wall. Getting the perimeter of a room clean now requires a load of awkward maneuvering, whereas before it was straightforward as anything.
What’s more, there’s a barrier in the center of the floorhead where the two rollers connect, and below which nothing gets sucked up.
While the new design does work on an anti-hair tangle front, here’s the thing: I never had any real issues with hair wrap on Dyson’s previous (parallel) floorhead, either. It might make a noticeable difference if you have Rapunzel-like locks, but for most households, the issues it creates will far outweigh any benefits.
The best Dyson vacuums
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