Like Dyson’s handheld vacuums, its robot vacuum operates using cyclonic action, which reportedly allows it to capture particles as small as pollen. The company claims the 360 Eye sports the strongest suction of any robot vacuum, thanks to being equipped with Dyson’s proprietary digital motor. That said, the 360 Eye is frustrated by a couple of things in my home. Specifically, it has issues with sloped pedestal stands for chairs, including ones found on my living room lounger, and those which support my kitchen bar height stools. The Dyson bot regularly tries to climb these, seems to hesitate about it halfway over the lip, and then essentially gives up, freezing until I come and reposition it.
“Engineers are dreadful — they always have better ideas. I don’t mind that — I think it’s quite a good habit.” The point being, he continues, that his company spent a lot of money in 16 years “to make the right product.” The gap sensors that prevent it from taking a tumble down stairs work well, but unlike my Roomba, it doesn’t think the black portions of my area rug are pits into which it might tumble. With the Roomba, I was able to work around the issue by taping pieces of paper over the gap sensors and walling off the open stairwell to the basement with one of its virtual wall emitters. Its smaller footprint makes a difference in its ability to get in and around table and chair legs, and it takes up less space when sat on its dock, which makes it a lot easier to live with in cramped flats and terraces. Taking the bin out and emptying it is quick and easy, but it is a small bin and you might have to empty it mid-run if you have particularly dirty carpet. Of the dozen-plus autonomous floor cleaners we’ve tested to date, it holds its own alongside the best of the best.
Prior to The Verge’s finding, rumours had begun to swirl about the features that might appear in the next dyson robot vacuum. The most interesting change for this product, though, is the new shape. Dyson’s previous vacuums, the 360 Eye and 360 Heurist, have been taller and narrower than rival products built by iRobot and the like. This allows them tighter cornering around items like chair legs, but stops them from vacuuming under some furniture. It’s hard to gauge the exact dimensions of this new product , but it does seem to be wider and flatter than the Eye and Heurist.
The 360 Eye came in last place on the rice test, picking up just 2.18 ounces on the plush carpet, 1.85 ounces on the berber-style carpet, and 2.13 ounces on the hardwood floor. At the same time, the Neato Botvac Connected picked up significantly more rice on each flooring surface. I doubly enjoyed the compact and foldable charging dock that comes with this bot, although I occasionally had to wiggle the vacuum around for its contact sensors to correctly line up with the dock so it would charge. Pricing on the potential robot vacuum isn’t certain, though the Heurist retails for £800 (~$1,088). The new filing doesn’t guarantee that Dyson will ever release the 360 Hyperdymium, much less in the states, but we’ll keep our eyes peeled for a potential release date or new details. Dyson filed papers with the FCC that show a flatter and wider robot vacuum than those it released in other markets.
It turns off the suction and brush bar when it’s driving too and from the base station, and also while it pauses and works out ways around objects. As the 360 Heurist costs £799.99 in the UK, we’d expect the new robot vacuum cleaner to come in at a similar – or slightly higher – price point. In the US, we would anticipate a price point of $1,099.99 or more. 2000Pa has fast become the norm when it comes to the suction power of the best robot vacuums. So, if your budget allows, we’d recommend looking for vacs around this number.
Alternatively, command it ad hoc to pick up crumbs after mealtimes. Selecting a zone gives you a rough cleaning time and the estimated number of charges that it will irobot vacuum cleaner take, with the 360 Heurist able to return to its dock and top up its battery if needed. In my house , there’s enough battery to clean every floor on Max if needed.
Fitted with tank tracks rather than wheels, the Dyson 360 Heurist can power over different levels of flooring and even push through deep-pile carpets. For the latter, the option to turn off the brush bar means you can, to a degree, even clean deep-pile carpets and rugs that other cleaners would get stuck on. Dyson believes this solves one of the most common problems with other robot vacuum cleaners which is that because they can’t see, they end up missing parts of the house.
The highlight of this vacuum is hinted at in its name, using a laser to reveal microscopic dust – making sure you can spot everything and get it picked up. The V15 also smartly adjusts its suction power, ramping it up when needed. Fancy tech doesn’t drain the battery life either, with up to 60 minutes – which should be plenty, even if the laser has you meticulously cleaning every nook and cranny.