If there is any job at home that should be outsourced to technology, it is vacuuming. And possibly ironing. But since there aren’t too many affordable robot ironing systems out there, I’ll settle for the daily cleaning instead.
But not all robot vacuums are created equal. Most will do a decent job of cleaning your home, scooping up dust and dirt on a regular basis, but there are more advanced features appearing all the time.
These include the ability to map your home in real time, for example eliminating the need to remap your rooms every time you decide to change the furniture around. Or automatic suction that will change power when it comes across a different floor type. There are even hybrid vacuums and mops in one, although their mopping prowess is little more than wiping a damp cloth over the floor.
The point is, things have moved on considerably over the past decade, and companies are finding it tougher to stand out from the (increasingly cheap) crowd.
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Which is why you might wonder: who would buy a €1,300 robot vacuum?
People who hate vacuuming with the power of a thousand suns, that’s who. People like me.
Dyson has been working on its cleaners for years, starting with the launch of the Dyson 360 Eye in 2016 and followed by the Heurist 360 in 2020. Each iteration brought some new features but the constant was the 360-degree vision system, with a fish-eye lens, which mapped your rooms in real time, avoiding obstacles as it went. That, plus some sensors for obstacles such as stairs, meant the robot regularly avoided calamity.
The design was compact yet chunky, which meant the vacuum rarely fit under low furniture such as sofas, for example, although it did expertly navigate its way between chairs in the kitchen.
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Now we have the Dyson 360 Vis Nav, the next generation of robot vacuum, which comes with a few changes.
The first is the previously mentioned chunky design. The Nav is lower profile and wider than its predecessor, so it now fits under the sofa – still occasionally getting stuck – but it’s not so wide that it can’t make it under the kitchen table. In a house with a pet and small children, that is a non-negotiable feature. If it can’t wind its way under the table to deal with the crumbs, it’s no use to me.
You can control the vacuum via the MyDyson app or with the integrated touch panel, which allows you to start a quick clean, or switch the vacuum to auto, quiet or boost mode. You don’t need wifi to use this vacuum, but it does enable remote control.
The Nav also comes with sensors that learn where the dustiest areas of your home are, and adjusts its cleaning focus accordingly. If you are interested in this data, you can access it in the MyDyson app which also allows you to schedule cleaning. Data fans will love it; everyone else will just let the Nav do its thing.
Dyson has also moved the brush bar to the front of the robot, which means the Nav is doing less rolling over of dirt, reducing the risk that it will be ground into your floors. While other robots rely on the spinning brushes to flick dirt in under the path of the vacuum, Dyson has gone for the brush bar the full width of the cleaner, so it will pick up as much dirt as possible. That brush bar has the usual Dyson element – nylon, stiff bristles and anti-static carbon-fibre filaments – and it works just as well on carpet as it does on hard floors.
You get up to 65 minutes out of a full charge, but the device will return to the dock itself if it needs a top-up of power while it works, before picking up where it left off
The Nav also has some rubbery extensions on either side that create a duct that redirects suction to capture dirt and dust as close to the wall as possible. It works well, although the nav initially seems reluctant to get too close to the kitchen cupboards. Mapping the rooms properly solves that problem, with the Dyson getting right into the sides of the room, although corners remain a challenge despite the rubberised ducts.
Having the maps completed properly also means I can customise cleaning for each room, setting the kitchen to a more thorough clean than the less-used living room.
With white tiles and a black cat, the Dyson is pressed into service twice a day to keep on top of the cat fluff. It performs admirably, picking up all the debris left behind by the cat’s habit of rolling across the floor. That is not a surprise; the Nav has a 110,000rpm motor. That compares with the 78,000 rpm of the Heurist 360, and the Gen 5 cordless stick cleaner’s 135,000rpm.
Its bin has a capacity of 500ml, which is enough for several trips around the floors without needing to be emptied. When it does need to be dealt with, though, it’s a single touch and easy to empty.
There is nothing I hate more than having to dig out a clogged-up bin from a robot vacuum; inevitably, something slightly squidgy has been sucked into it over the course of the day, which means you have to deal with the resulting mess. But the Dyson method is similar to its cordless cleaners, with the bottom of the bin swinging open. Everything is forced out of the bottom, and you never have to touch it.
You get up to 65 minutes out of a full charge, but the device will return to the dock itself if it needs a top-up of power while it works, before picking up where it left off.
Good
As a Dyson, the Vis Nav is excellent. It dealt with almost anything you throw at it, from normal household dust to pet hair. The bin is easy to empty too, and it didn’t clog easily.
The mapping is easy to carry out, and zoning the different rooms is done in minutes.
Battery life is good too, and the app will keep you informed of how long your chosen cleaning routine will take.
Bad
It tends to get stuck a bit more often. On one occasion, it rumpled up a doormat and blocked its own sensors. On another occasion, it got stuck on the base of a kitchen stool.
It is also significantly more expensive than the Heurist, at almost €1,300 versus the €900 predecessor.
Everything else
The Hepa filter is washable, so should last the lifetime of the device. The brush bar is also removable and washable. When needed, the Nav has a quiet mode or boost mode.
Through the MyDyson app, you can integrate the Nav with Google Home or Amazon’s Alexa, enabling voice control.
Verdict
Dyson has chosen to focus on one thing with the Vis Nav rather than be a jack of all trades – and it works. Although expensive, it is easily the most effective robot vacuum cleaner I’ve used, approaching the power of a regular cordless cleaner. If only it could do stairs, it would be perfect.
