Dyson has a new robot vacuum and a really big air purifier

Dyson is taking another crack at the US robot vacuum market after the failure of the Dyson 360 Eye – which it launched in 2016 and then quickly stopped selling here, saying it was “poorly suited for homes Americans”. (The follow-up model, the 360 ​​Heurist, never made it here.) Now Dyson introduces the Dyson 360 Vis Nav robot vacuum. Shorter and slimmer than its predecessors, the Vis Nav is designed to work better in our complicated American homes. It still sports the extra-long brush and square shape of the 360 ​​line, but adds more suction power and a faster processor.

Dyson also announced five other new products: its first-ever attempt at a cleaning vacuum – the Dyson Submarine with wet roller head; the fifth generation of its signature cordless stick vacuums – the Dyson Gen5detect ($949) and Dyson Gen5outsize ($1,049); and two truly giant indoor air purifiers – the Dyson Purifier Big + Quiet Formaldehyde and the Dyson Purifier HEPA Big + Quiet Formaldehyde. Dyson did not provide prices or release dates for models other than the Gen5 vacuums, which arrive June 6.

As a Dyson product, we can expect the Vis Nav to be expensive. The Dyson 360 Eye launched in 2016 for $999. One would also expect it to be innovative. But from the details provided by Dyson, of which there aren’t many, it seems the company is looking for power and precision over new whiz-bang features.

There’s no automatic cleaning or emptying option, which we’ve seen on many new robot vacuums today, and it doesn’t seem to have AI-powered obstacle avoidance (just regular dodging of debris). But Dyson says the Vis Nav has twice the suction power of any other robot vacuum and a “high-end processor” that “thinks and adapts” to the data it collects from 26 sensors. to avoid obstacles, detect dust and find walls. It also has a side-actuated brush that allows for “precision edge cleaning.” Along with its square head that can get close to edges and corners, that should mean it can reach those tricky places that other rounder robot vacuums can miss.

The other big change is the smaller size. Dyson didn’t provide any specs, but says the Vis Nav can get under furniture as low as 3.9 inches. The original Eye was 4.72 inches tall, too big to fit under most sofas or beds. Unfortunately, it’s still blue, which is a bold and, dare we say, bad choice for a product that’s in people’s homes.

As with previous models, the Vis Nav has an extra long brush that extends the length of the vacuum cleaner – most robot vacuums make do with a small brush right in the centre. The brush also has three surfaces to help pick up debris: a soft “Fluffy” nylon for large debris, anti-static carbon fiber filaments for fine dust, and stiff nylon bristles for digging into carpets.

Dyson uses its own version of Simultaneous Location and Mapping (SLAM) technology to work out how to move around your home, powered by a small camera on top of the robot surrounded by LEDs to help it see in the dark.

The Vis Nav will work with the MyDyson app, has a 50 minute battery life and will automatically return to its charging station. The company did not provide further details, such as bin size, battery size, or any information about software features such as mapping or no-go areas. You can sign up to receive updates on new products on the Dyson website.

Of course, Dyson is known for its regular vacuums, which are still a necessity even if you have a robot vacuum – robot vacuums still can’t do stairs. The new Dyson vacuums, the Gen5detect and Gen5outsize, are cordless vacuum cleaners featuring the fifth generation of Dyson’s Hyperdymium motor. It’s “smaller, faster and more powerful than its predecessors”, according to Dyson. The new models are also able to “capture viruses from your home”, according to Dyson.

The Dyson Submarine is the company’s first wet vacuum cleaner. Its wet roller head can pick up wet spills like ketchup and milk, as well as dust and stains from hard floors. Attached to the Dyson V15s Detect Submarine and Dyson V12s Detect Slim Submarine vacuums, the roller head contains a small 300ml clean water tank and a separate waste water tank with a motorized microfibre roller for scrubbing. Both models will also come with standard vacuum heads, however, Dyson says the underwater attachment won’t work on existing vacuums.

Finally, the new Dyson Purifier Big+Quiet Formaldehyde (meaning it claims to trap and destroy formaldehyde, as well as 99.97% of other pollutants) is a smart air purifier designed for the large open spaces in your home. . With a completely different design to Dyson’s other tall and slim air purifier/fan models, the Big+Quiet uses new “tapered aerodynamics” to project its purifying powers 32 feet. There’s also a Dyson Purifier HEPA Big + Quiet Formaldehyde designed for shared commercial spaces – which would be quite the talking point in the office.