Desk of Contents
I will be the primary particular person to inform somebody to only develop up and purchase a pleasant Dyson relatively than accept a less expensive cordless vacuum. Sure, the Dyson buy most likely requires additional saving up, and sure, I acknowledge {that a} vacuum costing the identical (or extra) than a month’s lease places it within the “overpriced” class. However should you can swing it, I feel a Dyson stick vacuum is value it.
And that is just because my Dyson with a laser does such a great job that it makes me want doing the chore manually. If a robotic vacuum does a crappy job of cleansing a tough flooring, my Dyson V12 Detect Slim will snitch instantly, utilizing its inexperienced laser to spotlight any leftover hairs or specks {that a} robotic vacuum missed. It is nonetheless clutch to have the ability to depend on a robotic vacuum for surface-level jobs in a pinch, however for higher or for worse, my final take a look at for my military of robotic vacuums is how they rise up in opposition to my Dyson stick vacuum.
So what higher robotic vacuum to compete with my beloved Dyson stick vacuum than a Dyson robotic vacuum? I went into my expertise with Dyson’s 360 Vis Nav with excessive expectations, regardless of already realizing about Dyson’s odd option to omit essential robotic vacuum options like mopping and self-emptying. Here is my Dyson robotic vacuum overview.
Dyson hardly ever releases robotic vacuums, so this was large
The 360 Vis Nav initially offered out at Dyson’s web site inside hours of launch on March 19, 2024. Inventory subsequently dwindled utterly at different retailers like Amazon and Finest Purchase throughout the following days. That is not shocking — demand for a Dyson robotic vacuum has been effervescent since 2016, which is the final time Dyson launched a robotic vacuum within the U.S. And it was a flop.
Practically a decade later, the premise of a Dyson robotic vacuum felt rather more auspicious. Dyson has perfected its cyclonic suction energy within the realm of cordless stick vacuums, so it should not have any downside changing that experience to robotic kind, proper?
The 360 Vis Nav got here out with the promise of being the world’s strongest robotic vacuum, aided by a flat edge and a genius extending aspect duct for higher nook cleansing than what a spherical robotic vacuum can handle. A D-shaped robotic vacuum is exclusive, however is not one thing we have by no means seen earlier than. And it is positively not probably the most… fascinating alternative Dyson made with this bodily design. Let’s begin there.
This bodily design could be very distinctive (derogatory)
You possibly can inform a Dyson vacuum is a Dyson vacuum simply by taking a look at it. The metallic grey our bodies, daring pops of coloration, and chunky industrial particulars are fairly recognizable to anybody who has shopped for a vacuum earlier than.
And I’ve by no means minded that boldness. My V12 Detect Slim, which is grey with a bizarre orange tentacle-looking piece on the mud bin and a purple filter cap, is a flex mounted on the wall in my kitchen. When company come over, they instantly acknowledge and respect that it is a Dyson family.
That being stated, Dyson ought to have reined in its signature design with the 360 Vis Nav, as a result of it is form of an eyesore. Slightly than sticking to graphite, all the physique is vibrant indigo. That’s topped off with an exterior round dustbin that was most likely meant to provide cool uncovered gear vibes, however extra so resembles a curled-up centipede.
One thing concerning the 360 Vis Nav and the Fleetwood Mac document simply do not vibe.
Credit score: Leah Stodart / Mashable
You possibly can select a cleansing mode on the touchscreen, however that is about it.
Credit score: Leah Stodart / Mashable
I assume the polarizing design alternative is perhaps interesting to ultra-modern maximalists, however given my company’ puzzled reactions once they see the 360 Vis Nav in my front room, the dearth of curb enchantment feels fairly palpable.
Even supposing robotic vacuums have gotten more and more frequent, they’ll nonetheless really feel a bit misplaced in lots of properties — manner too tech-y to mesh in an in any other case cozy room. Different manufacturers have caught onto the patron’s desire for chicness and subtlety, just like the dapper, all-white or all-black our bodies of the Roborock Saros 10 and Saros 10R (two of my favourite robotic vacuums of 2025).
So the mud bin is not hid on the underside or again prefer it historically is on standalone robotic vacuums. Sure, which means that the wad of grey mud shall be dealing with outward till it is time to empty. You would be off the hook from that for weeks and weeks had Dyson made its robotic vacuum in a position to empty itself like so many others do. However at the least the 360 Vis Nav’s 0.15-gallon mud bin is bigger than most non-self-emptiers, I assume.
You maintain the dustbin like a handbag and click on it open by way of the deal with.
Credit score: Leah Stodart / Mashable
And granted, if a robotic vacuum goes to require guide emptying, Dyson’s system is unquestionably the mildest ache within the ass. Simply pull up the deal with and un-click the bin whereas the vac is charging, maintain it over a trash can, and push the purple button. The door swings open downward, and all the things falls instantly into the trash.
However then, the truth that it may well’t empty itself nonetheless has me circling again to the truth that it is simply not a horny equipment — the guide emptying requires easy accessibility to the mud bin, and which means you’ll be able to’t simply retailer the robotic vacuum beneath a bit of furnishings and name it a day. For instance, the 3i G10+ robotic vacuum that I examined is not a cute robotic vacuum, both. Nevertheless it has a cool mud compacting system that basically acts like a self-emptying dock, minus the precise dock that takes up house. It may possibly subtly be saved nearly anyplace — the G10+ merely lived beneath my TV stand throughout testing, its cumbersome design stored out of sight in my carefully-decorated front room.
Talking of questionable design selections, not even the spiritual RuPaul’s Drag Race stan in me can justify the black and white checkered flags caught to the 360 Vis Nav’s dock. This skinny panel must be connected to ensure that the vac to map accurately and discover its manner again. With out it, the 360 Vis Nav seems to be like me making an attempt to parallel park. No different robotic vacuums I’ve examined require obnoxious stickers to drive themselves again to the dock.
Sensible mapping is correct, however customizing zones is irritating
A small LCD touchscreen and a small clear sphere often called the Eye sit atop the 360 Vis Nav. You employ the touchscreen throughout setup when connecting to the WiFi, and I respect that all the steps are specified by quite simple phrases. You may as well use the touchscreen to pick from 4 cleansing modes (which you may also do on the app): auto, increase, quiet, and fast. They’re fairly self-explanatory.
The opposite piece of tech on prime, the Dyson Eye, replaces the round LiDAR tower that’s seen on a number of competing robotic vacuums. The Eye has a 360-degree view of its environment and, with the assistance of 26 completely different sensors, is claimed to investigate as much as 10,000 information factors a second, permitting it to recollect your property’s structure and navigate round massive obstacles like furnishings and partitions.
Tight-knit desk legs or kitchen chair legs didn’t journey the 360 Vis Nav up as soon as.
Credit score: Leah Stodart / Mashable
The 360 Vis Nav knew to not use its aspect suction round these defenseless blanket tassels.
Credit score: Leah Stodart / Mashable
The 360 Vis Nav’s mapping run proved to be fairly correct the primary time round, at the least when assessing the final perimeter of the ground plan. (Dividing rooms within the app wasn’t as seamless.) After every cleansing session, the MyDyson app gives what seems to be like a warmth map model of its good map, displaying the place it discovered probably the most mud. It will work more durable in these areas the following time you begin a full residence cleansing.
Navigation-wise, the 360 Vis Nav is nimble when coping with difficult furnishings. It by no means bought caught as soon as in my residence, and was in a position to carve tightly round our acorn-shaped espresso desk. I am not over the dearth of small impediment avoidance expertise, although. And I elaborate on these gripes within the downsides part of this overview.
Suction energy: Nice on carpet, however tough across the edges
When it first got here out, Dyson insisted that the 360 Vis Nav had double the suction energy of any robotic vacuum. At first, it was almost unimaginable to show or disprove that — Dyson traditionally measured vacuum suction energy in Air Watts (AW) as an alternative of the extra frequent measurement of Pascals (Pa). Sooner or later since its spring 2024 launch, Dyson quietly up to date the 360 Vis Nav’s on-line description with “22,000 Pa of suction energy.” That is a fantastic quantity and all, however it confirms that the 360 Vis Nav doubling the suction energy of another robotic vacuum is simply not true. A number of flagship Roborock robotic vacuums clear with 20,000 to 22,000 Pa, and new Dreame robotic vacuums coming in fall 2025 are stated to dish out 30,000 Pa.
However how nicely does the Dyson robotic vacuum clear in observe? Success tales first: The Dyson 360 Vis Nav is a stable robotic vacuum for carpet and rugs. It aced any particles take a look at I threw at it, audibly boosting suction (in auto mode) when it got here throughout a large number. These three piles of crushed tortilla chips, soil, and cat fur have been completely cleared earlier than the 360 Vis Nav went again to its dock, even once I was skeptical after it missed some items on the primary go.
Crumbs, grime, pet hair — the same old.
Credit score: Leah Stodart / Mashable
The 360 Vis Nav sensed that particles was left and went again to get these items.
Credit score: Leah Stodart / Mashable
The effectiveness might be a mix of sheer suction energy and the triple-action brush roll. It is principally a spitting picture of the one on Dyson’s Digital Motorbar cleansing head for its cordless vacuums, combining mushy nylon, stiff bristles, and anti-static carbon fiber strands that dig into carpet pile, entice particles like velcro, and suck it out.
When it comes to battery life, Dyson alleges that the 360 Vis Nav can run for 65 minutes. I used to be in a position to ship the Dyson out to cowl two rooms that took just below half an hour every, and it had sufficient juice for each on one cost. Nevertheless, I can see this run time dwindling considerably if extra of the ground is carpet or must be cleaned in increase mode. Plus, whereas an hour of juice is okay for a full clear of a small house like my residence, a bigger residence would most likely require double that battery life.
Laborious flooring have been extra of a wrestle than carpet, which is shocking as a result of it is often the opposite manner round for robotic vacuums.
My toilet is one place the place I want a robotic vacuum to reliably clear every day. It is the place one among my cats’ litter bins is, and it is the place my hair sheds probably the most — and is the one place within the residence the place I all the time stroll barefoot. So inform me why, on a number of events, I walked in there after a 360 Vis Nav run to see the again third of the ground nonetheless scattered with kitty litter and lengthy hairs. Both the 360 Vis Nav’s suction did nearly nothing, or it did not try to return there in any respect. Contemplating a $299 Shark robotic vacuum efficiently got here to the rescue afterwards, neither of these excuses will fly.
Equally, the laser on my Dyson V12 Detect Slim confirmed a good quantity of mud nonetheless remaining in entrance of the litter field within the kitchen after the 360 Vis Nav cleaned there.
Sure, that is *after* the 360 Vis Nav got here by way of.
Credit score: Leah Stodart / Mashable
Dyson’s hyped edge cleansing was an enormous letdown
Except for rocking a flat edge to scoot into 90-degree angles higher than a spherical vacuum, the 360 Vis Nav is provided with aspect ducts that stretch when cleansing alongside a wall. These goal suction energy to the aspect of the vacuum that the wall is on, changing the normal flimsy spinning aspect brushes that function on mere hope. This was going to be large if true: Robotic vacuums universally wrestle to seize the mud bunnies that blew into the nook behind the sofa or the crumbs pushed up in opposition to cupboards or home equipment.
I believed this was a primary go blunder, however no, it was left like this.
Credit score: Leah Stodart / Mashable
As soon as once more, the Dyson V12 Detect Slim saved the day.
Credit score: Leah Stodart / Mashable
Sadly, the 360 Vis Nav fell in need of edge-pectations. Throughout my spill-rice-on-purpose problem, the vac did an OK (simply OK) job at clearing the center of the ground, however hardly grabbed any of the rice hanging out beneath the lip of the cupboards. Particles being left behind across the outskirts of a room was a recurring theme. A fast skim of my Roborock Saros 10R overview and also you’d know that it truly is feasible for a robotic vacuum to be good at cleansing corners.
Downsides: Dyson skipped essential options, then charged an excessive amount of
My checklist of cons of the 360 Vis Nav shall be fairly simple — not as a result of Dyson bought only a few issues mistaken, however as a result of there’s truly not a ton of options to judge. No self-emptying, no mopping, no small impediment avoidance. I will cowl these within the part exploring the competitors, however first, I need to contact on the options which are current, however disappointing.
There’s a number of misplaced innovation happening right here. Slightly than guaranteeing some fundamental options that each high-end robotic vacuum ought to have, Dyson put its power into issues like a touchscreen. That might have been cool should you might do something extra proactive than choose the cleansing mode by way of it.
Equally, I’ve already gone off about how the 360 Vis Nav would not even reliably clear edges — the one factor it was speculated to excel at.
Spot cleansing is one other large miss. Generally, scheduling a cleansing for one room particularly is not particular sufficient. Generally, you simply must instantly sort out the few toes surrounding the kitchen counter, or the entrance door, or the litter field. If the power to bodily decide the vacuum up, plop it within the spot that wants consideration, and press a button on the highest to make it go is not an possibility, I will accept drawing a zone within the app.
JUST LET ME PINCH THE DIVIDER EASILY, I BEG YOU.
Credit score: Leah Stodart / Mashable
The MyDyson app would not differentiate between rooms and zones, regardless of referring to all the room-labeling course of as “zoning.” Essentially the most intuitive robotic vacuum apps will let you drag a rectangle onto no matter space of the map you need for a one-time cleansing, no questions requested.
However if you wish to spot clear with the 360 Vis Nav, it’s important to put dividers up identical to you’d when separating a bed room from the hallway. That’d be superb if the dividers have been straightforward to arrange together with your finger. However they barely reply to pinching or dragging, after which get mad at you for not being organized accurately. This as soon as once more had me sending a $299 robotic vacuum to cowl these spontaneous spots.
The competitors
Dyson’s alternative to easily omit options like self-emptying and mopping is unforgivable at this value level. These “superior” autonomy options could have been thought-about premium in 2020, however have turn out to be accessible at any value level up to now two years. You possibly can simply rating a dependable robotic vacuum and mop combo that additionally empties itself for lower than $500 even and not using a sale.
Different robotic vacuums on the market hovering on the similar $1,000 value level are manner extra autonomous than the 360 Vis Nav. A ton of premium robotic vacs are geared up with small impediment avoidance expertise to keep away from run-ins with frequent home items like charging cords, laundry, or pet waste. One of many extra enjoyable options changing into extra frequent is a roving livestream pet digital camera that reveals a POV of what the vacuum sees whereas it is cleansing.
Not solely do these premium hybrid robotic vacuums mop, however they’re additionally totally self-sufficient by way of automated mopping pad washing and drying, and self-refilling clear water tanks.
It is also unimaginable to not evaluate the 360 Vis Nav to Dyson’s personal stick vacuum lineup, particularly when the 360 Vis Nav prices extra than the costliest cordless Dyson, the $1,049 Gen5 Outsize. That vac greater than doubles the suction energy and dustbin capability of the 360 Vis Nav, plus it may be trusted to get into corners. Sure, you may be the one doing the work, however it’s truly enjoyable while you’re guided by a game-changing laser that highlights precisely the place mud and particles are. You already know I again the V12 Detect Slim, which may typically be snagged for lower than $500.
Is the Dyson 360 Vis Nav value it?
Nope. And that is not an “except you could have the finances to spend $1,000 on a robotic vacuum” nope. It is only a arduous nope. I do not assume I used to be alone in my skepticism about this Dyson’s worth — Dyson completely dropped the 360 Vis Nav Value from its unique $1,199.99 to $999.99 in 2025, if that is any indication of its public notion. Even now, it is nonetheless ridiculously overpriced.
Equally-priced rivals empty themselves, mop, wash and dry their very own mopping pads, and may detect small obstacles like cords, pet waste, and socks. The 360 Vis Nav would not do any of that, and would not even ace edges, the principle factor it claimed to be good at.
And even when the 360 Vis Nav wasn’t drowning in competitors from different robotic vacuums, it could nonetheless lose to its primary enemy: its personal cordless stick vacuums.
Subjects
Dyson
Robotic Vacuums
