The Dyson V15 Detect is one of the latest releases from the home appliance giant and is touted as one of the best cordless vacuums. With promises to make my floors cleaner than ever, this vacuum cleaner is a must-have for pet owners.
Just shy of $700, the V15 Detect is Dyson’s very first vacuum to have laser detect technology, which quite literally shows up tiny specs of dust and dirt on your floors so that you can suck them up with the vacuum. This machine also registers the dust it collects and shows you the size and number of particles it sucks up on an LCD screen positioned on the handle.
With a range of new attachments, the V15 Detect is also considered one of the best vacuums for pet hair, with floor heads that can take on long hair without getting in a tangle. The lure of an impressive 60-minute run time also makes it a favorite. So if you're looking for a contender for the best vacuum cleaner, the Dyson V15 Detect is definitely worth checking out. Let's find out whether it has delivered on its promises.
Dyson V15 Detect: Key specs
- Cleaning time: 60 minutes per charge (less if used on carpet)
- Dustbin capacity: 0.2 gallons
- Type: Cordless
- Battery charge time: 270 minutes
- Suitable for: All floor types
- Warranty: Two years
Dyson V15 Detect: Design
The Dyson V15 Detect is a cordless stick vacuum that comes with a selection of attachments to tackle pretty much anything. If you’ve had a Dyson before, you’ll be familiar with the simple click-into-place system for cordless vacuum attachments, but the new V15 Detect promises to put the science behind its claims to be “the most powerful, intelligent cordless vacuum” on the market.
But what does that actually mean? The Dyson V15 Detect features a floor head with laser technology and while LED lights on the front of a vacuum floor head aren’t anything new, laser beams are. The laser is positioned at the optimal angle so that your eye can detect smaller particles of dirt and dust that you wouldn’t otherwise spot.
Once the dust has been sucked up the floor head, a Piezo sensor counts the particles, and an LCD screen (built into the top of the vacuum’s handle) tells you the size and number of particles it’s sucking up. The real clever part of the Dyson V15 Detect’s design is that it automatically adjusts its suction depending on the number of dust particles it senses so that those dirtier areas in your home get a thorough clean.
You’ll be able to keep track of how much battery life you have remaining as a countdown is displayed on the vacuum’s LCD screen. Inside the Dyson V15 Detect, a Hyperdymium motor spins at a rate of 125,000 rpm to provide a powerful deep clean. However, it’s worth noting that Dyson’s older models, including the Dyson V11 Torque Drive, also had motors that operated at this speed, so this is nothing new.
There are three different modes to choose from on the V15 Detect: Eco, Auto, and Boost. As you’d expect, the Eco mode is designed to save the battery’s runtime, whereas Boost is for high-traffic or dirtier areas in your home.
The Dyson V15 Detect has the brand’s signature trigger to activate the vacuum, but for us, this is somewhat disappointing. Realistically, holding down a trigger isn’t arduous, but when you’re cleaning your whole home or you’re using this vacuum as a handheld, it can cause your hand to ache slightly. It’s also not well-thought-out for those with dexterity issues.
Some cordless vacuums have been designed to just whizz around your home as a faster and more convenient alternative to a heavy upright vacuum or plugging in a corded model, but they’ve been lacking when it comes to cleaning edges and stairs. The Dyson V15 Detect provides a great solution to that, and while it has a painful $699.99 price tag, it comes with several attachments to reach every corner of your home (and your car).
Dyson V15 Detect: Features & accessories
There’s an impressive number of accessories that come with the new Dyson V15 Detect and they include:
- Laser fluffy cleaner head for hard floors
- Anti-tangle high-torque floor head for carpets
- Hair screw tool that is particularly good for pet hair (or just long human hair)
- Crevice tool
- Stubborn dirt brush
- Mini soft dusting brush
- Combination tool
- Wand clip
- Docking station
- Charger
I found that even tools like the hair screw tool, which is designed to suck up hair without getting tangled around the brush roll, worked well on stairs, too, as it is wider than a crevice tool but smaller than the other cleaner heads.
The Dyson V15 Detect also comes with a removable battery as standard, so you can charge it but put the main vacuum away, but you can also purchase spare batteries if you don’t want to wait for one to charge up.
Dyson V15 Detect: Performance
It’s all well and good having a load of fancy features and attachments, but if a vacuum can’t do what it’s supposed to, it all seems kind of pointless. Thankfully, the Dyson V15 Detect seriously impressed us when it came to performance.
I tried out the V15 on carpets that had just been vacuumed with an alternative model. The reason I tested the Dyson on a clean floor was so that I could see if this machine really could offer a deeper clean than anything else I'd tried - plus, I had to see if that Piezo sensor had any dust to count from my floors.
I pushed the vacuum around a carpeted room for no more than five minutes just to get a feel for the maneuverability, and I was equal parts amazed and grossed out at the amount of dust and dirt that was counted on the sensor and collected in the dust cup.
As someone who puts a vacuum around pretty much every day, it was a big surprise to find the dust cup was half full from vacuuming one room alone. To test the Dyson V15 Detect thoroughly, I monitored its performance on smaller dust particles and larger debris. In my vacuum tests, I used a finely crushed cookie and some flour and measured how well the V15 sucked the fine crumbs up from hard floors and carpets. I used the Auto mode for all of my tests, and each and every time, the Dyson glided through, picking up everything in its path without scattering crumbs further away as some models do.
I then tested the Dyson V15 Detect with larger debris using oats on a tiled floor and a carpet. Again, the vacuum made light work of all the oats, and the little cloud of dust that oats left behind was gone within seconds. I was fully prepared to use the Boost mode for larger debris, but it really wasn’t necessary.
When it's time to empty the Dyson V15 Detect, you simply need to take out the stick attachment and push down on a lever to release the bottom of the dust cup. The contents then fall into your bin. This process is very simple but I found the best way to avoid that little cloud of dust is to push the lever quickly in one smooth movement - the whole process takes literally seconds.
The V15 Detect operates at 69 decibels, which is quieter than average for vacuum cleaners (usually around 75 decibels), and when you’re cleaning hard floors, the noise is reduced slightly because the level of suction needed isn’t normally as high.
Dyson claims the V15 Detect has 60 minutes of run time after every full charge, so I was keen to put this to the test. As the brand explains, this will drain a lot faster if you continuously clean with the Boost mode, and I definitely noticed this. When you’re cleaning hard floors, the battery will hold for a full 60 minutes, but if your home has lots of carpeted floors, expect around 30-35 minutes of cleaning time.
This will vary depending on the thickness of your carpets and how clean they are, of course. The V15 automatically increases its suction power when it detects more dust, so if your home is fairly dusty, you won’t get as long out of the battery as you might have hoped.
The Dyson V15 Detect isn’t without its faults, though, and the biggest issue I found was how heavy it was when you use it as a handheld vacuum. While the attachments included are fantastic for cleaning everything from those awkward crevices in your car to Venetian blinds (a sucker for collecting dust), holding your arm up to use this vacuum for more than a few minutes makes you realize how heavy it is.
It has to be said that the same problem doesn’t occur when you’re using the V15 Detect as a stick vacuum, though, and the swivel floor head steering makes it super easy to maneuver around your home. If you do need a lighter handheld alternative, take a look at our Black + Decker Dustbuster CHV1410L review.
Should you buy the Dyson V15 Detect?
If you’re looking for a cordless vacuum cleaner that provides a thorough deep clean and can be used as a handheld cleaner, too, then the Dyson V15 Detect is the one for you. This machine really impressed us with its suction power, maneuverability, and dust-sensing technology. Pet owners will really benefit from the anti-tangle brush heads and a deeper clean on their pet’s bed, too.
The V15 Detect isn’t perfect, though, and its price is pretty hefty. When you’re using it as a handheld vacuum, it’s fairly heavy, and if you’re cleaning carpeted floors, you can expect a shorter battery life. If you need something completely hassle-free, consider one of the best robot vacuums instead.
- First reviewed: May 2021
How does the Dyson V15 Detect compare?
The Dyson V15 Detect and Dyson Gen5detect Absolute are advanced cordless vacuums with up-to-the-minute features. The V15 Detect is equipped with a piezo sensor and laser dust detection technology, which allows it to reveal hidden dust particles and provide a thorough cleaning experience, but the Gen5detect Absolute has more powerful suction and longer battery life.
It also features a smart screen that provides real-time performance updates. Both models come with full-sized cleaner heads that ensure deep cleaning across all types of floors. While the V15 Detect performs slightly better in removing pet hair, the Gen5detect Absolute's extended battery life makes it a more practical choice for larger homes.
Both vacuums are impressive, but the Gen5detect Absolute has some additional features and improvements that might just give it an edge over the V15 Detect.
