The Hoover ONEPWR Evolve Pet review

Hoover is a brand that’s synonymous with vacuuming. The Hoover Evolve ONEPWR Pet is one of only three cordless vacuums currently available from the brand. At just under $210, it’s an inexpensive option in comparison to many of the best Dyson and Shark vacuums. But there’s a catch: this vacuum comes with no tools, so it can only be used on floors, which won’t suit everyone.

When you’re in the market for one of the best cordless vacuums, it’s important to consider how you plan to use the vacuum and what tools you’re likely to use. 

If you want to vacuum all areas of your home, including cobwebs from the ceiling, dust from the baseboards, and even your car, then a very portable cordless vacuum with lots of different tools will suit you. But if you only plan to clean floors, an all-singing, all-dancing vacuum will simply burden you with a pile of accessories that clutter your storage space but never get used.

I tried out this simple vacuum in a house that has carpet, wood floors, and tiled floors. I gave it a thorough test over several days, evaluating dust pick-up, battery life, and general ease of use. Keep reading to see what I thought, and head to our main guides to the best vacuum cleaners and best vacuums for pet hair for more.

Editor's note: You may notice from some of the photos that we reviewed this vacuum in the UK, where it’s called the Vax ONEPWR Evolve. However, the vacuums are the same in the US and the UK, apart from their name. 

Hoover ONEPWR Evolve Pet: Price & availability

• $209.99 / £179.99 

You can buy the Hoover ONEPWR Evolve Pet directly from Hoover as well as from retailers like Amazon. As cordless vacuums go, it’s a budget option and can often be found discounted. But keep in mind that this low price only gets you a floor cleaner, as it has no accessories to clean any other surfaces or reach into awkward gaps.

If you want a second battery, it’ll set you back a further $139.99 / £80, but for larger homes, the additional runtime may make all the difference.

Hoover ONEPWR Evolve Pet: Setup & assembly

Unboxing and setting up the Hoover ONEPWR Evolve Pet is a swift process. The vacuum came packaged in fully recyclable cardboard packaging. The handle has to be attached to the vacuum, but it slots into place in seconds – no need to hunt for a screwdriver. The instruction manual contains all the information you need via clear diagrams and text.

Before use, the battery needs charging, and you should allow around three hours for a full charge. The removable battery has a compact charging station that you can plug into the most convenient power outlet.

On top of the battery, there are four lights. Each one flashes and then turns solid to indicate the amount of charge. For example, if only one is solid, it’s about 25% charged, but if three are solid, then it’s 75% charged. If no lights are on, there’s a button you can press to check the level of charge, and it’ll light up the appropriate number of lights to give you a rough indication.

Hoover ONEPWR Evolve Pet: Design

The most prominent design feature is the simplicity of this vacuum. It looks and feels like a more traditional plug-in corded vacuum, but as it's cordless, it offers the freedom to vacuum anywhere, regardless of where the nearest power outlet is.

In contrast to most of the cordless vacuums on the market today, the Hoover ONEPWR Evolve has a large 0.26-gallon/ 1.2-liter dustbin, so it doesn’t need emptying as frequently as many of its competitors. Not only is it under 9 lbs, which makes it a lightweight choice, but the construction means all the weight is distributed through the floorhead rather than being carried in your hand.

The removable battery is a nice touch, as it allows the vacuum to be stored anywhere because it doesn’t need to be stored next to a power outlet. Plus, the ONEPWR range from Hoover all use the same batteries, so if you have other products from the range, you can use the batteries interchangeably.

There’s one brush roll in the floorhead, which is anti-microbial to prevent the growth of bacteria – a particularly good feature if you have pets. However, this seems to be the main feature, along with the large dustbin that has led to the word ‘pet’ being added to the product name. On the face of it, the floorhead and brush roll look a bit basic in comparison to the large floorheads with multiple brush rolls that you’ll see from market leaders such as Shark and Dyson.

Hoover ONEPWR Evolve Pet: Features & accessories

If you’re looking for a vacuum packed with all the latest and greatest features and tech, you won’t find it here. The Hoover ONEPWR Evolve Pet has pared-back features and no accessories.  Aside from the main vacuum, the only other things in the box are the charger and removable battery.

While it doesn’t come with any tools to help with cleaning awkward areas, it can reach quite far under low furniture thanks to a simple but clever design feature. The main body of the vacuum can virtually lay flat on the ground during vacuuming, allowing you to vacuum under low chairs or furniture with ease.

The battery slots onto the top of the vacuum, and you’ll find the controls alongside it. There’s an on/off switch; the vacuum defaults to hard floor mode when first switched on. A mode button allows you to cycle through the three options: hard floor, carpet, and brush off. Carpet mode uses higher suction and faster brush speed, while hard floor mode has a reduced suction and slower brush speed.

It is self-supporting, which means it stands up on its own, and you don’t have to find somewhere to lean it against when you need to stop for a second to pick up a stray toy or pair of shoes. Additionally, if you stand it upright but leave it turned on, the brush roll will stop spinning to ensure that it doesn’t cause damage to your floors.

Hoover ONEPWR Evolve Pet: Performance

Since this vacuum is limited to floor cleaning only, I was hoping for good results. As I set off in carpet mode to clean a recently vacuumed bedroom carpet, it was impressive to see how much was being collected in the dustbin. There wasn’t much visible surface debris, yet the vacuum continued to fill with hair, fluff, and fine dust.

When I purposely sprinkled flour or oats on the carpet, it lifted the surface spills with ease. But it was let down at the edges of the room. Oats sprinkled along baseboards proved tricky to collect. Rather than running the vacuum alongside the baseboards, the best results were achieved by pushing the front of the floorhead toward the baseboard. But even then, not all the oats were sucked up, and with no tools that could be used to get into the edges and pick up what was left behind, the drawbacks of this vacuum became apparent.

On hard floors, the Hoover ONEPWR Evolve Pet collected all the visible dust, hair, and larger pieces that had made their way onto the floor. Edge cleaning was somewhat better than on carpet, and if the front of the floorhead was pushed towards the baseboard, virtually all the spill was sucked up. The noise level on the carpet and hard floors was pretty similar, maxing out my noise meter at around 80dB, which is middle-of-the-road in terms of the vacuum noise level.

Transitioning from hard floor to rugs was easy as it simply required a quick press of the mode button to switch to carpet mode. A tightly woven doormat was cleaned fast, but a long pile of living room rugs took a bit more work. A dried leaf had been trodden in, and it took several passes to remove all the bits out of the rug. Similarly, I could see other debris in the rug and had to go over it a few times and in different directions to make sure everything was collected.

In general, the vacuum is agile enough to turn tight corners with ease, and maneuvering around furniture presents little problem. The handle is comfortable, even when vacuuming for longer periods. What’s more, its ability to continue vacuuming efficiently while completely horizontal proved to be a valuable feature in cleaning beneath furniture.

When vacuuming continuously, the battery lasted for 20 minutes in carpet mode and 40 minutes in hard floor mode. A full recharge took around 2h45, which is quick in comparison to some cordless vacuums that can take 4-5 hours.

I was happy with the performance for general floor cleaning, but the Hoover ONEPWR Evolve Pet lacks the ability to thoroughly clean the edges of a room. And with no accessories to pick up the slack, you might find yourself needing a plug-in or a handheld vacuum to get to the areas this vacuum can’t.

Hoover ONEPWR Evolve Pet: Care & maintenance

The large capacity dustbin means you won’t need to empty the Hoover ONEPWR Evolve Pet as frequently as most cordless vacuums. Nevertheless, emptying it is easy: simply press a button to detach it, and then another button releases the bottom to allow all the debris to fall into your trash.

There’s a filter and a separator housed in the dustbin. These will need to be tapped over the trash every 4-6 uses to remove debris that’s built up. They will also need rinsing every three months, and the filter should be replaced every 6-9 months.

Should the brush bar become tangled with hair, it simply pulls out of the side of the floorhead, so you can cut away hair as necessary, making it easy to maintain. Furthermore, the hose that connects the floorhead to the dustbin has a release button so should it become blocked, you can easily release the blockage yourself.

The 3-year warranty is pretty good for a vacuum, plus the removable battery may mean it’ll last longer than other models. According to Mallory Micetich, Home Expert at Angi, “Over time, the battery loses some of its capacity and doesn’t last as long as it did originally. For many cordless vacuums, this means you will have to purchase a new vacuum cleaner once the battery’s power diminishes. However, if the vacuum has removable batteries, you can just replace the battery, and your vacuum will be as good as new."

Hoover ONEPWR Evolve Pet: User reviews

With 4.5 stars out of 5 on Amazon and 88% of reviewers giving it either 4 or 5 stars, it’s clear this is a popular vacuum. Most positive reviews mention that it’s “lightweight” and “easy to maneuver around”. One user comments that it’s “great at picking up dirt, pet hair, and small messes.”

However, many users are keen to point out that edge cleaning is not very good. Comments include “works great except for edge cleaning, it's nonexistent” and “no edge cleaning”. What’s more, many advise buying a second battery to lengthen the available run time.

Hoover ONEPWR Evolve Pet: Expert opinion

I asked Mallory Micetich, Home Expert at Angi, why a vacuum without accessories might be a good choice. Mallory told us that “while accessories like hoses and pet attachments are convenient, they aren’t always necessary, especially if storage space in your home is limited.”

Mallory went on to confirm that “sometimes a simple vacuum is all you need to clean your home. Accessories can add bulk to your vacuum cleaner, so they aren’t ideal for people who live in small spaces. Simple vacuum cleaners are also lighter than versions with built-in accessories, making them suitable for a broader range of people.”

Should you buy the Hoover ONEPWR Evolve Pet?

The answer here really does depend on what you want from a vacuum. If you’re looking to replace a vacuum that has plenty of tools and the ability to clean overhead or convert it into a handheld cleaner, then you’re likely to find this one lacking.

But, if you truly want a simple cord-free vacuum that can spruce up your floors without being too heavy and cumbersome. This is an inexpensive floor cleaner that’s easy to use and will maneuver well around your home.

• First reviewed: November 2022

How does the Hoover ONEPWR Evolve Pet compare?

If you’re in the market for a lightweight vacuum, you could consider the Dyson V12 Detect Slim, which, at just 5.2 lbs, is lighter than the Hoover ONEPWR Evolve. It comes with a small selection of tools, so it is also a more versatile option, but it’s almost triple the price, so it will be a stretch for most people’s budgets.

Another cordless vacuum we like is the Shark Vertex Pro. It’s more reasonably priced than the Dyson, though it’ll still cost you double what you’ll pay for the Hoover. Like the Hoover, the weight is centered low in the vacuum as opposed to being carried in your hand, but in contrast to the ONEPWR Evolve Pet, this model offers a wide range of configuration options, making it a useful choice for cleaning all around your home.

But if you really do just want to clean floors, what about a robot? The Neato D10 is an intelligent robot vacuum that’ll trundle around your home, getting the job done on your behalf. It’s Neato’s top-of-the-range model and is almost as expensive as the Dyson V12 Detect Slim, but it’s often discounted, and it means you won’t have to lift a finger to clean your home.