The Proscenic P12 Cordless Vacuum is the latest in a line of cordless, robot, and wet/dry vacuums from the home appliances company. It promises strong suction power and improved maneuverability, an extra-large dust cup, and a headlight for detecting fine particles on hard floors.
It also features a retractable stick, a large LED display, an anti-tangle roller brush, and a five-stage filtration system with no fewer than 2 Hepa filters, which Proscenic says captures up to 99.99% of dust particles.
With up to 60 minutes of suction power on its lowest setting, four suction gears, and two extra accessories, a crevice nozzle and a dust brush) the Proscenic P12 also comes with a wall-mounted handle that you can use to safely store away your vacuum when not in use. The rechargeable battery can be charged within the unit or separately, and the LED display shows you just how much power you’ve got at any time.
This review takes a closer look at the various features and accessories the Proscenic P12 offers. Plus, I’ve tested performance, ease of use, and battery life to determine whether this cordless vacuum cleaner is worth the investment.
If the Proscenic P12 isn’t the best cordless vacuum cleaner for your home, or you’re looking for something at a higher or lower price range, there is a wide selection of tried-and-tested models in our best vacuum cleaners guide, including cordless, canister, robot and handheld vacuums.
Proscenic P12 Cordless Vacuum: Key specs
- Type: Cordless
- Dustbin capacity: 0.3 gallons
- Suction power: 120AW
- Battery life: Up to 60 minutes
- Battery charging time: 3 hours
- Suitable for: All floor types
- Dimensions: L50 x H9 x W6 in (with stick)
- Weight: 4.18lbs
- Storage: Wall-mounted or freestanding
Proscenic P12 Cordless Vacuum: Price & availability
• $219.00 USD
The Proscenic P12 sits around the middle of the market when it comes to price. There are cheaper models available that offer a similar runtime, dustbin capacity, and features, and some have more accessories. However, not all of them feature the dust-detecting headlights that P12 does or only have headlights that help you see under furniture.
There are also much more expensive cordless vacuums from Shark and Dyson with similar features, but these are more than twice the price of the P12. They tend to offer a more extended warranty and higher suction power.
Based on my at-home testing, though, the P12 is pretty reasonably priced for what it offers. It may be light on accessories, but it does its job well, and it’s super-easy to maneuver.
The Proscenic P12 is available on the Proscenic site and on Amazon.
Proscenic P12 Cordless Vacuum: Setup & assembly
The Proscenic P12 Cordless Vacuum comes in what I’ve found to be standard vacuum packaging - although I was happy to see that they used cardboard molding to house all the parts and accessories instead of the dreaded polystyrene. Unfortunately, however, many parts are still packaged in plastic bags, which may or may not be recyclable, depending on where you live.
Everything is easy to assemble, with instructions signposted in the accompanying manual. Simply slide the battery onto the unit's base, attach your retractable stick and floor roller brush, and you’re ready to go. The battery came with around 50% charge, so I could use this vacuum straight out of the box, which is always lovely. The filters are also installed, and you get an extra air inlet HEPA filter if needed.
You can remove the battery or keep it installed on the base unit if you wish to charge. The charging plug is a simple cord with a length of around 57 inches.
The manual comes in several languages and provides good instructions for setting up, operating, cleaning, maintenance, and troubleshooting tips.
Proscenic P12 Cordless Vacuum: Design
When it comes to design, Proscenic does a pretty good job of making the humble vacuum cleaner look sleek and expensive. The base unit, stick, and accessories come in shades of charcoal, gray, and black with accents of brushed steel and chrome. While it won’t stand out amongst your home appliances, it won’t give you a migraine while using it. It’s subtle, well-designed, and looks more expensive than it is.
The base unit features a transparent plastic dust cup, and inside, you can see the first part of the five-stage filtration system - the stainless steel mesh cup. Above this are the sponge filter and air-inlet filter. Proscenic’s design cleverly keeps these inner filters under wraps within a shiny chrome casing.
The handle and connecting clips are picked out in a subtle glimmering charcoal plastic, while the retractable vacuum stick looks like brushed steel. I’m not sure what this is made of, but it could be plastic or metal, as it’s colder to the touch. Buttons are picked out in a soft gray and easily distinguishable from the rest of the unit for ease of use.
The floor brush head continues in the same charcoal, while six tiny headlights at the front of the brush provide Proscenic’s Vertect™ Light, an integrated headlight that detects and shows up small particles and hairs on hard surfaces.
At 3.6 lbs, the base unit is light enough for most people to use. However, the handle is fairly narrow, giving around 2.5 inches of space for your fingers beneath the power switch. I’ve got relatively small hands, and even I struggled with the limited space.
At the base of the dust cup is a push button to release the catch at the base for emptying, while at the other side is a lever to lift the whole dust cup clean away from the base unit.
The large LED display at the top of the unit shows you your battery life and the suction gear you are using. It also flags any problems, such as a full dust cup and a floor brush blockage indicator. Part of the display also includes a ‘gear switch’ button to cycle through the different suction powers.
Overall, it’s a good design and looks expensive, but a little extra finger room, please, Proscenic.
Proscenic P12 Cordless Vacuum: Features & accessories
The Proscenic P12 Cordless Vacuum features four different suction levels, or ‘gears’ as the manual calls them. The vacuum starts automatically in the second lowest gear, which I found perfect for everyday cleaning. It’s also easy to power up when needed using the button at the top of the base unit.
It also features an incredibly useful green headlight, which helps to pick out fine particles, dust, and debris on hard floors. While other vacuums often feature headlights, only a few include this particular feature. One becomes slightly obsessed with getting into corners and vacuuming all those pesky bits of dust, then marveling at the results.
The extra-large dustbin is also a bonus feature. It’s around two to three times the size of many cordless vacuum dust cups, so there’s no need for repeated visits to the garbage bin to empty it during your vacuuming session.
As well as the floor roller brush, this vacuum has a crevice tool and a dust brush, so it’s pretty limited in accessories. It would be nice to have a smaller floor roller brush and perhaps an upholstery brush included, too.
While the runtime of the Proscenic isn’t anything to write home about, it’s pretty good. It offers up to 60 minutes of runtime on the lowest setting and around 14 minutes on the maximum setting - four minutes longer than the Dyson V12 Detect Slim.
The anti-tangle roller brush features a V-shaped bristle, a hair-lifting groove, and an internal comb to reduce problems with tangling - ideal if you have pets at home or simply very hairy household members.
The LED display is attractive and easy to understand. You can see at a glance how much battery time is left and what suction gear you’re using, switch between gears, and check if the unit is flagging up a blockage or that you need to empty the dustbin.
Finally, maneuverability is good too. The 180-degree swivel steering makes hard-to-reach places easy to tackle. It could negotiate awkward pieces of furniture easily and from any angle. The retractable stick is also a nice feature, especially if you’re petite. I’m 5 ft 2”, though, and I didn’t find it necessary to shorten the stick. However, I can see that it might come in handy when you want to store the vacuum away in a low cupboard or closet.
Finally, a wall-mounted hanger is included for storing your vacuum when not in use. Screws and rawl plugs are provided, and there are two areas on the hanger where you can place the accessories.
Proscenic P12 Cordless Vacuum: Performance
I live in a busy home with a child, a Golden Retriever, and a long-haired cat. At this time of year (early Spring), I’m tracking mud into the house daily from dog walks. Pet hair is also a massive problem in my home, with dog and cat hair being regularly vacuumed with daily sessions. So, I looked forward to seeing how the Proscenic P12 coped with this daily debris.
First up was a regular vacuum of the carpeted living room and the luxury vinyl tile-floored hallway. The hallway has the mud mentioned above and pet hair to clean up, while the living room regularly has pet hair, wood shavings, and ash around my wood-burning stove. I used the automatic setting for both rooms, which starts in level 2 out of 4 suction levels when you switch on the vacuum.
The green headlight (Vertect™ Light) showed fine particles of dust and hair on a hard surface, making corners and around the dog’s water bowl particularly satisfying to clean. It also tackled the mud from the morning’s dog walk exceptionally well - no complaints about the Proscenic’s performance on a hard surface here.
Next up was the living room. I was concerned that the automatic setting wouldn’t be as effective with so much pet hair lying around, not to mention numerous shavings of wood and ash around the stove. Still, the Proscenic P12 handled these well, picking up every visible particle from the carpets, rug, and slate hearth.
The results in the dust cup were impressive, too. You can see all the pet hair, wood chippings, mud, and dust the Proscenic pulled up here.
Part of our rigorous testing at Top Ten Reviews looks at how well vacuums cope with pulling up finer and larger particles on hard and soft surfaces, such as flour, cookie crumbs, and oatmeal. I carried out these tests in my 210-square-foot living room with a thick carpet and rugs and a 73-square-foot kitchen with a hardwood floor.
Again, using the automatic suction level 2, I checked how well the Proscenic dealt with flour and cookie crumbs on a hard and carpeted surface. I was very impressed with the results; in both cases, it almost pulled up every last particle on the first pass, with just one more pass to get everything into the dust cup.
The same was true of the oatmeal test. Again, this cordless vacuum had spectacular results, leaving a distinct line right through the mess and pulling everything cleanly and quickly away. I have to say that I’ve tested several cordless vacuum cleaners at the higher end and lower end of the market, and these are some of the best results I’ve seen in these specific tests.
I also tested the other accessories included with the Proscenic P12: the 2-in-1 dusting brush and the long crevice nozzle. The crevice nozzle was good at getting into tight spaces, for example, along the sides of the carpeted stairs, while the 2-in-1 dusting brush picked up dirt and debris along the skirting boards very well.
While the Proscenic doesn’t come with many accessories, for example, there is no upholstery brush or narrower electric floor brush for stairs, the accessories it provides work well and are easy to fit and use.
I also enjoyed how maneuverable the Proscenic P12 was during use. The swivel floor brush makes it easy to get around awkward furniture, and the base unit itself is fairly light at 3.6 lbs. This is only 0.2 lbs heavier than the much more expensive Dyson V12 Detect Slim.
However, there isn’t much space in the base unit’s handle - I found my hand ached a little after a lot of use because my fingers were packed tightly together underneath the on/off switch. A little extra space here would be great and improve the user experience.
As with all the vacuums I test, I measured the decibels of the lowest and highest settings to see how loud the Proscenic P12 could be. At its lowest setting, it clocked in at 63 decibels, while its highest setting recorded a decibel level of 78. That’s around standard for a vacuum cleaner and is a little quieter than some other vacuums I’ve tested. But to give you an idea of noise levels, 63 decibels is around the same volume as a dishwasher in operation, while 78 decibels is a washing machine in full spin.
The battery takes around 3 hours for a 100% charge, and you can check how it’s doing on the LED screen anytime. You can also see how quickly the highest setting depletes the battery. Proscenic says you get an hour of vacuuming using its lowest setting and around 14 minutes on its highest. Running the vacuum on its optimum level 2 automatic setting, I found I got 33 minutes of clean time, which was more than enough to vacuum my whole home.
When emptying the dust cup, it was easy to release the base over the bin and empty it out. However, I did find that hair tended to wrap itself around the stainless steel filter further up, so I had to get my hand in and clear it out or pull out the stainless steel filter instead. It’s a minor bugbear but worth mentioning.
Proscenic P12 Cordless Vacuum: Care & maintenance
Proscenic advises cleaning the dustbin after every use to maintain optimum cleaning performance and rinsing the filter in clean water. It’s important to let your filter air dry thoroughly before reinserting it into the unit. They also advise cleaning the filter once a week to keep it clean.
You can also unlock the roller brush to clean under a running faucet and remove any hairs wrapped around it. It’s a bit fiddly to execute the first time, but ok after that. But, again, that needs to be dried before putting back into the vacuum.
The Proscenic P12 comes with a 1-year limited warranty.
Proscenic P12 Cordless Vacuum: User reviews
The Proscenic P12 gets an impressive 4.7 stars out of 5 on Amazon, with 87% of happy purchasers giving it the full 5-star treatment. They enjoy its maneuverability and ease of use, while pet-loving users report it’s very effective for removing pet hair from carpets and floors. They also note that it’s lightweight and has great suction power and battery life. One user comments: “I love its ease of use and suction power and the LED lights on the floor cleaning head. It really has made vacuuming easier, especially on vinyl floor surfaces. The product is very similar to Dyson, but the price is more affordable.”
There aren’t too many critical reviews, but users report that the battery drains quickly at full suction power and that the dustbin can be hard to empty fully.
Should you buy the Proscenic P12 Cordless Vacuum?
Based on my testing and assessment of features, design, and battery life, the Proscenic P12 is a great-value alternative to a high-end cordless vacuum from Dyson or Shark.
- First reviewed: April 2023
How does the Proscenic P12 compare?
The Dyson V12 Detect Slim features slightly more suction power than the Proscenic P12, plus it has more useful accessories, but it’s twice the price of the P12, and the Proscenic’s green light to detect dust and debris works just as well as its rival.
The Aspiron Cordless is more affordable than the P12 but lacks some extras that you might get with other brands at this price point. Nevertheless, if you’re looking for a lightweight, easy-to-use vacuum cleaner, the Aspiron is an excellent buy.
The Levoit VortexIQ 40 is similarly priced to the P12 and features a large LED display. It has the extra benefit of automated suction power, which senses dust levels and dials suction up or down accordingly.
Both the Proscenic P12 and the Proscenic P11 are reliable cordless vacuum cleaners with their own unique features. The Proscenic P12, for example, features slightly more suction power than the Proscenic P11, with a maximum suction power of 33 kPa. The P12 also has a large 2500mAh battery and up to 60 minutes of run time.
