There are vacuum cleaners, and there are Dyson vacuum cleaners. Once you take the expensive plunge, there’s really no going back. But what if the top-of-the-line cordless vacuum became just a little more powerful when it came to busting dust? Dyson V12 Detect has taken the Dr. Evil approach and attached lasers to the head of its main head attachment, aiming to amplify its perfect 10 performance up to 11. But is this upgrade worth the extra investment, or is it all smoke-and-mirror sci-fi distraction? Let's dive deep into this space-age vacuum cleaner with this Dyson V12 Detect Slim review.
What is the Dyson V12 Detect Slim Cordless Vacuum Cleaner?
Specs and Features:
— Dimensions: 9.9 inches L x 9.8 inches W x 49.1 inches H, fully assembled
— Weight: 5.2 pounds
— Bin Volume: 0.1 gallons
— Charge Time: 4 hours
— Runtime: Up to 60 minutes
— Suction Power: Up to 150 AW
Gorgeous LCD Screen: If your phone, oven, and fridge can have an LCD screen, why can’t your vacuum? The very top of the Dyson V12 Detect Slim’s screen provides insights into suction power, battery life, and even the kinds of dirt the device sucks up.
Seriously Smart Suction: Dyson’s Piezo sensor counts and sizes up the kinds of dirt that it sweeps up, and automatically compensates its power to keep up with whatever mess you throw at it. The Dyson Hyperdymium motor spins at up to 125,000 rpm to generate the suction needed for a deep clean.
Powerful Battery: Dyson V12 Detect Slim keeps going, going, and going, with up to an hour of run time on a full charge. With three modes of power — Eco, Auto, and Boost — you can balance suction power and battery life for any and all cleaning tasks, all through a single button.
Laser Slim Fluffy Cleaner Head: A precisely angled green laser in this cleaner head points at the ground and reveals microscopic dust that others miss. The ten-inch wide brush is engineered with soft nylon and anti-static fiber filaments that remove dirt and dust from hard floors and narrow gaps.
Dyson V12 Detect Slim Cordless Vacuum Cleaner Review: Is it Worth It?
Using a Dyson vacuum cleaner for the first time can be a fairly jarring experience. My first Dyson experience was late last year, with the V10 Animal, which is made specifically to handle pets and their troublesome messes. These cordless marvels make sweeping up dirt, dust, and crumbs quick and perhaps most importantly, easy. The main difference between that model and the V12 Detect Slim is both its LCD screen and its laser-armed Fluffy Cleaner Head.
LCD screens are shoehorned into just about everything these days, and usually only serve to make a device more expensive. One could argue that it’s mostly unnecessary here, but it’s a very cool upgrade nonetheless. The screen lets you know what cleaning mode it's operating in, while also providing a look into battery life. Dyson vacuum battery life is fairly good, especially if you’re dealing with spaces less than 1,000 square feet in size. Then there’s the feature for the absolute nerds. Dyson V12 Detect Slim is designed with a sensor that measures the size of the dirt and dust particles you sweep up. Supposedly, the vacuum compensates with a little more power if the dust is stubborn enough. I didn’t find the dust-busting power much stronger when compared to the V10 Animal, granted, it’s hard to improve on near perfection. Still, stubborn messes did require a second run-through on occasion, when operating in Auto and Eco modes. When sweeping up some larger pieces of kettle chips off the floor, the motor did struggle, and the LCD screen diagnosed the problem, while the vacuum shut off to prevent the battery from burning out. Awesome. Maybe the LCD screen isn’t unnecessary after all.
But the LCD screen isn’t the star of the show. The main Fluffy Cleaner Head has an optional laser that you can turn on and off at will. And it does exactly what it says it does. A bright green light aims at the floor, so you see every single ounce of filth on your floor. And I’ve got to tell you, it’s not pretty. I felt like I was the demure gal surrounded by piles of trash in the “Damn girl, you live like this?” meme. Using the Detect V12 Slim has made me evaluate what “clean” truly means. Before, I was simply sweeping, and it was unbeknownst to me just how dirty my floors were. It’s sort of like using a black light in a hotel room. It doesn’t matter if it's the Motel 6 by the freeway off-ramp or the uptown Hyatt, it’s going to reveal horrors that human eyes can’t unsee. Granted, the revelations that Detect V12 Slim provides aren’t horribly disgusting or impossible to deal with. And the laser is optional if you don’t want to subject yourself to the dirty truths your floors may reveal about you and the way you live.
I can’t see recommending this vacuum cleaner to anyone not planning on using this new feature, though. In fact, there are plenty of other Dyson models that don’t pack this Dr. Evil-inspired feature in them, that are more affordable to boot. Aside from making microscopic dirt easier to hunt down, there’s a secondary feature that Dyson V12 Detect Slim provides that essentially gamifies an annoying household chore. Sure, you can vacuum without a laser, but you may miss a spot without even knowing it. And going back for a second run down the same spot — as annoying as it is — is a little easier if you’re pretending you’ve got dirt in your scope. There’s no hiding from the laser, whether it’s some light-colored pet hair or last month’s kettle chip crumbs.
Final Thoughts
Aside from the lasers, the Fluffy Cleaner is especially good at sweeping up troublesome things like stray cat litter and all manner of animal hair. There are four other Dyson attachments that come standard in the V12 Detect Slim, but sadly, only one of them is powered by lasers. And while the main head will cover almost everything you need to sweep up, I found it hard switching over to lesser, non-laser heads, even if they’re better at handling tighter spaces.
If you’ve already made an investment and are living that Dyson cordless vacuum lifestyle that makes friends and enemies equally envious, I’m not sure I can recommend the upgrade here. That is unless the prospect of cleaning using the power of lasers is appealing enough to make another major investment. And while Dyson sells all manner of attachments for their massive line of cordless vacuum cleaners, they do not sell any laser-powered attachments separately. Not yet, anyway. If you’re looking to buy a cordless vacuum that’s built to last and as sturdy and reliable as a damn Volvo, Dyson V12 Detect Slim comes highly recommended. Just prepare yourself to never look at your floors the same way again.
This post was created by a non-news editorial team at Recurrent Media, Futurism’s owner. Futurism may receive a portion of sales on products linked within this post.
Share This Article