Review: Dyson’s D-shaped robot vacuum 360 Vis NavTM sucks it up but gets stuck on navigation

The new Dyson device will cost $2399, making it one of the most expensive robotic vacuums in the market. So is it worth it?

Software updates are delivered over air to the device.

What would a consumer want most from a robot vacuum? Is it​:  suction, navigation or both?

Dyson’s first robot vacuum in Australia lives up to what the company is known for: really, ​real­ly strong suction. But as for navigation, well, that’s another story and we may now understand why the company pulled the plug on its electric car dream.

In May, ​Dyson introduced into the Australian market its first robot vacuum, a device that – with a D shape that allowed it to vacuum within millimetres of a wall – arguably was one of the most logical designs in the market.

The device, ​Dyson 360 Vis NavTM​, ​arrived at the higher end of the market with a price tag of $2399.

The Dyson vacuum has no camera or audio recording or broadcasting function.

It has a 100,000rpm RPM ​motor which ​that allows for suction of up to 65 air watts. It ​and it offers four cleaning modes: quick, quiet, auto and boost.

The device can climb a 21mm lip, according to the company, but after several rescues while it tried to climb a lip into our bathroom, ​we’re not so sure. After a couple of months with the device, we’re still fans of the shape. But we’re genuinely sceptical about its navigation abilities after a handful of rescues during the work day.

Much like during our review of ​the Ecovacs DEEBOT X1 Plus when we reviewed it, the Dyson robot also found itself ​got stuck on the same Belkin iPhone cable with​in our living room. However, unlike the Ecovacs device, Dyson sent us a notification almost instantly to let us know. Instant notifications are a big plus for the device​Dyson, which notifies a user when, as in the case above, its brush bar gets stuck or when ​its filter needs cleaning.

One morning last week we received a notification to let us know ​that the device didn’t have sufficient lighting to vacuum. That answers the question we once asked – whether the lights at the end of its stick vacuums meant Dyson wanted us to vacuum in the dark – due to ​because of the lights it has on the end of its stick vacuums​.

By adding the Users simply add the ​device to the Dyson smartphone app, users can simply  and can ​toggle between the Dyson ​360 Vis Nav as well as ​and other Dyson devices including its heaters and air purifiers. 

The device records performance data which is uses to map out a home and track dust.

While the company has moved away from having a camera or microphone and speaker on the device for intercom functionality, we were impressed with how easy the device ​vacuum was to use via the app.

Instead, Dyson has installed what it calls Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping, or SLAM, technology, which it uses to map out the home and track dust. The device cannot detect anything under 4cm in height.

All performance data stored on the device is deleted within five days. Dust reports and cleaning history can be tracked in the mobile app for a couple of months.

One feature we think is pretty great is the device’s ability to carry a load of up to 90kg. That’s a design set to save the vacuum from slips and falls as well as have furniture dropped on it.

The verdict? At $2399 we were expecting big things. For the ​diehard Dyson fans the device probably wouldn’t be a letdown, but for first-time owners you’d probably be left feeling the same ​way we did.