Dyson V10 hands-on review: It doesn’t suck

The V10 provides an incredible level of suction for a handheld vacuum.

Dyson is so enthusiastic about its latest hands-free vacuum, the V10, that it has cancelled all future research and development for corded vacuums. Given that the company practically invented the bag-free vacuum market, that’s a pretty big move.

I’ve had the V10 Absolute+ for a few days now, putting it through its paces. While there’s still plenty to test before I give it an official verdict, there are a huge number of developments that make this vacuum noteworthy. Here’s a first look at the vacuum’s performance in a hands-on review.

Dyson V10 Absolute+: Early upsides

• Incredible suction. There are three power settings on the V10 vacuum, and switching it to the max is like turning your speaker up to 11. The machine sucks so hard that actually pushing the motorhead on the carpet took considerable effort. Using it on the max setting does drain the battery quickly though.
• The fluffy motorhead is tremendous. Late last year I laid vinyl floorboards down throughout my house, and the standard head on my Dyson V6 handheld (or the DC32 corded model) just didn’t do an amazing job, especially given my constant fur-shedding golden retriever and my constant food-dropping children. But the fluffy motorhead cleans that mess up for me effortlessly, and while it’s not new to the V10 (it was available with the V8 model), if you have hard floors, it makes the Absolute variant the essential buy.
• The rotated barrel makes bin emptying a breeze. Given my dog’s tendency to shed fur 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, it doesn’t take long to fill my old V6 Dyson’s barrel. Emptying it is always a bit gross though as the fur gets stuck and I generally need to manually pull it out. With the V10 though, the rotated barrel makes emptying the vacuum easy, with a sliding rail that acts like a pump-action to clear out all of the dog fur.
• The battery light indicators. In order to convince customers to replace a traditional corded vacuum, the V10 needs to have pretty incredible battery life. Dyson says it can give you an hour of juice at the lowest suction setting, but the real win is the addition of battery indicator lights that show how much juice you have left. That’s extremely useful if you’re deciding whether you can justify switching up to the max setting for your kid’s bedroom without running out of juice.

Dyson V10 Absolute+: Early downsides

• The battery life could still be an issue. I haven’t had the vacuum long enough to really test it fully, but the first run through my home saw the battery die just before I finished the last bedroom. It wasn’t fully charged when I started though. But if you have a big house and regularly vacuum the whole thing, it could pose problems as you’ll have to wait for it to recharge before you can finish the job.
• You will always have to charge it. Dyson supplies a fancy wall-mount unit that makes it easy to plug in and charge the V10 while storing it, but if you can’t use the wall mount for some reason, remembering to plug it in while still leaving it conveniently located could be a real problem.
• The copper coloured extension arm. Look, I’m just being picky, but copper doesn’t really fit in with my home’s decor…

Dyson V10 Absolute+: Early verdict

If Dyson was looking to convince people that the days of plugging in your vacuum to clean the house are over with the V10, then it has done a remarkable job. The main barrier points for a handheld vacuum – barrel capacity and battery life – look to have been largely addressed, and while I need more time to be convinced that the V10’s battery can last long enough to ensure a completely clean house, the barrel has already proven itself both bigger and easier to empty than its predecessors.

The versatility you get by cutting the cord, from cleaning difficult-to-reach spots to being able to move from room to room quickly and easily without having to bother with the cord, makes this an incredible advancement. Whether the asking price is a bit too prohibitive to convince customers to give up that power connection is yet to be seen.

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