In the world of cordless stick vacuums, Dyson is king. The brand has had to fend off more spirited competition in recent years from the likes of Shark, Samsung, LG and others, but the cult-favorite tech brand remains the first name in human-operated vacuum cleaners. But up to this point, Dyson has not made much of a mark in the robot vacuum space, one which has long been dominated by iRobot's Roomba. But that could change now that Dyson is launching its own top-of-the-line robot vacuum in the Dyson 360 Vis Nav.
Has Dyson ever made a robot vacuum?
Yes. The new Roomba competitor is not Dyson's first foray into the world of robot vacuums. The brand previously launched two other robot vacuums, to limited success. The Dyson 360 Eye was first, debuting in the US in 2016 after appearing in Japan a year before. It received mostly decent reviews but had a tough-to-swallow $1,000+ price tag and lasted a few years before being unceremoniously discontinued. This was followed up by the even less-impactful Dyson 360 Heurist in 2021, which was only available in the UK, skipping the US market entirely because the brand said it wasn't suited to cleaning large, complex American homes (USA! USA! USA!).
The Dyson 360 Vis Nav robot vacuum
But this time will be different, judging from Dyson's excitement about the new Roomba competitor. The Dyson 360 Vis Nav's big claim to fame is that it's the most powerful robot vacuum on the market, with Dyson claiming the device has twice the suction power of its nearest competitor. That's a pretty impressive feat, but anyone who's ever used a robot vacuum knows that suction power, while important, pales in comparison to the appliances' ability to smartly navigate around obstacles and map your home.
It sounds like the new Dyson roomba robot vacuum will be plenty smart. The brand touts "Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM)" technology, which utilizes a fish-eye hemispheric lens that has a full 360 degrees of vision and is capable of remembering where it's cleaned, spotting new areas to clean and creating maps along the way. The vac also boasts sensors that detect the edges of a room, and when it vacuums along a wall, it redirects suction through a side-actuator, which hypothetically should make this better at cleaning a room's edges than any other robot vacuum — a common shortfall of the category. In all, the Dyson 360 Vis Nav advanced processor operates 26 different sensors that monitor everything from dust detection to obstacle avoidance.
How much is Dyson's robot vacuum?
For now, Dyson is withholding pricing and release information for the 360 Vis Nav — but the brand has confirmed that a US release will happen (apparently, this thing can handle our notoriously huge and tough-to-navigate homes). But you can bet it will be expensive. The robot vacuum is first launching in Australia, where it's been priced at $AUD 2,399 (~ $1,590), according to Engadget. Of course, this is far from the first time Dyson has attached an eye-popping price tag to a new product. But Dyson's business model isn't making gadgets that are cheap; it's making gadgets that are worth it.
