Dyson 360 Vis Nav Review: What You Get For Your Money When You Buy Dyson’s New Robot Vacuum

One of the first things I bought when I moved into my new home was a robot vacuum. With a dog that sheds snowstorms of fur all the time, and humans that aren't exactly fans of household chores (who is?), an automated vacuum session a day was much needed. My $500 robot vacuum did an okay job of cleaning our four-room flat, but it still felt cleaner when we did the vacuuming ourselves during our once-weekly cleaning at home.

So when Dyson rolled out the Dyson 360 Vis Nav (available at Dyson's Amazon storefront for $1,484 now and $1,649 on Lazada), I was curious to find out what this robot vacuum could do that more wallet-friendly robot vacuums can't. 

Dyson 360 Vis Nav: Main features in a nutshell

-    Four cleaning modes (auto, quiet, quick and boost) 
-    Six times more suction strength than other robot vacuums
-    Technology for more effective side-edge cleaning that other robots can’t do
-    360-degree visualisation navigation system and camera for better navigation and dust detection. 
-    Customisation and scheduled cleaning available via the Dyson app 
-    HEPA filter which captures particles as small as pet dander

8 Days Review: Dyson 360 Vis Nav 

Setting up: You’ll need to download the MyDyson app (which also works with other Dyson appliances). Setting up the machine and registration for the warranty are done via the app, and only takes a few minutes. 

Before the first clean, you’ll also need to programme the machine to map the home via the app — this makes it possible for you to specify or schedule zones to clean in future, so you have one less task on your mental load. Pro-tip: Map your home without cleaning as it’s quicker. It took just under one hour to map a 1,200 sq ft space before the robot returned to its mothership, and it’s a fairly quiet affair. 

Cleaning: The company touts this as the most powerful robot vacuum, with purportedly six times more suction strength than others in the market. I put it to the test to see if it lives up to the hype. 

Of the four cleaning modes (auto, quiet, quick and boost), I first try the auto mode. In this mode,the robot automatically detects high dust zones and adjusts its cleaning prowess accordingly (it gets louder in dustier areas). The 360 Vis Nav’s triple-action brush bar seemed to work extra hard on my carpet (which is perpetually covered with fur), thanks to its nylon bristles that’s meant to dig into carpet areas. At the end of the clean, I have to say that the carpet — and the entire home, in fact — seemed even cleaner than when we vacuum it ourselves.

But I still wasn’t fully convinced, so I decided to have a robot vacuum face-off, albeit with my three-year-old robot vacuum. And the results were astounding (click the icon on the bottom right to watch the video in fullscreen).

I later tried the quick mode, which cleaned a spare bedroom in eight minutes, while a clean on the Quiet mode was silent enough that my dog, who’s normally reactive to vacuum cleaners, seemed relatively calm. 

Emptying the bin is as easy as it is with the other Dyson vacuum cleaners — push on a button to open the bucket-style bin and empty without ever having to touch the open parts of the bin. 

Navigation: It’s equipped with 26 sensors to help with navigation and dust detection, and I’m happy to report I tried it on carpets, bathmats, cushioned playmats, and it passed the test (the Dyson can glide over bumps that are up to 21mm high). 

The sensors also lets it get closer to walls for a more thorough clean. Yes, the 360 Vis Nav has a nifty doodad that helps it reach into sides and corners and actually sucks up dust from hard-to-reach areas that regular robot vacuums don’t. It worked wonders along wall edges and there was a strange satisfaction seeing it rid my floors of small stray dustballs that were clinging on to the corners of the floor skirting. It got a little trickier along carpentry as it couldn’t fit under the gap between my kitchen cabinets and the flooring, though this I reckon varies from household to household. One thing to note, though, is that it seems to take the 360 Vis Nav a while to navigate in dark rooms and finding its way back to the dock, so if you want to hurry things up, turn on the room lights after the clean. 

On auto mode, it took about three hours to clean an entire four-room flat. When it comes to battery life, it did require one round of charging in the middle of the clean. Of course, this will vary according to how dusty the space is. But if it’s the ease of automation that you’re after, you probably won’t be fussed about a battery-charging interlude, especially if you’re going about your own thing in the house (or outside) anyway.

Post-cleaning reports: The Dyson 360 Vis Nav generates a heatmap of how much dust it’s cleaned after it’s done. There’s a strange sort of satisfaction as I looked at the map on the app, marvelling at the high dust zones highlighted in blazing amber and yellow hues (the carpet, of course), while low dust zones are bathed in a royal purple glow that is similar to the machine itself. 

Is it worth the splurge? If you have a pet at home, or family members who are especially sensitive to dust, there’s no question about it. Automation is great (more time to do other things!), but what really sets this machine apart from the others on the market is its ability to really suck — suck dust, pet dander and other debris up, that is — even if the battery life and navigation could do with a few updates. Dyson 360 Vis Nav, $1,649, available at Dyson stores, Amazon and online. 

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