After 16 long years and investing over $46 million dollars in research and development Dyson has finally released its much awaited robotic vacuum. Purchases made directly from , Dyson Demo Store or Dyson helpline are eligible for a full money back return within 30 days of the original purchase date. Purchases made directly from , Dyson Demo Stores or Dyson helpline are eligible for a full money back return within 30 days of the original purchase date. Dyson will cover the cost for the return shipping of any new machines. Simply print and affix it to the outside of your return shipment, and contact Purolator to arrange for a pick-up or you can drop it off at your local depot.
It will take visual cues from the camera to create a map of the cleaning area. This map is then stored in memory as a roadmap guide for where it needs to clean. The cameras on these two vacuums set them apart from all the rest. The 360 Eye also allows you to use Alexa commands to start cleaning, get status reports, and you can even find out more details about the features of the vacuum. Advice, tips, and troubleshooting are all just a voice call away.
Other robotic vacuums operate on an efficient, hug-the-walls, cleaning-inwards spiral pattern. The Heurist has been designed as a ‘learning’ robot which means that it does not take the simplest route, because it is constantly recalculating it’s distance from walls and furniture. So rather than, say, following a wall for two metres, it will stop and start while it scans the wall every few seconds. This resulted in it taking 50 minutes to map and 35 minutes to clean our test room, a poor result compared to other robot vacuums.
Dyson machines are engineered for continual high performance in normal domestic settings. If a Dyson machine is used in the way it’s intended and it breaks down within the guarantee period, it’s our responsibility to repair or replace it. On the smart home front, there’s an Alexa skill, so you can ask your 360 Heurist to start or stop cleaning from your Echo speaker. Annoyingly, Dyson has still to add the Google Assistant to the mix. Thankfully this all very Dyson-esque, with compartments and segments all popping apart with ease. The 330ml dust bin is on the small side but is super simple to pop out and empty.
I couldn’t use it to pull a door shut, for example, a task I can do with my stump. And without the extremely expensive addition of a powered wrist, I couldn’t pour oatmeal from a pot into a bowl. Performing tasks the cool bionic way, even though it mimicked having two hands, wasn’t obviously better than doing things my way, sometimes with the help bissell crosswave cordless of my legs and feet. Powerful suction, with Ball™ technology for maneuverability. For all its faults, we cannot deny that the Dyson 360 Eye is a showcase of technology and attention to detail. But in the decades it took for Dyson to bring this robot vacuum to market, consumers’ expectations changed, and competitors developed similar technologies.
We’ll deliver your machine to a pick-up location of your choice. As mentioned, the Link app also provides pretty useful visuals and step-by-step instructions for any scenario where you might have run into trouble, such as the Heurist getting stuck somewhere and needing your assistance. It’s one Dyson Link app for all your connected Dyson machines; so the Heurist lives alongside any heaters, coolers and Lightcycle lamps you might have in your household. The Heurist has dual-band Wi-Fi built in but does suffer from connection issues.
It makes it one of the more efficient robots around unlike the 880 that can miss spots here and there. The thing that holds it back from being a bestseller is the price. But for those who can afford it, it is a really nice luxury item to have at home.
David Ludlow is a Freelance Journalist and Home Technology Editor. Starting life on the consumer PC press back in 1998, David has been writing about the forefront of technology for the past 20 years. David has edited Computer Shopper and launched Expert Reviews. He has written a number of books on PC building and maintenance. He looks after all things smarthome and home appliances for Trusted Reviews. The Alexa Skill is very good, providing enough voice control that you can even use the robot in Routines, triggered either by your voice or through another bit of smart kit – say, your Ring Alarm turning on.
This pales in comparison with the Roomba 980, Xiaomi and Neato that runs for up to 2 hours. The beauty of the app is that once you’ve connected it to the robot’s WiFi, you can control it just about anywhere with an internet connection. According to Trusted Reviews, there are connectivity issues the first time you try to connect app and robot.
The first is that, obviously, it can’t tackle stairs and, similarly, can often have trouble dealing with certain raised floors and furniture. Carpets and rugs didn’t fare quite as well, particularly when trying to extract pet hair. The 360 Heurist (£899) takes the same basic form as the original – albeit with a swanky blue paint job – but most other aspects have been improved. This doesn’t make it the best robotic vacuum available, but it is significantly better than its predecessor. The very best Dyson you can buy right now is the V15 Detect Absolute (£599). The highlight of this vacuum is hinted at in its name, using a laser to reveal microscopic dust – making sure you can spot everything and get it picked up.