After 16 long years and investing over $46 million dollars in research and development Dyson has finally released its much awaited robotic vacuum. The Dyson 360 Eye.
It isn’t their first robotic vacuum but this is the first to be available to consumers but very expensive.
How does this stack up against the current market leaders the Roomba and Neato?
That’s what we will find out in this review.
Related: You can also find the best Dyson deals here to get the best price possible on various Dyson products.
James Dyson has said that current robotic vacuums are just gimmicks, saying that “they’ve got whiskers sticking out of them – whiskers don’t clean anything they just disturb the birds”.
He had long resisted selling these types of vacuums to the public saying that “I’m not rushing out a gimmick robot to pretend to people we’re cleaning the floor”.
During its launch, the Dyson 360 Eye was only available to the Japanese market. But after a few months Americans can buy one through Amazon.
From the looks alone, it looks nothing like any of the current robotic vacuums in the market that utilize a round puck shape that usually stands around between 2.9 and 3.5 inches tall.
The 360 Eye does not look anything quite anything the current crop of robot vacuums.
It almost doubles the height of any current Roomba or Neato vacuum which hurts its ability to clean under furniture.
But this is made up by its superior suction (here’s a hint, it uses the V2 motor – the same motor you’ll find inside the DC44 and DC35).
A quick look at the features
- Features the most high tech navigation system out there – Dyson calls this the 360 degree vision
- Uses the V2 digital motor found inside the DC35 and DC44
- Utilizes the same radial root cyclone technology found in all of their vacuums
- Has WiFi connectivity (that you connect using the Dyson link app – available for both iOs and Android devices)
- The full width brushbar means there is no need for side brushes
- Instead of using wheels, the 360 Eye uses tank tracks which provide better traction and climbing on area rugs or carpet
Pros
- Small horizontal footprint – only measures 9” wide or around 4 inches narrower than a Roomba 980
- Utilizes probably the most high-tech and reliable navigation system out there
- Best performing robot vacuum out there in the market
- Docking station does not take too much space
Cons
- It’s not cheap
- Very tall (over 5”) which means it won’t fit under most beds.
- Relatively short run time when you compare it to other robot vacuums
What to expect from this futuristic robot cleaner?
As with all other Dyson vacuums expect a well-designed product. From the smooth chrome like finish to the tablet-like charging port the 360 eye screams high tech.
In terms of aesthetics alone there is very little not to like about this.
You will also notice that this is a rather tall robot cleaner.
It’s close to 2 inches taller than the Roomba and Dyson representatives say that this feature is lowest they could go to fit the cyclonic filtration system and the dust bin. This is one of the best in of all bagless vacuums in terms of capturing fine microscopic dirt.
Uses a motor from a cordless vacuum
Engineers used the V2 motor found in older Dysons, namely the DC35 and DC44 which has provided decent suction.
Of course when you compare it to a full sized upright, it won’t match the sheer suction but when you compare it to other robovacs, nothing comes close to it.
If you look underneath, the opening for the vacuum runs the entire width and it uses the same motorized brush found in the old DC-series cordless vacuums so more or less expect the same performance.
The charging base is also a thing of beauty.
At first glance you’d mistake it for a mac book pro. In reality this A4 sized device is the charging dock for the 360 Eye. Charging will take less than 3 hours.
Another feature that differentiates this from other robots is the thing that moves this around, instead of using the standard rubber wheels the 360 Eye uses tank tracks for several reasons.
First and foremost is traction, these tank tracks will provide more traction and well help this robot climb thicker pile carpet better any robotic vacuum out there.
Navigation
If there is anything that the Dyson has a big advantage over the Roomba 980 or the Neato BotVac connected, it would be the navigation system.
It uses a camera mounted at the center of the vacuum that sees 360 degrees. Hence the term 360 vision.
Dyson says this system uses complex mathematics, geometry, trigonometry and probability theory to navigate around your home.
At the heart, it uses S.L.A.M. that helps stitch together a constant 360 degree view of the area it’s cleaning. A top mounted camera helps it “remember” areas it has cleaned and areas it has not.
Here’s a video of the Dyson 360 to show you the methodical navigation pattern it uses to scan and clean a living room.
This in theory means that it will clean faster, more efficiently with less bumps and scratches on your furniture when you compare it to a Roomba 880.
If you look at how it navigates, it first goes to the middle part of the room then works itself outwards towards the perimeter in “square” patterns.
Edge cleaning is a bit of a question mark as it won’t hug baseboards tightly as a Roomba would, often times only going within a centimeter or so according to TrustedReviews.
Since the navigation system relies heavily on a camera, you cannot run this robot in pitch dark conditions or it won’t navigate well.
Unlike the older Roomba and Neato robots that rely on infrared lasers so make sure that you run this during the day or have your lights turned on.
The great thing about a camera based system is that even if you have black furniture or chrome plated furniture, this robot will still see it unlike systems that use infrared or laser guided systems.
WiFi ready plus a smartphone app!
Dyson ditched traditional controls and instead developed an application to you can use to control this robot. To connect the app and robot you will need to login into the robot’s own WiFi network with a password printed on the manual (and robot).
According to Trusted Reviews, there are connectivity issues the first time you try to connect app and robot. Restarting the app should resolve this issue.
With the app you can schedule cleaning times, view the area covered the by robot in each cleaning session, and lastly start and stop the robot remotely even when you’re at work as long as you have internet connectivity.
Bare Floor Cleaning
In my opinion this robot will perform its best on bare floor surfaces. The carbon fiber filaments in the brush roll work best picking up static filled dust and medium sized debris like rice or crush oats.
To show you how this performs (and navigates) on hardwood watch this…
If you look closely at the video, it picked up almost every bit of grain on hardwood. In terms of picking up stuff on edges, it does struggle to consistently hug the edges. The lack of a side brush did not hinder its performance because of the wide cleaning path.
Here’s another demonstration this time on tiled floor where they scattered 50 grams of sugar on different areas of the room…
And no surprise it was able to pick up 48 grams of the sugar scattered, even in trouble areas.
Carpet Cleaning
On carpet expect roughly the same performance as a Dyson DC44 which means it works best as an in-between deep cleaning session maintenance tool. It will not deep clean carpet but it makes up for it with hands-free operation.
You will notice that you will need to empty the bin quite often when you first run this but after a while (provided that you run this everyday), you will need to empty it less because it will help keep your floors clean.
But do not expect this to deep clean because it does not have the suction power to do so. You will still need an upright vacuum for this task.
Here’s a cleaning test on carpet, again with 50 grams of sugar…
It didn’t far as well as it only managed to pick up 37 grams out of the 50.
Rugs
Great news, even if you have thick rugs, the 360 Eye will still be able to climb over it thanks to the tank tracks but again, it do not expect this to deep clean but it is a good everyday cleaning tool that will keep dirt piling up on your rugs.
Pet Hair Removal
Combine suction power and motorized brush this robot vacuum is capable of cleaning pet hair on bare floor and carpet. Consumers say that this may be the best at picking up pet hair if you read reviews. And a big reason why consumers save up for this.
But the downside to the brush roll design is the maintenance.
You will need to remove the beater bar and remove the pet or human hair that rolls rolled up in there at least twice a week. If you have a lot of pets, you may need to clean it more.
Will It Clean Stairs?
Unfortunately even a $1,500++ robot vacuum cannot clean stairs just yet.
Scheduled cleaning
You can schedule this robot using the Dyson link app once a day, seven days a week and you can schedule it at different times.
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.
Run Time
On a full charge will machine will run only for 45 minutes. This pales in comparison with the Roomba 980, Xiaomi and Neato that runs for up to 2 hours.
Product Specifications
| Battery type | Lithium Ion |
| Charger type | Charging Dock |
| Charge time | 2.45 hours |
Run Time  | 45 mins. |
| Doorsill crossing | up to 1.5 cm |
| Net weight (with battery) | 5.38 pounds |
| Shipping weight | 9.3 pounds |
| Diameter | 9.05 inches |
| Height | 4.72 inches |
| Multi Room |  |
| Self docking | |
| Remote control | Uses a smartphone app |
| Hepa filtration | |
| Cliff detection | |
| Self adjusting | |
| Edge brushes |  |
| Full bin indicator | |
| Stair Cleaning | |
| Cleaning sessions per week | 7 |
| Extra Filter | N/A |
| Containment | |
| Brush cleaning tools | |
| Accessories included | N/A |
| Voltage | 110v |
| Manufactured in | UK |
| Warranty | 2 yrs. |
Customer Reviews
If you read reviews from tech blogs such as Engadget, Mirror.co.uk and Pocket-Lint the result is pretty much unanimous, the Dyson 360 Eye is the best robot vacuum out there despite of the exuberant price.
The combination of a strong motor and high-tech 360 degree camera make very good option for cleaning homes autonomously.
Looking at the specs, it has the same V2 motor as the Dyson DC44. So that’s around 22 air watts in cleaning power. In terms of power, it has one of the most powerful motors but the downside is the space it takes up vertically. It won’t clean under furniture over 4″ tall.
Potential Issues
While cleaning power isn’t a question mark, there are some issues with the height, particularly cleaning under furniture.
Consumers advise that you measure the height of your furniture (the clearance that is underneath) to see if it has at least 12 centimeters of clearance to see if the robot will be able to go through it.
One consumer reported that it may struggle if the surface it’s cleaning isn’t flat.
Another potential issue is lighting under furniture (or the lack thereof). If there is too little lighting, the robot can wander and potentially run out of battery before it could go back to the dock and recharge.
Even with the camera based navigation, this robot will have issues cleaning glossy or black furniture. It will have trouble “seeing” it and may bump into such.
The same issue would be glass floors, it will not go over it. It thinks it is a cliff.
Emptying the bin does have some minor quirks. Since the bin is facing towards the dock, you’ll need to remove the robot from it to gain access to the bin.
I’m sure Dyson will rectify all of these issues in their future releases as they are the type of company that does listen to consumers.
Still a very good product
Overall cleaning performance isn’t an issue. A majority of consumers say that cleaning performance isn’t an issue.
The biggest problem would be the height and navigation – despite the 360 vision system, it still has the same struggles as other robot vacuums – struggles with black and shiny furniture and will not go over glass floors because it thinks it’s a cliff.
$1,000 is a pretty big investment but fortunately it comes with a 14 day money back guarantee – just enough time for you to test it out in your home.
This robot vacuum is a huge step in the right direction and if you know how Dyson operates, it will only get better over time.
Where can I buy this?
If you live in the United States, you can buy this in Amazon where it would cost around $1,000 more or less. And this is eligible for 2-day free shipping if you join Prime. Amazon also sells extended warranties of up to 3 years if you want that extra peace of mind.
For folks living in the UK you can purchase this from Dyson at £799.99.
To Wrap It Up
If you just look at the specs, you’d think that the Dyson 360 Eye would be the best robotic vacuum available right now.
But there are cheaper brands right now such as the Roborock S5, Roomba 980 and Neato BotVac that will give you almost the same performance for less.
The thing that holds it back from being a bestseller is the price. At close to $900 this is an expensive piece of machinery. Not everyone can afford to spend that much for a vacuum. But for those who can afford it, it is a really nice luxury item to have at home.
The 360 vision navigation system is no doubt high tech. It allows it to see 360 degrees. And marking the areas it has already cleaned. It makes it one of the more efficient robots around unlike the 880 that can miss spots here and there.
