The Dyson Gen5detect Absolute is the latest upright vacuum cleaner from Dyson. How does it perform in practice and is it worth buying? That’s what we’re discussing in today’s review. I rented this cordless vacuum from the manufacturer for testing.
The Dyson Gen5detect is another device I’m evaluating as part of a large test of cordless vacuums in search of the perfect equipment for myself.
The Dyson Gen5detect Absolute is Dyson’s flagship model of upright cordless vacuum, which was launched at the end of 2023. It is the successor to the Dyson V15 Detect and offers a range of minor changes and improvements, including an on/off button instead of the classic trigger, brighter laser light in the Fluffy Optic brush, and an integrated brush with a nozzle that retracts into the tube. It’s not a revolution, but an evolution, a refinement of the previous generation.
Dyson Gen5detect – First Impressions
The package includes a charger, a universal Digital Motorbar brush, a Fluffy Optic brush, and a mini brush that prevents hair tangling. There is also an integrated dusting brush with a crevice tool. The first one is the largest and, with its 56 built-in combs, it’s suitable for various applications in any home. The second includes a soft roller, as well as bright laser lighting of the cleaned surface. The third has an unusual – conical roller, which prevents hair tangling. It twists hair and moves it directly to the container. It’s dedicated to vacuuming mattresses, sofas, stairs, pet beds, and other areas where long hair or pet fur may be encountered. The manufacturer also built a crevice brush with a bristle tip into the device. By detaching the central unit from the tube, we can unfold this element in one move, converting the whole into a handheld vacuum. Out of curiosity, I also detached this end to try to attach it to the end of the tube (e.g., to vacuum a high ceiling corner). It can be attached in this way, but there is no way to connect the tube to the central unit. On one hand, it’s an interesting solution, but on the other, it’s not fully thought out for different applications.
The brushes are effective in daily use, although during testing I most often used the universal one. I miss having even LED lighting in it, because there’s none at all. It’s also worth mentioning a few words about assembling the vacuum or breaking it down into components. Assembly is very simple thanks to the use of numerous locking clips. Just slide the component in place, and it locks until you manually release the lock. During the first configuration, you can also choose the language of the display.
Central Unit
The central unit is quite large and admittedly heavy. On the user side, there’s a display, power switch, and mode change button. The device starts in auto mode, where, depending on the floor type and dirt level, the vacuum automatically selects the suction power. The eco mode is of course the quietest and significantly extends the vacuuming time. Meanwhile, the boost mode activates full power. The current setting is displayed, and during vacuuming, it changes to a graph divided into 4 particle sizes: the smallest – above 10, 90, 180, and 500 microns. The graph is constantly updated, and we can see what the Dyson is currently dealing with. Statistics can also be reviewed, as they accumulate after each vacuuming. Below the graph, there’s also a large clock showing the remaining possible vacuuming time. If the battery starts to run out, you’ll also see a corresponding warning. When vacuuming with the universal brush in auto mode, you don’t have to pay attention to the remaining time. It changes abruptly, and 15 minutes can quickly turn into 3 minutes. I found this out when I wanted to vacuum the whole house and simply ran out of battery for the last room. I had to wait politely for the battery to charge at least 30 minutes to finish vacuuming.
Device Appearance
I like the overall appearance and color scheme of the device, although the battery looks like it’s been taken off an old vacuum cleaner. I was also surprised by the quality of the finish, which in some places is great, but next to it, poor. The red seal of the dust container comes to mind immediately; it’s already frayed in many places and will likely tear soon. When I looked into it further, it turned out that many people have pointed out this element, so it’s not an isolated case. Also, when pulling out the central unit from the tube, I couldn’t reattach it later because the movable bottom of the dirt flap was slightly protruding. So little that it was hard to notice, but enough to prevent the locking clip from engaging. This happened multiple times. A strange solution is the clip that releases the battery from the front. When I used Dyson in handheld mode with the pet hair removal attachment, I accidentally hit the battery against a chair, which turned off the device because it simply disconnected.
Dyson Gen5detect requires regular maintenance of various elements, but they are easily accessible to the user. There is no bag, the HEPA filter can be cleaned, and the rollers can be removed from the brushes and washed. The dirt container is located in the central unit. After removing the main tube, you can press it to open the container and move all the dirt out of it. This is actually a very clever solution that works in practice and means you don’t have to touch the dirt with your fingers or struggle with emptying the container. Although the full container can hold the advertised 0.77L, it should not be filled above the Max line, which means its effective capacity is only about 0.45L. It’s made of transparent plastic, so you can check how full it is at any time.
As I mentioned earlier, the HEPA filter can also be cleaned, and the vacuum will remind us of its maintenance on its display. If we don’t put the filter back, the device won’t turn on at all, informing us about it on the display. All parts that you wash under cold water should be left to dry for at least 24 hours before re-installing them in the vacuum. Of course, it’s not a good idea to dry them on a radiator or with a hair dryer.
Dyson Gen5detect – Vacuuming Performance
The vacuum weighs 3.5 kilograms and this is one of its biggest drawbacks. It’s the heaviest device of this type I’ve had the opportunity to test so far and it’s noticeable. It’s heavier than the Dyson V15 Detect by almost half a kilogram, probably due to minor differences in construction and the addition of a built-in crevice/dust brush tool. It’s still far from the heaviest vacuum on the market, but the extra weight may make it a bit cumbersome to use as a handheld and you’ll need to operate it with both hands.
While cleaning the apartment, after a few minutes my wrist was tired. These are not just my feelings, as I asked several people to vacuum with the Dyson Gen5detect for a while. Everyone complained that the vacuum is quite heavy. On the other hand, it must be admitted that it is also the most maneuverable equipment so far. Thanks to the special design of the brush handle, it can perform almost circus evolutions on the spot. This greatly facilitates and streamlines vacuuming.
This model of vacuum cleaner has a very high suction power and copes almost perfectly with cleaning various surfaces – both hard floors, tiles, short-pile carpets, cars, or hard-to-reach places. When vacuuming thick carpets, be careful, as the vacuum eagerly sucks in everything that protrudes, e.g., wires. I miss having a flexible nozzle in the set, which would relieve the wrist when vacuuming, for example, nooks and crannies of a car. It’s also worth adding that I most often vacuumed in auto mode, which is also quite loud, because depending on the detected dirt, the device enters boost mode and the turbo brush is also loudly working. The eco mode is a pleasant surprise, as it’s much quieter, you can vacuum longer, and most importantly, there’s no problem with it.
Cleaning the house, I most often vacuumed with the universal turbo brush, as it is the largest and works on many different surfaces. However, other elements of the set are equally good. I was surprised when I changed the nozzle to the one with laser lighting, the freshly vacuumed floor was full of dust particles just a few dozen minutes after the previous cleaning. Vacuuming using laser lighting is a great but at the same time terrifying game. It shows perfectly how much dirt is on the floor, but it’s surprising that so much dirt accumulates so quickly in our homes. Plus, it shows all the unevenness on the panels or parquet, so it can be annoying. Similarly, when vacuuming a carpet in a new apartment. The carpet is only a few months old, is regularly vacuumed, and when Dyson sucked onto it, the indicators of sucked dirt shot up to the max, and the container filled with dirt in a moment. Terrifying, but great.
So, does the Dyson Gen5detect vacuum well? Definitely yes. Does it handle pet hair? Yes. Does it work on different surfaces? Also yes. Worse, if we want to vacuum in the corner of the wall at the ceiling, then there’s no possibility of attaching the crevice nozzle to the tube. And we could do that, for example, in the last cordless vacuum I tested, the Karcher. This is also another vacuum that cannot be set upright at any time, like the cheap Hoover free 500. Why is this useful? When vacuuming the whole house, it makes no sense to return to the room with the docking station when we want to, for example, pull out chairs from under the table. Many models cannot be leaned against the wall, because the brushes are quite temperamental and it’s easy to scratch the wall or furniture on which we lean the whole vacuum. In the case of Hoover, it’s enough to bend the device and the tube locks in the turbo brush and the whole thing stands wherever we put it. This is a very useful solution. Neither Samsung, Karcher, Bosch, nor now Dyson have this ability. It’s also important that the Dyson Gen5detect set does not include a docking station at all and it must be purchased separately. This is surprising, as the vacuum costs about 900 EUR, and the docking station is an additional 150 EUR .
Dyson Gen5detect – Battery and Charging
A full battery charge takes about 4.5 hours. Using the universal turbo brush, in auto mode, this translates to about 15-20 minutes of vacuuming. In eco mode, we can extend this time to even an hour. Boost mode gives us 6-7 minutes. The laser brush even allows for 35 minutes of vacuuming.
