I just tested the Dyson Gen5Detect — and it ruins every other vacuum for me

The Dyson Gen5Detect is, without a doubt, one of the best vacuum cleaners I’ve ever used. Dyson’s reputation precedes it: the brand is known for elegance, sophistication, and luxury, and the Gen5Detect is no different. But with that elegance, sophistication, and luxury, comes a price tag that might send you into a frenzy.

The Gen5Detect is an eye-watering $949. In the U.K., you’re getting a slightly better deal at £769. Even so, I don’t think contestants on The Price is Right would be winning any prizes for this one.

Yes, the Gen5Detect looks the part, with a gorgeous copper and Prussian blue finish, hefty 7.7 pound weight, and interchangeable cleaning heads, but it’s still markedly pricier than rivals. Is it worth the cost, though? I’ll discuss every aspect of the vacuum thoroughly in this Dyson Gen5Detect review.

Dyson Gen5Detect review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? A cordless stick vacuum with two cleaning heads
• Who is it for? If you take cleaning really seriously or have a family prone to making apocalyptic messes
• What does it do well? My house went from gnarly to pristine in mere minutes
• What are its weaknesses? Whereas you can get decent stick vacuums for $300, Dyson consistently prices its vacuums at the $1000 mark — the Gen5Detect is no different

Dyson Gen5Detect review: Specs

Dyson Gen5Detect review: Price & availability

The Dyson Gen5Detect is a staggering $949 from Dyson U.S. and £769 from Dyson U.K.. The Gen5Detect is one of the newest Dyson vacuums, hence the novel nomenclature if you’re used to the brand’s previous naming conventions. The $1,049 Gen5Outsize is, you guessed it, better for larger homes and longer cleans, hence the wider cleaning head and price.

The ‘V’ range of vacuums don’t have washable HEPA filters, whereas the Gen5 series does, which is part of the justification for the high price. HEPA filters are generally superior cleaning filters, and can even remove viruses and remove particles of just 0.3µm. However, I have used sub-$200 vacuums with HEPA filters, namely the Ultenic U12.

Dyson Gen5Detect review: Design

The Gen5Detect looks almost identical to the ‘V’ range of Dyson vacuums; the only difference is the lack of a trigger button. It comes in two colorways: copper and Prussian blue (my testing specimen) and purple and silver.

The Gen5Detect comes with two cleaning heads. My favorite is the Fluffy Optic (yellow and blue), because it has laser detection technology. This effectively means the Fluffy Optic has a bright green laser that illuminates dust and dirt as you vacuum. I found this instrumental in getting every last speck of dirt off my floor, and although Dyson advises using it on hardwood floors, I found it worked on my thin carpet too.

The Digital Motorbar cleaning head (gray/blue) will not illuminate dust during cleaning — its skills lie in its hair detangling ability. I found it easy to swap out these cleaning heads; all you have to do is click a button and they detach.

The Gen5Detect comes with four more cleaning tools: a crevice tool (which is built into the vacuum base itself), a combination tool, a low reach adapter, and a hair screw tool. I’ll discuss these more in depth in the ‘Cleaning performance’ section below, but they are all well-made and useful additions to the Gen5Detect.

Converting to a handheld is just as easy as swapping out tools: you click a button, detach the telescopic tube, and re-attach a cleaning tool. I found the Gen5Detect’s body to be incredibly heavy, which made long cleaning sessions a little more laborious than they already were. However, I’m not known for my strength, so this could just be a me problem. If you can comfortably prop up seven pounds, you’ll be fine.

The second best thing on the Gen5Detect (I’m saving the best for last) is the dustbin release hinge. Instead of pressing a button to release the dustbin lid, you release the lid by sliding a red catch down the side of the bin. This was endlessly entertaining to me, but it also kept my hands spick and span during use.

My absolute favorite aspect of the Gen5Detect is the live display screen on the vacuum base. This screen shows the size of cleaned particles in real-time, and uses this data to adjust the suction power for optimal cleaning. Although this particle display monitor meant very little to me in real terms, I couldn’t help but be mesmerized by it. This is such a nice feature, and now that I've used it, I don’t think I can go back.

Dyson Gen5Detect review: Cleaning capabilities

Given that the Gen5Detect has an RPM of 135,000 and 280AW power, I was pretty excited to start using it. AW stands for ‘air wattage’, or how much suction power a vacuum has. The Dyson V8 ($329) has suction power of just 130AW, so the Gen5Detect is pretty OP.

As with all vacuum reviews here at Tom’s Guide, I put the Gen5Detect through a series of tests. For the tests, I sprinkled 20g of cat litter, Cheerios, and hair on my thick pile rug. Here are the results.

As you can see, the Gen5Detect cleaned up all of the Cheerios and hair. I used the crevice tool attachment and went over the carpet twice to clean the entire 20g of Cheerios. This took around twenty seconds to do. For the cat litter, I used the Motorbar head, which cleaned the 20g in seconds. Obviously, cat litter is made up of fine granules and larger chunks, so the weight difference is likely just fine dust that blew away during cleaning.

As the hair screw tool is designed for removing hair — be that human or pet — I used this tool for the hair testing. As I don’t have a pet, I had to cut up some unfortunate hair extensions to test this out. As you can see from the results above, the screw hair tool cleaned 100% of the hair. The hair also successfully made it into the trash — no stuck hair here.

I have thin carpet, hardwood floors, and few thick pile rugs in my house. The Gen5Detect made light work of the thin carpet and hardwood floors using both the Motorbar head and the Fluffy Optic, but for the thick pile rugs, I had to use the Fluffy Optic head. I’ll discuss this in more detail later on.

The various tools suit different cleaning purposes. While the Motorbar is the best all-rounder, the Fluffy Optic is better for deep cleaning thanks to its green laser. As for the tools, I used the crevice tool for big messes like Cheerios, rice, and flour. I used the combination tool to clean my bathroom floor as the bristles helped me get into the sealant around the baseboards.

The most bizarre-looking tool in the Gen5Detect’s repertoire is the low reach adapter. It reminds me of something from the Teletubbies. This attachment is rotatable to 90°, which enables you to clean under furniture and in hard-to-reach places. I noticed that suction power felt increased while using this tool, and I was able to angle the cleaning head to get under my low-lying sofa and coffee table.

I only ran into one issue during testing. And it wasn’t something I personally experienced, but my boyfriend. While cleaning one of our thick-pile rugs with the Motorbar cleaning head, he reported that the vacuum shut off a couple of times. When I tried with the Fluffy Optic head, this did not happen again. I’d recommend using the Fluffy Optic head for thick carpet.

Overall, the cleaning capabilities of the Dyson Gen5Detect are just as good as I’d hoped for. It’s quiet, running at just 66dB in Eco mode and topping out at 85dB in Boost mode, and gets the job done quickly. The vacuum makes light work of my thick pile rug, ground-in hair, and even huge piles of Cheerios.

Dyson Gen5Detect review: Battery life

After a 4 ½ hour charge, the Gen5Detect has a max battery life of 70 minutes. In reality, the Gen5Detect never ran out of battery on me. I always managed to clean my whole house (granted, a one bedroom apartment) before it died.

As you can see, the ‘Boost’ mode maxes at around a quarter of an hour, the ‘auto’ mode will last you 40 minutes, and it’s ‘Eco’ mode that’ll get you the full 70 minutes. In general, cordless stick vacuums top out at 70 minutes, so this is a pretty good battery life. The Dyson V11 ($569) lasts up to 60 minutes, and the Tineco Pure One A50S ($329) tops out at 70 minutes. In reality, do you really want to be cleaning your house for any longer than 70 minutes? I know I don’t.

Dyson Gen5Detect review: Storage & maintenance

The Dyson Gen5Detect comes with a wall mount in the box, which the vacuum base slots nicely into. At time of writing, Dyson is offering a free floor dock for every purchase of the Gen5Detect. However, I was able to get the vacuum to stand by itself, leaning against my coffee island.

As I touched on above, the Gen5Detect has HEPA filters, which usually aren’t washable. However, the HEPA filter in this vacuum is washable. Dyson recommends customers wash the filter once a month to retain suction power. However, if necessary, Dyson sells replacement filters on its website for $29.

Dyson Gen5Detect review: How does it compare?

There’s no sugarcoating it: the Dyson Gen5Detect is a pricey vacuum. Heck, it’s even pricey in Dyson terms. The Gen5Detect and Gen5outsize are two of the most expensive Dysons on the market today.

While I do adore the Gen5Detect, it did not earn a 5* review due to its price. While cheaper rivals might not have the 280AW and 135,000rpm of the Gen5Detect, you might not be able to tell the difference. One of the best value cordless vacuums on the market is the $349 Shark Clean and Empty cordless stick vacuum, which cleans like a dream, but only has two attachments. The cheapest vacuum I’ve reviewed is the $149 Ultenic U12, which has a HEPA filter and good cleaning power (for thin carpet and hardwood), but the battery life is pretty poor: just 15 minutes on max.

Dyson’s range starts with the $399 V7 Advanced, which runs for just 40 minutes and has a slightly smaller bin capacity (22 ounces vs the Gen5Detect’s 27 ounces). However, for those with small homes, there’s no reason why the V7 Advanced wouldn’t be a great option. You’ll find the $949 V15s Submarine in a similar price bracket as the Gen5Detect, but the V15s Submarine justifies its high price by being a wet-and-dry vacuum.

Dyson Gen5Detect review: Verdict

As I’ve said numerous times throughout this review, I can’t go back to any other vacuum now that I've used the Gen5Detect. This is probably the most perfect vacuum I’ve ever laid hands upon. I’ve never looked forward to cleaning before, but the Gen5Detect might just have me entering cleaning competitions.

I jest — nothing but cold, hard money could make me clean more than I have to — but the Gen5Detect is a true delight to use. The Fluffy Optic cleaning head allowed me to see every last speck of dust, and the range of attachment tools helped me get into every crevice in my apartment. But is it worth $1k? I almost want to say yes.