Of all the reviews I responded to in 2025, it was Dyson’s new robot vacuum that arrived with the greatest air of enthusiasm. No, really. I love my Dyson stick vacuum, I was disappointed to discover how poorly Dyson’s latest robovac was reviewed, and I’m a fan of a good old-fashioned redemption story.
We call it, a little awkwardly, the Spot+Scrub Ai. This is Dyson’s attempt to redeem itself in the robovac world, sprinkling in a little of the magic of bagless, semi-transparent cyclone technology that has made the Anglo-Singaporean company successful in the posh vacuum realm.
Luckily, the base station is bagless – which is surprisingly rare in the robovac space. Instead of buying new bags every few months and trying to figure out what type and size bag the robot needs, you simply lift the dust collector and empty it into a trash can, just like you would with any other Dyson stick vacuum.
I’d prefer if the bin’s contents weren’t visible through a clear plastic window, as if to show visitors how dirty my carpets were before they arrived, but I accept that it’s a design trait that echoes the rest of the Dyson aesthetic. I also wish Dyson included mop detergent in the box. Adding some to the water tank is one of the first instructions, but it’s sold separately for £19.99. For a £1,050 vacuum cleaner (US and Australian price TBC) that seems a bit mean.
A little disapplication
The setup process is quite simple, especially if you have used another robot vacuum. However, so far I’ve found the app a bit disappointing – for a high-end, tech-focused company like Dyson, I expected better. It’s not choppy, nor full of poorly translated English seen in rival vacuum apps, but it’s not particularly logical either, and I had problems editing my map after the robot failed to identify some doors during its initial mapping.
For a robot that apparently has artificial intelligence smart enough to identify more than 190 objects and substances (it’s best not to dwell on the latter), not spotting a door, even when there’s a threshold and a transition from parquet to carpet, is disappointing. Maybe I’m being picky, but anyone spending four figures on a robovac has every right to be. And in any case, competing vacuums I’ve tested do a much better job of mapping doors and even labeling rooms based on their contents.
Some other application issues I’m afraid. The robot adds orange traffic cone icons to the map after a clean, but they are not labeled and tapping them does nothing. Did he spot a sock, a misplaced USB cable or a mouse? I will never know. Rivals at least try to guess, and some even attach a photo, although it often looks like evidence from a Netflix crime documentary.
Additionally, despite the time spent labeling the map (living room, kitchen, hallway, toilet, etc.), these tags are unfortunately missing on the screen to tell the robot where to clean and are assigned a number. My kitchen and living room have the same icon, for some reason, and since I live in a new house with predictable symmetry, it’s not immediately obvious which is which. It’s always best to check, otherwise I’m afraid the Dyson will try to clean the living room carpet instead of the kitchen one.
My first impressions of the app aren’t great, but I’ll ignore them if the rest of the robot lives up to expectations – and, after a few cleanings, the Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai seems pretty smart. It sails well – something its predecessor struggled with – and I think it looks good, as far as these things go. I also love the bagless design and am especially excited to see how well it cleans. Given its roller design, ability to reach into corners, and use of lukewarm water to clean, I have high hopes. Additionally, it claims to use AI to spot dirt and scrub those items more aggressively, which will be interesting to test over the holiday period.
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