T3’s Dyson Spot + Scrub Ai review in a sentence: A premium robot vacuum that benefits from beefy features but isn’t quite as smart as we’d hoped for.
The robot vacuum cleaner marketplace is packed with plenty of options. There are models that just vacuum, others that offer hard floor mopping too and, naturally, plenty that pack some AI now that everything has to have something vaguely artificial intelligence about it. The Dyson Spot + Scrub Ai robot vacuum even has it in the product title, just to underline that point.
This is the follow up to the Dyson 360 Vis Nav robot vacuum, which appeared a couple of years ago. That was a bold, brash and very pricey appliance that didn’t really catch on. The Dyson Spot + Scrub Ai is less showy and packs a more impressive set of premium features instead but, bizarrely, less suction. It’s big, bulky and does a little bit of everything, all topped off with some good old AI magic via a new app. I recently got one to try out and I’ve now spent a decent amount of time picking through its features.
One thing to note, which is often the case with feature-packed appliances, the best robot vacuums tend to be quite sizable and the Dyson Spot + Scrub Ai is no exception. At 9kg, the docking station that comes as part of package is pretty chunky and, to be honest, not quite as good on the eye as something like the Dreame Aqua10 Roller Complete I tried a while ago. If you’ve got space though, the Dyson Spot + Scrub Ai might be right up your street.
Dyson Spot + Scrub Ai review: price and availability
Alongside distinctive styling, Dyson products invariably come with a premium price tag and the Dyson Spot + Scrub Ai is no different. The RRP for this model in the UK is £1,050 direct from the Dyson website, which is a lot although other premium robot vacuums from the likes of Dreame, Roborock and Eufy pack similar recommended retail price tags.
For the US market, the Dyson Spot + Scrub Ai will likely cost in the region of $1,100 with official pricing yet to be announced. This is a serious machine aimed at buyers who want a do-it-all robot vac. The Dyson Spot + Scrub Ai does a lot, although it seems a bit miserly of them not to include mopping detergent as part of the package. Oh well.
Dyson Spot + Scrub Ai review: design
This is an expensive package, which comes with AI stain detection and intelligent navigation that lets it spot and avoid different objects in its path. On top of that, there is a low-maintenance design, which once set up requires minimal supervision. However, the Dyson Spot + Scrub Ai is up against stiff competition especially when it comes to similar appliances that also offer warm water roller cleaning and a cleverly engineered app.
The Dyson Spot + Scrub Ai looks and feels like a serious bit of cleaning kit and arrives in a large box containing all of the component parts. I found getting it out and setup up very straightforward, which is always a bonus. The core components consist of the robot vacuum itself, plus rotating brushes that need to be clicked in place on the underside. Complimenting that is the sizable docking station, all of which is finished in black plastic.
Of course, this being a Dyson, there are some purple and red flourishes that remind you it’s a Dyson, most notably on the bin container and also on the underside of the robot vacuum. Not that this part is exactly visible unless you pick it up. This is also where the roller mop is situated, which in turn is kept operational by using the clean and dirty water tanks back on the base station to keep it going. Warm water cleaning is a positive here too, although this is a common feature on many of the latest robot vacuums.
One thing that does irk me is having to buy bags for vacuums, especially if they’re not very big and require more frequent replacement. The Dyson Spot + Scrub Ai wins on that front as it’s a bagless design with a tubular bin that sits in the docking station, with the water containers sitting immediately to its right. The docking station is also home for the robot vac when it’s not being used or when it needs recharging.
Dyson Spot + Scrub Ai review: performance
Once I’d got everything ready to go, which involved filling the clean water tank and adding cleaning detergent via a small port behind the container and charging, I called on the app to get mapping. The Dyson app looks quite good, but it didn’t seem quite as cleverly thought out as some of the rivals from those brands I mentioned above. It was a little bit patchy in places and could do with being a little more intuitive. I expected it to be smarter if I'm honest.
However, as a robot vacuum that just gets on with the job, I found the Dyson Spot + Scrub Ai to be a very solid performer. At 18,000Pa the suction seemed decent enough and with those twin rotating brushes, the 6.6kg robot vacuum unit got into corners and around obstacles nicely too. The bin volume is 3 litres on the cleaner, but naturally that wasn’t an issue thanks to the chunky docking station that handled operational tasks like bin emptying and charging seamlessly. The robot vacuum has a runtime of up to 200 minutes as well, which is impressive.
On the point of the roller/mopping side of things, the Dyson Spot + Scrub Ai definitely benefits from warm water roller cleaning, which it does as the roller revolves within the unit. This does make a real difference to the way these appliances works rather than using less effective cold water for flushing through. I’m not sure just how good the AI spot scrubbing side of things works, mind.
It worked fine on drips and drops that I put in its path. Similarly, the robot vacuum was able to spot more stubborn marks on my floors and did return to have a go at getting rid of them. The combined weight of the robot vacuum, the long roller and the dual-laser LiDAR did seem to help with its determination to assist. Overall, I’d say this side of the Dyson Spot + Scrub Ai is acceptable enough if you’re not keen on getting a damp cloth and simply doing it yourself.
Dyson Spot + Scrub Ai review: verdict
With its fancy moniker, the Dyson Spot + Scrub Ai sounds impressive and it is an effective all round cleaner. Suction has been slightly reduced, apparently due to the way the roller cleaning works – there’s a lot packed into that body. Ironically, the Dyson 360 Vis Nav packed 22,000Pa. However, the appliance picked up all of the usual dust and detritus found on my hard floors. I think I’d still use a cordless stick vacuum for deeper carpet cleans mind.
Then there is the smart side of things, with the AI aspect being able to spot nearly 200 objects and avoid them whilst doing a cleaning round. I found this pretty good too, although if you, like me, prefer to have a proper vacuum job done, I found it was best to just pick up anything that could potentially get in the robot vacuum's path. All told, a little bit of human intervention let me get the best from this machine I think. Same goes for the spot scrubbing. It works, but I’m still better at getting jam stains off my laminate floors.
Dyson Spot + Scrub Ai review: alternatives to consider
There are oodles of bargains to be had in the robot vacuum marketplace with even the top models getting sizable discounts if the price tag here doesn't appeal. The Dreame X50 Ultra Complete robot vacuum, the beefy Ultenic T10, or the Hoover HG4 Hydro Pro, are all well worth a look. Elsewhere, the impressive Shark Matrix Plus Robot Vacuum has full vac and mop functionality as does the Roborock Qrevo Master robot vacuum.
For larger rooms, the iRobot Roomba Combo J9+ is a dependable option and does a little bit of everything. Meanwhile, the eufy Clean X8 Pro machine is similarly impressive as is the eufy X9 Pro and the keenly priced iRobot Roomba j7+. Finally, try looking at the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra, the SwitchBot Mini K10+, the Eufy Omni S1 Pro or the Roborock Saros 10, all of which cover a variety of requirements.
