When the Apple Vision Pro first went on sale in February there were a ton of YouTube videos that showed off what it could and could not do. But one that captured everyone's attention was a concept that showed how it could be used to make vacuuming fun. Having people vacuum up gold coins as if they were Mario on cleaning day sounds like a great idea. And it turns out that Dyson would agree.
The company that's famous for its super-sucky (in a good way) vacuums and weird Dyson Zone headphones has announced what it calls Dyson CleanTrace, a new feature that works with your Dyson Gen5detect vacuum to make cleaning fun in a way that we didn't think we needed. But now that it's here, we think we can all agree that we absolutely did.
The new augmented reality app will show people where they have cleaned when vacuuming their floors and, most importantly, where they have not. It's a special slice of magic that might have seemed silly not all that long ago, but now that we're here? We're all for it, and the fact that you won't have to spend $3,499 on a spatial computer to try it out really is just the icing on the cake.
AR cleaning
So what's the story? In a press release provided to iMore, Dyson admits that "cleaning can be a thankless task," and of that, there's no doubt. Its answer? the Dyson CleanTrace, a combination of an app and a clip for attaching your iPhone to your vacuum.
"The Dyson CleanTrace brings together a combination of technologies for the most powerful, intelligent and thorough clean," the press release reads. "LiDAR technology from a user’s phone allows the Dyson CleanTrace to map your room and overlay cleaning pathways using AR, showing you where you have cleaned and what you have missed." Think that you're done? The app can scan the room when you're finished and then help you identify the spots that you missed. Because we all miss spots — it's just a matter of how big they might be.
Dyson says that the "existing technology within the Dyson Gen5detect then acoustically senses and counts the dust particles, showing proof of a deep clean," and then you're all set.
Data reportedly shows that around 80% of cleaning sessions last less than 10 minutes, with Dyson suggesting that people aren't cleaning for anywhere near as long as they think — people claim they vacuum for an average of 24 minutes per session, the company says. So if you're looking to be absolutely certain that you've done what needs to be done, this new app could well be the answer.
If that all sounds cool — and it should — you'll want to sign up for the Dyson newsletter so you know when the whole thing will be available. It'll be June, but we don't know exactly when or how much anything will cost, unfortunately. Hopefully, we won't have to wait too long before we get some details on that front.
The other catch is that you're going to need a Gen5detect vacuum for any of this to work, so keep that in mind before you get too excited.
