When I mentioned to my colleague that Dyson was announcing a new, ultra-slim vacuum, he said: “Everything is going ultra-thin”. He was referring, of course, to the new Samsung Galaxy Edge and the upcoming Apple iPhone 17 Air, expected to be released in September.
And as the most tech-y of the home tech brands, perhaps it’s no surprise that Dyson is getting in on the act. When there’s nowhere else to innovate, slimming a product down gives it a design refresh and a point of difference from rivals. Plus, there’s a new set of challenges for product engineers to solve – an area in which Dyson excels.
The ultra-slender PencilVac will be available from next year. As yet, there’s no price or precise launch date confirmed, but here’s what we know about Dyson’s upcoming model, which is crammed with brand-new features.
What is the PencilVac?
The PencilVac is the brainchild of founder James Dyson, who said: “I have long wanted to make a vacuum of only 38mm diameter (the same as my latest hair dryer, the Supersonic r).”
Powering it is the brand’s tiny but powerful 28mm digital Hyperdymium motor, which spins at 140,000RPM, and it’s this innovation that has allowed the brand to build the world’s slimmest vacuum.
The PencilVac is an ultra-light (1.8kg), narrow (38mm wide) hard flooring vacuum cleaner that’s easily manoeuvrable and designed to slip into small spaces.
Dyson
It cleans using four fluffy conical rollers (which Dyson has sweetly named Fluffycones) fixed on two roller bars, which spin in opposite directions, so that the cleaner glides – and cleans – in two directions.
Dyson
Why buy the PencilVac?
In short, because it’s so light and easy to use.
This isn’t Dyson’s first attempt at a light, slender vacuum cleaner. Not only did it launch the mini V12 Detect Slim, but before that, there was the Omni-Glide, which has a lot in common with the new model. As the name suggests, it was a light (1.8kg), multidirectional floor cleaner.
The Omni-Glide didn’t take off and is now discontinued – although you can still buy it from a few retailers (one is Donaghy Bros, for £179.99). But I liked it a lot when I tested it.
What was so great about the Omni-Glide is how easy it made vacuuming. It could get into difficult spots, swivel around chair legs and, like the PencilVac, it could lie flat to get right under sofas.
Dyson
But it did have issues, including a tiny bin that clogged easily. This is a problem that the PencilVac seeks to fix with a redesigned dustbin.
The PencilVac’s conical cones are designed to eject hair from the brush bar while you’re cleaning. That should mean there’s no need to cut away long hair wrapped around it. However, we did spot the tiny wheels on the base and if you have pets, these will get snarled up with pet fur.
The PencilVac has a few other handy features. It’s designed to clean right to the edge of a room and it has twin lights – front and back – to illuminate dust and hair.
It’s also equipped with an LCD screen that shows the remaining run time (in minutes) and its power setting. For more information on battery life, help with the filter and maintenance alerts, you’ll be able to connect it to the MyDyson app.
Yep, that makes it Dyson’s first connected vacuum, but its smarts are limited to those simple functions. Don’t expect it to do what the new Samsung Bespoke Jet AI does, which includes alerting you to the fact your phone is ringing.
Dyson
What are the disadvantages of a model like this?
As with any slimmed-down piece of tech, one of the key limitations will be battery life, simply because it can only accommodate a small battery. In the case of the PencilVac, it’ll have up to 30 minutes of running time – but that’ll be on the lowest (eco) setting. As yet, we don’t know all the specifics, but typically, this means you’ll only get 5 minutes of vacuuming time on the maximum strength mode.
After this you’ll need to charge it for four hours. Still, it does have the option of a removable, swappable battery, and two will give you up to 60 minutes of use.
Another disadvantage is its tiny 0.08L dustbin size. (By way of comparison, Dyson’s flagship Gen5detect has 0.75L.) Even though it has a dust compressing system to maximise bin capacity, you’ll still need to empty it regularly. Still, the brand-new dust separation system should help it to retain strong suction as it fills up.
And in spite of the syringe-style, no-touch mechanism which opens the bin, and cleans the sides as you empty it, we think the bin is still likely to get clogged. It seems inevitable as it’s so narrow. Plus, you’ll need to remove the floorhead every time.
Dyson
Finally, it’s for hard flooring only, so you will need a second vacuum if you have carpeted areas in your home – or even if you have a larger home. That being said, it does come with two handy accessories: the hairscrew tool, which you can use on rugs and upholstery, and a rotating combi-crevice tool, good for tight and difficult spots. So it’ll be useful on more than floors.
We’ll update this article as we find out about the PencilVac’s launch date and pricing. In the meantime, you can compare it to the best Dyson cordless vacuums, and our top recommendations for the best vacuum cleaner overall.
