What we tested
Three weeks in two homes — a two-bedroom flat with mostly hard floors and a four-bedroom house with carpets throughout and two dogs. We ran the V15 Detect against our previous top pick, the Dyson V11, and a Shark cordless that costs half the price.
Dyson makes a lot of claims about the V15. Most of them are true.
Suction power
The strongest cordless vacuum we've tested. On max power it picks up everything — fine dust, pet hair, cereal that's been ground into a rug by small children, the kind of debris you didn't know was there until the laser showed you.
The piezo sensor that counts and sizes particles as you vacuum is a genuinely clever bit of engineering. It auto-adjusts suction based on what it detects. In practice this means the battery lasts longer on clean floors and works harder when it needs to. It's not marketing.
The laser
The green laser on the floor head illuminates dust that is invisible to the naked eye under normal lighting. The first time you use it on a floor you thought was clean, it's a bit horrifying.
It works best on hard floors. On carpet you won't see much — but the suction does the work there anyway. On tiles and wood it shows you exactly what you're missing with other vacuums.
Battery life
Dyson claims 60 minutes in eco mode. We got 54 to 62 minutes in testing depending on the attachment. In max mode, expect around 10 minutes — enough for a targeted clean, not a full house.
For a three or four bedroom house, you may need to recharge mid-clean on max power. On eco it's fine for most homes in one go.
Weight and handling
This is the V15's main weakness. At 3.1kg it's the heaviest cordless Dyson makes. Vacuuming stairs or cleaning above shoulder height for more than a few minutes becomes noticeably tiring.
If you have mobility issues or a lot of overhead cleaning to do, factor this in seriously. The power is there but so is the weight.
Attachments
The V15 comes with more attachments than you'll probably use. The hair screw tool for pet hair is excellent. The laser slim fluffy head for hard floors is what most people will use 80% of the time. The rest live in a drawer.
Should you buy it
If you have a mix of hard floors and carpet and want the most capable cordless vacuum available without going upright, yes.
If you have a small flat that's mostly hard floors, the V12 Detect Slim does nearly as much for less money and weighs considerably less.
If you have pets and carpets throughout, this is the one.