The Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai Robotic is the corporate’s first mixture robotic vacuum and mop. It debuted at Dyson’s Berlin retailer throughout the IFA tech present this week and is a follow-up to the corporate’s 360 VisNav robotic vacuum, which launched in 2023. That includes a brand new spherical design, a self-cleaning curler mop, lidar navigation, and Dyson’s first multifunctional dock, the Spot+Scrub additionally comes with an “AI” moniker as a result of it’s 2025 and doesn’t all the pieces?
I spent some hands-on time with Dyson’s latest robotic ground cleaner and got here away underwhelmed. Dyson’s conventional vacuums set excessive expectations, however its robotic variations have but to fulfill them. I didn’t get to check the Spot+Scrub or see its stain-targeting characteristic in motion, however my time with it didn’t persuade me that Dyson has lastly cracked the robotic vacuum code.
The headline characteristic is AI-powered stain detection, and regardless of the buzzword, this concept does seem to deal with one of many largest issues with robotic mops — that they don’t do nearly as good a job as handbook mops. When its onboard cameras spot stains, the Spot+Scrub can “establish, react, verify, and clear,” in line with Dyson, utilizing inexperienced lasers to focus on the grime and permit the cameras to see it higher. This helps it establish the kind of stain, whether or not it’s dry or moist, and clear it appropriately, persevering with to wash it till it’s gone.
A number of robotic vacuum mops from firms like Narwal, iRobot, Ecovacs, and Dreame provide related “grime detection” options — to various levels of success, primarily based on my testing. Dyson appears assured that the Spot+Scrub is superior.
In an interview at Dyson’s occasion this week, James Dyson, founder and chairman of Dyson, mentioned that he thinks the present crop of robotic mops “are disappointing.” “Various stain is left on the flooring,” he says. “That’s why ours is healthier, as a result of we will see the stain and we return and get it till it’s gone.”
1/4The underside of the Spot+Scrub.
Together with stain detection, the Spot can even “spot” objects like socks and cables to hopefully keep away from them. Dyson has additionally ditched its vision-based navigation system for lidar, which I’m instructed ought to assist with the navigation points its Vis Nav had.
The opposite huge change is that the Spot+Scrub is spherical, a departure from the Vis Nav’s squared-off look. It has an honest 18,000 Pa of suction energy, which peaks on carpet because of a built-in carpet sensor. Its tremendous lengthy, mushy microfiber curler mop tackles the moist ground cleansing, extending out to wash alongside edges, and a mixed rubber bristle brush sits behind the mop to assist stand up dry grime. The curler mop raises when it encounters carpet to keep away from getting your rugs damp, nevertheless it doesn’t have the additional safety of a canopy that we’ve began to see on mopping bots. Dyson didn’t share pricing, however plans to launch in China later this 12 months and the US in 2026.
Dyson has did not dazzle with its robotic vacuums
My first impression seeing the Spot+Scrub in Dyson’s Berlin retailer this week was how huge it’s. The robotic itself is a few third bigger than the Vis Nav, and its dock is “hulking.” A part of the explanation for that’s the massive curler mop it makes use of to moist clear. Curler mop bots are the new new factor in robotic vacuums, changing spinning mop pads.
Ecovacs, Dreame, Eufy, and others have all rolled out curler mop fashions lately, the principle benefit being that the mop might be cleaned whereas it runs, reasonably than having to move again to the bottom for a refresh. This requires lots of onboard infrastructure, although, which is why they’re all so huge. The Spot+Scrub might be 4 inches tall (though I didn’t take out a tape measure), however there’s no lidar tower on high, so it might nonetheless make it below your sofa.
The Spot+Scrub comes with Dyson’s first multifunction dock that routinely empties the robotic’s bin, cleans and dries its mop, and refills and drains its water tanks. That is additionally very massive, and whereas it has touches of the signature Dyson design, together with some pops of crimson and purple, general, neither it nor the robotic itself seems to be that totally different from each different robo vac on the market, which is disappointing.
The multifunction dock has three containers for grime, clear water, and soiled water.
There’s a spot within the clean-water tank so as to add Dyson’s detergent.
The mud canister might be simply emptied right into a bin, no baggage required.
The dock’s most attention-grabbing characteristic is the bagless mud container that may maintain 2 liters of grime. It’s a bigger model of the Vis Nav’s onboard bin. To empty it, you pull it out, place it over a trash can, press a button, and the waste dumps out. Whereas having to probably take care of a little bit of mud spillage whereas emptying isn’t ultimate, it’s a good tradeoff for not needing to purchase separate baggage, which is what most auto-empty docks use. Ecovacs’ newest robotic vacuum, the Deebot X11 OmniCyclone, which additionally launched at IFA this week, has an identical dustbin answer.
The Spot+Scrub works with the redesigned MyDyson app, which I obtained a sneak peek at. It now exhibits the robotic’s real-time cleansing progress, because of the addition of lidar navigation. From the app, you’ll be able to schedule the robotic and select the way it cleans: both vacuum, vacuum and mop concurrently, simply mop, or vacuum then mop.
The app additionally exhibits when the robotic has recognized a stain that it went again to wash, so you’ll be able to verify its work. Connectivity-wise, Dyson tells me Matter help is deliberate, which might permit the Spot+Scrub to hook up with sensible dwelling platforms like Apple Residence, Amazon Alexa, and Google Residence for voice management and different options.
The Spot+Scrub makes use of lidar for navigation, nevertheless it doesn’t have a lidar tower on high. Its bin/filter is situated in a compartment on the highest. It has two bodily buttons on high for management.
Thus far, Dyson has did not dazzle with its robotic vacuums, regardless of having developed them because the Nineteen Nineties. It’s one factor to construct the world’s greatest vacuum; it’s fairly one other to create the world’s greatest robotic vacuum. Whereas its Vis Nav had spectacular cleansing energy, its app, navigation, and general expertise had been simply okay.
My preliminary impressions of the Spot+Scrub are that it feels fairly iterative, not the game-changing product you’d count on from Dyson. But when its stain-seeking and scrubbing characteristic actually works as marketed, and it may well correctly navigate my home, then I’ll be impressed. I look ahead to testing it.
Photographs and video by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
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