Dyson Omni-Glide

It's hard to argue that Dyson comes up with great household cleaning products that do exactly what they say on the tin, and this certainly holds true for the Dyson Omni-Glide. It's a brand-new kind of cordless vacuum cleaner for the big brand that's been designed specifically for hard floors.

It's smaller, slimmer and capable of lying flat on a floor to get under low-lying furniture, which makes it a great asset. Plus, it's got a redesigned soft Fluffy cleaning head that can swivel a full 360º, so it can move around furniture legs easily without you needing to move anything around a room.

That said, its use case is limited – Dyson says this cleaning machine has been designed for use on hard floors (although it does convert into small handheld unit too), making it a little less versatile than other Dyson handstick vacuum cleaners, and likely a little less easy to justify its cost.

(Image credit: Dyson)

Dyson Omni-Glide: price and availability

Launched in the US first, alongside the Dyson V15 Detect, the Omni-Glide is also available in Japan, China and Korea. It has been announced for Australia as well, although it will only be on shelves from May 27 onwards. There's no word on when it will be available in the UK, but we're quite sure it will arrive soon enough.

If you're keen on the Dyson Omni-Glide, then it will set you back $400 / AU$600 in the US and Australia, and we'll update this review as soon as we get availability and pricing information for the UK.

Compared to the other Dyson V-series handsticks, with perhaps the sole exception of the Dyson V7, the Omni-glide is 'affordable'. But put into context of how versatile the other vacuums are, and how many tools they ship with in the box, the Omni-glide is an expensive investment, costing as much as a powerful corded vacuum cleaner.

(Image credit: Dyson)

Dyson Omni-Glide: design

Despite some very distinct physical differences between the Omni-Glide and all the other Dyson handsticks, it's instantly recognizable as a Dyson product. That familiar grey-and-purple aesthetic has made its way to the new vacuum cleaner, but the handle is very different.

Instead of the usual rectangular grip with the trigger nestled inside, the Omni-Glide is a simple, straight handlebar with a power button. The barrel with the radial cyclones and filter are also much smaller than the other V-series machines, as is the bin.

All this, though, makes the Omni-Glide much slimmer and lighter than the other Dyson machines. It weighs in at about 1.5kg, making it the lightest Dyson yet. And that makes pushing the Omni-glide around on a hard floor easy-breezy. No matter what direction you move it, it will go – even if you twirl it in one spot.

And that brings us to why it's able to move around so well. Dyson has redesigned the old Fluffy tool (also originally made for hard floors) by adding a second soft roller to the cleaning head. With dual rollers, the Fluffy's footprint is now larger which, in turn, means you can finish vacuuming quicker. 

The cleaning head's fully articulating neck allows you to turn the pads in any direction, but that also means the telescopic tube has been redesigned to allow the tool to fit. So you'll only be able to use the attachments that ship with the Omni-Glide – if you already own another V-series vacuum, you won't be able to fit those here.

The neck is springy as well, so you can fold it flat to push the cleaning head under furniture whenever needed. Best of all, the soft rollers are washable. In fact, everything that's not electrical is washable – even the bin and filter.

Shrinking everything means you're also not getting a very large bin. It has a capacity of just 0.2L, but it has the same hygienic emptying mechanism as we saw with the V11.

(Image credit: Dyson)

Dyson Omni-Glide: performance

The smaller barrel also means the battery has been reduced as well. Dyson promises you'll get 20 minutes of fade-free power. The battery, though, can be removed, in case you want to pick up a spare one to give yourself more time vacuuming.

Dyson has been clear about where the Omni-Glide is positioned. According to the maker, it's an "additional" tool to have at home to deal with the small jobs – spot cleans, getting into crevices, under furniture, dry spills, that sort of thing.

Despite the smaller battery, there's no power compromise that we noticed during our short time with the machine. It's definitely not as powerful as the V15 Detect, but we haven't put it through a rigorous test yet to see how it stacks up against the older Dyson handsticks. That said, it's definitely handy to sweep up accidental kitchen spills or clean up a single room (provided it has a hard floor). What we really like, though, is its ability to get into crawlspaces that would normally be the abode of dust bunnies you can't usually get at.

It does work as a handheld unit, and its light weight means you can dust the artwork on your walls without tiring your arm.

(Image credit: Dyson)

Dyson Omni-Glide: early verdict

While we can't definitely say the Omni-Glide can hold its own against its bigger, more expensive siblings, it definitely has its place in a home – provided you have the cash to spare. For a vacuum that can only be used on a specific type of floor and has a very limited battery life, it's expensive.

If you do get it, though, it's a pleasure to push around the house. It moves smoothly and does a good job of sucking up anything dry. You'll need to be wary of hair/fur sticking to the roller pads but, hey, it's washable! 

We're keen to try the Omni-Glide on some serious messes in our own test space to see how it performs, but we're not doubting it will hold its own.