Best for…
This nimble, high-tech model is light, powerful, and easy to maneuver. Its microfiber cleaner head is specifically designed to snag dust and fur from bare floors, but its dustbin is minuscule.
If you’re seeking a cordless vacuum that performs solidly on bare floors, we recommend the Dyson V12 Detect Slim, which comes with a cleaner head that is specifically designed for delicate hard flooring.
It cleans well. The V12 Detect Slim offers powerful suction and airflow, and it excels at picking up dust and debris on both bare floors and rugs. During testing, the V12 didn’t discriminate, hungrily gobbling up baking soda, hay, cat litter, and Cheerios on hardwood floors.
It has two gentle and efficient cleaner heads. Made of soft microfiber fabric, the V12’s Laser Slim Fluffy cleaner head is made for bare floors and features a laser light that spotlights dust and fur in dim corners. It is gentle on delicate parquet but doesn’t work on rugs and carpets. The separate Motorbar cleaner head, on the other hand, agitates dirt embedded in carpets before it’s ferreted up the tube and into the dustbin.
In our testing, we found that the Fluffy head picked up larger debris that the Motorbar head tended to snowplow. Both V12 Detect Slim cleaner heads are low-riding and swivel 180 degrees, so you can reach into tight corners, around table legs, and under furniture.
It’s comfortable to use. Whereas previous Dyson models featured an uncomfortable trigger-style switch that you had to squeeze to operate the machine, the V12 Detect Slim has an on/off button. Among the stick vacuums we tested, we found this lightweight model the easiest to maneuver.
It is versatile and has cool features. The V12 easily converts into a handheld vacuum and comes with helpful attachments for tasks around the home and in the car. Its crevice tool lets you get into pesky cracks, its combination tool allows for quick switching between a wide nozzle and a brush, and its mini motorized brush tool is one of the best we tested for removing pet hair from upholstery.
The V12 Detect Slim’s LCD screen shows animated maintenance reminders, troubleshooting tips, and, most important, a battery-life countdown. Its chief gimmick is its particle counter—supposedly to help you feel confident that you’ve deep-cleaned your flooring. We don’t know how accurate or useful the particle counter is, but it can be a fun motivator.
But it has a tiny dustbin. Its roughly 12-ounce dustbin is very small. In our tests, we had to empty it at least three times when cleaning a 650-square-foot space with pets. (Our guide to the best vacuums for people with pets offers recommendations on that front.)
And it has a few other limitations. Cordless vacuums tend to have less suction than plug-ins, and their battery power limits users to 25 to 45 minutes of use.
Read more about the Dyson V12 Detect Slim in our guide to cordless stick vacuums.
