Dyson’s V10 Konical is shaping up as the sensible cordless vacuum in the company’s latest batch, according to WIRED reviewer Nena Farrell, who rated it 7 out of 10 after a week of testing. That is faintly comic, given Dyson’s usual habit of selling ever more elaborate stick vacs like they are small domestic aircraft.
The V10 Konical lists for $500 and was available for $400 at Amazon and Dyson at the time of WIRED’s review. Farrell described it as relatively affordable for a Dyson, while still expensive compared with cordless vacuums from other brands.
The machine uses Dyson’s new All Floor Cones cleaner head, rather than the older Motorbar head used on the new V8 Cyclone. Dyson says the cone-shaped rollers are designed to keep long hair from wrapping around the brush assembly. Farrell reported that, during testing, hair had not tangled around the cones.
The cleaner head also includes a light for spotting dust and debris on hard floors. The V10 Konical does not include a dedicated hard-floor head or wet-cleaning head, and Farrell found that limitation showed up in hard-floor testing. It picked up cat litter from hardwood, but required multiple passes.
Lower suction, better than expected results
On paper, the V10 Konical is not Dyson’s muscle model. WIRED reported that it has 150 air watts of suction, below Dyson’s V15 Detect at 240 air watts. Dyson also says the V10 Konical’s motor assembly uses 15 cyclone chambers to manage airflow.
Farrell wrote that suction ratings did not tell the whole story. In use, she found the V10 Konical felt closer to the V15 Detect than the numbers suggest, especially on carpet. In handheld mode, she said it felt particularly strong.
The battery is a seven-cell lithium pack rated for up to 60 minutes, the same runtime WIRED cited for the higher-end V15. There are three suction modes: eco, medium, and max. Instead of a display, the vacuum uses a colored light on the mode button: green, blue, and red. That means users do not get a live battery estimate, which is less than ideal if they spend much time in higher-power modes.
Test scores favored the middle child
Farrell tested five Dyson vacuums using sand, cat litter, Cheerios, general cleaning, and handheld use, scoring each category from 1 to 4. The V10 Konical scored 14 out of 20, ahead of the V15 Detect at 12, the V16 Piston Animal, and the V8 Cyclone. Only the Gen5Detect scored higher, at 17.
The standout result was sand on a rug. Farrell reported that the V10 Konical beat even more expensive Dyson models, including the V15 Detect and Gen5Detect, in that test. It also handled a deliberate Cheerios mess well, and felt easier to push on a low-pile rug than the V8 Cyclone with its Digital Motorbar head.
Its accessory set is modest. WIRED said the V10 Konical ships with a crevice tool and a mini motorized upholstery tool. It also includes fully sealed, five-stage HEPA filtration, which Farrell noted is absent from some older and cheaper Dyson models, including the V15 and the new V8.
Dyson plans an Auto-empty Dok later this year, and WIRED reported that the V10 Konical and the $980 V16 Piston Animal are the current models slated to work with it. Farrell’s bottom line was narrow but useful: for buyers set on Dyson and living mostly with carpets and rugs, the V10 Konical is the better buy than the cheaper V8 and a more balanced choice than some costlier Dysons. She still preferred Shark’s PowerDetect overall.
This story draws on original reporting from WIRED.
