WIRED’s Dyson V16 Piston Animal review gives Dyson’s newest stick vacuum a 7/10: very strong, useful in ways older models are not, and expensive enough that the buying case gets wobbly fast.
Reviewer Nena Farrell tested the V16 Piston Animal Submarine, the version that adds Dyson’s wet cleaning head. Dyson says the V16 produces 315 air watts of suction, up from 262 air watts on the Gen5Detect, which had been Dyson’s most powerful stick vacuum since 2023. More suction sounds like the easy win on a spec sheet. Farrell’s testing found the real-world difference was less tidy.
The V16’s main hardware change is the All Floor Cones Sense cleaner head, which is designed to handle hard floors and soft flooring without swapping attachments. According to WIRED, it detects surface changes in about a second. On hard floors, a green dust light comes on. On carpets and rugs, suction rises audibly.
Farrell said that system worked well while moving between rugs and hard flooring at home. The vacuum also includes Eco, Auto, and Boost modes, controlled through a built-in LCD screen. Dyson released three stick vacuums this summer, including the V10 Konical and V8 Cyclone, and WIRED notes the V16 is the only one of the three with a screen.
Is the Dyson V16 Piston Animal worth it?
WIRED’s answer is conditional: buy it if you want the add-ons, especially the wet cleaning head and the coming self-emptying dock. If you mainly want a strong Dyson stick vacuum, Farrell found the older Gen5Detect remains competitive and costs less.
The V16 Piston Animal is listed at $980, with WIRED showing sale pricing of $850 at Amazon and Dyson. The Submarine version costs $1,100. The Gen5Detect is cited at $840, while a Shark PowerDetect Speed used for comparison is listed at $280.
In cleaning tests, the V16 pulled plenty of dust and hair from carpets and rugs, including after areas had been vacuumed the previous week. But Farrell found the Gen5Detect performed similarly in many cases, and sometimes better. The V16 had mixed results with sand, including trouble collecting more than half from a thinner rug and pushing some into a pile on a thicker one. On vinyl plank flooring, it did something similar with cat litter, although a second pass cleaned up the debris.
That is the part where the price starts heckling the product. WIRED said the cheaper Shark handled those same kinds of messes without the same issue in side-by-side testing.
What does the Submarine head add?
The Submarine version adds a wet cleaner head for mopping, and Farrell found it more convincing than expected. When attached, the V16’s screen switches to Basic and Max modes. WIRED said Basic mode was enough for dirty stains on LVP flooring, and the powered head pulls the machine forward, making it easier to push.
The wet head needs a short prep step. Farrell said users should roll it back and forth for 10 to 20 seconds before mopping, until steady water trails appear. She also recommended vacuuming first with the Fluffy Optic head because the wet head’s debris tray appears smaller than those on Dyson’s dedicated wet cleaners.
The V16 also includes built-in crevice tools in the wand and handheld motor, a dust-compactor tool in the bin, a hair-screw attachment associated with the Animal line, and a tube release that lets users detach the head without bending down. WIRED said the compactor did not fully eliminate hands-on bin cleanup, particularly with fluffy debris.
Dyson plans a self-emptying dock for the V16 later this year, but WIRED said it is not available yet and will cost extra. The Submarine head is also an add-on, and WIRED noted it does not include Dyson’s cleaning solution.
Farrell’s bottom line is that the V16 is Dyson’s most capable stick vacuum if the buyer values one machine that can vacuum, mop, and later dock into a self-emptying station. For buyers focused on cleaning performance per dollar, WIRED’s testing points to cheaper options that make Dyson’s flagship look less inevitable than its suction number suggests.
This story draws on original reporting from WIRED.
