I was giddy with excitement when the brand-new Dyson 360 Vis Nav robot vacuum arrived on my New York doorstep. Priced at $1,200 and advertised as being “the world’s most powerful robot vacuum,” the bot sashayed (video) into the US market as if it already owned it.
I’ve tested over a dozen robot vacuums over the past year and a half, but exactly zero from Dyson. In fact, the company, known for making vacuums sexy, hasn’t released a robot vacuum in the US since 2016. Sure, we described an earlier model, the Dyson 360 Eye, as “deeply flawed,” but who hasn’t engaged in a little selective perception when faced with a crush? This new purple bot looked worthy of a right swipe.
It all felt right from the moment I laid eyes on the 360 Vis Nav, which was tightly cradled in a stylish and efficiently packed white box, decorated with glamor shots of the machine. Set up (video) was a breeze: There were no bulky, shedding styrofoam chunks to remove and no brushes, filters, or bins to insert; I didn’t even need to query the manual or scan a QR code. Never before has a piece of cleaning equipment slid so effortlessly into my life.
After this extraordinarily smooth start, I felt that my new robot crush needed a name. Dyson 360 Vis Nav doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue when voice-controlling your robot (or any time, for that matter). So, inspired by its ’90s vibe (video) and color scheme, I added its new name to the app: Violet.
This is the story of our dalliance.
