- Dyson has announced the Spot+Scrub Ai robot vacuum, which will go on sale in 2026
- It features AI mapping and stain detection, plus roller mopping
- There's also a bagless auto-empty dock with water tanks and mop cleaning
Dyson does a lot of things extremely well, but historically robot vacuums have not been one of them. Its current effort – the Dyson 360 Vis Nav – fell flat thanks to its lack of features, unjustifiably high price tag and inexcusable navigation issues.
So I was more than a little surprised to see, hidden in the current tsunami of new Dyson launches, a new robot vacuum. On paper, the Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai looks far more promising than its predecessors. Frankly, it needs to be: the market is moving at breakneck speed, and today's best robot vacuums are incredibly capable and packed with features.
The USP is in the name: this bot uses AI to spot stains, and then go back and forth over them until it knows they're gone. Dyson says it can identify nearly 200 objects and substances, using and AI-powered camera and vibrant green, dirt-illuminating laser similar to the one found on the floor heads of today's best Dyson manual vacuums.
I got a sneak preview at the Dyson Unveiled event in Berlin (running adjacent to IFA 2025) and the main think that struck me is the size. This bot is really very chunky compared to competitor models – both in width and height of the robot itself, and the size of the dock. Not one for small homes, then.
Inside, there's LiDAR and 'AI vision' for mapping and navigation – something this model really needs to get right, because all the fancy features in the world won't make up for a robovac that can't find its way around, as the Vis Nav proved.
Previous Dyson robovacs have focused entirely on the vacuuming bit, but this is the first one that can also mop. What's more, the mopping setup looks good: there's a roller mop that's continually fed with fresh water as it spins, and it can kick out to one side by 1.6 inches / 4cm to get right up close to the edges of rooms. I saw that extending mop in action – take a look in the video above.
This is a relatively new style of robovac mop, but it looks like a winner. We were impressed with it on the Eureka J20, and it's getting more popular amongst new releases – a particularly advanced version appears on the new Dreame robovac, for example.
Lean, mean, clean machine
The other big oversight with Dyson's previous robovac was that it came with only the most basic of docks, which charged the bot but nothing else. Here, the brand has gone over and above to rectify the issue. The dock accompanying the Spot+Scrub Ai can not only empty dust but also refill the onboard water tanks and wash and dry the mop pads.
In fact, Dyson has introduced some of its considerable vacuum cleaner expertise into the auto-empty setup, adding cyclones and making use of a bagless system that removes the ongoing annoyance and cost of purchasing new bags.
I'm a little disappointed to see Dyson opting for a more generic look here. While the previous D-shape was divisive (TechRadar's reviewer liked it; no one else did), the purple-blue color scheme was distinctively Dyson, and I was quite taken with the fact the whole thing looked like you'd put a Dyson stick vac in a hydraulic press.
Here, there are a few pops of red and purple, plus a nod to the vacuum cyclones at the top of the dock dustbin, but it's not quite as unique as the Vis Nav. Although one design decision that might raise a few eyebrows is the transparent dustin in the dock. Dyson is convinced everyone wants to see what's been sucked up – I'll leave you to make your own call on that.
If you can get over the size, the next hurdle might be pricing, which at time of writing is TBC. The brand can get away with charging a premium in markets where it's leading the way – its cordless stick vacuums genuinely push the envelope when it comes to performance and features, but Dyson doesn't have the same cachet in the robot vacuum space. I'm interested to see how this bot is positioned in the wider market.
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