Dyson Omni-glide review: Compact, cordless vacuum cleaner with great power

Price: Rs 34,900

The Dyson Omni-glide is proof that spending extra money can get you much more than just a functional box with suction power. This short and compact vacuum cleaner looks good, comes with great power to suck debris, and has attachments for hard-to-reach places.
 
Usually, vacuum cleaners are bulky, including the Dyson V11 which is no doubt superb at collecting dust. It’s the weight that makes these machines cumbersome to move around. But not the Omni-glide. This cordless handheld vacuum cleaner weighs less than 2kg, making it super convenient to manoeuvre. Complementing this experience is the power button instead of a trigger, which when pressed once keeps the machine working and convenient to switch between hands. The design -- which has all the parts in a straight line -- right from the body, bin, extension hose and attachments -- adds to the utility quotient. This vacuum cleaner can lay flat and collect dust from under the furniture such as a bed, sofa or table. Using the extension hose makes it about 3.5 feet tall, which is good enough to reach far end areas or those at height, a quick solution to traditional cleaning challenges.
 
This list of goodies does not end here. Accompanied with multiple cleaning heads, the omnidirectional soft roller head glides 360 degrees, easily moving into tight spaces. It houses two rollers rotating in opposite directions to suck debris and even small food and dust particles efficiently. I’ll be honest, to test Dyson’s proficiency, I used the Omni-glide on a traditionally cleaned (dry broom and wet mopped) floor, and it still managed to collect some minute dust particles. The mini-motorised tool worked smoothly to upholstery and will be a boon for those with pets at home. All this debris is collected in the bin, which is super convenient to clean. The no-contact mechanism required me to push the bin lever down while emptying the bin into the dustbin. The battery backup is decent too. Given the size of the machine, it lasted about 18 minutes on normal mode and just 4 minutes of powerful/max mode. However, unlike the V11, it doesn’t display the remaining battery time.
 
While the machine is simply superb in every department, there are a few shortcomings too. For instance, hair got stuck in the soft roller head while cleaning, which was a challenge to get rid of. I had to use my hands and a sharp object, defeating the purpose of no interaction with dust. Because if not cleaned regularly, it might hamper the machine’s functionality and cleaning. Secondly, while the machine works on the carpets, it isn’t as powerful with cleaning as the V11. Lastly, for this 20-minute work, the machine takes over 3 hours to charge. For a bigger house, this battery backup might be less but not for a 2 bedroom house. If you intend to use it extensively, it will be wise to invest in an additional battery (which can be swapped easily) while the first one charges. A small mount is added to the box to which you can simply attach this machine post-use to charge.
 
Verdict: Omni-glide is superb at dry mopping hard floors. And support for wet mopping would have done wonders. But I am thinking this only because Indian houses are tuned to wet mopping, even if not a necessity. The Omni-glide, unsurprisingly, belongs to Dyson’s legacy cleaning machines, which manages to suck debris even with less power.

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