It’s been a few years since Dyson disrupted the home haircare market with the release of the Dyson Airwrap styler, giving the competition plenty of time to catch up.
Since then, we’ve seen a host of Dyson Airwrap dupes hit the scene, from those that stay fairly close to Dyson’s high-tech, premium grade finish such as the Shark FlexStyle, to more affordable and approachable options such as the Bellissima Air Wonder 8 in 1 Hot Air Styler. This more conventional hair dryer doesn’t offer the advanced engineering and suction of the Dyson and Shark models, but its selection of attachments makes for a great first step towards leveling up your hair care.
Using the Bellissima Air Wonder with its one of seven attachments enables you to dry and style your hair in almost any way you can imagine – once you figure out the locking mechanism, that is, which is the source of a majority of complaints I’ve read online due to its unclear instructions.
The styling tool is capable and the results are decent, but I wouldn’t say it’s offering the best value for money simply because it comes in cheaper than the Dyson Airwrap. Each of the components feels pretty cheap, and both the attachments and the lock ring become so hot that you can actually burn yourself – I did so a few times, much to my chagrin. Note, too, that there’s no temperature control; just two heat settings and a cool shot. This is cause for some concern: how damaging might it prove to hair in the long-term if it’s so hot that it burns me after 10 minutes of use?
Still, if you’re careful – making sure you keep your hair hydrated and use good products – then I don’t think the Bellissima Air Wonder will be too much of a problem; but I wouldn’t use it every day or call it one of the best hair dryers I've tested.
Bellissima Air Wonder: Price and availability
List price: $111 / £100
Where can you get it? Available in the US and the UK
For a hot air styler, the Bellissima Air Wonder is pretty affordable at $111 / £100, and it’s widely available in the UK from retailers including Amazon and Argos. In the US, it’s slightly less accessible, but can be found through third-party retailers such as Beauty Bay.
One of the big positives for the value proposition of the Air Wonder is its included attachments. The product’s name is somewhat misleading, though, in that it actually comes with only seven attachments; I presume the supposed eighth styling tool is the wand itself – which is a bit useless for drying hair on its own. Aside from this, it’s a decent enough, affordable alternative to other multi-stylers; but I wouldn’t say it offers great value for money on account of some of its performance and design issues.
Value: 4 / 5
Bellissima Air Wonder: Specifications
Bellissima Air Wonder: Design
White wand with seven black and gold attachments
Storage bag included
Lock function is clumsily designed
Opting for a luxe color palette of cream with black and gold accents, the Bellissima Air Wonder 8 in 1 is a brush hair dryer, following the form factor of other multi-stylers by opting for a wand rather than the traditional L-shaped dryer.
It’s fairly ergonomic in the hand, with a slight pear shape that keeps the controls within easy reach. At its thinnest point it’s about the same width as the Dyson Airwrap and Shark FlexStyle, but it’s a little shorter at 20.9 x 10.6 inches/ 53 x 27cm (l x w). Its longest attachments are the rounded brushes and curling iron, which add 19 inches/ 50cm to the overall length.
(Image credit: Future / Josephine Watson)
At the top of the wand is the lock ring, where you attach the accessories, and just below this sit the temperature controls. There’s no granular control on the Bellissima Air Wonder; simply a cool setting, and two heat settings. At the hilt of the wand is the fan.
The attachments are coated with ceramic and keratin, and lock into place with a twist. There’s a QR code with instructions on how to do this included, since it’s clearly been a pain point; many customers online have been making returns or raising complaints about accessories falling off.
Unlike the more premium Shark and Dyson devices, the Air Wonder has a far more manageable 3m cord, and the included bag makes it super-easy to store away.
While the Bellissima Air Wonder does indeed look very nice, all of the parts feel a bit tacky. In use, especially, it doesn’t feel robust, and there are lots of cracks and crevices in which your hair can easily become caught and ripped (like mine did a fair few times!)
Design: 3 / 5
(Image credit: Future / Josephine Watson)
Bellissima Air Wonder: Performance
On test, the Bellissima Air Wonder 8 in 1 performed pretty well, transforming my typically unruly strands into silky and well-tamed locks – but it wasn’t smooth-sailing getting there, and I wouldn’t say I ever achieved the results I was expecting.
First, the positives. I welcomed the wide selection of accessories, and they definitely encouraged me to be a bit more adventurous with my daily styling. I mostly used the nozzle for rough drying and the three-barrel brushes to create volume and curls in my hair, all of which worked pretty well. Having never before used ovular brushes for styling, I particularly enjoyed seeing how I could get some more natural volume into my hair with the oval brush.
(Image credit: Future / Josephine Watson)
I found that styles created using the volume-centric attachments held well in my hair, playing nicely with the direct heat and airflow from the wand. Generally speaking, my hair felt silky and smooth to the same standard as it does with my go-to hair dryer, the Panasonic EH-NA65.
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(Image credit: Future / Josephine Watson)
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(Image credit: Future / Josephine Watson)
However, I found the other attachments disappointing. The curling iron was the biggest offender here, and it seems I’m not the only one, with dozens of frustrated customers having left feedback online that the tool just doesn’t work, despite being a big selling point. Any curls I did manage to achieve dropped pretty rapidly.
This is particularly surprising given the hair dryer's biggest weakness – how hot the main unit and its attachments become. It also feels like a massive oversight given that one of the key selling points of the air styler is being able to swap out attachments. Not only do these accessories feel incredibly hot to the touch, but even the lock ring itself becomes too hot to operate.
This means that despite the multi-styler making quick work of drying my hair, the whole styling process was significantly lengthened by having to turn off the device or purge the heat using the cool shot multiple times.
The lack of a temperature control, plus the maximum heat of the styler being 392ºF/200ºC, means I have some serious concerns about how this dryer might impact the health of hair, especially if it’s used regularly and without careful consideration to hair protection and health.
Personally, I’d only use the Air Wonder on occasion rather than daily – which, in my opinion, brings down the value of the product overall quite considerably.
Performance: 3 / 5
Should I buy the Bellissima Air Wonder?
(Image credit: Future / Josephine Watson)
Buy it if...
Don't buy it if...
Bellissima Air Wonder: Also consider
If the Bellissima Air Wonder isn't for you, why not consider these other hair stylers?
How I tested the Bellissima Air Wonder 8 in 1
I used the Bellissima Air Wonder 8 in 1 every day for 3 weeks
I tried all of the accessories on my medium-length wavy and thick hair
I tested all of its settings, benchmarking against the competition
For the three weeks I used the Bellissima Air Wonder 8 in 1, I made a concerted effort to use all of its accessories and settings, creating different styles with my hair to see how well they performed. I assessed how healthy my hair looked after styling, and how well various styles remained throughout the day.
I timed how long it took me to dry my hair compared to the Air Wonder’s closest competition – Shark and Dyson – as well as my standard, conventional dryer.
I’ve been testing haircare products for two years professionally, but I’ve always had long hair and styled it with various products over the years.
The SweetNight Original Cooling Gel Foam Pillow is a fat pillow. Honestly, I've hugged humans that didn't seem to be this substantial. It's thick and chunky – and I love it. Admittedly, I'm a big fan of tall, soft, high-loft pillows. However, if you prefer a medium or low loft, you can zip it open and remove as much of the gel memory foam stuffing you need to until it's the perfect height for you. This makes the SweetNight Original pills suitable for back, stomach, and side sleepers, as well as various builds.
The gel memory foam and breathable cover also combine to help with temperature regulation, which is important to hot sleepers. While this pillow isn't 'cool to the touch' per se, it didn't make me hot, either, in the more than two weeks that I slept on it. In addition, the outer cover is hypoallergenic, antibacterial, and dust-mite resistant, and can be removed and washed, which is a win on the hygiene front.
Keep reading to see how the pillow matches up to the rest of the on the market. And if you're looking for ways to really boost your sleep comfort further, take a look at our guide to this year's best mattress for all budgets.
Having tested plenty of other other options, I think the SweetNight Original Cooling Gel Foam Pillow is one of the very best pillows on the market right now. It's ultra-comfortable, effectively temperature regulating, and reasonably-priced. Plus, the adjustability means it can suit any type of sleeper. Read on for my full SweetNight Original Cooling Gel Foam Pillow review.
SweetNight Original Pillow review: Specs
SweetNight Original Pillow review: Price and deals
Currently the SweetNight Original Cooling Gel Foam Pillow is the only pillow in the SweetNight range, and it's available in three sizes. It's available to purchase directly from SweetNight but also might be available via Amazon – although the stuffing on that version looks different in the photos, so it might not be exactly the model I reviewed. Regular sales mean you should be able to avoid paying full price.
Here's a look at the official pricing and the discounts available on the SweetNight site at time of writing:
Standard: MSRP $75 (on sale for $60)
Queen: MSRP $80 (on sale for $64)
King: MSRP $85 (on sale for $68)
View the SweetNight Original Pillow from $75 now $60 The SweetNight Original pillow comes stuffed with cubes of cooling gel foam, which can be removed to achieve the perfect loft. It's available in three sizes (although the standard seems to be perpetually out of stock) and all are discounted at time of writing.View Deal
SweetNight Original Pillow review review: Design and materials
Gel-infused, cubed memory foam stuffing
Stuffing can be removed to adjust loft
Outer cover is waterproof and machine-washable
The SweetNight Original Cooling Gel Foam Pillow is made of gel-infused shredded memory foam filling. With all the cubes inside, this is a seriously thick pillow. However, they can be removed to adjust the loft to the sleeper's exact preferences.
(Image credit: Future)
This pillow actually has two covers. The cubes of foam are encased within an inner cover, and then there's a second, outer cover, made from a rayon and polyester blended fabric. The outer cover can be removed and tossed into the washing machine, making it easy to keep this pillow clean. SweetNight recommends tossing the pillows into the dryer every two months (with the zippered covers on) to keep them from going flat.
There are three sizes to choose from. At time of writing there were no dimensions listed on the SweetNight site, but the PR provided sizes as follows:
Regular: 62cm x 45cm (out of stock at time of writing)
Queen: 70cm x 45cm
King: 91cm x 45cm
The pillows are also OEKO-TEX certified to be free of harmful chemicals, and the foam is CertiPUR-US certified, which means it meets certain environmental and health standards (all the best memory foam mattresses will have this certification for their foams).
Design score: 5/5
SweetNight Original Pillow review: Comfort and support
Gel-infused cubed foam stuffing is comfortable and supportive
Can be adjusted to suit all sleep positions and body types
When full, this pillow is very thick
The SweetNight Original Cooling Gel Foam Pillow is a thick pillow that provides a comfortable – actually huggable – experience. It's one of those pillows that encourages you to sleep face down simply so you can hug it. And let's be honest, that's actually the best position for the best sleep! (ed's note: this is actually not the best position to sleep in, as it's not good for your back in the long run – you're better lying on your side).
The SweetNight Original Cooling Gel Foam Pillow comes filled with cubed foam stuffing, designed to make the pillow supportive yet comfortable. Zips on the inner and outer covers enable you to remove as much stuffing as you want, to achieve your perfect loft. If you leave all the stuffing inside, this is a seriously thick pillow, but you could make it a medium loft or even a low loft if you prefer. All this means it can be adapted to suit pretty much anyone, of any build and sleep position, and ensure your head is at the perfect height to ensure correct spinal alignment.
(Image credit: Future)
My preference is for a thick, high loft pillow that's huggable, so I never removed any of the fill. It's hard to imagine a better sleeping experience – I would liken it to sleeping on a cloud, but a supportive cloud that could be hugged.
Many memory foam pillows are made from a single block of foam, which can feel overly firm or solid. The cube-shaped memory foam filling here makes the SweetNight pillow incredibly soft and fluffy. It contoured comfortably around my head when lying on it, but there was none of the slow-moving, quicksand feel traditionally associated with memory foam – instead, the SweetNight pillow is springy and bounces back immediately when pressure is removed. It also kept its shape extremely well, and I never had to refluff it.
For me, sleeping face-down was the absolute best position with the DreamFoam pillow. Sleeping on my side was also comfortable, as was propping the pillows behind my back when sitting in bed to watch TV. When sleeping on my back, the pillow wasn't uncomfortable, but my body tended to transition into the other two positions – partially because they were more comfortable, and partially because I only sleep on my back when in testing mode.
Firmness and support score: 5 out of 5 stars
SweetNight Original Pillow review: Temperature regulation
Not cool to the touch, but the general temperature regulation is good
No issues with this pillow trapping body heat
Cubed memory foam offers better breathability
The memory foam stuffing in the SweetNight Original pillow is infused with gel (referred to as 'icy particles'), which is designed to help with temperature regulation. Gel-infused foam is used regularly in memory foam mattresses, but in reality, industry insiders will tell you that the gel is added in such small quantities that it won't make an appreciable difference to how the foam feels. Nevertheless, some foams do sleep cooler than others, and I found the SweetNight offered decent temperature regulation.
The fact that the foam is cubed will also help boost breathability compared to if it were a solid slab, because there's space for air to circulate within the pillow.
(Image credit: Future)
The SweetNight Original Cooling Gel Foam Pillows weren't cool to the touch, but neither are the vast majority of 'temperature-regulating' pillows that I test. However, the pillows did provide a relatively cool sleeping experience. Since I have central heat and air, the temperature doesn't change much in my home, so I'm never hot in the summer or cold in the winter. However, during testing phases, I sometimes get hot in any season if the pillows or bedding is hot. I didn't have any issues with the SweetNight pillow trapping heat or getting warm overnight.
Temperature regulation score: 4.5 out of 5 stars
SweetNight Original Pillow review: Setup and extras
Arrive shrink-wrapped, 1-2 hours to expand
SweetNight warns there can be off-gassing
... but I didn't have an issue with this
The pair of SweetNight Original Cooling Gel Foam Pillows arrived in two branded boxes. I'm not a fan of branded boxes, since they tend to advertise what's inside. So I'm always thankful when these boxes safely reach their destination.
Admittedly, the boxes were a little beat up, but had been thoroughly taped, and the contents were in good condition. Inside each box, the pillows were individually wrapped in one layer of plastic, and shrink-wrapped in a second layer of plastic.
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(Image credit: Future)
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SweetNight recommends allowing 1 to 2 hours for the pillows to fully inflate, so I tore open the plastic wrap, and then left them for 2 hours to expand. The brand also warns that it's normal for new pillows to have a slight odor, but by letting the pillow air out for 1-2 days, the smell would dissipate. This is know as off-gassing and it's harmless but can occasionally be unpleasant. To be on the safe side, I moved my SweetNight pillows to another location for two days, although I never smelled any off-gassing odors – and my nose is sensitive.
In terms of extras, you've got a 30-day full refund period (there aren't many details at all about what kind of returns will be accepted during this period). The pillow comes backed with a three-year warranty.
Setup and extras score: 4/5
SweetNight Original Pillow review: Customer reviews
At time of writing (Sep 2023), on Amazon, the SweetNight Original Cooling Gel Foam Pillow has 603 ratings with an average rating of 4.3 stars. Many reviewers highly recommended the pillow, said they absolutely loved it, finally found the right pillow, and were glad it relieved shoulder and neck pain and supported their neck region. Among the handful of negative reviews were comments that the pillow was too flat, hard as a rock, and produced a chemical smell.
On SweetNight, the pillow has 382 reviews with a 5.0 rating – and 100% would recommend the product. There were only 5- and 4-star reviews. Buyers found the pillow very comfortable, and noted that they had less neck pain when sleeping on it. Among the 4 star ratings, some buyers said they wanted more filling, or thought the pillow was too big, but still loved it.
(Image credit: Future)
Should you buy the SweetNight Original Pillow?
The SweetNight Original Cooling Gel Foam Pillow is one of the best memory foam pillows that I've tested. It's supportive while also being soft and luxurious. The ability to remove some of the fill makes the pillow a good choice for side, back, and stomach sleepers. Also, the gel foam filling and outer cover are temperature regulating to keep the pillow cool. And since the outer cover is machine washable, it's easy to keep the pillows clean. An excellent all-rounder that will suit almost anyone.
SweetNight Original Pillow review: Also consider
How I tested the SweetNight Original Pillow
For over two weeks, I slept on a pair of SweetNight Original Cooling Gel Foam Pillows to see how they fared in performance, testing for setup, comfort, support, and temperature regulation. I also lay in side-, back-, and stomach-sleeping positions to see if the performance was the same.
The Nanoleaf Matter Essentials smart bulb is a minor update to the original bulb that was launched in 2021. Not a lot has changed with the new smart bulb, with the sole exception of the addition of Matter connectivity. This makes Nanoleaf’s new light a more futureproof option for a smart home setup.
Before I go into the smart bulb review itself, let’s quickly run through why Matter matters. It’s a connectivity protocol that allows devices from different brands to interact with one another. This makes things like lightbulbs, appliances and other smart gadgets compatible with more brands, and in the case of the Nanoleaf Essentials smart bulb, means it can be controlled with more smart home hubs – Google Home, Amazon Alexa, Apple Home and Samsung SmartThings. If you ever decide to switch platforms, you won’t have to replace any gadgets that are Matter-enabled.
Physically, the Nanoleaf smart bulb hasn’t changed – the Matter Essentials smart bulb keeps the unique polyhedron design from the original version, though there are a few changes to help differentiate it from the older bulbs, like the Matter symbol stamped onto the side.
It’s the software that really counts here, a change that allows the bulb to integrate into your smart home ecosystem, or start a future-proof automated home from scratch. When initially connecting the smart bulb to the app, Nanoleaf will scan for any firmware updates and prompt you to get them. There’s four in total as of the end of September 2023, each improving the reliability and response for Matter pairing, and also adding Circadian Lighting to the Matter-compatible Essentials range (which includes an updated lightstrip as well).
Nanoleaf Essential’s Matter upgrade wasn’t as seamless as it claimed when I first tried adding the A19 | E26 bulb (or A60 | E27 as the fitting is denoted in Australia where the light was tested) to my smart home – there were initial issues connecting the bulb to my Google Nest Hub 2, which was already connected to its iOS app on an Apple iPhone, which felt counterintuitive to how Matter is supposed to work. However, as of August, that issue has been resolved thanks to further firmware updates that were rolled out from both Nanoleaf and Google, and now I can control the bulb with my iPhone and the Nest Hub 2.
Speaking of the Apple ecosystem: it should be noted that not all features of the bulb will work, like Apple Adaptive Lighting, as it’s not HomeKit certified. While the bulb will connect to Apple Home via Matter, you will need a dedicated hub for HomeKit control.
You’d think that an updated smart bulb with new connectivity protocols would warrant a higher price tag, but it’s great that Nanoleaf has kept the price of its Matter Essentials smart bulb the same as the original model. So it’s the same affordable bulb we previously reviewed, but with some nice updates whose value will only become apparent when there are more Matter-enabled smart home devices available.
With over 16 million different color options, the Nanoleaf Matter Essentials smart bulb can get as bright as 1100 lumens. (Image credit: Future)
Prices start at $19.99 / £19.99 / AU$39.99 per bulb
Bundle packs available directly from Nanoleaf
Announced earlier this year alongside the updated light strip, the Nanoleaf Essentials smart bulb is available to purchase right now directly from Nanoleaf and from third-party retailers in most markets. In the US, you can grab the A19 bulbs for $19.99 individually, or $49.99 for a three pack. In both the UK and Australia, the A60 is the equivalent standard, and has a starting price of £19.99 / AU$39.99 for the single bulb, and £49.99 / AU$99.99 for a pack of three.
The price has remained the same as the older Apple Home Nanoleaf Essentials smart bulb, which has now been discontinued by Nanoleaf but will be supported for the foreseeable future.
The Matter Essentials smart bulb is available in large Edison screw and bayonet fittings at the same price, so you will need to make sure you purchase the correct option for your lamps. A Matter-enabled downlight is also available if you want to change your ceiling lights.
As I’ve mentioned earlier, Nanoleaf’s smart bulb is one of the most affordable on the market, coming in cheaper than a similar Philips Hue color globe where prices start at $54.99 / £54.99 / AU$119.95 (with varying availability on products, packs and brightness options in each region) for a single smart bulb with the full color spectrum. That’s a massive price difference, and Signify (the makers of the Hue range) is yet to adopt Matter connectivity.
Price and availability score: 4.5/5
The overall design hasn't changed for the Nanoleaf Matter Essentials smart bulb, but it does now sport a green tip on the Edison screw attachment. (Image credit: Future)
Still the same, unique rhombicosidodecahedron shape
Available in Edison screw and bayonet fittings
Nanoleaf hasn’t made any changes to the design of its Matter Essentials bulb from the previous Apple Home version. It still features a rhombicosidodecahedron shape that makes it stand out on a shadeless, industrial-looking lamp even when switched off.
If you compare the two generations of bulbs with the Edison screw (E26/E27), you’ll notice two minor changes – the tip of the connector is now green instead of white, and the graphics around the base of the bulb have changed. On the side of the newer bulb, there’s a new logo for Matter next to the QR code. Having the latter stamped on the bulb is handy as it means you won’t have to hold onto the information booklet if you need to re-pair your Essentials bulb when moving or swapping them around your house.
Design score: 4.5/5
The QR code for the Nanoleaf Matter Essentials smart bulb is located on the side of its base, so you can still connect it to a smart home ecosystem even if you lose the booklet. (Image credit: Future)
Connects to Apple, Google and Amazon smart home devices
Simple-to-use app
Requires Nanoleaf app for firmware updates
There’s a couple of ways to connect the Nanoleaf Matter Essentials smart bulb: through the Nanoleaf app, or via a smart home hub’s app (Google Home or Amazon Alexa). For the former, you simply scan the QR code on the side of the bulb or printed in the booklet, while for the latter you just search for the bulb once you’ve switched it on. You’ll need to have a compatible home hub to connect it to the corresponding apps, so that’s something to keep in mind if you have a preference.
As simple as that sounds, I initially had issues with the bulb refusing to connect to Google Home via the app on my iPhone. I had to use an Android handset (a Google Pixel 7a in this case) to get it working with my Google Nest Hub 2. However, the August update that Nanoleaf rolled out changed this and the Google Home app on my iPhone is now able to control the bulb. That has given me the option of controlling the Matter Essentials bulb with Google Assistant voice prompts. Though, as I don’t have an Apple HomePod, I can’t use Siri as you can’t connect the bulb to Homekit without it, nor can I use my iPad as a home hub since it's not part of the current Home architecture offered by Apple.
It’s important to note that you only get a 15-minute window to connect your Nanoleaf Essentials smart bulb to a Matter-enabled device after being powered up. After this time has lapsed, you’ll need to unplug the bulb from its power source, plug it back in and wait 30 seconds – if you don’t wait, you’ll be met with a security prompt.
When you first connect to a Nanoleaf Matter Essentials smart bulb in the Nanoleaf app, you'll be prompted to add it to an existing smart home ecosystem. (Image credit: Future)
Considering the Nanoleaf Matter Essentials bulb also still features Thread and Bluetooth connectivity, Matter doesn’t really, well, matter right now. It’s more about futureproofing your setup wherein you can connect multiple Matter-enable devices around the home and control them all with just one hub. If you do have a Matter (or Thread) router, your control options open up. For example, using a Matter hub means you can control your lights remotely or set up schedules. Nanoleaf handily lists all the different routers you can use as a control hub for this bulb, and it’s good to know it extends across different platforms (see the specs list above for a full list of Matter routers).
While you can forgo using the Nanoleaf app after the initial pairing and setup, you will need it for firmware updates and to access specific features like Circadian Lighting and creating custom color scenes, however these can essentially be copied through other apps, but I’ll go into this more in the performance and features part of this review.
The app itself is simple to use, with easy-to-navigate tabs and the ability to group lights together by rooms. Through it, you can download scenes and set schedules, though if you set up a schedule through a different way, like through Google Assistant, this will override the schedule you set up in the Nanoleaf app.
Setup and app score: 4/5
The Nanoleaf app has a number of exclusive features such as Circadian lighting and scenes, though you can mimic these functions using schedules and automations with other smart home apps. (Image credit: Future)
Nanoleaf Matter Essentials smart bulb review: performance & features
Voice control works almost instantly
Screen mirroring still only available with Nanoleaf desktop app
Supports 16 million colors, including cool white
With the Nanoleaf Matter Essentials smart bulb, you can add it to schedules, adjust its color, control it via voice commands and have it mirror your PC or Mac screen so long as you have the desktop app.
The colors on offer with this bulb are spectacular, with vibrant reds, deep blues, both cool and warm whites, and every color in between. I’d go so far as to say that the colors are more vivid than on a Hue light. With the Nanoleaf app, you can create or download scenes made by other users which will make the bulb switch between colors with different transition options available to adjust to your liking. If you’re really happy with any scene you’ve created, you can make them available for other Nanoleaf users to download too.
There are more color options available on phone apps for the Nanoleaf Matter Essentials smart bulb than you can select on the Google Nest Hub 2. (Image credit: Future)
It also has the ability to get brighter or dimmer, and you can even set it up to automatically adjust its brightness during the day using the Circadian Lighting feature. The Nanoleaf Matter Essentials A19 smart bulb dimming and brightness are also still fantastic, with the option to go all the way to 0%, and all the way up to the full 1100 lumen it's rated for. It doesn’t quite match the Philips Hues 1600 lumen, but it’s still really impressive, and will easily light up a small bedroom on its own, so long as you’re not using a lamp with a thick shade.
As a low-powered device, there is a small delay when taking voice prompts on the Google Nest Hub 2, but after the hub has registered the prompt, the Nanoleaf Matter Essentials bulb responds almost instantly. You can also make adjustments directly on any touch screen if your home hub has one, and I found any changes I made this way were also incredibly fast to take effect on the bulb itself.
This also means that if you include the bulb as part of any schedules, it will efficiently follow them at the allocated time. With automations through Google Home, you can set the bulb to turn on, change colors, brightness or follow Sleep or Wake lighting effects where the bulb will adjust brightness to simulate a natural sunrise or sunset.
Effectively, I found that I could mimic color scenes or Circadian Lighting this way, but it takes a few more steps to set it up. This does make the Nanoleaf app a little more redundant, though these features are much more intuitive through the app.
Performance and features score: 4/5
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At its brightest, the Nanoleaf Matter Essentials smart bulb is bright enough to change the color of a room even during the middle of the day. (Image credit: Future)
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Even with minimal brightness, the color of the Nanoleaf Matter Essentials smart bulb is still vibrant. (Image credit: Future)
Should I buy the Nanoleaf Matter Essentials smart bulb?
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
Also consider
How I tested the Nanoleaf Matter Essentials smart bulb
Tested with Google Nest Hub 2, iPhone XR and Google Pixel 7a
Kept up to date and tested with each update - latest September 18, 2023 (update 3.5.41)
Disconnected and reconnected into smart home system several times and in different ways
Initial testing of the Nanoleaf Matter Essentials A19 smart bulb involved the Google Nest Hub 2 and the iPhone XR back in late June. At the time, the bulb had issues connecting through the Google Home app on an Apple device, and required an Android handset.
In a bid to troubleshoot, I disconnected and reconnected periodically (both physically and in the app), using a different combination of phone and app each time. In my tests following the August 17, 2023 updates, I found that both the iPhone and the Google Pixel 7a are able to seamlessly pair the device to the Google Nest Hub 2, through the Google Home app.
I used the bulb in a floor lamp for both my bedroom, and used both in-app controls and voice commands to switch it off and on. I also added it to automations within the Google Home app, and synced it to my alarms on the Nest Hub 2 itself to see how it interacted with these settings.
The Philips Hue Smart Button is a wireless controller for the Philips Hue smart lighting system. It works in a similar way to the Hue Wireless Dimmer but is smaller, offers two different mounting options, and is intended to be a quick and simple way to control a bulb, a room, or an entire home with a press.
The button can be programmed to control Hue lights in several different ways. There’s a brief tap and a longer press-and-hold, each of which can be set to do different things. It’s also possible to have the button set a scene depending on the time of day, or it can cycle through several pre-programmed scenes with each subsequent press. A long press is used to dim whatever lights the button is programmed to control.
A wall-mounting plate is included in the box, along with a small disc that's the size of the button itself. Both can be fixed to the wall with the supplied adhesive strips, and the button itself snaps magnetically into place on either plate.
Philips Hue Smart Button: specs
Philips Hue Smart Button: performance
Wireless, powered by a CR2032 coin battery
Attaches magnetically to included wall plate and adhesive disc
Soft plastic finish with discreet status LED
The Philips Hue Smart Button works very much like other Philips Hue accessories, including the Wireless Dimmer and the Tap Dial Switch. Lights respond quickly to a press, and it can be set up to either control Hue lights directly or via the optional Hue Bridge.
You don’t need a Hue Bridge to use the Smart Button, but installing one will unlock greater functionality for both your Hue lights and accessories – most notably the ability to control your lights from the Hue app when away from home.
(Image credit: Future)
The button itself is made from a soft-touch, slightly rubberized plastic that gives it a premium feel. It’s a nice finish but one that has a habit of attracting dust and quickly looking unclean. The clicking action feels fairly premium, and we welcome the LED that's hidden beneath the plastic surface and can only be seen when illuminated. This helps alert you to any connection problems and blinks green when the button is pressed.
The mounting plate can be stuck to any interior wall with the included adhesive strips, or mounted with screws, if you prefer. The button also comes with a much smaller mount, which is also magnetic and features adhesive strips on the back. In our opinion, opting for the latter results in a much cleaner setup and means you won’t have the Philips logo slapped across your wall.
Philips Hue Smart Button: app
Quick and easy setup
Simple to configure
Fairly limited customization options
As with other Hue accessories, adding the Philips Hue Smart Button to your lighting system is done via the Hue app. The setup process is quick and easy, giving you the opportunity to name the button (something like "Hallway") and assign it to a room of lights. Alternatively, the button can be tasked with controlling one or more specific Hue lights and lighting strips, or a specific zone similar to one that includes every Hue light in the household.
As well as Hue lights, the Smart Button can control the Hue Smart Plug in exactly the same way. This means it can be used to fire up a heater, a fan, a lamp or pretty much anything that plugs into a wall outlet.
Using the Hue app to change how the button works is easy. You can pick which lights, rooms or zones it controls (ranging from a single light to an entire home), and configure what happens to those lights when you give the button a quick press or a press-and-hold.
By default, a single press activates a time-based lighting setup. Here, your lights will adjust to a certain setting depending on the time of day, with each 24-hour period sectioned into five different lighting presets, each mimicking natural sunlight at that time of day. This means cool, bluish white light in the morning; warmer, more yellow light in the afternoon and evening; and a darker, dimmer orange glow at night. You can change the time and lighting setting for each of these to suit your needs.
(Image credit: Future)
Alternatively, a press can cycle your lights through a range of presets. Up to five different lighting scenes can be added, with each button press skipping to the next one.
Lastly, there’s the press-and-hold control. This is far more limited, and it can only be used to either dim a certain set of lights or turn off every Hue light in your home. The latter is pretty useful, especially if you mount the Smart Button by the front door, ready to be pressed to turn everything off on your way out.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to configure this more deeply. We’d like to have a long press turn all the lights off but also turn on a single lamp in the lounge to act as a burglar deterrent. This limitation sums up the Philips Hue Smart Button: it works very well but only if you don’t expect too much from it. More possibilities for customization would have been welcome.
(Image credit: Future)
Philips Hue Smart Button review: Should I buy?
Buy it if...
Don't buy it if...
Philips Hue Smart Button review: Also consider
If you want to add more smart lighting to your home, here are a couple of options to consider...
Philips Hue Smart Button review: How I tested
I added the switch to my Hue lighting system
I set up and used the switch as part of my daily routine
I fitted the Smart Button to a wall in my hallway and configured the switch to cycle a Hue light bulb in the hall through several scenes when pressed, then turn off all of my Hue lights with a long press.
I also experimented with the settings and used the Smart Button for other uses, including as a portable dimmer switch for my lounge Hue lighting. Being wireless, the button also spent time on my bedside table and at my desk where it was configured to control office lighting.
The Dyson V15s Detect Submarine (try saying that quickly a few times!) is the brand’s first and only two-in-one vacuum cleaner and mop. It's essentially a Dyson stick vacuum with an extra attachment for mopping, and it's designed as an all-in-one option for people with both hard floor and carpet in their homes.
The vacuum is essentially 2021's Dyson V15 Detect – one down from the best Dyson vacuums in terms of specs, and one of the best cordless vacuums around overall. For this review, I tested a slightly upgraded, Australia-only version, which borrows a few features from the 2022 Dyson Gen5detect, including an integrated crevice tool and upgraded vacuum floorheads. Either way, the vacuuming is excellent, with advanced features like automatic suction adjustment based on dirt levels, and a Fluffy floorhead with a laser to illuminate hidden dirt.
The real star of the show, however, is the Submarine wet roller head for mopping. In my tests, this performed extremely well, handling everyday cleans as well as more specific tasks such as clearing a thick, almost-dry food spill, and muddy boot prints. The small water tanks mean it's better suited to relatively small mopping tasks, but overall I was very impressed with its cleaning performance.
That said, it suffers from one significant design flaw – the dirty water tank is not fully sealed and, as it gets full, it can spill. The stick vacuum’s LED display shows the clean water level only, meaning there’s no way to know how much dirty water is collecting. (The brand has addressed this flaw with its dedicated wet cleaner, which has fully sealed, transparent water tanks – read our full Dyson WashG1 review for more on that one.)
Moreover, as the wet roller continues cleaning, at some point it can start to leave dirty streaks, particularly when you’ve paused at a spot. As long as you keep moving, it’s fine. But when you do stop to remove the Submarine cleaning head to give it a wash, not only will the saturated roller leave a streak, you'll get some dirty water spilling out too which even its drip tray – yes, Dyson has thoughtfully included one – can't prevent.
If you can figure out how to avoid those spills – I sure couldn’t in the few weeks I was testing the V15s Detect Submarine – then Dyson’s cordless vacuum mop could be a great, space-saving buy. And considering it’s a Dyson with dual functionality, it’s priced rather well too. That's the short version; read on for my full Dyson V15s Detect Submarine review.
The Dyson V15s Detect Submarine was announced in July 2023, and came out in Australia first before hitting the US and UK markets.
In the US, the V15s Detect Submarine has a list price of $949.99, and in the UK it's £799.99.
Australian shopper have the choice of two V15s models. The standard one is called the V15s Detect Absolute, and costs AU$1,549, and then there's a Complete version (which I tested for this review) for AU$1,649. The Complete model has features taken from the Gen5detect stick vacuum, along with a freestanding floor dock.
While it's obviously still expensive, I think you're getting decent value for money here, because the package includes not only an advanced Dyson stick vacuum, but a mop too. (Prices for the V15 on its own start from $749.99 / £649.99 / AU$1,449.)
If you already have a different Dyson vacuum, you can't just purchase a Submarine floorhead and pop it on – it's not compatible with any other stick vacuums, even the standard V15, because the software has been rewired in the V15s to support vacuuming and mopping.
Value score: 4 / 5
(Image credit: TechRadar / Sharmishta Sarkar)
Dyson V15s Detect Submarine: Specs
Dyson V15s Detect Submarine review: Design
Base model is a Dyson stick vacuum, with an extra mop floorhead
Advanced vacuuming, with automatic suction adjustment
Relatively small water tanks on mop head
If you looked at the V15s Detect Submarine stick vacuum, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was just the V15 Detect vacuum. And that's essentially exactly what it is – the 'Submarine' part is entirely in the extra mopping floorhead.
The model I tested for this review (the Complete model, available in Australia only) borrows some features from the newer Gen5detect vacuum. For example, it has an integrated crevice tool hidden in the main wand (see exactly how the two vacuums compare in our Dyson Gen5detect vs V15 Detect feature).
Unfortunately, whichever version you go for, it'll be powered by a trigger, which needs to be continually pressed for use. That saddens me – Dyson swapped it for a single-press button on the Gen5detect; a big upgrade in my opinion.
(Image credit: TechRadar / Sharmishta Sarkar)
That minor annoyance aside, you're getting an impressive vacuum here. On the main machine you'll find a powerful motor, cylone array, and washable filter. There are three power modes, which you swap using a button. One of these modes will automatically adjust suction based on how dirty the floor is. In fact, it'll even report exactly what it's sucking up as it does so, on the LDC screen on the main machine.
This screen is also used to provide other useful information, such as how long you have left on the battery in the current suction mode. In mopping mode (which I'll get into in a second) it'll tell you how much clean water you have left.
(Image credit: TechRadar / Sharmishta Sarkar)
The bin-empty mechanism is straightforward and effective, although you will still need to watch out for the hair that gets tangled around the bin’s inner metal cylinder – these can be hard to remove and, as before, not the most hygienic cleaning method as Dyson would have us believe.
Submarine floorhead
The big news, though, is the mop floorhead. It took Dyson a while time to get there but it’s finally competing with the likes of the Samsung Bespoke Jet and the LG CordZero A9 Kompressor Aqua. With typical Dyson aesthetic, the new Submarine wet roller head has clean lines, a velvet roller, a small clean water ‘bottle’ (yes, it does resemble a water bottle) and, somewhere behind it all, a small compartment for the dirty mop water to collect. The entire Submarine wet roller is washable.
This is where someone at Dyson didn’t think things through as the compartment isn’t well sealed. That means that after you finish mopping and you want to remove the head to clean it, you will be dripping water on the floor as it sloshes around due to the movement.
The only way that I found to avoid this is to make sure the drip tray – a grey plastic tray that fits under the Submarine head – is placed by the sink you’re going to be cleaning the head at before you start to mop. The moment you finish, place the drip tray under the head and then detach it. It’s not foolproof though and you might just need the head again to mop up the spill you just created.
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Just going by the size, I thought the Submarine roller head would be heavy, but it’s surprisingly not. Even with water filled, the roller’s movement begins to pull the vacuum as soon as you press the power trigger, so moving it along a hard floor is very easy.
Maintaining the Submarine is easy as the velvet roller comes off and is fully washable, and you can rinse out the entire cleaning head – press a marked red button and the two parts slide apart.
Vacuum tools
In terms of vacuuming floorheads, there are two. The Digital Motorbar head is suitable for use on both hard floor and carpet, and is the head that needs to be attached if you want to use the automatic suction adjustment mode.
There's also a Fluffy Optic floorhead especially for use on hard floors. This has an integrated laser to highlight dirt that otherwise might go missed. The design was upgraded for the Gen5detect to be broader, brighter and (I found) much more useful. (Head to our Dyson vacuum tools guide for more on this.) The roller itself is washable.
(Image credit: Future)
Because I was testing the upgraded version of the V15s, my model also had an integrated crevice tool. While useful, I prefer it as a separate attachment – the integrated version needs to fit inside the tube of the handstick, resulting in it being short and the opening too round and broad.
The cutaway for the opening is angled too acutely, so you don’t necessarily create a seal when vacuuming a corner or skirting boards, and no dust gets sucked up. With the separate attachment, which comes with the standard version of the Submarine, the slim opening is more efficient and it can be attached to the end of the tube, giving you more reach.
(Image credit: TechRadar / Sharmishta Sarkar)
Another thing I have to talk about is the dock. The standard model comes with a wall dock similar to that you'll find with most Dyson vacuums.
However, the model I tested came with a freestanding 'Free Dok Multi'. This dock is far from what I expect from Dyson. The plastic feels flimsy, the parts aren’t easy to fit together and feel like they’ll break if I apply too much force, and the white plastic clashes really badly with the rest of the Dyson color aesthetic.
Moreover, if you do get the Free Dok Multi, you can’t stick it into a corner or against a wall. There is only one spot to hang one of the three large attachments that come with the machine, so at least one is going to be hanging off the side slots, and you have to account for its length. So the space the Free Dok Multi takes is more than its slimline look would suggest.
(Image credit: TechRadar / Sharmishta Sarkar)
Unlike both the Gen5detect and the V15 Detect, I find the V15s Detect Submarine a lot easier to move around, no matter which cleaning head I’m using. According to Dyson’s spec sheet, the Complete model weighs 3.8kg, compared to the V15 Detect at 3.1kg and the Gen5detect at 3.5kg. I think that’s a mistake as it feels lighter than the V15 Detect in the hand, and the Submarine roller just makes it super easy to drag along a floor. I’ve tried measuring the machine myself on a weighing scale, but because I have to hold it in place, the measurements aren’t accurate and come in at just under 3kg, which can’t be right either.
Design score: 4 / 5
Dyson V15s Detect Submarine review: Performance
Excellent mopping capabilities
Unsealed dirty water tank leaks easily
Vacuuming is excellent
Considering the V15s Detect Submarine is Dyson’s first vacuum mop, I think the company has done quite well. The appliance’s vacuuming skills are, as before, very good. It’s the same vacuuming performance we saw from the V15 Detect, just quieter. So carpets are well taken care of, as are hard floors. The dynamic suction we’ve seen in the last few Dyson models is here, so most users will only need to leave the machine in Auto mode and it will do its thing.
The Digital Motorbar is the catch-all tool for any kind of floor. However, if it’s mostly fine dust in your home and you don’t have pets, then you might prefer the Fluffy Optic floorhead, which has an integrated laser to illuminate hidden dirt. My review model shipped with the upgraded version introduced with the Gen5detect, with a wider, brighter and far more useful laser. Unfortunately, you might find your V15s has the older version from the V15, which I didn't rate that highly.
(Image credit: TechRadar / Sharmishta Sarkar)
So let’s talk mopping here in more detail. The Submarine wet roller cleaning attachment is pretty impressive when it comes to cleaning spills. Tracked muddy shoes through the house? The Submarine will take care of that and do an impressive job of cleaning up the mud – whether dried or wet – and the stains on the floor. Spilt water on the floor? The Submarine roller will mop that dry too. I used it in the bathroom of my test space (aka my own apartment), not just to mop the floor but also dry out the shower stall and I was very impressed indeed. Some stubborn food stains may need a few passes over them, but the Submarine is perfectly capable of handling that.
There's no suction when in mop mode, and this machine isn't really set up for tackling spillages that combine liquids and solids. If you need to clean up breakfast cereal, for example, you can mop up the milk, but deal with the cereal separately. Spills with smaller bits of food, like rice, can be cleared up easily by the Submarine, but you will need to give it a good wash and allow it to dry fully before using it again. In general, for wet-and-dry spills, you'd be much better off with the Dyson WashG1, which is designed specifically for that kind of thing.
Even more impressive is the fact that the roller seems to pick up a heck of a lot of fine dust that the Fluffy Optic misses and doesn’t even illuminate, leaving your floors spotless and a lot cleaner than just vacuuming. I’m basing this on the color of the mop water and how dirty the roller gets after just a few passes on an already-vacuumed floor.
What was not so impressive was the subsequent dirty water spills I had as I walked from said bathroom to the laundry room sink where I was going to wash the Submarine roller head. So I had to empty the dirty water and use the Submarine to mop up the spills anyway.
(Image credit: TechRadar / Sharmishta Sarkar)
This is far from ideal and clearly something Dyson didn’t think through. There’s no way to know how much mop water is filling up in the compartment behind the roller as the display only shows how much clean water you have left to work with. If it was the other way around, perhaps the unsealed compartment wouldn’t have been such a bother and I could empty the dirty water after mopping each room (which, again, is not ideal). Not everyone is going to lug the drip tray around as they mop or remember to place it exactly where you finish. And while this design flaw might seem like a small one, it ends up being a bigger issue for the end consumer to deal with.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the Submarine attachment doesn’t hold a lot of clean water. You’ll be able to do a large living room only before you’ll need to refill the little bottle in the cleaning head. So if your multi-room home is all hard floors, you’ll need to fill it often and empty the dirty water just as often, which may not be ideal for everyone.
Performance score: 4 / 5
Dyson V15s Detect Submarine review: Battery life
Up to 60 minutes of fade-free power
Average of 42 minutes with motorized cleaning heads
Replaceable battery pack
With the V15s Detect Submarine, Dyson’s gone back to the 60-minute battery pack it uses in the V15 Detect. That, I think, is a good move because the 70-minute battery used in the Gen5detect made the machine quite heavy and hard to move around or used as a handheld unit.
While it’s possible to get a full 60 minutes of runtime from the V15s Detect Submarine, that will only work with the non-motorized tools like the Hair Screw Tool and the Combination Tool or achievable in Eco mode. You’ll also get almost the whole 60 minutes with the Submarine roller head as the suction is switched off with it attached, however you'll run out of clean water long before you'll need to recharge the machine.
With the motorized tools – namely the Digital Motorhead and the Fluffy Optic – you can get anywhere between 40 to 45 minutes in Auto mode, depending on how often the dynamic suction comes into play. If your home is particularly dirty and the suction changes often, you may get less than 40 minutes, but you can also get up to 50 minutes if there isn't a lot of dust.
During my testing, I managed to get 62 minutes in Eco mode, but I wasn’t quite enthused by the clean I got in this mode. On the other hand, Boost is great for carpets but you can expect to run out of juice in about 8 minutes.
Topping up the battery, according to Dyson, should take 4.5 hours, but my test unit went from 20% to full in a smidge over 3 hours, so I expect empty to full shouldn’t take more than 3.5 hours.
Battery score: 4.5 out of 5
Should I buy the Dyson V15s Detect Submarine?
Buy it if...
You’ve been waiting patiently for a Dyson that can vacuum and mop
Dyson took its time making a vacuum cleaner that can also mop and it’s done a decent job. It’s not the perfect dual-function machine, but it cleans well, like you’d expect from a Dyson. Just beware dirty-water spills.
You have mostly carpet and some hard floors
If you have a bit of hard floor but not enough to warrant a whole, separate machine, the V15s is a great space-saving solution.
Don't buy it if...
You own a steam mop
The V15s Detect Submarine is a good mop, but if you already use a steam mop, you might get a better, more hygienic clean… with no dirty-water spills.
You have mostly hard floors and they get messy
The small tanks can tackle roughly one large room before they need a refill, and the V15s isn't especially set up for dealing with spillages that combine liquids and solids. For this, you'll be better off with a WashG1, Dyson's dedicated wet cleaner.
Also consider
If you’re not sold on the Dyson V15s Detect Submarine, then take a look at the below alternatives as solid competitors instead.
Samsung Bespoke Jet
At maximum suction, I think the Samsung Bespoke Jet can outdo any Dyson. And it can mop too. It also comes with several attachments, including an auto-empty station that sucks out any dust and dirt, including hair, in seconds. Sure, there’s ongoing costs in replacing the dust bags but the whole machine costs a lot less than the V15s Detect Submarine. You also get two batteries in the box and I personally think it looks better than a Dyson.
If you don’t need a mop attachment but still want what I consider the best Dyson, then consider the V15 Detect Absolute. It comes with all the attachments you might need for a carpet or hard floors, sans the mop of course, plus great suction too.
At a little over half the price you can get a vacuum mop that’s a hard floor specialist. With more suction than either of the alternatives listed here, and excellent cleaning prowess, the Roborock Dyad Pro vacuums and mops at the same time, so you save time as well as money. It is a heavy machine, though, but is worth considering if you predominantly have hard floors at home.
Used up to three times a week as main vacuum cleaner
Spilt milky cereal, water and sauces on the floor to test mopping capabilities
Avoided using detergents
(Image credit: TechRadar / Sharmishta Sarkar)
I’ve used the Dyson V15s Detect Submarine two to three times a week for four weeks as my main vacuum, while also running the Dyson V15 Detect to compare suction during vacuuming. I allowed hair and dust to accumulate on the carpet in one room before the first test run.
I also scattered different-sized grain on the floor to test vacuuming, including sugar, rice, Cheerios and tapioca pearls. I then used the Digital Motorbar and the Fluffy Optic to vacuum to determine which one does best on such debris.
To test the mopping prowess, I poured cereal and milk on the floor, allowing it to dry. I first vacuumed up the cereal, then used the Submarine wet roller head to mop the dried, sticky milk. I also poured water on a patch of floor to mop up to see how well the patch dries. Dusty shoe prints and dried food on the floor were also mopped during different tests.
I’ve actively been testing and reviewing vacuum cleaners of all kinds for the last six years and have learnt what to look for when choosing a machine that’s best for different kinds of homes. I also place high importance on value for money in any appliance I test.
• Original review date: November 2022
• Newer Roomba Combo J9 Plus now out
• Launch price: $1,099.99 / £999 / AU$2,199
• Official price now: The same, though frequently discounted by circa. $200 / £200 / AU$400
Updated: January 2024. While it's no longer iRobot's leader of the pack, the iRobot Roomba Combo J7 Plus still stands as one of the best robot vacuums. Still, we imagine it'll move to a slightly lower position once we've been able to test the more premium Combo J9 Plus. The J7 Plus is regularly discounted at this point; as of writing, it's £749 / AU$1899, and we've seen prices drop to $899 in the US previously during Black Friday. Especially at this discounted price, it's well worth the money, offering one of the most thorough and intelligent cleans we've seen. The rest of this review remains as previously published.
One-minute review
The Roomba Combo J7 Plus (stylized as Roomba Combo j7+) is a revelation. It’s without doubt one of the best robot vacuums on the market right now, thanks to the fantastic features we’ve come to expect from iRobot, and the fact that it can mop too. It’s the first of its kind, introducing a new retractable mop pad mechanic that marks a significant improvement over the bottom-mounted mop pads we’re used to seeing on robovacs, with which there was a risk of dampening carpets.
Otherwise, it mirrors the vacuum-only iRobot Roomba J7 Plus in almost every way – which is no bad thing, considering we were impressed by its intelligence, suction power, and design elements such as the dual rubber brushes that prevent hair from becoming tangled around the brush bar. Mapping is superb, and as the robot learns more about your home, it will suggest areas that might need more attention.
As one of the pioneers in the robovac market, it’s no surprise to see great quality from iRobot. While this model isn’t quite as premium as the Roomba S9 Plus in terms of its suction power, the J7 Plus still holds its own, collecting dust and debris from both hard floors and carpets with relative ease.
It’s an incredibly smart machine, armed with a full gamut of exciting smart features, including object and dirt detection. These are powered by built-in AI that can spot the most common items cluttering your home, and your pets, cleaning around them without incident. Plus, it can pick up particles as small as 0.7 microns and can detect and avoid pet poop, making it perfect for pet owners. Note that iRobot regularly updates its operating system, so you can expect to see new functions added to your bot in the future.
As with other iRobot models, the “Plus” suffix refers to the inclusion of a larger base station that facilitates automatic dirt disposal. After each clean, or whenever the 14oz / 0.4-liter internal dustbin is full, the vacuum will empty itself into a 57oz / 1.7-liter bag in its home base, which can hold up to 60 days worth of dirt, depending on how regularly you clean your floors. Using this feature does mean you’ll have to consider the longer-term cost of replacing the bags, however.
All of these features make the iRobot Roomba J7 Plus one of the most hassle and hands-free robot vacuum cleaners we’ve tested, and during our time using it, we also noticed a reduction in the amount of time we spent cleaning – a real boon when life gets in the way. However, this robot vacuum is very expensive at $1,099.99 / £999 / AU$2,199, so you definitely pay for the privilege of a low-maintenance cleanup.
Keep in mind though that Roomba Black Friday deals are live now. You might find this model at a heavily discounted price.
The iRobot Roomba Combo j7+ charging in its base (Image credit: Future)
iRobot Roomba Combo J7 Plus price & availability
List price: $1,099.99 / £999 / AU$2,199
The iRobot Roomba Combo J7 Plus robot vacuum and mop is currently available online, and can be bought directly from the iRobot store and Amazon for $1,099.99 / £999.99 / AU$2,199. As well as the self-emptying base, the Plus model comes with two AllergenLock bags, an extra filter, and a spare side brush. If you want to skip out on the base, the regular Roomba Combo J7 will set you back £799 / AU$1,699; as of writing, only the Plus package is available in the US.
There’s no denying this cleaner is expensive, and if this sophisticated robot vacuum’s many bells and whistles don’t appeal to you, it definitely won’t be money well spent. However, especially compared to budget-friendly vacuums, the intelligence and low-maintenance nature of this cleaner make it well worth the money for those with busy lifestyles or an aversion to cleaning. Plus, the mopping function adds only $200 / £100 / AU$400 to the price tag of the regular J7.
Of course, there are ongoing costs to consider, too. You’ll need to replace the self-emptying base station’s vacuum bags if you intend to use this feature regularly, and if you want a deeper clean with the mop pad than just using water, you’ll want to pick up some of the iRobot-approved cleaning solution, too.
Value: 4 / 5
The iRobot Roomba Combo j7+ with its dustbin removed (Image credit: Future)
iRobot Roomba Combo J7 Plus design
Self-emptying bin
Retractable mop pad
14oz / 0.4-liter dust bin
In most ways, the iRobot Roomba Combo J7 Plus mirrors its regular vacuum-only sibling, the Roomba J7 Plus. It’s an all-black beauty with a matte black casing and a gunmetal disc on its flush top. Here, you’ll also find its very minimalist control system: one button you can press to pause and start the vacuum or hold for five seconds to send it home. Measuring 13.3 x 13.3 x 3.4 inches / 33.8 x 33.8 x 8.6cm (h x w x d), it has relatively good clearance but will struggle with some lower-down furnishings.
Of course, the big difference is the retractable mop pad, which sits on the top of the vacuum at the rear. When called upon, the mop pad lifts and tucks beneath the unit in an incredibly satisfying, smooth motion - it's a real feat of design. You can attach the mop pads to the arm easily by sliding and clicking in the snap-fit attachments.
Lifting the top-mounted mop arm on the Roomba Combo j7+ with a mop pad attached (Image credit: Future)
The front half of the vacuum is surrounded by a plastic bumper, which has a window through which the robovac’s detectors can sense its surroundings and obstacles. On its underside, there are two bidirectional wheels and one swivel wheel, a three-armed side brush to flick debris out of corners and away from walls, and dual rubber brush bars. These bars are designed to be flexible, working across floor types without damaging them, and preventing hair from becoming tangled.
On the rear half, there’s the 14oz / 0.4-liter dust bin, which can be ejected by pressing the tactile panel next to it. This is also where you’ll find the liquid chamber – and, unlike some other robot vacuums and mops, the Roomba Combo J7 Plus is cleaning solution-compatible, arriving with a sample bottle of iRobot cleaning solution that won’t damage your device. iRobot’s help section suggests Bona Hardwood/Hard Surface Cleaner is safe to use, too.
The dustbin eject button can be a little tricky to operate, but it does make the unit more robust (Image credit: Future)
As with previous models, the Combo J7 Plus comes with plenty of swish features that are designed to make life easier. Instead of manually controlling suction, the clever robovac can detect dirtier areas and increase power if need be, which doubles as a great battery conservation feature if you want thorough cleaning but can’t supervise the vacuum to adjust its suction settings in dirtier rooms. The built-in camera helps the robot navigate intelligently, but also detects obstacles and hazards – from socks to stairs. And, of course, this model comes with iRobot’s Pet Ownership Official Promise – also known as P.O.O.P – to detect and avoid pet messes, thus preventing nasty clean-up jobs.
This model includes iRobot’s Clean Base with automatic dirt disposal. Unfortunately, it can’t clean your mop pads or refill the water tank, but considering it does just about everything else, we’ll let that slide. The clean base measures 12.55 x 13.39 x 15.35 inches / 31.9 x 34 x 39cm and needs clearance of 1.5ft / 0.5m on each side and 4ft / 1.2m in front. Like the vacuum itself, the base is all-black with some textured accents, and a brown-leather tag provides easy access to the bin.
Under the base hood, there’s a pre-fitted cleaning bag and one spare in a neat little compartment that reduces the need for extra external storage space – although additional space to house a spare mop pad and side brush would have been welcome. The vacuum bags can hold up to 60 days of dirt, according to iRobot, and the LED indicator on the front of the canister will turn red when the dirt bag is full.
Design: 5 / 5
The Combo J7 Plus did well toeing the line between tile and rug (Image credit: Future)
iRobot Roomba Combo J7 Plus performance
Fantastic pickup on both carpet and hard floor
Object detection works wonderfully
Mop works well once it soaks through
As we’ve highlighted earlier in this review, the iRobot Combo J7 Plus vacuums to the same high standard as the non-mopping J7 Plus model. It performs well on hard floors, collecting both fine debris and larger crumbs, although with larger spills in particular, the side brush will often make a meal of flicking the litter across the floor, which extends cleaning time.
Large spills of fine powders such as those in our flour and biscuit test will be tracked across the floor by the bot, and when overwhelmed by such debris, the vacuum throws some of it back on the ground when making its way to the charging station to unload. When it returned to the floor to finish the job, it mostly collected the remnants; however, some of the oats that had been flung further afield were missed. Of course, the frequency with which your robot vacuum will be collecting large amounts of concentrated debris is fairly minimal. During a regular clean, the vacuum is very systematic and successful at sucking up standard household grime; we never once saw it creating any mess.
Image 1 of 3
The iRobot Roomba Combo J7 Plus systematically cleaned up the mess... (Image credit: Future)
Image 2 of 3
... until it got too full, then it head home and made a bit more of a mess... (Image credit: Future)
Image 3 of 3
Considering the size and density of the mess, however, the iRobot Roomba Combo J7 Plus did a pretty good job at cleaning most of it up. (Image credit: Future)
As stated earlier, there’s no manual control option for suction power on the Combo J7 Plus. Instead, it intelligently detects the dirt level on the floor and makes adjustments itself accordingly. The bot will maintain a winding route around your home while cleaning, but if it detects a messier space, it will pause to go over it before resuming on its path. Similarly, when encountering an obstacle, the bot will pause, find a way around whatever clutter it has identified (we tested with socks, wires and toys), either avoiding the object to continue its journey from the next logical place, or intentionally nudging larger, non-furniture obstacles such as toys out of its way.
The standout feature with the Combo J7 Plus is, of course, its mopping ability, and we were really impressed by how it performed. We were concerned that the mop pad wouldn’t dock neatly below the unit, or that its arms would be too delicate to deliver the pressure required to mop floors well. On the contrary, the Combo J7 Plus was capable of giving our floors a lovely shine-up, especially when we used the cleaning solution sample included with the vacuum. In the app, you can decide for each of your favorite cleaning modes whether you’d like to use a minimal, medium or maximum dose of liquid.
There are a few drawbacks. First, the mop pad takes a while to soak through; in our test, we had to wait about 5 minutes during the cleaning process before we saw consistent, non-streaky results. If the water tank is full, it can also sometimes leave the odd drip mark. If you’re planning to use the mopping function regularly, note that you’ll lose some of the hands-free perks of the self-emptying base station. All of the mopping features, from replacing and cleaning the mop pads to refilling the liquid, are entirely manual.
However, there’s no doubt that the Combo J7 Plus offers a mopping experience that’s far superior to anything we’ve yet seen in a combination robot vacuum and mop. Once it gets going, the mop is great – and it left our floors shiny and mark-free.
The Combo J7 Plus treats carpets with care, giving them a thorough clean before moving on to mop and vacuum the floors. We tested our vacuum to see if we could trick it into mopping our bathroom rug, by moving it around before and during a cleaning cycle. However, the clever little bot was more than capable of identifying the change in texture and storing away its mop so as to not damage or dampen the carpet.
(Image credit: Future)
In general, the Combo J7 Plus was fairly quiet as it made its way around our home, registering a maximum of 68dB on our decibel meter – generally, it’s even quieter, but the volume rises by around 5dB when the vacuum natively boosts its suction. However, we had a nasty shock when it returned to base for the first time. The noise of the self-emptying function scared the living daylights out of us, registering a colossal 90dB – and while it lasts for only a few seconds, it’s loud enough that we’d strongly recommend against using it in any circumstance where you need to be noise-conscious.
Performance: 4.5 / 5
iRobot Roomba Combo J7 Plus app
Can set vacuum to clean while you’re out
Snaps any obstacles or errors
Works with Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant
If we were to summarise the iRobot app in three words, they’d be “peace of mind”. The app exists to make owning the Combo J7 Plus as easy and intelligent as possible, guiding you through the initial mapping phase, all the way through to voice assistant setup and map customization. There are tips and reminders, you can check the lifespan of the vacuum’s components, and you can even name your vacuum – we called ours Buttercup!
Since there are no advanced manual controls on the vacuum, the app plays a huge role in managing this robovac. It’s always preferable to give customers the option, but it makes sense to push people towards the app when you consider how many of those price-inflating features depend on user interaction.
The iRobot app is really fun, allowing you to do everything from map setup, clean zone suggestions and explore obstacles encountered (Image credit: Future)
Mapping is excellent, and it doesn’t end after your robot’s initial mapping task; the Combo J7 Plus continues to learn. It can detect different surface types and provides estimations in the app of where different rooms start and end. Even in larger, split rooms like our testing environment, it was able to identify where the living room space ended and where the kitchen/dining room began. It also noted the area in my kitchen where I most often stand to cook as a cleaning zone that requires more attention, notifying me in the app that it had a new recommendation.
The zoning feature also helped us solve a particular challenge we face with robot vacuums: doorstops. Living in an apartment with heavy fire doors that close without a doorstop isn’t the best setup for a robot vacuum that can’t open doors, and the bot doesn’t yet recognize doorstops as an obstacle, so it frequently dislodged them. However, with the zoning tool, we were able to fence off the area where our door is and stop the vacuum from imprisoning itself.
App: 5 / 5
iRobot Roomba Combo J7 Plus battery
Takes roughly two hours to recharge
Difficult to tell how much charge remains
Intelligent recharging while job is paused
Overall, the battery specs of the iRobot Roomba Combo J7 Plus are something of a beautiful mystery; there’s no official word from iRobot on the length of the battery life, but we found it pretty difficult to drain. We were able to complete three full cleans (mopping and vacuuming) of our one-bedroom apartment and still have battery life to spare, so it can last at least 120 minutes.
The vacuum will automatically return to its base between jobs, or if it runs out of battery during a task, the spinning circular light around the button on its lid will let you know when it’s finished charging, shifting to illuminate just the lower half of the button. It does use a “very small amount of energy” when docked, says iRobot, but it’s possible to change its settings in the app to reduce this further.
• Original review date: November 2022
• Newer Roomba Combo J9 Plus now out
• Launch price: $1,099.99 / £999 / AU$2,199
• Official price now: The same, though frequently discounted by circa. $200 / £200 / AU$400
Updated: January 2024. While it's no longer iRobot's leader of the pack, the iRobot Roomba Combo J7 Plus still stands as one of the best robot vacuums. Still, we imagine it'll move to a slightly lower position once we've been able to test the more premium Combo J9 Plus. The J7 Plus is regularly discounted at this point; as of writing, it's £749 / AU$1899, and we've seen prices drop to $899 in the US previously during Black Friday. Especially at this discounted price, it's well worth the money, offering one of the most thorough and intelligent cleans we've seen. The rest of this review remains as previously published.
One-minute review
The Roomba Combo J7 Plus (stylized as Roomba Combo j7+) is a revelation. It’s without doubt one of the best robot vacuums on the market right now, thanks to the fantastic features we’ve come to expect from iRobot, and the fact that it can mop too. It’s the first of its kind, introducing a new retractable mop pad mechanic that marks a significant improvement over the bottom-mounted mop pads we’re used to seeing on robovacs, with which there was a risk of dampening carpets.
Otherwise, it mirrors the vacuum-only iRobot Roomba J7 Plus in almost every way – which is no bad thing, considering we were impressed by its intelligence, suction power, and design elements such as the dual rubber brushes that prevent hair from becoming tangled around the brush bar. Mapping is superb, and as the robot learns more about your home, it will suggest areas that might need more attention.
As one of the pioneers in the robovac market, it’s no surprise to see great quality from iRobot. While this model isn’t quite as premium as the Roomba S9 Plus in terms of its suction power, the J7 Plus still holds its own, collecting dust and debris from both hard floors and carpets with relative ease.
It’s an incredibly smart machine, armed with a full gamut of exciting smart features, including object and dirt detection. These are powered by built-in AI that can spot the most common items cluttering your home, and your pets, cleaning around them without incident. Plus, it can pick up particles as small as 0.7 microns and can detect and avoid pet poop, making it perfect for pet owners. Note that iRobot regularly updates its operating system, so you can expect to see new functions added to your bot in the future.
As with other iRobot models, the “Plus” suffix refers to the inclusion of a larger base station that facilitates automatic dirt disposal. After each clean, or whenever the 14oz / 0.4-liter internal dustbin is full, the vacuum will empty itself into a 57oz / 1.7-liter bag in its home base, which can hold up to 60 days worth of dirt, depending on how regularly you clean your floors. Using this feature does mean you’ll have to consider the longer-term cost of replacing the bags, however.
All of these features make the iRobot Roomba J7 Plus one of the most hassle and hands-free robot vacuum cleaners we’ve tested, and during our time using it, we also noticed a reduction in the amount of time we spent cleaning – a real boon when life gets in the way. However, this robot vacuum is very expensive at $1,099.99 / £999 / AU$2,199, so you definitely pay for the privilege of a low-maintenance cleanup.
Keep in mind though that Roomba Black Friday deals are live now. You might find this model at a heavily discounted price.
The iRobot Roomba Combo j7+ charging in its base (Image credit: Future)
iRobot Roomba Combo J7 Plus price & availability
List price: $1,099.99 / £999 / AU$2,199
The iRobot Roomba Combo J7 Plus robot vacuum and mop is currently available online, and can be bought directly from the iRobot store and Amazon for $1,099.99 / £999.99 / AU$2,199. As well as the self-emptying base, the Plus model comes with two AllergenLock bags, an extra filter, and a spare side brush. If you want to skip out on the base, the regular Roomba Combo J7 will set you back £799 / AU$1,699; as of writing, only the Plus package is available in the US.
There’s no denying this cleaner is expensive, and if this sophisticated robot vacuum’s many bells and whistles don’t appeal to you, it definitely won’t be money well spent. However, especially compared to budget-friendly vacuums, the intelligence and low-maintenance nature of this cleaner make it well worth the money for those with busy lifestyles or an aversion to cleaning. Plus, the mopping function adds only $200 / £100 / AU$400 to the price tag of the regular J7.
Of course, there are ongoing costs to consider, too. You’ll need to replace the self-emptying base station’s vacuum bags if you intend to use this feature regularly, and if you want a deeper clean with the mop pad than just using water, you’ll want to pick up some of the iRobot-approved cleaning solution, too.
Value: 4 / 5
The iRobot Roomba Combo j7+ with its dustbin removed (Image credit: Future)
iRobot Roomba Combo J7 Plus design
Self-emptying bin
Retractable mop pad
14oz / 0.4-liter dust bin
In most ways, the iRobot Roomba Combo J7 Plus mirrors its regular vacuum-only sibling, the Roomba J7 Plus. It’s an all-black beauty with a matte black casing and a gunmetal disc on its flush top. Here, you’ll also find its very minimalist control system: one button you can press to pause and start the vacuum or hold for five seconds to send it home. Measuring 13.3 x 13.3 x 3.4 inches / 33.8 x 33.8 x 8.6cm (h x w x d), it has relatively good clearance but will struggle with some lower-down furnishings.
Of course, the big difference is the retractable mop pad, which sits on the top of the vacuum at the rear. When called upon, the mop pad lifts and tucks beneath the unit in an incredibly satisfying, smooth motion - it's a real feat of design. You can attach the mop pads to the arm easily by sliding and clicking in the snap-fit attachments.
Lifting the top-mounted mop arm on the Roomba Combo j7+ with a mop pad attached (Image credit: Future)
The front half of the vacuum is surrounded by a plastic bumper, which has a window through which the robovac’s detectors can sense its surroundings and obstacles. On its underside, there are two bidirectional wheels and one swivel wheel, a three-armed side brush to flick debris out of corners and away from walls, and dual rubber brush bars. These bars are designed to be flexible, working across floor types without damaging them, and preventing hair from becoming tangled.
On the rear half, there’s the 14oz / 0.4-liter dust bin, which can be ejected by pressing the tactile panel next to it. This is also where you’ll find the liquid chamber – and, unlike some other robot vacuums and mops, the Roomba Combo J7 Plus is cleaning solution-compatible, arriving with a sample bottle of iRobot cleaning solution that won’t damage your device. iRobot’s help section suggests Bona Hardwood/Hard Surface Cleaner is safe to use, too.
The dustbin eject button can be a little tricky to operate, but it does make the unit more robust (Image credit: Future)
As with previous models, the Combo J7 Plus comes with plenty of swish features that are designed to make life easier. Instead of manually controlling suction, the clever robovac can detect dirtier areas and increase power if need be, which doubles as a great battery conservation feature if you want thorough cleaning but can’t supervise the vacuum to adjust its suction settings in dirtier rooms. The built-in camera helps the robot navigate intelligently, but also detects obstacles and hazards – from socks to stairs. And, of course, this model comes with iRobot’s Pet Ownership Official Promise – also known as P.O.O.P – to detect and avoid pet messes, thus preventing nasty clean-up jobs.
This model includes iRobot’s Clean Base with automatic dirt disposal. Unfortunately, it can’t clean your mop pads or refill the water tank, but considering it does just about everything else, we’ll let that slide. The clean base measures 12.55 x 13.39 x 15.35 inches / 31.9 x 34 x 39cm and needs clearance of 1.5ft / 0.5m on each side and 4ft / 1.2m in front. Like the vacuum itself, the base is all-black with some textured accents, and a brown-leather tag provides easy access to the bin.
Under the base hood, there’s a pre-fitted cleaning bag and one spare in a neat little compartment that reduces the need for extra external storage space – although additional space to house a spare mop pad and side brush would have been welcome. The vacuum bags can hold up to 60 days of dirt, according to iRobot, and the LED indicator on the front of the canister will turn red when the dirt bag is full.
Design: 5 / 5
The Combo J7 Plus did well toeing the line between tile and rug (Image credit: Future)
iRobot Roomba Combo J7 Plus performance
Fantastic pickup on both carpet and hard floor
Object detection works wonderfully
Mop works well once it soaks through
As we’ve highlighted earlier in this review, the iRobot Combo J7 Plus vacuums to the same high standard as the non-mopping J7 Plus model. It performs well on hard floors, collecting both fine debris and larger crumbs, although with larger spills in particular, the side brush will often make a meal of flicking the litter across the floor, which extends cleaning time.
Large spills of fine powders such as those in our flour and biscuit test will be tracked across the floor by the bot, and when overwhelmed by such debris, the vacuum throws some of it back on the ground when making its way to the charging station to unload. When it returned to the floor to finish the job, it mostly collected the remnants; however, some of the oats that had been flung further afield were missed. Of course, the frequency with which your robot vacuum will be collecting large amounts of concentrated debris is fairly minimal. During a regular clean, the vacuum is very systematic and successful at sucking up standard household grime; we never once saw it creating any mess.
Image 1 of 3
The iRobot Roomba Combo J7 Plus systematically cleaned up the mess... (Image credit: Future)
Image 2 of 3
... until it got too full, then it head home and made a bit more of a mess... (Image credit: Future)
Image 3 of 3
Considering the size and density of the mess, however, the iRobot Roomba Combo J7 Plus did a pretty good job at cleaning most of it up. (Image credit: Future)
As stated earlier, there’s no manual control option for suction power on the Combo J7 Plus. Instead, it intelligently detects the dirt level on the floor and makes adjustments itself accordingly. The bot will maintain a winding route around your home while cleaning, but if it detects a messier space, it will pause to go over it before resuming on its path. Similarly, when encountering an obstacle, the bot will pause, find a way around whatever clutter it has identified (we tested with socks, wires and toys), either avoiding the object to continue its journey from the next logical place, or intentionally nudging larger, non-furniture obstacles such as toys out of its way.
The standout feature with the Combo J7 Plus is, of course, its mopping ability, and we were really impressed by how it performed. We were concerned that the mop pad wouldn’t dock neatly below the unit, or that its arms would be too delicate to deliver the pressure required to mop floors well. On the contrary, the Combo J7 Plus was capable of giving our floors a lovely shine-up, especially when we used the cleaning solution sample included with the vacuum. In the app, you can decide for each of your favorite cleaning modes whether you’d like to use a minimal, medium or maximum dose of liquid.
There are a few drawbacks. First, the mop pad takes a while to soak through; in our test, we had to wait about 5 minutes during the cleaning process before we saw consistent, non-streaky results. If the water tank is full, it can also sometimes leave the odd drip mark. If you’re planning to use the mopping function regularly, note that you’ll lose some of the hands-free perks of the self-emptying base station. All of the mopping features, from replacing and cleaning the mop pads to refilling the liquid, are entirely manual.
However, there’s no doubt that the Combo J7 Plus offers a mopping experience that’s far superior to anything we’ve yet seen in a combination robot vacuum and mop. Once it gets going, the mop is great – and it left our floors shiny and mark-free.
The Combo J7 Plus treats carpets with care, giving them a thorough clean before moving on to mop and vacuum the floors. We tested our vacuum to see if we could trick it into mopping our bathroom rug, by moving it around before and during a cleaning cycle. However, the clever little bot was more than capable of identifying the change in texture and storing away its mop so as to not damage or dampen the carpet.
(Image credit: Future)
In general, the Combo J7 Plus was fairly quiet as it made its way around our home, registering a maximum of 68dB on our decibel meter – generally, it’s even quieter, but the volume rises by around 5dB when the vacuum natively boosts its suction. However, we had a nasty shock when it returned to base for the first time. The noise of the self-emptying function scared the living daylights out of us, registering a colossal 90dB – and while it lasts for only a few seconds, it’s loud enough that we’d strongly recommend against using it in any circumstance where you need to be noise-conscious.
Performance: 4.5 / 5
iRobot Roomba Combo J7 Plus app
Can set vacuum to clean while you’re out
Snaps any obstacles or errors
Works with Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant
If we were to summarise the iRobot app in three words, they’d be “peace of mind”. The app exists to make owning the Combo J7 Plus as easy and intelligent as possible, guiding you through the initial mapping phase, all the way through to voice assistant setup and map customization. There are tips and reminders, you can check the lifespan of the vacuum’s components, and you can even name your vacuum – we called ours Buttercup!
Since there are no advanced manual controls on the vacuum, the app plays a huge role in managing this robovac. It’s always preferable to give customers the option, but it makes sense to push people towards the app when you consider how many of those price-inflating features depend on user interaction.
The iRobot app is really fun, allowing you to do everything from map setup, clean zone suggestions and explore obstacles encountered (Image credit: Future)
Mapping is excellent, and it doesn’t end after your robot’s initial mapping task; the Combo J7 Plus continues to learn. It can detect different surface types and provides estimations in the app of where different rooms start and end. Even in larger, split rooms like our testing environment, it was able to identify where the living room space ended and where the kitchen/dining room began. It also noted the area in my kitchen where I most often stand to cook as a cleaning zone that requires more attention, notifying me in the app that it had a new recommendation.
The zoning feature also helped us solve a particular challenge we face with robot vacuums: doorstops. Living in an apartment with heavy fire doors that close without a doorstop isn’t the best setup for a robot vacuum that can’t open doors, and the bot doesn’t yet recognize doorstops as an obstacle, so it frequently dislodged them. However, with the zoning tool, we were able to fence off the area where our door is and stop the vacuum from imprisoning itself.
App: 5 / 5
iRobot Roomba Combo J7 Plus battery
Takes roughly two hours to recharge
Difficult to tell how much charge remains
Intelligent recharging while job is paused
Overall, the battery specs of the iRobot Roomba Combo J7 Plus are something of a beautiful mystery; there’s no official word from iRobot on the length of the battery life, but we found it pretty difficult to drain. We were able to complete three full cleans (mopping and vacuuming) of our one-bedroom apartment and still have battery life to spare, so it can last at least 120 minutes.
The vacuum will automatically return to its base between jobs, or if it runs out of battery during a task, the spinning circular light around the button on its lid will let you know when it’s finished charging, shifting to illuminate just the lower half of the button. It does use a “very small amount of energy” when docked, says iRobot, but it’s possible to change its settings in the app to reduce this further.
• Original review date: October 2022
• Still T3s foremost compact dryer
• Launch price: $119.99 / £130
• Official price now: $149.99 / £130
Updated: February 2024. The T3 Fit remains the brand's premiere compact hair dryer, though in the US its price did increase a little. Compact hair dryers aren't the most fast-moving sub-section of haircare tech, so it's still one of the best hair dryers you can buy for its size. The rest of this review remains unchanged.
One-minute review
The T3 Fit stands out as one of our best hair dryerfavorites as a result of its light and compact design. And, in fact, it’s just one model in a range of stylish hair tools from US-based company, T3. Starting out in 2003 as a “part tech start-up, part beauty venture”, T3 currently sells a wide range of hair gadgets and technologies that have been mindfully designed to enhance your hair-styling experience. Choose from hair dryers, flat irons, curling irons and other useful and coveted styling tools.
The T3 Fit compact hair dryer arrived in February 2021, and while it isn’t the most recent launch, it remains a popular choice for those in the know as a result of its lightweight yet powerful design. T3 has since launched the equally stylish-looking T3 Afar in January 2022, which is even lighter in weight and comes with a stowaway folding handle that makes it perfect for travel. Meanwhile, the T3 AireLuxe is the latest hair dryer from T3, launching back in April 2022; it champions 15 heat and speed settings to make it ideal for every hair type.
The T3 Fit is designed to be 30% smaller and 20% lighter than a full-size T3 hair dryer, while remaining powerful in performance. On board the T3 Fit is all the impressive technology you’d expect from a standard hair dryer. It features IonAir technology for the delivery of a wide, ion-infused airstream for drying hair gently and quickly. Plus, its Ion Generator saturates the airflow with negative ions to achieve a smooth and shiny finish; we noticed just how well this works on frizzy hair. While the control buttons aren’t the smoothest to operate and feel a little clumsy design-wise, we enjoyed using the T3 Fit because of its comfortable handle, quiet operation, balanced airflow and lightweight design. In short, we think it’s best suited to those who want the power of a standard hair dryer in a more compact form.
T3 Fit price and availability
List price: $119.99 / £130
At the time of writing, T3 hair dryers and styling tools can be bought online in the US and UK, with the T3 Fit model costing US $119.99/£130.
We feel this is a fair price for a hair dryer that delivers all the functionality of a full-size hair dryer, but in a more compact form. Also, in terms of style, T3’s products look and feels premium, with the brand offering all of its best-selling hair dryers at reasonable sub-$221/£200 prices. In comparison, you can expect to pay around $210/£189 for the popular GHD Helios, and from $354/£320 for the Dyson Supersonic.
Price & availability score: 5
T3 Fit design
Lightweight at 400g
Compact form makes it great for travel
Easy-to-navigate controls
The T3 Fit’s design looks and feels luxurious, with the hair dryer arriving neatly presented in a white box. Inside the box you’ll find it sits alongside a single concentrator nozzle, and if you’ve opted to buy it with its compatible diffuser, this will come in a separate box. There’s also a great range of accessories you can choose from in the T3 range, including a smooth paddle brush, clip kit and absorbent luxe turban towel.
(Image credit: Future)
We like the streamlined styling of the T3, which is finished in a shiny gloss white with rose gold accents. It’s also available in an attractive graphite finish, should you prefer. While it feels nice to hold and compact in hand, its shiny surface makes it slightly slippery to hold when styling with waxy hands. Unlike some hair dryers whose controls are flush with the handle, the T3 Fit controls jut out slightly. Although this makes it not as streamlined in style as some well-known hair dryers we’ve tried, it does make the T3 Fit easy to control.
(Image credit: Future)
The most enticing features of the T3 Fit design are its size and weight, which makes it instantly attractive for those who’d like a hair dryer for taking on their travels, or are simply short on storage space at home. It’s 20% lighter and 30% smaller than the full-size T3 AireLuxe, for example, yet it comes with equally impressive technology to style hair with impressive results.
At 400kg, the T3 Fit proves a great tool for those with long or dense hair that takes time to dry; it will limit any arm ache you might suffer with extended use – something hair stylists will tell you is a big bug bear.
Note that the T3 Fit’s head is shorter and chunkier than the sleeker, full-size T3 AirLuxe hairdryer; in fact, the T3 Fit is surprisingly similar in size to the Dyson Supersonic. However, while it’s lighter than the Dyson Supersonic, which comes in at 660g, the T3 Fit isn’t the lightest hair dryer on the market. For a full-size hair dryer of lighter weight, check out the Parlux Digitalyon Light Air Ionizer.
(Image credit: Future)
Setting up the T3 Fit for use was simply a matter of plugging it in and we were good to go. Its long 9ft cord enabled us to move around freely, while the hair dryer’s controls are conveniently positioned on the handle and click securely when pressed, with no possibility of accidentally knocking the settings while in use. The concentrator nozzle proved a little fiddly to attach to the head of the hair dryer at first, but once we’d discovered how it fixes in place, through the alignment of arrows, we were able to interchange between the concentrator nozzle and the diffuser attachment with ease.
Design score: 4.5/5
T3 Fit performance
Gentle, yet powerful, airstream
Ion generator to encourage a smooth and shiny finish
Great for blowouts
The great thing about the T3 Fit is that while it’s small in size, it has all the power and performance you’d expect of a standard-size model. At 1600 watts, and with two speed settings and three heat settings, it has been designed to tackle a range of hair types – from poker straight to hair with Type 4 curl patterns – through delivery of a steady and gentle airstream.
It’s the hair dryer’s Ion Generator that saturates airflow with negative ions to help reduce frizz and encourage shine, while IonAir technology ensures hair is dried at speed yet gently. Having used the T3 Fit, we could definitely feel the benefits of its built-in technology compared to rival brands, which can often feel too fast and too hot.
Using the T3 to dry long, wavy hair that’s prone to frizz with even the slightest hint of outdoor humidity, we were impressed at how quickly it dried the hair – inside five minutes. We felt the benefits of the steady airflow of this hairdryer at both speed settings and on all three heat settings. In fact, even when we used the T3 Fit at its top settings, the hair dryer never became too hot nor did it blast out air too powerfully. The result was smoother hair that was less fluffy in texture than it is when dried with other well-known hair dryers.
We used a large round brush to blow out our hair, too, and liked that it made hair feel thick and weighty, with a good bounce and shine. The results on shorter styles were equally impressive, with the T3 taking under three minutes to completely dry a head of shorter hair.
Note that while the hair dryer didn’t ever become too hot, nor was the cool shot all that cold; we were expecting a much cooler blast of air than it delivered. In addition, we noticed that when the cool shot was pressed, while it did reduce the power and heat of the hairdryer, it took a little longer than we’d like to get cooler.
Thankfully, the T3 Fit is reasonably quiet in operation. We used a decibel meter app to measure noise levels, with it coming in at 85dB on its highest setting and 77dB on its lowest setting. To put this into context, we’ve previously tried far noisier hair dryers that emit around 90dB of noise. Since the T3 Fit doesn’t become too hot nor too loud, it’s a good option for use on children’s hair as well, making it a good buy for all the family.
Performance score: 4.5/5
A comparison of compact hairdryers, from left to right: Parlux, T3 Fit and Dyson Supersonic (Image credit: Future)
This model has slightly different names and product codes in different territories:
US: Shark Stratos Cordless Vacuum IZ862H UK: Shark Stratos Anti Hair Wrap Plus Cordless Vacuum IZ400UK AU: Shark Stratos Cordless Pet Pro Vacuum With Clean Sense IQ IZ400
In the UK, there's also a version with added Pet Tool (IZ400UKT) and a Pet Tool plus extra battery (IZ420UKT). For this review, I tested the US version. There may be minor differences between different countries' models.
The Shark Stratos Cordless comes with Clean Sense IQ technology, which automatically adjusts the suction to pick up dirt and debris that you may not be able to see, and tells you when the floor is clean.
In my testing I was greatly impressed with the suction capabilities, especially the vacuum’s ability to remove hair from my couch when used in handheld and Boost mode. In fact, it holds a spot in TechRadar's best Shark vacuum guide as the top pick for people with a lot of carpet in their homes, as well as ranking highly amongst the best vacuums for pet hair. The MultiFLEX wand makes it easy to clean under furniture, and the flexible rotating head proved effective at picking up dirt in corners and around awkward pieces of furniture such as chairs.
The Stratos is reasonably priced for a high-performance cordless vacuum, although less of a strong prospect following the 2024 launch of the Shark PowerDetect Cordless vacuum, which promises the same suction but with added automation features. However, Shark deals are common, and it's still a good pick if you can find a good price-drop – and and it’s more affordable than some models with similar dust-detection technology like the Dyson V15 Detect.
Keep scrolling to find out more then, head to TechRadar's best cordless vacuum guide to see where it ranks the Shark Stratos Cordless vacuum cleaner.
Heavily discounted in all territories at time of update
At full ticket price, the Shark Stratos Cordless is $499.99 in the US, £399.99 in the UK, and AU$999.99 in Australia. At that price, it's right at the boundary between mid-range and premium price brackets. (Note that the AU version comes with a wider range of accessories.)
However, at time of update, it was significantly discounted in all territories when purchased via Shark – $399.99 in the US, £249.99 in the UK and AU$499.99 in Australia. That puts it into the middle of the mid-range price bracket.
That's not a bad price at all for a vacuum of this quality. However, it's less appealing when you consider the newer PowerDetect has a list price of $429.99 and promises the same amount of suction, with more advanced detection features.
The other line worth considering is the Detect Pro (read about the closest model for comparison in TechRadar's Shark Detect Pro Cordless vacuum cleaner review). The Detect Pro is slightly cheaper all round: $379.99 (discounted to $249.99 at time of updating), £349.99 (down to £229) and AU$799.99 (down to AU$499.99). This model is less powerful, but lighter and more advanced in terms of features than the Stratos – see exactly how the two compare in our Shark Stratos vs Detect Pro vacuum article.
Two brands you'll often find yourself comparing in this area is Shark vs Dyson. While the latter is typically pricier – and sometimes considerably so – there are reasons to factor Dyson into the equation. It's vacuums are unmatched when it comes to maneuverability, and technologies like the floorhead lights and dirt detection capabilities are more advanced than what Shark's vacuums offer. However, I'd still say Shark offers better value for money.
LED display shows battery level and lets you swap cleaning modes
At 8.9lb / 4kg, the Shark Stratos Cordless is fairly lightweight as cordless vacuums go, and the floor head can be removed to turn it into a handheld. Rather than an extendable wand it has a flexible wand – a popular feature referred to as 'MultiFLEX technology', which appears in a few of Shark's vacuum cleaners.
Releasing a catch on the back of the wand enables you to fold it forward for compact, freestanding storage, or for cleaning under furniture. The vacuum head swivels, and can effectively turn at a 90-degree angle with just a simple twist of the handle. Between this swivel action and the flexible wand, you can clean pretty much any place that the head can fit.
The Shark Stratos Cordless helpfully has a MULTIflex wand which bends to increase the reach under furniture (Image credit: Future)
An odor-neutralizing puck is inserted into the top of the vacuum head to keep it smelling fresh, and an LED headlight lets you see dirt and dust in dark corners. But the most significant aspect of the vacuum head design is the Clean Sense IQ indicator. When you’re vacuuming, a strip of light becomes illuminated on the top of the vacuum head. The longer the strip of light, the dirtier the floor. When the strip of light recedes, it means the floor is clean.
The Shark Stratos Cordless is designed for use on either carpet or hard floors. On the underside of the floor head you'll find two brush rolls, with fins designed to boost cleaning power. The rolls are designed to detangle hair and direct it into the dust cup as you clean, so you don't end up with a matted mess to remove from the floor head at the end of each vacuuming session.
The floorhead houses the Odor Neutralizer Technology, Clean Sense IQ indicator and LED headlights (Image credit: Future)
To empty the 0.72qt / 0.68L dust cup, which is fitted with a seal to prevent dust and allergens escaping into the air, you detach the main unit from the wand, and release a catch on the cup to deposit the contents into a bin.
At the top of the handle is a LED screen that displays the selected power mode and the remaining battery life. Built into this are buttons for turning the vacuum on and off and switching between Eco, Clean Sense IQ, and Boost mode. The vacuum doesn't have a charging station or base, making it easy to store it away in a closet or other space between uses (newer Detect Pro models add a self-empty base that doubles as a charging stand, but that's not an option with the Stratos Cordless at time of updating this review – see TechRadar's Shark Detect Pro Cordless vacuum cleaner review for an example).
The tools provided vary depending on which territory you're in, but with the US version I tested, there was a Duster Crevice Tool (which can be used as a crevice tool or a brush), and a flat Anti-Allergen Dusting Brush.
Design score: 4.5 out of 5
Shark Stratos Cordless vacuum review: performance
Excellent suction; automatic power adjustment works effectively
Flexible hose is a revelation for getting under furniture
Anti hair wrap works well
The Shark Stratos Cordless performed impressively during my testing. I used the vacuum in both stick and handheld mode on various surfaces including hardwood floors, vinyl floors, thick low-pile rugs, baseboards, a couch, and window treatments. The suctioning capability of this vacuum was superb, and I never had to run over the same area more than twice.
That said, cordless vacuums can rarely match corded options when it comes to sheer power, so if you really need to be able to deep clean, consider a corded option. There are a few options in this same range – read TechRadar's Shark Stratos Corded vacuum cleaner review for a closer look at our favorite.
While I did test out the Eco and Boost power modes, I generally used the vacuum in Clean Sense IQ mode as I wanted to get a good feel for how the automatic adjustment technology worked. When there was lots of dirt or debris on the floor, the suction was increased automatically and then returned to normal when the area was clean. It's a useful feature if you want effective cleaning that's kind to your battery; check out our Shark PowerDetect Cordless Stick Vacuum review to see a newer, similarly-priced model with more advanced dirt detection.
The floorhead can twist at a 90-degree angle (Image credit: Future)
Because I live in a period home with lots of nooks and crannies, it can be difficult to vacuum in certain corners or tight spaces. The vacuum head has a 10-inch cleaning path width and its low profile makes it easy to push it under cabinets. I appreciated that the floor head has an LED headlight and could twist at a 90-degree angle with just a slight twist of the handle. This made it far easier to clean corners, under dining room chairs, and around stands, in a way that's not possible with other vacuums.
I had never used a Shark cordless vacuum before, and the biggest revelation was the MultiFLEX wand. With a click of the button on the back of the wand, it bends in half, so you don’t have to squat down or lean over to vacuum under a bed or couch. When bent, the vacuum isn’t as easy to control as it is when it’s locked into a straight position, but you can still steer it well enough.
Testing out the Shark Stratos Cordless in my living room (Image credit: Future)
The Shark Stratos Cordless vacuum converts easily to handheld for cleaning furniture and upholstery. In boost power mode, it seemed to pick up hair from furniture much more effectively than other, similar vacuums I've tested.
Thanks to the self-cleaning dual brushroll, hair never wrapped around the brush. The 0.72qt / 0.68L dust cup is large enough to hold quite a bit of dust and debris – I didn’t manage to fill it even after vacuuming my entire house three times. I also found the lack of charging station a benefit, because it makes the vacuum easy to store in a closet or other space between uses.
The Shark Stratos Cordless can be neatly folded for storage, and stays upright (Image credit: Future)
The extra attachments vary depending on which territory you're in. For my review, I also tested out the Duster Brush Tool on my floorboards, switching to the Crevice Tool when I needed to get into tight corners. In this configuration, the vacuum was light enough to use the to clean the corners of my 10-foot ceilings and atop door frames. I was excited to try the Anti-Allergen Dusting Brush on my window blinds as they get very dusty, although it wasn't as effective as I'd hoped.
Performance score: 4.5 out of 5
Shark Stratos Cordless vacuum: battery life
Up to 60 minutes of runtime on ECO mode
Battery recharges in three hours
LED display shows remaining battery life
The vacuum’s battery is housed in the back of the handle. You don’t need to remove it from the vacuum to charge it, but you can do so if you find that more convenient.
It takes three hours for the battery to charge, and on a full charge you can get up to 60 minutes of runtime in ECO mode. Other modes sap the battery quicker – including the Clean Sense IQ mode, in which the vacuum senses how much dirt is on the floor and boosts the suction power as necessary.
Battery display on the Shark Stratos Cordless (Image credit: Future)
When testing the vacuum, I never came close to running down the battery when vacuuming my 1,600sq ft / 150sq m home, and I'd often end a vacuuming session with about 40% of battery left.
The only time I got close to running down the battery was when I vacuumed the whole house on Clean Sense IQ mode, and then followed it up by using the Anti-Allergen Dusting Brush to clean the dust off four large window blinds, before using the duster crevice tool to clean floorboards in two rooms; even then I still had 20 per cent left in the tank.
Battery life score: 4.5 out of 5
Should you buy the Shark Stratos Cordless vacuum?
Lasts long enough to clean most mid-to-large-sized homes, and automatic mode adjusts suction based on how dirty the floor is, for efficient battery use.
Buy it if...
It's difficult to see dirt on your hard floors or carpet
The vacuum's Clean Sense IQ technology uses an infrared sensor to spot dust and dirt, and automatically boosts the suction power for a better clean.
You want to be able to easily get into nooks and crannies
The wand bends in half, making it easy to clean under furniture without having to bend down or move items.
You want a vacuum that can be used handheld
The Shark Stratos Cordless with Clean Sense IQ converts to a compact and lightweight handheld vacuum for cleaning pet fur off furniture or a long handheld vacuum that can be utilized with other attachments.
Don't buy if...
You dislike having to use attachments to reach into narrow spaces
The vacuum head for the Shark Stratos Cordless is fairly bulky, so you’ll have to either break it down into a handheld vacuum, use it without the main vacuum head, or utilize one of the extra tools to get into narrow spaces.
You want a vacuum that comes with a self-emptying station
You need to empty the Shark Stratos Cordless dust cup manually. Shark does have a self-empty dock, but it's not currently available with this model.
We tested the UK version. There may be minor differences between different countries' models.
The Shark FlexStyle – or to give its full name, the Shark FlexStyle Air Styling & Hair Drying System – is a tube shaped dryer onto which a variety of tools can be attached to achieve a range of styles. We tested one out to see how it compares to the rest of the best hair stylers on the market, and were pretty impressed.
This is Shark's answer to the perpetually popular Dyson Airwrap. Just like that multi-styler, the FlexStyle has the all-important auto-wrap curl barrels, shape strands of hair into coils as it dries them, without the need for the scorching heat of traditional curling tongs. Functionally, these work pretty much identically to the Airwrap, although here you'll have to swap over barrels when you want to move from clockwise to anticlockwise curls. That minor annoyance aside, this is one of the very best Dyson Airwrap dupes we've tested.
Overall, the design is balanced, comfortable to use, and feels well-built. It packs a good amount of power too – although not quite as much as one of today's best hair dryers. Beyond the auto-wrap barrels, there's a wide range of compatible accessories, which make this tool suitable for a range of hair types and lengths. In some countries you can pick the ones you want included with your FlexStyle bundle, so you're not stuck with a bunch of attachments you don't need, too.
On test, we found results varied by tool, with some impressing more than others. Note too that, while using the Coanda effect to create curls is undoubtedly better for your hair, it's fiddlier and the results tend to drop far quicker than when using a traditional curling tong. That's the short version; read on for our full Shark FlexStyle review.
(Image credit: Future)
Shark FlexStyle review: price & availability
List price: $279.99 / £269.99 / AU$499.99
Launched: 2022
The Shark FlexStyle launched back in 2022, and has a list price of $279.99 in the US, £269.99 in the UK and AU$499.99 in Australia. You can purchase direct from Shark or via a range of third party retailers. Shark is no stranger to a sale, so if you're smart about when you buy, you can avoid paying full price (keep an eye out for a Shark promo codes, too).
If you go direct to Shark in the US or UK, you can build your own bundle. You get the base model, and then pick four from the wide range of compatible accessories (the left and right curlers count as one, don't worry!). That's a clever system as it means you can choose only the tools you need for your hair type and routine. You can also purchase accessories individually from Shark.
You can pick up styling tools at any price, but you should expect to pay a bit of a premium for one that uses the Coanda effect for curling. The build quality here is good, and wide selection of compatible attachments and convenience of the auto-wrapping curl barrels goes some way towards justifying the expense.
The main competitor in this area is the Dyson Airwrap. The previous model (which it's still possible to get hold of... for now) comes with a list price of $599.99 / £479.99 / AU$849.99, and the newest iteration, the Airwrap i.d., is $599.99 / £479.99 / $849. So a lot pricier than the Shark. That styler does feel more premium, though, and does some useful things the FlexStyle cannot.
Attachments are sturdily built, and come on and off easily
The design comprises a tube-shaped dryer with various attachments. The main barrel feels balanced and fairly lightweight, with a 5.5-inch circumference that fits neatly in the palm of your hand. On the barrel you'll find the controls – an on/off toggle, buttons to adjust windspeed and temperature (there are three settings for each, with indicator lights showing which mode you're in), and a button higher up the barrel for the cool shot.
The dryer itself looks and feels high quality, although not quite as premium as the Airwrap. We've tested both the gold and back colorways, and far prefer the latter – the beige attachments on the gold model look rather cheap, and become dirty easily.
(Image credit: Future)
The top section pivots and locks at a right angle, reducing the length from 11.3 inches to around 8.5 inches and making it very comfortable to use as a hair dryer.
Adding attachments makes it rather long – the 6-inch auto-wrap barrels take the total length of the styler to a somewhat cumbersome 17.5 inches – but it's a testament to Shark's engineering that it remains well balanced no matter which attachment you use. This, coupled with its light weight, makes even the most complex and long-winded styles comfortable to complete.
(Image credit: Future)
While it’s true the Shark FlexStyle can replace a number of your existing hair tools, don’t expect it to save you a lot of space in the process, as many of the attachments are rather bulky. One of our review samples came with a display box, which is large but looks smart and at least gives you somewhere to stash away all the various bits neatly. (The box isn't generally included as standard, but is one of the options in the build your own bundle.)
(Image credit: Future)
A minor complaint is that the cable is thick and has a power pack around a third of the way down. This makes it difficult to wrap or coil neatly for storage, and the power pack adds what feels like an unnecessary amount of bulk when lifting the styler above and around your head. Said cable is also slightly shorter than we'd ideally like, at 8ft / 2.4m.
Attachments
The FlexStyle initially launched with a relatively limited range of attachments, but in the years since has added more options. Now, it boasts one of the widest ranges of compatible attachments of any multi-styler... although the selection still isn't quite as comprehensive as the Airwrap's. (Note these may vary slightly by country.) For our review, we tested the following attachments:
1.25" auto-wrap curlers
Concentrator
Paddle brush
Oval bristle brush
Diffuser
Also available, but not tested here, are:
0.95" auto-wrap curlers
Round bristle brush
Wide tooth comb
'FrizzFighter' finishing tool (to rival Dyson's popular Flyaway tool).
These all snap on easily, and can be released by pulling down the lock button. They also have cool-touch areas so you can remove them without burning your fingers.
Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Future)
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(Image credit: Future)
The auto-wrap curlers have a classy matte finish and are marked with arrows so you can see at a glance if it's a clockwise or anti-clockwise barrel. Both the oval and paddle brushes are on the large side, much larger than the size of a regular hairbrush, and certainly geared towards those with longer, thicker hair (it looks like the round bristle brush would be a better fit for mid-length locks). The diffuser is also rather chunky, and features a slider switch that enables you to extend the length of the prongs, making it suitable for longer hair.
Design score: 4 out of 5
Shark FlexStyle review: performance
Intuitive controls and easy to get started with
Fast overall drying speeds
Performance and finish vary depending on the attachment
Overall, the styler is well balanced, not too heavy, and comfortable to use. It's also easy to get started with, although mastering each of the attachments can take a bit longer – as we'll get into in a second.
The settings buttons are placed at the bottom of the barrel, rather than higher up where they might be accidentally switched while gripping the styler. They're easy enough to reach if you do need to make changes mid-style, and the fact they're on a flattened section means you can locate them fairly easily by touch. However, they do sit alongside the air vents for the motor, which means you can block airflow when switching between modes.
(Image credit: Future)
To set the styler into right-angled hair dryer mode, you pull down a switch on the barrel’s handle and twist the top section. In this mode, it's easy to direct the airflow precisely where it's needed. It also makes it comfortable to use with the diffuser or diffuser attached.
The hair dryer on its own is fast and effective. It took our fine-haired tester 2 minutes and 47 seconds to go from wet to dry hair, putting it on par with the original Dyson Supersonic. Her hair was a little frizzy and flat when dried in this way, but no more or less than when drying with other hairdryers.
(Image credit: Future)
To add attachments, turn and lock them into place and then use the unlock switch on the barrel to release them with ease. The use of an unlock switch may seem unnecessary, but it prevents the attachments from twisting and moving mid-style – a common complaint of other hair dryers and cheaper multi-stylers we've used in the past.
(Image credit: Future)
Auto-wrap curl barrels
Probably the biggest selling point of the FlexStyle is the promise of effortless curling with minimal heat damage using the auto-wrap curlers. To get the most out of these attachments, you should start by drying hair until it's around 80% dry – you can use the styler in hair dryer mode to take care of this. Achieving the optimum level of moisture in the hair requires a bit of trial and error – too wet or too dry, and the curls won't hold.
Mastering the Coanda technology also takes a bit of time, although once you've got it, it's fairly straightforward. You want to section off a bit of hair, switch the styler on and position the barrel in the bottom third of the hair. You'll see the strands start twisting around the barrel, and moving the wand backwards and forwards slightly will cause the rest of it to wrap too. The hot air then shapes the curl as it finishes drying the hair. For best results, you'll need to hit the cool shot button to set the curl before removing the wand.
(Image credit: Future)
Here, the matte finish on curl barrels adds slight grip on the hair, which one of our thick-haired testers found hindered the wrapping process a little, although those with finer, slipperier hair might actually find it helps.
It's not a perfect system. Swapping over the barrels when you want to change the direction of curl is annoying. The air can pull in hair from other sections, or blow it in various directions while you’re setting each curl, creating frizz and flyaways. All three of our testers found their curls dropped much faster than those created using a traditional tong (although our tester with thick, straight hair found that curls on day-old hair had more staying power than on freshly washed hair).
We will emphasize, though, that this is true of all Coanda effect curlers we've tried. You won't end up with perfect, long-lasting curls with this method, but you can achieve good body and waves with minimal heat damage.
If you opt to pay more for an Airwrap i.d., you'll get the convenience of not having to swap barrels to change from clockwise to anticlockwise, and there's a switch that kicks off a curl cycle (wrap, curl, cool shot) timed to your hair type, so you won't need to mess around with changing settings mid-curl. However, functionally the wrapping process and results will be very similar.
Brush attachments
If you're using the oval or paddle brush, you can expect drying times to be a little longer, because you're styling as you dry. These are both fairly intuitive in use, and require far less of learning curve than the auto-wrap barrels. The large size means they're best suited to longer, thicker hair.
To get real volume using the oval brush, you’ll need to spend time working on the roots, holding your hair straight up (or at right angles to your head), placing the brush on the underside of your hair at the base and running it up and through each strand multiple times. You can also hold the brush at the base while it sets the volume, before smoothing the rest of the hair, or rotating it as you move it through to create flicks or large curls and waves.
Our fine-haired tester found this method gave her hair decent volume to begin with, but the style fell flat within half an hour. The large size of the oval brush makes it much better suited to long hair than short.
(Image credit: Future)
The paddle brush is used for creating smooth styles, and to use it you simply run it through strands of hair like you would a regular hair brush, keeping it face-down to smooth the cuticles. If you want to add subtle volume, angle the paddle brush up and under your roots for a few seconds before each pass. On test we found this created a smooth finish, with very little frizz. Our fine-haired tester was particularly impressed, and noted that she usually had to resort to straighteners to gain such a sleek, straight look.
Performance score: 3.5 out of 5
Should I buy a Shark FlexStyle?
Buy it if...
You like to wear your hair in different styles
From curls to waves, and straight sleek finishes to bouncy blow dries, the FlexStyle offers a wide range of attachments to tackle different styles.
You can't afford a Dyson Airwrap
While the Airwrap is better, the FlexStyle does many of the same things for a far lower price. And functionally, the auto-wrap curling is almost identical.
Your priority is hair health
The FlexStyle creates curls with much less heat than a traditional tong, which is good news for hair health in the long term.
Don't buy it if...
You're short on space
The versatility is convenient, but collectively the dryer and all its attachments take up a lot of space.
You tend to do one style only
If you don't need multiple attachments, you'll save money by going for a simpler, dedicated tool.
Your want curls that last
Creating curls using air might be less damaging to your hair, but don't expect them to stick around all day – for lasting curls, traditional tongs win out.
How I tested the Shark Flexstyle
This review combines the experiences of three testers, with different hair types and styling preferences. All used the FlexStyle extensively over at least a couple of weeks, trying out all the supplied attachments. We noted how intuitive and comfortable it was to use, and how the results matched up to other styling tools we'd used. We also assessed how fast it was to style hair, and how long the results lasted.
