Dyson Unveils AI-Powered Spot+Scrub Robot Vacuum: A Leap Forward or Just Catching Up?

First look: Dyson's Spot+Scrub Ai robot seeks out stains

The Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai Robot is the company's first combination robot vacuum and mop. It debuted at Dyson's Berlin store during the IFA tech show this week and is a follow-up to the company's 360 VisNav robot vacuum, which launched in 2023. Featuring a new round design, a self-cleaning roller mop, lidar navigation, and Dyson's first multifunctional dock, the Spot+Scrub also comes with an "AI" moniker because it's 2025 and doesn't everything? I spent some hands-on time with Dyson's newest robot floor cleaner and came away underwhelmed. Dyson's traditional vacuums set high expectations, but its robot versions have yet to meet them. I didn't get to test the Spot+Scrub or see its stain-targeting feature in action, but my time with it didn't convince me that Dyson has finally cracked the robot vacuum code. The headline feature is AI-powered stain detection, and despite the buzzword, this idea does appear to address one of the biggest problems with robot mops -- that they don't do as good a job as manual mops. When its onboard cameras spot stains, the Spot+Scrub can "identify, react, check, and clean," according to Dyson, using green lasers to highlight the dirt and allow the cameras to see it better. This helps it identify the type of stain, whether it's dry or wet, and clean it appropriately, continuing to clean it until it's gone. Several robot vacuum mops from companies like Narwal, iRobot, Ecovacs, and Dreame offer similar "dirt detection" features -- to varying degrees of success, based on my testing. Dyson seems confident that the Spot+Scrub is superior. In an interview at Dyson's event this week, James Dyson, founder and chairman of Dyson, said that he thinks the current crop of robot mops "are disappointing." "Quite a lot of stain is left on the floors," he says. "That's why ours is better, because we can see the stain and we go back and get it until it's gone." Along with stain detection, the Spot can also "spot" objects like socks and cables to hopefully avoid them. Dyson has also ditched its vision-based navigation system for lidar, which I'm told should help with the navigation issues its Vis Nav had. The other big change is that the Spot+Scrub is round, a departure from the Vis Nav's squared-off look. It has a decent 18,000 Pa of suction power, which peaks on carpet thanks to a built-in carpet sensor. Its super long, soft microfiber roller mop tackles the wet floor cleaning, extending out to clean along edges, and a combined rubber bristle brush sits behind the mop to help get up dry dirt. The roller mop raises when it encounters carpet to avoid getting your rugs damp, but it doesn't have the extra protection of a cover that we've started to see on mopping bots. Dyson didn't share pricing, but plans to launch in China later this year and the US in 2026. My first impression seeing the Spot+Scrub in Dyson's Berlin store this week was how big it is. The robot itself is about a third larger than the Vis Nav, and its dock is "hulking." Part of the reason for that is the large roller mop it uses to wet clean. Roller mop bots are the hot new thing in robot vacuums, replacing spinning mop pads. Ecovacs, Dreame, Eufy, and others have all rolled out roller mop models recently, the main advantage being that the mop can be cleaned while it runs, rather than having to head back to the base for a refresh. This requires a lot of onboard infrastructure, though, which is why they're all so big. The Spot+Scrub is probably 4 inches tall (although I didn't take out a tape measure), but there's no lidar tower on top, so it may still make it under your couch. The Spot+Scrub comes with Dyson's first multifunction dock that automatically empties the robot's bin, cleans and dries its mop, and refills and drains its water tanks. This is also very large, and while it has touches of the signature Dyson design, including some pops of red and purple, overall, neither it nor the robot itself looks that different from every other robo vac out there, which is disappointing. The dock's most interesting feature is the bagless dust container that can hold 2 liters of dirt. It's a larger version of the Vis Nav's onboard bin. To empty it, you pull it out, place it over a trash can, press a button, and the waste dumps out. While having to potentially deal with a bit of dust spillage while emptying isn't ideal, it's a fair tradeoff for not needing to buy separate bags, which is what most auto-empty docks use. Ecovacs' latest robot vacuum, the Deebot X11 OmniCyclone, which also launched at IFA this week, has a similar dustbin solution. The Spot+Scrub works with the redesigned MyDyson app, which I got a sneak peek at. It now shows the robot's real-time cleaning progress, thanks to the addition of lidar navigation. From the app, you can schedule the robot and choose how it cleans: either vacuum, vacuum and mop simultaneously, just mop, or vacuum then mop. The app also shows when the robot has identified a stain that it went back to clean, so you can check its work. Connectivity-wise, Dyson tells me Matter support is planned, which would allow the Spot+Scrub to connect to smart home platforms like Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, and Google Home for voice control and other features. So far, Dyson has failed to dazzle with its robot vacuums, despite having developed them since the 1990s. It's one thing to build the world's best vacuum; it's quite another to create the world's best robotic vacuum. While its Vis Nav had impressive cleaning power, its app, navigation, and overall experience were just okay. My initial impressions of the Spot+Scrub are that it feels quite iterative, not the game-changing product you'd expect from Dyson. But if its stain-seeking and scrubbing feature really works as advertised, and it can properly navigate my house, then I'll be impressed. I look forward to testing it. Photos and video by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

Dyson Doesn't Like Copycats. So Why Does Its New Spot+Scrub Ai Robot Vacuum Look So Familiar?

Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai in its docking station (Credit: Tyler Hayes) BERLIN -- Although it didn't have an official presence here at IFA 2025, Dyson still used the trade show as an opportunity to showcase a slew of new products at its Berlin store, spanning haircare, fans, purification, and home cleaning. The PencilVac is genuinely eye-catching and sure to be popular when it gets a proper release in 2026, but the Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai robot vacuum and mop seemed to get the most attention. Prior to a DysonUnveiled stage presentation, in which founder James Dyson showed off all the products, I got to see various demos, ask questions, and have some brief hands-on time. Here are my initial impressions of the new robot and what it might mean for the company. Eyes On the Spot+Scrub Ai Dyson's Spot+Scrub Ai is its second run at a cleaning robot after the 360 Vis Nav, which had its strengths but lacked a self-emptying dustbin and sometimes struggled with navigation. I was curious to see what type of feedback the company had heard from consumers about the 360, and James Dyson confirmed that it informed the development of the Spot+Scrub Ai. "Washing floors as well as vacuuming, that's an obvious one," he told me. "But then, when you wash a floor, you get some of the dirt up, but not all of the dirt. So if you've got a particularly difficult stain, at the moment, robots just go over it and that's it, and the difficult stain is left there. So our big thing with this Spot+Scrub is that we know if we haven't cleared a stain. We go back and we go over it until we've cleared it." Still, for all its flaws, the 360 Vis Nav seemed authentically Dyson. It did things differently from rivals, including not having that self-emptying base station, and doubled down on incorporating a recognizable bagless dustbin and other visual hallmarks of the brand, like a purple hue. The new Spot+Scrub Ai is the complete opposite and comparatively bland, thanks to its all-black exterior. The underside has colorful elements, but you shouldn't see that most of the time. This product, unlike the first, has LiDAR but no sensor on the top. Still, the robot appears bulky in height and width, though I didn't measure it. Underneath, the purple roller brush for mopping provides continuity with other Dyson cleaners. Beyond that, however, nothing stood out as original or unique. The primary difference seems to be reserved for the "spot and scrub AI" portion of the unit. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time to see the device identify a stain with its AI tech and continue cleaning it until it was completely gone. Dyson says the robot can identify 200 objects and clean around them. I didn't see this in person either. The machine did seem to roam around the demo area more smoothly than the 360 Vis Nav. The base station has three distinct bins: one for clean water, one for dirty water, and a bagless container that can potentially hold 100 days' worth of debris. The station has room for detergent to be added and can also wash and dry the mopping brush. The docking station looked substantial in person but also came off as pretty generic, save for its clear dirt container. I got a sneak peek at the redesigned MyDyson app, which will incorporate all the robot's functions, add 3D maps, and show the product cleaning in real-time. This should be a welcome change from the old app experience. The Spot+Scrub Ai is not expected to launch in the US until 2026. Price was not announced, but the 360 Vis Nav was $1,199.99 at launch. Move Fast and Abandon Originality? Maybe my expectations were too high, but my gut reaction to the Spot+Scrub Ai was disappointment. That's primarily because it falls in line with a sea of other combo units, both in features and appearance. See the iRobot Roomba Max 705 Combo for further evidence of conformity. Of course, we'll need to wait to see how the Spot+Scrub Ai actually cleans to pass any real judgment. If that passes muster, then some of these other details will fade away. Still, I had been hoping for something truly innovative. A Dyson engineer told me that work on the Spot+Scrub Ai only began about 18 months ago, which seems fast for bringing a radically redesigned product to market. Sleuths on Reddit argue that a collaboration with Picea Robotics may have made that possible. Roomba's parent company, iRobot, seems to have done the same thing earlier in 2025. The similarities might not have stuck out quite as much, but James Dyson's words about copycats rang in my mind. "I obviously don't like people who go around copying people," he said. "I think it's not only bad for me, but it's bad for the customer because the customer doesn't get a choice. Do your own motors. Do your own designs. Don't copy ours. Give the consumer a choice."

I've just seen Dyson's surprise new robot vacuum, and it looks great... but why is it so enormous?

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

Will the laser-equipped Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai solve Dyson's robot vacuum problem?

All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers. If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission. Between being the blueprint for cordless stick vacuums and for heated hair tools, it never felt right that Dyson couldn't figure out how to be relevant in the world of robot vacuums. But less than two years after its last failed attempt, Dyson is releasing another new robot vacuum -- and it actually feels promising this time. The Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai was announced on Sept. 4 and again in the Sept. 5 Dyson Unveiled event on YouTube. Frankly, it wouldn't have taken much for Dyson to eclipse the (lack of) prestige of its 2024 360 Vis Nav robot vacuum. It wasn't a self-emptying, small obstacle-avoiding, or even mopping robot vacuum, but was confidently priced like one. The new Spot+Scrub Ai robot vacuum is all three of those things, complete with a few secret weapons that could help Dyson claim its stake in the saturated robot vacuum market. Most exciting to me personally, the new Dyson robot vacuum has a laser. Dyson's technically calling it "green LED illumination," but the product images show it highlighting dust and debris just like the laser heads do on Dyson's stick vacuums. A few months ago, whilst ruminating on overly ambitious robot vacuum innovations like the Roborock Saros Z70's robotic arm, I was also brainstorming some dream new robot vacuum features that would actually be practical. And guess what I verbatim manifested in that story? For the next Dyson robot vacuum to have a green laser, that's what. I've been laser-or-bust since I first experienced it with my beloved Dyson V12 Detect Slim stick vacuum. The ability to so plainly see the status of dust and debris on the floor before and after the vacuum hits it is such undeniable proof of a thorough clean. Not even the best robot vacuums out there from Roborock or iRobot offer this yet. Here's where the "AI" part comes in. The Spot+Scrub Ai assesses the cleaning path ahead of it in real time, using AI stain detection and an AI-powered camera to determine the best way to clean different types of messes. If a liquid stain on a hard floor is detected, before and after photos are taken of the area to ensure that the robot doesn't stop mopping until the stain is fully gone. The scrubbing is done with a wet roller instead of spinning or flat mopping pads. (Dreame also unveiled a flagship robot vacuum and mop combo with a wet roller mop in August, so this must be the new thing.) Dyson noted that the roller mop rinses itself with fresh water as it rotates, but the tank refilling situation in the dock is still unclear. Dyson hasn't revealed numbers for the Spot+Scrub Ai's suction power, though it probably won't be in Pascals (Pa) to easily compare to other robot vacuums, anyway. The 360 Vis Nav was actually quite powerful during my testing, so I expect the Spot+Scub Ai to be a good robot vacuum for carpets. So yes, it seems that Dyson has read the room and addressed the critical features missing from the 360 Vis Nav. But the ultimate test of self-awareness lies in price. We don't know how much the Spot+Scrub Ai will cost, but it would be bold of Dyson to pass the $1,500 threshold. The 360 Vis Nav debuted at $1,299 when it had no business in such a premium price range (though it conveniently dropped to $499.99 the same week as this announcement dropped). I hope that Dyson is more realistic this time around, ideally staying in line with similar flagship robot vacuums like the Roborock Saros 10R or new Narwal Freo Z10 Ultra.

Dyson has four new vacs but the Spot+Scrub Ai robot is the one I can't wait to try | Stuff

Having not long ago announced PencilVac, the world's slimmest vacuum cleaner (due in the US and UK in 2026), Dyson is keeping the momentum going. It has today announced four new lust-worthy vacuum cleaners at their Unveiled event in Berlin during IFA 2025: the V8 Cyclone, Clean+Wash Hygiene, Dyson V16 Piston Animal and Spot+Scrub Ai robot. Let's look at the Spot+Scrub Ai robot first, as this next-gen model, engineered for both wet and dry floor cleaning, which Sir James Dyson has called a "determined, intelligent, and adaptable machine" is the one we're keenest to test. It's all about the power of AI - the new model uses AI for stain detection and for its adaptive cleaning behaviour, which allows it to identify and therefore avoid obstacles, while cleaning your floors to what, knowing Dyson, we assume will be a very high standard. Dyson says that the combination of an AI-powered camera, green LED illumination, and smart navigation allows it to recognise nearly 200 types of floor-living objects (I'm thinking of you lego, socks and charging cables) and clean around them intelligently. The Spot+Scrub's stain detection system sounds particularly advanced and is perhaps the thing that could see this model take top spot over other high-end robot vacs. It uses before-and-after image processing to verify the stain removal, repeatedly going over stubborn stains until it banishes it completely. As the wet roller rotates, it cleans itself with fresh heated water so there's no recontamination from the stain - very clever indeed. Left behind coffee stains on my kitchen floor are a real bugbear of mine, so I'm ever hopeful. The robot uses a 12- point hydration system in its self-cleaning wet roller and, in true Dyson style, a cyclonic, bagless dock for emptying. We're also keen on the fact it features an extending roller (extends 40mm) to reach room edges. As you'd expect, users will be able to use the MyDyson app for cleaning maps, cleaning schedules and so on. We know it'll be available in early 2026 but no pricing has yet been confirmed. If you're blessed with long flowing locks or have pets that shed all over your house, the just-announced Dyson V16 Piston Animal may well be of interest. Designed for deep whole home cleaning, its USP is that it can pick-up hairs (even long ones that the new Dyson Airwrap Co-anda 2x would love to tame) without tangling. The patented anti-tangle conical brush bars eject hairs straight into the bin as you clean. With Dyson's next-generation Hyperdymium 900W ultra high-speed motor under the bonnet, it delivers 315 air watts of suction and features 'All Floor Cones' Sense cleaner head, which allows it to intelligently adjust suction and brush bar speed for every floor type. The CleanCompaktor bin looks suitably hygienic too - holding up to 30 days' worth of compressed dust, it has a self- wiping compression lever to eject the dirt for cleaner emptying. Like the Dyson V8 Cyclone, it will have a self-emptying dock, too. Dyson V16 Piston Animal Submarine is as above but has the addition of an upgraded Submarine 2.0 wet roller head makes the V16 Piston Animal a complete floor cleaning solution and includes a motorised, high-density microfibre roller and precision hydration control, so you can wash without spreading overmatter from your spills and stains around the rest of your floor. It won't be available in the US until 2026, so Dyson doesn't have a price as yet. It is now available in the UK where the Dyson V16 Piston Animal costs £750 and the Dyson V16 Piston Animal Submarine costs £900. There's no denying that the Dyson V8 vacuum wowed when it launched all the way back in 2016, but it was due an upgrade. The Dyson V8 Cyclone vacuum is the next-generation model, offering 30% more suction power (150 air watts) and 50% longer run time than the original model, providing up to 60 minutes of cleaning and a hot-swappable battery, so you can keep at it. Other upgrades are a new triggerless power button, three cleaning modes - Eco, Medium, and Boost and a self-emptying dock. The Dyson V8 Cyclone will launch in the UK on 17 September and costs £350. The final new kid on the block is the Clean+Wash Hygiene - a lightweight wet and dry cleaner that promises to bring a level of hygiene to hard floors that Mrs Hinch would approve of. It's a follow-up to the Wash G1 but seems a bit more of a simple system, with the dirty water kept in the cleaner head just like on the Dyson Submarine head. The Dyson Clean+Wash Hygiene wet and dry cleaner is filter-free, instead keeping all dirt and dirty water from floors within the cleaner itself. This means it doesn't have the problems of filter clogging, which leads to bacteria and dirt in pipes, unsanitary smells and ultimately loss of suction. Instead, Dyson says the Clean+Wash Hygiene's design makes sure only clean water touches your floors, for streak-free cleaning. It's ultra-absorbent microfibre roller boasts 84,000 microfibres per cm² and is embedded with nylon bristles, so pick-up should be very good indeed. Weighing in at only 3.7kg it'll be easy to handle, too. This filter-free, streak-free model will be available in early 2026 with pricing yet to be confirmed.