Dyson just announced the slimmest vacuum cleaner ever, but has ditched its famous cyclone technology – as a vacuum tester, I'm intrigued but skeptical

Dyson have just unveiled the PencilVac – a vacuum cleaner with a diameter of only 38mm, the slimmest ever made. That's just 0.04 inches wide, about the same as a watch face.

Packed with innovations like four conical rollers, real-time app connectivity, and a new dust compression system, it's a striking departure from Dyson’s traditional cyclone technology.

But as a home tech editor who's spent more than 200 hours testing vacuums, I'm intrigued but sceptical. With it being such a small appliance, how well can it clean, and could this really be one of the best Dyson vacuums?

What can the Dyson PencilVac do?

The PencilVac is Dyson’s latest attempt to revolutionize the world of the best cordless vacuums. Designed exclusively for hard floors, it introduces the new ‘Fluffycones’ floorhead: four conical rollers that spin in opposing, inward directions to pull in dust, dirt and hair. It doesn't matter if you're facing forward or backward, as the cones roll all debris into the center, and you can rotate it fully to 360 degrees.

Dyson's cyclone engineering is key to the brand's titan reputation for excellent floor cleaning, so without it, I am left wondering how well this slimline vacuum can power through debris on floors.

However, much like our favorite vacuum the Dyson V15 Detect, the PencilVac has a green light that reveals microscopic dust that the naked eye can't see, but this time it's used in both directions.

It even features app-connectivity to monitor battery and filter performance – a first for Dyson cordless vacuums, and one that will avoid unnecessary Dyson vacuum faults down the line.

To make it work as one of the best vacuums for pet hair, whenever these cones wrap with hair, they roll the hair to the edge until it falls off the brushroll in a clump. Then, you vacuum the clump easily in one swoop.

I own two Dysons and they've never wrapped with hair before. My guess is that this new design is to compensate for the smaller motor that may be unable to vacuum pet hair as effectively.

Also, as someone who regularly tests vacuum cleaners at a local pet shelter, I can’t help but wonder what happens when the clump of hair being pushed aside is attached to mud or dirt. That sounds like a mess you wouldn't want back on your floors after you've already cleaned, nor would you want it wrapping around the same rollers that are cleaning your home.

That being said, this can only work because the rollers are exposed at the edges, meaning the PencilVac might just have the best edge cleaning we've seen in a long time. The soft rollers are perfect for safely and effectively cleaning mess from any surface, no matter how delicate. It's why Dyson vacuums consistently top our list of the best vacuums for hardwood floors.

Dyson claims that these soft, opposing rollers create the feeling of it floating across hard floors. While I haven't had a chance to try the PencilVac yet, I can say that's likely to be true, as many of the best vacuum-mop combos, including Dyson's WashG1, do exactly that. I'm excited to get my hands on it to find out.

But despite the smart tech and elegant engineering, the PencilVac doesn’t clean carpets at all, only hard floors. This makes it a less versatile household cleaning staple and more of a niche device ideal for homes without carpets and limited space.

It also only offers 55 air watts of suction. At 55 air watts, the PencilVac is significantly less powerful than most other Dyson models, which typically reach 100–240AW (more on what this means in my vacuum jargon buster).

Dyson argues this is a purposeful shift – engineering for edge-to-edge efficiency on hard floors rather than brute force, but I wonder if the money could be better spent on a different Dyson model like the Dyson V8 – which boasts 115 air watts even though it's almost a decade old.

How is the Dyson PencilVac so slim?

To achieve the PencilVac’s ultra-slim 38mm diameter, Dyson have rethought almost every part of the vacuum. It’s powered by the company’s smallest and fastest motor yet – the Hyperdymium 140k – which spins at up to 140,000RPM. This 28mm motor had to be miniaturized down to the micron level, and is reportedly 34% more power-dense than its predecessor.

In place of Dyson’s iconic cyclone technology, which you can find in every classic Dyson from the Dyson V8 to the Dyson Gen5detect, the PencilVac uses a new two-stage linear dust separation system. In true Dyson fashion, its filtration exceeds HEPA vacuum filter standards with a 99.99% efficiency rate for particles as small as 0.3 microns.

As dust enters the vacuum the air is compressed, maximizing bin capacity while claiming to prevent filter clogs, so you might not have to clean your Dyson filter quite as often. But it’s worth noting the total bin volume is just 0.08 liters. For context, many cordless sticks offer two to four times that.

This design philosophy – chasing form at the expense of the company’s usual cyclone-and-suction legacy – prompts the question: is this innovation for the sake of innovation? Or could the PencilVac usher in a new class of lighter, more focused tools for modern homes?

The Dyson PencilVac will be available in the US and UK in 2026. Pricing information has not been released.

What to shop

In the meantime, here are three of my favorite cordless Dysons with stronger suction power than the PencilVac:

Next, browse through our tried-and-tested picks of the best Dyson alternatives, for incredible cleaning power at lower prices.