This is the first cordless vacuum to beat my upright - and you won't believe who makes it

When I told people I was testing Samsung’s new vacuum, most people responded with the question/exclamation, “Samsung makes vacuums?/!” The wonderful truth is that yes, Samsung does make vacuums — and that’s actually understating it, because the Samsung Bespoke Jet AI Ultra Vacuum is really special.

Simultaneously a design statement and one of the best vacuums on the market, the Samsung Bespoke Jet AI Ultra Vacuum cleans up. When you read about it, you’ll see all sorts of crazy claims, including that it’s “the most powerful cordless vacuum on the market” and that “you could replace a cordless vacuum with it’s power”. I wanted to check whether there was any world in which these claims would turn out to be true, so I took it for a spin in my house.

My floors have seen like likes of Dyson’s best V15 Vacuum and Shark’s newest cordless vacuum, so they’re no stranger to a good clean. I deliberately used these vacuums to clean rooms and then followed them with the Samsung to see whether it picked up any extra dust. It's really something special.

Samsung Bespoke AI Jet Ultra Vacuum Specifications

Unboxing the Samsung Bespoke AI Jet Ultra Vacuum

If you love the pomp and ceremony of unboxing your newest home appliance, welcome the Samsung Bespoke AI Jet Ultra Vacuum into your life with open arms. This comes packed into a sizeable cardboard box that could be overkill for a vacuum, but equally, it reflects some serious care and attention. You have open handles on either side and the box is actually surprisingly easy to maneuvre up stairs and around the house, so you could unbox it wherever suits you.

Inside the cardboard, you have two layers of accessories and attachments. It looks like a lot, but everything ends up slotting together really neatly. All in all, you get a smart stand (available in green or black); the main body of your vacuum; two batteries (one 100 minute and one 60 minute one); a charger; and then an accessory cradle for your Pet Tool+, combination and long-reach tool, flex tool, slim LED Brush+. Inside the docking station, Samsung pre-fit one of their dust bags and they’ll send you another three to get you started.

I’d recommend getting one of your batteries charged up, because mine arrived without any juice in them. However, you might be lucky and have one ready from the get-go.

Who would the Samsung Bespoke AI Jet Ultra Vacuum suit?

The Samsung Bespoke AI Jet Ultra Vacuum has a lot going for it, so it appeals to a lot of households. The first, most important discriminator will be the price. This is retailing South of £1,000, which is a hefty amount to pay for an appliance that you just do jobs around the house with.

That being said, I managed to cut down my vacuuming time by 1/3 when I was using this thanks to its sheer power and the clever, automatic adjustments that it made as I was vacuuming my way around the house. Throw that in with a 160 minute run time and this is the perfect vacuum for people who are often doing a clean of a big house. I threw pet hair, large obstacles, and difficult crevices at the Samsung and it really worked well. You'll notice the difference both in how clean your house looks and how fast you can whip around.

This also has appeal for those ultra-conscious of hygiene, whether that's for allergies or general conscientiousness. The Samsung has a multi-layered filtration system which means that it traps 99.999% of dust. You won't have any particles escaping when you empty the dust bin — if you make use of the bagged docking station — because this seals off every part of the emptying process.

What is the Samsung Bespoke AI Jet Ultra Vacuum like to use?

Once I had established that Samsung pre-fitted the dust bag in the docking station and I had left the battery to charge up for an hour, I could start vacuuming. The battery slots neatly into the vacuum at the back and then you’ll see your screen light up. The first time that you use the vacuum, you set your language and then the screen will change to tell you how much time you have left before your battery will run out.

Beyond that, the smart technology inside the vacuum does all the work of sending which surface you are vacuuming on, adjusting its speed and power to suit how dusty and dirty your floor is, and sending crevices and cracks. It's nice to have something brain space for thinking about other things whilst you vacuum.

Test 1: flour and sugar

I have a series of tests that I put every vacuum through. The first one is picking up 100g of flour and sugar from hard floor, carpets, and linoleum. This is a great way to test, not only how your vacuum will handle classic spills when you’re baking, but also what it will be like with dust and lighter, smaller particles.

The light on the front of the vacuum is really handy for showing up all the flour, especially when you get under furniture. On all the different surface types, the Samsung picked up my flour and sugar in just one pass. I didn’t need to pull the vacuum towards me — even though I still did out of pure muscle memory. It’s a true delight.

You might notice that this is a little heavier and it needs a little more force behind it than other cordless vacuums, but it’s only slight. I did wonder whether this would become a long-term issue as I vacuumed my way around the whole house, but it didn’t. My arms still had energy in them, even after emoting the vacuum four times.

Test 2: granola

Whilst it’s important that your vacuum can lift all the micro-particles up from the floor, you’ll also want it to be able to tackle bigger bits of debris, be that granola or kibble. When I'm testing all our vacuums, I scatter 100g of granola, since that’s what normally ends up on my floor, on hardwood, carpet, and linoleum floor to see whether the vacuum can get up every last oat.

The Samsung Bespoke AI Jet Ultra Vacuum, again, proved itself to be just as powerful and impressive as it promises to be. Sometimes, you can get a build up of granola on the front of the vacuum and end up pushing it around the floor like a plough. However, the Samsung deftly ploughed its way through the granola, picking up all the clusters, crumbs, oats, and nuts. You could call it a clean sweep.

Test 3: hair

have long hair that seems — to my partner’s dismay — to end up everywhere. We also have a dog, which means that the two of us leave a lot of hair around the house and we’ve been known to challenge some vacuum rollers. I scattered some of my spare hair extensions around the house and let the dog run riot, leaving her hair everywhere. Then, I gave the whole house a vacuum. You can see that the rollers remained completely clear, even after making their way around the whole house. I think they could pass as brand new, except for the fact that there are a few strands around the roller, but these pull off easily.

I found I could get the main floor head into all the tricky nooks and gaps around the house. You can see it slotted under the radiator and into the corners, lifting up all the dust and debris from my deep woven carpet, stone floors, and wood floors. In short, it was a total dream.

Cleaning the Samsung Bespoke AI Jet Ultra Vacuum

With a 0.5L bin the size you can keep vacuuming on a typical, daily clean for a decent amount of time. I managed to do two floors — which is the kitchen, lounge, office, and dining room — before I felt this really needed emptying. Then, the bag in the docking station is 2L, which means that you’ll actually only need to empty it for every 4 times your vacuum fills up. It’s easy.

When it comes down to getting the dust out of your vacuum, you’ve got two options with the Samsung Bespoke AI Jet Ultra Vacuum. The vacuum is designed to self-empty when it’s in the dock. There’s a bag in the station that will collect all the dirt from your vacuum as soon as you set it down. It’s easy, satisfying and — most importantly — you don’t end up with dust flying all around your bin. It’s a totally sealed system.

This is great, especially if you have allergies, but I’m part of the generation that loves bagless vacuums, so I wanted to see whether I could get by just emptying this into my bin like a Dyson or Shark vacuum. There is a manual button that you can jimmy to open up the base of the vacuum bin and then you’ll be able to shake all the dust and debris out. It’s not as seamless as with other deliberately bagless vacuums — and you might need to intervene — but it is possible, which is good to know.

It's also worth noting that all the parts of the dustbin are washable, so when you need to clean or freshen them, you can easily take all the layers and components apart.

How does the Samsung Bespoke AI Jet Ultra Vacuum compare?

This isn’t the first vacuum that Samsung has launched, but it’s certainly my favourite. The last one needed a few things ironing out, how effectively it empties and closes the bin and the suction power. This one, whilst more expensive, is certainly the upgrade.

If you’re shopping around the Samsung price bracket, it’s likely that you’ll be eyeing up the Dyson V15 too. Whilst both vacuums are ostensibly the same, premium cordless design, but they’re actually very different. The V15 has a 0.27L bigger dust bin and a slightly different mechanism for how you use it. You have to hold a trigger for he V15 to run — which has proven itself to be a bit of a Marmite feature — but this means it’s responsive and really nimble. The Dyson V15 Vacuum is lighter and it feels like it flies across the floor in comparison, plus you’ll get data and feedback on exactly what you’re vacuuming up when you’re cleaning. It’s great if you want to take things to the next level. Even better, you can buy a submarine attachment that transforms the vacuum into a mop. Clever, isn’t it?

On the flip side, the Samsung is a lot tidier. You empty it into the base station and it adjusts its vacuuming without you needing to change the floorhead, which, admittedly is a pain. I also prefer the look and found that I had much better suction across the board. Where the Dyson needed a couple of passes over one of my tests, the Samsung did it in one.

If you like the sound of those two, but you’re not convinced enough to pay big bucks, I can’t recommend the Shark PowerDetect enough. It’s half the price and, whilst the appearance and brand might not come with as much technological prestige, don’t be fooled. the Shark’s vacuuming power still sits slightly below the Samsung’s (which remains unbeaten), but it has lots of nifty features that the Samsung misses.

One example of this is the way that the tube folds and breaks to fit under furniture, so you don’t have to stoop at all when you’re using the Samsung. It also has lots of clever technology built in to sense floor types and the like, so I’m sure you would be happy using this (and you can put the money into some other treats).

I tried vacuuming different bedrooms with the Shark and Dyson and then followed them with the Samsung and in both rooms the Samsung managed to pick up more dust after both of the other vacuums had tapped out. It's certainly the deepest clean, but you pay the price for it.

Should you buy the Samsung Bespoke AI Jet Ultra Vacuum?

If you want a beautiful, powerful vacuum and you’re happy to pay a bottle but more for it, this is a safe investment. It’s a little heavier and harder to push around, but I found I could take about a third off my vacuuming time as a result of the Samsung’s sheer power.

How we test

At woman&home, how we test vacuums is serious business. Not having the right vacuum can make cleaning even more of a chore, so I make sure that we cover all eventualities in our review. That way, you'll find it easy to pick the perfect one for you.

We have three basic tests: vacuuming flour and sugar, clearing a granola spill, and picking up hair extensions. These three tests are designed to emulate the kind of dust and debris you would have in your home. Naturally, we take things to the extreme, but it means that we get a really good gauge of what the vacuum is like to use.

I also make notes on the different settings, weight, charge, cleaning, and emptying of the vacuum. I want you to get a holistic idea of what it is like to use, but if you still have questions, don't hesitate to let me know.