
Dyson's New PencilVac Is the Lightest and Thinnest Cordless Vacuum I've Ever Used
Dyson's new PencilVac is different. As the name suggests, the PencilVac is shaped a lot like a pencil. It felt more like holding a broom than a vacuum. It's also the lightest and thinnest cordless vacuum I've ever used, measuring just 38 millimeters in diameter and weighing less than 4 pounds (1.8 kilograms). The entire motor (a Hypderdynium 140k motor) is somehow small enough to fit into the handle, which isn't any bigger than the rest of the vacuum.
The PencilVac is just 38 millimeters in diameter, including the motor that fits the handle.
Ajay Kumar
While cordless vacuums are easier to maneuver than corded ones, they can be notably top-heavy, with some as heavy as 12 pounds, and even the lighter ones usually weigh around 6 or 7 pounds.
Key specs:
38mm diameter and weighs less than 4 pounds (1.8kg)
Four conical Fluffycones cleaner heads that can detangle long hair
Dyson Hyperdymium 140k motor, 34% more power dense with 55 air watts of suction
A dust separation system can capture 99.99% of particles as small as 0.3 microns
Dust compression system to compress dust in a 0.08-liter dustbin
Connects to the MyDyson app to monitor battery and filter maintenance
Dust illuminating green LEDs on both sides
60-minute replaceable battery pack
Magnetic charging dock with tool storage
Dual green LED lights help you find dust.
Ajay Kumar
Using the PencilVac
Swiping the brush head rollers around the wood floor in Dyson's showroom took minimal effort, and part of that comes from the brush head design. Rather than the standard single or dual brush roller, the PencilVac has four conical brush bars (in an array of two on each side). They're designed to eject hair as it's picked up and prevent it from wrapping around and tangling the brush bars. The front bar rotates in one direction while the rear ones rotate in the opposite direction, in theory making cleaning more comprehensive.
The PencilVac has four rollers on its brush head.
Ajay Kumar
The dustbin fills up quickly, but it's easy to empty
I briefly used the vacuum in Dyson's showroom to clean up biscuit crumbs from the floor. The green LED lights are a feature you'll find on the Dyson V15 Detect as well, and they make it easy to see dust and other debris. The mess was clean in a few swipes, with the dustbin successfully compacting the crumbs into a tightly packed mass. It was fascinating to see all the dirt collecting right at the top of the dustbin. Dyson claims that despite only having a 0.08-liter capacity, the new dustbin design can pack five times the dust and debris into the same space.
The dust gets compacted into a tightly packed mass, saving you space.
Ajay Kumar
That might be true, but I noticed that the dustbin filled up quickly and required immediate emptying between each demonstration. For reference, the average size of a dustbin on a cordless vacuum is usually between 0.5 liters on the small end and as much as one liter on the bigger end.
I just don't see the PencilVac being a main vacuum for people in big households with pets and kids, though it can make a nice supplement to a more mainstream vacuum since it's so light and easy to use.
Eject the vacuum like a syringe
Emptying the PencilVac ejects the dust and debris like a plunger or syringe.
Ajay Kumar
On the plus side, emptying the dustbin is easy with a unique plunger-style ejection system that allows you to eject dust directly into the trash without needing to shake out or tap the dustbin. A few tools are included, like the combi-crevice and conical hair screw tool, and may lend it more to light cleaning tasks, by helping you get into tight spaces and awkward gaps and pull out hair from carpets, sofas and mattresses.
The PencilVac comes with a magnetic charging dock, but unlike some competitors like the Shark Clean & Empty, it won't self-empty. This is also Dyson's first connected vacuum, allowing you to pair it with the MyDyson app to monitor things like battery life and filter maintenance.
The rollers are designed to eject hair to avoid tangling.
Ajay Kumar
Price and availability
Dyson hasn't shared the pricing with us yet, but it will be available in the US on Dyson.com starting next year. I'm looking forward to testing it in our Louisville lab to see how it compares to other thin and lightweight options as well as beefier models.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


CNET
15 hours ago
- CNET
iOS 26 Public Beta Is Here: Download Apple's Liquid Glass Update Today
If you've been itching to poke around Apple's next big iPhone update, today's your day. Apple just opened the first iOS 26 public beta (July 23) to anyone in its free Beta Software Program, letting everyday users try the new OS months before it ships alongside the iPhone 17 this fall. The public beta follows six weeks of dev-only releases, capped yesterday with developer beta 4. iOS 26 is Apple's most ambitious revamp in years. The entire interface now shimmers with Liquid Glass, a translucent layer that morphs as you scroll, and an updated Apple Intelligence powers live call translation and a souped-up Visual Intelligence search. You'll also see other perks like call screening and personalized text message chats. Before you download, double-check your hardware: iOS 26 needs at least an A13 Bionic chip, so only the iPhone 11 model and newer qualify. Apple Intelligence features stay exclusive to the iPhone 16 line and iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Also remember that it's still beta software. Expect bugs, battery dips and the occasional app crash. You should definitely back up your phone first (better yet, create an archive on your computer), consider installing on a spare device and keep your computer nearby in case you need to roll back to iOS 18. If that sounds good, here's how to install the iOS 26 public beta. Don't miss: Revert Back to iOS 18 From iOS 26 Beta: The No-Stress, Step-by-Step Guide How to download the iOS 26 public beta on your iPhone As long as you know the risks and have backed up your phone, you can download the iOS 26 public beta. Here's what you need to do: 1. Enroll in Apple's Beta Software Program On the iPhone you want to update, open Safari and visit Sign in with your Apple ID. If you're new to the program, tap Sign Up and follow the prompts to accept Apple's beta agreement. 2. Sign up for the iOS 26 public beta After signing in, choose iOS at the top of the page. You'll land on a dashboard with details about the iOS 26 public beta. Under Get Started, tap Enroll your iOS device. Because Apple now handles betas directly in Settings (no more configuration profiles), all you need to do is link your Apple ID and you're good to go. 3. Enable beta updates On your iPhone, go to Settings > General > Software Update > Beta Updates. Choose iOS 26 Public Beta from the list. 4. Download and install iOS 26 beta Now, return to Settings > General > Software Update. The iOS 26 public beta should appear. Tap Download and Install and follow the on-screen instructions. Keep your phone on Wi-Fi and plugged in during the update. Once your iPhone reboots, you'll be running the latest iOS 26 public beta—complete with the new Liquid Glass interface and (if your hardware supports it) Apple Intelligence features.


CNET
15 hours ago
- CNET
The First iOS 26 Public Beta Is Here, But Think Twice About Installing It Now
Now that the iOS 26 public beta is now available, you may be itching to install it on your iPhone and start to experience the new Liquid Glass interface, live translation and other features coming in the fall. But I'm going to be the annoying voice of reason for a moment and encourage you to hold off for now -- or at least make sure you're loading it on a test device. The "beta" in "public beta" is there for a reason. Prerelease software is unfinished, and even though a public beta means Apple is confident enough to seed it on several thousand iPhones, the goal is to see how the update fares before it's deployed on millions of iPhones. Although the iOS 26 developer beta has been pretty stable, one never knows what bugs could slip through. For more on what iOS 26 brings to the iPhone, make sure you check out everything Apple announced at WWDC 2025. I'm Impressed With iOS 26. Apple Just Made iPhones Better I'm Impressed With iOS 26. Apple Just Made iPhones Better Click to unmute Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Skip Backward Skip Forward Next playlist item Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 5:40 Loaded : 10.49% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 5:40 Share Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Close Modal Dialog This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. Close Modal Dialog This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. I'm Impressed With iOS 26. Apple Just Made iPhones Better A positive word about installing the iOS 26 public beta The public beta is more stable than the developer betas, which are intended for developers who need to skirt the edges of stability to test their products. But "more stable" isn't the same as "rock solid." Apple is still adding and changing features in the iOS 26 betas before the anticipated release of iOS 26 in September or October. If you decide to install the iOS 26 public beta, I recommend doing it on a separate iPhone that isn't used as your main personal phone. iOS 26 will work with models as old as the iPhone 11, so reach into the back of your tech drawer and put that forgotten iPhone into service. Also, as always, make sure you have good backups of your data. Bugs are part of the iOS 26 public beta Now, let's discuss why upgrading to the iOS public beta might be a bad idea. Software bugs at the development stage are to be expected -- in fact, that's kinda the point. Now is the time for bugs to skitter into the light so developers can catch them and Apple can fix them before the final release. Opening the public beta to more testers helps flush out odd interactions with a much larger pool of iPhones and third-party apps. Bugs can vary across the spectrum. You could face connectivity issues with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, or end up with third-party applications crashing from time to time. And runaway background processes could keep the system running hotter than normal, decreasing not just how long the phone operates on a battery charge, but potentially stressing the battery's lifespan. To be fair, I've never dealt with any show-stopping, brick-your-phone bugs in a beta -- usually, they're a series of annoyances that can grate on you after a while. But all of this is perfectly normal in developer and public betas. But if you don't want to deal with bugs and other issues that could make your phone more difficult to use, you probably don't want the iOS 26 public beta on your primary iPhone. Your battery life may worsen Did you recently buy a recommended portable charger for your iPhone? Expect to make more use of it while running beta software. Energy efficiency is usually the last thing Apple's developers optimize, because the priority at this point is to make sure features work and bugs are stamped out. An iOS update also triggers a host of internal indexing, which consumes a lot of energy for a few hours or days after installation. The Photos app, for example, updates its database of recognized people, scans images for new recognizable objects or scenes for search purposes and looks for duplicates. Betas can be tough on batteries. CNET Performance may take a hit Partially because of the reindexing of gigabytes of data on your phone, the iOS 26 public beta will almost certainly not deliver the performance you might be expecting. Processor-intensive apps and games also need to be tuned to work with the new iOS, so stutters and glitches are normal. Game Mode can improve performance in demanding games but beta software could interrupt such low-level processes. Jeff Carlson/CNET I know it's tough to be patient when future features are just a download away. But I also don't want you to be burned (as I have in the past). For more about iOS 26, see how the new Liquid Glass interface compares to iOS 18.


Digital Trends
15 hours ago
- Digital Trends
Sony makes one of the best OLED TVs, this deal makes it $900 more affordable
Every day we find incredible TV deals, so there's never really a point in buying a TV at the regular price. That is, unless you want one of the best TVs all around, which have more of a reason to not go on sale frequently. They already get lots of attention and have the chops to justify high prices. However, from time to time we do find a great deal on one of our favored TVs. This time around we're see a $900 discount on the 65-inch Sony Bravia 8 OLED, one of our picks for the best OLED TVs. Getting the TV now, which you can do simply by tapping the button below, will only cost you $1,900 instead of the usual $2,800. Read on to learn why the TV is so great, as well as to see the special reason why it's included in our list of OLED TVs. Why you should buy the Sony Bravia 8 OLED The Sony Bravia 8 OLED is a brilliant TV for your living room or gathering area. It's a weird thing to say, but a lot of TVs have a sort of 'hermit' personality and are really best enjoyed with a small group in a dark room. Not the Sony Bravia 8 OLED, with its wide viewing angle and ability to stand up to ambient lighting. This is a TV to grab the crew around and watch some ball or have in your living room to give you some company while you watch the kids. It's a TV to enhance your life with, but it doesn't have to So, why did this TV make it on our OLED shortlist? It happens to be the best Sony OLED for the price. And, of course, by this we mean its standard price. The quality is simply there; it has rich colors and black levels that make things pop, whether you're in the living room or not. So, why not grab it while it is $900 cheaper and you can get it for $1,900 instead of the usual $2,800.