Neither one was a standout with sand (in fact, the Moosoo model was among the worst in those tests), but with larger crumbs at least, both are perfectly capable. The Samsung Jet 90 is one of the lighter models we tested and sports a sleek, futuristic look. It’s a bit of a splurge at a retail price of $477, but it’s the best HEPA cordless vacuum option if you have lots of thick carpets in your home. The dustbin is a cinch to empty and clean, and the battery is removable, too. Replacements are priced at $80 each, which is pretty reasonable by cordless vacuum standards. There’s also a handy trigger lock lever to keep the vacuum running without constant finger pressure.
While many people swear by their hands-free robots, mine was more Megatron than R2-D2, so I was happy to see it re-homed. It doesn’t have the laser on the floorhead to reveal hidden dust – but it does have LEDs, and it’s very capable and easy to store. After testing this vacuum for three months at home, we see why it’s a budget pick, but we’d still recommend it for a starter vacuum.
Its opening mechanism is straightforward—some other vacuums we tested required us to perform complicated manipulations to open the bin—and its filter is washable. Handheld vacuums are a diverse group, with some models designed for the awkward angles of a car’s interior and others purpose-built for pulling pet hair off carpeted stairs or upholstery. With DuoClean PowerFins, you’ll get continuous contact with all surfaces, digging deep into carpets, directly engaging hard floors, and picking up more dirt and fur with every pass.
Additionally, we run anecdotal (visual) pet hair tests for each vacuum, on all three floor types, to help us select the best cordless vacuum. The Black & Decker PowerSeries Extreme Max had great results across most of the cleaning tests. Even in the ones it didn’t excel at, it still had commendable performance. The front-facing bin holds .65 liters of dust, dirt and pet hair and the unit converts into a handheld vac for precision cleaning. Apart from being a strong performer in our pet hair tests, the A11 was excellent on hardwood floors, vacuuming up 97% of sand and 98% of black rice.
You can also use many Shark vacuums as handhelds, which is nice if you need to clean hard-to-reach places. However, the best cordless Shark vacuum models tend to have a few maintenance needs and can be a little more tricky to clean. Its stellar cleaning performance, light weight and easy-to-use features and attachments all make it a standout. We’re not fans of having to wall-mount stick vacuums to get them to stand on their own, but we’re willing to shark stick vacuum overlook that for how well the Dyson cleans and all the other plusses it offers. “The detachable head and assorted tools make it extremely quick and easy to suck up detritus in corners or on surfaces, and it’s done an effective job at digging cat hair out of my couch, comforter and carpet,” wrote one reviewer. “Picks up so much, it’s impressive,” confirmed another reviewer who uses the vacuum to effectively clear away dog hair on hardwood floors.
With the ability to quickly clean anywhere, this vacuum offers versatility for both on-the-floor and above-floor cleaning, allowing you to easily switch between cleaning modes with just one touch. The Shark Cordless Pro Stick Vacuum offers both power and smart features to revolutionize your cleaning routine. Utilizing Clean Sense IQ technology, it detects hidden dirt and adjusts power automatically, resulting in up to shark pet vacuum a 50% improvement in dirt removal. Carrie-Ann Skinner was formerly Homes Editor at TechRadar, and has more than two decades of experience in both online and print journalism, with 13 years of that spent covering all-things tech. Carrie specializes in smart home devices such as smart plugs and smart lights, as well as large and small appliances including vacuum cleaners, air fryers, stand mixers, and coffee machines.
The cleaning head is also wider than usual to cover more ground than others. Impressively powerful for a cordless vacuum and packed with excellent value-adding features, the Shark Detect Pro Cordless Auto-Empty System shark stick vacuum is an excellent all-rounder that will suit most people’s needs. When we test cordless cleaners we don’t do it in a lab; we do it in real homes, with real messes and all the other challenges you’ll encounter at home.
It finished just outside the top 5 on low-pile carpet, removing a respectable 83% of sand and a near-perfect 99% of black rice — and every vacuum that did better in that test costs hundreds more. With all of those extra fibers for dirt to cling to, midpile carpet was more of a struggle, as the A11 sand score fell to 73%, but it still nailed the black rice test, sucking up 98% of the stuff. When testing the vacuum, we also found it to have a super easy setup and immediate effectiveness; its strong suction picked up all the debris on the floor in less than a minute’s time.