Product test
Samsung’s AI vacuum cleaner: full features, full performance – but only half-smart
by Lorenz Keller
New Samsung vacuum cleaner – unbelievable number of features, unbelievably high price tag
15-8-2023
Translation: Elicia Payne
The new Samsung Bespoke Jet AI is the most expensive cordless vacuum cleaner on the market, but it also has everything you want. The only thing not worth the fuss is the artificial intelligence.
Samsung has even thought of the forgetful tester (me) this time. With the predecessor you had to close the dustbin lid manually after auto-emptying, whereas the new Bespoke Jet AI does this itself. So when I quickly want to start hoovering, the dust won’t all fall out.
Samsung has also improved many other details in the new battery-powered vacuum cleaner – and packed all the innovations on the market into one device. Unfortunately, the price reflects that too. No other cordless vacuum cleaner in our store is currently more expensive than the Bespoke Jet AI. In return you also get two batteries, two brushes with LEDs, an all-in-one Clean Station and so on and so forth.
But let’s start at the beginning of our test.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)? Forget it
Of course, the new vacuum cleaner also comes with a new promise. «Intelligent cleaning» with «artificial intelligence» – and the whole thing is also certified by UL Solutions, a global service provider for testing and safety standards.
If you want to know more about such marketing ploys, my colleague Simon Balissat has examined them in the following article.
So the app is really a smart extension. You can set the length of the suction process, for example, or even turn off the light when it’s on the charging station. This is very handy if the Samsung home base is in your bedroom.
Battery problem elegantly solved
Samsung solves the battery problem elegantly. Most cordless vacuums can do 40, 50 or 60 minutes on one charge. Often that’s enough. But if you want to clean the whole apartment, you’ll come up short.
That’s why Samsung puts two batteries in the box, which you can change with one click. One is charged on the all-in-one Clean Station and there is a separate charging station for the second. Pure luxury.
It’s also genius that the manufacturer includes two battery sizes. One is supposed to last for 100 minutes, the other for 60 minutes. For cleaning in between, you use the smaller and lighter battery, for the weekly clean both.
Powerful but quiet
To analyse the power and battery life, I compared the Samsung to Dyson’s latest and greatest vacuum, the Gen5Detect Absolute. The motor spins up to 135,000 rpm and boasts an output of 280 watts. Samsung also has 280 watts and 132,000 rpm.
Putting the different measurement methods of the manufacturers aside, both vacuums have an enormous amount of power and a thorough suction in every situation. I didn’t notice any huge differences. Usually, you don’t need the strong suction power, but sometimes it comes in handy. For example, when you vacuum the car and want to remove crumbs from the carpeted footwells.
What I was able to measure is the volume: from one metre away, Samsung is at 68 to 69 decibels, the Dyson at 71 to 72 decibels. However, the Bespoke Jet whistles at higher frequencies which seems a bit louder – whereas the Dyson is easier on the ears.
It gets really loud when the Clean Station starts up. I measured a whopping 87 decibels from one metre away. It’s as loud as a passing train or a lawnmower.
I also compared the battery life and ran the two fully charged devices in automatic mode on hard floors. The Dyson vacuum cleaner switched off after 50 minutes. The Samsung, with the bigger battery in, switched off after 75 minutes. That’s not a bad length of time. However, neither device reach the advertised rates of up to 70 and up to 100 minutes, respectively.
Samsung wins with the details
I’ve already praised the two batteries and the all-in-one Clean Station. I can’t think of anything else I would want from the appliance. The Bespoke Jet comes with three brushes. Two of them have LED lights and support the AI mode. The Active Dual Brush is suitable for all floors, particularly carpet, and the Slim LED Brush is designed for hard floors and parquet. I haven’t seen this before, because features like these are usually limited to just one brush.
Another useful feature for everyday use is that you can extend the suction tube by 20 centimetres at the touch of a button. Depending on how tall you are, this can make vacuuming more comfortable. You can get under the sofa or under the bed even better too. However, the Samsung only fits on the Clean Station at the lower height.
Why it’s not perfect
Actually, the Bespoke Jet AI would be predestined for allergy sufferers. Because thanks to the Clean Station, the dust disappears into a bag and is not emptied openly into the bucket as with other vacuums. In fact, Samsung also has a filter, but the Hepa certification is missing.
Although the manufacturer claims 99.999 per cent filtration – this only applies to particles up to 0.5 microns. In the case of the Dyson vacuum cleaner with a Hepa filter, it is only 99.99 per cent too, but for particles as small as 0.1 microns.
Finally, Samsung has decided to add lighting for the floor and provides two brushes with LEDs. They’re placed too high though. The result: the floor is illuminated, but you don’t see the dust as well as you would with the competing models. Its clear the manufacturer hasn’t found the ideal design for this yet.
The display also looks quite mediocre in comparison. No fancy graphics, no additional information. The screen is functional, but that’s it. Side note: if you use the Bespoke Jet AI without the all-in-one Clean Station, the dirt container is much more difficult to empty than in competing models.
To summarise: you get a lot for a lot of money
If you want all the luxury with Samsung, you have to pay a fair bit for it. No one can argue that. If you don’t want to spend all your pennies, you can still find predecessor models in our store – for considerably less than 800 francs or euros.
But Samsung also really delivers a lot for the money: accessories, features and battery life. In my test clean, the Bespoke Jet KI didn’t show any weaknesses that really bothered me. The all-in-one Clean Station in particular may be a luxury, but it’s very practical. Thanks to it, I rarely have to dispose of dust and the vacuum cleaner is always clean and ready for use.
The new Samsung vacuum cleaner isn’t exactly intelligent. But that doesn’t matter, because engineers and product designers put the features together – and that’s more than enough for me.
Header image: Lorenz Keller
Lorenz Keller
Senior Editor
Lorenz.Keller@digitecgalaxus.chGadgets are my passion - whether you need them for the home office, for the household, for sport and pleasure or for the smart home. Or, of course, for the big hobby next to the family, namely fishing.
