Yes, to my surprise, I've spotted discounts of up to 57% on Ninja air fryers, blenders and viral products like the Slushi frozen drinks maker and Swirl ice cream machine — perfectly timed for the approaching Australian summer.

• Browse all the latest Amazon deals

Elsewhere, there are savings to be found on multicookers, the Luxe Café espresso machine and the recently released BlendBoss blender. With Black Friday just around the corner, there's always a chance these discounts could improve, but that's far from guaranteed. So, if you spot something you've had your eye on at a price you're happy with, there's no reason to wait.

• Browse the Ninja storefront at Amazon

And as TechRadar Australia's resident coffee expert, that's music to my ears. I've spent plenty of time testing and reviewing espresso machines, so I know which models are genuinely worth your money, and which Black Friday deals deserve your attention.

This year, Black Friday doesn't officially kick off until Friday, November 27, but as expected, there are already plenty of excellent Black Friday coffee machines available to shop.

Special mention has to go to Breville, which has already launched its sale, with up to AU$1,000 off a variety of bean-to-cup machines — and TechRadar readers can save an additional 10% on any purchase, thanks to our exclusive Breville coupon code.

I fully expect the number of early deals to increase dramatically next week, when the Amazon Black Friday sale goes live on November 17, so be sure to check back then for the latest updates.

Black Friday coffee machine deals 2026: Retailer links

• Amazon: top machines and accessories from big brands, plus pods and beans
• Appliances Online: coffee makers, manual machines and more
• Breville: save up to AU$1,000 + coupon code for extra 10% off
• De'Longhi: up to 30% off, plus a bonus Barista Gift Pack valued over AU$110
• JB Hi-Fi: all your tech needs plus coffee machines
• KithenAid: up to AU$600 off fully automatic espresso machine
• Ninja: save on the Luxe Café Premier and appliances like the Ninja Slushi
• The Good Guys: massive savings on brands like Smeg, Jura, Breville and more

Black Friday 2026 capsule coffee machine deals

Black Friday 2026 Breville coffee machine deals

Breville is responsible for producing some of my favourite espresso machines of all time, and the brand's Black Friday sale is serving up some tempting discounts. And for an extra bonus, you can save an extra 10% site-wide using our exclusive coupon code. You can generate your own using the tool below.

Black Friday 2026 manual coffee machine deals

Black Friday 2026 automatic coffee machine deals

Black Friday 2026 coffee machine sales: FAQs

Tips for buying a coffee machine during Black Friday

1. Look at individual specifications: When thinking about grabbing a new coffee machine and looking at Black Friday discounts, the number one tip to remember is to buy one that suits you, and the best way to do that is to check the specs of each machine you look at.

The features that a coffee maker offers – or doesn't offer – can be the difference between a purchase you love and one you return a week later. The main thing, even if you feel confident in your skills as a barista, is that you want your coffee machine to be easy and efficient to use. If you're looking for a more manual coffee machine, helpful features to look out for are a built-in grinder, automatic switch-off setting, and pressure gauge, while those who are looking for an automatic coffee maker will want to know whether their coffee maker has a built-in milk frother, or a bin to hold used coffee grounds.

The perfect coffee machine is a personal decision. It depends on how you like to drink your coffee, how much time you are prepared to take to make yourself a tasty brew and how much room you have in your home, as well as the cost of whole beans, ground beans and pods. Whether you like to smash an espresso or slowly sip a cappuccino, there will be a perfect coffee machine deal out there for you this Cyber Monday – just be sure to check the specs as you shop so you get one that's right for you.

2. Don't be blinded by discounts: It's very easy, with so many deals to sort through, to just find the one with the biggest saving in dollars, or biggest percentage discount, and quickly buy it. I mean, they all make coffee, right? What difference does it make? Well, a lot – and just grabbing the best deal might not leave you with the best coffee machine for your needs.

For example, Nespresso pod machines are fantastic. However, there are two different styles of Nespresso machines – Vertuo and Original – and the pod sizes they use are wildly different. So, pairing a whole bunch of Starbucks Nespresso pods with a new Nespresso Vertuo Next as a gift is a lovely idea – but those pods will be completely unusable with that machine. Pods also cost quite a lot more than beans, ground or whole, though you have to weigh that up with the speed they provide.

Point being, just because a deal has sliced the price of a machine by 70% doesn't make it a deal for you. Be sure to look at all your options, and always follow step one even when looking at a mind-blowing Black Friday coffee machine deal.

3. Do your research in advance: The best way to make sure you end up with the right type of coffee machine on Black Friday is to do your research in advance. We advise reading our best coffee machine guide to narrow down the product you're interested in and the specifications you need. Once you have a good idea of what you’re looking for, you can approach the Black Friday coffee maker with a good understanding of whether the machine you're interested in is worth the money. This also helps you see what the regular price is without Black Friday, so you can know whether a deal is an actual deal or not. Or, you could just check out our Black Friday deals so you don't need to worry.

From now until November 30, 2026, you can save up to AU$620 on select vacuums, hair tools, air purifiers and fans. You could save even more by shopping at third-party retailers like Amazon or The Good Guys.

I've handpicked the best Dyson Black Friday deals below, including new robot vacuums, cordless vacuums, hair tools and more. You'll need to act fast to secure a Dyson deal, though, as these prices won't stick around long!

Don't quite have a Dyson budget? There are plenty of 'Dyson dupes' discounted for Black Friday, and I've jotted down some top-rated ones below.

• Want to save more on Dyson products? Check out the latest Dyson promo codes and coupons.

Dyson retailer quicklinks

• Dyson: up to AU$600 off select items, including exclusive models
• Amazon: score tidy discounts on Dyson's vacuums, including the new Spot+Scrub AI
• Adore Beauty: save on Dyson hair styling tools
• Appliances Online: get free delivery on your latest Dyson purchase
• eBay: the official eBay Dyson store with more savings for Plus members
• JB Hi-Fi: save on select vacuum cleaners
• Kogan: shop Dyson discounts with Kogan's Black Friday sale
• Myer: save on vacuums, heaters, fans, purifiers and hair tools
• Sephora: discounts on Dyson's hair tools
• The Good Guys: find deals on vacuums, purifiers and hair tools

Best Black Friday Dyson deals

Vacuums

Hairtools

Fans, heaters and air purifiers

Best Black Friday deals on Dyson alternatives

Dyson vacuum dupes

Dyson Airwrap dupes

Dyson fan & purifier alternatives

Dyson Black Friday 2026 deals: key information

Dyson Black Friday 2026 deals: predictions

It's very tempting to say that you'll find offers on every single Dyson product in the brand's repertoire for Black Friday, but that would be wishful thinking.

However, considering the latest Dyson vacuum cleaners like the V10 Konical and the V16 Piston Animal are already seeing discounts, don't be surprised if you find them for cheaper.

Also keep an eye on the prices of the older models, starting with the V15 Detect and the Gen5Detect. They're surely going to see big discounts, while you could pick up an older V10 or V8 for cheap.

There was a time when it was pretty rare to see Dyson's haircare products get steep discounts, but we have been seeing upwards of AU$250 in savings on some of these coveted tools. As for the purifier fans, you'll be able to save hundreds even when shopping directly from Dyson.

The Ninja PREPi food processor has power that belies its looks. The 5-in-1 model I tested comes with three different blades for five different food processing options. The included blades include: a chopping/puree blade, a crinkle cut disc, and a reversible slide/shred disc. There is also a six-in-one model that includes a dicing disc, or you can purchase the dicing disc separately if you prefer.

The Ninja PREPi comes with two prep bowls and lids, a five-cup size and a seven-cup size. This allows you to do a big food prep ahead of time and then pop it in the fridge until you need it, without much in the way of extra dishes to wash.

This machine handled all of the tasks we threw at it with ease, including slicing a large bag of potatoes into thin, uniform slices in no time. The one exception was an attempted smoothie, but after all, this isn't a blender.

Like most food processors, the Ninja PREPi has a lot of parts that will need to be taken apart and cleaned after use. Luckily, they can all be cleaned on the top rack of your dishwasher (except for the motor which wouldn't ever need more than a swipe with a damp cloth anyway.)

Ninja PREPi: price and availability

• List price: $179.99 (about £130 / AU$260)
• Available direct from Ninja, and from third-party retailers including Amazon, Target, Walmart, and Best Buy

The Ninja PREPi 5-in-1 Prep System retails for $179.99 and can be found on SharkNinja's website as well as online and brick-and-mortar retailers such as Amazon, Target, Walmart, and Best Buy. That work out at about £130 / AU$260, but at the time of writing it's not yet available in the UK and Australia.

For an extra $50, you can get the 6-in-1 model, which includes a dicing disc. You can also buy the dicing kit separately for $59.99.

The five-in-one model comes in four colorways: Pink Peppercorn (as seen in my photos), Midnight Blue and Mango, Stone and Moss, and Onyx and Apricot. The six-in-one model comes in just one colorway: Copper and Teal.

• Value score: 4/5

Ninja PREPi: specifications

Ninja PREPi: design and features

• Three multi-use blades
• Three-part food pusher
• Two bowls with lids for prep and storage

The Ninja PREPi's clever design makes it pretty easy to use. Choose either the larger (seven-cup) or smaller (five-cup) prep bowl, place the spindle inside, and then choose your blade. The blade that sits at the bottom of the bowl is for both chopping and pureeing.

There are also two disc-style blades that sit at the top of the bowl. One disc is for crinkle cutting, the other disc is reversible and can be used for slicing or shredding.

Once you've installed your blade of choice, click the feed chute lid into the bowl and then slide the motor pod into its spot on top of the lid. Turn the dial to your desired mode and press start. It's pretty easy and intuitive to use.

The feed chute lid has a three-part pusher so that you can put in anything from a carrot to a potato and it will be held in place upright for proper slicing or shredding.

Cleanup is pretty easy, just take all of the parts apart. Put the motor pod aside, it doesn't contact food and won't need to be cleaned at all unless you splash something on it, in which case, just wipe it with a very slightly dampened cloth. All of the other parts can be washed on the top rack of the dishwasher (skip the heat dry cycle) or hand-washed very carefully. The blades are sharp!

I couldn't figure out a perfectly neat way to nest and store the Ninja PREPi. I tried a couple of different ways to try and minimize storage space, with the blades all safely enclosed inside the lidded prep bowls.

• Design score: 4.5/5

Ninja PREPi: performance

Crinkle-cut disc

I crinkle cut some carrots with the appropriate disc. I used the narrowest food chute option in order to keep the carrot upright. I turned the dial to the disc setting. The Ninja PREPi took only a few seconds to do the job. I got lots of beautifully cut carrot crinkles, though there were some smaller bits. I planned to make some hummus after so I just left the bits in the bowl to become part of the hummus.

Chop/puree blade

I intended to make hummus, but I accidentally opened a can of white kidney beans, so I made a hummus-like bean dip instead. I incorporated the leftovers from the carrot crinkling I had just done. I started with a chop cycle, which ends automatically. Then I did a low puree cycle, and then a high puree cycle. The result was nice and smooth and so delicious. There were still some chunks in there, but that didn't bother me. I served it with the crinkle-cut carrots and stored the leftovers right in the prep bowl afterwards.

Another day, I did actually make a proper hummus with garbanzo beans. I followed the same steps as above. However, I was using the end of the jar of tahini, and so it was kind of a hard blob of tahini. It threw the blade off kilter, so I stopped the cycle, cut up the tahini blob, and continued. I did end up using the puree cycle on high a total of three times to get the texture that I wanted. It turned out great!

Using the chop cycle and the chop/puree blade, I chopped up some cashews. It took three chop cycles to get the nuts to the size I wanted. I wouldn't say the size was very uniform, and there was quite a bit of dust. I used a sieve to remove the dust but there were still a lot of tiny pieces. I used a berry bowl to remove those smaller pieces. But in the end, I got a jar of chopped nuts, which we later sprinkled over ice cream and veggies.

I did also attempt a smoothie using this blade, with yogurt, protein powder, frozen fruit, and ice. This was a fail. I did two high puree cycles and was left with lots of ice chunks. I probably could have run it a few more times but I ran out of patience. A food processor is not exactly the same as a blender, after all. I won't gross you out with my photos.

Slicing disc

I've been seeing a lot of influencers using the Ninja PREPi to make salad, so I decided to do that with lettuce, carrots, cucumber, and red peppers. It was good, though I made some easily avoidable mistakes. First of all, I used a soft butter lettuce, which unfortunately came out a bit mushy. I should have used a firmer lettuce such as romaine. I also should have used both side of the disc, depending on the vegetable. The slicing side was fine for all of the veggies, but I think the shredding side would have been better for the carrots. Still, it was a good salad. I ate it right out of the prep bowl, and if I'd had any left over, I could have easily popped the lid on and stored it away.

My son made the most delicious potatoes au gratin using the Ninja Prepi to slice up a big bag of potatoes. The uniform size meant that the slices were all the same doneness after cooking. This is the kind of dish food processors exist for. There is no way I could get that kind of uniformity with a knife.

On another occasion, I sliced up some sweet potatoes with the slicing disk. Then I flipped it over to the shredding side and shredded some cheddar cheese, which I melted on top.

Shred disc

Below you'll find pictures of shredding the cheese with the shredding disc, which I baked on top of the sweet potatoes. The cheese shredded very well in just a few seconds, however, there was a leftover nub stuck on top of the disc.

I shredded an apple to put on my chia pudding for breakfast. First I quartered and cored the apple, then I fed it through the feed chute lid using the shred disc. The apple shredded beautifully, though there were some nubs left over.

• Performance score: 4/5

Should you buy the Ninja PREPi?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

Ninja PREPi: also consider

If the Ninja PREPi isn't exactly what you're looking for, you might consider the following:

How I tested the Ninja PREPi

• I tested every blade
• I tested it on various foods
• I cleaned it after every use

I crinkle-cut carrots, sliced carrots, sliced a sweet potato, sliced potatoes, sliced lettuce, sliced peppers, sliced cucumbers, pureed bean dip, pureed hummus, pureed a smoothie, chopped cashews, shredded an apple, and shredded cheese. I washed all of the parts (except for the motor pod) before the first use and after each use. I washed them both by hand and with the dishwasher at various times.

Read more about how we test.

First reviewed November 2026.

For its first stick vacuum, Narwal did a great job with the V50 Cube. It launched in November 2026 as an extremely lightweight and cordless stick vac with an extendable wand and a dock that does more than charge and auto empty. Over the course of two weeks, I used the vacuum to clean debris from my laminate and hardwood floors, the cobwebs in my windowsills, and dust from my ceiling.

Even with just a maximum 28,000 Pa suction (I’ve tested robovacs with more power), the V50 Cube did pretty well cleaning fine and thick materials, especially on my rugs. Most of the time, I used the AI or auto mode (and sometimes the turbo mode) as the eco mode wasn’t as effective.

The only time the vacuum struggled with a cleaning task was suctioning Cheerios from my hard floors. Other than that, I was very satisfied with its performance thanks to its dirt detecting capabilities which increased the suction power when debris was detected. I even appreciated the aqua headlight that showed me exactly where to clean as it magnifies dust more so than a regular white headlight. The front edge cleaning was poor, but at least the side edge cleaning was anywhere between zero and half an inch.

The charging dock auto empties the dust and debris and reverses the brush roll to prevent tangling. The two-in-one crevice tool is hidden away inside the dock when not in use. There, you’ll also find an extra battery that is always charged and ready to go. This is good since one battery only lasts seven minutes on turbo, 20 minutes on AI or auto mode, and 55 minutes on eco mode.

There are other little details about the design that’s amazing like how it automatically lowers a brush plate when cleaning a carpet to pull more dust and debris – or the way it’s outfitted with a manual scraper to pull off residue stuck in the dust cup. Sure, there are some drawbacks, like how the vacuum head and wand buttons sometimes stick or the crevice tool fell off a few times, but when weighing the pros and cons, I believe there is a lot of value in this vacuum and a promise from Narwal of more to come.

Narwal V50 Cube: price and availability

• List price: $649.99 (about £480 / AU$930)
• Launched: November 2026
• Available: US, Canada, China, and selected EU countries (Germany, France, Italy, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Belarus)

The Narwal V50 launched in November 2026 with a price tag of $649.99, becoming the brand’s first stick vacuum in the US. That works out at roughly £480 / AU$930, but it's not currently available in the UK or Australia. It is, however, being sold in Canada, China, and the EU.

You may also be able to find it more cheaply in one of Narwal's regular sales. Despite its recent release, at the time of writing it has received a $150 discount in Narwal's Black Friday deals, bringing its price down to $449.99.

The relatively high price tag comes from the fact that the vacuum has sensors that detect floor type and dirt. It’s also sold with a charging base with auto-empty features, and an extra battery that doubles your battery life. Considering these features, I’d say the price makes sense.

• Value score: 4 out of 5

Narwal V50 Cube: specs

Narwal V50 Cube: design

• Extremely lightweight cordless vacuum that maneuvers easily
• Aqua headlight magnifies dust, dirt, and debris
• AI capabilities sense floor types and dirt

As Narwal’s first stick vacuum, the V5 has a lot going for it in terms of its design. The black and gray vacuum is modern, sleek, and compact. After pulling it from the base, I have to extend the wand to make it more comfortable to use (I’m 5’5”). The buttons on the vacuum can stick when it comes to removing the vacuum head or the handheld from the wand, but I never had an issue with the extension button. Unfortunately, the vacuum can’t stand on its own, but it can lie 180 degrees flat.

At only 3lbs., the V50 is super lightweight, which made it easy for me to move the vacuum across my floors or hold it up high above my head to clean ceiling corners. The vacuum head is 9.5 inches wide and it’s maneuverable without being uncontrollable, allowing me to clean around chair legs easily.

The grip on the vacuum is very comfortable with the power button and mode switch button in easy reach. A small screen shows the mode and battery life displayed as an icon. When in AI auto mode, the display screen has a curved line to highlight the dirt level. Purple tells you that the floor is clean, while red indicates unseen dirt.

I’ve always been a fan of headlights on vacuums, but this one really takes the cake. The aqua light covers 145 degrees, magnifying every bit of dust on your floor. It works very well in tandem with the AI DirtSense technology which detects dust and dirt, thereby automatically increasing the suction power. The AI technology senses rugs or carpets and lowers a brush plate to create a seal to better pull dust from the fibers of the carpet.

The charging dock is one of the most compact ones I’ve seen — and definitely ever tested. In fact, the vacuum won’t fit on the dock unless you unextend the wand. The charging dock automatically removes dust and debris from the dust cup into a sealed bag that holds up to 100 days’ worth of dirt. Dual H13 HEPA filtration and UVC+ Silver Ion Sterilization ensure that the dust stays locked away.

Narwal also added an anti-tangle hand tool to the dust cup that scrapes away tough residue. There’s a scraping ring under the vacuum that prevents hair or thread wrapping. And when you place the vacuum on the dock, the brush roll undergoes reverse rotation to flush everything out into the dust bag.

Behind the front panel of the dock, there’s a compartment that holds the 2-in-1 crevice tool and another one that charges an extra battery. I really admire that Narwal created a space to hide the accessory and the battery in the dock — something that not enough brands do in my opinion. My only critique would be to have the front panel placed on a hinge in the future.

Setup took no time at all. I added the wand and the vacuum head to the handheld, charged it up, and started cleaning.

• Design score: 4 out of 5

Narwal V50 Cube: battery life

• 20 min on auto mode, 55 min on eco mode, and 7 min on turbo mode
• Extra battery stays charged in the charging base
• Took about two hours for the vacuum to fully recharge

The Narwal V50’s battery life differs depending on which mode you use and the dirt level of your floors. In my testing, the eco mode lasted the longest at 55 minutes, while the battery on turbo mode lasted only seven minutes.

The battery died on AI mode, or the dirt detection mode, after 20 minutes. In that time, I was able to clean about three quarters of the hardwood floors in my home, however, I was moving fast to achieve that. My floors were particularly dusty and dirty, so I’m not surprised that the battery lasted only 20 minutes. Each time the vacuum recognized dirt or dust, it increased the suction which used more power. To that effect, you may see the battery life adjust a bit depending on if you’re using the vacuum on carpet or hardwood floors, as carpet or rugs will cause the vacuum to increase the suction.

The battery life is quite average compared to others, and I wish it lasted a bit longer on the dirt detection mode. However, the cool thing about this vacuum is that it comes with a backup battery that always stays charged in the charging base. So whenever the battery dies, I can grab the other battery, fit it to the Narwal V50 and continue cleaning. It effectively doubles the battery life of the vacuum, allowing you to clean way more at once.

The vacuum took about two hours to recharge on the dock.

• Battery life score: 4 out of 5

Narwal V50 Cube: performance

• Powerful carpet suction, with decent edge cleaning
• Headlight and auto dirt detection work together to pick up dust and debris
• Very lightweight and nimble for cleaning floors or high spaces

The Narwal V50 is a fascinating vacuum. With a turbo suction power of only 28,000 Pa, it’s not the strongest vacuum I’ve tested, and yet, it performed surprisingly well in a lot of ways. I used the vacuum to clean my floors as I normally would, and ran a few tests to see how well it suctioned a variety of materials on different floor types.

One of my favorite aspects of this stick vacuum is its lightweight nature and the smaller vacuum head size. It’s so nimble and twists and turns easily so I could clean around a lot of my furniture without having to move it. The aqua headlight magnifies dust and debris considerably. (I was astounded by how much dust collects on my floors daily!) The ability to lie 180 degrees flat was a big bonus and because the vacuum head and the wand are so thin, I was able to clean under a dresser that I’ve never been able to reach with any other vacuum I’ve tested.

I was very satisfied with how the vacuum picked up dust and debris on the turbo mode and AI or auto mode. I used the V50 most days to pick up food droppings in my kitchen or to clean up dirt I trekked into my mudroom. I was also very glad that I could break down this vacuum and use it as a handheld with the 2-in-1 crevice tool to clean cobwebs from my ceilings and windows or dust from my base boards. I should note that the crevice tool fell off the wand a few times. I even struggled to remove the handheld from the wand too.

The eco mode performed better with the vacuum head on the body of the vacuum (rather than as a handheld), but I doubt I will use that mode from herein out since the suction power was quite low.

Edge cleaning wasn’t as good as I hoped it would be. There was about an inch along the front edge of the vacuum. The side edge cleaning was better, ranging anywhere from 0.5 inches to no space along the side. Unfortunately, I never figured out why the side edge cleaning was not consistent.

To test the Narwal V50, I laid out Cheerios, rice, baking soda (on a rug), and flour (on hard floors) on my different floor types and used the AI dirt detect mode to see how well the vacuum picked up these materials. The vacuum performed perfectly on the rug, suctioning everything in a single go.

The hard floor results were not as good as the rug test. The Narwal V50 appeared to pick up all the flour from the hard floor, but there was a slight film of flour left behind that required the turbo mode to completely remove. While the vacuum picked up all the rice in a single pass, it struggled with the Cheerios. At first, it picked up some of the Cheerios, but after that, the vacuum just pushed the Cheerios forward. Even when I moved the vacuum head slower, I was only able to suction a few more Cheerios, which still left about five behind on the floor.

No matter what, I can’t praise the convenience of the charging base and its auto-empty capabilities. I love the ease of being able to put the vacuum on the base and going about my day, knowing that it suctions all the dirt and dust and keeps it fully contained until it needs to be replaced. The manual scraper tool inside the dust cup of the vacuum is also quite unique in that it removes stubborn residue that the suction power of the base might not be able to do on its own. I haven’t seen that with other vacuums so that’s a great maintenance feature.

I would by no means rely on the Narwal V50 to be your go-to vacuum to clean carpeted rooms. It’s great for cleaning rugs, but it doesn’t have the suction power to handle a house with mostly carpet. Instead, I’d utilize it as a quick-cleaning tool to pick up scraps of food, random bits of dirt, dust from your windowsills, or pet hair that clumps under furniture. It would also be a good choice for smaller homes or apartments.

• Performance: 3.5/5

Should you buy the Narwal V50 Cube?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

Narwal V50 Cube: also consider

If the Narwal V50 Cube isn't the right vacuum for your home, here are two other options that you should consider:

How I tested the Narwal V50 Cube

Over the course of a few weeks, I tested the Narwal V50 in my 1,600-square-foot house outfitted with historic hardwood and laminate floors and two large rugs. I used the vacuum to clean my floors, windowsills, baseboards, and ceilings, noting how it suctioned fine dust and large debris. After running multiple tests, I got a great sense of the battery life, maintenance required, and ease of use.

Read more about how we test vacuum cleaners.

First reviewed November 2026

The Shark PowerDetect Transformer is a wired vacuum cleaner that combines an upright, stick and handheld vacuum all in one. It offers plenty of the premium features you might expect, including tangle-free brush bar and dirt-illuminating LED, but also comes crammed with smart features like automatic dirt, surface and edge detection.

The Shark PowerDetect Transformer admittedly isn’t the most easily wielded vacuum cleaner in its upright form — weighing in at 17.6 lbs / 8kg — but it has a trick up its sleeve. Press a single button and its vacuum pod pops off, turning it into a svelte stick vacuum with its own discrete dust bin. Need even more flexibility? Pop off the top section and it becomes a handy handheld vac. Switching between each system is seriously swift, which is really smart design.

On top of this, the PowerDetect Transformer also offers an excellent range of accessories for different tasks, so you’re not just limited to its talented DuoClean Detect nozzle. The HairPro Self-Cleaning Pet Power brush is great for getting pet hair off your rugs and furniture — with its anti-tangle tech preventing the bar getting clogged — and it also includes old classics like a crevice tool and a multi-surface brush. On top of this, it has built-in HEPA certified filtration and an anti-allergen seal, which the asthma sufferers in my house definitely appreciate.

In my book though, the thing that helps the PowerDetect Transformer rival the best vacuum cleaners is how hassle-free it makes sucking up crud from your carpets and hard flooring. Absolutely chock full of auto-detection features, it will dial the level of its suction up and down depending on your floor type, the amount of dirt it detects or the direction you’re dragging it in. Even smarter is its edge detection, which senses when you’re vacuuming against furniture and along room boundaries and directs its suction toward them to more completely do away with detritus.

I’ll admit that being smart doesn’t necessarily always translate being capable. Fortunately, all these smarts do make Shark’s vacuum seriously good at shifting dirt. Pretty much every test I put the PowerDetect Transformer through it aced, getting up coarse dirt from a hard floor and dust out of a shallow pile carpet in a single sweep. And when vacuuming room edges — the achilles heel of many vacuum cleaners — every single lentil I’d tossed down vanished in one movement. The fact pretty much all of this happened without me having to tap a single button is just the icing on the cake.

On top of this, its brush bars were able to remove a disturbing quantity of cat hair from my upholstery without getting clogged, making it easy to clean up after my champion shedder. However, while the bars themselves were great at avoiding tangles, I did find that a couple of times a snarl of hair got caught around the exit into the cyclone chamber, causing it to get slightly backed up. This only happened a few times and won’t matter much as long as you empty the vacuum often enough to stop the hose getting backed up, but it’s worth bearing in mind for the hairiest households.

Once you’re finished, emptying the Shark is also seriously straightforward. After using either its handheld or stick modes, clipping its vacuum pod back on triggers its self-emptying cycle, rapidly emptying its smaller dust bin. And when you want to empty the vacuum pod itself, all you have to do is press the bin switch to detach the larger bin, hold it over your bin and unhook a catch to open the bottom and jettison its contents.

Perhaps the one criticism I do have of the PowerDetect Transformer’s performance is it’s very loud — measuring it with a sound level meter, it hit 74dB during upright use and a raucous 82dB during its self-cleaning cycle. So if you have sensitive neighbors or, like mine, your cat tends toward the scaredy, it might not be the one for you.

Still though, all in all, the Shark PowerDetect Transformer is an impressive vacuum cleaner. Not only is it powerful, it’s smart, easy to use and flexible enough to vacuum pretty much every area of your home. Yes, wireless is always a nice to have — although its 8m cable meant I didn’t miss this as much as I thought I would — it’s loud and it occasionally gets a bit backed up. But I’m happy to forgive these minor quibbles given how much easier it makes day-to-day cleaning.

Shark PowerDetect Transformer review: price & availability

• Launched June 30, 2026
• Costs $529.99 / £499.99 / AU$699.99

Having launched on June 30, 2026, the Shark PowerDetect Transformer is widely available now. It goes for a list price of $529.99 / £499.99 / AU$699.99 — although at the time of writing, in the US, you can use the code TRIO at the checkout to save $130, bringing it down to $399.99.

That price is hardly chicken feed but, for what you’re getting, it’s still reasonable value. For example, the Shark PowerDetect Cordless — our current pick for the best vacuum cleaner out there — is priced at a roughly equivalent $429.99 / £499.99 / AU$849.99 and while unlike the Transformer it’s fully wireless, it can’t convert into a full, high-capacity upright. Meanwhile, the premium Dyson Gen5detect is much more spendy at $949.99 / £769.99 / AU$1,549, while rocking relatively similar features.

In return for your spend, you’re not only getting three vacuums in one but also a solid range of accessories. It comes with the classics such as brush and crevice tools but it also packs a stair tool, the HairPro Pet Power Brush for powered action against pet fuzz and an anti-allergen dusting brush. It also comes with a handy accessory bag to keep them all in.

Finally, the Shark PowerDetect Transformer comes in two tasty colorways: Chimera Blue — a dusky sky blue — and Deep Sage Green. Both of these really pop, especially with those gold highlights, although I’d say I just marginally prefer the former.

Shark PowerDetect Transformer review: specs

Shark PowerDetect Transformer review: design

• Flexible, modular design
• Stuffed with auto-detection features
• Wired only

Okay, I’ll admit when I first heard the name Shark Transformer, I was hoping I was going to be getting a toy robot that converted into a toothy, predatory fish. Fortunately, the design of this vacuum cleaner is nearly as cool. Its modular design makes it easy to switch between three different modes — heavy-duty upright vacuum cleaner, lightweight stick vac and flexible handheld — at the click of a button.

Moreover, unlike previous 3-in-1 vacuum cleaners Shark has created, this one is a hoseless design, meaning you don’t have to hook and unhook elephant trunk tubing every time you want to switch modes. Sliding the vacuum pod on and off the wand, it just clicks into place and connects to the vacuum’s airlock in one smooth movement. It’s clever design and makes selecting the right tool for your job feel effortless.

Naturally, as a result of this protean form, it’s quite hard to comment on the overall size and weight of the device. Because in its upright vacuum final evolution it’s a pretty bulky and hefty beast but pop off a couple of sections and suddenly you’re left with something super light and flexible. So it’s a bit of a quantum vacuum cleaner: a superposition of heavy and light at the same time.

Fortunately, when it comes to its appearance, the PowerDetect Transformer is far less paradoxical. I’m definitely picking up what Shark is throwing down here: in its stick and handheld modes, the Transformer looks seriously sleek and although the vacuum pod is pretty hulking, it’s still excellently engineered. On top of this, the colorways on offer are stunning — the deep sage green colorway I tested looks great but the chimera blue version is genuinely droolworthy. Genuinely, it gives me the same vibes as my sky blue MacBook Air and I wants it.

Setting the Shark up for the first time is pretty straightforward, even if compared to other wired vacuums there is some assembly required. Essentially, all you need to do is click the wand into place on the nozzle, slide the vacuum pod into its home on the stick and insert the hand vacuum into the top.

After this, you’re basically all set to start sucking up grit right away, because the Transformer neither has smart home features to set up or battery to charge. And don’t sweat this last omission too much — its eight-meter cable means you should be able to comfortably reach most areas of your home.

Alongside all of these modules, the Transformer also features all of the usual suspects in terms of accessories, such as the brush and the crevice tool. However, it doesn’t stop there: it also includes Shark’s HairPro Self-Cleaning Pet Power brush, a miniature brush bar tool with anti-wrap technology for getting pet hair and dander out from carpets and upholstery.

But by far its smartest tool is its DuoClean Detect nozzle. On top of its self-cleaning brush roll that picks up hair without getting tangled and targeted LED lighting for showing up barely visible specs of dirt, it’s also absolutely crammed with smart auto-detection features. Whether it’s sensing your floor type, adjusting to the quantity of dirt, directing suction forward or backward depending on the direction you’re moving in or automatically targeting its air inflow to gulp down detritus right up to the edge of rooms, it does all the hard work so you can just focus on practicing your Freddie Mercury impression.

Given all of these auto-detection features, the controls on the Shark PowerDetect Transformer are almost comically uncomplicated. There’s an on button… and that’s basically all you need to understand. If you’re a real control freak, you can manually set its suction to match hard floor, shallow pile or deep pile carpet but honestly I never needed to manually control this, as its auto-detect features did a perfectly effective job at dialing its suction up and down.

Finally, given I live with someone who both suffers from asthma and has the nasal sensitivity of a sommelier with a Neti pot, I definitely appreciate how the Transformer handles dust and disagreeable odors. Its HEPA-certified filtration and anti-allergen seal keeps all of that bronchial-irritating crud locked away. And once you’ve popped one of Shark’s odor-neutralizing cartridges into the nozzle, you can dial its stench-scrubbing capabilities up or down to remove any distressing scents the grime kicks up.

• Design score: 4.5 / 5

Shark PowerDetect Transformer review: performance

• Fantastic suction in almost every scenario
• Emptying is wonderfully easy
• Startlingly loud

Given how clever its features are, this vacuum cleaner is clearly a real bright shark. But how does that translate into real-world performance? After all, what good is the cold, calculating mind of a great white if it’s stuck in the ungainly body of a sunfish? Fortunately, you don’t need to worry on this front — the Shark PowerDetect Transformer cuts through dirt like a dorsal fin through water.

As I’ve already remarked above, the bulk and weight of the Transformer really depends on which mode you use it in. In its upright form, it’s definitely on the husky side — I lift weights multiple times a week, yet I still felt the effort of dragging it round. Fortunately, its two-axis joint makes it pretty easy to maneuver around furniture and once you strip it back to its stick or handheld forms, it’s considerably easier to wield.

Keen to really put the PowerDetect Transformer through its paces, I not only vacuumed my house top to bottom but conducted our full battery of standardized tests. First off, I sprinkled the contents of a teabag on a range of different flooring types to simulate the finer dust the Transformer would have to tackle. On my laminate flooring, the Transformer scarfed down those loose leaves in a single pass — even when repeating this test on my medium-pile carpet, the vacuum cleaner didn’t leave a single scrap behind.

Wanting to see how it fared with more substantial debris, I tried this same test with a small quantity of lentils. Once again, on a hard floor, the Shark snorted up every single pulse without hesitation. Admittedly, when I tried this out on carpet, it left behind three lentils out of about 50. But with a single swipe backward, its automatic direction sensing flipped the direction of its suction and it wolfed them down without issue.

Even trickier debris like pet hair didn’t seem to faze it. Trying it out on a ball of fuzz from my cat’s brush, the vacuum wolfed it down like cotton candy. I even put it to work on the cat’s favorite chair — which was so disgustingly furry that our previous vacuum cleaner had threatened to take industrial action — and yet Shark’s anti-hair wrap tool cut through it easily. And despite going up against upholstery more covered in hair than Hugh Jackman, it lived up to its name and didn’t get clogged or tangled.

So, all in all, I found its suction pretty impressive. But even more noteworthy are how those smarts I mentioned above improve cleaning performance across the board. Thanks to the Transformer’s Dirt Detect feature, during normal cleaning it regularly dialled up its suction strength to tackle denser piles of dust without me having to even think about it. And its edge-of-room performance is fantastic — trying to vacuum up lentils I scattered right up to the baseboard, the vacuum’s Edge Detect feature targeted its suction to pick up every last legume in a single sweep.

The Transformer’s other modes don’t offer quite as much smarts or power as the upright mode but they’re just as capable when tackling their own respective niches. The stick vacuum offers the same level of flexibility but a much lighter weight, making it the perfect tool for a quick runaround in a single room. Meanwhile, its handheld mode made short work of cleaning problem areas like the inside of my sofa and raised surfaces like my piano — without a bulky cyclone chamber attached, it felt so much more flexible than any other convertible vacuum handheld I’ve used.

And once you’re done cleaning, emptying the Transformer feels like a breeze, especially compared to older vacuums. Once you’ve used the stick or handheld vacuums, all you need to do is re-attach the vacuum pod and it will automatically suck out all the dust you’ve gathered into that main chamber.

Clearing out the vacuum pod itself is almost as easy. Detach it using the eject button and the dust bin and cyclone section come away, leaving the filter and vacuum components behind. Then all you need to do is open the bottom clip above the bin and it empties downward — far easier than banging it upside down against the bin till something finally dislodges.

Easy to clean though the Transformer is, I still wouldn’t say this process is absolutely foolproof. One thing I noticed a couple of times when emptying it out is that occasionally hair clogs would get snagged in the airlock into the vacuum pod, meaning that long fibers would start clogging up the main cyclone. Now, both my feline and my human housemates are world champion shedders, meaning this issue might not affect you as often, but it does make me worry you could quickly lose suction if you don’t stay on top of this.

One other slight drawback to the Transformer is a direct consequence of all its convenience and power: the noise. Reaching a volume of 74dB in upright mode and max volume of 82dB during its self-cleaning cycle, it hits the same rough volume as heavy traffic or a blender. While this didn’t bother the humans in my house that much, my cat HATED it — he found the noise while vacuuming upsetting enough but the automatic cleaning cycle sent him flying out of the room like he’d witnessed the Terminator itself. Turns out machines bellowing in rage without apparent human input is where he nopes out.

Ongoing maintenance of the device is a lot less stressful, fortunately. Although you need to clean the pre-motor filters of both chambers every month, the hand vac’s post-motor filter only needs cleaning every six months and replacing every 2.5 years, while the upright’s post-motor filter only needs cleaning once a year and replacing every three. Occasionally, you might also need to wipe those smart sensors to ensure they continue functioning properly but, all in all, this isn’t particularly punishing.

• Performance score: 4.5 / 5

Should I buy the Shark PowerDetect Transformer?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Shark PowerDetect Transformer review: also consider

How I tested the Shark PowerDetect Transformer

• Tested it for several weeks
• Tried it out on a range of flooring and with different materials
• Set it to work on shed pet hair

I tested the Shark PowerDetect Transformer over a period of several weeks. To test its general suction, I scattered loose tea and lentils over hard floor and carpet to simulate how it would handle dust and larger debris and see how many passes it would take to suction them up. I also scattered both of these items along the edge of the room to see how well the Shark would maintain suction at the edges.

On top of this, I used it to clean my whole house several times, as well as trying it out in a few specific scenarios. I tested how well it sucked up shed fur from my pet cat, as well as trying its HairPro Self-Cleaning Pet Power brush on upholstery and on the stairs to see how it removed built up hair from soft furnishings. Finally, I used a sound level meter to record how loud it was in use, recording its max volume in both upright mode and during self cleaning.

I’ve been testing tech and gadgets for around 10 years, as well as editing reviews of smart home gear and appliances. When it comes to first-hand experience, I’ve tested an array of small appliances for TechRadar, including fans and coffee machines. You’ll also be pleased to hear I’m no stranger to vacuuming — otherwise, after 20 years of adulthood, the quantity of dust in my home would be approaching the level of an Egyptian tomb.

• Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee
• First reviewed: October 2026

If you've ever looked at your coffee machine and thought 'it's nice and all, but what I really want is a coffee maker so garish that I'll have to make espresso with my eyes closed?' then today is your lucky day.

Ninja has upgraded its excellent Ninja Luxe Café Pro Espresso Machine by getting renowned designer and potter Jonathan Adler to give it a makeover, and the results are, um, well... look at the picture and see for yourself.

The Ninja Luxe Café Pro Espresso Machine by Jonathan Adler is "the most glamorous espresso machine I've ever seen," Adler says. It's certainly very different from the usual look of even the most expensive and best coffee makers. And you've got to admire Ninja's bravery, because this is likely to be the Marmite of luxe coffee makers. For everyone that sees it and falls in love with its loudness there will be others like me who run away screaming.

I'm ribbing Ninja here, but I'm doing it affectionately: my kitchen contains multiple Ninja appliances, and while I happen to like their black and chrome looks I'm very much in favor of more interesting color and design choices — it's why the same kitchen also includes a brightly colored Smeg kettle, toaster and juicer. And this coffee maker is part of a new design direction for the brand, which means some really great-looking products such as the new Ninja MultiPot XL, which I think looks great in its multiple colors, and the gold detailing of the Ninja Luxe Café Pro Limited Edition by David Beckham, which launched in early 2026.

The loudness of the new version is entirely deliberate, I think: it's a halo product that'll raise awareness of Ninja's new design direction, even if that awareness comes via gently mocking articles like this one. It's not for me, but I think plenty of folks will love it.

But enough about the looks. What about the coffee?

Ninja Luxe Café Pro Espresso Machine by Jonathan Adler: key features and pricing

Beneath the new look is a very good coffee machine: the Ninja Luxe Café Pro Espresso Machine by Jonathan Adler is the Pro version of the Ninja Luxe Café, which we gave 4.5 out of 5 stars to in our in-depth Ninja Luxe Café review. The Pro version adds a frother, a lever to tamp the coffee and has even more drinks in its menu.

The differences between the Jonathan Adler version and the standard Pro are cosmetic: natural wood accents, Adler's geometric Versailles pattern on the panel and brass accents instead of the usual chrome.

Inevitably, that adds to the sticker price. The Luxe Café launched in the US with a recommended price of $499.99 (about £400 / AU$750). The Pro by Jonathan Adler version is almost twice the price at $899.99.

That's a significant premium over the non-designer Pro, which is currently retailing at $749 / £729, but it's the same price as the limited edition David Beckham model that's still on sale. We don't have international pricing for the Jonathan Adler version yet, but if Ninja prices it like the Beckham one you can expect a UK price tag of around £879 and an Australian one of AU$999.

We'll leave the last word to Adler. "I believe glamour belongs everywhere," he says. "Including your kitchen countertops."

Dyson has updated its lightweight wet floor cleaner with a redesigned floorhead and extra-long battery life, without increasing the price. The second-generation PencilWash takes the best features of the original — its lightweight build, ease of use, and effective wet cleaning — and adds thoughtful features that add up to make it an even better everyday cleaning tool.

The cleaning head’s plush-feeling roller is now sprinkled with stiffer bristles to tackle welded-on stains effectively without scuffing your floor. The upgraded clean water tank is larger and fully detachable, and emptying soiled water is less messy too. After mopping, your floors will be dry and ready to walk on almost immediately.

It’s an excellent package, but before buying, note that Dyson has now cut the price of the original PencilWash to just $199.99 / £179 in the US and UK respectively. That’s great value, and it could be all you need if you want to spruce up a relatively small home.

For me, the only real drawback of the W1 PencilWash was that hair tended to get wrapped around one of the wheels underneath the floor head, rather than sticking to the roller and being scraped off by Dyson’s new metal comb.

Note that the PencilWash isn’t a vacuum cleaner, and has no suction. If you’re looking for a slim and lightweight vacuum, take a look at the Dyson PencilVac instead.

Dyson W1 PencilWash: price and availability

• Went on sale in October 2026
• List price $349.99 / £299.99 in the US and UK
• Not yet available in Australia, but likely to be AU$549

Dyson announced the W1 PencilWash at its Dyson Unveiled event in September 2026, and the product launched globally in October the same year — nine months after the original PencilWash.

It has a list price of $349.99 / £299.99, which is the same as the original PencilWash at launch, though you may also be able to find it cheaper (for example, Dyson is offering a $100 discount in its US store at the time of writing). The W1 PencilWash isn’t yet available in Australia, but I would expect it to be AU$549 when it arrives.

That's relatively expensive for a wet-only floor cleaner, and there are several excellent wet-and-dry vacuums available for about the same price. For comparison, the Bissell Crosswave HydroScrub wet/dry floor cleaner is $369.99 (about £280 / AU$540), while the Shark HydroVac Cordless WD201 / WD210 is $359.99 / £329.99 / AU$399.99.

What you're paying for here is the light weight and compact design, which will be better suited to apartments and other small homes than a bulky wet-dry cleaner.

• Value score: 4/5

Dyson W1 PencilWash: design

• New stiffer bristles in microfiber roller
• Clean water tank is larger and fully removable
• Emptying waste water is less messy

At first glance, the W1 PencilWash looks very similar to its predecessor, with a slender handle (this time colored indigo rather than copper), and one of Dyson’s Submarine floor heads. A tank at the back of the floorhead dispenses water onto a microfiber roller, and a squeegee-like blade squeezes dirty water out, and dispenses it into a separate tank inside.

On closer inspection, however, there are a few significant differences. The most obvious change is the floorhead’s microfiber roller, which is now scattered with stiffer fibers to more effectively scrub away stubborn dirt. There is also a new metal comb designed to detangle and scrape hair off the roller. (Both of these features are borrowed from the bulkier Dyson Clean+Wash Hygiene wet cleaner, which launched at the start of 2026.)

The head disassembles into more parts, as you can see below. Most significantly, the clean water tank is now fully removable, making it easier to fill at the sink, and has a significantly larger capacity so you can keep cleaning for longer.

Dyson PencilWash floorhead comparison

Dyson W1 PencilWash

Original Dyson PencilWash

The dirty water collection tank has also been reworked, and is now much less prone to spills during emptying. It’s still wise to hold the whole floorhead over the sink when removing the cassette, but I found the process much less messy than the original PencilWash.

Note that the W1 PencilWash has different docks in the US and UK. The UK model, which I tested here, has a charging stand that holds the PencilWash’s handle, and a separate holder for the floorhead.

The US model has a magnetic charging stand called the Dok, which holds the whole PencilWash with its floorhead attached. This seems slightly more convenient, and will save a few seconds during cleaning.

• Design score: 5/5

Dyson W1 PencilWash: performance

• Excellent cleaning on dried-on spills
• Much easier to fill and empty than previous model
• Battery lasted over two hours in testing
• Hair wrapped around wheel underneath floorhead

In use, the W1 PencilWash feels very much like its predecessor. The handle is light in the hand, and its plush microfiber roller propels it forward so you barely need to apply any force when cleaning.

I tested it with a variety of stains and spills, including dried-on juice, ketchup, dried toothpaste (to simulate spills in a bathroom), flour, and hair.

You can use the PencilWash with plain water, or a cleaning fluid. I tested it with Dyson 02 Probiotic Hard Floor Cleaning Solution (which is specifically recommended for the company’s wet floor cleaners) diluted according to the instructions on the bottle.

The W1 PencilWash fared well in all my cleaning tests, clearing up flour, dried juice, and ketchup on a single pass. Congealed toothpaste proved the toughest challenge, taking about four passes to completely remove, but I was impressed that the roller system removed all the mess and deposited it in the waste tank, leaving no streaks when I continued cleaning the rest of the floor. The new stiffer bristles work well to scrub away dirt that would normally require you to get down on your hands and knees to remove, and I was pleased to note their tougher fibers aren’t rigid enough to damage your flooring.

The floorhead is fully articulated for easy maneuvering, and the handle can be laid almost flat to clean under low items of furniture. I was able to clean right between the legs of my dining chairs, which have a crossbar just a few inches above the ground. The roller cleans very close to furniture and baseboards as well, leaving a gap only half an inch wide.

Ketchup cleaning test

Before cleaning ketchup

After cleaning ketchup

Your floors will dry exceptionally quickly as well; after a pass on the regular cleaning mode, my laminate flooring was dry within 10 seconds.

The new metal comb wasn’t quite such a success. It does catch hair, and the roller needs less hand-cleaning after use, but quite a lot of hair became caught in one of the small wheels on the bottom of the floorhead during my tests. This didn’t seem to affect performance, and I didn’t even realize while maneuvering the cleaner, but it was wrapped tightly around the tiny axel and had to be cut free with scissors.

Toothpaste cleaning test

Before cleaning toothpaste

During cleaning toothpaste

It’s worth noting that the microfiber roller takes quite a long time to air-dry. I placed it near a dehumidifier to speed up the process, but it still took two days before it was dry enough for me to feel comfortable storing it.

The big surprise was the battery life. Dyson’s specifications claim that the W1 PencilWash can run for 45 minutes on a single charge (up from 30 minutes for the original PencilWash), but during my tests it ran for an astonishing two hours and 13 minutes — and that was during active mopping, not just running the roller without resistance. I have contacted Dyson’s press office to ask whether that’s expected performance, but it’s safe to say that you shouldn’t have any problems cleaning even large homes.

Overall, I’m impressed with the W1 PencilWash. Dyson has clearly taken on board feedback from the first model (the detachable clean water tank and scrubbing bristles are highlights) while keeping the fundamentals the same. If you have a large home with lots of hard flooring, or live with pets or children, then this new model would be a great choice. If, on the other hand, your home is relatively small and you want something for everyday maintenance, the original PencilWash might be the smarter choice at its newly reduced price.

• Performance score: 4.5/5

Should you buy the Dyson W1 PencilWash?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

Dyson W1 PencilWash: also consider

If the Dyson W1 PencilWash isn't the right wet floor cleaner for you, here are two other options to think about.

How I tested the Dyson W1 PencilWash

I tested the Dyson W1 PencilWash on sealed laminate flooring, using Dyson 02 Probiotic Hard Floor Cleaning Solution and tap water. I used it on common household stains including dried juice, dried toothpaste, ketchup, flour, and human hair.

I emptied the floor head cassette, and cleaned the tank, comb, and microfiber roller using plain water.

I fully charged the W1, then used it to clean the floors, moving it backwards and forwards as in normal use, and timed how long it took for the battery to run flat.

First reviewed November 2026

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a material used in some hard plastics, and is classified as an endocrine disruptor (a substance that can affect hormone levels). When it comes into contact with food and drinks, tiny amounts can be transferred and consumed.

The official stance of the US Food and Drink Administration (FDA) is that "BPA is safe at the current levels occurring in foods. Based on FDA’s ongoing safety review of scientific evidence, the available information continues to support the safety of BPA for the currently approved uses in food containers and packaging."

The Food Standards Agency in the UK adopts a similar position, stating that "Where it is allowed to be used, tiny amounts of the chemical may be transferred from some packaging into food and drinks, however the level of BPA detected in food to date in the UK is not currently considered to be harmful."

However, in both countries BPAs are forbidden in items intended to be used by babies and young children, and some coffee fans prefer to pick brewers that are BPA-free to play it safe.

All three coffee makers below are explicitly marked as BPA-free, but there are some other options to consider if you want to avoid contact with plastics. For example, if you want a manual espresso machine, the La Pavoni Europiccola (reviewed by my colleague Josephine Watson) is worth a look. Although it isn't explicitly marketed as non-toxic, the heating element is stainless steel, and its tank is made from brass to limit contact with other materials in the brew path. Meanwhile, pour-over fans can avoid plastic entirely by opting for a Chemex brewer, or a simple glass or ceramic dripper.

Ninja Prestige DualBrew System

The Ninja Prestige DualBrew System — known as the Ninja Espresso and Coffee Maker Barista System in the US — is BPA-free, plus Ninja's product FAQ also states that it's free from PTFE/PFOA, chemicals used to make non-stick coatings. PTFE is chemically inert, and regarded as safe at the temperatures used by coffee machines. However, as with BPAs, some coffee-drinkers prefer to avoid it for peace of mind. PFOA has been phased out in the US and UK, having been classified as carcinogenic by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. You will not find it in any modern coffee makers.

The Prestige DualBrew System was released two years ago, but remains one of my favorite two-in-one coffee and espresso machines for sluggish mornings. Either fill the brew basket with ground coffee before bed, set the timer, and wake to a hot pitcher full of delicious pour-over, or drop in a Nespresso Original pod and enjoy a rich espresso with zero effort.

It's the little features that really make the DualBrew System stand out. For example, the hotplate under the pour-over pitcher offers adjustable time and temperature settings, so you can keep your coffee pleasantly warm without risk of stewing it. Remove the pitcher and you'll find a fold-down drip tray, so you can dispense coffee directly into a cup or travel mug instead.

You can adjust the height of the espresso drip tray to accommodate different-sized cups, too, and around the side of the machine, there's a fold-out milk frother for turning your Nespresso drinks into lattes or cappuccinos. It doesn't heat the milk as a steam wand would, but Ninja's designers have added a "recipe" label that provides guidance on the length of time for which you should microwave and whisk the milk for different drinks.

Read my full Ninja Prestige DualBrew System review

Ninja Luxe Café Premier

The Luxe Café Premier (which was known as the Luxe Café when it launched in 2024) is another Ninja coffee maker explicitly stated to be BPA-free. Ninja also notes that "after the reservoir, the water does not come into contact with any plastic," which is good to know if you're worried about substances leaching into hot water.

It's a brilliant all-in-one coffee maker that takes the trial and error out of making well-extracted coffee, handling the trickiest barista tasks and helping even first-time users produce a consistently well-extracted brew with a fully rounded flavor.

When preparing an espresso, the machine does the hard work of dialing in the grinder for you, suggesting an appropriate grind size and then funneling the prepared coffee neatly into the filter basket. A calibrated tamper helps you create a perfectly even bed of coffee, and once the handle is inserted under the brewing group, the Luxe Café will time your shot to make sure it's not extracting too fast or slow.

You can push the steam wand down into your milk jug to use the automatic frothing system, or lift it a few degrees to use it manually, depending on how confident you feel. We found that the auto system worked equally well with dairy milk and plant-based substitutes such as oat and almond.

"Overall, the Ninja Luxe Café delivered on its promises of uncomplicating espresso," said our tester Danielle Abraham. "It consistently created quality espresso and made things simpler by intuitively dosing and providing the correct grind level for the perfect pull, something you’d be hard-pressed to find on other semi-automatic espresso machines at this price point."

If you have a small kitchen, the Ninja Luxe Café Mini offers almost exactly the same features in a more compact package, brews "absolutely delicious" coffee, and is also BPA-free.

Read our full Ninja Luxe Café Premier review

Fellow Aiden Precision Coffee Maker

Fellow's premium coffee makers are a popular choice for coffee roasters and specialty cafés, and the Aiden Precision Coffee Maker is no exception. The brand states that "Aiden is built with high-quality, food-grade plastic (BPA-free), stainless steel, and silicone, so that you can brew with peace of mind."

The Aiden offers a choice of brewing modes, so you can pick the appropriate one depending on how much time you have to spare. Auto Brew mode works like any basic drip coffee maker, simply heating water and pumping it over your ground coffee. The pump will run until the water tank is empty.

Guided Brewing mode is where things get interesting. It lets you choose how much to brew, then suggests the optimal dosage, bloom time, and temperature based on the type of beans you've selected. The machine will also tell you whether to use the cone or flat-bottomed brew basket, and can detect which one you've inserted.

The Aiden has a cold-brew mode as well, which uses hot water to bloom the coffee, then switches to cold for the remainder of the process. It's a clever trick that means your drink takes just 1.5-2 hours to prepare compared to the 24 hours for traditional cold brewing. The flavor profile is impressively similar, so hats off to Fellow.

However, the Aiden loses half a point for its carafe, which lets heat escape a little too easily. Fellow claims it will keep your batch of freshly brewed coffee hot for hours, but during my tests, it cooled noticeably within 45 minutes.

In short, the non-toxic Aiden brews exquisite drip coffee, but you'll need to be ready to enjoy it straight away.

Read my full Fellow Aiden Precision Coffee Maker review

Drip coffee is an easy way to perk yourself up and boost your morale in a crisis (just pick up a ChemEx brewer or a simple dripper with some filter papers), but if you're aiming to conserve water then a shot of espresso is a better way to get your caffeine fix, so here I've focused on brewers for preparing shorter drinks.

Consider how you're going to store your emergency coffee supply, too. Whole beans will hold their flavor better than ground, and I recommend keeping them in an opaque, airtight container in a cool place (light, heat, air, and moisture are the enemies of aroma compounds). You'll need a grinder, too — look for one with burrs rather than blades so your coffee isn't chopped up in rough pieces.

If all that sounds like too much hassle in a crisis, opt for foil-sealed coffee pods instead. Both the Nanopresso and Dreame Ecceluxe Go below have adapters for brewing with single-serve capsules.

The Ecceluxe Go heats its own water, but if you pick a more basic brewer then you'll need a different way to get it up to temperature. As the former editor of an outdoor gear website, I recommend a simple gas camping stove like the MSR Pocket Rocket 2, which will get your water up to around 203F / 95C in approximately 3.5 minutes. Now, onto the brewers...

Wacaco NanoPresso

No power? No problem. The Wacaco Nanopresso generates up to 18 bars of pressure using nothing but elbow grease. It's small enough to tuck inside a pocket, and is hand-powered, so all you need is a source of hot water to create properly extracted espresso with thick crema (even if you have to use a flashlight to see what you're doing).

The standard Nanopresso uses ground coffee, which you can tamp down using the scoop (the brewer has a valve to release pressure if you accidentally tamp it too hard), but if you'd rather use pods then the NS adaptor allows you to use Nespresso Original style capsules instead.

It feels robust and solid in the hand, and is packed with thoughtful little features like an insulated water tank and cup to protect your hands from heat, and an easy-clean portafilter that needs minimal maintenance.

Dreame Ecceluxe Go

The Dreame Ecceluxe Go is a battery-powered brewer with a miniature boiler built-in. Just pour room-temperature water into the reservoir on top (measuring lines engraved inside will prevent you overfilling it and wasting precious resources), then pick the right adapter — Nespresso Original, Nestlé Dolce Gusto, ESE (Easy Serve Espresso), or fresh grounds — and you're ready to brew.

Preparing an espresso with room temperature water takes about six minutes from start to finish, and you can prepare two or three drinks before the Ecceluxe Go needs recharging (from a portable battery or solar generator during a power outage). The brew unit itself is smaller than a thermos flask, and comes in a compact carry case that you can tuck away with the rest of your emergency supplies.

The Dreame Ecceluxe Go is due to go on sale in Spain and Portugal very soon, with the US following shortly after. There's no plan for a UK launch yet, but it charges via USB-C, so there's no reason British preppers can't import one.

AeroPress and Manual Coffee Grinder

If you're planning to keep whole coffee beans in your emergency supplies, you need the AeroPress Manual Coffee Grinder. I've tested a lot of manual grinders in my time, and this is easily the best. It has proper burrs rather than cheap blades so coffee is ground rather than shredded, and they're adjustable so you can optimize the grind size to suit your brewing method.

The default setting is optimized for the AeroPress brewer, which you can use to make a short, strong shot of coffee to keep you awake, or a longer, smoother drink if you have water to spare. I have a plastic AeroPress in my locker at work (you never know what might happen), but if you want something extra tough then take a look at the rugged AeroPress Steel. If you're part of a whole family of coffee-lovers there's also the king-sized AeroPress XL, and if you need something you can also use on the road, the bijou AeroPress Go packs down into a compact travel cup.

De'Longhi has released a new, smaller version of its multi-functional coffee maker, with a 20% smaller footprint and built-in cold-milk frother. The updated De'Longhi All-in-One Combination Coffee & Espresso Machine can make espresso, drip coffee, and cold brew, and is available to buy now in the US for $349.95 (about £260 / AU$500; availability outside the US is TBC) direct from De'Longhi and major retailers.

The new coffee maker offers six drip coffee sizes, from a single 8oz mug to a full 12-cup carafe, and a choice of four brewing styles: classic, bold, cold brew, and over ice.

Like its predecessor, the new All-in-One Combination Coffee & Espresso Machine has an adjustable steam wand, with settings for frothing dairy and plant-based milks, while the addition of a retractable whisk-style frother on the side means you can also prepare cold milk foam for chilled drinks.

Other new additions include an adjustable-height drip tray to accommodate everything from espresso cups to travel mugs, and a new front touchscreen display that lets you tweak brew settings and customize your drinks.

The machine has a 15-bar pump, and a thermoblock heating system with electronic temperature control for fast heating and consistent brewing temperatures.

We'll be testing the new all-in-one coffee maker very soon to see how it compares with De'Longhi's other machines, and close rivals like the Ninja Luxe Café Mini and Ninja Prestige DualBrew System.

The Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus looks like an almost mid-range vacuum. And it largely is. It has an all plastic build, doesn’t come with a bunch of attachments, and really does one thing. But, it does that one thing really well and that is be a wet-dry vac. In fact, when using it to simultaneously vacuum and mop, it picks up anything and everything smaller than a Cheerio. Crumbs of all sorts. Dog hair. Spilled parmesan. Coffee grounds. You get the idea.

Plus, if you compare it to the best wet-dry vacuums, you’ll see that it’s quite affordable, even if it is among the more expensive Bissell models. I do have a few quibbles, such as the fact that there’s an upper limit on the size of the debris it can suck up or the fact that all the debris goes into the same dirty water tank making emptying it a bit of a mess.

Still, for the price, it might be the best vacuum with wet-dry capabilities out there. Just be aware that the Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus is the same as the Bissell CrossWave Reach, but comes with a charging base.

Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus Cordless Wet-Dry Vacuum: price & availability

• List price: $329.99 (about £250 / AU$470)
• Launched: September 2026
• Available in the US

The Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus comes in at decidedly Bissell level prices. You don’t have to plop down the cash you would for something like the Dyson V15s Detect Submarine and its list price of $949.99 / £599.99 / AU$949. It’s even cheaper than some Chinese models like the Tineco Floor One S7 Pro with its list price of $799.99 / £599.99 / AU$999). Of course, that model does come with a larger capacity and a more impressive display.

Basically, the Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus goes for $329.99 (about £250 / AU$470). This price includes the vacuum, the charging tray, two different sample sized bottles of cleaning solution, and a measuring cup for the solution.

It’s a price that I would consider mid-range for a vacuum, though it’s relatively cheap for a wet-dry vacuum. It’s also an expected price point for a higher-end Bissell product (Shark hits similar price points in my opinion). You can get the non-Plus version for $279.99. The only difference is that it comes without the charging tray.

• Value for money score: 4.5 out of 5

Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus Cordless Wet-Dry Vacuum specs

Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus Cordless Wet-Dry Vacuum: design

• Dirty water tank contains solid debris too, for better or worse
• Has a self-cleaning feature
• Can lie flat to get under furniture

The Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus may be an all-plastic build, but it looks durable and cuts a somewhat dashing figure. Not quite a stick vacuum, it’s ever so slightly modular insofar as the handles comes separated from the body. It's also slim at around 4.5 inches across the body.

The power and mode buttons (eco, high, turbo) are on the handles, and are within thumb’s reach during use. The battery indicator, which shows battery life using three LEDs, as well as the indicators showing which mode the vacuum, are all on the body facing you while you clean. There’s also a button here to run the Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus’s Clean-Out Cycle — a nice feature for self-cleaning the brushroll after use.

The 600ml dirty water tank clipped into the back of the body is easy to remove for emptying. When removed, the filter on top pulls right out exposing whatever debris is inside. The one downside here is that, unlike the best robot vacuums that vacuum and mop, everything goes into the same tank. Vacuumed up a bunch of rice and sucked up a spill? You’ll have to empty everything out into the same place.

The clean water tank is clipped onto the top of the floorhead. Its 450ml capacity is decent, though will require somewhat regular refilling (of water and a cup of one of the included solutions). I do like the exposed look of it, though.

As far as the rest of the floorhead, it can swivel and has a hinge for the vacuum to lay up to 180 degrees back — essentially flat — to get under furniture. And it has one large tangle-free brushroll that’s removable for cleaning or replacing and can handle just about any hard surface one would mop. Also worth noting is that it’s rated as having a 10.6 inch cleaning path, though when I measured it, I would say it’s actually 9.6 inches. You lose an inch to the plastic bezels on either side.

Lastly, the charging tray that comes with this vacuum is essentially a molded piece of plastic with charging contacts so that if you put it back in the tray after use, it will start charging automatically.

• Design score: 4.5 out of 5

Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus Cordless Wet-Dry Vacuum: performance

• Great vacuuming except for larger debris
• Flawless mopping
• Can get pretty close to edges

When I first started using the Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus, I found myself struggling to find something to dislike about it. After spending some time with it, that’s still mostly the case.

This is a wet-dry vacuum and mop, and it does both duties concurrently; there's no vacuum only mode, and no opportunity to only get the floor wet. Despite that, I’m going to try and separate these two functions just to give you a better idea of what to expect.

I performed a few tests when vacuuming. I threw a bunch of tea leaves on the floor as well as a bunch of rice. For both sizes of debris, the Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus sucked them right up in the first go.

Because of the way the floorhead is arranged — there’s just the mop brushroll at the front end with a forward-angled silicon liner behind — it isn’t quite as successful on picking rice and similar sized debris when pulling the vacuum back as it can get caught by that liner. However, when pushing the vacuum forward, everything gets sucked up immediately.

The one caveat to that and a valid reason to still keep a regular vacuum around is the fact since the only moving part helping pick up debris is that brushroll, larger pieces of debris like cereal or popcorn will just get pushed around the front of it like a curling puck.

I found basically nothing to complain about its mopping capabilities, however. It lays down an even layer of water and detergent solution that is enough to fully mop whatever area’s been covered. And I found the floor to be dry within minutes after mopping.

I also tested the Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus’s mopping by throwing a bunch of ketchup, mustard, and coffee (separately) on the floor. In each instance, whatever was on the floor was removed in one swipe. However, it takes a few passes to remove odors (and they can still persist for a short while).

Getting to the edges and corners with a vacuum is a concern, especially one without additional accessories for tight spaces. But that’s not too much of a concern here. I found that going up to edges with this vacuum allowed me to get as close as a quarter inch when moving with the right side towards the wall. With the left side of the vacuum facing the wall or edge, the three quarters of an inch closest to the wall is left untouched, while the front of the vacuum won’t touch that last inch closest to the wall. So, I was able to get pretty close to the wall but the vacuum orientation matters.

Generally, maneuvering the Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus is easy. It does want to pull forward so pushing the vacuum in the direction I want to go feels effortless. When pulling back in a typical vacuuming fashion, I do feel some resistance since it wants to go in that direction. Turning is just as effortless thanks to the swivelling floorhead, and the fact that it can lie almost flat means it’s a cinch to get under furniture.

Lastly, the Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus is not a quiet vacuum, but is in line with other cordless vacuums such as the Bissell PowerClean FurFinder. On eco mode, it reaches around 64dB. In turbo mode, it gets up to 67dB. And it hits about 65dB during its Clean-Out Cycle.

• Performance score: 4.5 out of 5

Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus Cordless Wet-Dry Vacuum: battery life

• Four and a half hour recharge time
• Up to 40 minutes of use on a single charge

Let’s get the bad out of the way. When fully drained, the Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus is going to take over four and a half hours to recharge. If you are an infrequent charger, then, first, shame on you, and, second, you’ll have to suffer through what amounts to almost half a day of waiting if you have to charge from empty. That said, that’s actually a normal amount of time for a cordless vacuum to recharge, though I wish the battery was removable.

The good news is that the twenty minutes it lasts on turbo, specifically 23 minutes and 21 seconds, or almost forty on eco mode, 39 minutes and 49 seconds, is more than enough battery life for a regular home. These numbers are about in line with some of Bissell’s other offerings, though not quite up to what we see with the best cordless vacuums.

Because of how well it picks up debris (with the earlier size-related caveats), I was able to clean a 800 square foot area in about ten minutes. I ended up wandering in circles with the vacuum in tow waiting for the battery to die. That’s on turbo. The almost forty minutes on eco mode is more than enough for anyone not cleaning an office building.

• Battery life score: 4 out of 5

Should you buy the Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus Cordless Wet-Dry Vacuum?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus Cordless Wet-Dry Vacuum: alternatives to consider

How I tested the Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus Cordless Wet-Dry Vacuum

To test the Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus, I used it for a couple weeks, testing it on hardwood floors, tile, and marble. I ran it through its various modes as well as using the self cleaning function. For running benchmarks, I ran it from full to empty on both eco mode and turbo mode. And I vacuumed / mopped up tea leaves, rice, coffee, mustard, and ketchup.

Read more about how we test vacuum cleaners

• First reviewed September 2026

The De'Longhi Magnifica Start is one of the Italian manufacturer's more affordable automatic bean-to-cup coffee machines, designed to take much of the effort out of preparing fresh coffee at home. It doesn't offer the extensive drinks menu or customization options of more expensive models, but it benefits from the company's LatteCrema automatic milk frothing system, making it a potentially appealing choice for anyone who enjoys milk-based coffee.

The particular model I have on test here, the ECAM220.61.W, offers just four one-touch functions — namely espresso, coffee, latte macchiato and hot water — meaning only three are actually coffee drinks. Other versions of the Magnifica Start offer different selections, so it's worth double-checking exactly which model you're buying.

Despite its relatively basic specification, this Magnifica Start is a good-looking machine, with a smart white finish and a minimalist control panel. It certainly looks like it should be straightforward to operate but, as I discovered, it takes a little time to master.

The controls aren't quite as intuitive as those on some other machines I've tested, such as the KitchenAid KF2, which offers similar functionality but has clearly labelled buttons that make preparing coffee incredibly straightforward. The Magnifica Start's steeper learning curve isn't necessarily a deal breaker, but it's something to be aware of.

There are plenty of positives, though. Espresso shots are consistently well extracted with an appealing layer of crema, and I was impressed by how quickly the machine could prepare them, taking just 30 seconds from pressing the button to the finished drink. I did, however, find that adjusting the grinder to a slightly coarser setting produced a noticeably more satisfying flavor.

The LatteCrema system also impressed me, producing a generous amount of foam with a pleasing texture using oat milk. While I still prefer the finer control offered by a traditional steam wand, it's still a capable alternative for anyone who wants the convenience of automatic milk frothing. The clearly marked milk carafe also takes thesome guesswork out of preparing drinks, while dishwasher-safe components help make cleaning easier.

Honestly, for just a one- or two-person household, it’s easy to recommend the De'Longhi Magnifica Start, especially since its compact design makes it a good option for smaller kitchens, too. It may require a little patience initially, as the brewing adjustments aren’t as intuitive as I would have liked, but the results are worth spending that little extra time at the start to familiarize yourself with the instructions.

De'Longhi Magnifica Start review: Price and availability

• Different variants of the Magnifica Start are available in different markets
• Model on test available in the UK and Australia; US version comes with an additional preset
• List price: $749.95 / £399.99 / AU$799

The Magnifica Start is the entry-level machine within De’Longhi’s wider selection of automatic coffee makers. Within it, however, there are multiple variants that may look virtually identical, yet offer different features, so it's important to pay attention to the model number.

For example, the exact model number of my review unit is ECAM220.61.W, which is only available in Australia for AU$799, exclusively through De'Longhi's online store. A black variant, with model number ECAM220.63.B, is available at a wider selection of third-party retailers, although it replaces the ‘latte macchiato’ preset on my review model with ‘cappuccino mix’. There’s yet another model that replaces the LatteCrema system with a manual steam wand.

While this particular white model is specific to Australia, similar versions are available internationally. In the US, for example, the comparable ECAM22080B retails for $749.95, but benefits from an additional cappuccino preset, bringing its total number of one-touch functions to five.

In the UK meanwhile, the ECAM220.61.GB is a closely related model finished in dark grey. It offers the same four one-touch functions as the model reviewed and carries a £399.99 recommended retail price.

Given its limited selection of drinks, the Magnifica Start can be compared with the KitchenAid KF2 released earlier in 2026. It, too, has a relatively small selection of presets, although it uses a Pannarello steam wand for milk frothing as opposed to the automatic LatteCrema system on the De'Longhi. The KF2 also adds iced coffee to the mix, although I found the results to be something of a mixed bag.

On price alone, the Magnifica Start is the clear winner of the two. However, I have to mention the Ninja Luxe Café as a viable alternative. It retails for $599.99 / £579.99 / AU$849 (or less as it’s often discounted), and while it might be a more hands-on machine, it offers considerably greater versatility than the De’Longhi, including the ability to prepare cold brew and filter coffee.

There's also the option of moving up, both in price and size, to the De'Longhi Magnifica Evo Next, which retails for $1,099.95 / £649.96 / AU$1,149. It uses a similar brewing system to the Magnifica Start, but offers a more comprehensive selection of drink presets and a colour display for easier navigation.

• Value score: 4 / 5

De’Longhi Magnifica Start review: specs

De'Longhi Magnifica Start review: Design

• Attractive, compact design with a minimalist control panel
• Only three coffee presets on model reviewed, with no dedicated cappuccino or hot-milk function
• Clearly marked milk carafe and dishwasher-safe components

No matter which model of the De'Longhi Magnifica Start is available in your location, they’re all identical. The only real differences are whether it uses the LatteCrema system or a steam wand, the color of the machine and the number of drink recipes it offers.

It’s an attractive coffee machine, particularly in the glossy white finish of the model sent for this review. The Magnifica Start has a relatively minimalist appearance, with a predominantly plastic construction and a black control panel providing some contrast. I’d argue it doesn't have quite the same premium appeal as the KitchenAid KF2 and KitchenAid KF3 I've reviewed previously, but I think it looks smart enough for most kitchens.

It measures 24 x 44 x 35cm (W x D x H), making it a relatively compact appliance for a fully automatic coffee machine. That said, its 24cm width might be a small footprint, but its 44cm depth is worth considering if you have a particularly narrow countertop.

The machine's compact dimensions should also make it a reasonable option for kitchens with low-hanging cabinets. You will, of course, need some clearance above it to remove the lid and refill the hopper, but I didn't find accessing it to be particularly troublesome.

The bean hopper, located on top of the machine towards the rear, can accommodate up to 250g of beans and is covered by a lid that unfortunately doesn't form a completely airtight seal, meaning the beans will lose freshness if left in the hopper for more than a couple of days.

The Magnifica Start also accepts pre-ground coffee via a separate chute on top of the machine, and a measuring scoop is included in the box. While I'd generally recommend using freshly ground beans wherever possible, it's a useful addition if you occasionally fancy a decaf but don't want to empty the hopper of your regular beans.

Another design feature I appreciate is the positioning of the water reservoir, which slides out from the front-right side of the machine. I praised this same arrangement in my De’Longhi Magnifica Evo Next review, and I'm pleased to see it make an appearance on a more entry-level model. It makes refilling the tank incredibly easy, particularly compared with machines that have their reservoirs located at the rear — like those from KitchenAid — and might require you to move the entire machine to gain access.

The reservoir also looks deceptively small, but holds a generous 1.8L of water, matching the capacity of the more expensive Magnifica Evo Next. The drip tray covers the entire depth of the machine and slides out from the front, along with the internal container that collects used coffee grounds. The latter can hold up to 14 coffee pucks before needing to be emptied — far more generous than the KitchenAid KF4 that I use at home, which can only hold six or seven used pucks before it needs emptying.

On the front, you'll find the removable LatteCrema milk carafe, which attaches alongside the height-adjustable coffee dispensing spouts. It slots into place easily and takes care of milk frothing automatically, removing the need for a separate steam wand. The carafe can be swapped out for a water spout if you wish to pour hot water for a tea instead.

The particular model under test here features De'Longhi's LatteCrema Hot system, although more expensive models, such as the Eletta Explore, can also come with a separate LatteCrema Cool carafe for preparing cold milk foam. Its absence here isn't especially surprising given the Magnifica Start's more affordable positioning.

One feature I particularly appreciate here is the measurement markings on the carafe to indicate how much milk you should add for your chosen drink. This helps minimize waste, especially if you're only making coffee for one person. Interestingly, there are markings for ‘cappuccino’ and ‘cappuccino mix’ coffees, neither of which is available as a preset on this particular Magnifica Start, but is a present for the model sold in the US. The carafe also has an automatic cleaning function, while several removable components, including the drip tray and milk carafe, are dishwasher-safe.

The control panel is similarly minimalist, with four prominent drink icons and separate buttons for adjusting coffee strength and accessing other settings and functions, such as cleaning modes. On the surface, it looks incredibly straightforward, which is exactly what I'd expect from a machine offering such a limited selection of drinks.

However, I didn't find it quite as intuitive as I'd hoped. The layout initially led me to believe I should select my desired drink before adjusting its strength, whereas the machine actually requires you to select the strength first. It's something that becomes easier with familiarity, but I do think the controls could have been better explained.

The Magnifica Start lacks dedicated user profiles, something that I’ve come to appreciate on other automatic espresso machines I’ve reviewed. While you can customize individual drink quantities and adjust coffee strength, there’s only one saved volume setting per recipe.

This means that if two people prefer different-sized coffees, they’ll have to keep adjusting the programmed volumes to suit their tastes. Combined with its limited selection of drinks, I think this makes the Magnifica Start best suited to a single person or couple, particularly if both enjoy similar coffees. Larger households with different preferences would likely benefit from a machine with user profiles and a more extensive drink menu.

• Design score: 4 / 5

De'Longhi Magnifica Start review: Performance

• Consistent espresso extraction with a good layer of crema
• LatteCrema produces impressive milk texture, although a manual steam wand offers greater control
• Quick coffee preparation, but some functions take time to master

As with any bean-to-cup coffee machine, the most important consideration is how well the De'Longhi Magnifica Start actually makes the drink. Ease of use is a close second, especially for a machine designed to simplify the process of preparing your favourite drinks at home.

My first experience with the Magnifica Start was something of a mixed bag.

Setting it up was relatively straightforward, but I soon discovered that getting it to produce the exact drink I wanted would require some experimentation. My first latte macchiato, for example, dispensed considerably more liquid than I had anticipated, almost causing my cup to overflow.

Part of the problem is that there's no clear indication of precisely how much coffee or milk each preset will dispense, at least not without referring to the full user manual on De'Longhi's website.

While coffee strength can be adjusted before preparing each drink, there's only one saved volume setting per recipe. To adjust the volume of any drink, press and hold its dedicated button for a few seconds until the light blinks rapidly. The built-in grinder will have already kicked into action, which is normal. Once the coffee (or milk if you’re customizing the latte macchiato) reaches your desired level, press the same drink button again and the settings will be saved.

Once I'd figured out the process, I was able to customize the volume of my latte macchiato successfully, and the Magnifica Start remembered my settings for subsequent drinks. However, restoring the original quantity isn't quite as convenient. While it's possible to reset drink volumes to their factory defaults, doing so also resets all other settings and customized recipes. This seems unnecessarily cumbersome if you simply want to undo a change to one drink.

While I appreciate that all automatic coffee machines require some familiarization, I found myself returning to the user manual more often than I'd expected from a machine with such a limited selection of drinks.

There's also an amusing inconsistency in the setup guidance, which recommends preparing several cappuccinos before expecting the machine to deliver its best results. That's perfectly reasonable advice for a machine with a cappuccino preset, but this particular version of the Magnifica Start doesn't have one. It's a minor detail, admittedly, but it adds to the impression that the instructions aren't tailored as carefully as they could be to the individual machine.

Fortunately, when it comes to actually making coffee, the Magnifica Start has proved to be a reliable performer. After preparing several espressos, I found extraction quality to be consistently good, with each shot producing an appealing layer of golden-caramel crema. The results were remarkably similar from one coffee to the next, suggesting the machine has little trouble delivering a repeatable extraction.

I wasn't initially sold on the flavor, however, particularly as I've used the same beans in other machines, including KitchenAid's semi-automatic and fully automatic models, with more satisfying results. Fortunately, adjusting the grinder to produce a slightly coarser grind had a noticeably positive effect, resulting in a more enjoyable espresso. It goes to show that while the Magnifica Start is capable of producing good coffee, some experimentation may be required to get the best results.

The De’Longhi Magnifica Start doesn’t feature any kind of intelligent grind adjustment — De’Longhi does have its own BeanAdapt technology to do just that, but it’s reserved for its higher-end models — so you’ll need to adjust the grind yourself if you’re not totally satisfied with the results.

By default, the grinder is set to position four of seven, which De’Longhi claims “has been factory set to ensure that coffee is prepared correctly”. If coffee is being dispensed particularly slowly, the grind may be too fine, in which case De'Longhi recommends adjusting the dial towards a higher number. You’ll need to turn the grind dial, found inside the bean hopper, towards a higher number. Conversely, if you want a fuller bodied or creamier coffee, then you’ll need to turn the dial towards position one. In either case, the grind dial should only be adjusted when the grinder is in motion, and it takes at least two poured coffees for results to take effect.

I was pleased with the temperature of the finished coffee, which I found to be comfortably hot without being unpleasant to drink. If you prefer your coffee a little hotter or cooler, the brewing temperature can be adjusted through the machine's settings.

What surprised me most, however, was just how quickly the Magnifica Start could prepare an espresso. I timed it at just 30 seconds from pressing the espresso button to the finished drink, which is impressively brisk for a machine that grinds fresh beans for each cup.

It's also relatively quiet in operation. I recorded an average noise level of approximately 69dB using decibelX app in my iPhone in a quiet room and standing right in front of the machine, rising to around 74dB during grinding before dropping to 65dB while brewing. While the grinder is clearly audible, I never found the noise particularly intrusive, especially given how quickly the machine completes the process.

Milk-based drinks take a little longer to brew, as the LatteCrema system needs time to heat up before it can start dispensing milk. Even so, the overall process remains convenient, particularly as there's no need to manually froth milk or transfer it between containers.

Speaking of which, I was pleasantly surprised by the performance of the LatteCrema milk frothing system. I've used it on other De'Longhi coffee machines in the past and haven't always been completely convinced by its ability to produce the milk texture I prefer, particularly when using plant-based alternatives.

This time, however, the results have been noticeably better. Using oat milk, the Magnifica Start produced a generous amount of foam with a satisfyingly smooth texture, making for a more convincing latte macchiato than I had anticipated. I achieved similar results with dairy milk too.

That being said, it's worth mentioning that the type of milk used can have a significant impact on frothing performance. If you’re using non-dairy varieties, it’s always recommended to use barista-style versions, as these are generally formulated to produce a more stable foam.

I still prefer the results I can achieve with a traditional steam wand and, while I haven't had the chance to use it myself, a version of the De’Longhi Magnifica Start is available with one. A manual wand gives me far greater control over how much air I introduce into the milk, allowing me to create the finer, silkier microfoam I typically prefer for a flat white.

But manual frothing also requires more skill and effort, and that's where the LatteCrema system makes a strong case for itself. For anyone who values convenience over having complete control of their milk texture, it's a capable set-and-forget solution that produces pleasing results with minimal input.

• Performance score: 4 / 5

Should you buy the De'Longhi Magnifica Start?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

De'Longhi Magnifica Start review: Also consider

How I tested the De'Longhi Magnifica Start

I tested the De'Longhi Magnifica Start in the TechRadar Australia office kitchen, using it to prepare coffee with Campos Superior beans, a medium-dark blend that’s roasted locally in Sydney, Australia, where I’m based.

I prepared multiple espresso and milk-based drinks to assess extraction consistency, flavour and milk texture, using both dairy milk and barista-style oat milk. I also experimented with the grinder settings to determine their effect on espresso flavour.

I evaluated how straightforward the machine was to set up and use, paying particular attention to its control panel and customization options. I used a measuring cup to check that customized drink volumes were remembered correctly, and recorded the time taken to prepare an espresso, along with noise levels during grinding and brewing.

Read more about how we test

First tested October 2026

It's also been a really difficult year in tech, though, due to the component crisis and rising prices across nearly all products. In the middle of that tension, it only makes sense for us to find out which companies navigated the challenges best by asking the community of tech lovers out there — and so here are the first TechRadar Readers' Choice Awards.

The results are in, so below we've listed the TechRadar Readers' Choice Awards 2026 winners winners in every category, all 100% voted by you!

Phones & tablets

Phone of the Year

Phone Brand of the Year

Phones Innovation of the Year

Best Value Phone

Best Mid-Range Phone

Best Folding Phone

Best Flip Phone

Best Camera Phone

Best Gaming Phone

Best AI Phone

Best Phone Accessory

Best Tablet

Best eReader

Cameras & drones

Camera of the Year

Camera Brand of the Year

Camera Innovation of the Year

Best Beginner Camera

Best Mid-range camera

Best Professional Camera

Best Compact and Instant Camera

Best Action and Vlogging Camera

Best Camera Lens

Best camera accessory

Best drone

Computing

Computing Brand of the Year

Best Computing Innovation

Best Value Laptop

Best AI Laptop

Best Gaming Laptop

Best PC Gaming Handheld

Best Gaming Keyboard

Best Gaming Monitor

Best Gaming Mouse

Gaming

Gaming Device of the Year

Gaming Brand of the Year

Gaming Innovation of the Year

Best Console Accessory

Best Gaming Service

Best Gaming Controller

Best Gaming Headset

Best Gaming Chair

TV & home theater

TV of the year

Home Entertainment Brand of the Year

Home Entertainment Innovation of the Year

Best Gaming TV

Best TV for Sound

Best OLED TV

Best mini-LED TV

Best Value TV

Best Projector

Best Soundbar

Best Wireless Home Theater Speakers

Streaming

Streaming Service of the Year

Best Streaming Service for Movies

Best Streaming Service for Documentaries

Best Streaming Service for TV Series

Best Free Streaming Service of the Year

Audio

Headphones of the Year

Audio Brand of the Year

Audio Innovation of the Year

Best Wireless Headphones

Best Wireless Earbuds

Best Open Earbuds

Best Value Headphones

Best Value Earbuds

Best Value Open Earbuds

Best Wired Headphones

Best Wired Earbuds

Best Bluetooth Speaker

Best Wireless Speaker

Best Portable Audio Player

Best Turntable

Best DAC

Best Stereo Speakers

Health & Fitness tech

Health and Fitness Device of the Year

Health & Fitness Brand of the Year

Health and Fitness Innovation of the Year

Best Smartwatch

Best Running Watch

Best Fitness Tracker

Best Smart Ring

Best Electric Toothbrush

Best Connected Fitness Tech

Home tech

Home Device of the Year

Home Tech Brand of the Year

Home Tech Innovation of the Year

Best Home Light Tech

Best Home Security Device

Best Robot Vacuum

Best Vacuum

Best Air Fryer

Best Coffee Machine

Best Value Coffee Machine

Best Fan