Dyson V12 Detect Slim vacuum cleaner review

Dyson V12 Detect Slim: two-minute review

The Dyson V12 Detect Slim was only mentioned in passing during the official launch of the V15 Detect – it was almost as though Dyson didn’t really want much to do with the V12 because it wasn’t a flagship. But I've just spent a few weeks with both new Dyson stick vacuums and I'm pretty impressed with what the V12 Detect Slim can do… at a slightly lower price than the V15 Detect.

Compared side by side, the V15 flagship is the clear winner in terms of performance, with far superior suction, but given the V12 Detect Slim comes with the headline-making features like the Laser Slim Fluffy cleaning head and the piezo sensor that ‘listens’ to what’s getting sucked up, but in a slightly cheaper package, there’s not much to complain about here. While it's not the most powerful model from this brand, it still compares well to the best cordless stick vacuums when it comes to suction, and it might well be the best Dyson vacuum for people with smaller homes.

The smaller, lighter build includes a far smaller bin than you'd find on the average stick vacuum. It'll be annoyingly small if you have a larger house or shedding pets, and I also found the compact size meant hair and dust regularly got stuck when emptying.

If you're not too fussed about that, though, I found there were hardly any other compromises with the V12 Detect Slim. It packs a decent amount of suction power and boasts automatic suction adjustment when it detects a particularly dirty patch of floor. A digital display on the main body of the vacuum shows you everything that's being sucked up, in real time. Plus, it ships with its own version of the amazing Hair Screw Tool – a masterpiece of engineering capable of sucking hair and fur (even slim cables if you’re not too careful) of any length without tangles.

That's the short version; read on for my full Dyson V12 Detect Slim review.

Dyson V12 Detect Slim review: price & availability

• List price: $649.99 / £499.99
• Launched: 2021 (but not until 2022 in the US and UK)
• Availability: US and UK, discontinued in Australia

The Dyson V12 Detect Slim was unveiled alongside the flagship Dyson V15 Detect and the Dyson Omni-Glide in May 2021. To start with, it was only available in Australia, New Zealand and Japan (in several other countries, Dyson initially introduced the now-discontinued Micro 1.5kg instead – an even lighter model with a maximum runtime of just 20 minutes). In June 2022 the V12 Detect Slim arrived in the US and UK.

It's not part of the flagship range and as such, seems to attract much less attention than the core range. At time of updating this review (April 2025), if you go direct to Dyson in the US, the V12 Detect Slim costs $649.99 (but has been discounted to $499.99). At Dyson UK it's the V12 Detect Slim Absolute, at a list price of £499.99.

This models in no longer available to buy direct from Dyson in Australia, but when it was it came with a list price of AU$1,199.

As a side note: Dyson told us that the company decided to jump a couple of generations when it comes to naming its vacuum cleaners because the numbers 13 and 14 are considering unlucky in some cultures.

Dyson V12 Detect Slim review: design

• Lightweight cordless stick vacuum with tiny 0.35L bin
• Operates via power button rather than a trigger
• Screen provides information plus real-time dust reports

Dyson hasn’t veered from its design aesthetic in… forever, so the V12 Detect Slim looks very much like the rest. Except for a large red button on the barrel of the handheld unit. This is the power button that replaces the trigger we’ve seen in all the other V-series handsticks. For those who’ve used any other Dyson stick vacuum, you’ll know that the trigger needs to be constantly pressed when using the appliance and can cause wrist fatigue or pain, particularly when trying to maneuver the vacuum in different directions. (Dyson would finally switch from trigger to single-press button in its flagship line with 2022's Dyson Gen5detect.)

This power button, in my opinion, is a wonderful change as it removes the issue of wrist/hand pain – press once to turn on, press again to turn off. That said, it needs your free hand to press each time, so this V-series model isn’t as well suited to one-handed use as its other siblings.

The only other major difference between the V12 Detect Slim and the V15 is the bin capacity. The V12 comes with a 0.35L bin – the same one used in the Omni-Glide. That's really very small for a cordless bin; on test I found it was just enough for a one-bedroom apartment. If you live in a larger home, especially one with wall-to-wall carpeting, then you’ll find yourself emptying the bin often.

The mechanism to empty the canister is the same as in the V11 and V15 models, but here it’s not as hygienic – I found I regularly needed to stick my fingers in to pull out hair, fur and fluff. If you’re not too fussed about that, then pretty much everything else about the V12 is like the V15, including the attachments that ship with it. That said, the Hair Screw Tool that comes with the V12 is slightly different from that of the V15 and they aren’t interchangeable.

Look closely, though, and you’ll find the flower-like arrangement of the radial cyclones is also slimmer than the V11 or the V15. Where these two models have 14 radial cyclones, the V12 Detect Slim only has 11. That means lesser suction as compared to the V11 or the V15. However, even on the lowest mode, I found it was still capable of doing a pretty good job.

The smaller bin and fewer cyclones means the V12 is lighter than the V11 or V15. It weighs just 2.2kg (as compared to over 3kg for the other two) with a cleaning head attached, and also happens to be 3cm shorter than the V15. The lighter weight makes it a lot easier to hold the handheld unit aloft for getting at ceiling corners as compared to the V15, and also makes it easier to move across a floor.

Despite the lower price tag, you still get the digital display with the graphical representation of particle size and number displayed, along with the remaining runtime on each power mode. The suction level selection button is elongated, though, as compared to the silver circle on the V11 and V15 models.

The clip-on battery pack from the V11 has also made its way here, so if you think 60 minutes of max runtime isn’t going to do it for you, you can always consider buying an extra one to swap out when necessary. The slightly uneven weight distribution I found on the V15 because of the clip-on battery is thankfully not an issue here.

The Laser Slim Fluffy that’s the headline act of the V15 has made its way into the V12 box as well. In both cases, I found that the casters used on the Laser Slim Fluffy tool aren’t great when trying to move the vacuum at an angle or backwards. As a result, the High Torque cleaning head (called the Motorbar cleaner head in some territories) was my favorite attachment for general use.

Dyson V12 Detect Slim review: performance

• Automatic suction adjustment
• Soft floorhead has a laser to highlight dirt
• Great on hard floors; the more powerful V15 Detect better for carpet

While it's less powerful than the V15 Detect, if you happen to live in a home with mostly hard floors and you’re lusting after the Laser Slim Fluffy cleaning head, you won’t regret getting the V12 Detect Slim. When it comes to suction power, even the lowest setting – called Eco – is more than enough for general cleaning. There are two more higher power settings available, but you will be eating into the 60-minute battery life, especially when using the motorized cleaning heads.

During my testing I found that the Eco mode did a good job on carpets, although if it’s a particularly ‘hairy’ task, it takes a few back-and-fro movements to get it all off (I wouldn't rate this amongst the best vacuums for pet hair). On hard floors, though, it's an excellent cleaner, working impeccably with both of the supplied floorheads, even on the lowest suction mode.

If you need proof of how well it can clean, all you need to do is use the Laser Slim Fluffy (designed specifically for hard floors) and watch as the illuminated dust and dirt get sucked up. Or you can keep an eye on the display and watch as the graph changes – although after a few uses I found myself barely looking at the display except to keep an eye on the remaining runtime.

Be careful when using the Hair Screw Tool though. While it’s absolutely brilliant at sucking up hair and fur without tangling anywhere, it does also gobble up slim charging cables with ease. It’s best used on furniture or pet beds, but you can (theoretically) also use it on a floor. However, as with the V15 Detect, the attachment’s small footprint means it will take a long time to go over every inch of the floor space.

And because of the slightly unwieldy nature of the Laser Slim Fluffy casters, I found myself using the High Torque cleaning head the most, on both carpets and hard floors.

Dyson V12 Detect Slim review: battery

• Up to 60 minutes
• Recharges in 4.5 hours
• Swappable battery pack

There are no compromises when it comes to battery life. Dyson seems to have used the same battery capacity on the V12 as it has on the V11 and V15 models, with a maximum runtime of 60 minutes, and it's fade-free. So if the appliance has run out of juice, it just stops, rather than gradually getting less sucky while the power runs down.

You get the full 60 minutes only when using the Eco mode with a non-motorized attachment. With the High Torque cleaning head, for example, I got about 46 minutes of power on the Eco mode, but the full hour when the Combination tool was attached.

On the Auto mode, I got a maximum of 40 minutes of power, while the Boost mode gave me no more than 20 minutes with the Laser Slim Fluffy. And that’s pretty much the same as what the V15 Detect offers.

If you think you may need more than 60 minutes, you do have the option of purchasing a second battery pack to swap out when necessary.

Should I buy the Dyson V12 Detect Slim?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

First reviewed July 2021