Dyson's latest stick vacuum is impossibly thin and lightweight - but is it worth it at $599?

Dyson

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ZDNET's key takeaways

• The Dyson PencilVac goes on sale today for $599.
• It's the thinnest stick vacuum on the market, with a 1.5-inch-diameter handle.
• The motor inside is Dyson's fastest and smallest yet.

We haven't heard much from Dyson about the PencilVac since the company's showcase event in May 2025. Until now: The Dyson PencilVac has just gone on sale.

This is Dyson's thinnest vacuum to date. There's no protruding dust canister, as the PencilVac's dustbin is built into the vacuum's extension rod. The result: a vacuum that's lightweight, thin, and not visually cumbersome. 

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The PencilVac looks fairly easy to handle for people of different ages and abilities. The vacuum's cleaning head is also innovative, with what Dyson calls Fluffycones -- yes, that is a trademarked name -- replacing the traditional roller brush. The four cones counter-rotate to detangle hair while the vacuum cleans, so you don't have to go in and detangle hair from the roller after each session.

Dyson

The vacuum's motor is built into the rod, making it Dyson's smallest yet fastest motor. Despite being small enough to fit into a 1.5-inch-wide tube, the powerful motor spins at up to 140,000 RPM and delivers 50 AW of suction. 

The robot features two green lights to illuminate dirt and debris in front of and behind the vacuum, and it can clean both ways. 

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Dyson is selling the PencilVac as a cordless vacuum for design-conscious homes. Actually, it's more than that: It's the thinnest, lightest, and most compact cordless vacuum on the market. While that alone makes the PencilVac an industry pioneer, users will benefit from the vacuum's lithe construction, which lets it clean elevated areas like ceiling fans, shelves, and curtains with one of the included attachments.

Though tiny and thin, the PencilVac isn't cheap. Dyson just listed it for $599, available now. Other manufacturers are developing their own versions of lightweight cordless vacuums, so we expect to see similar options hit the market later this year.