Dyson fires back at Samsung with incredibly thin PencilVac vacuum

Earlier this year, Samsung released the world's most powerful cordless stick vacuum cleaner, the Bespoke AI Jet Ultra. A few days ago, Dyson fired back and launched a new vacuum in Japan. Although it's far from the world's most powerful, this new Dyson vacuum is unbelievably thin. The company calls it “the world's slimmest vacuum.”

The Dyson PencilVac is a 38mm diameter tube with a special brush attached at one end. Of course, that's an oversimplification, as a lot more technology goes into it, but that's what it looks like. Without knowing what you're looking at, you could mistake the PencilVac for a regular, albeit oddly shaped, mop.

Dyson issued a press release on its website and shared a promotional video on social media. The PencilVac debuted in Japan, which makes sense, given Japan's love for compact home appliances due to small living spaces. Dyson said the PencilVac will be coming to other countries soon.

The Dyson PencilVac is powered by the newly developed Hyperdymium motor, which has a 28mm diameter and can reach 140,000 RPM. It's almost as fast as the 148,000 RPM HexaJet from Samsung.

Given the vacuum's compact form factor and small motor, the PencilVac lacks the suction power Samsung's vacuums boast. It's rated at 55AW (Air Watts), which isn't nearly as much as the Bespoke AI Jet Ultra (400AW) or even the Bespoke AI Jet Lite (280AW).

Another interesting characteristic is the Dyson Fluffycones brush, which Dyson says was designed to eject hair as it is picked up. The Dyson vacuum brush is equipped with a laser instead of an LED, while Samsung uses LEDs for the new Dual Active brush and the Slim LED Brush+.

The dustbin is minuscule compared to other more conventional vacuums, but Dyson says the PencilVac vacuum uses a special system to compress dust inside the dustbin for a better use of its capacity.

One last fun fact is that the Dyson PencilVac is apparently the company's first connected cordless vacuum that works with the MyDyson app. Through it, users can check battery information and access filter maintenance guidance. It sounds similar to Samsung's SmartThings solution for Bespoke vacuum cleaners.

All things considered, the Dyson PencilVac looks very interesting and ambitious, but it arguably is more of a niche product than the Bespoke AI Jet Ultra and AI Jet Lite vacuums from Samsung — or even other Dyson vacuum cleaners.

Still, there is a market for compact appliances, especially in Japan, and we're wondering if Samsung will consider expanding its Bespoke vacuum lineup with an ultra-thin model and offer an alternative to the PencilVac.