Dyson V15s Detect Submarine review: does Dyson's only vacuum-mop sink or swim?

Dyson V15s Detect Submarine: two-minute review

The Dyson V15s Detect Submarine (try saying that quickly a few times!) is the brand’s first and only two-in-one vacuum cleaner and mop. It's essentially a Dyson stick vacuum with an extra attachment for mopping, and it's designed as an all-in-one option for people with both hard floor and carpet in their homes.

The vacuum is essentially 2021's Dyson V15 Detect – one down from the best Dyson vacuums in terms of specs, and one of the best cordless vacuums around overall. For this review, I tested a slightly upgraded, Australia-only version, which borrows a few features from the 2022 Dyson Gen5detect, including an integrated crevice tool and upgraded vacuum floorheads. Either way, the vacuuming is excellent, with advanced features like automatic suction adjustment based on dirt levels, and a Fluffy floorhead with a laser to illuminate hidden dirt.

The real star of the show, however, is the Submarine wet roller head for mopping. In my tests, this performed extremely well, handling everyday cleans as well as more specific tasks such as clearing a thick, almost-dry food spill, and muddy boot prints. The small water tanks mean it's better suited to relatively small mopping tasks, but overall I was very impressed with its cleaning performance.

That said, it suffers from one significant design flaw – the dirty water tank is not fully sealed and, as it gets full, it can spill. The stick vacuum’s LED display shows the clean water level only, meaning there’s no way to know how much dirty water is collecting. (The brand has addressed this flaw with its dedicated wet cleaner, which has fully sealed, transparent water tanks – read our full Dyson WashG1 review for more on that one, or take a look at the differences between the two in our Dyson WashG1 vs V15s Submarine comparison.)

Moreover, as the wet roller continues cleaning, at some point it can start to leave dirty streaks, particularly when you’ve paused at a spot. As long as you keep moving, it’s fine. But when you do stop to remove the Submarine cleaning head to give it a wash, not only will the saturated roller leave a streak, you'll get some dirty water spilling out too which even its drip tray – yes, Dyson has thoughtfully included one – can't prevent.

If you can figure out how to avoid those spills – I sure couldn’t in the few weeks I was testing the V15s Detect Submarine – then Dyson’s cordless vacuum mop could be a great, space-saving buy. And considering it’s a Dyson with dual functionality, it’s priced rather well too. That's the short version; read on for my full Dyson V15s Detect Submarine review.

Dyson V15s Detect Submarine review: price & availability

• Launched July 2023
• List price: from $949.99 / £599.99 / AU$949

The Dyson V15s Detect Submarine was announced in July 2023, and came out in Australia first before hitting the US and UK markets.

In the US, the V15s Detect Submarine has a list price of $949.99, and in the UK it's £799.99.

Australian shopper have the choice of two V15s models. The standard one is called the V15s Detect Absolute, and costs AU$1,549, and then there's a Complete version (which I tested for this review) for AU$1,649. The Complete model has features taken from the Gen5detect stick vacuum, along with a freestanding floor dock.

While it's obviously still expensive, I think you're getting decent value for money here, because the package includes not only an advanced Dyson stick vacuum, but a mop too. (Prices for the V15 on its own start from $749.99 / £649.99 / AU$1,449.)

If you already have a different Dyson vacuum, you can't just purchase a Submarine floorhead and pop it on – it's not compatible with any other stick vacuums, even the standard V15, because the software has been rewired in the V15s to support vacuuming and mopping.

• Value score: 4 / 5

Dyson V15s Detect Submarine: Specs

Dyson V15s Detect Submarine review: Design

• Base model is a Dyson stick vacuum, with an extra mop floorhead
• Advanced vacuuming, with automatic suction adjustment
• Relatively small water tanks on mop head

If you looked at the V15s Detect Submarine stick vacuum, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was just the V15 Detect vacuum. And that's essentially exactly what it is – the 'Submarine' part is entirely in the extra mopping floorhead.

The model I tested for this review (the Complete model, available in Australia only) borrows some features from the newer Gen5detect vacuum. For example, it has an integrated crevice tool hidden in the main wand (see exactly how the two vacuums compare in our Dyson Gen5detect vs V15 Detect feature).

Unfortunately, whichever version you go for, it'll be powered by a trigger, which needs to be continually pressed for use. That saddens me – Dyson swapped it for a single-press button on the Gen5detect; a big upgrade in my opinion.

That minor annoyance aside, you're getting an impressive vacuum here. On the main machine you'll find a powerful motor, cylone array, and washable filter. There are three power modes, which you swap using a button. One of these modes will automatically adjust suction based on how dirty the floor is. In fact, it'll even report exactly what it's sucking up as it does so, on the LDC screen on the main machine.

This screen is also used to provide other useful information, such as how long you have left on the battery in the current suction mode. In mopping mode (which I'll get into in a second) it'll tell you how much clean water you have left.

The bin-empty mechanism is straightforward and effective, although you will still need to watch out for the hair that gets tangled around the bin’s inner metal cylinder – these can be hard to remove and, as before, not the most hygienic cleaning method as Dyson would have us believe.

Submarine floorhead

The big news, though, is the mop floorhead. It took Dyson a while time to get there but it’s finally competing with the likes of the Samsung Bespoke Jet and the LG CordZero A9 Kompressor Aqua. With typical Dyson aesthetic, the new Submarine wet roller head has clean lines, a velvet roller, a small clean water ‘bottle’ (yes, it does resemble a water bottle) and, somewhere behind it all, a small compartment for the dirty mop water to collect. The entire Submarine wet roller is washable.

This is where someone at Dyson didn’t think things through as the compartment isn’t well sealed. That means that after you finish mopping and you want to remove the head to clean it, you will be dripping water on the floor as it sloshes around due to the movement.

The only way that I found to avoid this is to make sure the drip tray – a grey plastic tray that fits under the Submarine head – is placed by the sink you’re going to be cleaning the head at before you start to mop. The moment you finish, place the drip tray under the head and then detach it. It’s not foolproof though and you might just need the head again to mop up the spill you just created.

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Just going by the size, I thought the Submarine roller head would be heavy, but it’s surprisingly not. Even with water filled, the roller’s movement begins to pull the vacuum as soon as you press the power trigger, so moving it along a hard floor is very easy.

Maintaining the Submarine is easy as the velvet roller comes off and is fully washable, and you can rinse out the entire cleaning head – press a marked red button and the two parts slide apart.

Vacuum tools

In terms of vacuuming floorheads, there are two. The Digital Motorbar head is suitable for use on both hard floor and carpet, and is the head that needs to be attached if you want to use the automatic suction adjustment mode.

There's also a Fluffy Optic floorhead especially for use on hard floors. This has an integrated laser to highlight dirt that otherwise might go missed. The design was upgraded for the Gen5detect to be broader, brighter and (I found) much more useful. (Head to our Dyson vacuum tools guide for more on this.) The roller itself is washable.

Because I was testing the upgraded version of the V15s, my model also had an integrated crevice tool. While useful, I prefer it as a separate attachment – the integrated version needs to fit inside the tube of the handstick, resulting in it being short and the opening too round and broad.

The cutaway for the opening is angled too acutely, so you don’t necessarily create a seal when vacuuming a corner or skirting boards, and no dust gets sucked up. With the separate attachment, which comes with the standard version of the Submarine, the slim opening is more efficient and it can be attached to the end of the tube, giving you more reach.

Another thing I have to talk about is the dock. The standard model comes with a wall dock similar to that you'll find with most Dyson vacuums.

However, the model I tested came with a freestanding 'Free Dok Multi'. This dock is far from what I expect from Dyson. The plastic feels flimsy, the parts aren’t easy to fit together and feel like they’ll break if I apply too much force, and the white plastic clashes really badly with the rest of the Dyson color aesthetic.

Moreover, if you do get the Free Dok Multi, you can’t stick it into a corner or against a wall. There is only one spot to hang one of the three large attachments that come with the machine, so at least one is going to be hanging off the side slots, and you have to account for its length. So the space the Free Dok Multi takes is more than its slimline look would suggest.

Unlike both the Gen5detect and the V15 Detect, I find the V15s Detect Submarine a lot easier to move around, no matter which cleaning head I’m using. According to Dyson’s spec sheet, the Complete model weighs 3.8kg, compared to the V15 Detect at 3.1kg and the Gen5detect at 3.5kg. I think that’s a mistake as it feels lighter than the V15 Detect in the hand, and the Submarine roller just makes it super easy to drag along a floor. I’ve tried measuring the machine myself on a weighing scale, but because I have to hold it in place, the measurements aren’t accurate and come in at just under 3kg, which can’t be right either.

• Design score: 4 / 5

Dyson V15s Detect Submarine review: Performance

• Excellent mopping capabilities
• Unsealed dirty water tank leaks easily
• Vacuuming is excellent

Considering the V15s Detect Submarine is Dyson’s first vacuum mop, I think the company has done quite well. The appliance’s vacuuming skills are, as before, very good. It’s the same vacuuming performance we saw from the V15 Detect, just quieter. So carpets are well taken care of, as are hard floors. The dynamic suction we’ve seen in the last few Dyson models is here, so most users will only need to leave the machine in Auto mode and it will do its thing.

The Digital Motorbar is the catch-all tool for any kind of floor. However, if it’s mostly fine dust in your home and you don’t have pets, then you might prefer the Fluffy Optic floorhead, which has an integrated laser to illuminate hidden dirt. My review model shipped with the upgraded version introduced with the Gen5detect, with a wider, brighter and far more useful laser. Unfortunately, you might find your V15s has the older version from the V15, which I didn't rate that highly.

So let’s talk mopping here in more detail. The Submarine wet roller cleaning attachment is pretty impressive when it comes to cleaning spills. Tracked muddy shoes through the house? The Submarine will take care of that and do an impressive job of cleaning up the mud – whether dried or wet – and the stains on the floor. Spilt water on the floor? The Submarine roller will mop that dry too. I used it in the bathroom of my test space (aka my own apartment), not just to mop the floor but also dry out the shower stall and I was very impressed indeed. Some stubborn food stains may need a few passes over them, but the Submarine is perfectly capable of handling that.

There's no suction when in mop mode, and this machine isn't really set up for tackling spillages that combine liquids and solids. If you need to clean up breakfast cereal, for example, you can mop up the milk, but deal with the cereal separately. Spills with smaller bits of food, like rice, can be cleared up easily by the Submarine, but you will need to give it a good wash and allow it to dry fully before using it again. In general, for wet-and-dry spills, you'd be much better off with the Dyson WashG1, which is designed specifically for that kind of thing.

Even more impressive is the fact that the roller seems to pick up a heck of a lot of fine dust that the Fluffy Optic misses and doesn’t even illuminate, leaving your floors spotless and a lot cleaner than just vacuuming. I’m basing this on the color of the mop water and how dirty the roller gets after just a few passes on an already-vacuumed floor.

What was not so impressive was the subsequent dirty water spills I had as I walked from said bathroom to the laundry room sink where I was going to wash the Submarine roller head. So I had to empty the dirty water and use the Submarine to mop up the spills anyway.

This is far from ideal and clearly something Dyson didn’t think through. There’s no way to know how much mop water is filling up in the compartment behind the roller as the display only shows how much clean water you have left to work with. If it was the other way around, perhaps the unsealed compartment wouldn’t have been such a bother and I could empty the dirty water after mopping each room (which, again, is not ideal). Not everyone is going to lug the drip tray around as they mop or remember to place it exactly where you finish. And while this design flaw might seem like a small one, it ends up being a bigger issue for the end consumer to deal with.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the Submarine attachment doesn’t hold a lot of clean water. You’ll be able to do a large living room only before you’ll need to refill the little bottle in the cleaning head. So if your multi-room home is all hard floors, you’ll need to fill it often and empty the dirty water just as often, which may not be ideal for everyone.

• Performance score: 4 / 5

Dyson V15s Detect Submarine review: Battery life

• Up to 60 minutes of fade-free power
• Average of 42 minutes with motorized cleaning heads
• Replaceable battery pack

With the V15s Detect Submarine, Dyson’s gone back to the 60-minute battery pack it uses in the V15 Detect. That, I think, is a good move because the 70-minute battery used in the Gen5detect made the machine quite heavy and hard to move around or used as a handheld unit.

While it’s possible to get a full 60 minutes of runtime from the V15s Detect Submarine, that will only work with the non-motorized tools like the Hair Screw Tool and the Combination Tool or achievable in Eco mode. You’ll also get almost the whole 60 minutes with the Submarine roller head as the suction is switched off with it attached, however you'll run out of clean water long before you'll need to recharge the machine.

With the motorized tools – namely the Digital Motorhead and the Fluffy Optic – you can get anywhere between 40 to 45 minutes in Auto mode, depending on how often the dynamic suction comes into play. If your home is particularly dirty and the suction changes often, you may get less than 40 minutes, but you can also get up to 50 minutes if there isn't a lot of dust.

During my testing, I managed to get 62 minutes in Eco mode, but I wasn’t quite enthused by the clean I got in this mode. On the other hand, Boost is great for carpets but you can expect to run out of juice in about 8 minutes.

Topping up the battery, according to Dyson, should take 4.5 hours, but my test unit went from 20% to full in a smidge over 3 hours, so I expect empty to full shouldn’t take more than 3.5 hours.

• Battery score: 4.5 out of 5

Should I buy the Dyson V15s Detect Submarine?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

If you’re not sold on the Dyson V15s Detect Submarine, then take a look at the below alternatives as solid competitors instead.

Samsung Bespoke Jet

At maximum suction, I think the Samsung Bespoke Jet can outdo any Dyson. And it can mop too. It also comes with several attachments, including an auto-empty station that sucks out any dust and dirt, including hair, in seconds. Sure, there’s ongoing costs in replacing the dust bags but the whole machine costs a lot less than the V15s Detect Submarine. You also get two batteries in the box and I personally think it looks better than a Dyson.

Read our full Samsung Bespoke Jet review to learn more

Dyson V15 Detect Absolute

If you don’t need a mop attachment but still want what I consider the best Dyson, then consider the V15 Detect Absolute. It comes with all the attachments you might need for a carpet or hard floors, sans the mop of course, plus great suction too.

For more details, read our in-depth Dyson V15 Detect review

Roborock Dyad Pro

At a little over half the price you can get a vacuum mop that’s a hard floor specialist. With more suction than either of the alternatives listed here, and excellent cleaning prowess, the Roborock Dyad Pro vacuums and mops at the same time, so you save time as well as money. It is a heavy machine, though, but is worth considering if you predominantly have hard floors at home.

Read our full Roborock Dyad Pro review for more information

How I tested the Dyson V15s Detect Submarine

• Used up to three times a week as main vacuum cleaner
• Spilt milky cereal, water and sauces on the floor to test mopping capabilities
• Avoided using detergents

I’ve used the Dyson V15s Detect Submarine two to three times a week for four weeks as my main vacuum, while also running the Dyson V15 Detect to compare suction during vacuuming. I allowed hair and dust to accumulate on the carpet in one room before the first test run.

I also scattered different-sized grain on the floor to test vacuuming, including sugar, rice, Cheerios and tapioca pearls. I then used the Digital Motorbar and the Fluffy Optic to vacuum to determine which one does best on such debris.

To test the mopping prowess, I poured cereal and milk on the floor, allowing it to dry. I first vacuumed up the cereal, then used the Submarine wet roller head to mop the dried, sticky milk. I also poured water on a patch of floor to mop up to see how well the patch dries. Dusty shoe prints and dried food on the floor were also mopped during different tests.

I’ve actively been testing and reviewing vacuum cleaners of all kinds for the last six years and have learnt what to look for when choosing a machine that’s best for different kinds of homes. I also place high importance on value for money in any appliance I test.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed August 2023; updated Feb 2025