There’s always a new vacuum to try. My office always has a new cordless stick vacuum next to my desk, waiting for me to test it and compare it to the competition.
The latest in the wings? Bosch’s new vacuum featured at this year’s CES. The Bosch Unlimited 10 ($699) stands out for incorporating two features from two popular vacuum brands: Dyson and Shark. The Unlimited 10 can fold in the middle of the long stick that connects the head to the motor, as a Shark PowerDetect can, and it has a compression lever for the dustbin to compress debris, like the new Dyson Piston Animal will when it launches this year. The Bosch also offers six power levels, with three specialty levels (quiet, car, and delicate carpet) on top of the classic automatic, eco, and turbo levels we see on the Shark and Dyson.
With the new vacuum in my home, along with a Shark PowerDetect ($300) and Dyson Gen5 Detect ($922), it was the perfect opportunity to see if the new Bosch can stand up to the competition. While the Dyson Gen5 Detect doesn’t have the compression bin, I was curious how the Bosch would compare, given it has a price tag closer to a Dyson. Could this be the new leader of the cordless stick vacuum pack?
Ultimately, Bosch trailed both Dyson and Shark in most challenges, and I was frustrated to see it dump debris three times during the tests. Here’s how each of my tests went and which vacuum pulled ahead.
Table of ContentsLargeChevron
- Sand Winner: Shark
- Cereal Winner: Shark
- Stair and Hair Winner: Dyson
- Cleaning Modes Winner: Bosch, Sort Of
- Disposal Winner: Bosch, for Now
- Bendable Winner: Shark
- Accessory Winner: Dyson
- Build Winner: Tie
- Which Should You Buy?
Sand Winner: Shark
I have a small black rug I use for my debris testing. For each vacuum, I poured a small amount of sand across it and tested how well the vacuum sucked it up. I was surprised that Shark was the only one that didn’t respond to the sand by throwing it everywhere while trying to vacuum it up. Both Bosch and Dyson had this issue. Bosch picked up a lot of sand, but also blew sand pretty evenly all over the rug and dumped some of it back on the floor after I turned the vacuum off. It did the same thing on my stair test when I used it on a stair that my son’s sandy feet had been on. Meanwhile, the air moving around the Dyson Gen5 Detect pushed it around, and even though the vacuum has tight suction, I had to go over the small rug multiple times and still didn’t get all of it.
Meanwhile, the Shark PowerDetect has nice suction and a really smooth glide over carpet (though the increased power and glide feel like they’re pulling you forward), which made it easy to sweep the rug and get almost all the sand in one go without sending it everywhere.
Cereal Winner: Shark
I really thought the Dyson would do better in this test, but its tight suction actually ground up the cereal flakes and made a little more of a mess than it cleaned. I used only the Dyson Motorbar head for this test, but I think switching to the Fluffy Optic head, which is designed for hard floors, would have been a better choice for debris like this. The Gen5 Detect comes with both heads, so you can choose the option that best suits the situation. Bosch’s Unlimited 10 did much better at picking up cereal than it did sand. My only issue was that as soon as I was done, it dumped some of the cereal (and the sand from earlier) back out onto the rug when I switched it off.
Once again, Shark was the standout, easily vacuuming up the cereal and leaving no debris behind. Shark’s carpet mode adds a zing to the power that feels a little like a puppy running away from you, but it did well at gathering the cereal and other debris on my living room rug when I tried it there later that day.
Stair and Hair Winner: Dyson
If you’re a pet owner like I am, nothing really does it like a Dyson, especially the Gen5 Detect. It’s our top pick for vacuuming pet hair for a reason, and I especially like it for deep-cleaning high-traffic carpet spots like stairs. I have two staircases in my house, and I used each vacuum on one half of it. Dyson pulled up much more gray cat hair and dusty debris from my stairs than the other two vacuums.
The other two did fine, but I could feel the spray of sand on my feet when I used the Bosch on a lower stair, where my son’s sandy feet had been. (I used the Shark on the one above it and didn’t get the same sensation.) The Bosch also got confused whenever I lifted it between stairs, causing it to frequently switch to hard-floor mode.
Cleaning Modes Winner: Bosch, Sort Of
Bosch pulls ahead of its competitors in one area: It has more cleaning modes. While the Dyson and Shark have the classic trio of power levels (both have an Auto and Eco mode, and Dyson calls its more powerful mode Boost while Shark and Bosch call it Turbo), Bosch comes with three more options. There’s a car mode, delicate carpet mode, and silent mode. Use the buttons below the power button to toggle between menu options on the colorful screen. The two buttons below are either to confirm (the checkmark button) or to go back (the curved arrow button). And while it isn’t a different mode, Bosch also reacts when you switch between flooring types. It raised the power level for carpet and rugs, and lowered it when switched to hard floors. The screen also showed me when it toggled between these. It didn’t do a perfect job, though; it read carpet that was more matted down from walking as hard floors, and didn’t switch between flooring types as quickly as the Shark does.
The extra modes also don’t feel hugely different. Silent is still noisy, and delicate carpet mode didn’t seem to change anything. It’s also a little slow to navigate to and switch between the modes. But if you’d like more vacuum modes than the classic trio, the Bosch offers them.
Disposal Winner: Bosch, for Now
Bosch has the compression feature we’ll see on Dyson’s upcoming vacuums, but the current Gen5 Detect I’m testing doesn’t have it. Neither does the Shark.
There’s a lever on the back for this compression mechanism that you manually press down and a separate button to open the dustbin at the bottom. You can use the compression lever when it’s both closed and open. It did help compress the hair and dust while I was vacuuming, helping me see if I had really filled the bin, though at a certain point it doesn’t compress much more. It was helpful to push debris out if needed too, versus the times I’ve had to stick my hand in both the Dyson and Shark to get the stuck hair and dust out. Dyson has this same feature on the Piston Animal V16, which is due out this year, so I’ll be curious to see which mechanism is better engineered.
Bendable Winner: Shark
If you’re looking for a vacuum that can bend to reach under furniture, I prefer the Shark to the Bosch. Both have a similar mechanism and feel, but the Bosch tended to push debris around when I was using it with an active bend, while the Shark managed to vacuum up debris I couldn’t get with the Bosch without lifting it and placing it on top of that particular debris (in this case, rogue cat kibble).
Accessory Winner: Dyson
Dyson pulls ahead because the Dyson Gen5 Detect comes with three attachments and two heads. You’ll get a Motorbar head, a Fluffy Optic head, a hair tool, a combination tool, and a dusting and crevice tool that’s actually built into the stick tube. I love that it’s built into the vacuum so that it’s one less separate attachment to carry around, and it makes me more likely to use it.
But Bosch does well in this area, too. You’ll get an upholstery nozzle, a furniture brush, and a crevice nozzle. It’s one more attachment than you’ll get with Shark, and Bosch also includes a wall mount that you can wire the charging cord into for storage and charging, and you can mount two attachments on it. But I will say, I like that Shark includes a simple tote bag to store the attachments in. The rest of my attachments are in plastic bags for each vacuum, and keeping track of attachments is the most annoying part of a cordless vacuum.
Build Winner: Tie
All three of these vacuums have a good build quality, but each one feels like it focuses on something different. Bosch feels the lightest of the three and stands up the easiest on its own, but all three do need something to lean against to stay upright. The Dyson is the worst at this; it also needs a ledge or table wedged under the canister, or it’ll roll forward and tip over. The Bosch has a sleek black look and a colorful LED screen that will show you a picture of carpet or hardwood depending on what mode it’s vacuuming in. The vacuum head itself feels like the lightest plastic of the bunch, though.
Dyson and Shark have a similar look and feel, with a silvery-gray design and pops of purple. Dyson feels a little more high-end, while Shark feels more utilitarian. You’ll also get the bendable stick with the Shark or Bosch, but not with the Dyson. Dyson and Shark both have minimalist screens that show the power level and remaining battery life, though they’re not as colorful as Bosch’s.
None really has a bad quality. I wish I could say one was designed well enough to stand up freely, but I can’t say that for any of these three. I’d mount the wall stands that come with each to safely store them between uses.
Which Should You Buy?
If you’re looking for the best value for features and a single-head vacuum that can handle both carpet, rugs, and hard floors, the Shark PowerDetect cordless vacuum is the way to go. It’s usually on sale for around $300, and the folding stick makes it really easy to vacuum underneath couches, side tables, barstools, and the like without having to crouch on the ground. It did the best in the general floor debris pickup if you’re looking for something that will make your broom obsolete.
If you have more carpet than rugs and hard floors, and if you have pets, I’d recommend the Dyson Gen5 Detect. I’d switch to the Fluffy Optic head for hard debris, but the Motorbar does a fantastic job of pulling dust and hair out of carpet. It’s just a little too strong for lightweight rugs if you mostly have a rug household.
The Bosch isn’t a bad vacuum, save for the occasional debris dumping. It has more cleaning modes than the others, though I think you’ll mainly use the standard three (Eco, Auto, and Turbo) that you can easily toggle between. This vacuum dumped debris on my floor three different times during my testing, which isn’t a great sign for the future. You’re better off spending less on a Shark PowerDetect or upgrading to a Dyson.
Curious for more vacuum options? Don’t miss our guide to all the best cordless vacuums if you want more stick options, plus our guides to robot vacuums, vacuums for pet hair, Dyson vacuums, handheld vacuums, and our overall top vacuum cleaner picks.
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