Dyson is the Rolls Royce of the vacuum cleaner world, at least when it comes to upright and stick vacuums. So, how do you determine which Dyson to take home when they’re all so great? Today, we’re going to compare the Dyson V12 Detect against the Dyson V15 Detect to show you which of these beasts deserves to clean your floors.

Dyson V12 Detect
Powerful Motor
Both of these cordless stick vacuum cleaners sport the Dyson Hyperdymium Motor—a powerful digital motor that spins at a rate of 125,000 RPM. Such high speeds allow the vacuum to pick up all kinds of debris, from microscopic dust particles to large kibbles and cereals. For anyone who has pets at home or incredibly messy kids, you’ll need all the suction power you can get.

Multitier Radial Cyclone Filtration
In the cone-shaped mechanism located on the V12 and V15’s main bodies is a Radial Cyclone System. It consists of 11 cyclones that continuously fling debris around within the dustbin in order to keep the multitier filter system completely unclogged. This results in no loss of suction from start to finish while also trapping as much as 99.99% of particles 0.3 microns and larger.

60-Minute Runtime
If you’ve ever used a stick vacuum before, you’re probably fully aware of how limited their battery packs are. In under 15 minutes, you’ll either need to charge it back up or swap out the battery pack for a fresh one. This isn’t the cast with the V12 and the V15.
Both of these Dyson stick vacuums have massive detachable batteries that can supply up to 60 minutes of nonstop cleaning on their lowest speed setting. Cranking them to the max will reduce battery life by about half. According to customers, it can take around four hours for the battery to fully recharge.

Laser Dust Revealer
Here’s where things get interesting. Instead of using simply LED lights, the V12 and the V15 pack super-powerful lasers that do a much better job at revealing surface debris. The laser is angled in a specific way to cast shadows on tiny objects on hard floors, so there’s really no way you could possibly miss a single pebble on your floors.

Dyson V15 Detect
Pienza Sensor
Moving onto the Dyson V15 Detect, which shares many of the same features and specs as the V12 Detect. First, you’ll notice on the handle that there’s a pretty large LCD display. The display shows how much battery is left, what speed setting is currently active, and—most impressively—how much dust you’ve collected. But that’s not all.
The Pienza Sensor can count how many particles of what size the V15 (and V12) sucked up. Now, you might now want to know how many microscopic specks of dust are in the dustbin, but the V15 uses this information for one reason.
Automatically Adjusts Suction Power
That reason is to automatically adjust suction power based on how much heavy lifting it has to do. If your Dyson stick vacuum has to deal with larger quantities of invisible dust particles, the motor will automatically drop to a slower speed. When it’s dealing with larger bits of floor debris, such as cereal or rice grains, the motor will crank its speed to remove everything in one quick pass.
Read more about Dyson’s innovative Detect Technology here.
Included Attachments
Both of these Dyson stick vacuum cleaners can convert into handheld models. Simply detach the long wand and connect one of the included cleaning attachments onto the end. In the box, you’ll receive a combination tool, a crevice tool, a mini-soft dusting brush, a stubborn dirt brush, and an anti-tangle conical brush bar.
The conical brush bar is what sets these stick vacs apart from the rest. The beater brush is shaped like a cone, which forces pet and human hair to move to the narrower side as the brush continues spinning. When wads of hair reach the end, they get sucked into the vacuum’s inlet before ultimately residing in the Radial Cyclone.
Wall-Mounted Charger
In terms of battery life and charging mechanisms, the V12 and V15 are 100% identical. Both stick vacuums come with a wall-mounted charging station that also houses all of the cleaning attachments. Simply drop your stick vac in the charging dock and wait until you need to vacuum again.
- The most powerful intelligent cordless vacuum.¹ With laser illumination.
- Engineered for whole home, deep cleans. Suction power, run time and tools designed to deep...
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Verdict: One in the Same?
So, what have we learned about the Dyson V12 Detect and the V15 Detect? If you said that they’re both identical in every way, you’re not wrong. When choosing between one or the other, there’s really no wrong option. However, if you’re going to splurge on a brand-new Dyson stick vacuum, you should go with the flagship model—the V15.

If you have any questions or comments, please add them below in the comment section. Similarly, please let us know if you spot any mistakes or omissions. Thanks!
Last Update: 2023-12-04 | Affiliate links/Images from Amazon Product Advertising API