The Dyson V15s Detect Submarine is a cordless stick vacuum that comes bundled with a mopping accessory for clearing away dried-on stains. It's almost entirely identical to its sibling, the standard Dyson V15 Detect, but only the Submarine model is compatible with this uniquely designed attachment. That means it shares a similar 240AW suction motor, an onboard particle sensor, and a power adjustment system that allows the vacuum to automatically adapt to changes in surface type or whenever there's an increase in the amount of debris on the ground.
The Dyson V15s Detect Submarine is a good choice for bare floors. It clears away all kinds of debris on this surface type, ranging from pet hair to small and bulky debris. Its tertiary mopping floorhead also does a good job of clearing away stains, though it's also rather tedious to clean, and it doesn't hold all that much water. The vacuum itself is quite maneuverable and incurs minimal ownership costs as long as it's properly maintained. Unfortunately, it doesn't feel especially sturdy.
The Dyson V15s Detect Submarine is decent for cleaning low-pile carpet. It easily clears away pet hair and solid debris from this surface type, though you might need to make another pass or two to deal with really fine debris. Its bagless design and washable allergen-trapping exhaust filter also result in a near-total absence of recurring costs. However, while it is lightweight and easy to maneuver, its plastic chassis doesn't feel especially sturdy. It also has quite a few parts that require regular maintenance.
The Dyson V15s Detect Submarine delivers good performance on high-pile carpet. Thanks to its bagless design and washable filter, it incurs almost no recurring costs. It clears pet hair and larger solid material from this surface type pretty easily, though another pass might be required for finer debris embedded in deeper carpets. Its surface detection system also enables it to raise its suction power on high-pile carpeting. Unfortunately, its high suction power makes it difficult to maneuver on shag-pile carpet, and it can even drag some smaller rugs around.
The Dyson V15s Detect Submarine is very good for cleaning up pet hair. It does an outstanding job of sucking up pet hair on bare floors and low and high-pile carpet. It also has a whole machine filtration system that traps allergens as you clean, which is great for sealing in allergens like pet dander. However, it's worth noting that only the V15s Detect Submarine Absolute model has an actual HEPA rating. You can also remove the brushrolls for most of its tools, making it easier to remove hair wraps. Its Submarine mopping floorhead is quite effective for handling any mud or dirt your pet might track inside on hardwood or tile floors, but just be aware that this attachment has a small clean water reservoir and is a bit of a hassle to clean.
The Dyson V15s Detect Submarine is an excellent choice for cleaning stairs. Its cordless design allows you to clean larger staircases without worrying about swapping outlets or tripping over a power cord, and its relatively lightweight chassis and reconfigurable design make it easy to carry around or to use as a handheld vacuum with any one of its included attachments. It delivers strong overall performance on a variety of surface types, too, so it can easily tackle debris on hardwood and laminate stairs as well as carpeted ones—just note that its strong suction can make it hard to maneuver on carpet.
The Dyson V15s Detect Submarine is a great choice for cleaning the inside of your car. You can easily reconfigure it into a lightweight, fairly compact handheld vacuum, and it comes with a variety of helpful attachments, including an upholstery nozzle, a crevice tool, a dusting brush, and a miniature turbo brush tool that you can use to clean your seats. You don't have to worry about staying close to an outlet due to its cordless design.
The Dyson V15s Detect Submarine isn't really designed for workshop cleaning. It does a fantastic job of clearing away household debris on hard surfaces, but it isn't meant to deal with heavy-duty debris like wood or metal shavings. Its Submarine mopping head can help you deal with dried-on dirt and small amounts of mud, but it isn't really intended for clearing away large amounts of water either.
There are two variants of the Dyson V15s Detect Submarine, though they differ only slightly in terms of included attachments. We tested the standard Submarine model, and you can see its label here.
Model Name | Tools Included | Color | Additional Features/Notes |
V15s Detect Submarine | Fluffy Optic cleaner head, Digital Motorbar floorhead, Submarine floorhead, Hair Screw tool, Combination tool, Crevice tool, Wand clip | Nickel/Yellow | |
V15s Detect Submarine Absolute | Fluffy Optic cleaner head, Digital Motorbar floorhead, Submarine floorhead, Hair Screw tool, Combination tool, Crevice tool | Gold/Teal | Features whole machine HEPA filtration, only available from the manufacturer's website |
Let us know in the discussions below if you come across another variant of this vacuum.
The Dyson Submarine is a high-end cordless stick vacuum, essentially a reprogrammed variant of the Dyson V15 Detect that you can use with a specially designed additional floorhead meant for wetting and scrubbing away stains on hard floors. That isn't necessarily bad; the standard V15 is among the best cordless models on the market, with superb overall performance, a slick, user-friendly design, and a lightweight chassis. It's also worth noting that the V15s Submarine also comes with the updated Fluffy Optic cleaner head found on the newer Dyson Gen5detect, which is a marginally more effective attachment for cleaning bare floors.
That aside, the Submarine model does little to justify the substantial price increase over the standard V15: the new mopping floorhead does an okay job of cleaning stains, but it's prone to leaking, is a bit of a hassle to clean, and holds a pitiful amount of clean water. If you're comfortable buying a separate tool for the job, buying a simple manual mop alongside the standard V15 might be the more fiscally responsible decision.
If you'd like other alternatives, you can see our recommendations for the best cordless stick vacuums and the best cordless vacuums. If you're interested in other models from the same brand, you can check out our picks for the best Dyson vacuums.
The Dyson V15s Detect Submarine and the Dyson V15 Detect are effectively the same vacuum, with the main difference being that only the V15s model is compatible with the Submarine floorhead. This isn't due to any hardware differences—you can physically attach the Submarine head to the standard V15—but only the V15s Submarine model is programmed to recognize and work with this head. That said, the standard V15 will deliver all but identical performance at a much lower price, and it's the better option if you don't need the mopping floorhead.
When judged purely as a cordless stick vacuum, the Dyson Gen5detect/Gen5detect Absolute is a slight upgrade over the Dyson V15s Detect Submarine. The Gen5detect feels a little sturdier, weighs a little less, and has a slightly more powerful motor, though there's little to differentiate the two vacuums when it comes to real-world performance. However, only the V15s is compatible with the Submarine mopping head, which is quite effective in clearing stains but has a couple of important caveats: it's a hassle to clean, poorly sealed, incurs higher ownership costs, and has a limited overall range before you need to refill its tiny internal water reservoir.
The Samsung Jet 90 Complete and Dyson V15s Detect Submarine are both cordless stick vacuums compatible with purpose-designed mopping floorheads. The Samsung's Spinning Sweeper attachment uses rotating microfiber pads to scrub away stains. In contrast, the Dyson's Submarine head features a single wet roller, along with separate reservoirs for clean and dirty water. Both floorheads are sealed off, as the vacuums they're compatible with aren't designed to suck up liquids. While both designs offer similar stain-clearing performance, only the Dyson vacuum's head can actually lift away small amounts of liquid, thanks to its separate dirty water reservoir. When judged entirely as vacuums, the Dyson also pulls slightly ahead—it's a little more powerful, has a longer battery life, and is equipped with an automatic power adjustment system.
The BISSELL CrossWave HydroSteam and Dyson V15s Detect Submarine are somewhat different propositions. The Dyson is essentially a conventional cordless stick vacuum that's bundled with a specialized attachment for dealing with stains; unlike the BISSELL it's unable to suck up liquids, and it lacks a detergent dispersal or steam release function to help clear away stains. As such, it comes as no surprise that the BISSELL is better-suited to the latter. However, the Dyson is simply a much better vacuum, with vastly better debris pickup performance on most surfaces and a much lighter, more maneuverable design.
This vacuum's build quality is only okay. It's identical to the standard Dyson V15 Detect in this respect, with a sleek all-plastic chassis. While its overall structure feels fairly rigid, it does creak somewhat while in use. Its transparent dirt compartment also feels as though it could crack if you were to drop it. The new Submarine floorhead is a bit of a letdown from a build quality perspective, too; it isn't very well-sealed, and water can easily leak out of its internal reservoir if you were to tip the floorhead sideways or flip it upside down.
Thankfully, out-of-the-box assembly is very easy, thanks to the prevalence of easy-clip mechanisms.
The Dyson Submarine has somewhat high-maintenance requirements, though aside from its new mopping head, it's all but identical to the standard Dyson V15 Detect.
Any parts that you wash under cold water should be left to dry for at least 24 hours before being re-installed.
The Dyson Submarine incurs low recurring costs.
This vacuum is easy to store. The standard V15s Detect Submarine variant comes with a wand clip for on-board mounting of two attachments, though the V15s Detect Submarine Absolute model doesn't come with the wand clip. Both variants come with a wall-mounted storage rack with slots for two extra tools. This vacuum also comes with a drip tray that you can slide underneath the Submarine floorhead so that it doesn't get your floors wet when it isn't in use.
The Dyson Submarine's dirt compartment is alright. It's a little on the small side for a cordless stick vacuum and is likely to need emptying somewhat frequently. However, its horizontal orientation makes it a little easier to empty compared to older stick vacuums with smaller vertically oriented dustbins. Since it's made of clear plastic, you can check roughly how full it is at all times.
Since this is a cordless vacuum, the Dyson Submarine's range is limited only by the remaining battery life and room left in its dirt compartment.
The Dyson V15s is quite portable. Its Submarine head is a little heavier than the standard multi-surface Digital Motorbar multi-surface head, but not enough to be a significant impediment while using the vacuum, which is still reasonably lightweight and easy to carry around. In more specific terms, by itself, the Submarine head weighs:
The Dyson Submarine's battery performance is alright. It supplies more than 70 minutes of runtime if you use it in its 'Eco' power mode with no attachments. However, this drops to under 10 minutes if you run it continuously in its high-power 'Boost' mode with the Digital Motorbar head or 15 minutes if you use it in the same setting with the Fluffy Optic head. In any case, this means you need to work fast when dealing with stubborn messes. That said, it's worth noting that battery life can vary drastically in its self-adjusting 'Auto' mode depending on the surface you're cleaning. The LED display on top of the vacuum gives you a rough estimate of the remaining battery life. Unfortunately, this vacuum takes quite a long time to charge, at just under four hours.
The Dyson Submarine has quite a few quality-of-life features. Its Fluffy Optic cleaner head features a built-in LED to help you see fine debris on hard floors. You can also choose between three different power modes: the energy-efficient 'Eco' mode, the high-suction 'Boost' mode, and the default 'Med/Auto' mode, which automatically adjusts the suction power depending on the surface you're cleaning as well as the amount of debris being sucked up. A suction gate on its Digital Motorbar head helps you further tweak its suction force on different surfaces. It also has an LED display that gives you a rough estimate of particle quantities being sucked into the dustbin, the current cleaning mode, and a live countdown of the estimated runtime.
The Submarine head doesn't have a suction inlet, so no debris is actually sucked up. When you connect this head to the wand, the vacuum will automatically recognize it and go into its mopping mode, in which water is dispensed from the clean water reservoir, and the wet roller spins.
It's noteworthy that older versions of this vacuum had a floorhead with a laser light, not an LED. This Laser Fluffy Optic head would get noticeably brighter than the Laser Slim Fluffy head that also used to be bundled with the Dyson V15 Detect; newer versions of both models are now bundled with Fluffy optic heads with LEDs instead. You can see how the two lights compare here and here.
The Dyson Submarine has a broad selection of tools and accessories. Most notably, there's the Submarine head, a mopping floorhead that's similar in purpose to the Samsung Spinning Sweeper attachment, as it's only meant to scrub away debris and has no inlet to allow debris to enter the vacuum. It's quite different in design, however. Unlike the Samsung vacuum's twin rotating pads, it has a single roller with separate water tanks for clean and dirty water instead of a smaller single clean water tank for dispensing water. As per the manufacturer, the clean tank can hold enough water to mop 110 square meters of space or 16 minutes of use; in practice, it has a measured capacity of 300 ml. It's also recommended that you only use the Submarine head when its water reservoir is filled since running it when it's empty can burn out the motor. You can pour detergent into the clean water tank, but make sure to dilute it first. It's important to note that his tool is only compatible with the V15s Submarine. While you can physically mount the Submarine head on a standard Dyson V15 Detect, the vacuum won't recognize the attachment.
The Dyson has other tools, like its Fluffy Optic head, which has an integrated LED light to help you see small particles on hard floors. There's also its conical turbo brush, which can clean pet hair from fabric-lined surfaces while resisting hair wraps, as well as a combination tool that features an upholstery tool and a sliding hard bristle brush. It also comes with a crevice tool for cleaning tight spots.
This vacuum delivers great performance on hard floors with its Fluffy Optic cleaner head. The soft roller collects a wide mix of debris on flat surfaces without issue, though it's worth noting that finer material like sand can be caught at the back of the head and dragged around when pulling the head backward. You'll also need to clean up some leftover debris along walls and in corners.
This vacuum delivers decent performance on high-pile carpet. It does a fantastic job of dealing with bulky material like cereal and clears the majority of medium-sized material like rice. However, compared to the similar Dyson V15 Detect, it's noticeably inferior when dealing with finer debris like sand embedded within deeper carpet fibers.
Performance on low-pile carpet is satisfactory. This vacuum can clear away the majority of large debris like cereal and medium-sized material like rice within a single pass. However, you might have to do another go-around to collect a few pulverized remains. As with its performance on high-pile carpet, this vacuum does a slightly worse job of collecting finer debris than the similar Dyson V15 Detect.
The Dyson V15s delivers very good suction force. The manufacturer advertises the motor to provide 240 AW of suction power, which is slightly more than the manufacturer's advertised 230 AW output of the Dyson V15 Detect. In the real world, however, you'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference in power between the two. In any case, this is a remarkably potent cordless vacuum, and it won't have much trouble sucking up debris on carpets or in deep crevices.
Like the standard Dyson V15 Detect, the Dyson Submarine is one of the most powerful cordless stick vacuums on the market, though the newer Dyson Gen5detect does put out a little more power. It'll have no trouble lifting away all kinds of debris.
This vacuum isn't too loud. When used with its soft roller floorhead on bare floors, it won't cause much of a disturbance. However, it is a little bit louder when used with its multi-surface brushroll, especially on carpets, where it automatically ramps up its suction power to the highest level when used in its 'Auto' mode.
The Dyson Submarine is rather quiet in its 'Mop' configuration, with a peak volume of 66.8 dBa on hard floors.
The Dyson Submarine is quite maneuverable, which isn't surprising considering it's all but identical to the Dyson V15 Detect. It can easily navigate cluttered spaces thanks to its rotating head. Due to its lightweight construction, you can maneuver over or around obstructions like electrical cords. Removing and attaching different tools and accessories is simple, and cleaning on top of furniture in its handheld configuration is simple. You need to crouch fairly low to the ground to clean under couches, tables, and other low-lying furniture thanks to its bottom-mounted handle and slightly protruding filter. Unfortunately, it could be hard to clean high-pile rugs due to the high suction power, which makes it hard to push around and can drag smaller carpets around if you don't stand on them to keep them in place. It's worth noting that its Submarine head exerts a noticeable amount of forward pull. However, it isn't especially fatiguing, considering you can only use this head in roughly 15-minute increments before refilling its water tank.
This vacuum does an excellent job of dealing with pet hair on upholstered furniture when used with its Hair Screw Tool in its 'Auto' power mode. It clears away the vast majority of hair within one or two passes, though some shorter strands might be left behind. If you want to get everything, you can always use the straight suction upholstery nozzle and set the vacuum to its high-power 'Boost' mode.
This vacuum's whole-machine filtration system results in good air filtration performance. That said, while the base V15s Detect Submarine does have a whole machine filtration system, only the V15s Detect Submarine Absolute model boasts a HEPA rating.
With its soft roller head, this vacuum does a great job of clearing away debris in crevices on hard floors. Its powerful motor and low-sitting floorhead allow it to remove debris in shallow and deep cracks slightly better than the Dyson V15 Detect when used with the older Laser Slim head. That said, if your floors are slightly uneven, you might have to use the edge for the floorhead to achieve a tight seal with the ground and clear away debris in cracks.
This vacuum's Submarine head does a good job of dealing with stains, even when using just clean water and no detergent. It'll clear away the vast majority of dried-on stains within two or three back-and-forth passes. However, you'll need to make slight lateral adjustments while going over the stain, as the roller doesn't seem to apply a consistent level of surface agitation across its width. You'll probably need to go over it a few more times to clear away everything. Thankfully, there isn't much water left behind after mopping, though the surface remains a little damp to the touch.
Unlike a true hybrid vacuum/mop like the BISSELL CrossWave Cordless Max, this vacuum can't suck up liquids into its dustbin. Instead, dirty water is pulled into a separate reservoir inside the floorhead through the rotation of its wet roller, with no actual suction. As such, it spreads a small amount of water around and leaves behind streaks, especially when pulling the vacuum backward instead of pushing it forward. The dirty water tank's small capacity and poor sealing are significant annoyances, too, since some water can spill out while you're on your way to empty it, as seen here.