Dyson introduces stronger, pricier new vacuums

British firm cautions about unauthorized battery replacement

By Yoon Sung-won

Dyson has released a new line of wireless vacuum cleaners with upgraded V8 digital motors and longer battery life in Korea, Thursday.

The British electronics maker, which is infamous for the heavy price tags of its products, has set even higher prices for the new products. A Dyson V8 Fluffy costs 1.39 million won ($1,171), compared to a V6 Fluffy HEPA worth 1.19 million won.

As Dyson is seeking to double its sales record of vacuum cleaners in Korea from an estimated 160,000 last year, the company said it will continue to emphasize technological advancement in promoting its products.

“We are focusing on providing new technologies instead of clinging to certain sales goals,” a Dyson spokeswoman said during a press conference in Seoul, Thursday. “We believe that we can attract more customers if we can provide them with greater technologies. We are sure that the new V8 stick vacuum cleaners can record more sales through customer satisfaction.”

Dyson said its new V8 digital motor supports up to 425 watts of output, compared to its predecessor V6’s 350 watts, and operates at speeds of up to 110,000 revolutions per minute.

“We have worked for the last 18 months to upgrade the V6 digital motor and redevelop the new V8,” Dyson’s engineering manager Pete Duckett said. “Adding a post-motor filter and new materials surrounding the main motor, we have improved it mechanically, electrically and with new software to reduce the noise level by 50 percent.”

Duckett said the new vacuum cleaners have a new aluminum-based battery which has double the energy density compared to the previous models. Thanks to this, the V8 models can operate for up to 40 minutes once fully charged, up from 20 minutes.

The engineer said, however, the new vacuum cleaners can run for only about seven minutes in the maximum suction power mode, which is a slight increase of about two minutes from the previous models. He said this is because the output has also been boosted.

Duckett voiced safety concerns about replacing batteries, which must be done as instructed by the manufacturer.

In Korea, some users of Dyson vacuum cleaners, especially those who have bought the devices directly from overseas, choose to replace worn out batteries at unofficial repair shops with unauthorized parts. These users have insisted that the 100,000 won that Dyson charges to replace a battery is too expensive.

“Our products are optimized through their hardware and software,” the Dyson engineering manager said. “If a user chooses to use unauthorized batteries, we cannot guarantee that the device will work without problems. In particular, it may cause serious danger.”

Meanwhile, Dyson said it will roll out its robot vacuum cleaner once it solves security issues, though it has not decided on an exact date. The company said, because connected devices collect data using sensors, it takes time to develop and establish back-end infrastructure to prevent security problems.

“We have already introduced robot vacuum cleaners to favorable responses in some markets,” Duckett said. “We are ready to satisfy our customers with our products. But we need more time to deal with security issues because our robot vacuum cleaners are connected devices.”