Review: Samsung Bespoke AI Jet Ultra 400W

When it comes to stick vacuums, there’s one area where you can tell the difference. It’s all about charging and storage. The cheapest vacuum cleaners have a plastic bracket that you screw to the wall and then snap on the charging cable. It works, but it feels cheap and you have nowhere to store all the accessories. The middle ground is a real stand where you can hang the vacuum cleaner to charge and then attach the accessories to the stand. And then there’s the luxury solution, which is a charging station that also empties the vacuum cleaner’s dust into a dust bag. The Bespoke AI Jet Ultra belongs in the latter category. No expense has been spared here.

In the box

There’s no shortage of accessories either. In addition to the large charging and emptying station, we find the motor part of the vacuum cleaner and, for once, two batteries – one smaller and lighter and one larger and heavier – as well as a charging dock so you can have one battery charging while the other is in use. This is handy for larger homes. We also get two floor nozzles: the Active Dual Brush, which has both a brush and a soft roller for all surfaces, and the Slim LED Brush+, which is more flexible but is only made for hard floors.

The motorised Pet Tool+ is designed for upholstered furniture. We also get a dust nozzle and a narrow nozzle to access tight spaces, as well as the Flex Tool that allows them to be angled to fit on top of cabinets. And a separate stand for the accessories. We would have preferred the accessories to be attached to the station, but a stand is better than having them loose in the cleaning cabinet. You also get a few extra dust bags.

Practical use

One of the things we complained about with the predecessor Bespoke Jet AI was that it was too heavy to lug around. Fortunately, the successor is 0.4kg lighter and we didn’t find the weight bothersome in normal use. The nozzles are easy to access, especially the smaller floor nozzle with the two-piece joint. Vacuuming on high shelves and cupboards is even easier thanks to the Flex Tool. We also like the fact that the machine has a telescopic tube so you can adjust the length. This is actually not very common among stick vacuums.

The selection of nozzles is good and we never once found that we were missing any accessories. Robust buttons make it easy to change accessories. On the other hand, it would have been nice if you could set the vacuum cleaner down to pause instead of having to put it on the floor or lean it against something. Or that the flexible joint could also be used for regular nozzles to make it easier to vacuum under furniture. We’ve seen such features in the competition. The LED lights clearly show grains of sand but are not as good at showing dust as Dyson’s laser lights.

Control and app

At a suitable distance from the handle is the button to adjust the suction power from minimum to maximum in four steps or to select AI mode. The machine then recognises your surface and adjusts both suction power and brush speed. The screen displays the selected mode, remaining battery life and status messages.

You can also connect the vacuum cleaner to the SmartThings app, which Samsung uses for all its smart home and connected appliances. It’s convenient to have everything in one app, especially because it includes energy metering so you can get a good overview. However, the app doesn’t do much. You can see how much the vacuum cleaner has been used and how long it’s been since it was emptied of dust. The app is also used to read the user manual and download updates, but these don’t feel like critical features.

Vacuuming

Thanks to the increased vacuum power of 400 watts, which is 40 per cent more than its predecessor, the machine is really powerful. We’re talking about vacuuming power on par with traditional battery-free vacuum cleaners. After the obligatory “spilled ground coffee” test, Dyson’s laser revealed that there was not a single grain left on the floor. The Slim LED Brush+, which specialises in hard floors, took care of that. But the Active Dual Brush also performed very well, combining the soft roller of the floor nozzle with a brush. It also performed better than average on our smooth carpets, which tend to get stuck in the nozzles.

The small furniture nozzle did a great job removing hair from the favourite chairs of the long-haired cats. The nozzle also works well for car seats and the boot for removing sand and grit. We also really liked the Flex Tool, which allows you to reach up and vacuum on top of cupboards without having to grab a chair or ladder.

Cleaning

And now we’ve come to what justifies the high price. Not having to stand in a cloud of dust and shake the dust bin into the rubbish bin makes everything much more pleasant. Not only that, if you’re allergic to dust, it’s almost a necessity. Instead, you just put the vacuum cleaner in the station when you’re done vacuuming. All the dust is sucked into the bag, which only needs to be changed every few months. The vacuum cleaner is then diagnosed and the charging process starts. An LED light shows in colour how far it has come.

The mouthpieces have no major problems with hair getting stuck, and should that be the case, it’s easy to take them apart to clean them. Samsung should also be praised for the fact that you can remove all filters from the dust container and back and wash them under the tap. No unnecessary and expensive filter changes here. It’s also possible to remove the wheels from the mouthpieces if hair gets stuck in them, which is often not possible with competitors.

Conclusion

Samsung’s already excellent top model has got a significant upgrade. The new motor provides record-breaking vacuum power, yet the machine has become considerably lighter. An impressive combination. The nozzles are cleverly designed and, combined with the vacuum power, provide very effective cleaning. Thanks to the extra battery and separate charger, you can also clean for an unusually long time. The vacuum cleaner is also easy to take apart for cleaning, and the filters can be washed under the tap. Best of all, however, is the station that both charges the vacuum cleaner and empties the dust into a vacuum cleaner bag that rarely needs to be changed. Perfect for dust allergy sufferers. We question the usefulness of AI, but otherwise the only complaint is the high price.