Let’s face it: cordless vacuums are nothing new, which means they’re not always the easiest things to get excited about. That changes when it comes to brands that might not necessarily be known for a certain type of product, but which have branched into the sector in question.

Why? This type of manufacturer often approaches the design process with fresh eyes, adding innovative touches which simply don’t appear on models produced by brands that are closely associated with the type of gizmo in question.

For this reason, we were especially keen to get our hands on Samsung’s jet 90 pro VS20R9049S3 cordless vacuum, a powerful vacuum that comes with several features we haven’t seen on many other models, and which looks incredibly slick, too. Plus it ticks a lot of the boxes for features we recommend looking out for when choosing this type of gadget.

If you’re hoping to clean cars, for example, the fact that the jet 90 converts to a handheld option, thanks to its clever telescopic handle, will prove invaluable. The battery life and charging time are on a par with the rest of the field, too – it might be possible to give smaller properties a quick spruce-up with just a 10-minute blast, but a longer battery life (we’d suggest opting for 30 minutes minimum) makes for more seamless sucking sessions, and the jet 90 offer an impressive 60 minutes.

We always favour a bin capacity of at least 0.5l, where you’ll have enough room for all the dirt and dander you’ll suck up during multiple vacuuming sessions, but the jet 90 pro goes one better with 0.8l. It also boasts a digital display, and a smart docking station that allows it to stand up and charge. But at more than £500, it’s also towards the more expensive end of the cordless vacuum market – so is the Samsung jet 90 pro VS20R9049S3 worth the splurge?

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Samsung jet 90 pro VS20R9049S3 cordless vacuum

Buy now £509, Samsung.com

Cordless: Yes
Run time: 60 minutes
Weight: 2.8kg
Charging time (full battery): 210 minutes
Bin capacity: 0.8l
Rating: 9/10

Design

When most people think of a vacuum cleaner, Samsung isn’t typically the first brand to mind, which is partly why we were keen to take a closer look at what’s one of the brand’s most popular vacuums. Part of Samsung’s jet range – a range which the brand claims offers superior sucking along with maximum power – its killer feature is the digital invertor motor, which throws out 200W of sucking power, aided by 27 cyclones.

In a household with allergy sufferers, we were particularly interested in the so-called multi-layered filtration system, which (blurb alert) promises to capture 99.999 per cent of micro dust. Our interest was also piqued by the presence of a fully washable bin, which can literally be thrown in the dishwasher.

The power claims are significant given that it’s surprisingly light (weighing in at just 2.8kg) and offers an impressive 60 minutes of run time on a full battery, which takes 210 minutes to charge. Without naming names, our current recently-purchased vacuum, by a brand that could be regarded as a rival, weighs almost a kilogram more, takes less time to charge and has a longer run time.

Some other features we were more skeptical about, but still keen to test. These included the so-called Z Station (don’t ask us about the name, because we can’t for the life of us figure out how it resembles this particular letter), which allows the vacuum to be charged while standing up – simply dock it for a battery boost. And then there’s the telescopic handle, designed to increase the ease with which the shaft’s length could be extended.

Looks-wise, this is an incredibly slick vacuum. A fellow tester, after clapping eyes on it, commented that “it must be an expensive vacuum, because it looks expensive” – and we wholeheartedly agree. There’s less of the cheap-feeling plastic you’ll find on other vacuums, and vast expanses of gleaming metal give it a slick, space age-inspired look.

Performance

One of the things we noticed first when using the Samsung jet 90 prowas its lightness – at just 2.8kg we really noticed the difference when lugging this vacuum around, especially when it came to stairs. Sadly, the same can’t be said for the Z station – it’s surprisingly heavy, although it’s an added extra that can simply be stashed away if not needed. That said, depending on the size of your house, having it available for a quick mid-session charge could well come in handy.

There’s no denying the brilliance of the controls at the top of the shaft, where a single button (rather than a trigger) allowed us to scroll through three power settings: min, mid, max and wet. These settings are displayed on a small LED panel, and the hi-tech, compact design of the control panel brings to mind a games console.

The attachments include an ultra-compact mini-motorised tool and a turbo action brush for deep cleans of high traffic areas. The main motorised head has a lower profile than most, which made getting under low pieces of furniture a breeze. And there’s the spinning sweeper brush – a brush with two round flat discs to which microfibre cloths can be attached using Velcro (two circular cloths are provided). These are designed for use when the vacuum is in the wet mode we referred to. It’s a suction-free mode that Samsung says will allow you to use your vacuum to mop up floor spills, although we also found that its mopping capabilities could be enhanced by simply dampening the two cloths and using them to give our floors a quick spruce-up.

Whichcever setting you choose, you don’t have to crank up the suction to maximum to feel the power – this is one seriously powerful sucker. It’s hard to judge the effectiveness of the filter over a short period of time, due to the time allergens take to wreak their havoc, but with sucking power like this, we’ve no doubt that even the tiniest of dust and dander particles don’t stand a chance.

More tangible benefits include practical features. We loved how easy it was to remove the filter (which is located in the center of the bin) with a quick twist, and the same ease of use applies to the bin, which can be removed in the same way – a quick twist and the bin (with the filter inside) slips out. We also retract our skepticism about the telescopic shaft – being able to simply slide out extra length (there are three length settings) made us realise just how much time we’ve spent fiddling around with three-part nozzles, and a telescopic nozzle takes up less space when it’s stowed away, too.

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The verdict: Samsung jet 90 pro VS20R9049S3 cordless vacuum

We won’t beat around the bush: we loved the Samsung jet 90 pro VS20R9049S3, and we only hope to see more vacuum models from the brand in the very near future. Its superior sucking makes it a brilliant option for households with pets in our opinion, and we loved the space-saving features, such as the telescopic handle, as well as the unexpected extra of the spinning sweeper brush, to deal with small spills.

And then there’s its slick, futuristic look. We’ll leave the last word to an unnamed testing observer who commented, when he saw the stand that allows the vacuum to be charged while standing up, that he loved how easy it would be to put our vacuum on display. And trust us: although there aren’t many vacuums we’d want to display, this one is certainly the exception.

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Samsung jet 90 pro VS20R9049S3 vacuum: A jet-powered miracle machine or a cordless con?

From design to performance, we put the high-tech brand’s cleaning model to the test