The floorhead of the Shark Stratos Cordless with Clean Sense IQ IZ862H houses the Odor Neutralizer Technology, Clean Sense IQ indicator and LED headlights (Image credit: Future) The Powered Lift-Away design takes this from an upright into a portable vacuum that can be held in one hand while still using the main floorhead in the other, giving excellent reach under low furniture. And for stairs or overhead cleaning, the attachments can be used in this mode to make cleaning easy.

Now the negative part... and it all has to do with shark customer support and product support in general. The handle features a display panel, and all the controls are conveniently placed here too. But we did find that when using it for longer periods of time, we had to keep repositioning our hand for comfort. If, like us, you’ve got small hands, you may find it uncomfortable if your grip is too close to the control panel for extended periods of time. To empty the 0.72qt / 0.68L dust cup, which is fitted with a seal to prevent dust and allergens escaping into the air, you detach the main unit from the wand, and release a catch on the cup to deposit the contents into a bin. Emptying the dust cup on any vacuum isn’t exactly fun and that’s why it’s important to consider the size of the dust bin on a new vacuum cleaner. Dyson cordless vacuums take the trophy here with bigger dust cups (the Dyson Outsize Absolute has a capacity of 0.5 gallons, whereas the Shark Pet Plus holds up to 0.085 gallons of dust and dirt. Type: Cordless Upright/cannister hybrid, detachable hose and wand effectively make it a cannister vacuum as wellThe Vertex does come with an additional Pet Multi-Tool attachment for removing pet hair, and has a larger dust canister at 1qt / 0.95L compared to 0.72qt / 0.68L, but if you don’t need the pet hair tool we can’t see the smaller canister being a deal-breaker for many people. The only time we got close to running down the battery was when we vacuumed the whole house on Clean Sense IQ mode, and then followed it up by using the Anti-Allergen Dusting Brush to clean the dust off four large window blinds, before using the duster crevice tool to clean floorboards in two rooms; even then we still had 20% left in the tank. Several replacement parts for the vacuum are available to buy from Shark, enabling you to prolong the life if anything breaks. Furthermore, the lengthy 5-year warranty covers manufacturing faults if you buy it from an authorized retailer. Shark Vertex Pro Cordless Vacuum: Price and availability It's worth noting that both companies deal exclusively in bagless vacuums with pretty robust filtration systems; most of Shark's and Dyson's full-size vacuums boast HEPA filters and allergen-sealed constructions. However, this design isn't the best option if you suffer from allergies. While allergens might be sealed inside the vacuums' dustbins as you clean, shaking out a dustbin to eliminate any accumulated debris can create a plume of dust and dirt, making for a far less hygienic means of debris disposal than tossing out a sealed dirtbag. Conclusion So if you’ve decided it’s time to invest in a powerful vacuum with cutting-edge tech, you may have noticed that although the vacuum cleaner market is crowded with brands, there are two big players that stand out. Shark and Dyson are both brands that regularly make it onto our lists of the best vacuumsand best cordless vacuumsand both have a wide array of models to choose from. So when comparing Shark vs Dyson how do you choose?

The Shark Stratos Cordless with Clean Sense IQ IZ862H helpfully has a MULTIflex wand which bends to increase the reach under furniture (Image credit: Future)

Shark Anti Hair Wrap Cordless Upright Vacuum Cleaner with PowerFins, Powered Lift-Away & TruePet ICZ300UKT price and availability The Shark Stratos Cordless with Clean Sense IQ IZ862H can be neatly folded for storage, and stays upright (Image credit: Future) Shark Stratos Cordless with Clean Sense IQ IZ862H performance

With all the controls on the handle, adjusting the suction power or floor type as you vacuum is effortless, however, we did have to keep repositioning our hand for comfort, the handle can be uncomfortable if your grip is too close to the control panel. The Shark Cordless vacuum has surpassed my hopes. It snaps together in under a minute right out of the box. It’s so much more convenient to not have a cord in the way while vacuuming,

There are three power levels; Eco, Deep Clean, and Boost. These are controlled easily via the controls on the handle and this is also where the vacuum can be switched between carpet and hard floor modes. Additionally, the LCD screen displays the percentage of charge left in the battery so you can see at a glance when it needs a recharge. We cleaned our floorboards with the duster brush tool, and when we needed to get into tight corners we changed the brush Tool into a crevice tool. The vacuum was light enough to use the crevice tool to clean the corners of our 10-foot ceilings and atop door frames. We were excited to use the Anti-Allergen Dusting Brush on our window blinds as they get very dusty if, however, it didn’t clean the blinds as well as we’d hoped. With up to 60 minutes run time and a bagless dirt cup that has ample capacity to clean the whole house, this vacuum is designed to make cleaning effortless. The floorhead can glide seamlessly between floor types and controls on the handle allow you to select hard floor or carpet as well as adjusting between one of the three power levels. The Anti Hair Wrap technology stops hair getting tangled in the brush rolls, meaning less maintenance.