Add Samsung to the list of manufacturers that have entered the premium stick vacuum market. The Bespoke Jet AI is Samsung’s top-of-the-line cordless stick vacuum, and it comes with all the bells and whistles you’d expect from a premium home appliance. Plus, if you buy into Samsung’s Bespoke line of products, you can match it with other home appliances like the Bespoke Refrigerator.
But does the Bespoke Jet AI justify its high-end price tag? We tried out Samsung’s top stick vacuum for nearly a month and put it through its paces during our testing process. Here’s what you need to know about the Samsung Bespoke Jet AI.
Samsung’s high-end stick vacuum offers maximum convenience, thanks to features like its automatic power level detection and included auto-emptying station. The Bespoke isn’t without some feature oversights, but if you’re willing to pay extra and need a cleaning station, you’ll get one of the top stick vacuums on the market.??
What we liked about it
Lightweight and great usability
Although the Bespoke’s design covers the expected bases for a stick vacuum, Samsung nailed many of the major and smaller details. At only 6.3 pounds, the Bespoke is one of the lightest high-end stick vacuums on the market — we had no problems pushing the vacuum around hard flooring or using it in handheld mode to clean a car.
The Samsung’s body is mainly built from matte black plastic, which gives it a nice sense of heft and a sharp appearance. On the control panel, you’ll find a dedicated power button, a screen that displays battery life information and toggles to set the Bespoke’s suction level. We also liked the Bespoke’s telescopic vacuum pipe, which extends to around 2.5 feet in length. Combined with Samsung’s crevice tool — which is also extendable — we could easily clean dust and cobwebs from ceiling corners.
The Active Dual Brush head, which is designed for carpet and hardwood surfaces, handles splendidly, thanks to its full articulation. We easily got the Bespoke flush to the ground to vacuum under bed frames and a sofa. You can also connect the Bespoke to the Samsung SmartThings mobile app for additional diagnostic information. While it’s far from essential, it’s an easy way to check for information like the Samsung Bespoke’s status and dust bag level.
All-in-One Clean Station is a huge plus
The Bespoke’s most notable feature is its All-in-One Clean Station, which is a dock that charges and empties the vacuum after every use. At around 34 inches tall and 12 inches wide at the base, the Station takes up some space, but it’s slickly designed with a textured and modern black finish that helps it fit into a living room or kitchen area.
By itself, the Bespoke sports a 0.13-gallon dustbin that’s on the lighter side compared to comparable high-end stick vacuums. But the Station also includes removable 0.5-gallon bags that bolster the Bespoke’s cleaning capacity. To empty the Bespoke, you’ll simply dock it into the Station, and it’ll automatically empty the dustbin’s contents into the dust bag. The Station is a huge benefit if you’re regularly cleaning grimier areas in your home and you want to avoid accidentally touching dirt or dead bugs.
Solid cleaner performance
The Bespoke has enough cleaning power to handle spot and deep cleans without issues. Throughout our cleaning tests, we had no problems tackling dusty bedrooms, hardwood kitchen floors and car seats with the Bespoke. The Bespoke also pulled a surprising amount of dirt from a living room rug without issue.
The Bespoke’s cleaning versatility comes from Samsung’s AI system, which automatically adjusts the vacuum’s suction level depending on the type of surface you’re vacuuming. The system works more broadly than granularly, as it could detect when we shifted from an area rug to a hardwood floor, but stayed at the same gear when we switched from a tiled entrance area to a dusty stairwell.
Still, the AI system helped us get the most out of the Bespoke’s battery life. The Bespoke has a battery life of up to 100 minutes on paper, but as with most cordless stick vacuums, this depends on factors like your cleaning attachments and level of dirt. The Bespoke hit around one hour and 40 minutes in handheld mode but dropped down to around 30 minutes at Medium speed with the attached brush head. But thanks to Samsung’s AI mode, we had no problems knocking out multiple rooms in a single cleaning pass.
What we didn’t like about it
Active Dual Brush could handle better
The Bespoke’s 9-inch wide Active Dual Brush head combines a hard floor soft roller with a bristle roller for carpets. It also lights up to help you catch hairs and dust on your hard surface floor. We understand Samsung’s reasoning behind the 2-in-1 tool — it’s easier to have one tool for any surface instead of having to constantly swap heads.
Although we had no problems using the Active Dual Brush on hard surfaces and low-pile carpet, it took some extra elbow grease to push the Dual Brush across a medium-pile living room rug. We had to keep the vacuum at around a 45-degree angle to our carpet, which is a much lower handling angle compared to a traditional vacuum.
No place for accessories
The Bespoke includes accessories like the Active Dual Brush, a combo cleaning tool, a pet hair tool and an extender crevice tool. However, there’s no place to store them on the Cleaning Station.
Instead, you’ll have to keep any unconnected accessories in a spare drawer or shelf. Previously, Samsung sold an optional accessory cradle with the standard Bespoke vacuum, but now, the cradle is no longer being sold by the company. The Bespoke’s lack of accessory storage isn’t a deal breaker, but considering the Bespoke’s premium price point, it’s an annoying oversight from Samsung.
Dustbin emptying can be loud
When you place the Bespoke on the Clean Station, the motor will run three times to empty out the dustbin, and it’ll run an additional time for diagnostics if you have the vacuum head attached. Occasionally, long hairs would get caught when the Clean Station closed the Bespoke’s lid, but it consistently deposited dust and dirt into the Station’s dust bag.
That said, the Clean Station can get noisy. We clocked the Clean Station’s emptying volume at around 80 decibels, which is comparable to a garbage disposal or food processor. You can pause the Clean Station’s deposit cycle if you don’t want to empty the Bespoke, but if you have young kids or older family members, make sure to plan your cleaning sessions around their naps.
How it compares
At $1,000, the Bespoke Jet AI firmly sits in the premium stick vacuum tier. Within the Samsung family, the standard Bespoke Jet costs $300 less than the Jet AI, but you’ll have a weaker motor, shorter battery life and no automated power switching.
Dyson’s Gen5detect and Gen5outsize are also direct competitors with the Jet AI. Both vacuums have larger dustbins versus the Bespoke, and Dyson’s Fluffy Optic hard surface head has a better sensor light compared to the Bespoke’s Dual Brush. But Samsung has the All-in-One Clean Station for hands-free dirt removal. Dyson’s vacuums have contact-free dustbins, but you still have to physically empty them into a trash bin.
Bottom line
The Samsung Bespoke Jet AI does everything you’d expect for a top-of-the-line cordless stick vacuum. From performance to features, the Bespoke has the cleaning horsepower and versatility to be your home’s main vacuum cleaner. We’d recommend the Bespoke if price isn’t a concern and if you consider a cleaning dock to be a must-have feature.
