Wyze Handheld Review

The following review of the Wyze Handheld vacuum assesses every detail and answers every question one will want to know before making a purchase. We cover everything from hard-to-reach spots to battery life and attachments. Read on for the details of our investigation.

Performance Comparison

Dust and Dirt

The dust and dirt metric hosts four tests covering a range of common, challenging clean-up areas. Specifically, we assess the vacuum on surfaces, baseboards, outdoor debris (dried mud), and corners. The compact, power-deficient Wyze Handheld vacuum delivered a below-average performance with a particularly bad showing in the outdoor dirt evaluation.

The Wyze's surface dusting performance was so-so, requiring multiple passes due to the low airflow. However, the medium-stiff bristles help mitigate the lack of suction. The baseboard test also rendered surprisingly lackluster results, requiring testers to adopt awkward angles for the best outcomes. As for dried mud, the Wyze was almost completely useless. In a final showing of its poor design and limited utility, this unit does not fit well into corners.

Tough Messes

The performance of the Wyze did not improve when we tested it on tough messes. We use crushed oatmeal, flour, and Mini-Wheats on couch cushions and car floor mats in this metric. Such material and surfaces are tough terrain for any vacuum and are particularly challenging for the Wyze. In the oatmeal on couch cushion test, the unit fails entirely. Surprisingly, it made up some ground when cleaning the same material on the floor mat.

The Wyze gave up any gains it made with the oatmeal test cleaning flour off car mats — after several passes, the vacuum left a visible white residue. The Mini-Wheat tests yielded similarly inconsistent results, demonstrating that this unit isn't a good choice if cleaning bigger messes is your objective. Finally, we measured the airflow of the Wyze at 728 feet per minute at the nozzle end. This flow rate is quite low compared to the other units in the class.

Hard-to-Reach Areas

When we think of the primary benefit of a handheld vacuum, cleaning those areas that a traditional upright vacuum struggles to reach is the first to come to mind. Namely, these are areas such as under and around car seats, window slides, and under furniture like a nightstand. Despite the Wyze's compact, cylindric design and attachments, it delivered inconsistent results.

The Wyze has several attachments that allow it to dig into hard-to-access areas such as the space between a car seat and the console. The hose extension, for example, reaches up to 30 inches under a nightstand. However, the unit did not keep up the performance when cleaning window slides. This result was partly due to the rigid body of the unit that limits penetration when put up against a vertical surface.

Battery Life

The run time on the Wyze is on the short end of the spectrum at just 11 minutes, 49 seconds. Fortunately, the unit charges with a USB-C cable, making it convenient to power up in the car, home, or shop. We also liked that the unit has a three-light battery charge indicator, so you know when to plug it in before you set it to a task.

Convenience

Despite the compact design and lightweight (1.2 pounds) of the Wyze, it isn't the most convenient. This outcome is due to the high pitch noise produced by the unit, the lack of both tool storage and charging stand, and its extremely small dust bin. The filter is also prone to clogging only after a short runtime — an outcome exacerbated by fine debris like flour. However, emptying the bin is relatively straightforward, though it does require two hands to open the bin.

Pet Hair

In the last set of evaluations, we look at the Wyze's capacity for cleaning pet hair from couch cushions and automotive carpets. Surprisingly, the Wyze gave an above-average performance in this area. The one downside is that cleaning hair fills the bin rapidly. In reality, if one cleaned a whole couch or car of pet hair, it would require emptying the bin multiple times. Additionally, hair cleaning requires the use of max suction, and this will drain the battery rather quickly. Despite these caveats, the Wyze performed admirably given its low airflow and compact size.

Should You Buy the Wyze Handheld?

Given its many limitations, we are not big fans of the Wyze Handheld vacuum. Regardless, the vacuum may be a good fit for those that need a light-duty device for their car or around their desk. If you're looking for a bit more power, consider some of the higher-scoring products in our review. You may also appreciate some of the other top-ranked vacuum cleaners out there.

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