Shark launches three-in-one PowerDetect Transformer vacuum

In the United States, the Transformer is already available for $529.99, TechRadar said. The UK list price is £479.99, and no details of Australian availability have been announced.

The idea behind the Transformer is to offer several cleaning tools in one package, according to TechRadar. It can serve as a deep-cleaning upright for carpets and hard floors, a stick vacuum for quick jobs, and a handheld for high, hard-to-reach areas or inside a car. To keep the machine light in stick and handheld mode, it uses a relatively small dust chamber set just below the handle. For larger cleaning jobs, a bigger dust collector snaps onto the front, giving the machine the capacity of a normal upright.

The PowerDetect system adjusts suction based on dirt levels, floor type, user movement and the cleaner's proximity to skirting boards; Reveal uses illumination to expose dust that might otherwise be missed. The Transformer also has an auto-empty function that transfers dirt from the smaller bin to the larger one with one click, HEPA filtration with an anti-allergen seal, odor neutralization, a no-hair-wrap system that removes hair from the brushroll, and DuoClean Detect brushes designed to collect dirt, debris and hair on carpet, tile and wood floors without switching heads.

SharkNinja's senior vice president and managing director for the EMEA region, James Kitto, was quoted by TechRadar as saying: “The upright vacuum hasn't meaningfully changed in decades. With Transformer, we've rethought what a vacuum can do by removing unnecessary complexity and creating a system that adapts to real life.”

TechRadar described the Transformer as essentially a smarter version of its current favorite Shark vacuum, the PowerDetect Cordless Stick, and noted that the Transformer costs £20 less in the UK. The publication said the Transformer could replace the Cordless Stick as its top pick.