Shark PowerDetect Speed Review: Powerful Performance, Lower Price

The Shark PowerDetect Speed cordless vacuum is designed to be a powerful option for those who don't want to spend Dyson money. It's not trying to be one of the ultra-premium uprights that cost as much as a small appliance haul. Instead, it slots into the mid-to-upper tier, aiming to give you serious cleaning power. At around $500 for the version of the vacuum I tested, it's positioned as a value-flagship — the kind of vacuum that gets you most of the way to the top of the market for a good deal less.

The PowerDetect Speed is available in a few variants. The cheapest you can get is simply called the Shark PowerDetect Speed, but the model I'm reviewing is the PowerDetect Speed Clean & Empty, which comes with a docking station that charges the vacuum and has a dustbin. With only a $70 difference between the models, most buyers are likely looking at that version.

Given its price point, you might be wondering what you lose by going for the PowerDetect Speed over similar models from the likes of Dyson. I've been testing the Shark PowerDetect Speed cordless vacuum for a while now to find out just how well it really performs.

Overall, I quite like the design of the Shark PowerDetect Speed, both when it comes to the vacuum itself and the docking station. The vacuum weighs under 8 pounds, and it feels agile and well-balanced in the hand. It's not quite the lightest cordless stick vacuum out there, but it is lighter than plenty of alternatives, including some of Dyson's models. For most people, the Shark PowerDetect Speed will be more than comfortable enough to hold and use while cleaning.

The vacuum isn't the most premium when it comes to build quality and design, but I never found it to look or feel cheap. It is built primarily from molded plastic rather than metal, but that helps keep the weight down anyway. It's available in a few different colors, so you can choose one that looks best in your home. I'm using the Harbor Slate model.

The standout design feature is Shark's "MultiFlex" hinged wand. It bends partway along its length, which lets you clean under low furniture without kneeling down too far. It's a cool feature, and it makes cleaning under beds and sofas much easier than it has any right to be. That said, it can feel a little awkward at times — bending the wand mid-clean isn't always as smooth as you'd want — but the upside far outweighs the occasional clunkiness, and, of course, if you find it too awkward, you don't have to use it.

Up front is the main floorhead, which combines a soft roller with a bristle/fin roller. This is what allows the vacuum to handle fine dust and larger debris on both hard floors and carpets without having to swap heads. The floorhead also has forward blue lighting to expose fine dust in dark corners and on hard surfaces. The light worked pretty well, actually. I'm not entirely sure how much better it is than a standard white light, but it did illuminate plenty of dust on a surface I would have sworn was already clean.

The Clean & Empty dock is a nice touch, too. It's a bagless, freestanding storage hub that empties and charges the vacuum when you drop it back on the dock, and it can hold up to roughly 45 days of debris, though this will obviously vary dramatically. The ability to just set the vacuum on the dock and have it empty itself is great, and it cuts way down on how often you're dealing with dust directly — which is a necessity, given the bagless design. The catch is the footprint. The dock is bulky and a bit awkward in shape, which can feel intrusive in a smaller apartment compared to a simple wall-mounted charger. If you've got a reasonable place to put it, it's a non-issue. I kept it in the garage and had no trouble finding a little spot for it. In a cramped apartment, it's something to think about — and you may want to opt for the non-dock variant.

The PowerDetect Speed also converts to a handheld mode, and that works pretty well for spot cleaning. Where it falls short is the accessory bundle, which is minimal — just a combination crevice/dusting brush and an upholstery tool. A spinning brush for handheld mode, or really any additional niche tools, would have been nice at this price. Not only that, but I found that with any rigorous use, the dusting brush fell off. I like the fact that you can take the actual brush off for cleaning, but I wish it was held on a little tighter.

There's also a colorful display on the vacuum that lets you toggle between three suction modes and shows a basic battery indicator. The features feel a little basic, but honestly, I can't imagine what else I'd want on there anyway. Right below the screen, you'll find two buttons: one of which powers the vacuum on and off and one to adjust the suction modes.

The PowerDetect Speed uses a washable HEPA filter, which delivers excellent long-term air quality. The catch is that washable means manual washing — you'll need to follow the cleaning cycles in the manual and let the filter dry fully, or you risk odors building up. It's a small, ongoing chore, but a worthwhile one if air quality matters to you.

Throughout my time testing it, I found the Shark PowerDetect Speed to perform very well. This was true for both hard floors and carpeted areas, but hard-floor performance is where the PowerDetect Speed shines.

Generally, I found the main cleaning head to pick up the vast majority of debris on hard floors, and anything that it missed was easily picked up with a second pass. The UV light revealed plenty of dirt and dust that I would have otherwise missed completely. While that did mean I had to spend more time cleaning, at least I know my floors are cleaner. After all, cleaning the floor isn't all about what you can see; it's about what's actually there.

One thing that Shark markets about this vacuum is the fact that it has full cleaning power in both forward and reverse motion, and that can help cut down on the amount of cleaning time. I did indeed find that it was perfectly good at cleaning up dirt and debris when I pulled the vacuum back, not just when I pushed it forward.

The vacuum has Shark's PowerDetect system, which adjusts suction depending on how much dirt it detects, what surface you're going over, and so on. I never really had to think much about it, and it seemed to pick up dirt and debris without issue, even when moving between carpet and hard floors frequently.

I also found the vacuum to be good at avoiding hair buildup on the main brush, which isn't a small feat when people with thicker, long hair live in your home. I'm constantly cleaning hair out of vacuums, but I found that I didn't have to do so all that much with this vacuum. It's not perfect — you're still going to find some hair tangled up — but it gets closer to eliminating the issue than the vast majority of vacuums I've tried.

I did find that cleaning edges with the main brush wasn't the best. It wasn't terrible at getting dust and dirt, at least near edges, and often picked up lighter debris from those edges. Sometimes, you'll just have to make another pass with the crevice tool, which, of course, is what the crevice tool is there for. But I do wish the main brush was slightly better at cleaning edges in the first place so that I didn't have to switch tools and go over edges I'd already vacuumed.

In most day-to-day use, you'll find the battery life on the Shark PowerDetect Speed to be perfectly adequate. But in some situations, it might run out of juice sooner than you expect.

In Eco mode, the Shark can stretch to around 60 minutes of run time, which is perfectly respectable for a vacuum of this performance level — though not the best on the market. Auto mode is where most people will spend their time, and in that mode, you're looking at roughly 30 to 40 minutes of battery life. That will vary depending on how much of your cleaning is on carpet versus hard floors, as the vacuum increases suction power on carpets.

Maximum power mode is the weak point. In real-world use, it drains the battery completely in about 12 to 13 minutes, which is pretty fast — especially given how long the vacuum takes to charge back up. For small-to-medium homes or quick daily cleans, none of this matters much. For larger homes, or those who like to vacuum the whole house in one go on high power, you'll feel the limit, and you'll likely run out of power before you finish the job. The auto-empty dock helps here by folding charging into your normal routine — you drop the vacuum back, it empties and charges, and it's ready next time without you thinking about it. But a full charge takes some time. Basically, don't expect to be able to do long cleans on full power mode. You should stick to auto mode for most general cleaning.

In terms of noise, the vacuum itself is moderately loud, though the maximum RPM suction modes are a bit louder than the average cordless stick. The bigger noise event is the auto-empty station, which fires off a short, intense burst when it transfers debris. It's brief, but it's louder, so if the dock lives near a bedroom or a quiet workspace, plan accordingly. Again, I had the docking station in the garage, so this didn't really matter all that much for me.

The Shark PowerDetect Speed offers a good balance of high power, deep cleaning, intuitive auto suction features, and handy extras like the auto-empty dock. That's all at a price that's a fair bit less than the flagship options from the likes of Dyson.

There are some cut corners to hit that low price point, though. For example, the included accessories are a little limited, so you might find that you have to get creative, especially in handheld mode. But the PowerDetect Speed gets all of the basics right with powerful suction, extra features to help clean under furniture, and even an appealing design.

The competition

There is, of course, plenty of competition in the handheld vacuum space, and the model you should choose depends on your priorities. Options like the Dyson V15 Detect are more performant than the Shark PowerDetect Speed, but they're also far more expensive and don't have features like the self-emptying dock.

For most who want a cordless vacuum at around $500 or less, the Shark PowerDetect Speed is the way to go. It performs well and has helpful, convenient features. If you're willing to spend a lot more, then go for one of Dyson's newer models. But when it comes to raw value, it's hard to beat this one.

Should I buy the Shark PowerDetect Speed?

Yes, if you want near-flagship cleaning and a self-emptying base station without paying peak premium prices.