By Chris Nicholls
MALMESBURY, ENGLAND: Dyson in the UK has unveiled two new downsized vacuum cleaners designed for smaller homes and apartments, the DC22 ‘Baby’ and the DC24 upright – a compact version of the ‘Ball’ model.
The new smaller Ball model weighs 5.4 kilos and can be compressed to 75 cm in height. The Baby is one third smaller than current canister models, at 29 cm tall and 40 cm wide.
The DC22 ‘Baby’ has been on sale in Japan, known for its small houses and preference for canister models, since late October last year, but the new, smaller DC24 Ball has yet to be released in any market. Both machines will go on sale in the UK in March.
Company founder James Dyson said he expected a trend towards smaller vacuums in the future.
"I would suspect people will gravitate towards the smaller vacuum cleaners if they have got all the technology and if they are as powerful and effective as a big one,” he said.
"There may be people who still want big ones because they have got enormous houses.
"But I think we would expect to see a trend towards these smaller ones."
Both new machines are manufactured in Malaysia.
Dyson Australia was unable to confirm any release dates for the two new machines locally.