Shark NV352 vs Dyson Ball Animal 3: The second one is the winner, and I’d say it’s expensive for good reasons.
Overall, suction power is the main selling point of the Dyson Ball Animal 3. It can give your bare floors and carpets a new look with ease, although it’s heavy and a bit difficult to maneuver. Given the price that Dyson is asking for this model, it should be equipped with features like LED headlights or automatic cord management.
The Shark NV352 is the perfect choice for budget-oriented neat freaks. It’s not superbly powerful like the Dyson Ball Animal 3, but strong enough to help ease your daily cleaning burden. Cleaning hard-to-reach areas is where it shines since it can be converted to a portable vacuum, which the winner cannot.
Shark NV352 vs Dyson Ball Animal 3: Comparison Chart
Shark NV352 vs Dyson Ball Animal 3: Differences
The Dyson Ball Animal 3 wins 2-1 and draws one against the Shark NV352. The former has strong suction, allowing it to effectively remove debris of all sizes and pet hair. Sometimes it’s hard to push on the carpet, but you can adjust its suction to deal with this. Other pros are the longer power cord, the larger dust tanks, and more.
Cleaning Performance
Winner: Dyson Ball Animal 3
The Dyson Ball Animal 3 has a powerful motor that can capture anything. During testing, it sucked up a good amount of (if not nearly all) small-to-large debris and hair on both my hard floor and carpet. My floor looked revived, and my carpet had nice carpet lines again, and on top of that, it never lost suction.
Honestly, the Dyson Ball Animal 3’s excellent cleaning performance didn’t raise my eyebrows because the Ball Animal 2 inherently did a great job. What sets this version apart from its predecessor is that its floorhead was redesigned to minimize hair wrap.
Also, one of the biggest minuses of the Ball Animal 2 is its strong, non-adjustable suction, making it difficult to pull and push on the carpet. And Dyson cleared this deal breaker by adding a slider to the floorhead of the Ball Animal 3, allowing you to customize the suction power whenever you find it hard to maneuver the machine on the carpet.
The Shark NV352 also has great pickup power. It has two settings for vacuuming, and both work excellently. While this vacuum didn’t offer as excessively strong suction as the Dyson Ball Animal 3, it could still easily remove debris of all sizes that its cleaner head encountered on my hard floor and carpet. Of course, it took me an extra pass to clean up everything.
What sets the NV352 slightly behind the Dyson Ball Animal 3 in this category is that its cleaner head wasn’t specifically designed to remove tangled hair. It was able to send a large amount of pet hair and short hair into its cup canister, but a large amount of long hair ended up on its roller. So I had to regularly remove tangled hair by hand, or the cleaning performance of the machine would degrade over time.
Design
Winner: Tie
Dimensions and Weight
The dimensions of the Shark NV352 vs Dyson Ball Animal 3 are 45.5 x 11.4 x 15 inches and 42.13 x 11.1 x 15.24 inches, respectively. They are quite bulky, making it difficult for them to reach tight areas and under stuff (in the upright configuration). But they make the most of their large footprint by providing onboard storage for a few accessories. That said, you’ll still need to store the rest of the accessories somewhere else. If only these machines came with a bag for this purpose.
In terms of weight, the Shark NV352 can become lighter by switching to the “Lift Away” configuration. But the Dyson Ball Animal 3 doesn’t have this nice feature, so I just mention their weight in the default upright configuration to ensure I’m comparing apples to apples. The Shark NV352 weighs 12.5 lbs, while the Dyson Ball Animal 3 is significantly heavier at 17.46 lbs.
The NV352 is lighter in weight. Combined with the swivel steering, carrying it around is like a stroll in the park. The swivel steering feature is fun and helpful but can be annoying for a beginner since there’s a learning curve here. It has a narrow base while its top is heavy, so it can tip over if not sitting correctly.
On the flip side, the Dyson Ball Animal 3 is on the heavy side. This machine has a ball-shaped mechanism that is expected to make it easier to maneuver, but it is still not suitable for elderly people or those who have arthritis in their wrists/hands, etc. Combined with the insanely strong suction, pushing it on high-pile carpets can make many users sweat.
Range
Now is the time the Dyson Ball Animal 3 takes the lead. It comes with a 35-foot power cord, which offers a better range than the NV352, which has a 25-foot cord. To my mind, the NV352’s cord is too short, and I highly recommend buying an extension cord so you can move this purple vacuum anywhere without switching between outlets frequently.
The power cords of both are non-retractable, and I was slightly disappointed that a model as expensive as the Dyson Ball Animal 3 lacked this nice-to-have feature. Wrapping their cords manually is not difficult or time-consuming but is quite tedious.
Dust Cup Capacity And Filter
Winner: Dyson Ball Animal 3
The Dyson Ball Animal 3 takes another point thanks to its 1.28-quart dust cup, which is slightly larger than the 1.1-quart tank of the NV352. Emptying these dust canisters is also as easy as pie. Just ensure they cover the trash can when you do this, and the dust and dirt will just fall straight into the trash can instead of spreading around.
They are generally somewhat large and do not need to be emptied too often, but they are a bit narrow. Hence, I had to remove trapped dust and fur/hair several times by hand.
Both the Shark NV352 vs Dyson Ball Animal 3 come with washable HEPA filters, which can trap up to 99.9% of dust and allergens. Not only will they help improve the air quality in your home, but they will also reduce recurring costs, and Mother Nature will be grateful to you for using these washable filters as well.
Alternate Configuration
Winner: Shark NV352
The Shark NV352, like many of its siblings, can be used as a semi-handle vacuum thanks to something called “Lift-Away.” This nifty feature will come into play whenever you need to clean stairs, bookshelves, or hard-to-reach areas. Just detach the canister from the floorhead, and you will have a portable machine to reach anywhere.
The Dyson Ball Animal is only used in its bulky upright configuration. To clean stairs, under furniture, or on bookshelves, you can use its long hose along with an attachment and leave it completely upright. In this state, its body is prone to flipping, just remember that!
Quick Rundown Of Dyson Ball Animal 3
- The best cleaning performance of any upright de-tangling vacuum¹
- De-tangling technology. Automatically clears wrapped hair from the brush bar as you clean.
- Ball technology. Navigate around obstacles with a simple turn of the wrist. For easy, precise maneuvering around your home.
- 3 cleaning modes. Select the right cleaning mode for the right task. Optimized for a variety of tasks, for complete control over your clean.
- Engineered for larger homes with pets. Removes dirt and pet hair around your home. Easily tackles big messes.
Quick Rundown Of Shark NV352
- LIFT-AWAY FUNCTIONALITY: lift away the detachable pod and easily clean above-floor areas like stairs, furniture, and more.
- ANTI-ALLERGEN COMPLETE SEAL TECHNOLOGY: Works with a HEPA filter to trap dust and allergens inside the vacuum cleaner.
- POWERFUL & LIGHTWEIGHT : Powerful suction to deep-clean carpets and tackle bare floors with a lightweight design for effortless portability.
- BRUSHROLL SHUTOFF: Feature allows you to instantly switch from deep carpet cleaning to gentle bare floor cleaning.
- SWIVEL STEERING: Easily maneuver your vacuum in and out of tight spaces, in corners, around furniture, and more.
Product Video
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References:
- Dyson Ball Animal 3: https://www.dyson.com/vacuum-cleaners/uprights/ball-animal-3
Victor K. Giles is a leading consultant and expert in vacuum cleaner technology with over a decade of experience. As a mechanical engineering graduate in the University of Michigan, he specializes in product development, design optimization, and performance analysis. Victor collaborates with manufacturers and educates consumers, making her a sought-after guest speaker at industry events. His work has been featured in renowned publications, and he shares his expertise on his blog, “The Vacuum Teria”. Victor’s passion for cleaner, healthier living spaces drives his to help clients choose the best vacuum solutions for their needs.