Shark AZ1002 Apex Powered Lift-Away Upright Vacuum with DuoClean & Self-Cleaning Brushroll, Crevice Tool, Upholstery Tool & Pet Power Brush, for a Deep Clean on & Above Floors, Espresso

I have 2 dogs and 2 cats so we need a strong, durable vacuum for pet hair and litter and this works great. It’s got strong suction and gets everything up without getting hair wrapped around the bristles. I love that it has a light on the vacuum and the detachable hose too. My only complaint about this vacuum is that is heavy and is not self propelled so it’s taxing to vacuum more than a room or two at a time with it. Wouldn’t be a good option for anyone with arm or shoulder issues.

Going on three months now with the Shark Apex so I thought its a good time to review. Maneuverability is pretty good - smooth back and forth motion and no dragging around a canister. Suction is amazing on hard floors. The floors setting gets down pretty low and creates excellent suction. Carpet/rug is decent. I have a cat & dog so enough hairs to battle. My older Kenmore canister picked up hairs in one pass, but I have to do at least two passes with the Shark. The shark is very sensitive to jams, which is both good and bad. It is easy to remove jams by just removing the top plate of the vacuum head, but the Shark will also go into overheat protection mode - power will go on&off intermittently - so you need to wait a bit before starting up again. Dust bin canister fills up fast. Push-button canister dump kicks up dust and sometimes you need to give a good tap and shake. Really nothing you can do about that with a bagless vacuum but best to empty contents outside. One advantage of the bagless system is that you can actually see evidence that your vacuum is working properly, whereas it may take you awhile to notice any malfunctions with a bagged vacuum. Attachment units dont stay on during a regular vacuuming session so its easy to leave them scattered in other rooms. Overall though we are pretty satisfied. The Shark Apex is definitely one of the stronger contenders in this price range.

This is the best vacuum in every aspect! The suction is amazing! All the features will blow your mind! I have two dogs and a cat that shed like crazy and this vacuum cleans it all up. No more stopping to add an extension. All you do is click and pull to the feature you need. My daughter got one two years ago so I was able to use it at her house and I finally got one for my house this Christmas. This vacuum will not disappoint! It is pricey so I waited for a good sale. Surpasses all the other vacuums I’ve ever owned in the past 20 years. Don’t wait like I did. It is worth the money!

I gave it 4/5 because it is heavy. It has great suction and its transformer abilities work great for different applications. We have a 70lb husky who sheds a lot. It does a great job with all his hair. I have been overall very happy but it is a heavy vacuum. I think my 75 year old mom would struggle with it. Just something to keep in mind.

These are all the questions I had when I looked at the Shark Apex product details, questions and reviews but did not find clear answers to. I was trying to compare it to the Dyson Animal Ball Upright. Weight = No noticeable difference between the two Easy to lift and carry between levels of the house = Shark (Shark is easier to hold on to) Power cord = Shark. Maybe a bit shorter on the Shark but, quality is better on the Shark (more flexible) Plastic parts durability = Shark (many small plastic parts on Dyson that break easily, expensive and difficult to replace. Many times, you must buy an entire assembly when you only need one small part - which is generally true for most things these days). Shark has fewer parts and seem much more durable. This is huge for me. Ease to dump the canister = Shark Ease to operate vacuum = Shark (moves easier than Dyson, Shark controls are all on the handle (one control for power and one control for a three-way selection for high carpet, low carpet, hard flooring. These controls work well) Cleaning Power (suction) = toss up (both are very good) Maintenance = Shark (was constantly cleaning hair out of the Dyson roller. Had to replace many parts on the Dyson. Some I could not figure out how to replace… and I’m an Engineer). Eventually, the Dyson canister was constantly falling off. I finally gave up and said – that’s it – we’re getting something different. Note - I havent cleaned the Shark filters yet but, I can’t imagine that process being so miserable I would go back to a Dyson. Noise = Shark (seems quieter than the Dyson to me) Meaningful features on the Shark that Dyson doesnt have) = LED Headlights, Lift away canister, Dual brushroll system. I found the headlights to be very helpful to see in dark spots. Dyson has one brushroll- it does seem to make a difference) Meaningful features on the Dyson that the Shark doesnt have = I cant think of anything meaningful here. Notes: Shark Upholstery Tool & Pet Power Brush attachment that comes with the unit is powered by air suction from the main unit when it is attached - not by an electrical motor (Dyson works the same way). The attachment holders on the Shark do not work well (attachments always fall off). Not a huge deal to me. Nice try Shark Engineers. Value = I feel the Shark Apex is great value at $389 (however I got a “limited time deal” for $249 in June 2021 - probably wont see that again). That made it a huge value for me. I will update this review if I learn something worth reporting on.

For reference, our old Dyson is 17 years old. Still works, but its a 15-20 minute struggle to cut all the hair off the roller every use (theres a LOT), which causes us to not vacuum the small apartment often. But with 2 light-colored cats and a long-haired teen, its very noticable that the Dyson just isnt picking up the hair from the short carpet. While I entirely intended to replace the Dyson with another Dyson, decided to give the Shark a try. WOW suction! Yes, it WANTS to go forward and you have to wrangle pull it back, but Ill take it! It pulled up the somewhat matted carpet and actually had vacuum marks! We vacuumed with the Dyson 3 days ago. Doing just the small living room packed the canister full (oops on that max fill line). The roller was mostly hair clean! That was, until, it met the teen kiddos room. Her long hair was wrapped all around that roller. Now you might think well then, it doesnt work for hair, but I disagree. (1) Her hair is to her waist and shes 55, (2) the Dyson wasnt picking it up (beyond what was trapped each time on the roller), so it was a lot of accumulation on the carpet, (3) cutting the hair off was CAKE in comparison and less than 3 minutes including finding scissors (4) the amount of hair that was in the top funnel bit of the cannister was HUGE and all that was NOT wrapped around the brush the way I know it would have been on the Dyson. So far Im pleased. I expect to need to cut hair off much less often, which to me is a win. And if we vacuum more often because we actually SEE it cleaning, thats even more of a win. The power cable is MUCH longer than our old Dysons too. Can plug the 30 cord into the living room at the front of the apartment and it makes it almost all the way to the back bedrooms walls. So that bits exciting for us too, because plugging into a more central location means we dont have to move the cord at all to vacuum the whole place. Easily reconfigurable and it gets UNDER furniture SO MUCH EASIER. Practically dusted the laminated floor in the kitchen/dining area when vacuumed, so I actually vacuumed the air vents and fan too (yes, Im being a dork with a new toy) which it also did great with. Overall Im liking it so far, all of one day in (so keep that caveat in mind). The reason for the 4 stars and not 5 is that (1) its day 1 and (2) it did not completely keep me from having to cut clogged hair off the roller. But I do think this is probably due to accumulation from the Dyson not picking it up and expect it to get better over time

This vacuum is a little heavy but not bad. I love that you can remove the canister to get under things. Very powerful suction. Highly recommend

This vacuum cleaner does its job well. It is light to use and handles hair well. It is equipped with an extra brush for hard floors, which additionally polishes it. Highly recommended

Bride had a much older version of this vacuum and loved it until it died. I figured the quality was down like most good products that are new and successful....boy was I wrong. This is an excellent machine and superior to the older one we had. Momma loves it.

I upgraded my Shark Navigator True Pet to the Apex and I love the new rollers. They stay hair free for a while and are very easy to get to when I have to clean them. One of the rollers is kinda fuzzy and its perfect for hard floors because it actually sweeps up the dust that other vacuums cant pick up because its technically not debris. My only issue is that its not a smooth ride. My forearms get quite a workout pushing this thing around. The swivel is not as easy as my last two sharks.