British home appliance corporations Dyson has joined the robot vacuum market. According to the industry on the 16th, Dyson recently unveiled in Korea a new robot vacuum equipped with artificial intelligence (AI)-based recognition features. With Dyson, which has led the premium cleaning appliance market with suction power and cleaning performance, launching a robot vacuum product, attention inside and outside the industry is focusing.
China-based brands have so far led the domestic robot vacuum market. According to market research firm IDC and others, Roborock holds a commanding No. 1 position with a 45%–50% share, and as of the first half of 2025 its share is tallied at 46.5%. In the premium market, its share expands to as high as 65%, drawing assessments that it has effectively established a solo lead. China-based brands such as Dreame (10%–12.8%) and Ecovacs (around 10%) also rank near the top.
Chinese companies have grown the market through rapid technology adoption and aggressive product launches. They quickly advanced suction power, mopping performance, and AI mapping features, touting price-to-performance competitiveness, and, by doing so, played a leading role in spreading robot vacuums as mass-market appliances, according to analyses.
This trend is also evident in the global market. According to IDC, in the global smart robot vacuum market in the first half of 2025, Chinese brands accounted for more than 60% by shipments. Roborock maintained the global No. 1 spot with 2.33 million units shipped and a 21.8% share in the first half of last year.
However, IDC said the China brand-centered structure in the domestic market is likely to continue for the time being, while projecting that the axis of competition will gradually shift. With the penetration phase wrapping up, product reliability, cleaning completeness, and long-term user experience will emerge as key variables over simple market share battles, according to the analysis. There are also views that durability, after-sales service, and software update capabilities will determine competitiveness in the premium market.
In this context, the industry does not see Dyson's entry as merely adding another competitor. Despite its high-price strategy, Dyson is regarded as a symbolic company that has pioneered the premium appliance market by emphasizing brand trust and cleaning completeness. As it did in the cordless vacuum market, analysts say this move reads as an attempt to set the standard of a "costly but dependable product" in the robot vacuum market as well.
Dyson's decision is interpreted as an inflection point in the market. Unlike Chinese companies that have competed on features for the price, Dyson has chosen a classic premium strategy led by cleaning performance, recognition technology, and brand trust. It is seen as an effort to elevate robot vacuums from mere convenience appliances to a mainline appliance chosen on the basis of performance and reliability.
Domestic companies' strategies diverge from those of China-based brands. Samsung Electronics maintains a share of around 25% and is positioning the robot vacuum not as a single product but as a core device of the smart home ecosystem. Unlike Chinese companies that focus on feature-for-price competition, Samsung Electronics is pushing to expand the robot vacuum into a hub-type appliance connected to TV, appliances, and mobile by emphasizing AI-based spatial recognition and SmartThings consolidation. Its price range is also centered on mid-to-high-end, stressing the value of ecosystem linkage.
LG Electronics, with a market share in the 10% range, appears to be moderating pace in the consumer robot vacuum market. Unlike Chinese companies that target the market with fast release cycles and broad price bands, LG Electronics is putting more weight on securing mid-to-long-term robotics competitiveness than on short-term share battles.
The domestic robot vacuum market is forecast to surpass 1 trillion won in 2025 from about 850 billion won in 2024. The industry expects that as replacement demand and premium demand expand simultaneously, market competition will enter a more mature phase. An industry official said, "Dyson is a brand that has set the standard for premium appliances," adding, "The entry of such a company shows that the robot vacuum market is moving beyond price competition to a stage where trust and completeness are what matter."