Quick Update
Been wanting to give impression after using this toy for a month. Unfortunately, I rarely get to use the silly thing. My wife literally loves it. So much so, that she's been using it all the time. Far more than she ever used our other vacs.
When I do get my hands on it, it's a pleasure. Quiet, first and foremost. Love that. It's very quick and effective. Blows through the whole house in short order. Very easy to dump the bin with nothing to pick out of its nooks or crannies. It gets in between chairs, tables and walls easily due to its narrow width. The few times tools are needed, they're easy to access, quick to attach, use, then stow away. These new "Soft Brush Roller" paired with conventional brush roll is a game changer and the future. Really easy to access and clean, but my next one (years from now) will have the self cleaning feature.
At first it feels frail and flimsy, but as it's used and banged around I feel more confident about its build quality. Nowhere near as sturdy as the Royal, and actually a bit heavier, but more maneuverable and it somehow just gets the job done quicker. I feel certain now, it will be around for several years.
Asked my dad what he thought about it. Not much of a review from him. Said it worked fine, and is looking forward to cleaning under the fridge with its fancy tools. He's more of a hand tool kind of guy, so I guess that's the most I'll hear about it... Unless it fails in some way. Whoa, then there will be something to share!
When the Dyson's first arrived, I was disgusted with whole design. Had no use for a plastic bypass vacuum and convinced the "bagless" feature was a total gimmick. When I got my hands on one years later I was not impressed with any part of it. Frail, plastic, overly complicated, less effective than my Royal, of course. But, I like the direction these Sharks are going. At first, they seemed like cheap knock-offs of the Dysons, but if they can keep up these improvements and innovations, and I can keep getting them at disposable prices, well I'll just enjoy the ride.