LG CordZero Cordless Vacuum A939 With All-In-One Tower Review

Cordless vacuums have grown up. No longer merely accessories to a good clean, models like LG's new CordZero A939 are powerful, long-lasting, and flexible enough to be your daily go-to, rather than just tidying up around the edges. For maximum convenience, though, this $999 vacuum – and its imposing All-in-One Tower base station – promises to empty itself.

It slots in neatly at the very top end of LG's CordZero range, which currently spans $399 through to this model. Features like interchangeable batteries, multiple accessories, and five-step filtration are carried throughout the line-up, though as you'd expect for the premium the A939 adds some extra niceties.

Key to that is the new All-in-One Tower. It's a system which definitely demands its space in a room: the footprint itself is relatively small – with a removable base plate that adds greater stability – but it's tall, at almost 40 inches. Not only do the fold-out side hooks add width when they're holding tools like the powered brush-head, but the way the door panels open out means you need to consider the overall width of around 18 inches, too. I wish that, for all the tower's size, LG had found a spot for spare vacuum bags, too.

Like kitchen gadgets, though, useful home appliances justify the space they take up. In this case, the big selling point is LG's two ways to minimize your headache with emptying dust. One of those is familiar from previous CordZero vacuums, and one is brand new.

The former is the Kompressor, effectively a way of squeezing down what's in the dust bin with a sliding lever on the side. With that, LG says, you get more than twice the effective capacity of the bin, without a loss in suction power.

The latter, though, is brand new. The All-in-One Tower is both a charging station for the CordZero and a way of emptying it. Dock the vacuum on the front and – either automatically or, if you prefer it, manually – it'll open the dust bin, suction out what's inside into a second, larger bin in the body of the tower itself, and leave the A939 ready to use again.

It's a system we've seen on some robotic vacuums, but it makes a lot of sense for cordless stick vacuums too. After all, typically you have to choose between a larger bin for increased time between emptying, and a smaller bin for lower weight and easier maneuverability. Not to mention the fact that emptying traditional bins over a trash can usually ends up leaving plenty of floating dust around.

In LG's case, there's a 3-step filtration system in the tower – with removable, washable pre-filter and HEPA filter at the bottom – in addition to the filtration in the CordZero itself. LG says one of the All-in-One Tower bags is good for up to six compressed dust bin-loads, or almost 34 ounces in total; you get three in the box, and subsequent packs of three are priced at $19.99.

Honestly, having to replace disposable bags – not to mention the environmental impact versus a plastic bin you can empty – gives me pause. LG tells me it has tried paper bags but found they're not necessarily up to the vacuum strength required to fully empty out the CordZero's bin. LG's design does, at least, make the whole replacement process simple and clean: the same tab you pull to remove the full bag also closes over its lid, too.

You can reorder replacement bags through the LG ThinQ app – including setting up a subscription for them, albeit not one based on your actual use profile – and that also reminds you when to clean the various filters in both the tower and the stick vacuum itself. The latter has a washable HEPA filter in the cap, a washable pre-filter, and the cyclone in the bin is washable too.

LG includes two batteries, one charging within the CordZero itself, and the other under the lid of the base station. Battery life is up to 120 minutes using both, on the lowest power setting. On the middle setting, you're looking at 80 minutes together; in Turbo mode, that drops to just 14 minutes. A full charge takes 3.5 hours, with the All-in-One Tower prioritizing the battery in the stick vacuum.

As for suction power, LG upends the expectation that a cordless vacuum must necessarily fall short of a mains powered model. It's a constant source of surprise that my cat isn't bald, given the amount of hair she sheds every day, and keeping on top of that across tiled, hardwood, and carpeted floors can be a chore.

Low power mode is perfectly sufficient for whipping around and doing your typical clean-up. The middle setting is more akin to a traditional vacuum; I've saved Turbo mode for particularly tricky scenarios, like getting burrs out of an entryway mat.

Unlike most cordless vacuums, LG has a latching power button on the handle: you con't have to keep the trigger pressed to have the motor running. That's a nice convenience feature, though it only really works because of the confidence I had in how long LG's battery lasts.

Most of the time I've been sticking with LG's detachable extending tube and the standard power brush head. My only complaint is that the latter is a little tall; depending on how high the pedestal under your kitchen cabinets is, you might find it gets stuck. Some rival vacuums have lower-profile heads.

LG also includes the Power Mop, which is optional on its cheaper cordless vacuums. That has a pair of removable, washable pads – which attach with Velcro; you get four in the box – and optionally sprays water from the refillable tank on top. Replacement pads are $19.99 a set, though LG says it expects "years" of life out of them, floor roughness depending.

Mopping tiled floors is a task I do not enjoy, but the Power Mop does help. It can take a little trial and error to get the pacing right: move too quick and you miss patches, but go too slowly and the automatic spray (which has two settings, as well as off) can over-wet the area.

Otherwise, there's a universal nozzle, a powered mini-nozzle, a combination tool, and a crevice tool. They're easy to switch in and out, whether directly attached to the vacuum or via LG's telescopic wand. That adds a further 9.5-inches of reach.

What price, true convenience? $999 isn't just expensive for a cordless vacuum, it's expensive for a vacuum cleaner, period. When you can get a no-brand model for well under $200, can LG's really be worth five times that amount?

The reality is, of course, that you really have to appreciate – and value – things like not having to empty the CordZero's bin every time you use it, the extra-long runtime, and the full suite of accessories. If you're just looking for something to do a quick tidy-up of the stairs or around the home office, a cheaper model will probably do the trick. However, I feel like the CordZero could actually replace your existing vacuum, and be your only one.

The 10-year motor warranty helps justify it, as does the Power Mop's flexibility. Even so, I suspect most people would be satisfied with what LG offers at more attainable price points – even if they miss out on the clever All-in-One Tower in the process. As vacuums go, the LG CordZero A939 is top-notch, but you really have to take your cleaning seriously to be able to justify this new flagship.