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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Technology
Samuel Gibbs Consumer technology editor

Dyson launches Zone air purifying Bluetooth headphones with visor

Dyson Zone air purifying headphones pictured on a dummy test head
Air compressors in the ear cups drive purified air to the wearer’s mouth and nose via a clip-on visor, which Dyson hopes buyers will wear while walking or riding public transport. Photograph: Dyson

Dyson has announced its first wearable product that builds the firm’s air purification expertise into a set of Bluetooth noise cancelling headphones aimed at city dwellers wanting to avoid polluted air.

Quite unlike anything the company has made before, the Dyson Zone is sure to draw quizzical looks. It is a set of large, plush headphones with a plastic mask-type contraption that connects from ear-to-ear across the wearer’s mouth and looks like something out of a sci-fi movie.

It delivers purified air to the mouth and nose while simultaneously tackling noise pollution through its active noise cancelling technology.

Chief engineer Jake Dyson said: “Air pollution is a global problem – it affects us everywhere we go. In our homes, at school, at work and as we travel, whether on foot, on a bike or by public or private transport. The Dyson Zone purifies the air you breathe on the move. And unlike face masks, it delivers a plume of fresh air without touching your face.”

six years of prototypes on display in a Dyson lab
The product took six years and 500 prototypes to develop into its final form, which while heavy for a set of headphones attempts to balance the weight evenly across the head. Photograph: Dyson

The eyebrow-raising design has a motor, compressor fan and air purifying dual-layer filter in each ear cup. The air is drawn through the filters cleaning it of 99% of particles as small as 0.1 microns, including pollen, bacteria and dust, as well as gas pollutants such as sulphur or nitrogen dioxide. The filtered air is then pushed along the inside of a visor, which sits just in front of the mouth and nose without making contact with the skin, creating a pocket of clean air for the wearer to breathe.

The headphones have sensors that detect how fast the wearer is moving, automatically adjusting the airflow between three intensity levels to ensure they deliver up to 5 litres of clean air a second, the equivalent breathing rate of a jog. An air quality sensor in the left ear cup monitors real-time pollution levels sending the data to an app on your phone and telling you when to replace the filters, which should last for about 12 months of use in Europe or less in more polluted environments.

a woman wearing the Dyson Zone headphones and visor
The large headphones and visor across the face will stand out on the street and wouldn’t look out of place in a sci-fi movie. Photograph: Dyson

The visor has size-adjustable arms and is attached to the headphones via magnets that can be unclipped or unhinged so that it drops down to the wearer’s chin pausing the fans to allow them to speak to others. Dyson also has an additional mask attachment that sits between the visor and face, including a FFP2 filter, developed in response to the masking requirements of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile active noise cancellation technology, similar to that found in Bose, Sony and other headphones popular with commuters, uses microphones to monitor the sound of the outside world and the spinning compressors either side of the wearer’s head to remove it via anti-sound waves played into the ear cups. The headphones can be used without purification by detaching the visor too.

The battery lasts up to 4.5 hours at the Zone’s lowest purification rate or 90 minutes at maximum, intended to only be used for short periods. They last up to 40 hours when used just as headphones, fast charge via USB-C to 60% in 20 minutes and can be used when charging if required.

The Dyson Zone is due to go on sale in the Autumn for an as-yet unannounced premium price expected to be in the £500 to £1,000 range.

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