Dyson Zone: Dyson insists its headphones-cum-air purifier is not an April Fool despite its obvious shortcomings
Dyson has unveiled the Zone Air-Purifying Headphones, a product that it insists is not an April Fools' joke. Based on a patent that the company filed in 2016, the Dyson Zone is its first wearable. While Dyson claims that the wearable combines a high-end audio device with an air purifier, there are doubts about its efficacy.
For context, Dyson bills its Zone headphones as a tool in 'battling air pollution'. On its website, the company claims that the Dyson Zone has a 2-stage purification system 'capable of filtering city fumes and pollutants'. Reputedly, the headphones will allow you to breathe purified air without touching your face with the aim to minimise stuffiness.
However, Naomi Wu, a well-known YouTuber who brought to light issues with Razer's Zephyr and Zephyr Pro face masks, asserts that Dyson has paid 'little thought' to airborne transmission of pathogens. In short, Dyson has based the Zone on pre-pandemic health practices, not current ones. Essentially, the Dyson Zone only provides one-way filtration and does not filter breath exhaled by its wearer. Supposedly, Dyson plans to add an FFP2 mask, although it has not detailed how it will integrate this within the Zone.
Dyson is not ready to start selling the Zone either. As such, it has not revealed how much the headphones will cost, nor in what markets it will be available. Apparently, the headphones will launch later this year and Dyson will provide more information 'over the coming months'. You can find out more about the Dyson Zone in the company's various product videos, which we have embedded below.
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