As we’re all aware, especially over the past few years, the air is becoming ever more polluted - so Dyson has created a world first with its latest launch, Dyson Zone - a pair of noise cancelling, high fidelity over-ear headphones which deliver immersive sound to the ears, plus purified airflow to the nose and mouth.
As a result of over a decade of air quality research and development, the Dyson Zone air purifying headphones simultaneously tackle the urban issues of air quality and noise pollution.
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.”
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.
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.
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.