Dyson showed off the weirdest headphones we've ever seen, combining a pair of over-the-ear headphones with a pollution-resistant mask that filters the air you breathe. Think of Batman supervillain Bane, and you're on the right track.
Dyson Zone air purification headphones are designed to capture urban pollution such as gases, allergens and particulate matter while blocking unwanted noise through what ANC and the company call "pure, high-fidelity audio."
Building on the company's 30-year history of developing airflow, filtration and motor technologies, the headset includes a compressor in each earcup, sucks in air through a double-layer filter, and then sprays two streams of purified air into the wearer's nose and mouth.
The mask-type mask element of the headset is not completely enclosed like a surgical mask and does not actually come into contact with the wearer's face, thus avoiding irritation and discomfort. To prevent crosswinds from introducing polluted air into the visor, the sculpted return air brings the purified air close to the wearer's nose and mouth.
The purification level can even automatically adapt to what you are doing, with four different modes: low, medium, high, and automatic. In auto mode, the accelerometer in your headphones detects your movements and switches between high, medium and low purification speeds – so if you're running and breathing heavily, the Dyson zone will increase the level of purification.
Dyson took the same scientific approach to developing the audio performance of over-the-ear headphones, using a team of audio engineers and acoustic experts to design "great audio that is led by metrics, backed by extensive hearing tests." The result, according to the company, is broadband response, precise left-right balance and low distortion, with neodymium drives providing "faithful reproduction as musicians or creators would expect."
To maintain audio quality and allow listeners to enjoy music uninterruptedly, air purification headphones use a mix of passive and active noise cancellation and are equipped with large-angle ear cushions around the user's ears. And, if you just want to listen to music, you can remove the visor completely and use zone purely as a pair of wireless headphones.
There are three ANC modes, including isolation, dialog, and transparency. Isolation blocks the most ambient sounds, while transparent mode amplifies "critical sounds, such as emergency service sirens for information bulletins," similar to the Sony WH-1000X4. Whenever you dip into the visor, the conversation mode activates, which automatically turns off air purification and amplifies the sound.
As Dyson's first audio device, Zone noise-cancelling headphones were also the brand's first wearables — so the company put a huge effort into ensuring their comfort.
Headphones draw inspiration from the shape and design of the saddle, as they are designed to distribute weight on both sides of the head, not the top – just as the saddle bends over a horse's spine and distributes the load around the various areas of the trunk.
Long time no see
While air purification headphones can be seen as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Dyson Zone headphones have been in development for six years focused on tackling urban pollution, describing them as a "global problem."
Even if you do want to use air purification headphones to prevent Covid-19 infection, the filters used in the Dyson zone aren't enough. The company says it is able to filter out 99 percent of particle contamination as small as 0.1 microns, such as dust, pollen and bacteria. Viruses, including coronaviruses, are much smaller than that.
This does not mean that the headphones will not be useful. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 9 out of every 10 people worldwide breathe more air than the World Health Organization's guideline pollutant limits, which, as Dyson puts it, affects us "at home, at school, at work, and when traveling, whether on foot, by bike, or in public or private transport." The WHO said such exposure could lead to "an increased risk of diseases such as heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cancer and pneumonia".
As such, dyson could be an excellent solution to global health problems that could have devastating consequences. The company was indeed very careful when developing its first wearable device. Zone air purification headphones are the result of more than 500 prototypes and have been extensively tested to ensure they are rugged and can handle any climate or humidity level. Dyson even tested a snorkel-like design before choosing a much less invasive visor.
We dare say that if an air filter is connected to a pair of headphones, people will be more inclined to wear an air filter. After all, many of us like to wear headphones on our travels, especially noise-cancelling headphones that block out the sound of our surroundings and allow us to listen to music quietly.
Wearing a pair of noise-cancelling headphones next to a separate wearable air filter can be very cumbersome. By combining a pair of jars with an air purification mask, Dyson may have found a way to combat both noise and air pollution.
There's no news about the headphones' prices yet, but Dyson says they'll be available online and in-store at Dyson Demo Stores by the end of 2022. Don't expect them to be cheap; if zone is similar to Dyson's previous offerings, then they won't be particularly good value.