There’s always some weird piece of technology floating around with the name of a major brand that just makes you say, “Huh?” For some reason, wearables dominate this market. They are often promising, but look pretty ridiculous. I’m talking about things like the Google Glass – augmented reality goggles that came out long before their time – or Razer’s RGB Zephyr facemask (opens in new tab), which I still kinda want. The things that generally end up in articles about hardware purchases become regrets (opens in new tab)or the way we live in the future is not quite as we imagined (opens in new tab).
Dyson’s Zone, which was spotted pre-release in March, is the tech I’m putting forward as 2022’s best example of “huh?” This set of fairly high-end looking headphones is indeed made by the kings of vacuum cleaners, Dyson. Being old I can say their vacuum cleaners are good but I wonder if these headphones will suck as much.
The specs on these things look legit. They have up to 50 hours of battery life and features like advanced noise cancellation. The Zone also offers full-spectrum audio with ultra-low distortion, while looking exactly like the filter in my V6 Animal vacuum cleaner. It’s a choice, that’s for sure.
Dyson doesn’t let its air purification expertise go to waste with these cans. The filter-like ear cuffs are just that, reportedly able to trap 99% of pollution particles and then blow them out towards your nose and mouth. There’s an entire face panel to help with this that plugs into the headphones and goes over the mouth or nose.
This also works in combination with the app, because there is of course an app. It can be used to control things like volume settings and noise reduction, and also works with the air purifying part of the Zone, giving you a read of the air quality around you.
Wearing the whole set gives off a kind of futuristic semi-open helmet vibe that I would expect from a futuristic anime, and looks quite heavy. Definitely one of those things that should be tried out in person before making any purchasing choices. Especially since these air-cleaning cans are far from cheap.
The official price for the Dyson Zone is $949 USD, and at that price it’s going to want to sound great and take the air out of the blue. Of course, the company’s vacuum cleaners are not cheap either. For people who work in noisy and polluted environments, the Dyson Zone might just be the solution they’ve been waiting for.
A bit like the Razer Zephyr, it’s clear that this is a product marketed against our current fears. Whether it’s air pollution or disease, people are much more concerned about what they’re breathing. It is worth noting that there is no mention of any benefits related to Covid protection in the product description (opens in new tab).
