The Singapore-based technology company, Dyson, is all set to start selling its headphone cum air purifier from January onwards. The product will be first launched in China in January, and later, in March, it will start expanding the headphone market.
The headphone, which was first thought to be an April Fool prank, is named Dyson Zone. It contains a face cover – or, more precisely, the nose and mouth cover. The price of the Dyson air purifying headphone is expected to be around $949.
Purifying without Touching
Unlike face masks, the visor of the headphones doesn’t need to be worn on the face per se. The visor remains slightly away from the face. There are air purifiers on both sides of the headphone that create a bubble of pure air in front of the person wearing it. And that’s how the user gets to suck in pure air. To get into more details, a low-noise motor is fitted into each of the two earpieces. The pulled-in air goes through a filter fitted on each side of the headphone. The filtered air is then transported to the visor for the user to breathe.
However, there are concerns that the headphone cum air purifier only purifies the incoming air. The outgoing air that the user exhales remains unpurified. It is to be seen how effective the headphone is in the post-pandemic world. Dyson, in its marketing materials, has never claimed that the Zone has the capability to help people avoid Covid-19.
Statement of the Founder
The founder of the company, James Dyson, has said in his book that Dyson Zone is the first headphone to feature an air purifier. Prior to its launch, there wasn’t a single headphone that remotely resembled Dyson Zone. James Dyson says that this innovation proves the risk-taking abilities inherent in the company.
Dyson Is Well Placed to Lead This Segment
The firm has been manufacturing air purifiers, humidifiers, hand dryers, and other products for years. This expertise enables the company to remain in the leading position in this segment. In fact, the idea of this headphone occurred when the company thought of ways to keep people safe from outdoor air pollution.
How Good Is the Headphone Itself?
The headphone employs no unnecessary sound enhancement technologies and relies completely on the quality of the original soundtrack. There are ten microphones that produce anti-noise, which effectively fights external noises and cancels them out. The eleventh microphone is used for phone calls.
Sensors That Make Dyson Zone Smarter
Dyson Zone comes equipped with proximity sensors that enable the headphone to start or stop the music playback upon wearing it or taking it off. The accelerometers enable the motors to increase or decrease the airflow speed depending on the user’s activities. The functionality of the headphone is further extended with the MyDyson app, with which the user can control the headphone and install future updates.
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The firm has been in the household appliances market for decades. The company has a reputation for manufacturing innovative (and sometimes over-engineered products that capture the interest of the consumers because of the technologies used. However, the headphone market is already crowded with so many innovative players. It is to be seen whether Dyson continues to think out of the box while coming up with headphones and other wearables.