Tag: Dyson Zone

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Mobile Syrup

Dyson’s Zone is a love letter to over-engineering

When I first learned about Dyson’s Zone earphones/air purifier, I wasn’t sold on the wacky concept. However, after spending time with an engineer at CES 2023 who worked on the headphones/air purifier, I began to really like the precision this weird device offers.

The first thing that struck me when I sat down to learn about the new headset was the row of prototypes staged along the wall. You can see where Dyson started with air filtration and how it slowly started adding its own audio solutions to the process. It’s cool to look at how the design process for a complicated product like this evolves with sometimes not-so-subtle iterations.

The next thing that really took me aback was how flexible the face shield is. I expected hard plastic, but it’s more rubbery than I anticipated. It sounds implausible, but I swear you can fold it up and jam it into a pocket if you want. The shield is also magnetized to the headset, so you can easily remove it. For a quick chat, it also features hinges that allow you to drop the mask for a quick conversation. When you do this, the headphones’ noise-cancelling disables so you can hear the person you’re talking to.

Dyson appears to have thought of everything from cleaning the headset to making it fit with multiple face shapes, while still allowing you to get gulps of fresh air with ease.

Moving back over to the headphone/air filtration aspect, the company has paid significant attention to this portion of the device. When you strip off parts, you can see where Dyson has milled out little plastic holes to ensure that the earcups’ fans don’t wobble and stay as quiet as possible. It’s an incredibly small attention to detail, but it’s also what you’d expect from a product with a $949 USD (roughly $1,269 CAD) cost.

Other notable features are the plush earcups that pull double duty as strong sound dampening to help improve the noise-cancelling. Still, even with these earcups, the headphones are comfortable, and the foam lining inside the over-head arc is plush and soft. Compared to the rigid metal bars of my AirPods Max, for example, Dyson’s Zone felt like wearing a cloud.

A view of the milled holes used to balance the fan.

However, as lux and detailed oriented as this headphone system is, I worry about it being a tough sell to consumers. It’s not certified to be used in factories, it’s too expensive and bulky to compete against regular headphones, and the most significant use cases for the mask seem to be people with long public transit commutes.

There’s likely a small niche that care about good-sounding headphones and breathing clean air that also have over $1,000 CAD to spend on a device like this, but for most of us, the ZOne feels like a concept detached from reality.

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Mobile Syrup

Dyson Zone air-purifying, noise-cancelling headphones launching in 2023 at $949

Dyson has revealed more information about its upcoming headphones, the Dyson Zone. Yes, the company best known for its high-end air purifiers and vacuums is now moving into the audio industry. The Dyson Zone combines the company’s long-standing work of air purification while adding its own spin on audio.

Set to arrive in early 2023, the Dyson Zone will start at $949 USD (roughly $1,289 CAD). This is largely due to the array of technology built into the company’s first headphones.

For starters, the Dyson Zone headphones utilize a new air purification system, designed by Dyson. This purifier features fine strands of glass and uses electrostatic material with charged fibres. These materials are able to capture and filter particles as small as 0.1 microns. Nearly 99 percent of nearby particles can be captured, ensuring the wearer is breathing cleaner air.

Examples of such particles that can be captured are allergens, brake dust, construction debris, industrial emissions, and pollutants. These filters promise up to 12 months of use before a recommended replacement. Additionally, Dyson claims replacing the filter is a simple process.

The headphones include airflow compression units that are built in. These units spin at roughly 10,000 rpm and are used to draw air in. Using the Dyson Zone visor, the air is then purified from both ear cups and drawn to the user’s “breathing zone.”

From an audio feature stand point, the Dyson Zone offers Bluetooth connectivity, ensuring a wireless experience. Dyson is also prioritizing ultra-low distortion. This means the company is lowering the amount of distortion to render the intended recording audio quality. The company says that users will be able to accurately hear the intended base, lows, highs, and mid-highs.

Dyson is also leaning into its MyDyson app. Available on iOS and Android the app can be used to choose audio equalization modes the company calls Dyson EQ, Bass Boost, and Neutral. The Dyson Zone is also supporting SBC, AAC and LHDC audio codecs.

Lithium-ion batteries power the device and promise up to 50 hours of audio playback. However, to ensure that much battery life, the purification systems must be off. The Dyson Zone features high, medium, and low settings. When active, battery use is one and a half, three, and six hours respectively. The headphones can be charged via a built-in USB-C port.

The Dyson Zone is first launching in January in China. In March, the device is making its way to the U.S., Singapore, Hong Kong SAR, and the United Kingdom. ‘Ultra Blue/Prussian Blue and ‘Prussian Blue/Bright Copper colour variations will be available at launch. There’s no word on when we can expect a Canadian launch.

Image credit: Dyson

Source: Engadget

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Mobile Syrup

Dyson reveals noise-cancelling headphones with built-in air purifier

No, the above headline was not created in a meme generator.

Dyson has revealed a pair of noise-cancelling headphones that feature a built-in air purifier designed to protect the wearer from air pollution. Dyson is most well known for its various high-end vacuum and air filtering devices, and the reveal of the Dyson Zone marks the company’s first foray into the world of audio.

On the audio side, the headphones feature three active noise cancellation modes: ‘Isolation,’ ‘Conversation’ and ‘Transparency.’ Isolation is the highest-level form of noise cancellation, followed by Conversation, which allows the wearer to hear people speaking around them by amplifying their voices. Finally, Transparency passes surrounding audio directly through the Dyson Zone’s built-in mics.

The built-in filter features a potassium-enriched carbon filter that utilizes electrostatic filtration to clean the air through for modes: ‘Low,’ ‘Medium,’ ‘High’ and ‘Auto.’ Each mode is focused on a specific breathing pattern. For example, if you’re working out or doing physical activity, you’d likely want the filter portion of the Zone to be set to high to make your breathing easier.

Dyson emphasizes that the slightly dystopian-looking device hasn’t been designed with COVID-19 in mind and that it started development roughly six years ago, long before the start of the ongoing pandemic. The company says its engineers have experimented with over 500 different prototypes.

Jake Dyson, Dyson’s chief engineer wearing the Dyson Zone.

“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,” said Dyson chief engineer Jake Dyson in a recent press release. “And unlike face masks, it delivers a plume of fresh air without touching your face.”

Dyson says the Zone will release this coming fall, but it’s still unclear how much it will cost. Given Dyson’s various Air Purifiers are priced in the range of $800 in Canada, I’d expect the Zone headphones/air purifier to cost well over $1,000.

Though the tech powering the Dyson Zone is undeniably cool, it’s unlikely many people will be willing to wear a device like this in public, especially since it’s not COVID-specific or a replacement for a KN95 mask. Still, it has the potential to allow you to live out your Cyberpunk 2077 dystopian dreams in real-life.

Image credit: Dyson