- Kyle Chua
Dyson’s New Noise-Cancelling Headphones Feature a Built-In Air Purifier
Dyson is venturing into wearables for the first time, unveiling today a pair of Bluetooth headphones that feature a built-in air purifier.
Called the Dyson Zone, this pair of audio cans promise to deliver immersive sound to the ears and purified airflow to the nose and mouth.
There are, of course, two parts to this device: the headphones and the air purifier. The headphones feature active noise-cancellation (ANC) and high-fidelity audio. They flaunt a traditional over-ear design with large earcups on either side, which passively reduce how much external sound the wearer can hear. The ANC uses an array of microphones to neutralise noise. As for the audio quality, the Zone touts a high performing neodymium electroacoustic system within each earcup. It also has a wide frequency response and precise left-right balance and distortion to offer faithful reproductions of artists’ music.
Dyson says its engineers designed the cushions on the earcups and the headband to provide a balance of on-head stability and comfort. They additionally took into consideration the acoustics when choosing the material for the foam. When it comes to the shape of the headphones themselves, they said that they took inspiration from a horse saddle, which distributes weight over the sides of the head, instead of on the top. What's more, they did extensive research on head geometries to make sure that the Zone can nicely sit on different sizes of heads.
Meanwhile, the air purifier essentially uses Dyson’s existing air filtration technology to remove pollutants and other harmful particles from the air. The process starts with the compressors in each earcup drawing air, which is then cleaned by dual-layer filters. After that, the air is projected out to the visor for the wearer to breathe in.
What’s interesting here is that the visor doesn’t actually touch the face like a mask. It only sits there close to the nose and mouth, creating a tiny space in between where purified air can stay and be inhaled.
The visor can be detached if you simply want to use the Zone as a pair of headphones. It also hinges up and down in case you want to quickly talk to someone without removing the device from your head. There are also different settings that adjust the airflow depending on how much you need and what you’re doing.
“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, using high-performance filters and two miniaturised air pumps,” said Jake Dyson, Chief Engineer. “After six years in development, we’re excited to deliver pure air and pure audio, anywhere.”
The yet-to-be-released product was said to have been engineered by teams across the UK, Singapore, Malaysia and China. Dyson’s Southeast Asian campuses particularly focused on software, which was critical in integrating intelligent air and noise pollution tracking features.
The Dyson Zone will be available globally sometime in autumn this year. More specifications and details will be shared about the product in the coming months.
Dyson today unveiled a pair of Bluetooth, noise-cancelling headphones that feature a built-in air purifier.
The Dyson Zone deliver immersive sound to the ears and purified airflow to the nose and mouth.
The wearable device is expected to launch sometime in autumn this year, with the company sharing more details in the coming months.