What is Dyson Zone and how do the air purifying headphones work?

Dyson has its fingers in yet another pie, taking its first step into wearable technology with the Dyson Zone air purifying over-ear headphones, adding to its haircare, fans and vacuum cleaner portfolios.

The company announced the headphones in March 2022 and while they aren’t available buy just yet, this is everything you need to know about how they work, what technology and features they offer and what they are like as Pocket-lint had a chance to try them out before they were announced.

What is the Dyson Zone?

Air purifying headphones with ANCMagnetically attachable visor

The Dyson Zone is air purifying headphones that suck air around a user in through the ear cups in the headphones, run it through the filtration system that is also built in the ear cups, and deliver it out through the front of the headset through the mesh section within the visor that magnetically attaches to the bottom of the headphones.

Dyson claims the Dyson Zone is 97 per cent effective at getting clean air into the lungs and it does this via a non-contact delivery, creating a zone of air for the user to draw from. Of course it isn’t just filtered air that the Dyson Zone offers, its other purpose is to deliver high-quality audio with active noise cancellation so it’s a two-in-one device.

How do the Dyson Zone air purifying headphones work?

Polluted air sucked in through electrostatic filter in ear cupsPotassium carbon filter cleans airAir goes through compressorAir delivered contact free through two channels in visor

The Dyson Zone air purifying headphones were six years in the making with more than 500 prototypes and we were told that the biggest challenge of the product was miniaturisation. Both ear cups feature two motors within them and these are said to be the smallest motors Dyson has developed but they aren’t the only thing at play in delivering clean air to the user.

First up, electrostatic filtration technology captures 99 per cent of particle pollution as small as 0.1 microns, such as dust, pollen and bacteria, while a potassium-enriched carbon filter captures city gases like NO2, SO2 and O3.

The air is dragged from around the user into the outside of each ear cup through the filter shroud with the negatively-charged electrostatic filter attracting particles, while the potassium filter cleans the air coming through.

The air then goes into the compressor, which is where you’ll find Dyson’s smallest motors, and finally it is passed out through the two channels in the visor, delivering contact-free purified air to the user’s nose and mouth. Sculpted returns on the visor are designed to make sure the purified airflow is kept near to the nose and mouth and diluted as little as possible by external crosswinds.

What features do the Dyson Zone headphones offer?

3 ANC modes4 filtration modesMore features through Dyson Link appCustom face covering included

The Dyson Zone air purifying over-ear headphones offer purified, filtered air to the user, along with high-quality audio. That’s their main aim and a very simplified description, though there are plenty of other features on board too.

First up, there are three active noise cancellation modes, consisting of Isolation, Conversation and Transparency. Isolation mode offers the highest level of active noise cancellation. Conversation mode is automatically activated when you dip the visor down, turning off the filtration to save battery and pausing audio.

Transparency enables you to be aware of your surroundings whilst still being able to listen to audio. You can enter Transparency mode by double tapping the side of either ear cup. 

There are then four purification modes, composed of low, medium, high and auto. Low is designed for when you are sitting down, medium for when you’re walking down a street and high for when you’re on the London Underground for example. Auto meanwhile, uses the accelerometers in the headphones to track your breathing and exertion and toggle between low, medium and high accordingly.

The Dyson Zone links to the Dyson Link app, which is the same app as other Dyson products, like its fans, are connected to. Through the app, users can not only adjust EQ preferences for audio, but they can also turn off the volume limiter.

On the filtration side of things, users can input their location into the app in order to get better insight as to when the filter may need changing. Once you input your location details, the Dyson Link app will gather information about the air quality of your location in order to determine when the filter will need replacing.

The Dyson Zone also comes with a FFP2 face covering attachment in the box that will slot into the visor, and there is also a cleaning brush in the box. The Dyson Zone headphones connect to your device via Bluetooth.

Dyson Zone specs and battery life

Dyson hasn’t revealed all the specifications within the Dyson Zone air purifying headphones, but here is a summary of what we know so far:

11 microphones for ANC and PAStiff speaker cavity40mm speaker driverAdaptable EQs through Dyson Link app40+ hour battery life with ANC4 hours battery with low filtration mode2.5 hours battery in medium filtration mode1.5 hours battery in high filtration modeQuick charging via USB Type C – 60 per cent in 20 minutes1-year filter expectancy for heavy user in UK/Europe

What are the Dyson Zone headphones like?

Premium designGreat sound quality Ease of useFiltrated air is refreshing

We tried out the Dyson Zone headphones in March 2022 ahead of their announcement. Their design is certainly eye-catching and it will most definitely turn heads in the street. In terms of quality, the Dyson Zone offers everything you would expect from a Dyson product.

The materials used are premium and the finish is considered. The headphones themselves have a lovely construction and while the ear cups are thicker than your average over-ear headphones, due to the filter system, they look good. 

The visor is a little cheaper looking, though the colour scheme matches that of the headphones. The magnetic attachment mechanism works well too, snapping on easily, as well as easily flipped down for conversation and it looked like the accompanying mask was easy to slot in too when necessary.

There’s a joy stick on the headphones for control – which we loved – and there’s an airflow button too, allowing you to change between the different modes. The batteries are built into the adjustable headband and the headphones are charged via USB Type-C. 

In terms of sound quality, the Dyson Zone headphones are excellent based on our initial experience with them and the active noise cancellation works brilliantly. We were impressed with the quality and we’re excited to test them out properly.

The visor and the purified airflow was refreshing too, though we are keen to see how well it works when outside and also how silly you feel wearing it.

When will the Dyson Zone be available?

Autumn 2022

Dyson has said the Dyson Zone headphones will be available from Autumn 2022. It has also said that timings will vary by geography though so it might be that some countries see a later or earlier release.

How much are the Dyson Zone headphones?

TBC

Dyson hasn’t announced the price of the Dyson Zone air purifying headphones as yet, though we don’t expect them to be cheap. We will update this feature as soon as we know more information about the price.