Dyson's air-purifying headphones filters city fumes and pollutants — here's how it works

Dyson Zone Air-purifying headphones
(Image credit: Dyson)

Dyson revealed its first-ever headphones boasting advanced noise cancellation and high-fidelity audio, but it's also its first wearable purifier that captures air pollution and delivers purified air straight to the user's face.

Named the Dyson Zone, the air-purifying headphones are the household appliance company's "first step" into wearable technology. Equipped with dual-layer filters on each earcup and a noticeable non-contact visor, the over-ear headphones aim to keep air quality and noise pollution in check. 

In the announcement, Dyson confirmed the Dyson Zone will launch in autumn 2022 and will be available in-store and at Dyson.com. While the price has yet to be revealed, you can sign up to find out more about these bizarre, environmentally-friendly cans. 

Dyson Zone: How it works 

Dyson has spent six years working on the Dyson Zone, going through more than 500 prototypes, including a "snorkel-like" design, to get to its final version. The clean air delivery mechanism isn't secluded to the Ant-Man-looking visor, as the sizeable earcups play a big role, too.

According to Dyson, each earcup is equipped with compressors that draw air through dual-layer filters, projecting two streams of purified air to the user's nose and mouth via the visor. Don't fret, the company has made it clear that the visor is non-contact, all to avoid "discomfort and irritation." The central mesh diffuses two jets of airflow so the purified air is delivered to the nose and mouth even with external crosswinds. All in all: pure air, no discomfort.

As for the earcups, they house negatively charged electrostatic filter media that captures "ultrafine particles such as allergens, and particles from sources such as brake dust, industry combustion, and construction whilst a potassium-enriched carbon layer captures city gas pollutants like NO2 and SO2."

(Image credit: Dyson)

Oh, and the headphones. Dyson claims the Zone offers pure, rich high-fidelity audio and advanced noise cancellation. They aim to offer a "faithful reproduction" of sound, offering a "wide frequency response, precise left-right balance and distortion significantly below what can be detected by the human ear."

As for comfort, Dyson was surprisingly inspired by the shape and design of a horse's saddle; distributing weight over the sides of the head. The ear and headband cushions use different foams and are flatter than usual cushions.

While the price is still up in the air, we're sure to learn more details about the Dyson Zone air-purifying headphones closer to the autumn 2022 release date. Stay tuned for more details, and in the meantime, check out the best noise-cancelling headphones and our Rode NTH-100 headphones review

Darragh Murphy
Editor

Darragh Murphy is fascinated by all things bizarre, which usually leads to assorted coverage varying from washing machines designed for AirPods to the mischievous world of cyberattacks. Whether it's connecting Scar from The Lion King to two-factor authentication or turning his love for gadgets into a fabricated rap battle from 8 Mile, he believes there’s always a quirky spin to be made. With a Master’s degree in Magazine Journalism from The University of Sheffield, along with short stints at Kerrang! and Exposed Magazine, Darragh started his career writing about the tech industry at Time Out Dubai and ShortList Dubai, covering everything from the latest iPhone models and Huawei laptops to massive Esports events in the Middle East. Now, he can be found proudly diving into gaming, gadgets, and letting readers know the joys of docking stations for Laptop Mag.