The concept was first revealed earlier this year, but we’ve now got more information about the upcoming hybrid headphones, as well as our first look at its pricing and release date. While the actual design of the Zone headphones and accompanying visor will take some getting used to – it looks a little bit Bane-esque with the visor attached – the benefits of the Zone headphones far outweigh the potential fashion faux pas. The cans work by using tiny motors built into each ear cup to funnel in air from the environment and purify it using electrostatic media that pulls dust particles (and even Covid-19 particles, according to Dyson) from the air, making it much cleaner. That purified air is then delivered to your mouth and nose in the form of a ‘clean air bubble’, with a special mesh finish that makes it feel more like a gentle breeze than a direct flow of air – in my limited experience with the cans so far, anyway. You can read more about my first impressions of the Dyson Zone separately if you’re interested. They’re not just a basic pair of headphones with air-purifying tech either; Dyson has spent a lot of time and money learning about the audio market to deliver a high-end audio experience that’s on a par with some of the best cans on the market in 2022, a real achievement considering it’s the company’s first-ever audio product. The concept of Dyson Zone sounds simple, but it’s anything but; Dyson’s engineers have spent over six years developing the concept, with an enormous amount of research and development going into the design of the motors and associated housing – it’s a bit of a challenge to stop motors mere centimetres from your ears from being audible, after all. In fact, Dyson has today confirmed that there is an initial delay from the initial ‘Autumn 2022’ release window announced by the company back in March. The updated timetable allowed Dyson to make more tweaks to the design and performance of the cans, which are now scheduled for release sometime in January 2023 in China, followed by release in the US, UK and South East Asia in March 2023 – a whole year after the reveal. The company has also, for the first time, confirmed pricing for the upcoming cans. While they’re not as much as some estimates, the Dyson Zone headphones will start at a not-insignificant $949/£749 and will come in three colour options; Satin Silver/Ultra Blue, Ultra Blue/Prussian Blue and Prussian Blue/Bright Copper, with the latter set to be available exclusively from Dyson Direct. In fact, you can register your interest for the Dyson Zone headphones ahead of release next year at Dyson right now if you’re interested. The $949/£749 RRP makes the Zone headphones comfortably more expensive than the most premium consumer headphones on the market, with the $399/£379 Sony WH-1000XM5 coming in at half the price and even Apple’s $549/£549 AirPods Max coming in at $400/£200 less, but the unique combination of built-in air purifying tech and high-end audio performance means it’ll still be a tempting option for some. The company also confirmed other details about the upcoming cans, including the use of Bluetooth 5.0, a 50-hour battery life (without the air purifying tech) and a charge time of three hours. While the battery life isn’t to be sniffed at, it’s worth noting that Dyson claims that the use time drops down to around 4 hours when using the headphones and purifying tech together. Are you excited about Dyson’s first foray into the world of audio and wearable air purifiers? Let us know on Twitter. Lewis Painter is a Senior Staff Writer at Tech Advisor. Our resident Apple expert, Lewis covers everything from iPhone to AirPods, plus a range of smartphones, tablets, laptops and gaming hardware. You’ll also find him on the Tech Advisor YouTube channel.
