TechAudioHeadphonesI asked a Dyson Zone engineer about protection against covid. Here’s what he said…It’s been claimed wearing a Zone could increase the risk of infection but Dyson is adamant this is not the caseWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
TechAudioHeadphonesI asked a Dyson Zone engineer about protection against covid. Here’s what he said…It’s been claimed wearing a Zone could increase the risk of infection but Dyson is adamant this is not the caseWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
It’s been claimed wearing a Zone could increase the risk of infection but Dyson is adamant this is not the case
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Dyson)
(Image credit: Dyson)
DysonZone is probably the most ‘futuristic’ device that we’ll see in 2022. An air purifier that you wear, it sucks in air via a pair of filter-packing, noise-cancelling headphones, removing pollutants and particles before passing the purified air to a gap in front of your nose and mouth for you to inhale. Aaaaaah.
One thing that Dyson Zone isnotintended to do – they made this very clear when I went to my first hands-on demo of the product – is to protect you from viruses such as Covid, flu and so on.
This worry is partly based on the understanding that the filters used in Dyson’s futuristic mask – or ‘visor’ as they officially call it – are designed to remove pollutants, allergens, dust and gases, and will be ineffective against smaller and more slippery virus ‘particles’.
It’s actually significant that the word ‘visor’ is used for Zone, because the portion that covers your nose and mouth does not actually make contact with your skin – it sits just in front of your face, and is thus a lot more comfy to wear than its slightly scary appearance would suggest.
TBH, my main worry with Zone is more around aesthetics than infections(Image credit: Duncan Bell)
TBH, my main worry with Zone is more around aesthetics than infections
TBH, my main worry with Zone is more around aesthetics than infections
(Image credit: Duncan Bell)
Last week, I happened to be at Dyson’s HQ in sunny Malmesbury to gethands on with Dyson Zoneagain – or face on, if you prefer. The brand put forward a number of its engineers to brief me, and the rest of the assembled press, about their new and upcoming products, and how they create and test their existing ones. I took the opportunity to ask a question about this alleged Covid issue of Mr Ng, their resident Zone expert. He’s worked on the air purifying element of the mask since the project’s inception; a separate team handles the headphones aspect of it.
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He also added that testing is ongoing on Dyson Zone. This is very true. Despite having now seen it twice, I am still not aware of any part of Zone being 100% signed off and complete. There isn’t yet a precise launch date, price or even a battery life estimate for it, and the models I’ve tried, while impressive, do appear to be late prototypes rather than shop-ready products.
Most interestingly, he said that the Zone’s filters – there are two; one in each ear cup – are able to remove particles as small as one micron which ‘is the size of some virus particles’. He was at pains to make clear that Dyson hasnottested the Zone against Covid and that is fair enough, since the brand has specifically said it is not intended to protect you against it.
It is not clear to me that pulling in potentially infected air from the area around your ears, filtering it and blowing it into the space in front of your nose and mouth is any worse than simplybreathing inpotentially infected air in the normal manner. However I’m not a molecular biologist.
It’s important to note that Dyson Zone can be worn with a face mask, which renders this argument partially moot. In fact, as things stand, Dyson intends to include a fabric one in the box with it. Okay, the benefits of fabric masks are not entirely proven, but I can’t see any reason why you couldn’t substitute an N95 or other medical-grade mask, if you were so inclined.
The problem with this is that the whole point of Zone is that it is a much more comfortable form of ‘mask’ – sorry, ‘visor’ – but you lose the benefit of that entirely if you strap on an N95 beneath it.
The bottom line is that Dyson can say, very reasonably, that they have already declared that Zone isnotintended as a defence against bacteria and viruses. However, I suspect some people will want more reassurance than that, and will end up either wearing a medical mask under their air-purifying visor, or giving the technology a miss altogether – which would be a shame.
Dyson Zone: release date and price
I don’t have any confirmed pricing info but based on the price ofSony WH-1000XM5– a pair of 2022 noise-cancelling headphones thatdon’thave an air purifier attached to them – I am going to say at least £500/$600/AU$900. That is just a guesstimate though.
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