Dyson is getting into headphones in the most Dyson way possible: the Zone, a pair of noise-canceling Bluetooth headphones with air purification technology built in, thanks to a bizarre-looking magnetic face visor. It’s both the strangest and most ambitious product that the company has ever made.
Today’s announcement is just an initial reveal of the Zone headphones ahead of a fall release date, and Dyson isn’t announcing specific details like price or specifications (including how much the headphones weigh or how long the battery will last) at this time.
The goal of the Zone is to make living in urban spaces more comfortable by attempting to mitigate both air and noise pollution.
The air purification half of the Zone doesn’t reinvent the wheel for Dyson. Instead, it miniaturizes the company’s existing air filtration technology into a unique form factor. The Zone pulls in air through each earpiece using a pair of tiny compressors. The air is then filtered and piped through the (slightly bizarre-looking) “visor” for the user to breathe in — sans most of the particles and pollutants.
Despite what it looks like, the visor doesn’t make contact with your face like a mask would. Instead, it sits in front of your face, creating a gap where a bubble of clean air can gather and be breathed in. (The company showed off a separate attachment that could be clipped on in instances where you might need a proper full-contact face mask, too.)