CHICAGO (NewsNation) — Dyson, the company known for its vacuum cleaners and hair tools, is now selling headphones with an “innovative” twist.
Released this month, the Dyson Zone Headphones not only aim to provide noise-canceling, high-quality sound but also a wearable air purifier that captures city pollutants and provides a steady flow of fresh air.
The gadget was designed to tackle the World Health Organization’s concern that nine in 10 people globally breathe air that exceeds the organization’s pollutant limits, according to Dyson’s announcement.
Dyson’s headphones even won the Rolling Stone Best of Audio Innovation Award in 2023, which cited the gadget’s main attraction as the “contactless personal air purifier.”
However, the $950 product hasn’t quite lived up to the company’s expectations. The headphones have received mixed reviews on other retail websites, and a handful of customers were still unsure what they thought of the futuristic product.
On Best Buy’s site, one customer who posted under the name “CrysisComplex” said the Dyson Zone headphones were “hands down the best headphones” they have ever owned. Another user, under the name “skylog,” said the headphones were of good quality with great sound, but they weren’t personal fans of the product.
Another customer, who goes by Aaron, recommended saving your money.
In fact, negative reviews of the headphones have actually cited health risks and misconceptions surrounding use of the product.
Tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee reviewed the headphones, calling them the “dumbest product” he has ever reviewed.
In the video, Brownlee compliments the well-built structure of the product, saying Dyson used quality material for the headphones themselves. However, he said the air purifier attachment, made out of lightweight plastic, didn’t have the same quality.
Brownlee says that for headphones, the sound quality is not the best and that the product was just too big and heavy, weighing in at 588 grams. He also said the design of the headphones with the attached air purifier wasn’t the most casual design to wear in public, drawing people’s attention to the plastic extension covering his mouth.
But the biggest issue with the design is that it poses a medical problem.
Dr. Mikhail “Mike” Varshavski, a primary care physician at Chatham Family Medicine and also an internet personality, joined Brownlee’s review, explaining why the product is more flawed than its original purpose.
He said it’s not a medical-grade product and doesn’t even have a seal, as an N-95 mask does, so there is really no point in having an air purifier if it’s not really doing anything other than blowing cold air. Which Varshavski said could cause other issues, especially in the winter.
And even without the air purifier, the “noise canceling” headphones are a huge risk. Varshavski said that according to the CDC, unintentional accident deaths are 33% higher than deaths from chronic respiratory disease. He explained that noise-canceling headphones have actually increased unintentional accident rates.