Dyson launches Zone air purifying Bluetooth headphones with visor
theguardian.com
theguardian.com
They were even working on an electric car at some moment (I think it's abandoned) - I waiting with excitement to see the electric motors they would design.
I think Dyson (the company) are at their best when they are working in a new product category. They are very good at thinking “outside the box” and coming up with very innovative ideas. I’m somewhat less convinced by their vacuum cleaners now, they were obviously incredible 25 years ago but now competitors can achieve the same (and often better) product for far less cost to the customer.
The Air Blade hand dryer is a good example, it’s so much better than anything that came before it (if you ignore the noise) and for 3-4 years they were the best. Now others are catching up and producing products on par or better. (I would still prefer paper towels and a recycling bin)
My wife was incredibly sceptical of their hair care range when it came out. She tried a friends hairdryer and loved it, now she owns one and one of their other curler type product. Absolutely loves them. Again very different product than what came before, very innovative - and expensive - but very good. I sure that in a couple of years competitors will catch up and potentially surpass on quality and price but for now they have a winning product.
So, as mad as this thing looks, I will give them the benefit of the doubt and will watch how it goes. It would not surprise me if it does incredibly well.
However there have been Dyson flops, their washing machine for example was incredible engineering but they didn’t understand the market. For the first few years you could only get it in bright “Dyson” colours, where, with a lot people here in the UK having their washing machine in their kitchens, it didn’t sell well. Eventually they launched a white version but it was too late. I think they have since learnt from that marketing mistake though.
Just on the “tangent” of their lighting system, that was actually a separate company founded by James Dyson's son Jake. And as I recall, a few years ago Dyson acquired the company and folded it in.
That seems to be the problem with all the Dyson products. I don't think it will work for headphones!
This is the one with the ultra-thin slots you must carefully thread your hands into and hold still against buffeting air currents, or touch the sides and sully your just-washed hands? The one that sprays bacteria directly into your face? Because I always thought that was monumentally poorly designed.
Not sure I ever ran into the problem you did.
The hand driers really are good though (especially the tap and V ones). I don't know why so many people dislike them. I think some people think it makes them cool, like if they don't have a smartphone.
I joined after the washing machine but from what I could gather the real reasons it was ditched were: 1. there was some kind of flaw with the drum that meant they all needed to be replaced costing some insane amount per unit; basically they were losing money on every one sold, 2. it tended to destroy clothes, especially bras. Nobody mentioned canceling it because it didn't sell well.
The lighting thing is just Jake Dyson failing to make a viable business and James bailing him out. The task lights were kind of cool but way overpriced. The massive heatsink lights (I forget the name) were terrible. Pretty much what you'd build if you wanted to deliberately make a terrible light.
Also you missed a flop: Dyson Hard (cordless vacuum for hard floors).
This thing seems extremely ridiculous. Clearly not intended for the western market though. Maybe it will be big in Japan?
Did you clean the filter? They aren’t joking when they say you need to clean that once in a while. I’ve had 2 Dysons for at least 7years and they still perform well. I’ve saved Dyson’s that weren’t picking up by cleaning the filters.
I recommend getting 3rd party filters (seem to work ok so far) and swap the parts out so you can do a good clean.
Pre pandemic, this might have been alright. Post pandemic, it’s irresponsible.
I don’t usually share such negative opinions on HN, so please excuse this exception.
I’m trying to make a point about how *some people will see this product and quite literally not imagine a reasonable person wearing a device that disconnects them so much from their surroundings, and others who are surprised and confused as to why anyone would ever be outspokenly critical of a device that probably does work as advertised to help the user avoid air pollution.
Cases where this overly negative point does not apply: - places where air pollution is a significant problem in daily life
Well, a lot of people _love_ vacuum cleaners. I bet this is the next logical evolution of this product. Makes you feel good while purifying the air that you expelled.