New Yorkers are turning to Dyson’s $1,000 headphones, dubbed the ‘Zone,’ in their quest to combat the smoggy aftermath of Canada’s wildfires, but as skepticism looms, the question arises: Can this pricey gadget truly filter out the city’s air pollution or is it just a futuristic looking expensive gimmick?
What Happened: Amid the ongoing wildfires in eastern Canada, New York City has been engulfed in a persistent red haze, pushing residents to seek innovative solutions to cope with the smog.
Enter Dyson’s latest creation, the “Zone” headphones, which promises to tackle the dual challenges of city noise and air pollution.
See Also: Watch: How Tesla’s Heavy-Duty Air Filter Keeps Its EVs Nearly 100% Free Of Dust, Bacteria
Priced at a staggering $1,000, these high-tech headphones have caught the attention of some New Yorkers looking for respite from the polluted air.
Dyson asserts that their headphones are equipped with electrostatic media filters capable of removing 99% of particle pollution as small as 0.1 microns, positioning them as a cutting-edge defense against the city’s bad air.
The buzz around the Dyson Zone has led to a social media frenzy, with New Yorkers posting videos and photos on TikTok, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube showcasing their futuristic headpieces and expressing hope for a breath of fresh air amidst the smoky cityscape.
On the flipside, not everyone is convinced of the headphones’ effectiveness. Users and tech experts have raised doubts about the device’s ability to filter out the thick smog, questioning whether the visor provides a sufficient seal to prevent the inhalation of unfiltered air.
As many social media users have shared their skepticism about the “part headphones and part air purifier” device, tech YouTubers like Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) and Dr Mikhail “Mike” Varshavski — another YouTuber who is also actively practicing board-certified Family Medicine doctor living in NYC, have also shared their opinions.
According to Brownlee, the device not only looks weird upon wearing and extremely heavy, making it difficult to walk or move comfortably, but it also has some technical flaws.
For example, while the Dyson headphones alone have a battery life of up to 50 hours when the air purifier is connected, it reduces to just two hours. Similarly, when the air purifier is working, the user can hear the mechanism’s noise, which makes the entire headphones-listening experience unpleasant.
Dr Mike said that while Dyson has advertised the ‘Zone’ headphones-cum-air-purifier as a non-medical graded product.
He said, on the product, “there’s no seal” present, unlike the traditional N95 mask. “They say the product cleans up to 0.1 microns particles out of the air, but it’s not HEPA rated because a HEPA rated filter will actually filter particles with a 99.95% efficacy. This is not as good as an N95 mask.”
He also said the “device is not designed to keep your air and particles to your face like a mask would.” So, when an infected person wears this and goes out in public, all the air they exhale is “now being ejected into space.”
Watch the complete interaction here:
Why It’s Important: As concerns regarding air quality persist, authorities have advised residents to limit outdoor activities and stay indoors whenever possible, recommending high-quality masks like the N95 for those who need to venture outside.
With scorching temperatures, arid conditions, and strong winds fueling their spread, the raging Canadian wildfires have forced over 26,000 citizens to evacuate as they ravage the nation’s landscape.
Quebec has been hit the hardest, with multiple fires ignited by lightning strikes, as revealed by Michael Norton, an official from Canada’s Natural Resources ministry.
Alarming projections suggest that if the fires persist at their current rate, 2023 could go down in history as Canada’s most devastating wildfire season, having already devoured a staggering 3.3 million hectares (8.2 million acres) of land.
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