Dyson isn’t a name you’d normally hear mentioned in the same breath as audio products, but if a filed patent is anything to believe, we may be seeing the company combine one of its special pieces of tech with its own headphones soon. The news was first reported by Bloomberg, which also shared the early designs you see here. Dyson, known for home gadgets with high-tech designs, plans to integrate its popular air purifier technology with headphones. It’s destined to become a “wearable air purifier.”
Planned in the Past but Only Coming to Light Now
The handy gadget would include an air filter and nozzle on top of the usual headphone drivers and earcups. This would be a great complement to face masks; while your mouth and nose are covered, the headphones would purify the air around your head. Plans for such a product were already made known by Dyson in 2018: Dyson does seem to care about taking air purification wherever you go, and headphones would let you do that in style. “Air pollution is an increasing problem and a variety of air pollutants have known or suspected harmful effects on human health,” the patent explains. A more detailed explanation extracted from the patent details how exactly the air purification would work and what it would take to make it happen: Bloomberg notes that there’s no mention of how a battery would fit and turn this into wireless headphones. We should learn more as Dyson announces additional details in the coming months, hopefully.
Entering Uncharted Territory
Although the headphone market is already jam packed with competitive brands like Sennheiser and Sony, Dyson feels that there’s demand for such a dual-purpose device. Citizens in Asia, in particular, are becoming increasingly careful with the purity of air around them. Offering a stylish yet practical solution would kill two birds with one stone. As usual, patents like this should be taken with a grain of salt. Dyson is known for filing patents for products that never hit the consumer market. For reference, the company’s electric car never came to fruition after lots of planning and money put into it.