Dyson’s Zone air

When Dyson announced its Zone noise-canceling and air-purifying headphones earlier this year, the company kept some details close to its chest. Specifically, Dyson didn't announce pricing or availability, nor did it say much about battery life. On Wednesday, it shared that information. Let's begin with the detail everyone wants to know. When the wearable arrives in the US next March, it will start at an eye-watering $949, making it almost twice as expensive as the AirPods Max.

At first, Dyson will begin accepting preorders for the mask headphones by appointment only before the headphones become available through its website and Demo stores across the country. In the US, the company will offer the wearable in two colorways: Ultra Blue/Prussian Blue and Prussian Blue/Bright Copper. The latter will only be available directly from the company, but it comes with a few extras, including a second electrostatic carbon filter, a soft pouch and an inflight adaptor kit.

Both the standard and Dyson Direct masks come with the Zone's signature vizor, as well as a dedicated sleeve and cleaning brush. According to Dyson, the electrostatic filters are rated to provide up to 12 months of use before they should be replaced. The air purifier filters feature a dual-layer design that incorporates potassium-enriched carbon to capture acidic gasses like nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and ozone. All told, the company claims the filters will block 99 percent of particles, including ones that are as small as 0.1 microns, though its marketing states it's intended for "filtering city fumes and pollutants," rather than contagions.

On the audio front, the Zone air purifier headphones are capable of up to 38 decibels of noise cancellation and feature 40-millimeter neodymium drivers. You can use the MyDyson companion app to choose between three audio equalization modes dubbed Dyson EQ, Bass Boost and Neutral. At launch, the headphones will support SBC, AAC and LHDC audio codecs, as well as Bluetooth 5.0.

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Battery life will depend on how extensively you use the Zone's air filtration feature. If it's not powering the Visor, the Zone's 2,600mAh battery can provide up to 50 hours of listening time on a single charge. Using the visor at its slowest setting reduces battery life to a modest four hours. Increasing purification speed to the "Mid" and "High" flow settings further reduces battery life to two-and-a-half hours and one-and-a-half hours, respectively. Using USB-C charging, Dyson says it will take about three hours to take the mask's battery from dead to 100 percent. All of that means you will need to be selective about when you decide to use the visor.