Technologies

Dyson Zone Review: The Weirdest Headphones We’ve Ever Tested

With their air-purifying face visor, the Dyson Zone headphones are certainly unusual. We put them to the test.

The Dyson Zone headphones have great sound, excellent noise canceling and its visor can filter out pollution to help you breathe easy. But at almost $1,000 they’re a tough sell, especially for anyone who doesn’t live or work in a place where airborne pollution is an issue, like a major city. A lot of headphone users simply won’t benefit from the air filtration system at the core of the Zone.

Having spent some time with my review model, I’m impressed with the audio quality and noise canceling, but their significant weight, bizarre appearance and limited appeal makes them tricky to recommend, at least to most people. Those of you with deep pockets and who walk or cycle through New York’s busy streets may well see the value in these unusual headphones. Everyone else will be better served by more traditional noise-canceling headphones.

Dyson’s Zone headphones go on sale globally towards the end of April and will cost $949 (£749, which is about AU$1,395 converted).

dyson-zone-review-cnet-2 — They’re not exactly subtle.

Andrew Lanxon/CNET

Dyson first showed off the Zone headphones last year and frankly we weren’t sure what to think. They’re huge over-ear headphones with metal grilles and a quirky removable face visor that sends purified air to your mouth and nose using micro compressors and filters inside the earcups. It’s certainly a first of its kind, and Dyson thinks it’s on to something.

Dyson Zone

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Like

Great sound quality
Excellent active noise cancellation
Generous battery life for music
Air filtration could help reduce breathing problems in big cities

Don’t Like

High price
Extremely heavy
Built-in filtration has limited appeal beyond wealthy urbanites

The Zone is designed for urban use, for those of you walking or cycling through the world’s megacities where breathing ground-level air pollution is a serious problem. Then there’s the pollutants in underground subway systems, which can be worse than at street level. Dyson says its filter system captures 99% of airborne particle pollutants, including nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and airborne dust, which are especially problematic in cities.

Now, I can’t give a verdict on how well that actually works because funily enough I don’t have my own particle laboratory to test it scientifically. But I did go and see Dyson’s labs in the UK, where it’s spent over six years testing and refining the Zone using medical-grade mechanical lungs on mannequins in rooms full of pollutants to measure how many bad gases actually get inside those lungs. They also test how well it works on different-shaped heads and how effective the system is in different wind conditions.

Wearing the visor feels a bit weird, but it’s not uncomfortable. It snaps on magnetically to the headphone cups and sits a little in front of your face to blow a stream of cooling air around your mouth and nostrils. It feels nice.

The airflow is powered by the smallest motors Dyson has ever made — one motor in each earcup — but having them so close to your ears is a bit like having two hair dryers strapped to your head. The canceling helps reduce that noise, but you can still hear it, especially if you’re listening to gentle music or podcasts. I listen to a lot of metal from bands like Periphery and that certainly drowned out the motors when I cranked the volume up.

dyson-zone-review-cnet-11 — The air filters sit beneath the metal grilles. They’re easy to replace and each set should last a year.

Andrew Lanxon/CNET

The bigger issue for me, though, is that I personally just feel a bit silly wearing the visor out and about. I feel conspicuous, and it certainly attracted plenty of odd looks while I tested it. That said, I live in Edinburgh, a relatively clean city that isn’t the target for the Zone, so there’s little need to wear them here. I may feel differently on the streets of Paris or Beijing.

dyson-zone-review-cnet-13 — I like the overall look.

Andrew Lanxon/CNET

But it’s new and anything new often looks a bit odd at first. Face masks weren’t common on Western streets until the pandemic hit and now they’re perfectly normal to see out and about, so maybe this type of technology is something we’ll eventually get used to seeing. And Dyson does have a good track record of its unusual products going mainstream, with its bladeless fans and hand dryers being commonplace now, and its Air Wrap hair styler dominating TikTok beauty feeds the world over.

The filters are easy to access beneath the metal grilles of the earcups and Dyson says each set should last around a year before you need to replace them. The Dyson app tells you when they need replacing, while also giving information about the air quality in your area.

dyson-zone-review-cnet-5 — The Dyson app shows air quality in your area.

Andrew Lanxon/CNET

Pull the face mask off and they just become a standard pair of headphones — albeit big ones. Thanks to those motors, they weigh in at nearly 600 grams (21 ounces), making them extremely heavy. Significantly heavier than Apple’s AirPods Max, which we criticized for being too heavy — and they’re only 390 grams (13.6 ounces). Even so, the earcups are deeply cushioned, which helps make them comfy to wear for a couple of hours at a time. The headband fits securely, making them feel lighter than they are. I never felt they were at risk of slipping off while walking.

I’d be interested in a version where not just the filters and visor are removable, but the whole filtration unit can be disconnected when not needed. It’d make the headphones more comfortable for general use — say, while sitting at your desk for eight hours, or watching a movie at home — when you don’t need to worry about breathing outdoor pollution. It might also allow for models to be sold without the filtration for less money, while still letting you buy the filter system as an optional extra should you decide you need it. I’ll certainly be interested to see what a second-generation Zone looks like.

The active noise canceling is excellent though, with road noise kept to a minimum and the general background hum in cafes and bars removed almost entirely.

They offer a great, balanced tone too, with 40mm drivers providing excellent bass that gives a meaty but controlled kick on EDM tracks that doesn’t overwhelm the rest of the tones. As a result, higher frequencies from acoustic guitars, cymbals or strings sound crystal-clear. Tesseract’s track Hexes was reproduced with rich, warm bass, powerful hits on the kick drum and bright, defined cymbals and vocals.

dyson-zone-review-cnet-15 — Those are some big headphones.

Andrew Lanxon/CNET

Meanwhile, the shimmering high notes of the acoustic guitars and close-miked vocals in Enter Shikari’s acoustic version of Dreamer’s Hotel sounded superb.

Battery life for audio is a generous 50 hours, although that’ll drop to between 90 minutes and four hours with the air filtration on. But that should be enough for your commute into the office, where you can whack them on a charger for your journey home. Dyson says they can withstand being worn in the rain, but there’s no official water resistance rating here. So keep them tucked away during torrential downpours and try not to take them swimming.

There’s no question, then, that the Dyson Zone performs well as a set of headphones, but the fact remains that $949 is a hell of a lot of money and a huge chunk of that cost is for the air filtration system. So you’ll really need to consider how important that is to you in your everyday life. If you commute daily through the heart of polluted megacities walking alongside traffic or experiencing the stale air of a subway for hours every day, it could be a good investment in your long-term health. If you just want a pair of headphones, you can save yourself a bundle and look elsewhere.

Technologies

I Made Google Translate My Default on iPhone Before a Trip and It Saved Me More Than Once

Google Translate supports far more languages than Apple’s app, and it’s easy to make the switch.

If you’re traveling overseas this summer, the Google Translate app can come in handy to quickly translate a road sign or conversation. The latest Google Translate update allows you to pick the app as your default translation app for Apple iPhones and iPads running iOS and iPadOS 18.4 and later. Previously, you were limited to the built-in Apple option.

Google began leveraging AI to boost Google Translate’s offerings, adding 110 languages last year to increase its total support for 249 languages. Compare that to Apple Translate, which supports 19 languages. Neither Google nor Apple responded to a request for comment.

Both apps offer voice and text translation, including a camera feature that lets you instantly translate by pointing your camera at text. Both also allow you to use translation features without an internet connection, which can come in particularly handy when traveling to more remote locations.

After using both, I found that the Google Translate picked up speech a little quicker so I didn’t have to constantly repeat myself, and the audio pronunciations were a little easier to understand than on Apple Translate. I switched to Google Translate as the default on my iPhone, and here’s how you can, too.

How to set Google Translate as the default on an iPhone or iPad

Setting Google Translate as your default app is simple on an iPhone or iPad, so long as it’s running iOS and iPadOS 18.4 or later.

Download the Google Translate app or update it to the latest version.
Go to the Settings on your iPhone or iPad.
Scroll down to the bottom then select Apps.
Click Default Apps at the top of the screen.
Then choose Translation.
Select Google Translate.

Technologies

The 20 Best PC Games Right Now

Put your gaming computer to the test with the best PC games out right now, including AAA hits like Elden Ring and Black Myth: Wukong as well as indie darlings.

PC gaming gives you the best of most worlds. With a decent budget and some gumption, you can build a solid desktop rig — or you can invest in one of CNET’s best gaming PCs and gain access to a wide world of PC exclusives, indie games and even some titles that were previously exclusive to Sony’s PlayStation and Microsoft’s Xbox.

There’s a truly unlimited amount of tags, store queues and interactive recommendations to browse through, and it can get overwhelming trying to find the next best metroidvania, boomer shooter, collectathon or whatever your cup of tea is. PC gamers aren’t lacking for choice.

In fact, between Steam, the Epic Games Store, Game Pass and more, there are thousands upon thousands of games to choose from. One of the biggest issues you can run into with a massive backlog is choice paralysis. Just which are the best PC games out there?

We’re here to help. To narrow your game choices, CNET curated this list of the best PC games you can play right now.

Read more: Best Gaming PC Deals Right Now

TL;DR? These are the 20 best PC games for June 2025

Balatro
Warframe
Baldur’s Gate 3
Overwatch 2
Valorant
Disco Elysium: The Final Cut
Elden Ring
Cassette Beasts
Dread Delusion
Celeste
Total War: Pharaoh
Stardew Valley
Lunacid
Black Myth: Wukong
Neon White
Helldivers 2
Risk of Rain 2
Soulstone Survivors
Terraria
Haste

PC gaming FAQs

Recent updates to the list

February 2025: While no new games have been added to the list so far this year, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is an early frontrunner. A spate of stellar seasonal events, maps and new heroes has also put Marvel Rivals in contention for the PC hero shooter crown.

Read more: The Best Heroes to Play in Marvel Rivals

June 2025: Added Helldivers 2, Risk of Rain 2, Soulstone Survivors, Terraria and Haste to the list in order to represent both games industry behemoths and indie gaming hidden gems.

How we determined CNET’s best PC games

When creating this list of the best PC games, we factored in how unique and enjoyable these games are for most players. We evaluated criteria including graphical quality, innovative gameplay mechanics and compelling narratives. The picks we made cover a variety of genres from fantasy to retro platformers to shooters to strategy games, and while we favored PC-exclusive games and indie titles you won’t find on Xbox, PlayStation or Nintendo Switch, we also included some can’t-miss games that appear on multiple platforms. If you’re looking for help choosing your next game, CNET’s top PC list is a good place to start narrowing your choices.

Technologies

How to Add These Hidden Music and Apple Intelligence Controls to Your iPhone

One control can Apple’s Visual Intelligence to more devices besides the iPhone 16 lineup.

Apple released iOS 18.4 on March 31, and the update brought bug fixes, new emoji and a new recipes section in Apple News to all iPhones. The update also brought a handful of new controls to the iPhone Control Center, including one that brings Visual Intelligence to the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.

When Apple released iOS 18 in September, the update remodeled the Control Center to give you more control over how the feature functions. With iOS 18, you can resize controls, assign some controls to their own dedicated page and adjust the placement of controls to your liking. Apple also introduced more controls to the feature, making it a central hub for all your most-used iPhone features.

Read more: Everything You Need to Know About iOS 18

With iOS 18.4, Apple continues to expand the number of controls you can add to the Control Center. If you have the update on your iPhone, you can add ambient music controls, and Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhones get a few AI controls in the menu, too. Here’s what you need to know about the new controls and how to add them to your Control Center.

Ambient Music controls

Apple gave everyone four new controls in the Control Center library under the Ambient Music category. These controls are Sleep, Chill, Productivity and Wellbeing. Each of these controls can activate a playlist filled with music that corresponds to the specific control. Sleep, for instance, plays ambient music to help lull you to bed.

Some studies suggest white noise could help adults learn words and improve learning in environments full of distractions. According to the mental health company Calm, certain kinds of music can help you fall asleep faster and improve the quality of your sleep. So these new controls can help you learn, fall asleep and more.

Here’s how to find these controls.

1. Swipe down from the top-right corner of your Home Screen to open your Control Center.
2. Tap the plus (+) sign in the top-left corner of your screen.
3. Tap Add a Control.

You’ll see a section of controls called Ambient Music. You can also search for «Ambient Music» in the search bar at the top of the control library. Under Ambient Music, you’ll see all four controls. Tap one (or all) of them to add them to your Control Center. Once you’ve added one or all the controls to your Control Center, go back to your Control Center and tap one to start playing music.

Here’s how to change the playlist for each control.

1. Swipe down from the top-right corner of your Home Screen to open your Control Center.
2. Tap the plus (+) sign in the top-left corner of your screen.
3. Tap the Ambient Music control you want to edit.
4. Tap the playlist to the right of Playlist.

A dropdown menu will appear with additional playlists for each control. If you’re in the Sleep control, you’ll see playlists like Restful Notes and Lo-Fi Snooze. If you have playlists in your Music app, then you’ll also see an option From Library, which pulls music from your library. Tap whichever playlist you want and it will be assigned to that control.

Apple already lets you transform your iPhone into a white noise machine with Background Sounds, like ocean and rain. But Ambient Music is actual music as opposed to more static sounds like in that feature.

Both of these features feel like a way for Apple to present itself as the first option for whenever you want some background music to help you fall asleep or be productive. Other services, like Spotify and YouTube, already have ambient music playlists like these, so this could be Apple’s way of taking some of those service’s audience.

Apple Intelligence controls

Only people with an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max or the iPhone 16 lineup can access Apple Intelligence features for now, and those people got three new dedicated Apple Intelligence controls with iOS 18.4. Those controls are Talk to Siri, Type to Siri and Visual Intelligence.

Here’s how to find these controls.

1. Swipe down from the top-right corner of your Home Screen to open your Control Center.
2. Tap the plus (+) sign in the top-left corner of your screen.
3. Tap Add a Control.

Then you can use the search bar near the top of the screen to search for «Apple Intelligence» or you can scroll through the menu to find the Apple Intelligence & Siri section. Tap any (or all) of these controls to add them to your Control Center. While Talk to Siri and Type to Siri controls can be helpful if you have trouble accessing the digital assistant, the Visual Intelligence control is important because it brings the Apple Intelligence feature to the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max.

Visual Intelligence was originally only accessible on the iPhone 16 lineup because those devices have the Camera Control button. With iOS 18.4, Visual Intelligence is now accessible on more devices and people thanks to the titular control in Control Center. But remember, Visual Intelligence is like any other AI tool so it won’t always be accurate. You should double check results and important information it shows you.

For more on iOS 18, here are all the new emoji you can use now and everything you should to know about the recipes section in Apple News. You can also check out all the features included in iOS 18.5 and our iOS 18 cheat sheet.